In other news below, see:
-- Combined heat, power workshop free to utilities Aug. 11 in Salt Lake
-- Insituform wins $16.8 million sewer contract from Colorado Springs Utilities
-- Chinese research institute adds on to Electronic Sensor Technology order
-- QI Systems Inc. wins first water-control customer in Province of Manitoba
-- Combined heat, power workshop free to utilities Aug. 11 in Salt Lake
Affholder lands tunnel replacement contract with Charleston CPW
ST. LOUIS, July 20, 2005 -- Affholder Inc., a subsidiary of Insituform Technologies Inc., is the contractor for the third phase of a sewer tunnel replacement project in Charleston, S.C.
Affholder won the $40 million, third-phase contract from the City of Charleston Commissioners of Public Works (CPW) at the end of June. One of only seven companies nationally that qualified to do the required work, Affholder has already completed the first phase of the project. The company expects to complete the second phase early next year, and will soon begin the third phase of CPW's Sewer Tunnel Replacement Project.
"We are very pleased that Affholder was the successful bidder, as they have brought a high level of technical competency to the present phase of the project," said Charleston CPW assistant general manager John B. Cook, P.E.
The Charleston CPW's tunnel replacement effort began in 2000 after engineers discovered extensive deterioration in the sewer tunnel system, which threatened a blockage in the tunnel and potential release of raw sewage into the Charleston Harbor.
In 2002, Affholder completed the first phase of the project, the Harbor Tunnel, which runs under the Ashley River to convey wastewater to CPW's treatment plant, located across the Charleston Harbor. The second phase, which extends along the Ashley River on the west side of the Charleston peninsula, will finalize a total of $36 million in work on the first two phases.
The third phase, dubbed the Cooper Tunnel, is the longest section of tunnel and involves replacing some 18,000 feet of tunnel along the east side of the peninsula. The Cooper Tunnel will connect to the 12,000-foot Ashley Tunnel to complete the peninsula tunnel system. Third-phase work is slated for completion by September 2007, says Affholder senior project manager Ross Webb.
Insituform Technologies Inc. (www.insituform.com) is a leading worldwide provider of proprietary technologies and services for rehabilitating sewer, water and other underground piping systems.
Insituform wins $16.8 million sewer contract from Colorado Springs Utilities
ST. LOUIS, July 20, 2005 -- Insituform Technologies has contracted with Colorado Springs Utilities to provide sewer rehabilitation and replacement over the next three years. The budget for the contract is $16.8 million.
The work is a phase of the utility's 10-to-15-year, aggressive wastewater infrastructure inspection and assessment program (Sanitary Sewer Evaluation and Rehabilitation Project, or SSERP). The utility covers a 200-square-mile area of Colorado Springs and has 1,450 miles of pipe, with 30 to 35 miles of new pipe added each year.
"Having successfully completed rehab work for Colorado Springs Utilities in the past, Insituform was eager to win this contract," says Insituform Business Development Manager Joe Lane. "With our capabilities for management of large-scale projects, we believe Insituform is a good fit for the utility's needs."
Initial plans call for work on sewer pipe in eight basins in the Colorado Springs Utilities system: Bear Creek, Downtown, Garden of the Gods, Lower Sand Creek, Patty Jewett, Rockrimmon, Shooks Run and Spring Creek. In April, Insituform began notifying residents and businesses in surrounding areas about the planned work and determining logistical methods to minimize the impact on each area.
As deteriorating pipe in the system is identified via the assessment program, Insituform will rehabilitate it, or dig it up and replace it if it is beyond rehabilitation. Lane said a large percentage of the pipe is expected to be rehabilitated with the "cured-in-place" (CIPP) process, the most widely used trenchless (non-dig) method for restoring structural integrity to and removing infiltration from sewers.
Working from manholes, Insituform will be installing a flexible liner inside these existing sewers. Once in place, the liner is then heated and cured into a structurally sound pipe-within-a-pipe. A typical installation takes about a day to complete, compared to the weeks it can take to dig up and replace pipe.
Some Colorado Springs Utilities pipe not suitable for cured-in-place rehabilitation may be rehabilitated using pipe-bursting methods, in which a new polyethylene pipe is pulled into an existing sewer pipe through a manhole. The new pipe has a head that bursts the existing pipe and pushes it into surrounding soil. The new pipeline fills the cleared space.
Insituform Technologies Inc. (www.insituform.com) is a leading worldwide provider of proprietary technologies and services for rehabilitating sewer, water, and other underground piping systems without digging and disruption.
Chinese research institute adds on to Electronic Sensor Technology order
NEWBURY PARK, CA, July 19, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Electronic Sensor Technology Inc., a provider of innovative Homeland Security solutions, announced today that it has received a follow-on order from Beijing R&D Technology, based in China, for zNose® its electronic sensor device that can capture and analyze nearly any odor, fragrance, or chemical vapor within ten seconds. Previously, the firm had place several trial orders for environmental and homeland security applications.
