Articles by: Contributing Author

By Joseph Porter Investigating the underground world and depicting the findings has become a significant challenge as an ever-increasing plethora of utility infrastructure continues to age. As more utilities are installed in the ground, it is integral to identify and record information as it relatesRead More

For more than 20 years the Public Utility Board of the City of McAllen, Texas, has invested in using reclaimed water to conserve potable water. McAllen, which is in Hidalgo County in South Texas in the Rio Grande Valley bordering Mexico, has a population ofRead More

By Cayla Cook Plastic pollution is one of the world’s most pressing and observable modern issues, possessing the potential to significantly impact human health, aquatic species health, and, undoubtedly, environmental health. This pollution is categorized by the size in which plastics occur due, in part,Read More

By Jonathan Blackwell I have been a fan of Formula 1 dating back to my childhood, when the teams utilized 700+ hp V-10 engines that would produce the most beautiful sound as they revved to an astonishing 13,000 rpms on the straightaways. The times, andRead More

By Ryan Sitton At the beginning of this year, an unprecedented freeze hit the southern part of the United States. The state of Texas, which has its own, self-contained energy grid, saw power outages that it had never experienced. At one point, nearly six millionRead More

Water system providers across the United States have joined a multidistrict litigation (MDL) suit claiming that their water supplies are contaminated with per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF). These chemicals have been used for decades to extinguish chemical or petroleum firesRead More

By Kyle Stevens Climate change is a pressing issue for local governments. The unpredictable nature of storm events and sea level rise has put a strain on already aging stormwater infrastructure, requiring huge investments to address the problem. Paying for these investments should not relyRead More

By Teno A. West & Jillian Jagling A method for public water system asset preservation is a multi-pronged approach, backed by the goal of ensuring that the assets are returned to the owner in good condition, working order and repair, such that the owner isRead More

By Harold Mosley A car struck a fire hydrant in the middle of the night in California, creating a massive water leak. Even before first responders were notified, a pressure sensor sent a text alert to the water utility manager, who was able to dispatchRead More

Editor’s Note: This article is a follow-up to a piece in the April issue discussing how innovative features of the WIFIA program can help expand SRF loan capacity. By Katy Hansen, Sridhar Vedachalam & John Ryan In 2008, Iowa state lawmakers were determined to financeRead More