Water & Dams

Southern California Water Agencies Mount Massive Push for Reuse

mcfarlandp@enr.com (Pam McFarland) — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 16:10:00 -0400

Separate programs work collectively to reduce reliance on imported supply, including effort to manufacture water through innovative deep-ocean desalination.

US Commission Asks Mexico to Prioritize Pipes Leaking Raw Sewage in Tijuana River Valley

yodersj@enr.com (Jeff Yoders) — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 10:54:41 -0400

The parallel gravity line pipe system in the Tijuna River Valley ruptured twice in a period of less than two weeks.

Port of Long Beach Continues $2.4B Buildout as Bigger Ships Come In

choa@enr.com (Aileen Cho) — Fri, 29 May 2026 13:41:50 -0400

Joint venture team is coping with tides, port traffic and unexploded ordinances on Port of Long Beach's $400-million pier infill project.

DC Agency Chief Defends Pre-Sewage Spill Maintenance, But System Repair Is Far from Over

Fri, 22 May 2026 15:50:00 -0400

DC Water CEO David Gadis cited long-term access easements, standardized permitting timelines and better regulator field coordination "to prevent a recurrence of the failure," but one stakeholder lamented there was no conclusive spill cause or 'clear plan' to avoid future ones.

EPA Scales Back Limits on PFAS Chemicals in Drinking Water

mcfarlandp@enr.com (Pam McFarland) — Fri, 22 May 2026 12:46:51 -0400

US Environmental Protection Agency wants to maintain legally enforceable limits on the most-studied types of "forever" chemicals known as PFAS but would roll back standards established for four other types, including GenX.

Army Corps Terminates Shimmick From Chickamauga Dam Lock Chamber Contract

kormanr@enr.com (Richard Korman) — Fri, 22 May 2026 10:55:17 -0400

Shimmick disputes the causes for termination from the $309-million project.

Federal Agency Spending Review Ramps Up in Congress

mcfarlandp@enr.com (Pam McFarland) — Wed, 20 May 2026 14:43:28 -0400

The appropriations process directing use of federal funds in fiscal year 2027 has begun in earnest, with hearings and markups scheduled in both chambers over the next several weeks.

Port Authority Aims to Maximize Available Space For Cargo in New York and New Jersey

Fri, 15 May 2026 09:44:17 -0400

Agency director discusses planned infrastructure upgrades to wharves and waterways.

EPA 'Forever Chemicals' Guidance Highlights Areas Where More Research Is Needed

mcfarlandp@enr.com (Pam McFarland) — Wed, 13 May 2026 07:40:00 -0400

EPA's interim guidance on best practices to dispose of and destroy “forever” chemicals highlights widely used technologies, but others need further study.

Waterways Council Recommends Program Manager for All River Construction Projects

yodersj@enr.com (Jeff Yoders) — Tue, 12 May 2026 16:58:46 -0400

The Waterways Council is calling on Congress to create an Inland Navigation Construction Organization to manage construction on the nation's rivers.

Utah Nears Completion of 17-Year, 49-Mile Spanish Fork–Santaquin Pipeline

Mon, 11 May 2026 13:56:27 -0400

Crews in southern Utah County are nearing completion on one of the most consequential water infrastructure projects in the Western U.S.

Research Illuminates Pollution Problem in Tijuana River Valley

yodersj@enr.com (Jeff Yoders) — Thu, 07 May 2026 12:10:00 -0400

Trans-border sewage crisis brings new research on how pollution becomes airborne, while Stantec/PCL team delivers rapid expansion of wastewater treatment plant.

US-Israel Joint Venture Unveils $1B Desalination Plant Plan in South Texas

kongv@enr.com (Vince Kong) — Tue, 05 May 2026 15:25:08 -0400

Team bets big on seawater desalination as region water supply pressure intensifies, but few project technical details are released.

Fed Science Board Firings Will Weaken Research that Supports Engineering, Critics Say

mcfarlandp@enr.com (Pam McFarland) — Fri, 01 May 2026 08:24:00 -0400

Terminations of the National Science Foundation's 22-member board, including noted USC engineering school AI researcher Yolanda Gil, could have a chilling effect on scientific and engineering research.

Colorado River States Clear Emergency Water Transfer as System Nears Hydropower Floor

gottliebb@enr.com (Bryan Gottlieb) — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 11:05:26 -0400

Colorado River states approve emergency Flaming Gorge releases as Lake Powell nears hydropower thresholds, signaling deeper infrastructure constraints and looming capital investment decisions across the basin.