"We are pleased to receive a follow-on order so quickly from Beijing R&D," stated Matthew S. Collier, President of Electronic Sensor Technology, and "we believe that China represents one of the most promising markets in environmental remediation and monitoring. Owing to the initial success in its initial testing utilizing zNose(R), Beijing R&D has placed another follow-on order."
China represents a significant potential market for the zNose, as the country has significant water and air pollution problems. The zNose is an ideal tool as a pre-screener for environmental application because of its rapid response and sensitivity to wide spectrum of odors. zNose also has important security capabilities, as it can quickly detect dangerous chemical vapors (toxic and nerve agents) in the air. The Beijing Police Force, in preparation for the 2008 Olympics, has sent officers to Electronic Sensor Technology's headquarters for additional training.
Additional information about how zNose(R) can be used as pre-screening tool for the environmental applications can be obtained by downloading the following technical paper from the company's website: www.znose.com/download/AWMA-2005.pdf
Founded in 1995, Electronic Sensor Technology has developed and patented a chemical vapor analysis process. The company's product line is positioned to eliminate key vulnerabilities in the homeland security market, specifically in maritime port, airport, and border security applications.
QI Systems Inc. wins first water-control customer in Province of Manitoba
DALLAS, TX, & RICHMOND, BC, Canada, July 19, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- QI Systems Inc. has sold an automated bulk-water control system for installation on the lands of a Canadian Native "First Nation" in the Province of Manitoba.
This sale was arranged by a new QI distributor based in Manitoba. Significantly, it is QI's first installation on Native lands, its first in the Province of Manitoba and was sold by QI's first distributor in Manitoba. QI Systems now has automated water-control installations in four Canadian provinces, the other three being Newfoundland and Labrador, British Columbia and Alberta.
QI delivered its first automated bulk-water control system in mid 2002. Among its first customers were northern Canadian cities needing installations serving industrial users as well as residential consumers. Consistently reliable service has been provided, even with winter temperatures ranging as low as -40f. These systems now include TCP-IP communications to allow control and data-collection from a remote computer.
All QI water control systems are vertically integrated, using stored-value, "smart"-card technology. The smart cards are supplied by, and the payment and control terminals are designed and manufactured by, QI. QI also designed and manufactures the accompanying card sales and reload machines.
QI Systems Inc., of Dallas, designs, develops and markets chip-based card payment and tracking solutions to a number of industries. Products and core competencies include "smart"-card and stored-value systems, security protocols, data communication software design and hardware manufacture.
Combined heat, power workshop free to utilities Aug. 11 in Salt Lake
SALT LAKE CITY, July 19, 2005 -- The Intermountain Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Center is hosting a workshop on generating renewable energy and heat from wastewater treatment plants and landfills. Generating renewable energy and heat from methane (produced as a by-product at landfills and many wastewater treatment plants) leads to efficiency gains, other environmental benefits, potentially lower energy bills, greater energy reliability, greater self-reliance, and a profitable use of an otherwise-wasted resource.
The event is scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Questar Gas DNR Building, 1140 West 200 South, Salt Lake City, Utah.
This educational, how-to workshop is designed to give landfill and wastewater treatment plant owners and operators the information and tools they need to effectively evaluate if CHP is right for their facilities at this time. Other attendees could include municipal, county, and state officials; project developers; equipment suppliers; municipal utilities; investor-owned utilities, rural electric co-ops; and environmental, renewable energy, and energy efficiency groups.
The workshop will present a step-by-step guide to designing and operating a project successfully. It will also discuss equipment options, fuel clean-up and conditioning, regulatory issues, and financial incentives. The workshop will include special considerations for small-to-medium plants/landfills and special considerations for landfills in areas with low precipitation.
Sponsors include: Intermountain CHP Center, Intermountain CHP Initiative, Chevron Energy Solutions, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency CHP Partnership, Questar Gas, Smith Detroit Diesel Allison, RealEnergy
For the agenda, registration and other information, see: www.intermountainchp.org/events/landfills/default.htm.
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In earlier newsbriefs, see:
-- "WaterBriefs: St. Paul implementing SPL asset management program" -- Also in this report (July 18, 2005): Zenon nabs first N.Y. drinking water plant order; Kadant cheers $5 million paper industry order from China; MWH adds two executives to Pasadena office; HydroFlo forms fifth portfolio company; Smith Controls aids UK water utility provider; Cadence Network helps manage 200,000 North American sites; ADS celebrates 30th anniversary; CarteGraph showcases GIS product at ESRI conference; Stockholm highlights World Water Week focus on water, sanitation and development solutions...
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