WaterBriefs: Kennedy/Jenks Consultants receives award for Yosemite utilities project

In other news below:
-- Kadant wins $28 million in paper industry orders
-- Carbon manufacturers association to host annual regulatory conference
-- Ameron announces executive appointment
-- Alfa Laval acquires Dutch air heat exchanger company
-- ASCE, EWRI call for public comment on new hydraulic conductivity standard
-- EPA, Smithsonian strengthen Americans' access to environmental information
-- Lawson to help companies use IT to manage green and social responsibility initiatives
-- Life Cycle Engineering awarded Best Practices Award by Plant Services
-- Verano expands marketing team, names CMO
-- Grundfos USA offers dosing training
-- Hannover Messe to spotlight innovative industrial technologies

• Kennedy/Jenks Consultants receives Honor Award for Yosemite utilities project -- SAN FRANCISCO, CA, March 7, 2007 -- Kennedy/Jenks Consultants received an Honor Award from the Consulting Engineers and Land Surveyors of California (CELSOC) for the Integrated Utility Planning in Yosemite Valley project.

Yosemite Valley attracts over 3 million visitors each year, with its towering granite peaks, lush meadows, and cascading waterfalls. But years of heavy use and minimal maintenance took their toll on the already deteriorating infrastructure. In January 1997, a massive flood swept through Yosemite Valley, wreaking havoc on the utility systems, particularly the aging wastewater collection system.

To restore and preserve this natural and cultural resource, the National Park Service (NPS) developed the Yosemite Valley Plan (YVP) to "conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment... of future generations." A first step in this ambitious plan was to rehabilitate or replace existing utilities and remove old deteriorating systems from high-value habitat.

Kennedy/Jenks Consultants was the prime consultant to the NPS in developing the Sanitary Sewer Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and Integrated Utilities Master Plan for Yosemite Valley. The CIP offered time-phased recommendations to rehabilitate or replace existing wastewater pipes to eliminate sanitary sewer overflows, while conserving the park's unique scenery and resources. The Master Plan was developed to protect sensitive resources by consolidating multiple utilities into a single corridor routed along paved roads, paths and parking areas. Both the CIP and the Master Plan support the goals of the YVP and direct future design and construction of utilities to serve the current and future utility needs of Yosemite Valley.

Several innovative engineering techniques contributed to the NPS efforts to restore and preserve Yosemite's natural and cultural resources and provide for visitor uses and enjoyment. Among these was an innovative utility corridor that crossed the Merced River, which is designated as a "Wild and Scenic River." Erosion was kept to a minimum during excavation by using sheet pile cofferdams that held back water during construction and silt barriers that prevented sediments from flowing downriver. Any water taken out of the excavation received extensive treatment, without use of chemicals, before it was returned to the river. Water was treated with portable sedimentation tanks, natural settling, and bioswale filtration to achieve the water quality required.

Kennedy/Jenks reduced the number of times that utilities crossed the Merced River with a creative wastewater management system. Sewage was routed using numerous small pump stations to centralized locations where sewer pipes crossed the river. Fewer river crossings reduced the risk of sewage spills into the Merced River. Another innovative technique was the placement of water, wastewater, power, and communication systems into integrated utility corridors, located under roads and pathways. This technique allowed NPS to remove utilities from sensitive areas, which were then allowed to return to natural conditions. Use of the corridors also minimized disruptions by consolidating the four utilities into one. The corridors reduced the number of projects, environmental impacts, costs, and disruptions to wildlife and park visitors. Also innovative was the use of jack-and-bore techniques to protect tree roots when crossing under heritage oak trees.

The San Francisco-based engineering firm planned, designed, and implemented this unique integrated project, working in close partnership with NPS staff, and under the watchful eyes of the Yosemite National Park natural resources staff, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, and numerous non-profit environmental and park interest groups with a stake in protecting one of our most highly valued and environmentally sensitive national treasures.

Kennedy/Jenks Consultants (www.kennedyjenks.com) has provided engineering and scientific solutions to municipal agencies, businesses, and industrial facilities since 1919. With 23 offices serving clients nationwide, the firm provides consulting services to the Water Environment, Transportation, and Industrial Manufacturing sectors.

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Among other recent headlines:

• Kadant receives $18 million in orders from Asia and announces $10 million more in pending orders -- WESTFORD, MA, March 7, 2007 -- Kadant Inc. today announced that its Kadant Black Clawson Inc. subsidiary has received three separate orders for stock-preparation systems with a combined value of approximately $18 million from a leading producer of linerboard in Asia. Kadant Black Clawson has also been awarded two additional contracts for stock-preparation systems from customers in Asia with a value in excess of $10 million that will be recorded as orders when the down payments are received. The down payments are currently expected in the second quarter of 2007. The timing and receipt of the down payments are subject to a number of uncertainties, and there can be no assurance the company will be able to record and recognize revenue on these contracts. Kadant Black Clawson Inc., based in Mason, OH, is a leading fiberline process equipment supplier that designs, manufactures, and services equipment used in paper recycling, chemical pulping, and paper machine approach-flow applications...

