In 2008, the Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS) made history as the largest water purification and reuse project of its kind in the world. In 2015, the GWRS made history again as its Initial Expansion came online, providing an additional 30 million gallons of water per day (MGD) to the Orange County Groundwater Basin.
Few people need to be reminded of water’s importance. Along with energy, it is essential for everyday life. Water provides sustenance, supports industry and irrigates fields. But city administrations are struggling to meet rising demand from growing populations while contending with issues such as water quality, flooding, drought and aging infrastructure.
Since its creation in 1972, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District has made great strides in updating the region’s sewer infrastructure, investing $4 billion in wastewater treatment plants, interceptor and relief sewers, combined sewer overflow control, and other facility upgrades.
In February, the Obama Administration announced its Fiscal Year 2017 budget for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which lays out a strategy to ensure that steady progress is made in addressing known environmental problems and ensuring the agency and its partners in environmental protection, states and tribes are positioned to meet the challenges of the future.
The EPA has announced the award of $12.7 million in grants to help small drinking and wastewater systems and private well owners located in urban and rural communities throughout the United States and its territories. The water systems will receive training and technical assistance to improve small system operations and management practices, promote system sustainability and better protect public health and the environment.
The National Association of Clean Water Agencies, the Water Environment Research Foundation, and the Water Environment Federation collectively hatched the Utility of the Future (UOTF) concept in 2013 in The Water Resources Utility of the Future: A Blueprint for Action.
Stantec Inc., has announced it will acquire MWH Global, Inc., a Broomfield, Colorado-based engineering, consulting and construction management firm focused on water and natural resources for built infrastructure and the environment.
The Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer, a primary water source for small towns, rural water systems and farm irrigation in eastern Arkansas, is running dry. According to the Army Corps of Engineers, a project study in the mid-1980s pointed out, and further studies have since shown, the region’s groundwater resources are rapidly shrinking.
For years, the water department for the City of Evans, Colorado, has spent several days a month collecting data from each of the city’s 6,500 aging water meters. Aging meters often lead to inaccurate results, which for many years forced the utility to estimate the monthly water use for nearly one quarter of its residents.
The Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) will be hosting its 2016 Design-Build for Water/Wastewater Conference in Charlotte, N.C., April 20-22. The DBIA aims to educate owners on the benefits of design-build delivery, which helps projects achieve the best value while meeting schedule, cost and quality goals.
