On February 5, 2021, Oldsmar, Florida’s water treatment plant operators found themselves under attack. A hacker infiltrated the facility’s system and attempted to increase the water’s level of sodium hydroxide to over 100 times its normal amount. While sodium hydroxide is commonly used in water and wastewater treatment to remove heavy metal particles, large amounts of sodium hydroxide are poisonous to humans and can be deadly.  

Last month we reconnected with many of our incredible sales partners at the WWETT Show. We had a blast celebrating our network’s growth and recognizing the top sales performers of the past year. Here are our 2022 award recipients: 

A Better Way To Manage Sewers

For many wastewater operators, things are getting harder, not easier. With diminishing budgets and aging sewer infrastructure across North America, municipalities’ options are limited. Excessive inflow and infiltration (I&I) can cause a collection system to exceed its capacity limits, leading to increased treatment costs and sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) that release untreated effluent into the environment. And aggressive cleaning programs, while effective at clearing pipes of debris, result in some pipes getting over-cleaned. This wastes resources and leads to premature pipe degradation and, eventually, early pipe failure. Today’s teams have neither the time nor the money to do it all.

In the world of sewer assessment, visual pipe inspection tools are extremely helpful for gathering detailed data on sewer conditions. While this equipment is popular in the industry, it only represents one kind of inspection method. Non-visual inspection technologies are a category in themselves, and include a range of solutions, including acoustic pipe assessment, electrical leak location and other leak testing, laser profiling, and the use of ground-penetrating radar and geospatial probes.

Natural disasters are nothing new in the United States. In 2017 alone, the country experienced 16 extreme weather events including devastating hurricanes and raging wildfires. Extreme weather is on the rise. While local policymakers and health officialslead the charge to prepare for these disasters, municipal water and wastewaterdepartments should participate in these efforts to help keep their crews, communities and assets safe and protected, and to ensure that essential services are maintained wherever possible. We’ve compiled a list of best practices to augment your utility’s extreme weather response plans and procedures. 

When she became co-owner of Orlando-based wastewater contractor LRIE, Inc., Karoline Headrick and her business partner decided it was time to transition away from recording inspections by hand.

Take a look at some of our most popular content from the past year, including customer spotlights, articles and free resources!

Headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, Aqualis is an environmental firm that provides innovative stormwater and wastewater management services. The company operates across the United States and Puerto Rico.

“It’s hard for a company like us to switch to something new. Even though we were starting to get a little frustrated with our previous equipment provider, it was difficult to start making a transition to a whole other system.”

“APS offers anything and everything in the trenchless infrastructure market, from cleaning and televising to laser profiling, to pressure grouting, to manhole rehab and inspections, to CIPP liners,” said Allan Cagle, president of Atlantic Pipe Services (APS). “You name it, our team performs it.”