WaterBriefs: JMAR completes Anaheim water-monitoring test program

In other news below:
-- GE completes Zenon Environmental acquisition
-- Walter Industries, Mueller Water products closes on IPO
-- World Urban Forum announces program, commissioners blog
-- Scientists propose aggressive action for Louisiana coast
-- Cuts to block grants spark bipartisan outcry - MLUI
-- Address water scarcity, quality issues around world now, Sandia/CSIS report says
-- ABB Instrumentation names new VP
-- SJW Corp. closes on asset purchase of Texas' Canyon Lake Water Supply Corp.
-- Precision Gasket Co. designated as 2006 MDEA Supplier
-- International scientists propose aggressive action to restore Louisiana coast
-- Cuts to block grants spark bipartisan outcry - Michigan Land Use Institute

• JMAR completes Anaheim water-monitoring test program -- Successful test program validates BioSentry's value to homeland security market -- SAN DIEGO, CA, June 1, 2006 -- JMAR Technologies Inc., a leading developer of advanced laser technology, has successfully completed its 60-day water-monitoring test program with the City of Anaheim. The test program was instituted to demonstrate the value of the BioSentry™ System as part of the City's Homeland Security Initiative. In the final report presented to Anaheim last week, BioSentry not only met but exceeded expectations. The system was installed in Anaheim's City Hall West for the purpose of testing BioSentry's ability to detect the presence of Cryptosporidium and other unknown pathogens in a water distribution system. Cryptosporidium is one of the major pathogens identified by the EPA/Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a target contaminant which, if introduced into a water supply, could cause severe facility disruption and possible fatalities. The BioSentry successfully passed the test protocol agreed upon by JMAR and the City of Anaheim, establishing its capability to detect contaminants at levels that were actually far below the concentration levels indicative of a deliberate contamination event...

• GE completes Zenon Environmental acquisition -- Expands water purification, wastewater treatment, reuse & desalination pre-treatment platform -- TREVOSE, PA, June 1, 2006 -- GE Water & Process Technologies, a unit of General Electric, today announced its completion of the Zenon Environmental Inc. acquisition. GE purchased Zenon, a global leader in advanced membranes for water purification, wastewater treatment and water reuse, in an all cash transaction valuing Zenon at approximately US$689 million or Cdn $763 million. Under the terms of the agreement, GE purchased all issued and outstanding Common Shares of Zenon and Non-Voting Class A Shares for Cdn $24.00 per share in cash. Over its 26-year history, Zenon pioneered the use of ultrafiltration immersed membrane technology for water and wastewater treatment. Its membranes have become the technology of choice for water and wastewater plants of all sizes, and their adoption is spreading rapidly throughout the world...

• Walter Industries, Mueller Water products closes on IPO -- TAMPA, FL, June 1, 2006 -- Walter Industries Inc. and Mueller Water Products Inc. announced today the closing of the initial public offering of Mueller Water Products' Series A common stock. The closing included the full exercise by the underwriters of the option to purchase 3.75 million additional Series A shares to cover over- allotments, for a total of 28.75 million Series A shares at $16.00 per share. Walter Industries continues to hold all of the 85.85 million Series B shares outstanding. The aggregate net proceeds to Mueller Water Products, after underwriters' discount, were $432.4 million.
The underwriters for the offering were led by Banc of America Securities LLC, Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers as joint book-running managers, with SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Goldman, Sachs & Co., Avondale Partners and Calyon Securities (USA) Inc. acting as co-managers...
Also see:
--"Mueller Water Products names Jennifer Thomas as executive VP for human resources"
-- "Mueller Water Products Inc. prices IPO of Series A Common Stock at $16 a share"

• World Urban Forum announces program, commissioners blog -- Countdown to June 19-23 event in Vancouver under way -- VANCOUVER, BC, Canada, June 1, 2006 -- The World Urban Forum III (WUF3) is less than a month away. The WUF3 program, just released and now available at www.wuf3-fum3.ca, features Anna Tibaijuka, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, Nairobi, Kenya; Alfonso Jackson, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Guangtao Wang, Minister of Construction, China as well as urban planning experts from around the world. In total over 150 countries are represented at this event. Of special interest is a series of facilitated dialogues that will bring together experts and the public to exchange views on topics that range from "Achieving the Millennium Development Goals - Slum Upgrading and Affordable Housing," to "Urban Safety and Security," and "Municipal Finance." Charles Kelly, commissioner general of the World Urban Forum, also now has a blog located at www.wuf3-fum3.ca/blog. His dialogue on WUF3 will give insight into this event, its goals and its meaning...

• Address water scarcity, water quality issues around the world now, Sandia/CSIS report says -- ALBUQUERQUE, NM, May 31, 2006 -- Now is the time to address the devastating effects of increasing water scarcity and declining water quality around the world, according to a recently released white paper written jointly by Sandia National Laboratories and the Washington think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The white paper, "Addressing Our Global Water Future," is the result of two conferences last year in Washington at which representatives of major multinational companies, government officials, and technical experts discussed U.S. policy and the role of emerging water technologies in regions of the world where the United States has strategic interests. Discussions centered on countries with dwindling fresh water supplies and the range of technology innovation needed to help resolve water problems. Sandia provided information on emerging water technologies with potential to impact water scarcity and quality issues. The primary authors are Laura Keating of CSIS and Howard Passell of Sandia, although numerous others from both organizations contributed to the document...

