Phoenix, Arizona's EPCOR Water, and Maricopa Water District announced an innovative agreement on the 17th of November 2015 that will assist in supplying water needs in western metropolitan Phoenix as land uses changes from farming to residential. The partnership is signed for 50 years, allowing …
USDA Provides $314 Million in Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Improvements in Rural Communities
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 …
Infrastructure Asset Management Solution to US Septic System Challenge
Nearly one-fifth of households in the USA are attached to septic tanks. These systems are generally fine when they are properly maintained but problems have become more frequent within these small waste management systems. Raw sewage leaks from septic tanks are causing health risks and …
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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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Imagine a Day Without Water – Kentucky Raises Water Infrastructure Awareness
Kentucky American Water is part of a nationwide initiative to raise public awareness of the crucial existence and maintainability of water infrastructure. This initiative is called "Imagine a Day Without Water" and hopes to put things into perspective for consumers who perhaps don't think about …
More Practical Tips on Infrastructure Asset Inventory
Ross: And coming right back to that slide with the truck and the road you know, you don’t know what you’re trying to answer and where you’re trying to get to, you’ll end up collecting the wrong information in the first place. Now the other thing, I think just advice on the inventory very …
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Doing Infrastructure Asset Inventory Right the First Time
In the earlier post "Infrastructure Asset Inventory – Lessons from New Zealand Experience", Ross shared the two mistakes they have done in their asset inventory process. He recalled collecting far too much small detail. Discussing further, Grant expressed that having too many details will cause …
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Infrastructure Asset Inventory – Lessons from New Zealand Experience
Ross: And we’re just going to jump forward to “Inventory”. We really want to talk about that because if you’re starting again, and if you’re starting, then one of the things that you’re going to need to do very very early on the piece, and then continue doing well with good quality is an …
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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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A Glimpse of NZ’s Infrastructure Asset Management Journey
Ross: And that’s a journey we still are on in New Zealand. We recently had a change in our legislation that we now have to produce 30–year infrastructure strategies. One of the things that you’ll find as you start. Well, I remember when I started my engineering career, we had annual budgets …
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