Water & Dams

Q&A: Panama Canal’s First Woman Administrator Looks Ahead

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 07:07:53 -0400

The Panama Canal’s first female administrator, Ilya Espino de Marotta, talks leadership, engineering and equity.

New Panama Canal Chief Takes on Next Wave of Megaprojects

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 07:07:37 -0400

The Panama Canal is about to undertake an $8.5-billion-plus capital improvement plan aimed at creating a Trans-Isthmus Logistics Corridor.

Water Conservation Meets Geopolitics at the Panama Canal

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 07:00:00 -0400

The Panama Canal is bracing for renewed drought risk while surging traffic from Strait of Hormuz disruptions tests water-saving measures and long-term reservoir plans.

Project Cost, Risk Responsibility Debated at Resilience Conference

Fri, 19 Jun 2026 11:54:52 -0400

Speakers at New York City event last month discussed need for communities to be better prepared for drastic changes in water levels.

Navy Maps Out Four Packages for Planned $10B Bremerton Dry Dock Rebuild

gottliebb@enr.com (Bryan Gottlieb) — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 14:11:28 -0400

As the U.S. Navy advances a planned $10-billion dry dock at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, new documents reveal four major construction packages and phasing.

EPA Approves 13-Acre PCB Landfill in Western Massachusetts

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 14:54:57 -0400

General Electric is building a 13-acre landfill in Lee, Mass.

Tapping Into Torrance’s Brackish Water Plume

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Unlocking a long inaccessible source of groundwater through a combination of progressive design-build delivery and pilot-driven decision-making.

$400M, 30-Mile Illinois Water Pipeline Moves Forward

manniona@enr.com (Annemarie Mannion) — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 15:53:34 -0400

Pipeline to bring Lake Michigan water to Chicago's far-west suburbs passes critical milestone.

GE Gets Underway on 13-Acre PCB Landfill in Western Massachusetts

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 14:00:00 -0400

The planned landfill will contain 3 million cu yd of polychlorinated biphenyl-containing sediment from the Housatonic River contaminated from last-century transformer manufacturing

Virginia Beach Begins Initial Phase of $518M Flood Protection Program

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 16:41:45 -0400

The Windsor Woods program totals $518 million for flood control efforts in Virginia Beach, Va.

UAE Awards $285M EPC Contract for Desalination Plant P3 Project

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 14:24:08 -0400

The seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant will be located at the Port of Fujairah, the second such facility delivered under a public-private partnership model in the United Arab Emirates.

Colorado River Agencies Test Framework for Interstate Water Exchanges

gottliebb@enr.com (Bryan Gottlieb) — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 16:39:00 -0400

Can Southwest water agencies create a new market for desalinated and recycled water without building pipelines or altering Colorado River water rights?

Pittsburgh Readies to Dig Into $1B Sewer Overflow Tunnel Project

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 16:08:36 -0400

Lane/Brayman’s five-year, $1-billion contract for the Ohio River Tunnel project in Pittsburgh is scheduled to get underway later this year.

California Water Agency Ramps Up Novel Deep-Sea Desalination Plan

rubind@enr.com (Debra K. Rubin) — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:43:00 -0400

Las Virgenes Municipal Water District this fall will suspend ''pod' at depth in Santa Monica Bay to produce desalinated water using developer OceanWell's innovative technology, with less energy needed and less brine created.

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 ordnances 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.