WaterBriefs: Parsons picked by King County for $211 million conveyance project

Sept. 15, 2006
Also in this report: ASME fights terrorism with infrastructure guidelines; GEI Consultants, Chadwick Ecological merge; EIMCO Water earns $18M Qatar contract; Iraqi village gets water supply boost; Former FEMA director now heads Ecosphere; ACWA supports San Joaquin River agreement; Telvent to manage Turkish town's drinking water supply; Altamaha Riverkeeper celebrates watershed protection; Army Corps chief headlines infrastructure security event; Hunt Technologies acquires StatSignal Systems...

In other news below:
-- ASME unit to fight terrorism with infrastructure protection guidelines
-- GEI Consultants, Chadwick Ecological Consultants merge
-- $18 million Qatar contract for GL&V's water treatment group
-- Iraqi village receives boost to water supply
-- Former FEMA director elected president of Ecosphere Systems
-- ACWA voices support for San Joaquin River agreement
-- Telvent to manage drinking water supply of Bursa, Turkey
-- Altamaha Riverkeeper celebrates seven years of watershed protection
-- Sears, Costco launch Wataire Industries drinking water products in Mexican markets
-- Infrastructure Security Speaker Series presents Lt. Gen. Carl A. Strock
-- Hunt Technologies acquires StatSignal Systems

Parsons selected by King County for $211 million conveyance project -- PASADENA, CA, Sept. 14, 2006 -- Parsons, joint-ventured with Vinci Construction Grands Projects and Frontier-Kemper Constructors Inc., has received a $211 million contract from King County, WA, for its Central Tunnel Contract. This contract covers sections 2 and 3 (the middle portion) of the Brightwater treatment system's 13-mile conveyance pipeline, part of the county's $1.6 billion Brightwater Project. The contract scope of work will include building two tunnels with multiple carrier pipes inside: one from Kenmore to the North Creek Business Park in Bothell and another from Kenmore to Ballinger Way Northeast in Shoreline. The combined length of the tunnels will be about 32,000 feet. The scope of work will also include the launch and receiving shafts, and installing roughly 3,400 feet of 3- to 6-foot¬diameter pipes using micro-tunnel and open-cut trenching. Construction for the project is scheduled to begin within a month. Once completed, the Brightwater treatment system, which is the largest regional clean water project in over 40 years, will serve 240,000 customers...
Also see: "Parsons, Barnard Construction selected to manage construction of EAA A-1 Reservoir in Florida"

ASME unit to fight terrorism with infrastructure protection guidelines -- Aiding the fight against terrorism, ASME-ITI gets contract to develop RAMCAP guidelines to protect critical infrastructure -- WASHINGTON, DC, Sept. 14, 2006 -- The ASME Innovative Technologies Institute LLC (ASME-ITI), has announced the commencement of a $5 million contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for continued work using its risk analysis methodology known as RAMCAP™, short for Risk Analysis and Management for Critical Asset Protection. Created and developed by ASME-ITI, a unit of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and adopted by DHS, this is a framework for analyzing and managing the risks associated with terrorist attacks against critical infrastructures. The purpose is to provide essential information to government decision makers about consequences and vulnerabilities in the private sector, which owns 85% of the nation's critical infrastructure...
Also see:
-- "City of Inglewood introduces 3n Mass Notification System to inform residents of emergencies and important public service announcements"
-- "ArcSight releases new 'early warning' system to help commercial and government organizations address insider threats"

GEI Consultants, Chadwick Ecological Consultants merge -- Combined company to provide integrated ecological and engineering services nationwide -- LITTLETON, CO, Sept. 14, 2006 -- GEI Consultants Inc., one of the nation's leading geotechnical, environmental, and water resources engineering firms, announced today that Chadwick Ecological Consultants Inc., and Chadwick & Associates Inc., have merged into GEI. The combined firm will have projected billings of over $46 million and a staff of 285 operating from 16 offices and providing services in 40 states. With offices in Littleton, CO, and Tucson, AZ, Chadwick Ecological is a full-service ecological consulting firm with experience in the design, implementation, and management of aquatic studies throughout the United States since 1979...

