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Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Engineers give Utah infrastructure a high grade, but say levees and canals need improvement
A canal flows through south-central Utah. (Getty Images) Utah has some of the best infrastructure in the country when compared to other states, although its canals and levees are in need of repair. That's according to the American Society of Civil Engineers' report card, released Thursday, which gives the Beehive State an overall C+ grade. That's tied with Georgia and Wisconsin for the highest score of all U.S. states and territories. 'A C+ means our infrastructure is meeting the needs of Utahns, but there's still room for improvement,' said Craig Friant, a civil engineer who worked on the report. 'This is a sign that we're doing things well here in Utah.' While the state has one of the highest grades, the rest of the country is not far behind. The national grade is C, and most states and territories received a C or C- grade — South Carolina and Louisiana each received a D+, West Virginia received a D and Puerto Rico received a D-, the lowest grade. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, or ASCE, an A grade is defined as exceptional and fit for the future; B is good and adequate for now; C is mediocre, requiring attention; D is poor and at risk; and F is failing, requiring critical attention and unfit for purpose. The report lists 12 separate areas of infrastructure for each state. Consider Utah's report: Aviation: C+ Bridges: B Canals: D+ Dams: C+ Drinking water: B- Hazardous waste: C+ Levees: D- Roads: B+ Solid waste: B- Stormwater: C Transportation: B- Wastewater: C The majority of the state's levees and canals are old, according to the report — most levees are more than 60 years old, and many of the state's canals were built in the 19th century for irrigation purposes. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The report also noted that data isn't readily available for levees and canals, which poses another risk. 'These are systems that protect households and businesses from flooding, yet we don't know their condition in many cases, which is a major public safety hazard,' said Friant, who pointed to outdated levees in Salt Lake County that protect residential areas from flooding during runoff or storms. These levees don't currently meet the Army Corps of Engineers standards, putting them at risk of being delisted — if that happens, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, could eventually reclassify the land surrounding the Salt Lake City International and Provo City airports as flood plains, according to the report. That could 'drastically' alter how the land is assessed and insured, engineers say. What can the state do to boost its grade? The report gives several recommendations, including more analysis and better funding when it comes to infrastructure. 'Specifically, detailed written plans are critical for the areas of water resources, canals, transportation, transit, and waste management,' the report reads. 'The state should be providing consistent financial support for project improvements, maintenance, resiliency, and risk reduction through reliable funding streams year after year that facilitate this planning.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Prioritizing funding for bridges is another recommendation. Even though Utah received a B, engineers say many of the state's bridges are nearing the end of their 'service lives.' The state should also increase funding for its Dam Safety Program. Utah currently has hundreds of dams considered 'high hazard,' which means if they fail, it would cause severe damage and loss of life. That includes the Panguitch Lake Dam, which showed signs of seepage last year after cracks appeared near the top, likely the result of ice pushing up against the concrete. The roughly 1,700 residents of Panguitch were put on notice to prepare for evacuation, but crews were able to break the ice away and stabilize the dam. Utah has a big, expensive and potentially dangerous dam problem To avoid a repeat scenario, the report recommends the state dump at least $10 million each year into the Dam Safety Program and try to rehabilitate all dams within 50 years. 'An increase to $20 million per year would allow faster repairs but could still require 25 years for all required repairs,' the report reads. Bolstering 'multi-modal' transportation options — like expanding bus or train networks —is another recommendation as the state deals with rapid population growth. And lastly, Utah should make sure the Great Salt Lake reaches and remains at healthy levels — replacing canals with pipelines will help reduce evaporation, and could ultimately result in more water flowing to the lake, according to the report.
