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Colorado's $3 billion water expansion builds worries for some
Nearly $3 billion of ambitious new water projects along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains are in various stages of launching - from completing a lengthy federal permitting process to actually breaking ground. The pending boom includes seven new or expanded reservoirs and at least one major pipeline. Barely recovered from the 2002 drought and with projected shortages looming, the water districts and cities involved say it is imperative that the projects be built now. When completed, the combined projects will make for one of the largest water development eras in Colorado history. State water officials and analysts, however, worry that the fragmented nature of the plans constitutes a $3 billion free-for-all, and that the lack of a coherent regional or statewide plan will prove costly for both the consumer and the environment. Rocky Mountain News_ 7/18/08
But they immediately ran into stiff resistance over proposed dams and the cost to a cash-starved state. The Republican governor and Democratic senator nevertheless believe that fears over prolonged drought and environmental collapse in the important Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta will convince lawmakers and voters that the bond measure offers California the best way out of a growing water crisis that threatens the economy and environment. They say there is no time to waste. Scattered rationing is punishing cities and farms, the salmon fishery has collapsed, global warming threatens to reduce vital snowpacks even more, the Sacramento delta is on the brink of collapse, and an earthquake could cut off water deliveries to Silicon Valley and Southern California. But opponents view dams as costly projects that do more harm than good to the environment and state budget and say the plan appears to encourage auctioning the right to build reservoirs, raising questions over whether only the richest water districts could afford to pay half of the cost of a dam, which can run more than $5 billion. The Schwarzenegger-Feinstein proposal is the latest in a series of water bond measures that have circulated in Sacramento during the past 18 months, including a handful sponsored by either business groups or environmentalists. All have been derailed. San Diego Union-Tribune_ 7/11/08
United Water is expected this summer to ask the Board of Public Utilities for a rate increase to support the massive, $110 million water plant. The request comes on the heels of a 16 percent water bill increase approved last year — the utility’s first rate hike in a decade. That’s the price for water that will meet future federal water standards for 750,000 people in 60 Bergen and Hudson County towns, executives said. The new system will be the first large-scale plant to use ozone to disinfect the water and air to remove particles. The Record_ 6/22/08
Despite damages to a key part of it incurred by the devastating May 12 8.0-magnitude earthquake, Dujiangyan, the 2,200-year-old water conservancy project near Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, is still functioning well to protect millions of quake survivors from the threat of summer flooding. The the project has a "fish mouth" that divides the broad Minjiang River into Neijiang (Inner Course) and Waijiang (Outer Course). Only water that flows into the Inner Course could reach Chengdu and its surrounding plains, while excess flood water will be diverted into the Outer Course and denied access to the affluent and densely-populated plain area. The simple yet effective design earned Li Bing, the local governor of Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.), the fame of "ancient water conservancy genius", and earned the project a place on the United Nations world cultural heritage list. Xinhua_ 6/22/08
Idaho seeks to add water storage
If it’s true that the era of dam building is over, Dave Tuthill didn’t get the memo. Neither did the governor, legislators, irrigators, municipalities, and several other major water users in Idaho. Tuthill, director of the Idaho Department of Water Resources, has been around the state recently beating the drum on the need to store more water. He’s recommended building some new dams, but he’s also advocated doing other things such as raising existing dams, building off-site “mini-reservoirs” and recharging the important Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer. There seems to be a growing awareness by a large number of Idahoans that it will be absolutely necessary to capture and store a lot more water in the coming years. Farmers, of course, have known this for a long time. But now the rest of the state seems to be awakening to the need. AG Weekly_ 6/8/08
Cost to funnel water around the California delta has soared
The price tag for addressing the declining health of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta while providing a reliable water supply to California cities and farmers keeps getting higher. Officials met Thursday to discuss one of the state's most contentious proposals—piping fresh water around the delta and into the canals that carry it south and into the San Francisco Bay area. The various options are projected to cost between $4 billion and $17 billion. The estimates were provided to a panel created by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to come up with solutions to preserve the delta. The estimates are far higher than the $1.3 billion cost in 1982, when California voters rejected the so-called Peripheral Canal. Funneling water around the delta is being considered as a way to restore the delta's ecosystem, in particular its population of the threatened Delta smelt and other fish. Their numbers have declined so precipitously that a judge last December ordered the state to reduce water pumping by a third. Farmers and cities this year will receive just 35 percent of their contracted water from the state. AP/San Jose Mercury-News_ 4/25/08
U.S. water pipelines are breaking
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says utilities will need to invest more than $277 billion over the next two decades on repairs and improvements to drinking water systems. Water industry engineers put the figure drastically higher, at about $480 billion. Water utilities, largely managed by city governments, have never faced improvements of this magnitude before. And customers will have to bear the majority of the cost through rate increases, according to the American Water Works Association, an industry group. Engineers say this is a crucial era for the nation's water systems, especially in older cities like New York, where some pipes and tunnels were built in the 1800s and are now nearing the end of their life expectancies. The 36 million gallons a day that leak from the 85-mile Delaware Aqueduct in New York state amounts to more than 1 billion gallons a month. That may be a drop in the bucket compared to the hundreds of billions of water consumed in New York City every year, but the daily leak in the tunnel would meet the daily demands of drought-ravaged Raleigh, N.C. Around the country, water rates are going up to help pay for the repairs, estimated at anywhere between $550 and $7,000 per household during the next three decades. Many engineers and water utilities say water bills around the country are too low. AP_ 4/8/08
Colorado Springs, Colorado's aging water system needs $65 million upgrade