$18 million Qatar contract for GL&V's water treatment group -- EIMCO will provide its water screening know-how and equipment to one of the largest seawater intake facilities in the world -- MONTREAL, Canada, Sept. 14, Canada -- Management of Groupe LaPerriere & Verreault Inc. (GL&V) announced that its water treatment group, Eimco Water Technologies, has been awarded a $18 million contract to provide the water screening systems included in Phase II of a major sea water intake infrastructure project in the industrial city of Ras Laffan, in Qatar. Under the terms of the contract, GL&V will deliver, between June 2007 and June 2008, a complete water screening solution comprising several pieces of equipment, based on the Brackett Green® technology for high-volume water intakes. On completion of the project, the screening facility will be one of the largest worldwide, as it will treat more than 200 tons of seawater per second in order to supply a power station, an oil refinery, a seawater desalination plant and several other industrial facilities located in Ras Laffan with process water...

Iraqi village receives boost to water supply -- Providing a clean and accessible water supply is a major step in establishing stable and sanitary living conditions for the people of Iraq -- By Sgt. Dennis Gravelle, U.S. Army, 138th Public Affairs Detachment -- JURN, Iraq, Sept. 14, 2006 -- The intense heat of an Iraqi summer increases the need for clean drinking water. For many small villages around the country, non-functional wells are a common occurrence. Recently, in the village of Jurn, U. S. Army Civil Affairs Soldiers restored a water well and opened it to the community. The well is providing a source of clean drinking water and will help in curbing the spread of water-related illnesses. For Jurn, the next phase of the well restoration will be the addition of a reverse osmosis filter...
Also see:
-- "USAID: U.S. Assistance for Iraq"
-- "U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Afghanistan & Iraq Operations"
-- "Gulf Region Division & Iraq Project & Contracting Office"

Joe M. Allbaugh elected president of Ecosphere Systems -- Former FEMA director to bring mobile water filtration truck to market -- STUART, FL, Sept. 13, 2006 -- Ecosphere Technologies Inc., a technology innovation company serving the homeland security, disaster response and defense markets, announced today that its board of directors has elected Joe M. Allbaugh president of its Ecosphere Systems, Inc. subsidiary. Allbaugh is president and CEO of The Allbaugh Company LLC and a former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He'll be on hand to unveil the Tactical Water Filtration Truck (TWFT) at the National Guard Association's annual conference Sept. 16-18 in Albuquerque, NM. The EPA-ETV verified TWFT system is designed to clean contaminated water, including seawater, through multiple filtration processes to produce quality drinking water...
Also see: "UltraStrip announces name change to Ecosphere Technologies with new symbol"

ACWA voices support for San Joaquin River agreement -- Plan to restore flows, salmon runs would benefit from Prop. 84 -- SACRAMENTO, CA, Sept. 13, 2006 -- The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) today hailed a landmark agreement to restore the San Joaquin River and called on Californians to help fund the agreement by approving Proposition 84 on the November ballot. Federal officials, environmental groups and irrigation districts today outlined agreement on a 20-year plan to release water from Friant Dam to restore fall- and spring-run Chinook salmon in the San Joaquin River. The agreement, which includes a suite of projects to replace some water supplies relinquished by water contractors, settles an 18-year court battle over how much water should be released from Friant to restore salmon that once lived there. ACWA Executive Director Steve Hall congratulated the parties for their perseverance in hammering out a plan that will provide water supply certainty to family farms while benefiting the San Joaquin River as well as the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, a key water supply source for 22 million Californians and more than 7 million acres of irrigated farmland...

