Articles by: Contributing Author

Using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to Assess and Monetize the Condition of Water Mains By Doug Hatler & Greg Baird Asset Management practices combined with the latest condition assessment tools using artificial intelligence, specifically machine learning, to assess the condition of buried water mainsRead More

By Ryan Callender & J. Wes Kerns On Dec. 22, 2017, H.R. 1 (the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act”) was signed into law. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, among other things, reduced corporate tax rates, modified individual tax rates, eliminated many deductions, repealed theRead More

A design-build contractor is often in the best position to manage a project, so it should be assigned as much of the associated risk as possible. By Brian Adams Cost, schedule and performance risks need to be managed on all capital projects. The best wayRead More

By John Matthews Traditionally, research conducted at many universities falls under the category of fundamental research, which is primarily conducted to enhance our basic knowledge in a certain area. In the trenchless technology industry, and regarding the university researchers active in the field, the focusRead More

By Jeff Hughes, Shadi Eskaf & Liz Harvell The relationship between water pricing and water use is more nuanced than basic economic theory on supply and demand suggests. That’s what the Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (EFC) found inRead More

By Andy McCartney Personal financial advisors often recommend that families should have enough money in an emergency fund to cover at least three to six months of living expenses. Corporations such as Microsoft, General Electric and Home Depot maintain excess operating funds for their ownRead More

By Michael Warady Every middle school teacher in America has stood in front of a group of students and delivered the old Benjamin Franklin adage that “the only things guaranteed in life are death and taxes.” Luckily for those of us in the water industry,Read More

By Tony Hyde One unifying factor for both the general public, but also for many of us who vote for, manage and design infrastructure projects, is that water and wastewater projects can feel as though they are out of sight, out of mind. Buried pipeRead More

By Prabha Kumar The ethos and expectations of the utility management, the administration, the rate-approving body and the ratepayers intersect during every utility’s rate setting and approval process. Municipal utilities, municipal authorities and investor-owned utilities that head down the rate setting path all need to effectivelyRead More

By Scott Berry This year’s midterm elections had the highest turnout in a half century, with 49 percent of the population voting for candidates at the national, state and local level. In the U.S. House of Representatives, control flipped with Democrats poised to pick upRead More