On Tuesday, July 19th, the Economic Development Administration announced grant investments in the City of Huntingburg and Rensselaer, Indiana. The Economic Development Administration is a federal agency that plays a critical role in facilitating regional economic development in communities across the nation. The City of Huntingburg was granted $3.2 million for their Wastewater Treatment Plant […]
Attention High Hazard Dam Owners: As of July 1, 2022, Senate Enrolled Act No. 269 is in effect. This act updates IC 14-27-7.5 regulation of Dams. The Code requires High Hazard Dam Owners to prepare an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) to allow them to be prepared for any unsafe conditions that may occur at the […]
A series on Water Loss Audits wouldn’t be complete without some mention of documentation and record-keeping. This is a very important, but often overlooked aspect of a water utility: written policies and procedures. Documentation is a critical part of any organization as administration changes, staff members retire or are hired in, and paperwork turns digital. […]
Corrosion Control Treatment The Service Line Inventory and Sampling Plan must be updated prior to the compliance date of September 16, 2024. Once the new Sampling Plan is in place, the updated “Action” and “Trigger” levels for Lead and Copper will be imposed. If samples exceed these limits, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) […]
Parts 1 and 2 of our discussion of Water Loss Audits discussed steps your utility could take to both directly decrease lost water and improve system functionality. Part 3 can be viewed as an extension to the mapping component: hydraulic modeling. Hydraulic models can be used to predict utility needs based on growth, development, capital […]
Commonwealth Engineers, Inc. has been named a 2022 Top Workplace in the Indianapolis Star Top Workplaces list (announced on May 15)! We are humbled to receive this recognition and thank our employees for making Commonwealth a positive and enjoyable place to work. This year’s recognition marks the fourth consecutive year that Commonwealth has received the […]
Replacement Plan Once the Service Line Inventory has been created, the next steps include (1) the creation of a Replacement Plan and (2) an update to the Sampling Plan. Any system with a Lead, Galvanized downstream of Lead, or Unknown service line material must assemble a plan for replacement of these lines. Implementation of the […]
We recently posted a “Part 1” in our discussion of Water Loss Audits that provided a brief background of the need for an Audit as well as one recommended way to increase your “score” and therefore reduce lost water! Part 2 of this discussion will focus on an indirect way to reduce lost water: mapping. […]
Service Line Inventory The Revised Final Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) became effective on December 16, 2021. The new compliance date is September 16, 2024, meaning preliminary actions should be started soon to meet this short compliance deadline. The changes in this rule that affect every public water utility include: Requirement of the Creation and […]
In 2019, the State Legislation enacted the Senate Enrolled Act 4 which requires annual water audits by all community water systems. These audits must be “Validated” by a third-party certified “Validator” every even-numbered year starting in 2020. These water audits will evaluate the Utility’s water loss and establish proactive steps to address these water loss […]
