Water

Michigan Infrastructure Commission Wants Public Input Through Website

LANSING, MICH. (AP) – A state commission responsible for identifying ways to update Michigan’s infrastructure has created a website to receive public input. The 21st Century Infrastructure Commission’s website is www.miinfrastructurecommission.com. It allows residents to participate in online discu..

SAK Construction Begins Multiple Baltimore/D.C. Projects

SAK Construction (SAK), a national pipeline rehabilitation and tunneling services contractor, is beginning work on $21.7 million of contracts won throughout the Baltimore, MD, and Washington DC regions. SAK is repairing the sewer and pipeline infrastructure in these metropolitan areas by utilizing s..

Michigan Board OKs More Money for Flint Water Crisis Probe

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan board has approved the state attorney general’s request for $3.4 million more to investigate Flint’s water crisis, an amount that would more than triple overall spending on the probe. The request was approved Tuesday by the State Administrative Board. Representative..

Stantec Acquires Firm Focused On Resources For Built Infrastructure

In the second quarter of 2016, Stantec announced the completion of its acquisition of MWH Global – a 6,800-person engineering, consulting and construction management firm focused on water and natural resources for built infrastructure and the environment. This acquisition expands Stantec’s position ..

DCA/AGA Workshop Dives Into New Issues, Workforce Development

The Distribution Contractors Association (DCA) and American Gas Association (AGA) recently held the Third Annual DCA/AGA workshop in Chicago. The workshop has grown in interest, attendance and in the range of issues addressed by a host of panels and speakers. These sessions discussed ways to improve..

While Water Rates Rise, Infrastructure Remains In Jeopardy

A survey published by Circle of Blue – an award-winning network of journalists and researchers, who report on water and worldwide resource issues – reported the price of municipal water in the United States is rising faster than any other city household expense. The network’s annual water rates tra..

Mitsubishi Electric and Sembcorp Industries to Testbed Ozone Backwashing Energy-Saving Membrane Bioreactor

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation will collaborate with Sembcorp Industries Ltd in late-stage testing of its Ozone Backwashing Energy-Saving Membrane Bioreactor (Eco-MBR), a new technology for low-energy wastewater treatment and water recycling. According to Mitsubishi Electric, initial tests have sh..

New York to Cooperate with Drinking Water Probe

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – A spokesman for Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the state will cooperate with a congressional committee request for information about the chemical PFOA in an upstate New York village’s drinking water. He said Cuomo hopes the end result is that Congress and the government act swiftly to i..

PG&E Tests Safety Drones For Infrastructure Inspections

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced its current testing of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones, to enhance the safety and reliability of its electric and gas services. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorized PG&E’s use of drones to assist with electric and gas infra..

American Water Seeks Approval Of Plan in WV

West Virginia American Water filed an application with the Public Service Commission of West Virginia (PSC) seeking approval of an Infrastructure Replacement Program (IRP). The purpose of an IRP is to address the national challenge of aging infrastructure by directing additional investment to areas ..

Pennsylvania American Water To Acquire New Cumberland Wastewater System

Pennsylvania American Water, a subsidiary of American Water, announced it reached an agreement to acquire the wastewater assets of the Borough of New Cumberland in Cumberland County, earlier this year. Pennsylvania American Water and the Borough will seek approval of the acquisition from the Pennsy..

Interceptor Condition Assessment Program Spurs Environmental, Economic Benefits

The Fort Worth (Texas) Water Department earned a 2016 Texas Environmental Excellence Award – the highest environmental honor in the state – in the category of Innovative Operations/Management for its Interceptor Condition Assessment Program (ICAP), This new technology allows for more effective inspe..

Making A Triumph Out Of Tragedy

by Robert Carpenter Editor-in-Chief For a surprisingly large number of contractors and manufacturers in the infrastructure markets, the first half of 2016 has seen a tepid advance, even with favorable economic winds at their backs. Must be an election year. There are exceptions. The horizontal dir..

Surging 28%, US Municipal Water Infrastructure Forecast Reaches $532 Billion

Capital expenditures (CAPEX) for U.S. municipal water & wastewater utilities – including spending on pipes, plants, and pumps – are expected to exceed $532 billion between 2016 and 2025, according to new forecasts from Bluefield Research. This new outlook, which draws heavily from planned utility bu..

Feds Say Everyone in Flint Can Drink Filtered Tap Water

DETROIT (AP) — Filtered tap water is safe for everyone in Flint, Michigan, the federal government said Thursday, lifting a recommendation that pregnant women, nursing mothers and children under 6 drink only bottled water to avoid lead exposure. The announcement was based on tests of filters that ha..

