Detroit officials continually argue that the city is working to refine its water shutoff policies and keep water turned on in more homes, but the number of shutoffs actually increased last year.
Last month, about 250 gallons of benzoyl chloride, a compound that is used in medicines, dyes, and resins, spilled on Interstate 85 in Atlanta, GA.
Water utilities are advocating for the federal government to retain the U.S. EPA’s signature water conservation program despite proposed budget cuts from President Trump.
Water utilities are highly regulated, and that means unhappy customers can bring more than complaints — they can stir up regulatory action.
A water provider in Mississippi is cracking down on customers after the city utility department found out it had run up a $3.4 million deficit.
Jacksonville, FL, has a distinction that it may not want publicized too much. The city’s water quality has been ranked poorly by residents in a recent study by professors at the University of North Florida.
The 85th Texas Regular Legislative Session has drawn to a close. Now that we've had some time to digest what went down (and get some sleep), we can reflect. There is no doubt: This was a very hard Session. Emotions were high and lives were at stake.
The Farmers’ Almanac expects summer temperatures in the eastern U.S. to “arrive right out of the gate with unseasonably hot and dry weather.” The Almanac is also predicting the northeast’s first official week of summer to “bring a spell of hot weather with many 90-degree temperatures and even one or two spots breaking 100 degrees.” Even as I write this — one week before the unofficial start of summer — temperatures in the northeast have topped 90 degrees for three consecutive days and rain has been sparse.
As consumer buy-in is critical to the success of advanced metering infrastructure, so is behavioral science in guiding utilities’ engagement efforts around the technology.
Family Feud, first launched in 1976, has been a top game show in syndication, new iterations, as well as a pop-culture icon. Of course the trademark line from the show is “survey says….” Sometimes the responses to the surveys are predicable, but other times you wonder “who in the world was answering those questions?” Gallup just released their annual environmental poll, conducted in March, and maybe it’s not surprising, but 63 percent of respondents said they “worry a great deal about pollution of their drinking water.”
The need for improving our nation’s critical infrastructure is as important and necessary as ever. Yet, when people who are not involved with the water/wastewater industry think of all that needs to be done for infrastructure, they immediately think of the roads they drive on and the bridges that are simply part of those same roads. Others think of our power grid and its frailties, while some worry about their internet access. It is hard to find people who consider our water and wastewater delivery system as a priority.
With rising regulatory and infrastructure costs, it’s more important than ever for water and wastewater utilities to collect what they’re owed from ratepayers. But how can they go about improving collection?
When I speak to communities about water quality issues, people often think the problem only happens in the developing world. Although America’s drinking water remains among the safest in the world, we are facing a serious and growing problem at home in the U.S.
To minimize losses and address mounting concerns, the water industry is now adopting advanced sensor and communications solutions designed specifically for “smart” Internet of Things (IoT) water management. In large part, the move toward implementing smart water solutions is being driven by stricter government compliance requirements, the evolution of smart cities, and the need for water conservation.
Chicago continues its long tradition of innovative biosolids management by introducing a new model for sustainability and community service.
At my household, a new year means a new energy and water-use baseline. By that I mean, every month, I look at how much electricity and water I used in comparison to the same month the previous year — so I can try to be as efficient as possible. But I work in the energy field, and I know that’s not a typical New Year’s tradition. Most people don’t examine the trends of their energy-use or spend much time thinking about how to reduce it.
Calgon Carbon’s ion exchange technology is designed to remove dissolved ionic compounds from water or other liquids. Calgon Carbon offers media, fixed bed and continuous systems for a variety of applications.
Given the critical shortage of drinking water in many regions, advanced treatment and reuse of wastewater is becoming increasingly common as municipalities address water demands and shrinking supplies.
Veolia Water Technologies has hundreds of power generation references worldwide. Learn more about specific applications for the power industry.
Plant engineers responsible for improving digester processes or utilizing the biogas as a fuel source will find the new Model ST51 Mass Flow Meter from Fluid Components International is designed as an application-specific solution to meet their unique needs.
Simple And Economical Solids Separation
The simplicity of the SHS and SHP Sidehill Screens make them an excellent choice static screening applications. With no motors or moving parts the Sidehill Screens let gravity do the work as effluent flows down the screening media. The screening elements are fixed, curved, slotted, wedgewire screens oriented horizontally across the direction of flow. The screening surface is positioned at a steeply sloped angle providing an effective means of quickly stripping of liquid and allowing the solids to slide off the bottom of the screen.
