Utility Infrastructure
Feds To Give Update On California’s Big Water Tunnels
The federal regulators evaluating Gov. Jerry Brown’s decades-old ambitions to re-engineer the water supplies from California’s largest river are promising a status update Monday, as Brown’s $16 billion proposal to shunt part of the Sacramento through two mammoth tunnels awaits a crucial yes or no fr..
Maine Regulators, FairPoint Agree on $175K Settlement
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine utility regulators and FairPoint Communications are in agreement on a $175,000 settlement after the company failed to meet performance benchmarks from 2014 to last year. The state Public Utilities Commission’s staff had recommended $500,000 in fines after FairPoint..
Montana City Takes Ownership of Water Utility
MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — The city of Missoula has taken ownership of the water utility that serves its residents after a three-year court battle. The city bought Mountain Water Co. for $83.86 million and paid another $6.8 million to developers who had a claim against the company. Those amounts ..
Philadelphia Expanding, Improving Low-income Water Program
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Water Department is launching a new program next month to provide discounted service to low-income families. Philly.com (http://bit.ly/2sRCnQx ) says the city expects about 50,000 households to participate, about five times as many as the city’s current program ..
Settlement Approved in 2016 Seattle Natural Gas Explosion
SEATTLE (AP) — The state’s largest energy utility will pay at least $1.5 million for a natural gas explosion in Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood last year. The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission on Monday approved a settlement between Puget Sound Energy and commission staff reached ..
Republicans Ready Regulatory Relief for Pipelines
It looks like, based on two recent hearings, that GOP members of the House are focused on providing the pipeline industry with regulatory relief as part of any infrastructure bill which comes before Congress. One House committee held hearings in May on a discussion draft of legislation containing ch..
California to Require Utilities to Plug Gas Leaks Big and Small
LOS ANGELES (AP) — California regulators adopted a stricter rule Thursday that requires utilities to plug leaks in natural gas lines. The rule adopted by California Public Utilities Commission aims to cut 40 percent of the potent greenhouse gases emitted from leaking pipes and gas distribution syst..
$90 Million Contract Awarded for Construction of Stormwater Conveyance System
The Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati has awarded Kokosing Industrial Inc. an $89.9 million construction contract for the Lick Run Greenway Project, a 1.5-mile stormwater conveyance system designed to keep hundreds of millions of gallons of combined sewer overflow out of the Mill Cre..
Ten Underground Mechanics Complete PECO's Comprehensive Training Program
PECO today announced that ten new underground apprentice mechanics celebrated their completion of a rigorous 15-week training program – joining the front lines to ensure safe and reliable service for PECO’s 1.6 million electric customers. More than 600 people applied for this year’s program, which d..
West Virginia American Water Seeks Infrastructure Rate Hike
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia American Water Co. has asked state regulators to endorse infrastructure improvements that would boost the average residential customer’s bill by $1.04 per month. The company’s application was filed Thursday with the Public Service Commission. The company says..
Technology Helps Utility Reduce Methane Emissions from Pipeline
Southern California Gas Co. recently used innovative gas capture technology to empty natural gas from a permanently abandoned pipeline in Santa Clarita, Calif. The special process enables gas to be saved for later use while eliminating noise and emissions that occur in the traditional venting metho..
PG&E Senior VP and Chief Nuclear Officer to Retire
Edward D. Halpin, Senior Vice President, Generation and Chief Nuclear Officer of Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and a 35-year veteran of the energy industry, has announced his retirement, effective December 31, 2017. “Ed has done an outstanding job leading our nuclear and power generation operat..
Utility Earns National Safety Award
For the second straight year, Florida Public Utilities Company, a subsidiary of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation, has received a Safety Achievement Award from the American Gas Association for excellence in employee safety. The selection was based on criteria that included professional and person..
Aqua America Receives Approval to Acquire Pennsylvania Wastewater System
Aqua America, Inc. today announced its largest subsidiary, Aqua Pennsylvania, received approval from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to purchase the wastewater assets of New Garden Township, serving approximately 2,100 customer connections in southeast Pennsylvania’s Chester County. Aqua..
Gas Pipeline Project Expected to Cause Traffic Delays in New Mexico
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) – A utility company will be realigning a six-mile stretch of natural gas pipeline along New Mexico State Road 68, causing traffic delays in the height of the Rio Grande tourist season. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported (http://bit.ly/2s5GBmo ) Wednesday New Mexico Gas Co. plans ..
Eversource Starts Pipeline Construction Project in Connecticut
Eversource Energy has started construction on a multi-phase project that will improve the reliability of the company’s natural gas distribution lines in Connecticut The company will invest $14 million in 2017 on the first phase of a 17-mile-long project that, once completed, will connect existing g..
