Like many other cities throughout North America, Corpus Christi, Texas, is in the midst of improving the way it manages its departments citywide, including its sewer and water systems.

Over the years, officials tasked with caring for our infrastructure systems have professed the need for better coordination across city departments ? not only from finance, legal, administrative and public works, but also between water, wastewater, stormwater and other utilities.

Many regions of the United States are facing a painful and daunting task to keep up with the need to restore their aging and increasingly inadequate pipeline infrastructures, particularly when it comes to meeting present and future needs of water, wastewater and natural gas pipeline systems.

Pleasanton, Calif., is one of the best places to live in the United States, according to Money Magazine. As a long-time resident and fourth-term mayor, I am not surprised the city is recognized for its recreational, educational and cultural facilities, as well as a climate, that are second-to-none.

There is a common discussion taking place across the United States today that may sound a bit different depending on where you live and what your local economic and political climate is, but the common underlying question is simply this: Is government operating with maximum effectiveness and efficiency to achieve long-term sustainability?

It has often been said that the best way to learn how to do a thing is to ask experienced people what mistakes they have made and what corrective steps they took in subsequent projects. After 40 years of experience in sewer-related projects as a regulator, an Owner and a consultant, I have seen many successful sewer rehabilitation projects as well as many others that did not fare well.

While the broader construction industry struggles through the worst recession in everyone?s lifetime, executives of utility infrastructure firms have much for which to be thankful.

In 2011, Woolpert is celebrating a major milestone: its 100th year in business. Established in 1911 as a surveying company, Woolpert has grown over the past 100 years to a fully integrated, multidisciplinary firm with more than 650 employees in 23 offices across the United States.