On 2 November 2015, the USDA Secretary announced that they will be awarding $314 Million to upgrade and repair water and wastewater systems across the US - mostly in rural communities. The money is being divided between two grant programs: the Waste and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program …
Dealing with Montreal’s Sewage – Infrastructure Management Thoughts
The city of Montreal, Quebec had planned to dump 7.5 billion liters of wastewater into the nearby St. Lawrence River on the 25th of October 2015, but the government, just one week away from the election, intervened and ordered them not to. The sewage dump was part of a plan to move a snow …
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World’s Biggest Thermal Hydrolysis Waste-to-Energy System and Infrastructure Management Planning
Washington DC should be the first city in the U.S. to start using thermal hydrolysis to convert biosolids from wastewater into renewable methane. The facility at Blue Plains then uses the methane to feed into three giant turbines which produce electricity at a net of 10 megawatts. Clean Technica …
Assessing Future Demand, Florida Sinkholes and Groundwater Pumping
A deadly sinkhole that claimed the life of a Florida man two years ago reopened last summer. Local authorities believe that this may be due to heavy rains. Sinkholes are often the result of groundwater levels becoming too low following excessive pumping. Florida has also seen wells dry up due to …
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Engineering Director in North Country, NY Promotes Asset Management
Carrie Tuttle is the director of engineering for the Development Authority of the North Country, New York. She has a joke about municipal water system maintenance: "No one cares until you turn on your faucet and there is no water." She realizes that because most water infrastructure is …
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Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Nationwide Attention in the USA
Des Moines, Iowa, and many other municipalities across the US are joined in realizing that they need to fix their drinking water infrastructure and fix it soon. The problem is money. There isn't enough to fund all the necessary repairs to aging systems. As a result, many Americans can expect …
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How Infrastructure Asset Management Can Help Tackle Sewage Problems in the USA
Municipal water treatment plants deal with the raw sewage of roughly 80 percent of America's households. Almost all of these facilities treat the waste and release the treated waste into a nearby body of water. However, often, if the plant is handling more than its capacity, untreated waste is …
Will “Smart Cities Initiative” Spur Cities to Invest in Infrastructure?
The former Obama Administration had noticed a problem in the U.S. - people don't feel inclined to invest in infrastructure. This, coupled with the fact that mass infrastructure and technology upgrades are needed across the country, has led the government to recently launch a new "smart cities" …
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Richwood, West Virginia Starts Exciting New Water Expansion
Hinkle Mountain and Little Laurel Road, Nicholas County, near Richwood, West Virginia are infamously known for being the only unwatered spots in the county. According to Mayor Robert Johnson, there has been hope for decades that Richwood would finally be able to upgrade and use its wastewater …
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Water Sector Partnership Tries to Raise Infrastructure Awareness
One of the biggest problems that organizations and utilities face in the water infrastructure face is making people aware that they even exist. One organization, Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor - a partnership of water sector companies, is trying to "make universal water access …
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Managing Severe Drought Conditions through Infrastructure Management Planning
Many U.S. states faced water shortage and drought conditions through 2015. This was partly to do with water sources (such as groundwater or snowpack levels) and partly to do with water and infrastructure management with these sources. USA Today has produced a list of the eight most severely …
Del Puerto, California May Buy Urban Wastewater As Drought Solution
Farmers in California are struggling to keep their crops irrigated and have turned to a new solution: buying urban wastewater. The Del Puerto Water District in the Central Valley is headed by Anne Hansen, who has definitely jumped on the urban wastewater solution bandwagon. Buying water on the …
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