Lincoln raises water and sewer rates by 3%
August 27, 2008

Higher fuel and chemical costs have raised the price of operating the Lincoln water and wastewater system, so the public works department there requested an increase in rates which was approved by the Lincoln City Council on Monday. A sampling of public reaction -- including a resident who accused the council of raising rates as a service to homebuilders and commenters on the Lincoln Journal-Star website who say they'll ignore summertime watering restrictions and try to vote the sitting councilmembers out of office -- gives us another plain example of how sensitive many people are to even small changes in water and sewer rates. How to effectively communicate the need for policy and rate changes to the public will be the subject of a presentation we will be giving at the Nebraska AWWA conference in November.


Council Bluffs wants a new water plant by 2011
August 26, 2008

The western Iowa city of Council Bluffs is in the design phase of a project to build a new 5 million-gallon-per-day (MGD) water treatment plant.


Ottumwa notes one-year anniversary of waterworks flood
August 25, 2008

It was a year ago that the Ottumwa Water Works was hit by a serious flood that knocked out much of the city's water-distribution system. A year later, the city is taking precautions to ensure that such a disaster never happens again. We have a number of solutions that can help prevent disaster during flooding emergencies, including flood-control gates, emergency bypass and flood-protection pumps, and pump stations with engine backup systems, just in case the power goes out -- which it's most likely to do during the same emergencies that lead to flooding.


Kansas tells Nebraska, "You'll be hearing from our lawyers"
August 22, 2008

The chief engineer of the Kansas Division of Water Resources has made it clear that his state plans to take Nebraska and Colorado to task -- probably in court -- to ensure that Kansas gets more water through the Republican River Compact. Water shortages in the Great Plains are becoming a significant subject of interest from our part of the country all the way south to Texas, where T. Boone Pickens has been coordinating water rights for profit.

We can help you with pumps for clean water, gates for irrigation management, and many other clean-water products. Please feel free to contact us with your questions.


Fay drops stunning amounts of water on Florida
August 21, 2008

Tropical Storm Fay has dropped an incredible amount of rain on parts of Florida -- with some places getting almost 24 inches of rain in just over two days. That's about the same amount of precipitation as Omaha gets in an average year. Meanwhile, lots of places are losing power due to the storm as well. While the precipitation is apparently good news for citrus growers, it's certainly going to create flooding problems for many people. The confluence of heavy rains and power outages are a good reminder of the value of battery-backup sump pumps -- increasingly valuable even in Florida, where basements are no longer an anomaly, and practically a necessity in the Midwest. Those power outages also serve as a reminder of the value of lift stations with engine backups and portable bypass pumps. Heavy rains put an even heavier burden on many sewer systems.


Rising construction prices place pressure on contractors
August 20, 2008

Average prices for many construction materials rose substantially last month, and they're showing few if any signs of slowing down. Meanwhile, demand has slackened in many places as well. As a result, lots of projects are bidding well above engineers' estimates. One way to help control costs is to use fiberglass enclosures, which can be factory-built at lower cost than many field-constructed buildings. Contact us with your questions about fiberglass enclosures.


Tropical storm lands in Florida
August 19, 2008

Tropical Storm Fay remains strong as it traverses Florida. It made landfall this morning around Naples, Florida, and has maintained a lot of strength as it pushes north. The storm serves as a reminder of the value of flood-cleanup pumps and engine-backup lift stations, particularly as an estimated 93,000 customers are without power across the state of Florida.


Flood damage still being repaired in Iowa City
August 18, 2008

Two months after the massive floods that hit eastern Iowa especially hard, work is still underway to return basic utility services to full capacity. An effort to repair sewage force mains in Iowa City led to a 100,000-gallon wastewater bypass into the Iowa River last week, and one of the pipes being checked was missing a 40-foot section. It's impossible to know when portable bypass pumps will be needed most, which is why early planning for emergencies is critical.


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