Since 1980, weather and climate disasters in the United States have cost more than $2.195 trillion, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That price tag is only expected to rise. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineering With Nature (EWN) initiative seeks out and scales up nature-based solutions to these growing threats. In this interview, Municipal Water Leader speaks with Todd Bridges, the Army Corps’ national lead for the EWN program, about how everything from constructed wetlands and dunes to natural seawalls can protect communities from flood, drought, and other effects of climate change. 

Process Wastewater Technologies (PWTech) is a small but rapidly growing company working on combined sewer overflow and sludge dewatering technologies. One of its leading products is a volute dewatering press that can be used by wastewater plants to dewater sludge, vastly simplifying the task of disposing of it. In this interview, we speak to Business Development Manager and Regional Sales Manager Chris Hubbard about PWTech’s solutions for the wastewater industry. 

Placer County Water Agency (PCWA) delivers treated and raw water to 43,000 customers across a 1,500‑square-mile service area stretching from the Sacramento suburbs in the west to Lake Tahoe in the east. With California continuing to suffer from severe drought, PCWA is urging its customers to cut water use by 20 percent, and it is providing rebates and pushing out public service announcements (PSAs) to encourage efficiency. In this interview, Linda Higgins, PCWA’s deputy director of customer services, tells Municipal Water Leader about the creative methods the agency is employing to promote its message of conservation and efficiency. 

Northwest Pipe Company’s acquisition of two companies—ParkUSA and Geneva Pipe and Precast— expands its range of product offerings for municipal systems. In this interview, Mike Wray, a Northwest Pipe senior vice president and the general manager of the company’s precast and engineered water technology group, speaks with Municipal Water Leader about the company’s solutions for water, sewer, and storm drainage. 

Hobas Pipe USA Inc. is the leading North American producer and supplier of corrosion-resistant fiberglass pipe products for water- and wastewater-related infrastructure. Hobas’s pipe systems have a 150‑year design life, providing a solution for rehabilitating and replacing aging infrastructure. In this interview, Hobas CEO Martin Dana tells Municipal Water Leader about the company’s vision of providing sustainable solutions for future generations. 

To comply with a host of recent regulations, water quality professionals are turning to outside digital water companies like 120Water to help them execute water safety, compliance, and wastewater monitoring programs. Municipal Water Leader spoke with Megan Glover, cofounder, and CEO of 120Water, about how more than 300 water systems across the United States use the company’s cloud-based software and digital sampling kits for everything from centralizing service line inventory data to end-to-end lead program management. 

When International Paper needed to rehabilitate corroding steel pipes that carry water to cool operations at its Mansfield Mill, it called in A&W Coatings. Project Engineer Nicholas Lehnhoff spoke with Municipal Water Leader about the project’s unique challenges and the benefits that the Warren Environmental epoxy that A&W uses could bring to the facility. 

In her 23 years as an environmental program specialist and in roles such as chapter director in the California Association of Environmental Professionals and board member and membership chair of the National Association of Environmental Professionals, Leslie Tice has learned a key lesson: that integrating environmental considerations early in the planning and design processes can save agencies and applicants time and money. As the national environmental director of HDR’s water business group, Ms. Tice works to make that happen for the company’s clients. In this interview, she explains how managers can avoid pitfalls that come from delaying basic environmental questions. 

The discipline of value engineering applies a results-oriented methodology to find cost savings and optimized solutions to infrastructure project designs. In this interview, Municipal Water Leader speaks with Strategic Value Solutions (SVS) Principal and Executive Vice President John Robinson about what an independent dream team of experts can bring to the project design process.