The United States has a high level of water utility fragmentation. There are many small providers and utilities spread throughout various states, cities, districts, and zones. This system has made it water infrastructure management difficult and multi-layered. However, some utilities have begun to see benefits in merging or consolidating to make management easier. Nasdaq … [Read more...]
Asset Management Reflections on the Water Infrastructure Act
The U.S. Senate and the President signed a new piece of legislation that is set to improve the upgrade and maintenance of water infrastructure all over the country. The Water Infrastructure Act (known as WIA) will allow states to put more finance into water infrastructure and is hoped to ensure the eventual reality of all Americans having personal access to safe drinking water. Water … [Read more...]
Water Utility Management Lessons from Lansing’s Water System Project
Lansing, Michigan has succeeded in replacing all of it's 12,500 lead pipes. This large project has come at a high cost for the utility, but with careful investment, it has become a very manageable cost. The city has succeeded in avoiding problems that have arisen in other areas of the state of Michigan by thinking ahead and realizing that replacing old water infrastructure is crucial and … [Read more...]
Applying Infrastructure Asset Management Practice to Shun “Day Zero”
Cape Town, South Africa is facing a very dire situation due to a three-year-long mega-drought. By May, the city was expecting to have to turn off its water supply and hand out a meager 25 liters per day to its citizens, who will have to make their way through long and potentially dangerous crowds to one of 200 distribution points throughout the city. The shut-off day - known as "Day Zero" - … [Read more...]
Asset Management Perspective on the August 2017 Unsafe Drinking Water Report USA
News21’s investigative report that around 63 million Americans are exposed to unsafe drinking water is making headlines in the USA’s major online news agencies. The report examined the Environmental Protection Agency violations on water quality and monitoring affecting places from California to New York City The USA Today reports: The findings highlight how six decades of industrial … [Read more...]
California Legislation Recognizes Watersheds as Critical Infrastructure
It is no secret that the US State of California has spent the last hundred years creating a vast system and network of pipes, pump stations, and aqueducts that reach far and wide into distant regions in order to filter water from remote rivers into hard to reach dry zones in the Southern part of the state. It's an engineering marvel, but only so long as the ecosystems they are drawing from can … [Read more...]
New Investment Center Initiative to Aid Water Systems and Development in Western USA
The U.S. Department of the Interior launched a new center in December 2015 to encourage water infrastructure investment in the dry West of the United States. The Natural Resource Investment Center (NRIC) has been set up in the hopes that new infrastructure will be developed and invested in as well as increased conservation of existing water. Ecosystem Marketplace reports: "It is not yet … [Read more...]
Infrastructure Asset Management Planning Thoughts on EPA-Funded Water Infrastructure Projects of Connecticut
On 1 December 2015, EPA announced it had awarded Connecticut $26 million to help finance water improvement projects. These funds are intended for the upgrading of sewage plants and drinking water systems, as well as dealing with aging infrastructure through the state. The EPA reports: "This funding will pay for projects that improve water quality and protect drinking water across … [Read more...]
21st Century Innovations to Solve Water Shortages – Infrastructure Management
It has been observed by many that quite often water utilities are trying to replace aging infrastructure from the 20th century or earlier with very similar infrastructure such as central water and wastewater systems. What if this thinking was turned upside down? What if new, innovative, 21st-century technology could be employed to cut water prices and water infrastructure costs while increasing … [Read more...]
Forging Public-Private Agreement as a Water Utility Infrastructure Management Strategy
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 EPCOR Water to purchase water from MWD and ultimately decrease its reliance on groundwater … [Read more...]
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 (which is receiving $299 Million) and the Emergency Community Water Assistance Grant (ECWAG) program, … [Read more...]
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 overuse of groundwater during dry spells. The Southwest Florida Water Management District, or … [Read more...]
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