Utility Infrastructure
Manufacturers Highlight Importance of Our Nation’s Infrastructure
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is joining other businesses, labor organizations and elected officials across the United States to tell policymakers and citizens to promote the need for more investment. Strong, resilient infrastructure is critical to our country’s economic growth and..
CIGMAT 2016 Focuses On Further Advancement
The Center for Innovative Grouting Materials and Technology (CIGMAT) and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Houston, hosted its 21st annual, one-day conference and exhibition on at the University of Houston, March 4. More than 330 individuals and 14 invited speakers..
Americans' Water Rates are Rising While Infrastructure Remains in Peril, Says New Survey; Special Town Hall on Finance and Infrastructure Held in Response
The price Americans pay for municipal water is rising faster than any other city household expense, according to a new survey published today by Circle of Blue, the award-winning network of journalists and researchers that reports on water and worldwide resource issues. Circle of Blue’s annual wate..
$546 Billion Needed in U.S., Canada Energy Infrastructure Investment
The United States and Canada will require annual average midstream natural gas, crude oil and natural gas liquids midstream energy infrastructure investment of about $26 billion per year, or $546 billion (real 2015$) total over the 21-year period from 2015 to 2035, a new study finds. The report, “N..
5,000 Linear Feet Of Overhead Power Lines Go Underground In Arizona
Millions of miles of overhead utilities are strung across the United States, but the unreliability of overhead utility lines as well as increasing maintenance and operating costs have led more municipalities, particularly in urban areas, to convert their overhead distribution lines to underground. ..
Water Delivery Commences For Colorado’s Southern Delivery System
The Southern Delivery System (SDS), one of the largest water projects under construction in the western United States, began the first phase of commercial operation in late April. Community leaders, contractors and partner communities celebrated the end of a busy 2015 with significant progress and ..
California’s $15.7 Billion San Joaquin River Delta Tunnel Plan Enters Pivotal Year
As originally reported by The Associated Press, California is proposing its most ambitious water project in a half-century. At $15.7 billion, the project proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown would run two giant tunnels, each four stories high, for 35 miles under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in Nor..
Pad Your Trench or Haul Material with Ozzie's Mini-padder
With Ozzie’s Mini-padder, you can pad and backfill your trench or haul and/or handle material with a loader bucket, all with one machine. This mini-padding machine features a quick-connect padding head system that allows it to be quickly converted from a padding machine to a track-powered loader. O..
West Virginia Water Utility Files Infrastructure Replacement Program
West Virginia American Water filed an application with the Public Service Commission of West Virginia (PSC) pursuing approval of an Infrastructure Replacement Program (IRP). An IRP is used to address the national challenge of aging infrastructure by directing additional investment to areas where imp..
DTE Announces Plans to Invest $1.4 Billion In Natural Gas Pipeline Infrastructure
Over the next five years, DTE Gas plans to invest $1.4 billion into its Michigan natural gas pipeline infrastructure in an effort to maintain the safety and reliability of the system, while simultaneously striving to achieve affordability for its residential and business customers. The plans includ..
Lead Pipe Spurs Panic Mode
by Robert Carpenter, Editor-in-Chief Flint, MI, Newark, NJ, Goodsprings, NV, Greentown, IN, Jackson, MS – the current public knee-jerk reaction to possible lead poisoning from corroded lead pipe has spread faster than a zombie plague across the country. But like all types of public hysteria stirred..
Tracking EPA Consent Decrees
As has been well-documented in the underground sewer infrastructure industry, the impact of a United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) consent decree upon a city is tremendous, both in terms of financial obligations and scope of new construction and rehabilitation work for sewer systems. ..
Water Sector Groups Join Forces, Launch Recognition Program
The National Association of Clear Water Agencies (NACWA), the Water Environment Federation (WEF), the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) – with support from the U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) – announced their partnership in a new Utility of the Future (UOTF) Today Recognition ..
New Report Exposes Serious Gaps in Michigan Water and Sewer Infrastructure Investment
A new report commissioned by the Michigan Infrastructure & Transportation Association (MITA) found that Michigan and its communities are not keeping up with the multimillion-dollar investments needed to ensure clean drinking water and wastewater treatment for residents and businesses now and in the ..
Contractor Installs Large Diameter Pipeline Aimed At Alleviating Flint Crisis With Long-Term Solution
In the wake of the Flint, MI water crisis, a huge spotlight has been turned on infrastructure in America – specifically the country’s miles-long network of aging underground water pipes. While there are new short-term efforts to bring fresh water into Flint, plans have been in the works for several ..
McMillen Jacobs, New Irvington Tunnel Project Awarded Top Honor
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission New Irvington Tunnel project was awarded the 2016 Project of the Year Award in the Environment Category by the American Public Works Association for projects exceeding $75 million. McMillen Jacobs Associates, an environmental, engineering and constructio..
OSHA Announces New Silica Rules For Utility Construction
By Stephen Barlas, Washington Editor Many heavy equipment operations involved in utility system construction will be affected by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) new final rule upgrading requirements for protecting employees from breathable crystalline silica, a byproduct ..
