Historic Beginnings

In 1943, the U.S. Army purchased the small town of Richland, Washington and its surrounding area to build a nuclear production complex. The community was quickly converted into living quarters for the thousands of soldiers working at what became known as the Hanford Site. The plutonium manufactured at the complex was instrumental to the Manhattan Project, which produced the world’s first nuclear weapons during World War II.

In the last few years, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have come under harsh scrutiny for the risks they pose to human health and to our surrounding environment. Governing bodies like the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are studying them to determine what kind of regulations must be instituted to protect public health. This includes limitations on these chemicals in wastewater—PFAS contaminate our collection systems, and current methods are insufficient to eliminate or remove them during treatment.

Many of us are familiar with the rotten egg smell associated with sewers. But few people know the real cause behind this distinctive odor. Here’s the rundown on this stinky situation.

You never know what you'll encounter when inspecting sewers, but ROVVER X's quick-change design ensures you can rapidly adapt to any challenge.

The wastewater industry is constantly evolving. New developments in technology show us faster and more accurate ways to complete maintenance work—and often with fewer resources. Through these advancements, we get a glimpse into what’s possible in the industry and what more can be learned from our systems underground. 

Manholes are vertical underground confined spaces used by utility personnel as a point of access to a sewer system. 

America’s drinking water infrastructure is getting a D, but it’s not something we can afford. From a wide lens, the reason our national drinking water infrastructure is failing is simple: It’s old and poorly maintained. But narrow the focus, and the explanation behind the failing grade is more complicated.

Sanitary sewer systems are critical to the U.S. economy and to protecting public health and the environment. But because they're hidden from sight, few outside the water and wastewater industry understand their operation. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates more than 151,000 public water systems in the United States that serve 90% of Americans—that’s more than 290 million people who rely on sanitary sewers!

Every four years, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) releases an Infrastructure Report Card grading the United States on 16 major infrastructure categories, as well as the state of the nation’s infrastructure as a whole. In 2017, the U.S. overall tied its grade from 2013 with a D+. Wastewater infrastructure improved its grade from a D in 2013 to a D+ in 2017.