Wastewater Features

  1. Heavy Rain On Snow Is Testing Aging Dams Across Michigan And Wisconsin — This Is The Future In A Warming World 4/22/2026
    For much of Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as northern Illinois, 2026 has been the wettest March and April on record. The region’s aging water infrastructure was never designed for the volume of water it is facing. That’s a troubling sign for the future, with flooding becoming more common as global temperatures rise.
  2. Beyond Clarification: Optimizing Polyacrylamide Selection For High-Complexity Industrial Wastewater Treatment 4/21/2026
    Polyacrylamide (PAM) selection in industrial wastewater treatment is frequently reduced to a trial-and-error exercise, resulting in reagent waste, inconsistent effluent quality, and inflated operating costs. This article presents a structured framework for PAM optimization across three critical variables — ionic charge density, molecular weight, and coagulant synergy.
  3. The Pragmatic Shift In Source Water Protection: Moving From Symptom Management To Root-Cause Accountability 4/9/2026
    A shift in how we approach source water protection is long overdue. Currently, we are trapped in a cycle of escalating costs, forced to treat symptoms like algae and invasive weeds expediently with chemicals while the underlying risk in the reservoir compounds. True risk management requires breaking this cycle.
  4. The AWWA Said $2.4 Trillion. It Missed The Compound Interest. 4/1/2026
    Einstein once said of compound interest, "He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn't, pays it." The same logic of compounding applies to the organic sediment accumulating on the floor of your drinking water reservoir. The longer you wait to address it, the more exponentially expensive it becomes to fix.
  5. Critical Infrastructure Fails The Way It's Funded 3/17/2026
    Our infrastructure systems have operated in managed deterioration for decades. And not surprisingly, once they deteriorate badly enough and cross over into active failure, all cost discipline disappears.
  6. How Sewage Treatment Plants Could Handle Food Waste, Sparing Landfills And The Climate 3/13/2026

    Every day, food scraps disappear into trash bags, are hauled away, and forgotten. But that waste could be turned into something productive.

  7. Geotechnical IoT Shifts Water Infrastructure From Reactive To Predictive 3/13/2026

    Currently, water infrastructure is outdated and fragile, prone to breakages and leaks. Reactive approaches to water infrastructure are only implemented after an incident and are more expensive than simple maintenance fixes. Geotechnical Internet of Things (IoT) devices enable water and wastewater industry professionals to identify and address issues before they escalate into catastrophic events.

  8. Sustainable Wastewater Solutions For Today's Challenges 3/13/2026

    Traditional gravity sewers rely on large-diameter mains, deep trenches, and often multiple lift stations — elements that carry significant capital and restoration costs, particularly in rural or rugged terrain. To improve cost efficiency and sustainability, many municipalities are adopting decentralized collection systems such as Septic Tank Effluent Pump (STEP) systems, Septic Tank Effluent Gravity (STEG) systems, and liquid-only sewers.

  9. Rethinking Aeration: Demand-Based DO Control And Energy Optimization 3/13/2026

    Aeration control strategies often remain conservative and static. Blowers operate continuously, oxygen levels are maintained near maximum, and airflow rates are rarely adjusted in response to real-time biological demand. The result is widespread over-aeration — a condition that does not improve treatment performance but significantly increases operating costs.

  10. Scaling Water Reuse: New State Regulatory Guides And What They Mean For Treatment Design 3/11/2026

    Emerging state water reuse regulations are driving adoption of ozone and advanced oxidation, requiring flexible, high-performance systems to meet pathogen, trace organic, and DBP control objectives.