Colorado Springs' raw water system - the reservoirs, pipes and pumps that deliver water from the mountains - needs $65 million in upgrades in the next decade. That was one finding in the first comprehensive assessment of cityowned Colorado Springs Utilities' water system. Fixing some of the 50 intakes, 27 reservoirs, 200 miles of tunnels and pipes, 200 vaults and valves and four major pump stations is necessary because of age, water operations manager Scott Campbell told the Utilities Board last week. He said half the intakes are up to 50 years old and nearly 40 percent of the reservoirs are 100 years old. Roughly 60 percent of pipes date to the Eisenhower era, as does 45 percent of other structures. Minor maintenance is needed on 60 percent to 70 percent of the system, while up to 38 percent needs significant maintenance. Colorado Spriongs Gazette_ 3/23/08
February, 2008
Crews dive deep for New York City water tunnel repair job
The divers live in a windowless, pressurized chamber for weeks at a time. They descend 700 feet — greater than the height of the Space Needle — to toil for 12-hour shifts in dark, murky water. What's the point of this bizarre subterranean life? Coming up with a way to save drinking water for New York City, which is losing the equivalent of a small lake every day in an enormous, aging, leaky tunnel. About half the city's water supply passes through the tunnel from upstate reservoirs. Of the hundreds of millions of gallons that flow there every day, some 10 million to 36 million escape from cracks in a 45-mile stretch. Not only is it a waste, the leaks create sinkholes and other problems at the surface. The city began sending divers down to the tunnel in mid-February to gather data that will be used to develop a plan for repairs. The project costs about $240 million and will take five years. AP_ 2/29/08
Kentucky: Louisville Water Co. strikes deal with five other water utilites for 37-mile pipeline
The pipeline will run along Interstate 64 from Louisville to Frankfort. According to a news release, the six utilities and Shelby Fiscal Court will spend $85,000 to begin design of the pipeline, which would provide water to Central Kentucky residents during period of high demand or drought. Total cost of the pipeline is expected to reach $50 million, with Louisville Water providing half of that amount. The members of the partnership are: Louisville Water Co., Frankfort Plant Board, North Shelby Water Co., Shelbyville Water and Sewer, U.S. 60 Water District, and West Shelby Water District. The pipeline is expected to be completed in 2010, the release said. Louisville Business Journal_ 2/11/08
Rendell announced the PENNVEST Board of Directors' approval of $82.9 million in low interest loans and grants for 21 brownfields, drinking water and wastewater projects in 18 counties. Most of the money, $77.9 million, is for low-interest loans. Combined with $5 million in grants, PENNVEST will fund 21 clean water projects. The awards range from a $332,140 loan to develop a new well and construct drinking water storage facilities for a community in Wyoming County to a $15.4 million loan and grant combination that will eliminate raw sewage discharges in Somerset County caused by malfunctioning on-lot septic systems. News Release_ 1/23/08
Mandatory water conservation urged in new LA developments
Mandatory water conservation is being urged for new Los Angeles residential developments. Councilman Dennis Zine's motion asks that city departments consider a land-use policy requiring all new residential development to occupy a water-use "footprint" of 10 percent less than the previous usage of the property. The Los Angeles water supply is getting tighter because of restrictions on eastern Sierra and Northern California shipments south. Noting the housing shortage, the building industry counters by saying new developments generally include water-efficient toilets, washing machines and appliances as well as drought-tolerant landscaping. San Jose Mercury News_1/3/08
A change of government in Australia doesn't worry construction company John Holland
Construction giant John Holland says the election of a federal Labor government would not dent the current construction boom. While Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) play a major role in the primary industry sectors, John Holland's Group managing director David Stewart said a possible change of government was not a concern to the company. Labor leader Kevin Rudd has vowed to abolish AWAs if the party wins government at the November 24 federal poll. "Whoever wins, we don't factor that sort of stuff in," Mr Stewart told reporters in Brisbane. "Kevin Rudd and (deputy leader) Julia Gillard have made it clear that they're going to maintain a constancy of some regulator in the industry." John Holland employs approximately 4,000 people across the country and is currently carrying out $3.1 billion worth of construction, including desalination plants in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. AAP/The Age_ 10/23/07
Study: New York water plant costs far higher than public estimates
The cost of the Croton Water Filtration Plant, currently under construction in the Bronx, is close to $2.8 billion — far higher than what the Bloomberg administration has said the project will cost, a budget analysis by the Independent Budget Office indicates. The city’s Department of Environmental Protection has maintained for several months that construction of the filtration plant would cost about $2.1 billion. For the past two years, the city has been building a federally mandated filtration plant 100 feet below Van Cortlandt Park. The plant, first proposed in the 1970s, has been beset by construction delays, lawsuits, fines imposed by the federal government, and opposition from neighbors of the project. Steve Lawitts, the agency’s first deputy commissioner, said yesterday that he generally agreed with the data provided by the Independent Budget Office. “We agree with the individual budget lines, but we don’t necessarily list them the same way,” Mr. Lawitts said. Mr. Lawitts acknowledged however that several items included in the independent analysis had been left out of his agency’s cost for the project. Among those items was $292 million for the filtration plant’s design, and contract and construction management. Mr. Lawitts said those expenses had not been included in the agency’s budget that had been made public in the project’s 2003 environmental impact statement because they were not construction costs. Mr. Lawitts said leaving such “soft” costs out of a large project’s construction budget was “common practice” among his and other city agencies. New York Times_ 9/28/07 (logon required)
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger urges $9 billion in water bonds
Schwarzenegger unveiled a $9-billion bond package Tuesday that would pay for three new or expanded dams and amount to an unprecedented level of taxpayer financing for water projects. With drought and court-imposed cutbacks looming, the governor's proposal kick-starts what is expected to be several weeks of intense negotiations with legislators to place a water bond on the Feb. 5 ballot. Schwarzenegger's insistence upon dam projects in the Bay Area and in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys puts him at odds with most Democratic legislators. They say the state will get more water at lower cost by cleaning up polluted groundwater supplies and recycling and conserving water. The bond proposal also breaks with historical water development in California, where most major water projects have been financed by the federal government or specific water users -- not by taxpayers at large. Los Angeles Times_ 9/19/07 (logon required)
Dublin, Ireland begins five-year upgrade of 100-year-old underground water pipes
The €118 million project will upgrade more around 800 kilometres of Dublin's watermains.
