Pipeline Construction

Virginia Governor Signs Bill Requiring Quicker Alexandria Sewer Fix

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Gov. Terry McAuliffe has signed a bill that forces Alexandria to move more quickly to fix an infrastructure issue that sends millions of gallons of untreated sewage into the Potomac River. The legislation signed Friday requires the city to bring its four combined sewer overflow..

Utility to Put Sewer Biogas in Pipeline

NW Natural has agreed to work with the City of Portland to put renewable natural gas converted from the city’s largest wastewater treatment plant on its pipeline and into vehicles. In a vote yesterday, the Portland City Council authorized the construction of a RNG production facility at the Columbi..

Aqua Pennsylvania to Spend $300 Million on Infrastructure Upgrades

Aqua Pennsylvania today announced the company will make $292 million in infrastructure improvements in the state throughout 2017, after completing $234 million of similar projects in 2016. Multiple projects will take place in several areas across the state to improve customers’ water and wastewater ..

Minnesota Town Receives Funding to Fix Aging Sewer Collection System

The Minnesota Public Facilities Authority has awarded a $577,000 grant that will help the city of Cuyuna rehabilitate its sewer collection system. Cuyuna, a city of about 340 people in Crow Wing County, received the grant from the PFA’s Wastewater Infrastructure Fund. Other financial support for th..

Utility to Use Recycled Sewer Biogas in Natural Gas Pipelines

HONOLULU (AP) — Honolulu officials say they are moving forward with plans to sell biogas produced at the city’s sewage plant to Hawaii Gas Co. The gas company says it plans to spend about $5 million on equipment to clean the sewage plant’s biogas before adding it into their pipelines. It also wants..

Xylem Builds Emergency Sewer Bypass in Record Time

Xylem today announced that the company recently designed and built a major emergency sewer bypass in Memphis, Tennessee in just six days. During spring 2016, sixteen inches of rain fell on the city, half of which fell during two days. This unprecedented rainfall eroded the soil supporting a 96-inch..

EPA Administrator Visits Contaminated Site in East Chicago

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt visited the USS Lead Superfund in East Chicago, Ind., to discuss cleanup and hear directly from East Chicago residents affected by contamination in their community. Administrator Pruitt was joined by Governor Eric Holcomb, Senator Joe D..

Blocked Pipe Spilling Tainted Water over Idaho Mine Tailings

HAILEY, Idaho (AP) — A blocked or broken pipe is causing tainted water in a pond to spill over the soil cap of an old mine’s tailing pile on state-owned land in central Idaho. The water contains orange iron oxide from water seeping from the tailings pile at the Triumph Mine about 12 miles (19 kilom..

Report: 17 States Invest in Water Reuse as a Long-Term Supply Strategy

Traditional water supplies are no longer a certainty for many municipal water utilities across the U.S., sparking a wave of investment in water reuse and desalination projects exceeding $18 billion. A critical driver to their adoption are demonstrated cost declines and competitiveness with more trad..

Commissioners Question Gas Pipeline Replacement

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A disagreement about who should take on the financial burden of replacing miles of dilapidated Kansas gas pipeline is dividing three commissioners no the state’s utility regulatory agency. Shari Feist-Albrecht, Pat Apple and Jay Emler discussed at a Kansas Corporation Commission..

NARUC Creates Natural Gas Access and Expansion Task Force

The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners have established a new Presidential Natural Gas Access and Expansion Task Force. Pennsylvania Commissioner John Coleman and Mississippi Commissioner Brandon Presley have been appointed as co-chairs, with North Dakota Commissioner Julie Fed..

Broken Sewer Line from Fontainebleau State Park Repaired

MANDELLIVE, La. (AP) – Park officials say they’ve repaired a broken sewer line that has been leaking untreated wastewater from Fontainebleau State Park into Bayou Castine near Mandeville. The New Orleans Advocate (http://bit.ly/2pceG4i ) reports the park was closed to day visitors Friday and Saturd..

Hearings Scheduled for Gas Distribution Project

BLUE ASH, Ohio (AP) – Two key hearings have been set to discuss if a proposed natural gas pipeline can be built under Cincinnati’s suburbs. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports (http://cin.ci/2ou6x8a ) a public hearing June 15 at the University of Cincinnati-Blue Ash campus will allow citizens to expres..

$32 Million Awarded for Water, Sewer Projects in New York

The New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation Board of Directors has approved more than $32 million in grants and interest-free loans for one drinking water project and six wastewater projects in Upstate New York. This funding includes nearly $5 million in grants that were awarded last sum..

Pipeline Construction Causes Atlanta Highway to Rupture

DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — Another major highway through Atlanta was partially shut down on Monday, this one after underground utility work caused the pavement to rise up, break apart and send a passing motorcyclist flying through the air. Witnesses said the motorcyclist was riding in the carpool lane whe..

