Oil spill threatens drinking water in New Orleans
July 24, 2008

Several communities in and around New Orleans had to shut down their normal water intake systems when a barge accident spilled 400,000 gallons of fuel oil into the Mississippi River. The accident has disrupted shipping traffic and has caused the nearby communities to switch to backup water supplies for public safety.

We can help you with floating oil-spill containment systems. Please feel free to contact us with your questions.


Power outages lead to wastewater bypasses
July 23, 2008

Power outages caused by storms earlier this week led to wastewater bypasses at Buffalo, Muscatine, and Burlington. We offer a range of backup and bypass pumping solutions, including portable engine-driven lift stations and permanent engine-backup stations to help ensure that communities can remain in compliance with state and Federal regulations.


Another story of a flooding near-miss
July 22, 2008

The wastewater lagoon at Tama nearly got inundated by flooding last month, though quick work by sandbaggers kept the situation from becoming a disaster. High-water emergencies like this are why many communities have moved to the use of geomembrane lagoon liners, which can prevent cross-contamination and soil ruptures better than clay liners and compacted soil liners.


Storms cause big power outages across Iowa
July 21, 2008

Early-morning storms disrupted electrical power for tens of thousands of customers across the state of Iowa today. Storm-driven power outages create a double-jeopardy situation for wastewater systems: Storms create the highest flows possible, making the need to maintain uninterrupted service even more important. We can help you with portable bypass pumps and complete portable lift stations as well as lift stations with engine-backup power to ensure total system reliability.


Attend our special presentation at the Nebraska AWWA show
July 18, 2008

Brian Gongol of our office will be giving a presentation at the Fall Conference of the Nebraska Section AWWA in November. Attendees will hear about media relations for the water industry, as Brian shares his insights based on fifteen years in broadcasting and more than six years as a water-industry professional.


Flooding strains city budgets
July 17, 2008

Ottumwa, for instance, has run up tens of thousands of dollars in bills repairing pumps and other equipment damaged by flooding. One of the many advantages to the self-priming pumps of which we are so fond is that they are extremely durable, even in disaster situations. And because the pump and the motor are two different pieces of equipment (as opposed to submersible pumps, which combine the pump and motor into a single piece of machinery), should a disaster occur and cause damage to the electric motor, a self-priming pump can be returned to service almost immediately with the installation of a new motor -- which can often be found on the shelf.


Iowa DNR offers use of SRF funds to help with flood repair
July 16, 2008

Iowa has a significant State Revolving Fund program which provides loans to communities for the development of their municipal water and wastewater systems. Due to the considerable damage caused to those systems by last month's flooding -- some of which continues into this month -- the DNR has advised communities on ways to use SRF dollars to help with flood recovery. Wastewater plants in particular are normally located at the lowest elevation in a community near a river or stream, so they are particularly susceptible to flooding.


Iowa DNR director to hold public forums
July 15, 2008

The director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which regulates Iowa's water quality, is holding a series of public forums to discuss the state's environmental projects underway.

We can help you with a wide variety of products for improving water quality. Please feel free to contact us with your questions.


Floods introduced lots of manure to natural waterways
July 14, 2008

The devastating flooding that hit Iowa in June not only had a disastrous effect on many cities and towns, it also hit many of Iowa's farms quite hard. Some farmers found that flooding destroyed their operations and spilled thousands of tons of manure into creeks, streams, and rivers.

We can help you with portable pumps for flood cleanup. Please feel free to contact us with your questions.


Damage at Cedar Rapids WWTP "like going back 75 years in wastewater treatment history"
July 11, 2008

Flooding disrupted the treatment process so badly that the city has had to bypass virtually all of its wastewater while it tries to restart the biological processes that allow most modern wastewater plants to handle organic loads and turn the water back into something safe and useful.


Visit the Water News Archives from 2005 through today