Many of the existing watermains are cast-iron and were laid up to 100 years ago. The upgrade work will see them replaced with heavy duty polyethylene pipes. Irish Times_ 6/11/07
California governor supports two new dams
A proposed dam on the San Joaquin River upstream from the existing Friant Dam east of Fresno got support Monday from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Supporters say the additional dam would allow more floodwaters to be stored to allow for percolation into underground aquifers. It would also provide more cold water to flow into the lower portion of the river to allow for restoration of salmon spawning, supporters say. The governor says the state’s rapidly growing population is outstripping available water supplies. The Temperance Flat dam would be part of an overall $5.9 billion water supply program the governor is backing. Most of the money would be used for creating new reservoirs to store 500,000 acre-feet of water, he says. State Sen. Dave Cogdill, R-Mariposa, is the author of the legislature that if passed, would put the $5.9 billion bond issue on the ballot. He says the other proposed surface storage site, in addition to Temperance Flat, would be north of the bay delta in Glenn and Colusa counties. The two locations were selected because the areas are part of an agreement negotiated by CALFED, the state and federal agency created to restore the ecological health of the delta and improve water management, he says. Central Valley Business Times_ 3/26/07
Black & Veatch aids large cities in Indonesia with major sanitation projects
The global engineering, consulting and construction company is working on behalf of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to assist the Government of Indonesia form an investment loan program to improve sanitation services. The project is expected to decrease urban pollution, improve public health and enhance the well-being of the general population. In 2005, Indonesia’s urban population was estimated at 101 million, or 48 percent of the country’s total population. By 2025, the urban population is expected to grow to 60 percent, or 160 million people. The study will prepare city sanitation strategies (CSS) for five large cities and full feasibility studies for up to three of these cities. The CSS will allow communities to choose a sanitation system from an informed menu of suitable systems, subjected to feasibility. Black & Veatch also will prepare implementation support and institutional development programmes addressing sector reform, governance and public awareness. The company has signed a contract with the ADB for a period of 10 months to carry out the study. News Release_ 1/15/07
AWWA ads try to increase interest in what comes out of the tap
Even as more people turn to bottled water for drinking, the hidden pipes that carry tap water to their sinks, showers or sprinklers may be deteriorating, according to the American Water Works Association. The public will pay for repairs sooner or later - but is it willing? Enter the association's message: "Only Tap Water Delivers," which features abundant public service announcements, speeches, videos, and even drink holders imprinted: "This drink made with tap water." One newspaper ad featured a water faucet with the caption, "Do you know how often you turn me on?" It's difficult to make people care about tap water, organizers say. The director of the Denver-based waterworks group, Jack Hoffbuhr, referred to a study several years ago showing only one-quarter of California residents drink untreated tap water; the rest gulp down bottled water or use filters to treat water from the faucet. Rapid growth spurs investment in new pipes and treatment systems but leaves little money to replace the old ones, which might have been in the ground 50 years or longer, said Krista Clark, director of regulatory affairs for the Association of California Water Agencies. Flood-control needs and wastewater treatment upgrades could put pipe replacement low on a long list of priorities, Clark said. Stockton Record_ 1/2/07
Camarillo and Thousand Oaks, California districts pool resources for $30 million water program
The Camrosa Water District, the Camarillo Sanitation District and the city of Thousand Oaks plan to embark on a $30 million fourphase project called the Renewable Water Resource Management Program. The program will allow the districts to share pipe connections and to upgrade water facilities to make better recycled water for agricultural use. The three districts said their mutual goals are to reduce reliance on pricey imported water, lower the amount of salt in underground water basins and make better use of recycled water. When completed, the program will save the districts 20 million gallons per day of imported water, about 12 million gallons of recycled water for irrigation and nearly 8 million gallons of drinking water from two desalt treatment plants. Camarillo Acorn_ 12/8/06
South Florida Water Management District helps fund alternative water projects
With $18 million in matching funds from the state, the South Florida Water Management District has approved $40.5 million to help South Florida communities build alternative water supply projects. When completed, SFWMD predicted the projects collectively to provide 238.5 million gallons of additional water a day. The district said it expects more than a quarter of that water, 63.1 million gallons a day, to be available as early as next year. Alternative water includes using saltwater, brackish water, surface water following wet weather, reclaimed water and stormwater from reservoirs or aquifer storage and recovery systems. South Florida Business Journal_ 10/13/06
Los Angeles to make $3 billion in sewer, storm water and water treatment improvements
The city is expected to add 700,000 residents in the next 14 years and all those people - and their waste - will generate 68 million more gallons of wastewater daily. Much of the massive blueprint is dedicated to upgrading sewer lines and expanding the city's wastewater treatment plant in the Valley. And it marks one of the first comprehensive efforts in years. The Bureau of Sanitation is expected to present the plan to the Los Angeles Board of Public Works on Wednesday, and officials expect the City Council to approve it by the end of October. The sewer, storm-water and wastewater upgrades would be built over the next 20 years. The Integrated Resources Plan is a new kind of project for Los Angeles. The Department of Water and Power - which supplies water for use - and the Bureau of Sanitation - which treats water after it's used - teamed up to see how they could coordinate efforts. Los Angeles Daily News_ 10/4/06
September, 2006
California infrastructure gets C-minus as engineers issue report card
California's infrastructure is in such bad shape that the $42 billion bond package on the November ballot would make only a dent in the problem, according to a new report issued Wednesday by an engineers group. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the state's overall infrastructure a grade of C-minus and said it would take an additional $37 billion annually for at least a decade to get it up to an acceptable B grade. The C-minus grade came in the American Society of Civil Engineers' first California Infrastructure Report Card, based on similar reports by the society at the national level. The last national report card gave the U.S. infrastructure a D grade. Los Angeles Daily News_ 9/27/06
The Louis Berger Group, Inc. and Black & Veatch Special Projects Corp. Joint Venture (JV) has been awarded the five-year, $1.4 billion Afghanistan Infrastructure and Rehabilitation Program (AIRP) contract by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The AIRP work, expanding and rehabilitating critical infrastructure, will benefit the government and people of Afghanistan through the rehabilitation and construction of critical energy, transportation and water infrastructure in the country. These improvements will be anchored through long-term technical, operational and regulatory assistance to the ministries and agencies that operate and maintain the infrastructure, including training, mentoring and multi-country exchange programs that transfer global best practices to Afghanistan utilities. Press Release_ 9/19/06
August, 2006
Aquatech International Corporation wins $100 million wastewater plant for Oman's Mukhaizna oilfield
US based Aquatech won a contract to supply a wastewater recycling and reuse plant, valued at over $100 million, for the Mukhaizna enhanced oil recovery project, Oman Daily Observer reported. The facility will use Mechanical Vapour Compression-based evaporation technology to desalinate and recycle wastewater that will be generated during the development of the potentially prolific Mukhaizna field in central Oman one of the largest in the Sultanate. MENAFN_ 8/26/06
Cambio estimated he ultimately would need as much as 2.3 million gallons a day for the 480-acre Centre of New England business park project in Coventry. But the Kent County Water Authority, struggling to find new sources of water to serve its multi-community coverage area, has balked at giving Cambio a guarantee. The Water Authority serves all of the buildings in the business park thus far. But earlier this year, it gave its blessing to Cambio's plan for an independent system within its own network. Providence Journal_ 8/23/06
Bureau of Reclamation to expand water aid to Cloudcroft, New Mexico