Newsweek
06-05-2025
- General
- Newsweek
To Fix America's Crumbling Water Infrastructure, the Private and Public Sectors Must Work Together
Every four years, the American Society of Civil Engineers' Report Card for America's Infrastructure provides a comprehensive assessment of the state of the nation's infrastructure. The results of the recently released 2025 report card were not where we want or need to be as a nation. Drinking water received a grade of C- and wastewater infrastructure a D+. Even more concerning, there's been no change since the 2021 report card. The ASCE data reflects the harsh reality faced by communities across the U.S.—public water systems are in desperate need of investment, repair, and modernization. Access to safe, clean, reliable, and affordable water is not a given for all Americans. View of the hand of a person holding a glass of drinking water from a tap. View of the hand of a person holding a glass of drinking water from a tap. VINCENT FEURAY/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images Last December, Baltimore's water system—which serves 1.8 million people—showed elevated levels of legionella bacteria. This came on the heels of E. coli found in their water system in 2022 due to failing infrastructure. In Jackson, Miss., decades of water supply problems culminated with the 2022 failure of a major water treatment plant, leaving 160,000 people without potable water. And, 10 years later, work continues to remove lead pipes in Flint, Mich. These examples made national headlines, but there are systems across the U.S. that have similar challenges that haven't made the news—whether in dense urban spaces, sprawling suburbs, or rural communities. No one wants to be the next front-page story. We need to take a hard look at the current state of our water system infrastructure. Our nation's drinking water infrastructure system is made up of 2.2 million miles of underground pipes. According to the American Society of Engineers, because of the aging infrastructure, drinking water systems currently lose at least 6 billion gallons of treated water per day. That's over 9,000 Olympic-size swimming pools. This amounts to 2.1 trillion gallons of water loss per year, at a cost of $7.6 billion annually. U.S. water system owners currently spend a fraction of the $1 trillion we'll need in the next 20 years to make necessary upgrades. This doesn't account for the impact of extreme weather events like floods and droughts, which strain systems. And industry demands are only continuing to increase. Large, regulated water companies aren't the norm in the U.S. Unlike gas and electric utilities, most of which are regionalized, water systems are highly fragmented. There are more than 50,000 community water systems. The majority of these serve less than 10,000 people—and more than half serve fewer than 500 people. The small scale and fragmentation of these systems is inefficient, creating steep challenges for communities that have limited access to capital due to small customer bases. Decade after decade, needed upgrades are often unmade, creating a cycle of underinvestment that typically comes to a head when systems fail to meet drinking water standards or face major, costly upgrades or repairs that can no longer be kicked down the road. The solution will require both the public and private sectors to come together, and leveraging private capital is a key component. Yet the idea of infusing private capital is sometimes met with resistance. Perhaps it is a fear of loss of local oversight or a revenue stream, but the reality is that larger, regulated utility companies bring experience, expertise, and private capital that many small systems simply don't have. These companies are solutions providers, helping communities solve water and wastewater challenges, such as PFAS, lead and copper, and other critical issues that arise from underinvestment and deferred maintenance, and they do so at economies of scale, spreading investment across a much larger customer base. American Water plans to invest $40-$42 billion across our water and wastewater systems over the next 10 years. Economic impact studies show that for every $1 million invested in water infrastructure, upwards of 15 jobs are generated throughout local economies. For cash-tight communities, the long-term economic impact is consequential. Less money being used to replace aging infrastructure means more money for fixing roads, supporting pension funds, and stabilizing local taxes. To achieve the goal of safe, clean, reliable, and affordable water for every American, partnering with the federal, state, and local governments, along with other stakeholders, is key. Enacting constructive policies drives additional investment in critical systems. Proposed legislation, supported by the water industry, such as the Water Systems PFAS Liability Protection Act, would allow water utilities to prioritize maintaining water quality over defending against polluters' liability disputes. Support of the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) would help ensure affordable access to safe drinking water while helping to provide all water utilities with much-needed revenue to repair and modernize infrastructure. Legislation is needed to ensure that all wastewater utilities have access to Clean Water State Revolving Fund dollars, allowing all utilities to apply for low-cost financing for wastewater infrastructure projects—and passing the savings on to customers. The solution is an "and" not "or" approach that requires the public and private sectors to work together. Public-private cooperation and partnership reap bigger benefits as well. We can safeguard human health, incentivize economic investment, and ultimately create American jobs. Working together, we can preserve and enhance our most precious resource for generations to come. John Griffith is the president of American Water. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Forbes
02-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Why It's Imperative That AEC Firms Implement Guided Innovation