What’s the best way to fight odors in the wastewater industry? Add a little oxygen. Adding Praxair’s pure oxygen to your existing process can raise the level of dissolved oxygen enough to reduce odors without further action. Even better, the use of a Praxair oxygen acetates treatment system will lower costs and help you meet your environmental goals. Our systems help you manage peak demand and increase capacity while reducing Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emissions.
The BEACON® Advanced Metering Analytics (AMA) managed solution from Badger Meter brings a new level of utility-optimizing information to light. The BEACON AMA managed solution combines the power of the intuitive BEACON AMA software suite with proven ORION® Cellular/Fixed Network technology to provide utility management with greater visibility and control.
Calgon Carbon created the first granular activated carbon (GAC) from bituminous coal in the 1940s and has staked a position of global industry leadership ever since.
Odor issues continue to plague wastewater treatment plants all over the country. With a range of foul smells caused by varied contributors, one research project sought to provide a breath of fresh air.
Airtime for water industry issues used to be a rarity in mainstream news, but that has changed of late — a development that is not particularly welcome, considering that bad news makes for good copy.
“Water Champion” Paula Kehoe looks to do for the nation what she did for San Francisco — to greatly expand water reuse opportunities and implementation. In this Q&A, she discusses her new role as chair of a national commission for onsite non-potable reuse, the San Francisco model, and the best practices and obstacles for sustainable water operations.
With Donald Trump appointee Scott Pruitt helming the U.S. EPA, the National Rural Water Association sees an opportunity to free its members from burdensome regulations and change the perception of the country’s smallest water utilities.
The Drinking Water Cyanotoxin Risk Communication Toolbox takes the guesswork out of public outreach in the event of harmful algal blooms and cyanotoxin contamination.
At the end of The Big Short, a postscript stated that one of the story's protagonists, Dr. Michael Burry (played by Christian Bale), was now focused on investing in only one commodity: water. That got my attention.
For water treatment operators and utility officials, the summer months don’t just mean sunshine, pool parties, and barbecues. The season also brings the peak time for algal blooms, the toxic clouds formed in surface water thanks to increased nutrient contamination and rising temperatures. With rising instances of toxic algae around the country and increased regulations for eliminating it, utilities have had to keep pace.
Chemical, petrochemical, and oil-refining plants are process-intensive operations with regulatory requirements to protect the surrounding water and air from the effects of industrial pollution. These external demands are matched by equally compelling internal pressures to address product purification needs, find alternatives to utilizing costly fresh water in production processes, reduce the carbon footprint, and operate efficiently and profitably.
We all hope that the Flint Water Crisis – where cost-cutting measures led to the drinking water supply to become severely tainted with lead – was an isolated incident. However, it is not impossible that a similar event could happen again, especially in a similarly desperate city with limited financial resources. Here are a few key points that should be considered to avoid repeating such a tragedy.
High levels of radionuclides (uranium/radium/etc.) in drinking water aren’t very common, but they are very dangerous. If you’ve long dealt with radionuclides, you’re familiar with the treatment requirements — but are you treating as cost effectively as possible?
The U.S. EPA’s Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2) was adopted in 2006 to modify the Safe Drinking Water Act and more tightly control the spread of Cryptosporidium, a microorganism that can cause gastrointestinal infection if ingested. Since its inception, the rule has posed a treatment challenge to utilities that are susceptible to the tiny contaminant. But which utilities are at risk? And how should they approach treatment?
When Flint Michigan discontinued purchasing water from the Detroit Water Authority and began using the Flint River as their raw water source they unfortunately did not consider the potential impact on lead and copper corrosion and the impact on the public.
There have been many publications lately that claim universal appeal of the ORP sensors and their applicability across the board. This concerns me, because the authors sometimes forget to mention some well-known practical limitations of the method, let alone the realities of water treatment applications potentially influencing the sensor performance.
For years, I’ve been standing on my deck in San Francisco, looking south to Silicon Valley for innovation in water efficiency. But I’m starting to realize that I might have been gazing in the wrong direction. Maybe I need to turn around and look north, over the spires of the Golden Gate Bridge, toward the Emerald Triangle in Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties, the hotbed of California’s newly legalized commercial cannabis production.
When is the last time you took a moment to stop, and smell your water? A continuous supply of clean and safe drinking water is something that most people take for granted. We rarely go to the tap doubting that the water will be clean and safe. Recently, the general population and water supply professionals have become concerned about the safety and protection of our drinking water supplies.