Stewart Brothers Drilling Co. won a competitive contract to drill a 1,200-foot-deep well that will serve as a drinking water source for the village of Cloudcroft. Work is to begin in September and end in November. This is the fourth well drilling contract issued under the Bureau's Drought Emergency Assistance Program and the second instance of assistance to Cloudcroft. Under the program, wells also are being drilled in Ruidoso, Ruidoso Downs and Las Vegas (N.M.). Some of the Bureau's funding will go toward well drilling, temporary water distribution, contingency planning, water banking, and conservation efforts in severe drought situations. New Mexico Business Weekly_ 8/17/06
New York mayor goes underground for huge water tunnel excavation
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, wearing a hard hat and knee-high galoshes, traveled 550 feet below city streets on Wednesday to mark the end of excavation for an 8 1/2-mile water tunnel and witness the final gouge into Manhattan bedrock. The citywide project, expected to be completed in 2012, began 36 years ago and has spanned the administrations of six mayors. When you turn on a faucet in New York City, that water is most likely being delivered from upstate reservoirs by two other tunnels that were built in 1917 and 1936 and carry 1.2 billion gallons of water per day. They have never been taken out of service for inspection or maintenance, which is part of the reason officials are eager to complete the new water tunnel. The next step for the Manhattan portion of the tunnel, which also will carry water from upstate, is to finish it off with concrete. The leg under Brooklyn and Queens is nearly complete and is expected to start delivering water in 2009. AP/Newsday_ 8/9/06
South Dakota water system to celebrate end of 13-year construction project
The Mid-Dakota Rural Water System plans a celebration in Miller on Saturday to observe the pending finish of the federally funded portion of the project. October completion of a pipeline southeast of Huron will mark the end of 13 years of construction. The system, which delivers water from Lake Oahe to customers in a 7,000-square-mile area, started in 1994 with the construction of the reservoir pumping station. Mid-Dakota, conceived as a $108 million project in 1989, now is estimated to cost $155 million. The water system serves 30,000 people in 13 South Dakota counties. AP/Rapid City Journal_ 8/9/06
Mason, Michigan to build $7 million water treatment plant to cut radium levels
The new plant will double water bills for residents and is expected to go online in 2008. Federal rules that went into effect in December 2003 call for radium levels to be measured where water enters the distribution system rather than farther down the line. Radium, a naturally occurring groundwater contaminant, may raise the risk of bone cancer, said Adam Rosenthal, environmental quality analyst with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Lansing State Journal_ 8/6/06
July, 2006
High bids stall Washington County, Arkansas water project for rural homes
Construction on the Southeast Water project was scheduled to begin this fall, but four bids received for Phase One construction work all significantly overshot the $3.3 million budget, said Wayne Blankenship, the county grant administrator. The bids ranged between $5.1 million and $7 million. The construction estimates were prepared more than two years ago, and rising prices since then contributed to the problem, said Jerry Hunton, county judge. The project must be fully funded before construction can begin, according to state and federal funding rules. The three-phase project, approved in 2004, is planned to run rural water to an estimated 750 users in the southeast quadrant of Washington County. The Morning News_ 7/29/06
April, 2006
£100 million rennovation to give Edinburgh, Scotland world's 'best' water
Edinburgh's Victorian water supply is to receive a £100m boost to help rid it of discoloured water and leaky pipes. Scottish Water has announced a huge investment programme to improve the quality of water for more than 500,000 people living in the city. The project, which will run for more than four years, will also provide better protection against the potentially deadly cryptosporidium bug. Water officials said the water supply would be "the best in the world". BBC News_ 4/24/06
Texas water plan with new reservoirs under fire
Landowners, environmentalists and timber industry executives are lining up to oppose a regional water plan for the Dallas-Fort Worth area that depends on the construction of two huge new reservoirs in Northeast Texas. The Texas Water Development Board is set to vote Tuesday on whether to approve the water use plans, which include the construction of the $2.1 billion Marvin Nichols Dam on the Sulphur River and the $569 million Fastrill Dam on the Neches River, which would flood about 100,000 acres combined and require hundreds of thousands of more acres to be taken. The Dallas-Fort Worth area should do more to conserve water and use existing water resources before the state builds two massive new reservoirs, opponents said Monday. AP/KRIS-TV_ 4/17/06
Far-sighted Phoenix plans new water treatment plant to meet needs for next half century
Construction for just the first phase of the new Western Canal Water Treatment Plant is expected to be at least $350 million, officials said Thursday. It will cost another $13 million a year to operate. It is supposed to augment the city's entire existing distribution system using a combination of groundwater and canal water provided by Salt River Project and Central Arizona Project. Phoenix wants to have it ready to provide as much as 40 million gallons of water per day by 2014. It should be fully built out by 2055, when it will be pumping as many as 120 million gallons of water daily. Arizona Republic_ 4/14/06 (logon required)
December, 2005
Raft of new sewage treatment and desalination projects planned across the United Arab Emirates
Demand is running at its highest in Dubai — increasing at a rate of 14% every year. A major sewage treatment plant will be built at Jebel Ali and is expected to recycle 65.9 million gallons of wastewater a day by the time it is completed in 2009. Three new desalination units are also planned for the site and they will increase current production capacity by 159.4 million gallons a day within the next two years. The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) is also boosting production at the Al Aweer wastewater plant by 10.9 million gallons a day and is in talks over plans to construct new sites in the emirate. The move comes as the government and developers wrangle over the region’s dwindling water supplies. The Middle East currently consumes 1% of the world’s fresh water resources. ITP.net_ 12/24/05
November, 2005
San Francisco PUC OKs revised water plan
A $4.3 Billion project
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission unanimously approved a revised plan Tuesday to rebuild the Hetch Hetchy system, a $4.3 billion project that officials say is crucial to assuring the soundness of the regional water supply.
The 10-year construction project calls for upgrading pipeline, dams, pump stations and tunnels along the 167-mile aqueduct that starts in Yosemite National Park and ends in the Bay Area. The intent is to make the system, which supplies water to residents and businesses in San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Mateo and Alameda counties, less vulnerable to earthquake damage and other threats, including terrorism. San Francisco Chronicle_11/30/05
Work ends on 100-mile UK Victorian
water line
The Thirlmere Aqueduct carries water from Cumbria
to the Manchester area. It was built in 1885. During the £750,000
project, engineers re-lined three of the sections with a special waterproof
plastic.
BBC News_ 10/22/05
Unit of Sweden's Skanska to build $52 million wastewater treatment plant in Douglas County, Georgia
The Douglasville-Douglas County Water and Sewer Authority awarded the contract to Skanska USA Civil's unit Atlantic Skanska, which within the last year has secured four water treatment plant projects in the Greater Atlanta area, with a combined value of $155 million. The assignment involves a new wastewater treatment facility with a capacity of six million gallons per day, approximately 23,000 cubic meters. Work begins in October and is scheduled to be completed in approximately two and half years. The new treatment facility will replace an existing plant. The project will result in a capacity increase necessitated by the sharp growth in population in the region. The number of wastewater customers in Douglasville-Douglas County is increasing at a rate of 6 percent annually. Press Release/PrimeZone_ 10/6/05
Mayor of Rockford, Illinois proposes $75 million water quality overhaul
The city's 14 aldermen would have to give Mayor Larry Morrissey's project the green light with a vote this fall. Their approval would allow the city to raise the average monthly water rate from $16.90 per household to $23.50 over a three-year period. The plan calls for a complete overhaul of the system, addressing a number of system deficiencies, including high levels of iron and manganese, radium contamination, low water pressure and a deteriorating infrastructure. The proposed improvements include the construction of 10 treatment plants, the installation of two new wells, the additional of variable speed pumps and new electrical controls at primary well sites, construction of about 15 miles of new water main and the demolition of three dilapidated concrete water storage tanks. Rockford Register Star_ 10/10/05
Turkey begins $9.5 million engineering work for Cyprus water pipeline
The Turkish water supply project, which envisaged to meet the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus's (TRNC) long term water need, has been launched.
