Now that the floodwaters of spring and summer have receded, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has identified 93 critical areas of damage in the Mississippi River and tributaries (MR&T) system that won’t survive another flood without great risk to life. But the Corps only has the money to fix the top 10.The top 10 projects on the Corps' list would cost $75.8 million. The agency released those and an additional $704 million worth of critical projects to a meeting of the Interagency Recovery Task Force in New Orleans October 20. The Corps formed the IRTF to work with federal
Photo courtesy of Barnard Construction Crews working from a barge began removing portions from the middle section of Glines Canyon dam on Sept. 15 Contractors have started chipping away on the Glines Canyon Dam in Port Angeles, Wash., one of two dams on the Elwha River that are scheduled for removal as part of the largest project of its kind in the U.S. The 210-ft-high Glines Canyon dam and the 108-ft-high Elwha Dam are the two highest dams ever to be removed in the U.S. The project includes the removal of 24 million cu yd of sediment and debris and
Image courtesy Tampa Bay Water Just six years after opening its 15.5-billion-gallon reservoir, Tampa Bay Water recently awarded a $162-million contract to Kiewit Infrastructure Group South to repair and expand the cracking facility. Related Links: Settlement Between HDR and Tampa Bay Water Hits Snag Tampa Bay Water Opts for Kiewit's $162M Fix for Cracking Reservoir A month after an invalid vote that provided "conditional approval" of a $30-million settlement with HDR Engineering over cracks in its six-year-old reservoir, on Oct. 17 the board of directors of Tampa Bay Water voted unanimously to reject the deal and proceed with its pending
Green infrastructure programs can be hard to implement because of a lack of data demonstrating green infrastructure's benefits, costs and performance; lack of design standards and best management practices; lack of financial incentives; and regulations that can be overly prescriptive and inflexible.These conclusions are included in a September report by the Washington, D.C.-based Clean Water America Alliance highlighted at the second Urban Water Sustainability Leadership conference, held on Oct. 3-5 in Milwaukee.One of the report's key recommendations is directed to the Environmental Protection Agency, said Ben Grumbles, Clean Water America Alliance president and a former EPA assistant secretary of water.
Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Dept. of Public Works Treatment plant is set for completion next year; deep tunnel is set for a 2017 completion. One month after awarding a $25-million sewerage-tunnel construction inspection contract amid a packed field of proposals, Indianapolis utility Citizens Energy Group will select a firm to build the $275-million project, with the low bidder 33% below the estimate.On Sept. 29, AECOM Technology Corp. was awarded the inspection contract for the Deep Rock sewage overflow project. The Los Angeles-based firm bested competitors that included Parsons Brinckerhoff's Water Group, locally based American Structurepoint, Burgess & Niple and a
Related Links: D.C. Water's Blue Plains Undertakes Three Major Environmental Projects The Chesapeake Bay remains at risk, largely because of pollution from stormwater runoff, farms and wastewater treatment plants. Excess nitrogen and phosphorous from these sources deplete oxygen and create large “dead zones” in which algae blooms cut off sunlight vital to the survival of marine life and underwater grasses. In December 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency developed a bay-wide “pollution diet” that sets numeric limits on the total maximum daily load of nutrients each state in the watershed can contribute to the bay. Blue Plains already is meeting
Photo courtesy of Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District MRES plans to add powerplant on right side of Red Rock Reservoir spillway. Missouri River Energy Services plans to build a 36.4-MW hydroelectric plant on an existing dam near Pella, Iowa. The project is indicative of a slow but developing trend in the U.S.MRES, a Sioux Falls, S.D.-based municipal utility power supplier, has hired MWH for engineering work on the $220-million project, Tom Heller, MRES chief executive officer, said on Sept. 16. MWH is an engineering consultant headquartered in Broomfield, Colo.MRES plans to build the Red Rock hydroelectric facility on
Photo by Debra K. Rubin Flood-damaged Home Depot megastore could stay closed until Sept. 3 Related Links: For a Downgraded Storm, Irene Leaves Her Mark on East Coast Infrastructure While many contractors and homeowners have flocked to big-box home improvement stores for critical supplies in Hurricane Irene-hit states, extensive flooding at one of Atlanta-based Home Depot's largest U.S. stores, in Union, N.J., will keep it closed until at least Sept. 3.The store has been shuttered since Aug. 28, when Irene swept across New Jersey.A Home Depot spokesman declined to discuss the extent of damage to the roughly 217,000 sq-ft "superstore"
While many contractors and homeowners have flocked to big-box home improvement stores for critical supplies in Hurricane Irene-hit states, extensive flooding at one of Atlanta-based Home Depot's largest U.S. stores, in Union, N.J., will keep it closed until at least Sept. 3.The store has been shuttered since Aug. 28, when Irene swept across New Jersey.A Home Depot spokesman declined to discuss the extent of damage to the roughly 217,000 sq-ft "superstore" or say when it would reopen. A security guard at the store site said the store could reopen on Sept. 3. Water had completely filled the store's parking lot,
Related Links: Hurricane Irene Serves as Laboratory for Testing Bridge Innovations Hurricane-Hit N.J. Home Depot Ends Up In Same Flood as Customers Hurricane Irene's late summer trip Aug. 27-30 along the East Coast from the Carolinas up to Manhattan and through New England was anything but restful for people and infrastructure in the storm's path.The hurricane had diminished to tropical storm status as it churned up the coast, turned inland and headed to Canada. But it brought enough wind and rain to generate record flooding in some areas; it chewed up infrastructure and caused damage of at least $7 billion
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