Not every city expects a dramatic growth spurt of 50,000 jobs, and only one metropolitan area will emerge victorious from the much-heralded Amazon HQ2 competition. Still, the prospects of water or wastewater system growth, or even escalating maintenance on aging infrastructure, raise important questions about your utility’s 10-year plan. Do you have one? If you do, how up-to-date is it? And if you don’t, isn’t it time to start thinking about developing one?
In the cash-strapped water sector, $5.5 billion doesn’t grow on trees. That is why, for drinking water and wastewater treatment facilities facing funding challenges due to regional growth, aging infrastructure, or other needs, the recent announcement of that amount of funding under the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) is welcome news.
Inflow and infiltration (I&I) are ongoing concerns for many wastewater utilities. Even with diligent maintenance of infrastructure, there are limits to what can be controlled. One example of that is leakage in the lateral service lines connecting the sewer utility’s main to sewer customer buildings. Here is how one municipality took advantage of federal and local funding to encourage nearly 2,500 customers to upgrade deficient connections in their lateral service lines — to the tune of more than $4 million.
Any water utility that has to impose restrictions due to water scarcity appreciates the value of conservation. On the other hand, there are utilities that — knowingly or unknowingly — permit as much as 20 to 40 percent of their treated water to trickle away without collecting a cent for it. If you have experienced either extreme, but are not already using advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), what’s holding you back? Before dismissing AMI as being too costly, too technical, or too difficult to implement, consider the following cost-benefit opportunities.
According to the EPA, the volume of treated water lost annually through distribution systems is 1.7 trillion gallons at a national cost of $2.6 billion. Advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) is one way to uncover the “hidden” details behind that assault on water distribution efficiency. In addition, innovative use of AMI smart water solutions also creates cost-efficient ways to optimize performance beyond recouping losses due to leaks, theft, or incomplete billing.
Water conservation has long been a hot topic between water utilities and their end users for a variety of reasons — seasonal water scarcity, overextended treatment facilities, periodic maintenance disruptions, etc. But when it comes to managing data that can help control water losses and recover billings for non-revenue water (NRW), why is it so hard to practice what we preach? This article dispels some of the common myths related to advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) technology that can help cut treated water losses and generate previously overlooked revenue.
It’s no secret that the U.S. EPA has changed course in the last year. But how have those changes affected local water and wastewater treatment operations? And how are those operations going to evolve along with the federal agency?
Water utilities are under constant pressure to run more efficiently, often with minimal staff. Utility managers must find ways to save time and money, while continuing to provide excellent customer service. A common area of inefficiency is found within water service shutoff and turn-on events. So how can utilities improve business operations in this area?
Continuing the tradition of ground breaking products that add exciting new capabilities for smart, remote monitoring in water and wastewater networks.
Now available for use on all current Mueller Systems positive displacement meters in 5/8” through 2” sizes, the ME-8 utilizes heat treated tempered, glass lens and corrosion resistant copper can to house the register light tubes, electronics, self-lubricating gearing, and drive magnet. The register delivers extraordinary functionality and value when paired with the latest metrology and AMR/AMI solutions available from Mueller Systems.
From basic site designs to complex drainage studies, you can effectively model rainfall and runoff from urban and rural watersheds to design detention and retention facilities, outlet structures, and channels. The intuitive and easy-to-use interface simplifies detention pond design while the robust calculation engine handles the complexity of interconnected pond modeling.
StormCAD provides stormwater professionals with advanced tools to effectively deliver high-quality storm sewer design with lower capital investment. In challenging times, budgets for infrastructure projects are tight. StormCAD helps you be as effective as possible on storm sewer development projects. The software provides roadway and site designers, stormwater master planners, and land developers like you with advanced tools to effectively deliver high quality design with minimized capital investments.
How big and deep should this pipe be? Do we have enough capacity to serve these customers? These are the typical problems that SewerCAD can help you solve.
WaterGEMS provides you with a comprehensive yet easy-to-use decision-support tool for water distribution networks. The software helps improve your knowledge of how infrastructure behaves as a system, how it reacts to operational strategies, and how it should grow as population and demands increase.
Utilities and engineering firms around the world trust WaterCAD as a reliable decision-support tool for their infrastructure. Design new water systems and manage existing water networks effectively to reduce disruption risks and energy use.
Stormwater systems can be very complex to model, with flow backups and reversals, surcharged pipes, and more.
British Water is hosting a one-day conference on Water and the Circular Economy during the International Business Festival 2018 taking place in Liverpool. The conference is part of the sustainable energy themed day on 14 June and will explore the considerable business opportunity in building a circular economy of water.
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt announced at a meeting with water sector associations that the deadline to submit letters of interest for Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loans has been extended to July 31, 2018.
With water infrastructure costs expected to exceed $1T, a new report shows that only a few states are adequately leveraging federal dollars to shrink the infrastructure funding gap.
Pennsylvania American Water today unveiled the updated 2018 version of its web-based infrastructure map to show customers where the dollars from their monthly bills are flowing.
The Global Water Summit 2018 took place on 15 – 17th April 2018 at the Marriott Rive Gauche Hotel & Conference Center, Paris, France.
The Rhode Island legislature is considering a proposal that would support the privatization of water.
Hydromantis announced recently the latest release of CapdetWorks Version 4.0. CapdetWorks is based on the U.S. EPA CAPDET – “Computer Assisted Procedure for Design and Evaluation of Treatment Systems” program.
Cimbria Capital, a private equity firm conducting growth capital and early stage buyout investments in the agribusiness and water sectors, recently announced Daniel Ringdahl as Operating Partner.
Irish Water, working in partnership with Galway County Council, is investing €1.54M to upgrade the Gort and Spiddal Regional Water Supply Schemes. This investment will benefit over 5,000 customers and ensure both treatment plants can meet demand for treated water in their respective areas.
California Water Service Group recently announced it has filed preliminary proxy materials with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to urge stockholders of SJW Group to vote against the proposed merger of SJW and Connecticut Water.
New technology helps utilities meet the challenges of maintaining a safe and adequate public water supply.
Operational savings realized through high-tech leak detection techniques could pay for your utility’s advanced leak detection equipment.
Data analysis around pipe condition, inflow & infiltration (I&I), and overflows can build a case for the approval of infrastructure funding in budget planning.
Big Data is more than a marketing buzzword. It’s become be an essential tool for helping utility operators prioritize capital investments, manage network assets, and provide a higher level of service to customers.
Q&A With Opworks™ User And Developers
When federal and state environmental agency mandates required the City of Havre, Montana to upgrade its wastewater treatment facility, utility leaders decided to implement a more efficient record keeping process at the same time. Havre is located in the north central portion of the state and is home to about 10,000 residents. The newly upgraded wastewater treatment facility officially started up in September 2016 with the capacity to treat 1.8 million gallons of sewage per day. Since the upgrade, the facility is now able to address ammonia reduction and comply with total nitrogen/phosphorus limits. Since day one, all of the Havre Wastewater Treatment Facility’s operational data has been tracked in OpWorks, a web-based application.
