Articles by: Contributing Author

By James Smith Hop into the driver’s seat of a new electric vehicle (EV) and enjoy the smooth ride. Relax in the knowledge that your journey is being monitored by an array of onboard sensors and software as well as remote analytics to ensure theRead More

The U.S. EPA’s Water Infrastructure Financing and Innovative Act (WIFIA) loan program delivers a lot of financial value to qualified water infrastructure projects. Could some of that value be used beyond the project itself for innovative initiatives that address local water-related issues — water equityRead More

By Scott Haskins Over the last several years, 22 water utilities and more than 100 utility participants have been engaged in a major collaboration to improve utility capabilities and performance. As part of the Water Research Foundation (WRF) project, entitled Utility Analysis and Improvement MethodologyRead More

Managing Finances & Cost of Service By JP Joly 1. Every water and sewer utility needs a financial plan. Every water and sewer utility are unique with their operational costs, maintenance routines, timing of repairs and prioritization of asset replacements. 2. Remote work and accessRead More

By Andy Kricun Economically distressed communities face many challenges, especially — and most obviously — the challenges of lack of funding and lack of resources. In addition, their funding and resource deficits can also lead to an additional challenge – being unable to share inRead More

By John Ryan In its 2020 annual report, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan program describes itself as a “government bank with unique flexibilities.” Can those flexibilities be useful for Clean and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs)Read More

By Greg Baird In the 1998 blockbuster movie, “Armageddon,” when two advanced space shuttles slingshot around the moon at 22,500 miles per hours to land on the global killer asteroid, the pilots see the asteroids debris field and using the FOD (foreign object debris) radar,Read More

By Vince McCaffrey Mike Strader is the construction and maintenance supervisor for the City of Greensboro, North Carolina (population roughly 295,000). The city’s water infrastructure is made up of 1,500 miles of public water mains with 33,000 valves and 15,000 hydrants. Most of the pipes areRead More

By John Ryan The 2020 Annual Report of the EPA’s WIFIA loan program is a good read, and not just because it’s short and largely graphical. It’s a series of positive snapshots, including impressive aggregate stats, highlights from closed loans and summaries of new features.Read More

Internal Change Agents Give Northern Territory the Edge on Insightful Water Data By Nicole Nally Australia’s Northern Territory has around 250,000 people in two very distinct climate zones – the tropical climate in the North and the desert in the central region. Uluru is one ofRead More