Integrity Management
Construction entities call for punishment for pipeline attacks, improved mapping in pipeline safety
(UI) — The Distribution Contractors Association (DCA) and the United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA) have published a letter urging Congress to take action to address the enduring problem of physical attacks on critical energy infrastructure.
Ayyeka introduces new sewer overflow data management technology
(UI) — Ayyeka’s latest product, Storm Scope, addresses the endless issues connected to combined sewer overflow data management. The Storm Scope software platform collects and organizes data from remote locations, transforming distant landscapes into manageable assets.
FERC Issues Final HDD Monitoring, IR Response Guidance
FERC's Office of Energy Projects has released its final Guidance for Horizontal Directional Drill Monitoring, Inadvertent Return Response, and Contingency Plans. The 15-page reference is available for download.
McKim & Creed
McKim & Creed Inc. has opened an office in Charleston, S.C. that will provide surveying and mapping services, including land surveying; unmanned aerial system; hydrographic surveying; subsurface utility engineering; and mobile, airborne and terrestrial LiDAR.
Gas Distribution Replacement Work Continues Strong Pace
As recently as 2017, the federal Department of Transportation (DOT) estimated 30,000 miles of cast-iron pipe still carried gas in the United States, with the highest percentage of these mains located in older eastern cities such as New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
First Look: Utilizing Inertial Navigation Technology for 3D Mapping, Locating, Management
Over the last two decades, significant advances have been made in the quality and application of inertial navigation technology targeted at mapping underground pipe and duct assets. This article provides information on pipeline technologies that are available to map a minimum internal diameter (ID) of 1.6-inch to larger sizes. The pipeline mapping system offers a range of solutions that can map any pipe, regardless of its material, depth or type of utility.
AUCSC 2019 Offers Underground Corrosion Training
The 64rd annual Appalachian Underground Corrosion Short Course (AUCSC 2019) will take place May 7–9, 2019 in Morgantown, W.V. , covering topics that include instrumentation, corrosion surveys, cathodic protection, pipe coatings and miscellaneous methods of corrosion control.
Ansonia Sewer Authority to Pay Cost of Sewer Collapse; Chairman Walks Out
A heated dispute over who will pay for the massive sewer pipe collapse in Ansonia, Conn., ended with the apparent resignation of city's Water Pollution Control Authority chairman after his commissioners authorized paying the bill.
Broken Pipe Disrupts Water Service in Southern Illinois
BENTON, Ill. (AP) — A broken water main in southern Illinois has left several cities short of water, forcing the closing of schools and businesses. Officials say a breach in a 36-inch water distribution line at the Rend Lake Conservancy water plant near Benton is the reason for the loss of water se..
Contractors Sued After Raw Sewage Floods Maine Home
FARMINGTON, Maine (AP) – A Maine man is suing his town and two contractors after he was forced to leave his home when it became flooded with raw sewage. The Kennebec Journal reports Joseph Pinkham is seeking more than $500,000 in damages in his lawsuit filed last month against Farmington, Bruce A. ..
Water Pressure Problem Resolved at Philadelphia's Airport
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Water pressure has been restored at the Philadelphia International Airport following a water main break that prevented passengers from flushing toilets, washing their hands in bathroom sinks or drinking from water fountains. The airport says the Philadelphia Water Department has..
Utility Says Retired Underwater Electric Cables May be Damaged
MACKINAW CITY, Mich. (AP) — A suspected anchor strike that severed two electric cables in the waterway linking Lakes Huron and Michigan may have damaged additional cables in the area that were taken out of service long ago but never removed from the water, officials said Thursday. A remotely operat..
Mississippi Delta City's 2-Year-Old Sewer Line Fails
GREENWOOD, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi delta city is being asked to declare a state of emergency after a sewer line has separated. The Greenwood Commonwealth reports that a 24-inch (61-centimeter) underground sewer line has separated in Greenwood, causing a section of road between the city’s w..
California Town, Water District Fined for Sewer Spills Into Bay
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says the city of Oakland and a water district are being fined $350,000 for allegedly allowing sewage water to flow into the San Francisco Bay. The EPA says in a statement Tuesday that Oakland will have to pay more than $220,000 in ..
Blocked Pipeline Sends Sewage Into New Hampshire Brook
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Manchester’s public works department is trying to fix a blocked sewer line that has caused sewage to leak into a brook. WMUR-TV reports that the city’s environmental protection division was notified of the problem Saturday night in a brook that flows into Stevens Pond...
Excavator Causes Puerto Rico Power Outage
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — An island-wide blackout hit Puerto Rico on Wednesday after an excavator accidentally downed a transmission line, officials said, as the U.S. territory struggles to repair an increasingly unstable power grid nearly seven months after Hurricane Maria. Officials said it co..