The construction of some of its parts has been
signed between the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works and Alsim
Alarko. The pipeline will provide an annual water supply of 75 million
meter cubes, of which 15 million meter cubes will be used as drinking
water after being processed at the water treatment facilities to be built
near Lefkosa (Nicosia). The remaining 60 million meter cubes will be
used to irrigate the Mesaoria plain. The estimated duration and the
total cost of the construction is not yet clear. The German newspaper
Frankfurter Rundschau wrote Turkey planned to realize the project with
an estimated cost of $250 million within five years. Zaman_ 10/8/05
Indianapolis, Indiana
mayor unveils $435 million sewer plan
Mayor Bart Peterson announced a sweeping program of sewer improvement
projects today that would nearly double sewer rates and stormwater fees
over the next three years. Peterson said the problem of 45 to 80 combined
sewer overflows every year must be addressed to improve the environment,
quality of life and health of Indianapolis neighborhoods. Indianapolis
Star_ 10/3/05
September, 2005
Hartford, West Virginia to discuss potential water, sewer upgrades
Dirty water, leaks and low water pressure have become the norm in the Town of Hartford, much to the dismay of people who live there. But perhaps no one is as concerned as Steve Myers, chief operator of the water and sewer department in the town. He said the water and sewer departments both need renovations, with an out-dated pumphouse, old water lines and small tanks being the biggest problems in the water department. Point Pleasant Register_ 9/30/05
100-mile UK aqueduct repairs
begun between Lake District and Manchester
The £750,000 ($1.3 million) project will repair the Thirlmere Aqueduct,
which carries water from Cumbria to the Manchester area and was built
in 1885. Engineers are re-lining three of the bridge sections with a
special waterproof plastic. Due to the remote location
of the stretch between Thirlmere and Kendal, workers and their equipment
will be transported by helicopter. BBC News_ 9/27/05
CH2M Hill wins $159 million contract
to build San Diego County Water Authority water treatment plant
The San Diego County Water Authority board of directors took action at a
special meeting today to approve construction of a 100-million gallon
per day water treatment plant. The plant, the first to be built and operated
by the Water Authority, will help alleviate the growing need for additional
treated water capacity that has strained the Authority’s
ability to meet demands over the last three summers.
The water treatment plant is part of the Water Authority’s $3.2
billion Capital Improvement Program to reduce over reliance on a single
supplier and improve water reliability by diversifying the region’s
water supply portfolio. The board
selected the submerged membrane treatment process over two other proposed
conventional treatment processes. It was determined that the membrane
treatment process will produce a higher quality water and be less expensive
then the conventional processes and will be more environmentally friendly.
San Diego County Water Authority Press Release_ 9/8/05
Frederick
County, Maryland and city of Frederick end negotiations over
how a 15-mile water line from the Potomac River will be used
The county will still build the line, and the city will still get water
-- but not as much as it wanted. With the end of negotiations, a 2000
agreement among the two governments and the Lake Linganore Association
will guide how the 25 million gallons a day of water are allocated. With
its proposed ultimate allocation cut in half, the city's proportional
share of the costs comes to about $16 million instead of $31 million. AP/Baltimore
Sun_ 9/4/05
August, 2005
Reservoirs, wells, integration
part of Maui water plan
Hawaii's Maui County is focused on planning a complete, integrated
water system, Mayor Alan Arakawa told Upcountry residents last week. Tapping
a variety of sources and transmission systems, from bigger reservoirs
to privately developed wells, from desalination plants to pipelines connecting
Central Maui with Upcountry, the county will provide the entire island
a more stable water supply, Arakawa said. When voters in 2002 approved
a plan to strip authority from the Board of Water Supply and bring the
county water system under the full control of the mayor and County Council,
county officials were left with a hodgepodge of policies and rules cobbled
together over a period of decades. The Maui News_ 8/21/05
Changes would allow more water to flow from the Delta to Southern California
The state and federal governments want to change the operations of California's water systems to allow increased pumping from the Delta. The Operating Criteria and Plan — OCAP — was hammered out by the federal Bureau of Reclamation and the Department of Water Resources. The bureau operates the Central Valley Project and the state operates the California State Water Project. It would increase the amount of water the state can pump out of the Delta near Tracy from 6,680 to 8,500 cubic feet per second. One cfs is about 450 gallons per minute. The plan's environmental impact report is currently being challenged by a lawsuit filed by environmental groups. Chico Enterprise-Record_ 8/20/05
June, 2005
Syria's capital water infrastructure to be upgraded
Damascus water supply pipes that currently lose around a third of their contents through leakage will be upgraded at the end of June, following an agreement between the Japanese government and Syrian authorities. The system carries water to around three million people living in the Syrian capital, Damascus. Reuters_6/20/05
Tapia forests and water supply projects in Madagascar get World Bank funding
A project to conserve Madagascar's tapia forests and revive its wild silkworms, is one of the two Malagasy entries which have won funding in the World Bank's 2005 Development Marketplace Competition. Ny Tanintsika ('our land'), a Malagasy NGO working in land management and community development issues, is to receive about US $110,000 to reforest the Tapia woods, which cover roughly 50,000 ha in the Amoron'i Mania region of southeastern Madagascar. Tapia trees (Uapaca bojeri) are known locally for their edible fruit and as the habitat of the wild Malagasy silkworm. Another NGO, Bush Proof, will receive $150,000 to provide clean water to rural and coastal areas by rapidly constructing jetted wells with hand pumps. This method of well drilling involves the use of a high-velocity stream of fluid to cut a hole in the ground and transport the loosened material out of the hole. Reuters_6/7/05
Unloved, but not unbuilt; World Bank looks to build a different kind of dam, but not China and India
In recent years, the World Bank scaled back its involvement in dam building, in part because of regional economic problems and in part because of mounting criticism that many large dams did more harm than good. But now as it re-enters the arena, the bank has been under pressure to improve its review process to produce better dams: ones that generate as much power or irrigate as much land as developers claim, have as benign an impact on the environment as possible, and increase living standards of the people affected. Yet such "good" dams often have higher costs, so while the bank moves cautiously, it risks losing projects to countries like China and India, which are willing to export their dam-building expertise without all the strings attached. New York Times_ 6/5/05 (logon required)
May, 2005
Construction finally begins on controversial Bronx water filtration plant
After years of court battles, public hearings and protests, the city is finally building a water filtration plant in the Bronx. The work on the controversial five-year project started four months ago. The facility will be tucked away 10-stories underground at a cost of $1.5 billion. NY1_5/24/05
Increased spending targets water and energy in Australia
The NSW Government will spend an extra $1 billion a year until 2009 on building and investing in infrastructure, with a clear focus on the state's dwindling water supplies and increasing energy demand. The Treasurer, Andrew Refshauge, said $3.8 billion would be spent on hospitals, schools, roads and police. But the largest investment would be in NSW's public trading enterprises. More than $4 billion would be invested in water, public transport, energy and housing, he said. The Sydney Morning Herald_5/25/05 logon required
Water and sewer bonds on Kansas City Council agenda
The City Council will consider putting two measures on the Aug. 2 ballot that together call for up to $500 million in additional revenue bonds for more modernization. Voters authorized $175 million in bonds in the mid-1990s to begin upgrading ancient water and sewer pipes, but the city officials say the job is far from over. Kansas City has some sewers that predate the Civil War, and half of its water lines are 50 to 100 years old. Kansas City Star_5/19/05 logon required
Saudis in S.F. to cement U.S. ties
Billions in government contracts discussed