PLCAC Works To Promote Industry

The Pipe Line Contractors Association of Canada (PLCAC) and its members generally had a good, solid year in 2016, believes the association’s President Neil K. Waugh. The PLCAC represents pipeline contractor members in labor relations with the four craft unions (whose members are involved in pipelin..

Missouri Town Gets $1 Million in Water Infrastructure Funding

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has awarded $1.37 million in financial assistance to the city of Reeds Spring for upgrades to its drinking water distribution system and water supply infrastructure. The project is estimated to cost $1.92 million and is expected to be completed by October..

PECO Welcomes 12 New Apprentice Mechanics

PECO today announced they have welcomed 12 new apprentice mechanics to the company’s field force following their graduation from a comprehensive natural gas training program. The new apprentices will join the utility’s front lines – helping to ensure safe and reliable natural gas service for more th..

Broken Pipe Leaks Chemical Into Lake Michigan Tributary

PORTAGE, Ind. (AP) — A spill at a U.S. Steel plant in northern Indiana that sent wastewater containing a potentially carcinogenic chemical into a Lake Michigan tributary was apparently caused by a pipe failure but testing has found none of that toxic substance in the lake, the company and federal ..

Bypass Construction for Michigan Sinkhole Repair Completed

Construction of the bypass for a sewer line that collapsed Christmas Eve and caused a massive sinkhole in Fraser, Michigan has been completed. “That bypass has now been essentially completed in the last couple of days,” said Candice Miller, Macomb County Public Works Commissioner. “We are now runni..

Lack of Sewer Funding Delays Omaha Development

PAPILLION, Neb. (AP) – A lack of drainage infrastructure is blocking progress and growth in one of the few places still available for development in Omaha’s metropolitan area. The Omaha World-Herald (http://bit.ly/2oXKpG1 ) reports that the Legislature on Thursday will debate state Sen. Sue Crawfor..

South Dakota Town Receives $3 Million for Water and Wastewater Upgrades

South Dakota’s Board of Water and Natural Resources has approved a funding package of $3.35 million for the City of Onida to make wastewater system improvements and replace drinking water mains. The funding package includes a $2.4 million Clean Water State Revolving Fund loan for the wastewater sys..

South Dakota City Gets $6 Million for Water, Wastewater Upgrades

The South Dakota Board of Water and Natural Resources has approved a $6.274 million funding package for the City of Miller to make improvements to drinking water distribution mains and wastewater collection systems. The funding package includes a $1.3 million Consolidated Water Facilities Construct..

North Carolina Towns Get Funding for Sewer and Water Repairs

Under the Disaster Recovery Act of 2016, the Rural Economic Development Division of NC Commerce has awarded state-funded recovery grants to four communities to repair water and sewer systems damaged by Hurricane Matthew. The communities receiving grants are: Ayden in Pitt County will get $266,50..

Woolpert Chosen to Design Sewer Rehabilitation Project

The Hampton Roads Sanitation District has selected Woolpert to provide study, design and administration services for a project to rehabilitate about one mile of sanitary sewer infrastructure in Newport News, Va. The project includes 4,800 linear feet of gravity sewer pipeline and associated manhole..

Kansas Town Finds Zebra Mussels in Water Transmission Line

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Lawrence city officials have approved buying special equipment to combat zebra mussels after a nearly 2-inch thick layer of the invasive species was found lining a main that carries water from Clinton Lake to a water treatment plant. City utility workers inspecting the p..

Sacramento Sewer District to Pay Fine for Multiple Spills

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – A California sewer district has agreed to pay a $225,000 fine to the state for 80 spills over three and a half years, including one that dumped raw sewage into a suburban creek. The spills covered by the settlement between the Sacramento Area Sewer District and the state d..

Sewer Spill Impacts Idaho Lake

HAYDEN, Idaho (AP) — Officials in northern Idaho say thousands of gallons of raw sewage seeped into Hayden Lake. KREM-TV (http://bit.ly/2oeHFms ) reports that the Hayden Lake Recreational Water and Sewer District was notified Wednesday of the sewage spill. The sewage seeped up from the ground due t..

Senators Introduce Water Infrastructure Bill

U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) have introduced the Water Infrastructure Flexibility Act, bipartisan legislation that would provide local communities with increased flexibility when complying with Clean Water Act requirements for updates to water infrastructure projects. Th..

Houston Gets Nearly $65 Million to Replace Collection System Pipelines

The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) has awarded $64.68 million in financial assistance to the city of Houston to finance wastewater system improvements. The funding, which is courtesy of the state’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund, will enable the city to replace collection system pipelines w..