While the crisis in Flint, Mich., can be traced to an unfortunate and confounding sequence of human errors, it has also prompted a national discussion about the extent of our nation’s water infrastructure needs. It has placed a particular focus on the challenges involved with replacing the millions of lead service lines that still carry drinking water from the public water system to homes in many U.S. cities.

Last week, AMWA wrote to Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) in support of three bills he recently introduced in response to the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. AMWA’s letter came after gathering feedback from AMWA members during the Water Policy Conference and from the association’s Legislative and Regulatory Committees.

A contractor for San Jose Water Company in San Jose, Calif., has taken delivery of more than 3,000 ft of zinc-coated iron pipe from AMERICAN Ductile Iron Pipe, making it among the nation’s first utilities to install zinc-coated pipe.

Since the conversion of its foundry to lead-free operations in 2001, Neptune Technology Group has produced nearly 32 million lead-free bronze alloy meters that have proven themselves in the field. These lead-free meters have met NSF/ANSI 61, Annex F standards for lead performance, NSF 372 for lead content, and the most recent Safe Drinking Water Act regulations.

According to a new market update from Bluefield Research, water scarcity and drought continue to reshape the water landscape, as demonstrated by the recent increase in wastewater reuse projects in the United States.

UIM: Water Utility Infrastructure Management journal, is bringing its second annual Water Finance Conference to Denver, Colorado, Aug. 30-31 at the Denver Athletic Club.

Education often is heralded as one of the cornerstones to the growth of the trenchless industry. In Canada, one of the organizations leading the charge to further educate the industry, municipalities and all those who can benefit from trenchless technologies is the Centre for Advancement of Trenchless Technologies (CATT) in Waterloo.

The U.S. Water Alliance has announced the winners of its 2016 U.S. Water Prize: DC Water, for its Walter F. Bailey Bioenergy Facility; Dow, for its Minimal Liquid Discharge technology; and Emory University, for its WaterHub campus-scale water reclamation project.

Last week, the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee held a hearing to examine “The Role of Environmental Policies on Access to Energy and Economic Opportunity.” The hearing focused on the federal role in keeping water and wastewater infrastructure affordable for ratepayers.

Last week, the City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management released its Capital Improvement Program (CIP) plan, designed to forecast system needs over a five-year period. The proposed plan totals nearly $1.06 billion and identifies requirements for sustaining, restoring and modernizing water infrastructure.