Sewer

1st Phase of Chicago Reservoir Project Designed to Reduce Sewer Overflows Completed

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have completed the first phase of the McCook Reservoir Project, a key component of MWRD’s Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP) to reduce flood damage and sewer overflow pollution in the Chicago area. A..

Bechtel Honored for Pipeline Integrity Management Tool

Bechtel has been awarded the prestigious 2018 Digital Edge 50 Award in recognition of its new Pipeline Integrity Management (PIM) tool. With support from Bechtel’s Future Fund, an internal incubator which finances development of disruptive technologies, innovators from the company’s pipeline busines..

$20M for Plant that Spewed Black Water near Niagara Falls

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — The aging sewage treatment plant responsible for a stinky black discharge at Niagara Falls over the summer is in line for an overhaul. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday proposed spending $20 million to begin improvements at the Niagara Falls Wastewater Treatment Facil..

Fiber Broadband Association Releases White Paper on Fiber and 5G

The Fiber Broadband Association has released a new white paper, “The Road to 5G is Paved with Fiber,” on the necessity of fiber broadband for 5G networks. The paper explains how more wireline fiber—and a substantial amount of it—will be needed to support the next generation of our wireless networks...

Troubled New Orleans Sewer and Water Agency Facing Federal Audit

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The agency that oversees drainage, sewer and water systems in New Orleans faces an audit of its spending of federal money received following Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans news outlets report that the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General notified the Sewe..

Iowa City May Raise Sewer User Fees for Infrastructure Upgrades

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A city in central Iowa has approved a plan to spend $73 million over 15 years to improve the city’s sewer system, a move that could lead to rate increases. The Waterloo City Council unanimously approved a sanitary sewer improvement plan Tuesday in order to comply with a ..

SoCalGas Starts Work on Innovative Fiber-Optic Installation to Monitor Pipelines in Real-Time

Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced it has commenced construction on a first-of-its kind, fiber optic cable installation that will allow the company to monitor the condition of its high-pressure transmission pipelines in real-time. The fiber optic technology is being installed alo..

Fetid Attraction: London Fatberg to Go on Museum Display

LONDON (AP) — Part of a monster fatberg that clogged one of London’s sewers is destined for fame in a museum. The Museum of London says it will put the only remaining chunk of the 130-metric-ton (143-U.S.-ton) mass of oil, fat, diapers and baby wipes on display early next year. Workers f..

Technology Helps Utility Reduce Response Time to Fix Water Main Breaks

ARCOS® LLC has implemented its ARCOS CallOut® and Scheduling solution at Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Tennessee American Water to automate how the utility’s distribution department responds to customer emergencies. For Tennessee American Water, a subsidiary of American Water, responding to emergencies i..

McElroy's DataLogger 6 to be Incorporated into Getac's ZX70 Tablet

McElroy has selected Getac’s ZX70 tablet to be incorporated into the company’s DataLogger 6 solution for quality assurance in the field. The ZX70 is a lightweight, 7-inch Android tablet whose fully-rugged design enables it to withstand the harshest conditions. It runs on the Android 6.0 platform and..

Global CIPP Market To Reach Nearly $2.5 Billion by 2022

Among trenchless rehabilitation techniques, cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) is gaining popularity. In fact,  a new report from Stratview Research, The Global Cured-In-Place Pipe Market: Highlights, projects the global market will reach $2.49 billion in 2022. Major drivers of the growth include the agin..

RELINE UV Forms U.S. Subsidiary

The RELINE UV group, based in Rohrbach, Germany, has formed a subsidiary company in the United States to offer ultra violet (UV) cured-in-place pipe liner products, curing and support equipment in both the U.S. and Canada. RELINE UV includes the companies RELINEEUROPE, RELINECHINA and RELINEJAPAN. A..

Minnesota Lacks Funding to Update Aging Infrastructure

LITTLE FALLS, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota doesn’t have enough funding to update all of its aging underground infrastructure. Minnesota Public Radio reports that water and sewer pipes are reaching the end of their expected life spans in many areas across the state. Jeff Freeman is the executiv..

Roadway Reopening at Site of Massive Michigan Sinkhole

FRASER, Mich. (AP) — A roadway that was closed after a sewer line collapse caused a massive suburban Detroit sinkhole has reopened to traffic. A ribbon-cutting took place for 15 Mile Road in Fraser at the site of the Christmas Eve collapse before it reopened Tuesday morning. Macomb County Public Wo..

Milwaukee Alderman: Armed Sewer Subcontractors Won't be Tolerated

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A Milwaukee alderman says a sewer subcontracting company doing business with the city has been asked to explain why three of its workers were apparently armed with handguns while working on the north side. A photo of the three American Sewer Services employees got some traction on ..