Saudi Arabian businessmen and royalty swept through San Francisco on Wednesday on a national tour to increase U.S. investment in the kingdom and ease fears that terrorism could disrupt trade. The delegation's members brought with them the promise of billions in government contracts to build new power plants, railways and water desalinization facilities to serve their fast-growing population. They touted new laws to privatize government-run industries and allow foreigners to own up to 100 percent of new projects, an arrangement formerly banned. San Francisco Chronicle_5/19/05
Pennsylvania water company to improve infrastructure
Aqua Pennsylvania Inc. said it will spend more than $80 million to improve its infrastructure in southeastern Pennsylvania this year. The subsidiary of Bryn Mawr, Pa.-based Aqua America Inc. (NYSE: WTR) said the two largest projects it plans to undertake are plant upgrades at its Pickering West water treatment facility in Schuylkill Township, which will cost $7.27 million, and its Crum Creek water treatment facility in Springfield Township, which will cost $7.1 million. Philadelphia Business Journal_5/18/05
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California will study the feasibility of boring an 11-mile-long tunnel under the Cleveland National Forest, adding some political muscle to a proposal that could give Inland Empire commuters a direct route to Orange County. Dismissed by critics as farfetched and overly expensive, the tunnel is one of several options under consideration by regional transportation agencies trying to alleviate the traffic crush between Orange and Riverside counties. It could also carry water pipes between the two regions. Los Angeles Times_5/12/05 Logon Required
April, 2005
The South Korean company said in a public notice to the Korea Exchange that Kuwait's Ministry of Energy had placed the order, with construction due to be completed by December, 2007. Reuters_ 4/11/5
South Korea's Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. wins $266 million Qatar water project
Doosan planned to complete construction of the water treatment facility by May, 2008, the company said in a statement. Reuters_ 4/6/05
The 40-year loan carries an interest rate of just 0.95 percent. The 3.8 billion ringgit ($1 billion) project is badly needed to ensure adequate water supplies for the fast-growing capital, Kuala Lumpur, and surrounding areas of the heavily populated state of Selangor. It involves building a dam in neighbouring Pahang state and piping water to Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. Reuters_ 4/4/05
March, 2005
Moss Point, Mississippi breaks ground for new water treatment system
Project Crystal Clear includes two reverse osmosis water treatment plants and new water lines to improve water distribution. The project was undertaken in connection with the settlement of an enforcement action taken by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. Rohm and Haas, a chemical company, was fined $38 million before closing its Moss Point plant in 2001. Sun Herald_ 3/31/05
The Grand Prairie Irrigation Project has been mired for several years in a court battle as conservationists and reluctant farmers fight to keep it from being built. Supporters of the project say it is needed to replace water now being pumped from aquifers that have been depleted to dangerously low levels. AP/San Francisco Chronicle_ 3/10/05
February, 2005
UK's
Severn Trent Water to invest £2.3billion in water improvements
The firm supplies water to about eight million customers across the East
and West Midlands. The company says the money
will mean improved drinking water quality, more flooding protection and
upgraded sewerage infrastructure. BBC News_ 2/22/05
Option for Charlottesville, Va.-area water expansion causes concern
The 980-acre Ragged Mountain Natural Area has become a treasured resource for local runners, hikers and bird-watchers over the years. But if the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority chooses to expand the reservoir, many of the trails would be completely submerged. Demand is expected to outpace supply by 2008, and worsen every year after. The RWSA has proposed several possible solutions, including expanding the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir, piping water from the James River and flooding the natural area. Charlottesvillle, Va. Daily Progress_ 2/14/05
The projected cost of rebuilding the San Francisco-owned regional water system on which 2.4 million Bay Area residents rely has ballooned 20 percent to $4.3 billion -- and city utility officials plan to ask suburban customers in San Mateo, Santa Clara and Alameda counties to pick up the additional tab. In a report for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission on upgrading the Hetch Hetchy water system, General Manager Susan Leal blames inadequate planning by her predecessors at the agency for a $700 million increase in the $3.6 billion price tag that was presented to city voters and suburban customers back in 2002. Reuters_ 2/8/05
Delay expected in bidding for $101 million Wisconsin water pipeline
A delay with engineering designs for the Central Brown County Water Authority’s pipeline to Manitowoc is expected to push back its earliest bid dates by two weeks, authority Manager Dave Vaclavik said. The delay, which would likely cause project bid dates to be consolidated into a shorter span, shouldn’t affect the project timeline, Vaclavik told authority members. Made up of the communities of De Pere, Howard, Allouez, Bellevue, Lawrence and Ledgeview, the authority has planned to complete the project in time to begin buying Lake Michigan water from Manitowoc by December 2006 to meet new federal guidelines. Green Bay Press-Gazette_ 2/6/05
January, 2005
SNC-Lavalin to build water plant in Algeria
In addition to building the C$750 million ($604 million) water treatment plant and pumping station, the company will operate and maintain the facilities for five years. SNC-Lavalin said construction should be completed in the fall of 2007. Reuters_ 1/27/05
Guam Waterworks Authority to borrow $16.8 million for radio water meters and privitization study
The Consolidated Commission authorized the borrowing to purchase equipment and meters needed to comply with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Stipulated Order. The radio read water meters will improve the accuracy and speed of meter reading. The CCU also voted to authorize Guam Waterworks Authority to pay $2.3 million in overdue accounts payable, and $3.7 million toward the study for privatization of the agency. Pacific Daily News_ 1/18/05
December, 2004
If the system is feasible, the district will link the ponds via an 8-mile-long pipeline to bring water from the California Aqueduct to the ponds. The water district serves 20,000 customers in a 55-square-mile area encompassing Victorville and unincorporated Mountain View Acres to the west. San Bernardino Sun_ 12/4/04
November 22, 2004
It's a perfect spot for expansion, although it's not the only site under intense scrutiny in this scramble for new water storage. Under the Bureau of Reclamation's current timetable, construction could be under way in five years and completed in 10. Sacramento Bee_ 11/22/04
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's resources secretary, Mike Chrisman, directed his agency to study possible restoration of the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park, giving an unexpected official boost to the controversial idea of dismantling the dam that has been integral to the Bay Area's water supply for more than 80 years. The decision came less than two months after the nonprofit group Environmental Defense released a study detailing possible alternatives to the Bay Area's sources of drinking water and hydroelectric power. Chrisman said he has asked the Department of Water Resources to review 20 years' worth of restoration proposals. Los Angeles Times_ 11/12/04 (logon required)
Cumberland County, Virginia chosen as site for $170 million reservoir
Cumberland and Henrico counties have settled on a site in northern Cumberland for a proposed reservoir that would provide water for the Richmond area during droughts. The lake, on Cobbs Creek near the James River, would cover about 1,100 acres and hold 15 billion gallons. Cumberland is a rural county of 9,000 about 45 miles west of Richmond. Richmond Times-Dispatch_ 11/11/04
Britain's Interserve Plc wins two water contracts worth $277 million
Interserve, which cleans hospitals and schools, said one contract was with Severn Trent Water worth around 100 million pounds and the other was a project to build a treatment plant for Thames Water worth 50 million pounds as part of a consortium. Reuters_ 11/10/04
Layton, Utah tells developers if you want to build here, BYOW: Bring Your Own Water
City officials approved a plan requiring developers to provide water shares equal for three-acre feet of water -- or 1 million gallons -- for each acre they develop. Driving the new ordinance is a fear that the city won't have enough drinking water once it reaches its peak of about 119,000 residents, or buildout, by the year 2030. AP/Daily Herald_ 11/8/04
October, 2004
Lowering the water level behind the 84-year-old earthen dam at San Pablo Reservoir is a temporary fix and it may cost $100 million to repair the dam. Costs would be borne by customers of the East Bay Municipal Utility District. State dam engineers inspect 1,250 dams.
