The PSC proposes to require water utilities to annually mail rules for deposits, deferred payment agreements, budget billing, disconnection, and dispute procedures to all residential customers.
Many communities have sites that local citizens have committed to maintaining. Adopt-a-Road programs have existed for many years now, and now Adopt-a-River programs are growing in popularity as well.
A high-level understanding of your municipal utility systems is critical to allowing utility managers to understand how their systems will be impacted by changes in significant users.
It may be sunny and 80 degrees outside, but it’s the perfect time to think about snow and ice. Many training sessions will be held this fall addressing road salt and other winter road management activities.
The City of New Berlin was faced with a difficult design challenge for a 7-block section of alley in the Buena Park neighborhood. The City wanted to take advantage of a Green Solutions grant from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD). The solution was a porous asphalt pavement to provide storm water storage, filtration, and conveyance.
Excess phosphorus causes rapid formation of algal and cyanobacterial blooms, which have readily apparent impacts such as undesirable aesthetics, fish kills, and public health concerns. However, there are also less tangible economic impacts.
As municipal governments continue to move towards green infrastructure, innovative uses of existing materials become increasingly important. Additionally, the need to effectively move and treat storm water runoff becomes increasingly important. Local municipalities are recognizing the importance of these two items.
In the summer of 2016, the Village of Brown Deer contacted Ruekert & Mielke, Inc. (R/M) for assistance in developing an urban forestry project that would be strong enough to meet the application needs of the DNR's Urban Forestry Grant.
Nutrient pollution, also referred to as eutrophication, is a widespread environmental and economic issue. Excess nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen exist naturally in aquatic systems, but are detrimental if concentrations become elevated for several reasons.
Keeping track of which plastics should be recycled in a municipality can be difficult for residents. To increase participation in recycling programs, it is helpful to make the information readily available and easy to understand.
It's never too early to start thinking about grant opportunities. Whether it's a project that's been on a wish list or the back-burner; the prospect of supplemental funding can never be understated.
With the warm summer weather upon us, you are probably expecting to be getting better gas mileage for a few good reasons.
The City of Pewaukee Water & Sewer Utility has been proactive recently in upgrading several components of their Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) System. By anticipating needs in advance, several smaller projects were able to be budgeted for and sequenced out over a several year period.
In recent years, many states and local municipalities have made enormous strides in reducing carbon emissions and increasing the overall sustainability of their operations and infrastructure projects. Many sustainable construction methods, which often go unnoticed, are gaining popularity due to their lower cost and big environmental benefits.
Is your SCADA System showing signs of neglect? Water and Wastewater Utilities depend on their Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Systems to operate, monitor, alarm and report on the critical processes that their municipality's residents take for granted. But are you taking your SCADA System for granted too?
The average American household uses 300 gallons of water per day at home. With summer fast approaching, the time for swimming pools and sprinkler systems is almost here. Warmer months can lead to significantly higher water usage, meaning that water conservation is increasingly important!
Per the National Weather Service, April 2017 was the ninth wettest April on record for the Chicagoland area. This much rain will always reveal urban flooding issues that face our municipalities, but it's not just major flooding events that are an issue. As the economy rebounds, many communities are experiencing significant increases in redevelopment activity. L
Rain gardens are typically depressed garden beds where rain accumulates and slowly soaks into the ground. By directing downspouts to rain gardens, we can reduce the amount of runoff that reaches the street, then the storm sewer, and ultimately erodes the banks of our local creeks and lakes.
Some water utilities in Wisconsin have had trouble with the PSC over water meter replacements. Water utilities do not need PSC construction authorization for routine meter repair or replacement. So, what is non-routine?
The School District of South Milwaukee hired Ruekert & Mielke, Inc. (R/M) to review an ongoing drainage problem on their high school football field. The field became saturated when it rained and wet conditions made it difficult to maintain the natural grass causing field activities to be delayed or moved elsewhere. Learn how R/M helped them get back on the field.