• Carbon manufacturers association to host annual regulatory conference -- IACMA to Host 7th Annual Meeting -- WASHINGTON, DC, March 7, 2007 -- The International Activated Carbon Manufacturers Association (www.iacma.org) is hosting its annual meeting May 2-3 at the Westin Embassy Row. The meeting will feature a number of speakers from business, as well as the regulatory and academic communities. Confirmed speakers so far include: Rich Martin from the National Science Foundation; Scott Will of Modern Process Equipment; Bob Wayland, Leader, Energy Strategies Group from the EPA Office of Air Quality; and David Mazyck, Professor of Environmental Engineering from the University of Florida...

• Ameron announces executive appointment -- PASADENA, CA, March 6, 2007 -- Ameron International Corp. today announced the appointment of R.S. "Rocky" Friedrich to the position of senior vice president-Technology. Friedrich's promotion emphasizes that technology is a critical factor in improving the quality of the company's business and supporting its growth strategy, and recognizes Friedrich's contributions to the Company. Friedrich has functional responsibility for technology and engineering corporate-wide. He will continue to report to James S. Marlen, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. Friedrich joined Ameron in 1971 as a research and development engineer. In his 36 years with the company, he has worked on a variety of projects affecting many product lines in its worldwide operations. Among many projects, he has provided the leadership for the development of innovative fiberglass products and equipment for the manufacture of fiberglass-composite pipe and fittings. He holds numerous patents for concrete pipe and fiberglass pipe technologies, both in terms of products and manufacturing processes...

• Alfa Laval acquires leading air heat exchanger company -- Continuing consolidation, it signs an agreement to acquire Helpman BV -- STOCKHOLM, Sweden, March 6, 2007 -- Based in Groningen, The Netherlands, Helpman is a leading company in the European market for air heat exchangers used in the sensitive logistical chain for food, i.e. refrigeration and temperature control to secure the final quality of the products. Alfa Laval estimates the European air heat exchangers market has a potential of about SEK 4 billion [US$568.47 million] and the acquisition will help it particularly in Eastern Europe. Helpman had a turnover in 2006 of about SEK 200 million [US$28.42 million] and has approximately 130 employees within R&D, sales and at two manufacturing units, in Groningen and in Sofia, Bulgaria. The closing of the transaction is subject to approval from regulatory authorities. The intention is to fully integrate Helpman into Alfa Laval...
Also see: "Alfa Laval's environmental equipment takes care of municipal waste in Toronto"

• Civil engineers call for public comment on new hydraulic conductivity standard -- RESTON, VA, March 6, 2007 -- The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI) today announced it will conduct a public comment period on its new KSTAT Standard One, a standard guideline for fitting saturated hydraulic conductivity using probability density functions. The standard represents the first of two guideline documents, the final versions of which will be released simultaneously, and the public comment period for KSTAT Standard One will be held from April 1 to May 15. KSTAT Standard One outlines a procedure to optimize the fitting and goodness-of-fit testing of a probability density function (pdf) to a sample of saturated hydraulic conductivity (K) measurements. It includes range of applicability, estimation of sample average and standard deviation. The standard also covers coefficient of skew, the role of a coefficient of skew in choosing a pdf to fit K data, fitting K data with lognormal pdf and fitting K data with the 3-parameter, log-gamma pdf. To participate in the public comment period, contact Phillip Mariscal, ASCE Standards Administrator, at [email protected] or (703) 295-6338. For more information on the standard, or ASCE's standards program, please contact An Pham at [email protected] (703) 295-6408...
Also see: "Infrastructure Improvement Bill receives ASCE approval: Newly introduced bill would create national commission on infrastructure"

• EPA, Smithsonian strengthen Americans' access to environmental information -- WASHINGTON, DC, March 6, 2007 -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has partnered with the Smithsonian Institution to bolster their common interest of sharing and advancing scientific knowledge, enabling both to reach new audiences with vital information regarding the environment. The partnership, formalized in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was signed today by Dr. George Gray, Assistant Administrator of EPA's Office of Research and Development and Dr. David Evans, Under Secretary for Science at the Smithsonian Institution, builds upon current ongoing collaborations between the two organizations. Through this MOU, the staff and facilities of both EPA and the Smithsonian have the structure and basis for implementing and expanding joint research activities. The Smithsonian has already collaborated with EPA to convene important scientific discussions attracting academia, practitioners, and decision-makers on topics such as biodiversity and the health outcomes associated with human impacts on ecosystems; and harmful algal blooms. These discussions help share cutting-edge scientific research, identify important information gaps, and develop strategies for advancing the body of scientific knowledge...
Also see:
-- "Environmental Group Should Return $25 Million, U.S. Audit Says: America's Clean Water Foundation overstated costs, failed to keep records, according to EPA Inspector General"
-- "Water Protection Leader Named New Director of Chesapeake Bay Program"
-- "EPA Performance Track Program Reaches 470-Member Mark"
-- "Facilities earn spots in EPA top-performance program"
-- "EPA Grants Spur Environmental Stewardship In New York Classrooms, Rivers and Parks"
-- "EPA Grants Spur Environmental Stewardship In New Jersey's Kids and Communities"
-- "EPA Rated Top Magnet for Postdocs"