CIPP Lateral Sewer Rehabilitation: Does It Perform As Expected?

By Larry Kiest, Jr. A major challenge faced by nearly every utility is how to address its aging underground infrastructure. Sewer pipes are failing from coast to coast as America finds itself on a fast track to replace or renew sewer collection systems. A major driving force is the mandate set fort..

Parked Car Falls into Hole Formed When Old Water Pipe Breaks

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — A major water main break has opened up several holes on a New Hampshire street, and a parked car has fallen into one of them. WMUR-TV reports the empty car was lifted out of the hole in Manchester just before 9 a.m. Wednesday. Officials say the water pipe broke just after 5 ..

Lawsuit Alleges Michigan City Forced Labor on Residents

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — A federal lawsuit alleges that Ann Arbor imposed forced labor on 3,000 residents by requiring home owners to maintain mandatory sump pumps in the southeast Michigan city. Attorney Irvin Mermelstein filed the lawsuit against Ann Arbor on behalf of four residents in late Octob..

Work Wrapping up on Site of Massive Michigan Sinkhole

FRASER, Mich. (AP) — Officials say repair work prompted by a sewer line that collapsed and caused a football field-sized sinkhole north of Detroit is expected to finish a couple days before the one-year anniversary of the massive mishap. The Macomb Daily reported Wednesday crews have just a f..

Water, Wastewater Apprenticeship Program Receives $250K in Funding

CoBank today announced a partnership with the National Rural Water Association (NRWA) to underwrite a program that will target and train the next generation of technical workers needed to ensure the future operation of critical water and wastewater systems in rural communities. The $250..

Baltimore Begs People Not to Dump Grease Down Drain

BALTIMORE (AP) — Are you the sort of person who dumps greasy globs of congealed fat and oil down the drain when washing up? If so, Baltimore’s public works department wants you to knock it off this Thanksgiving. The agency is asking residents to refrain from pouring cooking fats, oils and grease “..

More than $84 Million Awarded for Sewer, Water Projects in Florida

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently provided more than $84 million toward the completion of four water quality improvement projects in Central and South Florida. The funding was awarded through DEP’s Division of Water Restoration Assistance’s various funding resources a..

ASTM International Standard Aims to Reduce Contamination and Costs in Plastic Pipe Production

ASTM International announced its committee on plastic piping systems is developing a new standard that aims to use best practices to prevent contamination in manufacturing polyethylene pipe and fittings. According to ASTM International member Eugene Palermo, manufacturers could use the standard to ..

ARCOS' Software to Help Electric Utility Expedite Service Restoration

ARCOS LLC today announced it has started the process of implementing its ARCOS® Callout and Scheduling Suite to help Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC) expedite electric service restoration, focus on safety and reduce the utility’s System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI), whic..

New York Accepting Nominations for Public Service Award

New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that nominations are now being accepted for the Empire Star Public Service Award, a $5,000 professional development scholarship program for state employees. Nominations are being accepted for those who have distinguished themselves through their dedication..

National Grid, Department of Energy to Collaborate on Grid Modernization and Energy Storage Research

National Grid and the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have entered into an agreement to work together on research in the areas of transmission grid modernization and energy storage technologies. The electricity industry is undergoing sweeping changes, inclu..

Envirosight Releases Sewer Rehab Cutter Bit Selection Poster

To serve as a visual guide for sewer rehabilitation workers to follow when identifying the best cutter bit to use in any pipeline rehabilitation project, Pipeline Renewal Technologies, an Envirosight company, has released a new Rehab Cutter Bit Selection poster. The poster outlines the optimal condi..

Largest Public Tender Database for Water, Sewer Utilities Now Available

AquaSPE AG and H2bid have joined forces to make the largest public tender database for U.S. and Canadian water and wastewater utilities available on The Water Network. Effective immediately, contractors can visit The Water Network’s Business Exchange to view thousands of public tenders sorted by sp..

Meet the World’s Fastest and Most Powerful Temporary Fiber-Optic Network

Most high-speed, high-bandwidth networks consist of fiber optic cable that is permanently installed in protective walls, ceilings and flooring, or buried underground in thick, waterproof conduits. But building the world’s fastest and most powerful temporary network from the ground up each year for t..

Fiber Optic Sensing Association Releases Interactive Map Highlighting Global Installations

The Fiber Optic Sensing Association (FOSA) has released an interactive map providing a geographic breakdown of more than 1,300 installations of distributed fiber optic sensing (DFOS) around the world.  The data reflects the largest representative sample ever published. Key insights include: ..