Fears of Sewer Pipe Collapse Close 3 Blocks of Major Street
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Fears of a cave-in courtesy a possible sewer pipe collapse have closed part of a major downtown Louisville street. Metropolitan Sewer District spokeswoman Sheryl Lauder told the Courier Journal that officials sent probes into the 60-year-old, 84-inch (213-centimeter) di..
Sewer Spill Fouls Creek, Wetlands in North Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) – More than 600,000 gallons of sewage and wastewater spilled into a Florida nature park, fouling a creek and wetlands. The Gainesville Sun reports that the two spills closed Loblolly Nature Park in Gainesville as crews suctioned up polluted water and fixed damaged pipes at tw..
Heavy Rain Causes Sewer Overflow into Willamette River
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Portland officials say recent heavy rainfall has caused its combined sewer system to overflow into the Willamette River. The Bureau of Environmental Services says the overflows started at about 9:15 a.m. Sunday and continued into the afternoon. The agency says it doesn’t know ..
Crews Continue Removing Oil from Underwater Electric Cables
MACKINAW CITY, Mich. (AP) — Crews continue to remove coolant fluid from electric cables that sprang a leak in the Straits of Mackinac earlier this week. The U.S. Coast Guard says about 600 gallons (2,271 liters) of mineral-based synthetic oil escaped into the waterway linking Lakes Huron and Michig..
5th Day of Water Shortages in Greece’s Second-Largest City
THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Large sections of the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki have been without water for a fifth day because of damage to an old pipeline. The center and northwestern parts of Greece’s second-largest city have been without water since Tuesday, when a 40-year-old pipeline th..
Equipment Failure Causes Oregon Sewer Spill
MONMOUTH, Ore. (AP) – Officials say about 1.3 million gallons of partially treated sewage went into the Willamette River after an equipment failure at the city of Monmouth’s waste water treatment facility. The Statesman Journal reports that the city of about 10,000 people located near Salem waited ..
NTSB: Dallas Natural Gas Leaks Reported Some 2 Months Before Fatal Blast
DALLAS (AP) — A preliminary federal report indicates natural gas leaks were first detected in a Dallas neighborhood nearly two months before another leak led to a house explosion that killed a 12-year-old girl. The report released Friday by the National Transportation Safety Board says leaks in the..
Sewer Issues in Florida Linger After Hurricane Irma
INDIAN HARBOUR BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Mike Dana gazes at a caramel-colored canal where fish seldom bite, dolphins rarely swim, but where clumps of feces sometimes can be seen floating past in the lazy water. “There was always a show,” Dana says of the birds, fish and other “actors” he once watche..
Hurricane Harvey's Toxic Impact Deeper than Public Told
HOUSTON (AP) — More than a half-year after Hurricane Harvey flooded America’s largest corridor of energy and petrochemical plants, records show the storm’s environmental assault was more widespread and severe than authorities publicly acknowledged. Piecing together county, state and federal r..
North Carolina City Blames Baby Wipes for Sewer Spill
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Officials in a North Carolina city say baby wipes flushed down toilets are to blame for a spill that sent 4,000 gallons of untreated sewage into a creek. The City of Jacksonville says in a statement on social media that the spill occurred late Monday, sending sewage ..
Grand Canyon Pipeline Breaks Prompt More Steps to Save Water
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. (AP) — Grand Canyon National Park is implementing more stringent water use restrictions and conservation measures due to a series of breaks in the pipeline that supplies the South Rim. Park officials say the park will remain in conservation mode until water in stor..
Vermont Town Discovers Leak Spewing Raw Sewage into Nearby River
BRANDON, Vt. (AP) — Officials in a Vermont town say a broken sewer pipe has spewed over 1 million gallons of raw sewage into the Neshobe River, which flows into Lake Champlain. Brandon town officials say they don’t know when the pipe broke or how long it was leaking sewage. WPTZ-TV reports the town..
Many Metro Atlanta Residents Told to Keep Boiling Water
ATLANTA (AP) — Schools were resuming and a highway in metro Atlanta has reopened after a massive water main break in one of Georgia’s largest counties, but residents are still being advised to continue boiling water. DeKalb County officials said late Wednesday that water pressure was being re..
San Diego Gas Leak Prompts Evacuation of 1,100 Homes
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A ruptured gas pipeline in San Diego was capped Wednesday after the leak prompted the evacuation of more than 1,000 homes and shut down a 5-mile (8-kilometer) stretch of freeway for about nine hours. A construction worker helping with a road expansion project accidentally dri..
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- Lynchburg, Va., breaks ground on largest-ever Blackwater CSO tunnel project
- Biden-Harris administration invests $849 million in aging water infrastructure, drought resilience
- The EPA announces $6.2 billion in funding for Iowa and Kansas water infrastructure