EPA Highlights Plan to Push for Greater Water Reuse by Utilities, Energy Sector

mcfarlandp@enr.com (Pam McFarland) — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 15:23:13 -0400

Strong demand from new data centers is just one reason the agency is pushing for water reuse across a range of industries.

Flooding Threatens Dams and Locks in Michigan

manniona@enr.com (Annemarie Mannion) — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 16:56:18 -0400

Trying to protect the Cheboygan Dam and Locks, workers have placed large sandbags and 11 pumps, including two 24-in pumps to maneuver water around the structure.

New Hampshire $360M Stormwater Tunnel Project Awaits Tunnel Boring Machine

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 14:45:00 -0400

TBM will support one of the city's largest-ever public works projects, set to start in August the bore of a 2.25 mile, 12-ft-dia stormwater conveyance tunnel.

J.F. Brennan Gains $114M Corps Award for Invasive Carp Deterrent System in Joliet, Ill.

gottliebb@enr.com (Bryan Gottlieb) — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 10:00:00 -0400

Illinois project, part of $1.15B effort to protect Lake Michigan, is among Corps and Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command contracts, also awarded in California, Ohio and Europe.

ENR 2026 Top Owners ‘Byte’ Down on AI Boom

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 16:30:00 -0400

Construction in progress rises as data center hyperscalers drive power generation and infrastructure demands amid intensifying regional conflicts.

Corps Awards $1.8B in Southern California Dam Safety Contracts to Barnard Construction

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 14:54:07 -0400

A pair of Southern California dam upgrades aim to mitigate flood risk for nearly 2.5 million people and $400 billion worth of infrastructure in the area between the dams and the Pacific Ocean.

Lawmakers Vote to Reauthorize Programs to Support Water Quality, Coastal Protection

mcfarlandp@enr.com (Pam McFarland) — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 07:58:00 -0400

Despite lawmakers' action, funding levels overall are barely a drop in the bucket and must be used more "strategically" in smaller projects for better preparedness and protection, said one industry expert.

Interior Deploys $889M for Western Water Systems as Capacity Losses Mount

gottliebb@enr.com (Bryan Gottlieb) — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 16:57:33 -0400

About $1 billion in federal funding distributed through the Interior Dept. will go toward rehabilitating canals, tunnels and storage systems across six Western states, but America's water infrastructure deficit continues widening faster than investment can close it.

Ruptured DC-Area Sewage Pipe Is Fixed But System Investment Is Far From Over

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 09:47:00 -0400

Permanent repair remains planned for the 1960s-era pipeline and related infrastructure, while utility DC Water said its focus now is on environmental remediation in the surrounding area following a nearly 250-million-gallon sewage spill.

Ten Minutes with Xylem CEO Matthew Pine on Water Use in the AI Boom

mcfarlandp@enr.com (Pam McFarland) — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 17:09:18 -0400

Water pipe manufacturer and software provider steps up to meet needs of the AI buildout and convince utilities and government agencies to rethink their water systems, says its chief executive.

From the Archives: April 11, 1985

lewisw@enr.com (Scott Lewis) — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 12:20:00 -0400

This 1985 cover image depicts the largest iron ore mine in the world, Carajas, in Para State in Brazil, developed by CVRD, now known as Vale.

Texas Gov. Threatens Takeover as Corpus Christi Pushes $1B Water Infrastructure Program

kongv@enr.com (Vince Kong) — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 15:52:07 -0400

State dollars, Texas politics and soaring costs collide as Corpus Christi races to stabilize its water supply.

USACE Awards $30M Contract to Repair Grays Harbor North Jetty

gottliebb@enr.com (Bryan Gottlieb) — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 15:30:22 -0400

How do engineers repair a century-old jetty battered by Pacific storms? A $30M USACE project at Grays Harbor offers a look.

$668M Settlement Advances Cleanup of Seattle’s Lower Duwamish Waterway

gottliebb@enr.com (Bryan Gottlieb) — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 15:18:39 -0500

The settlement resolves funding sources for the continued dredging, sediment capping and long-term remediation along the city’s industrial river corridor, a declared Superfund site.

Rural Texas Utility Plans $29.4M Transmission Upgrade to Support New Groundwater Supply

gottliebb@enr.com (Bryan Gottlieb) — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 12:41:26 -0500

A central Texas utility plans a 7.2-mile transmission replacement to carry new groundwater supplies, pairing well expansion with modernization of a 60-year-old system.