National Safe Digging Month 2016 One Call List
Whether you are a professional excavator, contractor, engineer or utility owner, you play an important role keeping people safe with every dig. Laws governing excavation vary by state, and they can be confusing. Answering the question, “Do I have to call 811?” can be difficult if you don’t understan..
Third Annual Itron Resourcefulness Index Reveals the Utility Industry’s Opportunity to Lead Transformation
Itron, Inc. a world-leading technology and services company dedicated to the resourceful use of energy and water, announced today the release of the third annual Itron Resourcefulness Index report, a global survey and index benchmarking energy and water resources management. In its largest study to..
#TBT Subsite 950 R/T Locator Features Technology Advances
by Elizabeth Fitzpatrick Art Director It’s Throwback Thursday, that time of week when you realize you’re suddenly much older than you used to be. Today we take a trip back to March 2001 and our First Look column: Subsite 950 Locator Features Technology Advances. (Click here for larger view of pag..
S&N Communications Awarded a New Large Project Locating Contract
S&N Communications, a company specializing in locating, utilities and infrastructure construction, was awarded a new large project locating contract with AGL Resources, the parent company of Virginia Natural Gas; the project comprises underground utility locating in Georgia with work that was set to..
Sustainable Water Infrastructure Act Designed to Prevent Another Water Crisis Like Flint
As reported by the Clean Water Council (CWC), in mid-February, U.S. Senators Robert Menendez and Cory Booker, together with Congressman Bill Pascrell, outlined federal legislation designed to prevent another water crisis, such as the ongoing issues in Flint, MI. The Sustainable Water Infrastructure..
DC Water, WEF Launch Green Infrastructure Certification Program
DC Water and the Water Environment Federation (WEF) signed an agreement to collaborate in the development of a National Green Infrastructure Certification Program aimed at promoting skilled individuals who will install, inspect and maintain green infrastructure (GI) systems. In addition, the program..
Trenchless Elbow Spot Repair System From Infrastructure Repair Systems
Infrastructure Repair Systems Inc., a manufacturer and supplier of patented trenchless infrastructure repair and rehabilitation products, has introduced the Trenchless 90° Elbow Spot Repair system to seal joints, cracks or missing sections within the 90-degree curve of virtually any 4- to 6- inch pi..
Minor Pipeline Provision In House Energy Bill
Federal agencies will have less of a chance to slow down applications for pipeline construction if the Senate passes the energy bill which cleared the House in December. The North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2015 (H.R. 8) passed the House by a vote of 249-174, which means it h..
Underground Construction 19th Annual Municipal Survey
Show Me The Money: Post Great-Recession, City Budgets Are Increasing But Not Nearly Enough according to our 19th Annual Municipal Survey. In 2015, more than half of the municipalities across the United States got a rare taste of what has become an exotic, opiate-like substance – and they liked it...
Momentum For NASSCO Initiatives Continues
by Jeff Griffin, Senior Editor It seems like every year is an eventful time for National Association of Sewer Service Companies (NASSCO), the national organization dedicated to improving standards relating to the assessment, maintenance and rehabilitation of underground wastewater infrastructure. ..
Fitch’s Ratings Projection For Municipal Water, Sewer Utility Sectors
According to Fitch’s Ratings 2016 outlook report, U.S. municipal water, sewer utility sectors are facing increased pressure to the bottom line due to rising costs and lower sales. Despite the trials, Fitch’s Ratings and Sector Outlooks for municipal water and sewer utilities are stable. The sector i..
Hawaii Geophysical Solves Underground Problems
Even paradise needs air conditioning. To prove the point, Honolulu Seawater Air Conditioning LLC, is in the early stages of a 25-year contract that will use innovative, energy-saving technology to provide air conditioning to a large section of downtown Honolulu, HI. To address the challenges, Honolu..
Alaskan Villages Still Without Plumbing Infrastructure
Despite more than $2 billion in federal and state funding over the past 50 years to provide for essentials such as running water, residents in at least 30 secluded Alaskan villages live without basic plumbing infrastructure. With the State of Alaska facing tightening budgets, traditional piped wate..
- Tunnel boring machine ‘Clack-A-Mole’ nears one-third completion in Oregon outfall project
- Explosion in underground PG&E vault leaves one dead in Richmond, Calif.
- Sinkhole in Texas town accrues over $800,000 in sewer rehabilitation costs
- Water and Sewer Damage Awareness Week highlights infrastructure challenges
- Duke Energy undergrounds 48% of Florida power lines with plans to expand as hurricane season peaks
- Wisconsin proposes new PFAS drinking water standards to align with federal rules
- Elgin, Ill., joins EPA drinking water initiative to accelerate lead pipe replacement
- Dog River pipeline replacement in Oregon improves water supply with new HDPE pipe
- New Portable Welding System From Miller
- GasTracker Accurately Locates Plastic Gas Pipes