An additional 100 California dams are managed by the federal government. San Francisco Chronicle_ 10/28/04
The sheer size of its removal will make it one of the most complicated in the country, and the project will carry an expected price tag of $130 million. The local water district is leading the removal effort. The dam, built in 1947, was created for flood control and to recharge groundwater supplies. AP/San Francisco Chronicle_ 10/25/04
The new reservoir will serve protect the Caloosahatchee River and provide a back up water supply for Southwest Florida. NBC2_ 10/14/04
It may be difficult to grasp how flushing the toilet could be considered a political act. Yet gallons upon gallons of waste that enter the city's sewer system every day must go someplace, and deciding where, and how it arrives there, can be deeply contentious. New York Times_ 10/3/04 (logon required)
New Britain, Connecticut, to receive $300,000 federal grant for water treatment plant
The plant began operating in May, but additional VA-HUD funds will help defray costs to taxpayers while reducing water bills. Federal grants have funded a little over 10 percent of the $57 million plant. A large portion was funded with a state grant; New Britain residents have funded between $14 million and $15 million through their bonding capability. The new plant, which replaced two plants built in 1940 and 1960, can pump and treat 22 million gallons of water each day and serve 85,000 residents in New Britain, Farmington, Newington, Berlin and Bristol. It is expected to meet the region’s needs for the next 70 years. New Britain Herald_ 10/2/04
September, 2004
U.S. unveils $1 billion deal for Afghan construction, including water and sewer projects
The U.S. Defense Department notified Congress of a proposed sale of infrastructure and construction services to Afghanistan by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers valued at up to $1 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which oversees foreign arms sales, said the deal would cover construction of facilities for the Afghan National Army in Kabul, as well as four regional army command posts in Gardez, Kandahar, Herat and Mazar-e Sharif. Reuters_ 9/28/04
In return, the borough would get more than $200 million for parks projects. The plant was approved 45 to 5, with one abstention, despite angry protests from several Council members and outbursts from spectators in the balcony. New York Times_ 9/29/04 (logon required)
Plans are to build an 8 mgd (million gallons per day) water treatment facility about halfway between Coal City and Ragland at the old Collins Spring quarry, which is located off Alabama 144. Officials hope the new surface water treatment facility can be up and running by spring 2007. Daily Home_ 9/24/04
Southwest Florida may receive big money for water projects
The South Florida Water Management District, which covers 16 counties and is leading the $8 billion Everglades restoration, is in the final stages of preparing its $792.3 million budget. In Southwest Florida, the Estero Bay watershed will get about $1 million in projects; the Caloosahatchee River area will get $4.1 million; there's a flood forecasting project on the books for Orange River; and Charlotte Harbor will see about $1 million. News-press_ 9/20/04
Construction of the much-awaited Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project pipeline is likely to be delayed
The only construction contract awarded so far is to Chinese Electrical Machinery and Equipment (CEME) to build the Gwayi-Shangani dam. Designs haven't been drawn yet for the 450-kilometre pipeline from the Zambezi river to Bulawayo. The entire project is scheduled for completion in about three years. Officials of Matabeleland Zambezi Water Trust (MZWT) are expected to travel to Malaysia this month to sign a US$600 million joint-venture that will see the Malaysians holding an 80% stake in the project while the MZWT will only have a 20% equity. Zimbabwe Independent_ 9/10/04
China
breaks ground on $50.3 million Beijing-Shijiazhuang water tunnel
Work on the huge inverted siphon and a more than 2,660-metre long tunnel began in Hebei's Quyang and Xushui counties, respectively. The 307-kilometre long Beijing-Shijiazhuang section is a key part of the middle line to link four reservoirs in Hebei with Beijing as an emergency water supply channel to help ease up possible shortages in China's capital city by 2007 or before the Beijing 2008 Olympics. China Daily_ 9/2/04
August, 2004
Houston,
Texas' $97 million water purification plant fails purity tests
"You can't drink it," David Berg, a local lawyer who chairs
the Houston Area Water Corp. board that oversees the plant, told the Houston
Chronicle. "I don't think in the long run this is going to be a problem,
but right now we have a serious problem."
The Northeast Water Purification Plant is technically private, but actually
belongs to a quasi-governmental nonprofit HAWC created four years ago
by the city of Houston, which owns the rights to Lake Houston's water.
The cost of fixing the problems will be borne by Montgomery Watson Harza,
the Colorado contractor hired by HAWC to build the plant. AP/Denton
Record-Chronicle_ 8/26/04 (logon required)
San
Francisco's troubled Hetch Hetchy expansion may be done early but the
$3.6 billion project could cost an additional $194 million
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's rebuild and expansion
of the Sierra-fed waterworks may be completed two years ahead of schedule
in 2014, according to a state-mandated report. New commission General
Manager Susan Leal, who resigned as San Francisco treasurer and took over
the long-troubled water, power and sewer agency morning, said she wasn't
surprised by the increases. San Francisco Chronicle_ 8/25/04
Virginia commission lets Newport News take water from Mattaponi River for a reservoir Despite continued concerns that the shad population would be hurt, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission reversed itself 15 months after it had denied the proposal over concern for the fish. The VMRC's decision resets in motion the Army Corps of Engineers review of the proposal for a 1,500-acre reservoir in King William County. AP/Virginia Pilot_ 8/13/04 |
Kinsley Construction is expected to finish the 15-mile project by November. The pipeline will carry up to 12 million gallons of water daily to Redman and then into Lake Williams during times of drought. York Daily Record_ 8/10/04
Long-delayed project to remove two dams on Washington state's Elwha River finally approved
The city of Port Angeles, the National Park Service and members of the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe signed the agreement to begin work on the $182 million plan to restore the Elwha. Approximately 145 dams have been removed in the United States since 1999, but all were smaller than the 108-foot-tall Elwha Dam and the 210-foot-tall Glines Canyon Dam. The federal government will put $70 million toward construction of a water-treatment plant in Port Angeles, while the Lower Elwha Klallam Reservation will receive a sewer system, raised flood-protection levee and fish hatchery. AP/San Francisco Chronicle_ 8/6/04
July, 2004
$150
million San Luis Obispo County, California water pipeline moving ahead
despite urging from private desalination effort to put it on hold
The Nacimiento Water Project is a 45-mile-long pipeline from Nacimiento
Lake to San Luis Obispo, delivering water to communities along the way.