• Lawson to help companies use IT to manage green and social responsibility initiatives -- AMR Research study shows more than 7 in 10 companies plan to use IT to manage corporate social responsibility programs within next two years -- ST. PAUL, MN, March 6, 2007 -- Lawson Software yesterday announced a new initiative to provide organizations and companies software-based options to help them manage their growing array of environmental and social programs. Lawson's Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative aims to harness information technology to automate and integrate the management of these programs to help companies meet their social and environmental targets, whether government-mandated or company-set. The Global Reporting Initiative, a large network of experts in global citizenship issues, has identified more than 100 indicators of environmental, social and economic responsibility that organizations may be reporting on today, ranging from energy consumption, wildlife habitat protection and greenhouse gas emissions to workforce diversity, customer privacy complaints and political donations. Lawson's initiative is based on the premise that many companies recognize that the ability to track social and environmental performance is good business...
Also see:
-- "City of Little Rock Completes Multi-Suite Lawson Software Implementation: Arkansas capital uses latest Lawson applications and technology platform to simplify data access, streamline reporting and purchasing processes"
-- "Great Plains Coca-Cola Completes Multi-Suite Lawson Software Implementation: Latest Lawson applications and technology platform help national bottling company optimize business performance"
-- "Lawson Announces M3 7.1 Applications for Manufacturing/Distribution Companies"

• Life Cycle Engineering awarded Best Practices Award by Plant Services -- CHARLESTON, SC, March 6, 2007 -- Life Cycle Engineering (LCE), a leading provider of maintenance and reliability solutions for government and private enterprise, has been honored by Plant Services with a 2007 Best Practices Award. This award is given in recognition of producing an Alcoa-focused Reliability Excellence (Rx^®) Process, deployed in three "waves" at Alcoa's Warrick County, IN, smelting operation. The Rx methodology is based on operations owning asset reliability -- a departure from the commonly held belief that reliability is a maintenance issue. It has reduced maintenance costs at Warrick Primary Metals by 25% from a 2003 base period compared to 2006 year to date. This exceeded original expectations and created an environment in which the workforce now knows that success is attainable. The Rx model has been instrumental in OEE achieved cost savings of $5.7 million in 2006 through improved equipment and process stability. Since its inception in March 2003, cumulative maintenance and reliability cost savings have created a return on investment ratio of 16 to 1...

• Verano expands marketing team, names CMO -- Todd A. Nicholson named chief marketing officer; SCADA security expert Chris Martin also added to reinforce Verano's leadership in the critical infrastructure cyber security market -- MANSFIELD, MA, March 6, 2007 -- Verano Inc. announced two new additions to the companies marketing team: Todd Nicholson and Chris Martin. Verano is a leading developer of cyber security solutions in the SCADA and mission critical infrastructure markets. Nicholson will assume the role of chief marketing officer for Verano and be responsible for brand management, corporate communications and marketing, product marketing and market positioning. He brings over 15 years of experience in high technology marketing to Verano, having previously worked at companies such as EMC and IBM. Senior Director for Industrial Defender Marketing, Chris Martin, joins Verano with almost 18 years of experience in high technology marketing with 13 of those in the process automation industry, with leading control systems vendors such as GE Fanuc, Honeywell and Intellution. Nicholson and Martin's combined experience of almost 35 years in marketing will help Verano to better meet the needs of current and future customers...

• Grundfos USA offers dosing training -- OLATHE, KS, March 6, 2007 -- Grundfos Technical Institute will conduct metering pump training sessions in March, June, August and December. These 2-1/2-day programs are designed specifically as an introduction to chemical feed pumps and systems. The realm of chemical dosing requires unique proficiencies. This course is designed to help develop the relevant vocabulary and technical expertise to enable students to effectively deal with dosing pump applications and concepts. For more information, click here...

• HANNOVER MESSE 2007 to spotlight innovative industrial technologies from all over the world -- Twelve 'Fairs Within A Fair' expected to host 6,000 exhibiting companies and 200,000 attendees on 2.15 million square feet of display area; Turkey will take stage as partner country -- HANNOVER, Germany, March 6, 2007 -- HANNOVER MESSE, scheduled for April 16-20 at the Hannover Fairgrounds, will host 12 leading international trade fairs that feature the best in modern industrial technology. Deutsche Messe, organizer of HANNOVER MESSE, expects 6,150 companies from 68 countries to exhibit on more than two million square feet of display space. Forty-seven percent of exhibiting companies will come from outside of Germany, with China, Italy and Turkey accounting for the largest non-German contingents. Topping HANNOVER MESSE's agenda will be industrial automation; power transmission and control; energy technologies; industrial subcontracting and services; and emerging technologies and R&D. Turkey will be Partner Country for 2007...

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