• ABB Instrumentation names new VP -- Bob Hausler joins Instrumentation Business Unit in global role for marketing and strategic planning. -- WARMINSTER, PA, May 31, 2006 -- ABB announced today that Robert N. (Bob) Hausler has been appointed Vice-President Marketing and Strategic Planning for Instrumentation in its Automation Products Division. He will be based at ABB's US headquarters for Instrumentation in Warminster, PA. In his new role, Hausler will immediately focus on top line growth, portfolio management, and strategic planning. He will drive product development and market launches which clearly show the ABB advantage from the customer perspective, as well as aggressively position ABB Instrumentation products against the competition...

• SJW Corp. closes on asset purchase of Texas' Canyon Lake Water Supply Corp. -- SAN JOSE, CA, May 31, 2006 -- SJW Corp. announced today that the purchase of the assets of Canyon Lake Water Supply Corp. by SJWTX Water Inc. closed on Wednesday, May 31, 2006. SJWTX Water, a newly formed Texas corporation, is a wholly owned subsidiary of SJW Corp. SJW Corp., through SJWTX Water, gains approximately 7,000 metered connections in a service area encompassing approximately 320 square miles around Canyon Lake between San Antonio and Austin. Approximately 20,000 residents in Western Comal County and Southeastern Blanco County are served by the water system. The members of Canyon Lake Water Supply Corp. approved the sale of the assets on Nov. 5. Authorization to close the transaction was granted by both the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB). The purchase price consists of $3.2 million in cash; SJWTX Water's assumption, retirement, or recapitalization of all of Canyon Lake Water Supply Corp.'s outstanding debt and bond obligations of approximately $20 million; and SJWTX Water's payment of certain transaction expenses...

• Precision Gasket Co. designated as 2006 MDEA Supplier -- MINNEAPOLIS, MN, May 31, 2006 -- The Minneapolis-based leader in the non-metallic parts industry was honored as a supplier to a winning product in the 2006 Medical Design Excellence Awards competition. During the entry process for this year's awards program, the company was named by Smiths Medical MD Inc. as a supplier to the Cleo 90 Infusion set. It will attend the awards presentation that will be held in conjunction with the Medical Design & Manufacturing East 2006 Conference in New York City on June 7...

• International scientists propose aggressive action to restore Louisiana coast -- NEW ORLEANS, LA, May 31, 2006 -- Tomorrow, the first day of the Atlantic hurricane season, local, national and international scientists will present a call for bold, aggressive action to restore coastal Louisiana. Preserving the value of this delicate ecosystem that is at the verge of collapse is crucial, according a group known as America's WETLAND, a post-Katrina environmental campaign led by chief sponsor Shell Oil Co. and several oil & gas and chemical companies. Expected to speak at a related announcement at the Wyndham New Orleans at Canal Place were Dr. Denise Reed, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of New Orleans, LUMCON; Sidney Coffee, Chairwoman of Louisiana's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and Executive Assistant to the Governor for Coastal Activities; Dr. Edward F. Renwick, Associate Professor of Political Science, Loyola University New Orleans; King Milling, President, America's WETLAND Foundation; Scott Angelle, Secretary, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources. For more information, visit...

• Cuts to block grants spark bipartisan outcry - Michigan Land Use Institute -- Local leaders say reductions would be extra hard on Michigan
ANN ARBOR, MI, May 26, 2006 -- Alarmed by a Bush administration proposal calling for further large budget cuts to a longstanding and popular community development program, elected and appointed officials around Michigan and across the country are organizing to defeat it, according to Charlene Crowell, the Michigan Land Use Institute's state policy director. The Bush proposal would cut the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's long-running Community Development Block Grants for next year by approximately $1 billion. That would reduce the program's budget, which stood at $4.3 billion two years ago, to $2.7 billion next year -- a 38% reduction since 2004. Supporters of CDBG funding assert that the reduction is ill-conceived because the program works so well for so many communities. They add that, for the program to work correctly for the more than 1,100 towns and cities that receive the federal funds, the CDBG budget funding should not fall below $4 billion...

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In earlier newsbriefs, see: "WaterBriefs: U.S. State Department to release 'Safe Water and Sanitation Strategy'" -- Also in this report (May 31, 2006): WCSA receives top honors from Va. Health Department; Hi-Vac expands with O'Brien Manufacturing acquisition; Aquionics' McClean promoted to head all Halma UV companies; Pellegrin joins HDR to head MBR technical effort; Earth Tech consortium wins N. Ireland's first public-private water partnership; Ashland completes purchase of Degussa water treatment business; ProSep Technologies Inc. moves to new offices; Peerless Mfg. Co. awarded $5.4 million in contracts for steam dryer systems; Enpar awarded UK patent for its ammonia treatment technology; Radisson's drinking water now treated using Dagua technology; Damaged Iraq marshes show renewed signs of life; Water Works Industry Solutions revolutionizes construction training...

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