Water Finance

Last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is awarding $2.1 million to 37 organizations in 17 states and Puerto Rico to help protect and restore urban waters, improve water quality and support community revitalization and other local priorities.

As many urgent updates to the United States? infrastructure continue to be derailed by a lack of funding, the use of public-private partnerships, also called P3s or PPPs, is providing a viable path to completion for an increasing number of these projects.

At the time of this issue?s publication, the Los Angeles Times reported that the agricultural industry is facing $1 billion in lost revenue while the state could wind up paying an additional $500 million for groundwater pumping. Among the many questions the situation poses, one is, ?How do city leaders cope with these challenges??

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is beginning to explore the use of public-private partnerships to repair the nation’s aging infrastructure due to provisions in the new Water Resources Reform and Development Act.

This month, an estimated 11,000 water professionals will convene in Boston, Mass., for the American Water Works Association?s (AWWA) Annual Conference & Exposition (ACE14). Attending the association?s annual conference is nothing new for people in the water industry. Perhaps for some, attending each year has turned into somewhat of a formality.

The Utah State University (USU) Buried Structures Laboratory has published a comprehensive study on PVC pipe excavations, testing and life cycle analysis. USU, located in Logan, Utah, is also home to the Utah Water Research Laboratory and has significantly contributed to water and wastewater research internationally for more than 50 years.

Membrane filtration is nothing new in the area of water treatment. But while the large majority of municipal water and wastewater treatment plants still use conventional filtration methods, membranes continue to be recognized as the modern filtration technology of choice.

The American Water Works Association (AWWA) has tracked water industry issues and trends since its founding in 1881. That tradition continues through its annual State of the Water Industry (SOTWI) survey.

The International Private Water Association (IPWA) will hold a Financial Tools Taskforce meeting via conference call on Thursday, March 27, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. (EST). The focus of the meeting will be a presentation by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

In January, California Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. issued a drought emergency throughout the state and directed officials to take all necessary actions to prepare for severe drought conditions. But according to a report late last month from Fitch Ratings, California water utilities should be able to manage the state?s drought emergency in the near term.