Venice, Fla., reconstructed its seawall using a glass floodwall. (City of Venice) Florida’s Gulf Coast is beloved by its residents and visitors, but its attractive shoreline can take a beating from severe weather events. In Venice, Fla., an existing seawall…
New Charlotte Water Facility Meets Stringent Standards
The Stowe RWRRF will serve western Mecklenburg County and municipalities across the river in eastern Gaston County. This interlocal partnership will transform…
Raising Charleston’s Low Battery Seawall to Stem the Tide of Rising Sea Levels
A photo shows in-progress construction to raise the height of the Low Battery seawall in Charleston, S.C., by approximately 2 feet with options to extend…
Water Utilities Tackle PFAS Remediation
According to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) is linked to increased risk of a variety of health concerns to humans and other mammals, including some cancers. Many PFASs were…
Needing Every Last Drop: Western States Are Recycling Wastewater in a Variety of Ways
A rendering shows the interior view of the membrane treatment area at the Advanced Water Purification Facility being developed in El Paso, Texas. As water scarcity continues to be a concern—particularly in the western United States and as growing populations…
Effects of the EPA WOTUS SCOTUS Decision on Engineering
The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision limiting the Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction over “adjacent wetlands” to those having a continuous surface connection to bodies that are “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) with no clear demarcation between…
Wildfire Endangers Drinking Water: Lessons from Colorado’s Marshall Fire
Private wells are particularly vulnerable to contamination from wildfires. Whelton and his students spent a week in January 2023 conducting free water testing for these wells in the Louisville, Colo., area. Pictured is Kristofer Isaacson, a Purdue graduate…
Smart Ponds: Hurricane Ian Tests Stormwater Technology
A Smart Pond installation at Babcock Ranch in Florida. Just a few months after Florida’s Port Tampa Bay installed National Stormwater Trust (NST) Smart Pond technology, Hurricane Ian made landfall in the area, causing extensive flood and wind damage—but…
New Water Resource Recovery Facility for ‘Beer City USA‘
A Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) conditioning system recovers and conditions methane to pipeline-quality natural gas used by the city of Grand Rapids’ public transportation system and the city’s natural-gas-powered vehicles. With more than 40 breweries, the…
Drones Becoming Integral for Infrastructure Projects
Trevor Byrd, LSIT, Anderson Engineering survey party chief, uses a drone to inspect a bridge over the Spring River in Carthage, Mo. (American Public Works Association) Ed Bartels, P.E., L.S., assistant county engineer for Johnson County, Iowa, calls himself…