Claire Rutkowski is Chief Information Officer at POWER Engineers. getty In recent years, the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry has experienced paradigm shifts driven by factors such as labor shortages and technological advancements . The AEC industry is grappling with these issues at a time when workers are arguably more needed than ever. Consider the civil engineering field. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers' ' 2025 Report Card for America's Infrastructure ,' grades varied 'from a B in ports to a D in stormwater and transit.' Moreover, the report explained that while 'evidence points to improvements throughout infrastructure's system-of-systems, nine categories remained within the D range—a clear sign that more needs to be done to improve the health of America's built environment.' Given the pent-up demand, private equity firms have stepped into the picture. As noted by Zweig Group , 'M&A activity in the AEC industry surged in 2024, driven by private equity, regulatory investments, and strategic acquisitions.' Both the talent gap and private equity investments are, I've observed, forcing AEC firms to innovate and leverage new technologies. If you're a leader at an AEC firm, however, it's important that you first achieve organizational agility. Without organizational agility, your firm will likely struggle to innovate, effectively integrate new technologies and ultimately remain competitive. In my experience, many AEC firms are not organized in a way that promotes innovation—many have rigid structures where cross-collaboration is limited. Such structures stifle innovation. For instance, some AEC firms have traditional, hierarchical role structures where risk mitigation is the key priority. Road people talk to road people, water people talk to water people and so on. Others still use outdated workflows and legacy systems that slow down decision-making and limit collaboration. Technical debt is rife. AEC firms that lack organizational agility will face challenges when it comes to internal and external innovation. Even if they are able to innovate, they will likely face difficulty implementing those innovations in-house or selling them to clients. To achieve organizational agility for your AEC firm, I first recommend moving away from the industry's standard hourly billing model as much as you can. This is admittedly a gradual shift, but you should start right away. Adopt an outcome-based pricing model, where you charge clients for the results you generate for them. Why make this move? Because the traditional hourly billing model essentially penalizes AEC firms as they become more efficient. For instance, you and your team could develop an in-house solution that enables you to work faster, but because you're charging clients by the hour, you face internal resistance to using the solution. That internal resistance results in wasted investment. Or, if you end up using the solution, you'll get paid less. Additionally, you should set a clear innovation strategy that brings out your firm's unique strengths—and that balances efficiency-related innovations with the development of new products and services. Both types of innovations are, in my view, crucial for AEC firms. Depending on the circumstances, you might opt to focus more on one over the other. For example, during an economic downturn, you might decide to invest more in efficiency-related initiatives. As part of your innovation strategy, you need to delegate who is responsible for innovation at your organization. I've observed that AEC firms tend to take one of two approaches when it comes to delegating innovation. The first approach? Making innovation everyone's job. This approach might sound appealing, but there are some problems with it. One is that in practice, when something is everyone's job, it tends to become nobody's job. There's also the problem of people innovating on the wrong things in a desire to stand out. That's how a firm can end up with thousands of reports that team members have deemed "crucial." The second approach is creating a standalone innovation department. This approach makes select employees responsible for innovating, but the department can end up becoming isolated from the rest of the business. Moreover, a standalone innovation department can stir up internal competition—those employees could start seeing other teams as rivals. In my view, the solution is a hybrid approach of guided innovation. A dedicated team should set the firm's strategic direction and then approve employees' ideas that align with that path. Mistakes AEC Firms Should Avoid Along The Way As your organization becomes more agile, you'll have greater capacity for innovation and technological advancement. However, there are key mistakes you should avoid along the way. For one, avoid technological innovation and advancement for the sake of it. You don't always have to reinvent the wheel. Don't hesitate to purchase existing, off-the-shelf solutions that another company has developed. For example, if your company needs an internal messaging tool, there's no point in developing your own version given that such tools already exist. Instead, direct your innovation efforts to your firm's 'secret sauce' —its unique value proposition. An example would be a transportation firm focusing innovation on tools that speed up routing and layout instead of tools that generate proposals more quickly. Another mistake is chasing shiny things. Innovation should be purposeful and well-thought-out rather than reactive. If you rush to implement every new type of technology and approach because they're trending or appear impressive, then you risk investing time and money into solutions that ultimately won't move the needle for your firm. Finally, it's a mistake to think that innovation doesn't have unintended consequences. It does. For example, say you and your team create a new asset management solution for your clients. That solution is not a one-time project; it's subscription-based and would require you to implement new contracts and a new billing system. It would also likely require you to bring in outside expertise, specifically a product manager with experience working at a software company, to step in and oversee the packaging and pricing of that solution. Additionally, such a solution would fundamentally change the nature of your firm's relationships with clients, making them more ongoing. Really think about a proposed innovation all the way through to make sure it's something you can support before proceeding. Ultimately, despite the challenges of becoming organizationally agile and, in turn, more innovative, it's imperative to do so for survival. If your AEC firm fails to innovate, you risk losing market share to your competitors or being disrupted by new entrants, such as large technology companies. But through strategic, purposeful innovation, you can future-proof your AEC firm. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
