Public Works: Latest News

Water district to install 46th hypochlorite generator

Wed, 22 May 2013 07:56:31 EST

By the end of the summer, the Rancho California Water District’s Elm Street Pump Station will be operating the agency’s first vertical-cell sodium hypochlorite generator for reclaimed water. The principal application will be irrigation for a sports park and golf courses.

9 ways to protect fleet technicians from possible death

Wed, 22 May 2013 07:15:30 EST

"We strongly recommend a disciplined approach to ensure complete operator safety," says Stertil-Koni USA Inc. President Jean DellAmore. The vehicle lift manufacturer's research finds that requiring these nine steps enhances technician safety.

Can anyone tell me what this person’s referring to?

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:40:29 EST

He (or she) responded to my note about whether public works departments are using consultants more or less because of the Great Recession with this: No; we hired our consulting engineer to tell us the best, and hopefully least costly, way to solve a sewer sag problem.

Streetlighting consultants arrested for cheating Pa. cities

Wed, 22 May 2013 02:03:29 EST

Two Municipal Energy Managers employees are charged with a felony for taking payments but not maintaining streetlights in Allentown, Bethlehem, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, and now Richland.

Senate OKs first Army Corps of Engineers funding bill in six years

Wed, 22 May 2013 01:59:32 EST

There's one more hoop to jump through: The U.S. House of Representatives. Some representatives think the Senate's $12.2 billion Water Resources Development Act reauthorization gives the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers too much leeway on project selection.

The 100 best government fleets in North America

Wed, 22 May 2013 01:59:31 EST

Congratulations to the familiar faces among the winners. Is your department on the list?

Obama accelerates state, local public works project permitting

Wed, 22 May 2013 01:58:30 EST

President Obama has signed a memo with the intention of speeding up the federal permitting process for construction of infrastructure projects.

Disinfection byproducts rule drives demand for activated carbon

Mon, 20 May 2013 05:05:26 EST

U.S. demand for virgin and reactivated activated carbon is expected to increase 11% annually to 1.3 billion pounds worth $1.35 billion in 2017.

Traffic Signals Barely Make the Grade

Wed, 22 May 2013 05:41:08 EST

The latest National Transportation Operations Coalition assessment shows that cities, counties, and states are slowly but surely improving traffic signal management and operation despite the usual continued challenges.

The 10 most innovative parking cities in the U.S.

Mon, 20 May 2013 05:03:59 EST

San Francisco, Seattle, and New York lead in parking innovation; LA, DC, Portland,Ore., Miami, Houston, Boston, Denver, Pittsburgh, and Tampa also are named as cities that are re-thinking parking with technology and new approaches.

State and local governments lead the way in US infrastructure delivery

Fri, 17 May 2013 02:40:54 EST

New global report from the Urban Land Institute and Ernst & Young highlights the critical role of local and state governments in meeting US infrastructure requirements.

Federal court shoots down Texas flow-control ordinance

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:08:06 EST

Settlement allows court ruling to stand: collection companies may dispose of waste where it makes the most economic sense (including their own landfills), not at government-mandated locations.

National Public Works Week begins on Sunday!

Wed, 15 May 2013 10:56:07 EST

Why are people always so surprised at how nice public works people are?!

Video: Cut $500,000 in inflow and infiltration costs

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:32:23 EST

“New” technology, such as cured-in-place pipe, isn’t necessarily “better” for structurally repairing water and sewer pipelines.

Video: How to build a 10-lane highway bridge in 13 months

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:28:39 EST

The Minneapolis bridge that tragically collapsed in 2007 was replaced in one-third the usual time, a deadline that required using concretes for which Minnesota DOT had no specifications.

The controversy over fluoridated water continues, amid new data

Wed, 8 May 2013 02:58:53 EST

Although the evidence still supports the chemical's ability to help prevent tooth decay.

Third U.S. state signs paint take-back law

Wed, 8 May 2013 02:47:59 EST

Connecticut is working with PaintCare, a non-profit formed by architectural paint manufacturers to collect, reuse, and otherwise recycle unused product. Like the two other states (California and Oregon) with paint-stewardship laws, Connecticut's assesses a per-container fee.

Putting public roads in private hands has a long and shaky history (with map)

Wed, 8 May 2013 02:47:58 EST

As Colorado DOT signs off on its first public-private partnership to build, improve, and maintain state roads, this article reviews federal/local strategies for "public" highways.

So are toll roads the answer?

Wed, 8 May 2013 02:47:54 EST

A survey of 1,000 Americans shows they'd prefer to raise money for roads maintenance via "user pays directly" (i.e., tolls) than paying more in gas or sales taxes. Of course, if we pay more we also expect more — as these results show.

Well, that's one way to get more federal funding

Wed, 8 May 2013 02:47:52 EST

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is awarding $569 million to New Jersey and New York to fix drinking water and wastewater assets trashed by Superstorm Sandy last fall.