Regulators to Investigate Water Utility in Bribery Scheme
PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Corporation Commission has voted to review the rates, operations and finances of a San Tan Valley water utility company connected with an alleged bribery scheme. The commission will also have a consultant look at a 2013 policy change that allowed 28 utilities officials ..
New Mexico Utility Executive Elected to Lead Industry Group
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A national association that represents investor-owned electric companies has elected its first woman to serve as chairman of the board. The Edison Electric Institute announced the election of Pat Vincent-Collawn on Tuesday during its annual convention in Boston. Vincent-Col..
Rice Electronics Launches Connected Worker Solution
Rice Electronics has launched the Connected Worker Solution with Intel® IoT technology. Designed to improve the safety and productivity of field workers in industrial environments, the end-to-end IoT solution using Rice Electronics smart devices along with Intel-based IoT gateways provides robust co..
American Water Receives 18 National Awards for Excellence in Water Quality
American Water Works Company, Inc. today announced it has received 18 Partnership for Safe Water awards. The awards, which honor the efforts in continuously optimizing treatment plant and distribution system operation and performance, were presented during the 2017 American Water Works Association A..
Water Research Foundation Announces Award Winners
The Water Research Foundation has awarded the 2017 Dr. Pankaj Parekh Research Innovation Award to Stuart Krasner from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and two Outstanding Subscriber Awards for Applied Research to the City of Calgary and Tarrant Regional Water District. Krasner ..
Water Reuse Becomes Long-Term Supply Strategy
Uncertainty about traditional water supplies is sparking investment among municipal water utilities in water reuse and desalination projects to mitigate risk, as highlighted by a new report from Bluefield Research. “Utility customers are already facing higher water rates – up 25 percent since 2012 ..
Artesian Resources Corporation Announces Leadership Change
Artesian Resources Corporation has appointed Joseph A. DiNunzio as President of Artesian Water Maryland, Inc. DiNunzio has served as Executive Vice President and Secretary of Artesian Resources Corporation since 2007. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President and Secretary and Vice President a..
Report: Water Utilities Must Embrace Innovation
More than half of water utility leaders globally have yet to embrace innovation and risk missing out on important “sustainability dividends,” according to a new Arcadis report, “Empowering Water Utility Innovation, which builds on a 190-page industry guidance manual, “Fostering Innovation Within Wat..
New Jersey American Water Exceeds Federal, State Standards
New Jersey American Water’s has released its annual Water Quality Reports, which show the utility’s drinking water exceeds state and federal standards in all of the 190 municipalities it serves. “We are pleased to report that the drinking water we supplied to our customers is of higher quality than..
Black & Veatch Report: Water Utility Leaders Driving Toward Sustainability
Black & Veatch has released its 2017 Strategic Directions: Water Industry Report, which addresses the increasing focus on sustainability, as well as the equally diverse strategies used by industry leaders to achieve it. According to the report, customer education, infrastructure modernization and t..
Utility's Water Quality Surpasses Regulatory Standards
According to results published in Illinois American Water’s 2016 Consumer Confidence Report, the company’s water quality surpassed regulatory standards. “The reports show that we continue to supply water to our customers that is of higher quality than required by state and federal standards,” said ..
Eversource Energy Acquires Aquarion Water Company
In an acquisition that will combine New England’s largest energy company with the region’s largest private water company, Eversource Energy has reached an agreement to acquire Aquarion Water Company for an enterprise value of $1.675 billion, comprised of $880 million in cash and $795 million of assu..
Construction Error Dumps up to 1,000 Gallons of Raw Sewage
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Construction in Vermont’s capital city hit a snag over the weekend after utility workers drilled into a sewer line Friday, dumping hundreds of gallons of raw sewage into the Winooski River. A Montpelier Public Works spokesman says the leak wasn’t discovered until Saturd..
Report Calls for “Internet of Water” for Sustainability
The Aspen Institute Energy and Environment Program, the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University and Redstone Strategy Group have released Internet of Water: Sharing and Integrating Water Data for Sustainability, a Aspen Institute Dialogue Series on Water Data report ..
- Intrepid Fiber breaks ground on fiber optic network in Superior, Colo.
- Excavator collides with I-95 overpass in Henrico, Va., causing multi-vehicle crash
- Shrewsbury, Mass., expands sewer inspections and cleaning efforts
- Construction worker killed in trench collapse near Prosperity, S.C.
- Two workers rescued after hours trapped in Mich. trench collapse
- Texas contractor penalized by OSHA for repeated trench safety violations
- Final construction phase kicks off for Indianapolis deep rock tunnel
- WES tunnel boring machine retrieved from Oregon river after seven-month project
- Illinois overhauls Peoples Gas pipeline program, mandates focus on high-risk pipes
- Ameren Illinois to invest $140 million in natural gas pipeline replacement program