Water Management

The NASTT No-Dig Show, the annual conference and exhibition of the North American Society for Trenchless Technology (NASTT), traveled to Sacramento and brought with it more than 1,600 attendees who successfully mixed business, education and the warmth of the West Coast.

Xylem Inc. announced last month that it has acquired MultiTrode Pty Ltd., a privately held Australia-based water and wastewater technology and services company, for approximately $26 million. The actual terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Itron, Inc. has announced that Las Vegas Valley Water District (LVVWD), a not-for-profit agency that provides water to more than 1 million residents and 35 million annual visitors in Southern Nevada, has selected Itron?s automated metering solution to improve operational efficiency and streamline meter reading.

In the coming months, the City of Garretson, S.D. will be will be implementing exciting upgrades to its utility meter reading infrastructure. The city will be the first in the country to deploy a combined water and natural gas advanced metering analytics (AMA) solution from Badger Meter.

Last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the results of the first comprehensive survey looking at the health of thousands of stream and river miles across the country, finding that more than half – 55 percent – are in poor condition for aquatic life.

The U.S. Water Alliance has announced the 2013 winners of the coveted U.S. Water Prize. The winners are: Onondaga County, N.Y., for its program to “Save the Rain” and embrace green infrastructure solutions to wet weather problems; The Freshwater Trust for its collaborative market-based solutions to restore and protect rivers and streams; and, MillerCoors for their innovative and comprehensive strategies to protect and conserve water throughout its life cycle.

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has released its 2013 Report Card for America?s Infrastructure, a comprehensive assessment of the nation’s infrastructure across 16 sectors. Updated once every four years, this year’s Report Card found that America’s cumulative GPA for infrastructure rose slightly to a D+ from a D in 2009.

Back in November 2012, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works drafted a bill to reauthorize the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). The new bill, to continue the WRDA program, came on the heels of Hurricane Sandy which resulted in the deaths of more than 120 people, destroyed entire neighborhoods on the East Coast and cost billions of dollars in damage to property and businesses. A reminder – the WRDA program serves to authorize select projects and programs of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Water and energy are inextricably linked, a concept referred to more and more commonly as the water-energy nexus. In short, it describes the interrelationship of water used in the generation of energy, and energy consumed in the use of water. Most forms of electricity generation require the use of water at some stage.

According to the National Research Council of Canada, asbestos cement-lined water mains degrade when subjected to long-term exposure to sulfates and byproducts of biofilms that form on mains’ interior walls.