A private group is working on preliminary plans to build a $90-million
desalination plant that could be used instead of, or in addition to, the
pipeline. At a public workshop a spokesman for DesalNATE of Woodland Hills,
the private desalination plan being developed by Parson Brinckerhoff,
advocated putting the pipeline on hold while his project is given more
consideration. Local officials say there aren't enough details yet on
a desal plant to justify halting the pipeline. San Luis Obispo
Tribune_ 7/18/04
New
York county gets $10 million for water system to attract business to new
technology park
Saratoga County now has $20 million in state and federal grants to apply
to the estimated $55 million to $60 million it will cost to pipe water
from the Upper Hudson River at Moreau to the 1,350-acre Luther Forest
Technology Campus in Malta and Stillwater. The project could bring as
many as 10,000 jobs and $10 billion in investment to the region. Saratoga
Economic Development Corp. President Kenneth Green is now on the West
Coast recruiting prospective tenants. Albany, N.Y. Times-Union_
7/15/04
Lugoff-Elgin`s
new $4.7 million, state-of-the-art South Carolina water treatment plant
is nearly complete
The plant is designed to remain in compliance with government water quality
regulations until at least 2015 and features a four-stage flocculation
system -- a phase in the purification process during which positively
charged particles are added to raw water to bond with solids and remove
them from the water -- as well as advanced sedimentation and filtration
systems. The present plant was built in 1974 and will be used as a backup
system. Chronicle-Independent_ 7/12/04
Macon, Georgia's move from the antique to modern came thanks to the flood that left residents without water for three weeks. Macon Telegraph_ 7/7/04
Aurora,
Colorado looks to big recycling project to double water supply
In the coming months, Aurora officials will choose a plan designed to
bring another 80,000 acre-feet of water into its system, doubling the
city's supply by the year 2050. One proposal under study, the $250 million
to $650 million Lower South Platte Project, would remove water downstream
and pump it back to Aurora via a 35-mile pipeline to a newly built reservoir.
There the water would be treated and reused. Under Colorado law, water
native to a basin is usually used once, treated and returned to the stream.
But water transferred from another watershed basin may be reused until
it is gone. Rocky Mouontain News_ 7/5/04
Boustead
engineering and technology to build a US$75 million, or S$129 million,
water supply project in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta
The project will eventually supply clean treated water to 60 to 70 percent
of the city's 2.2 million people, spread over an area almost twice the
size of Singapore. Channel NewsAsia_ 7/5/04
June, 2004
Cost estimates range from $2.6 million to $3.4 million for the treatment plant that uses microfiltration units and low-pressure reverse osmosis units. The current plant, which is nearly 75 years old, uses a sand filter process to treat water from reservoirs. Toledo Blade_ 6/26/04
San
Diego County Water Authority approves nearly $2 billion in new projects
to decrease dependence on southern California's Metropolitan Water District
The three most important of the 22 projects are a desalination plant,
a $103 million water-treatment facility and a plan to create new reservoir
storage space in the county. They'll decide next month how to pay for
the projects. North County Times_ 6/25/04
Aurora,
Colorado completes $25 million upgrade to one of two city water treatment
plants
Aurora Utilities Department spokeswoman Melissa Elliott said the upgrade
gives the Wemlinger plant the ability to treat an additional 60 million
to 80 million gallons a day, an increase of about 33 percent. The plant's
filter systems also were upgraded. Rocky Mountain News_ 6/21/04
May, 2004
$900
million Colorado water pipeline hinges on two cities
After years of complicated water trades, legal maneuvers and government
bureaucracy, Colorado Springs is poised to see a clear path for its Southern
Delivery System, a $900 million pipeline to bring to the city water it
already owns in Pueblo Reservoir 43 miles away. But to get the deal through,
Colorado Springs must appease Pueblo and Aurora, both with water rights
in the river - and the clout to tie up the deal in court. Denver Post_
5/24/04
Work
on Jordan's $125 million Zara-Maeen water treatment project begins
Partially funded by the USAID, the Zara-Maeen treatment plant will provide
47 million cubic metres of potable water to Greater Amman and the Dead
Sea resort areas, benefiting two million people, officials said. Jordan
Times/MENAFN.com_ 5/12/04
April, 2004
The Central Utah Project eventually will guarantee water to the south end of Utah County for the next 50 years. It also will eventually bring water to north Utah County and Salt Lake County to replace water that Orem, Provo and north Utah County cities now take out of the Provo River for irrigation and drinking water before it reaches Utah Lake. Daily Herald_ 4/14/04
Malaysia
promises clean and safe water for all homes in 6 years
The government's plans include building five dams, raw water transfer
projects and several water treatment plants to ensure uninterrupted water
supply. Straits Times 4/1/04
March, 2004
Saudi
Arabia seeks desalination water investments for four Red Sea and Gulf
coast projects totaling $5.3 billion
Private firms will have a 60 percent share in the build-own-operate projects,
with the Saudi government holding 32 percent and the partly state-owned
Saudi Electricity Company holding the remaining eight percent. Reuters
3/30/04
The $1.2 billion water filtration
plant is planned togo underneath a Bronx driving range. But residents
fear the city won't keep its promise to restore the soil and 28 acres
of grass when the eight-year construction project is finished. New
York Times 3/25/04
Mason,
Ohio approves contracts for $32 million wastewater plant
Construction equipment could start moving in within the next couple weeks
on the project which is expected to take two years to complete.Cincinatti
Enquirer 3/25/04
Colorado
reservoir wins final approval
Parker's first reservoir, 20 years in the planning, has received final
approval from the Army Corps of Engineers. Rocky Mountain News 3/11/04
February, 2004
Digging itself out of a hole. San Antonio, Texas, Water System gets proactive about replacing city's aging pipes; $110 million budgeted for 2004. San Antonio Business Journal 2/23/04
Sultanate of Oman likely to award multi-million dollar contracts later this year for a modern wastewater collection and treatment system. Trade Arabia 2/19/04
Texas water board allots $21.5 million for projects in seven parts of the state. AP/Star Telegram 2/18/04
Belfast,
Northern Ireland, to get £100 million sewer system to serve 250,000
people. Old sewers date to Victorian era. 4ni 2/9/04
New York judge orders water company to build a filtration plant.
Company argued filtration wasn't needed. New York Times 2/7/04
January, 2004
South Dakota lawmakers move toward $500 million backcup plan for the Lewis & Clark Water Project. Bonds could be used if federal financing for the Missouri River project falls through. AP/Aberdeen News 1/29/04