Telvent to manage drinking water supply of Bursa, Turkey -- MADRID, Spain, Sept. 13, 2006 -- Telvent GIT S.A., a global real-time information technology company, has signed a contract for over EUR 3 million [US$3.82 million] with the Turkish city of Bursa, to provide an Information System that will manage and guarantee the supply of drinking water to the city. Telvent will install, operate and maintain an information and communications system for the water supply network that serves the metropolitan area of Bursa, an important agricultural and industrial city located 100 kilometers from Istanbul. The project will significantly improve the quality of drinking water in Bursa. Telvent's Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system will enable the real-time optimal management, even under extreme crisis situations, of more than one hundred pumping stations, reservoirs, water deposits, dwells and water processing plants...
Also see:
-- "Geodatabase replication available in ArcFM Solution 9.1.2 SP1"
-- "EWEB in production with ArcFM and Responder OMS"

Altamaha Riverkeeper celebrates seven years of watershed protection -- Environmental group helps hundreds of Georgians with water quality problems. A story of progress and challenges in the state's largest watershed. -- DARIEN, GA, Sept. 13, 2006 -- The Altamaha Riverkeeper's mission to protect the Altamaha River Watershed, Georgia's largest, is a huge challenge. The river system covers 14,000 square miles and includes the Ocmulgee, Oconee and Ohoopee rivers. When the group began, it had no way of knowing the volume of requests for help with pollution that would come pouring in from citizens throughout the watershed. Since 1999, the Altamaha Riverkeeper (ARK) has made over 800 site visits and is adding daily to that number to assist citizens with water quality problems. Many of the citizens ARK has helped are attending the Altamaha Riverkeeper's annual celebration in Hawkinsville on Sept. 23...

Sears, Costco launch Wataire Industries drinking water products in Mexican markets -- VANCOUVER, BC, Canada, Sept. 13, 2006 -- Wataire Industries Inc. and CIMBIX Corp., holder of the exclusive world wide distribution rights for Wataire Industries drinking water products announce that Esteban Soto Leyva, president of Tecno Alta Distribucion, CIMBIX Corp.'s Mexican marketing partner, has been successful in introducing Wataire's home/office units to Costco and Sears Mexico retail outlets. Costco is test marketing Wataire's atmospheric water generators in Merida City, Yucatan and Cancun in the state of Quintana Roo. Wataire's water treatment products are part of a Costco program called "Roadshow" in which the company's most innovative products are showcased in selected outlets. If consumer response is positive, the products will be considered for sale in all Costco outlets, either on the "Roadshow" program or as regular stocked store items...
Also see: "Cimbix Corp. enters into second license agreement with Wataire Industries Inc."

Infrastructure Security Speaker Series presents Lt. Gen. Carl A. Strock -- Commander and chief of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to headline event -- RESTON, VA, Sept. 12, 2006 -- Lt. Gen. Carl A. Strock, P.E., commander and chief of Engineers U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is scheduled to be the keynote speaker of The Infrastructure Security Partnership (TISP) Breakfast Speaker Series on Sept. 19, 8-9:30 a.m., at the Army Navy Club in Washington, DC. Gen. Strock will discuss how Sept. 11 transformed the nation's awareness of infrastructure security and the progress that has been made over the past five years. He will also discuss how Hurricane Katrina proved that there is more to infrastructure resiliency than protecting against terror attacks and how implementation of long-term infrastructure resiliency plans is becoming more proactive. In addition, Gen. Strock will touch on the Corps recently released "12 Actions for Change," which not only focus on transforming the organization's priorities, processes and planning, but also serve as a roadmap for future collaboration between the USACE and infrastructure security-related organizations like TISP...
Also see: "Five years later, how safe are we?"

Hunt Technologies acquires StatSignal Systems Inc., adding two-way dynamic RF mesh to its AMI product portfolio -- PEQUOT LAKES, MN, Sept. 11, 2006 -- Hunt Technologies Inc., a global supplier of AMI (advanced metering infrastructure) solutions that help improve energy efficiency, customer service, and quality, announced today that it has acquired the Atlanta-based company StatSignal Systems Inc. The acquisition further increases Hunt's advanced metering possibilities for all utilities by adding a true two-way, dynamic RF mesh network solution to its portfolio. The new dynamic RF mesh technology, with benefits that include self-initializing and self-healing devices, high system performance and reliability, and system scalability and accessibility, will be further enhanced by complete integration into Hunt's powerful Command Center™ operating system. This integration will be an industry first, utilizing a single platform to provide seamless data acquisition and control functions for both two-way RF mesh and power line carrier (PLC) technologies...

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