American Water CEO Addresses New ASCE Report Card, Urges More Investment in Critical Water Infrastructure
CAMDEN, N.J., March 25, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--M. Susan Hardwick, Chief Executive Officer of American Water, issued the following statement in response to the grades of C- for water and D+ for wastewater in the 2025 American Society of Civil Engineers' (ASCE) annual Infrastructure Report Card. "Another report card, and no change or improvement in the last four years. America's drinking water and wastewater infrastructure is stagnant. The 2025 American Society of Civil Engineers' (ASCE) annual Infrastructure Report Card is a stark reminder of the urgent need for significant and continued investment in water and wastewater infrastructure across the country. Our nation continues to lack when it comes to investing in critical infrastructure, particularly in these sectors. With over a trillion dollars in infrastructure investments needed in water and wastewater over the next two decades, American Water continues to work with local and federal leaders to provide expertise and investment in communities that need to strengthen their water systems—and we will not slow down. Over the next ten years, we plan to invest $40-$42 billion in our systems to help ensure safe, clean, reliable and affordable water and wastewater service. The solution is an "and" not "or" approach that requires the public and private sectors to work together. Together, we can safeguard the environment, incentivize economic investment, and ultimately create American jobs." About American WaterAmerican Water (NYSE: AWK) is the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the United States. With a history dating back to 1886, We Keep Life Flowing® by providing safe, clean, reliable and affordable drinking water and wastewater services to more than 14 million people with regulated operations in 14 states and on 18 military installations. American Water's 6,700 talented professionals leverage their significant expertise and the company's national size and scale to achieve excellent outcomes for the benefit of customers, employees, investors and other stakeholders. For more information, visit and join American Water on LinkedIn, Facebook, X and Instagram. View source version on Contacts MediaRuben RodriguezSenior Director, External CommunicationsAmerican Water(856) Sign in to access your portfolio
Associated Press
25-03-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
American Water CEO Addresses New ASCE Report Card, Urges More Investment in Critical Water Infrastructure
M. Susan Hardwick, Chief Executive Officer of American Water, issued the following statement in response to the grades of C- for water and D+ for wastewater in the 2025 American Society of Civil Engineers' (ASCE) annual Infrastructure Report Card. 'Another report card, and no change or improvement in the last four years. America's drinking water and wastewater infrastructure is stagnant. The 2025 American Society of Civil Engineers' (ASCE) annual Infrastructure Report Card is a stark reminder of the urgent need for significant and continued investment in water and wastewater infrastructure across the country. Our nation continues to lack when it comes to investing in critical infrastructure, particularly in these sectors. With over a trillion dollars in infrastructure investments needed in water and wastewater over the next two decades, American Water continues to work with local and federal leaders to provide expertise and investment in communities that need to strengthen their water systems—and we will not slow down. Over the next ten years, we plan to invest $40-$42 billion in our systems to help ensure safe, clean, reliable and affordable water and wastewater service. The solution is an 'and' not 'or' approach that requires the public and private sectors to work together. Together, we can safeguard the environment, incentivize economic investment, and ultimately create American jobs.' About American Water American Water (NYSE: AWK) is the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the United States. With a history dating back to 1886, We Keep Life Flowing® by providing safe, clean, reliable and affordable drinking water and wastewater services to more than 14 million people with regulated operations in 14 states and on 18 military installations. American Water's 6,700 talented professionals leverage their significant expertise and the company's national size and scale to achieve excellent outcomes for the benefit of customers, employees, investors and other stakeholders. American Water (NYSE: AWK) is the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the United States. With a history dating back to 1886, We Keep Life Flowing® by providing safe, clean, reliable and affordable drinking water and wastewater services to more than 14 million people with regulated operations in 14 states and on 18 military installations. American Water's 6,700 talented professionals leverage their significant expertise and the company's national size and scale to achieve excellent outcomes for the benefit of customers, employees, investors and other stakeholders. Ruben Rodriguez Senior Director, External Communications American Water (856) 955-4180 INDUSTRY KEYWORD: FINANCE BANKING ENERGY PROFESSIONAL SERVICES UTILITIES SOURCE: American Water Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 03/25/2025 09:43 AM/DISC: 03/25/2025 09:43 AM
