Snow plowing and applying road salt was the accepted norm from the mid-20th century until just a decade or so ago. More communities are now using new technologies and methods that are ultimately cheaper, better for the environment, and most importantly provide the level of safety the public expects during winter storm events.
Some of the primary goals of CMOM programs are to protect public health, avoid basement backups, prevent sanitary sewer overflows, and protect the infrastructure investment. Municipalities place high emphasis on investigating private laterals in addition to the public sewers when they experience higher flows at their wastewater management facilities, sewers surcharge, or basements backup during wet weather events.
A TMDL affects municipalities in two main ways; through its wastewater treatment facility (WWTF) permit or through its Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit.
Learn more about several innovative approaches municipalities can take in working towards TMDL compliance.
Why do some streams have TMDLs while others don’t? When monitoring or sampling results over a designated period of time reveal problems with the physical, biological and/or chemical conditions of a stream, river or lake, a waterbody can be listed on a state’s Impaired Waters List.
Vegetation shades the land in rural areas, allowing it to stay cool and moist. Urban development causes these natural environments to be replaced with roads, buildings, and other dry, man-made surfaces that retain heat causing the "heat island effect".
Earlier in 2017, R/M designed a water main replacement project for the City of St. Charles, IL, utilizing the horizontal directional drilling (HDD) installation method. Incorporating the HDD method of installation saved the City nearly 25% over an open-cut and auger alternate method of construction.
Ruekert & Mielke, Inc. was recently profiled in "US Builders Review Magazine," a publication for leading construction executives. The article focuses on R/M's growth, culture, and transition to 100% employee ownership.
Developing and analyzing data sets showing the relationship between land use and location efficiency can be a difficult and expensive process. In response to this issue, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed three tools that analyze the land use and transit accessibility of metropolitan neighborhoods in the United States: Smart Location Database, Access to Jobs and Workers Via Transit Tool, and National Walkability Index.
As our utility systems age, the need for replacing infrastructure in tight spaces has greatly increased. At the same time, the general public has become less and less tolerant of the hassles associated with underground construction projects. The horizontal directional drilling (HDD) method of utility installation can help your agency overcome these challenges and potentially save money at the same time!
The City of Oconomowoc, with assistance from R/M, constructed joint parking lots with vegetated parking lot islands to allow storm water to flow across the lot and into bioretention areas.
Development drove the need for the City of Oconomowoc to provide new municipal facilities. Impact fees helped them meet the need by providing facilities, such as Fire Station No. 2, to fuel development.
Learn how Oconomowoc was able to fund facilities to attract development through working with R/M on an impact fee study.
An emerging technology in the world of storm water management is floating treatment islands which are floating mats or rafts which provide a growing medium for wetland plants.
Many communities want to grow, but water, wastewater, police, fire, parks, and libraries for new growth are costly. Impact fees fund facilities to attract development and recover the capital cost from new growth.
Green infrastructure practices, such as above and below ground cisterns, can be used to capture storm water and reuse it later.
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.