American Water Receives 22 National Awards for Excellence in Water Quality

American Water Works Company, Inc. has been awarded 22 Partnership for Safe Water awards. The awards, which recognize water treatment facilities that have achieved higher than required water quality standards, will be presented during the 2016 American Water Works Association Annual Conference in Ch..

Michigan Sues Companies That 'Botched,' Worsened Flint Water

FLINT, Michigan (AP) — Michigan’s attorney general filed a civil lawsuit Wednesday against two water engineering companies, saying their negligence caused and exacerbated Flint’s lead-tainted water crisis and demanding what could total hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. Veolia and Lockwood..

EIV Capital and Partners Commit $100 Million to H2O Midstream

H2O Midstream, LLC has secured an initial funding commitment of $100 million, with investments from EIV Capital and co-investments from several of EIV’s institutional partners, as the company pursues oil and gas opportunities related to water infrastructure throughout North America. “We see a treme..

TPH Partners Form Multi-Service Water Business

Houston-based TPH Partners formed EnWater Solutions by combining of its existing water business in the Permian with assets acquired from Abilene, TX-based Pelagic Water Systems. The new company’s services are applicable to high-volume saltwater disposal facilities, and permanent and temporary water ..

18th Annual HDD Survey: Diverse Markets Drive HDD Forward

To say that we are in confusing economic times would be an understatement, not only for the United States but the world in its entirety. The U.S. market confusions result primarily from a mix of political uncertainty, lackluster economic growth and performance, and the collapse of the oil and gas in..

Flint: Problems Persist For Poisoned City

by Chantel Green, Associate Editor More than eight months have passed since the drinking water source in Flint, MI, was switched back to the Great Lakes, after a detrimental extended use of the Flint River – a decision that poisoned city residents, brought criminal charges against city and state of..

Water Organizations, EPA Release Effective Utility Management Report

Eight heavy-hitters in the water and utility industries collaborated with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop the Effective Utility Management (EUM) Report entitled, Taking the Next Step: Findings of the EUM Review Steering Group, which was announced at the National Wa..

Repairs to Pipeline that Waters Largest Navajo Farm Finished

FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) – Repairs to a pipeline that supplies water to the largest farm on the Navajo Nation are finished. The Farmington Daily Times reports that testing will begin this weekend on the fixed pipe, which supplies water to 72,000 acres of farmland in northwestern New Mexico. A decades..

Flint Tests System to Boost Chlorine in Drinking Water

Flint, Mich. (AP) — A utility official in Flint, Michigan, says the test of the temporary pumping system that will increase chlorine levels in the city’s drinking water went well. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had recommended that Flint install a system by Friday. Utilities chief JoLisa ..

Flint-Inspired Water Infrastructure Bill Takes First Step Forward

A Senate committee passed a bill authorizing a new $100 million fund for cities like Flint, MI, which have drinking water emergencies on April 29. The bill also fully funds $70 million (i.e. no separate appropriation is needed) for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Water Infrastructure Fin..

Case Releases Preventative Maintenance Tool Systemgard Fluid Analysis Kit

Case Construction Equipment has released the 4-in-1 Systemgard Fluid Analysis Kit – a preventative maintenance tool providing a picture of fluid and internal system conditions without the need for users to dissemble the machine. The kit monitors system cleanliness and filtration efficiency, which a..

Suit Seeks to Have Philadelphia Replace Lead Service Pipes

Philadelphia (AP) — A Philadelphia woman filed a lawsuit on Thursday seeking to have the city replace all lead service pipes running into homes from water mains and pay for a lead medical monitoring program. The lawsuit, filed by Eleni Delopoulos, alleged the city put her family and thousands of Ph..

EPA Reaches Settlement with Acme Foundry for Industrial Stormwater Violations

EPA Region 7 reached an administrative settlement with Acme Foundry, Inc to resolve industrial stormwater violations under the Clean Water Act. Under the settlement, Acme Foundry must comply with its industrial stormwater permit, pay a penalty of $28,975, and implement a Supplemental Environmental P..

Texas Water Development Board adopts 2017 State Water Plan

On May 19, the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) unanimously voted to adopt the 2017 State Water Plan. Conservation strategies are by far the most frequently recommended strategy in the plan, accounting for over one quarter of strategy supplies in 2070. The capital costs associated with impleme..

MyMaintenance Joins Growing List of John Deere Mobile Applications for Construction Professionals

The new John Deere MyMaintenance mobile application takes preventative maintenance and repairs to the next level for construction maintenance managers. The app enables users to view and document maintenance intervals by calendar date or by machine engine hours right on the jobsite or in the workshop..