New England is a beautiful place to live. It offers a mix of classic and modern living that is appealing to many people. However, one downfall for people, business owners and municipalities is the aging water infrastructure in this part of the country. After all, New England was built up very early, and the basis for water treatment and delivery was centuries ago. Even though certain aspects have been improved and upgraded through the years, the roots are old—and this can lead to some serious problems. How does this impact drinking water, and what can be done to improve the process of delivery?
Filtering water is clearly important. After all, in today’s world even water straight from the source is not that clean. Around the country and the world, water departments are looking at different filter options to find the best possible way to remove impurities from the supply and leave the water looking and tasting crystal clear. There are dozens of different filter types. It would take a very large document to describe, even briefly, all of the different types available. Each municipality will have to do the research and decide what filter option will work best and implement it to provide clean water for the city, county or state.
When you are treating water for human consumption or for other use, such as for community use, filtration is vital. You count on your filter to take care of the toxins and unpleasant tastes and smells so that the resulting water is clear, tasty and safe to drink and use. However, the filter media can provide a breeding ground for algae, bacteria and other unpleasant things to grow. This can cause the filter to be less effective or even harmful.
The definition of erosion, according to National Geographic, is “the act in which earth is worn away, often by water, wind, or ice.” This description is apt, but only begins to describe the many things that can cause the ground, road, or other surfaces to begin to wear away. Learning more about the causes of erosion and how it affects us is important as it will help you better understand the methods available for dealing with erosion as well as choosing which of those methods is best for your particular situation.
At first glance, roads would look to be very durable and hard to damage, after all they are made of pavement which would seem to be one of the most solid substances anywhere. Nevertheless, in reality, the smallest things can cause the biggest damage to the roadways—especially over time. Erosion is the act of soil, rock or other material washing away from one part of the ground and moving elsewhere. This is normally a geology term describing the movement of dirt or earth being washed away. However, erosion affects roadways too.
At first glance, roads would look to be very durable and hard to damage, after all they are made of pavement which would seem to be one of the most solid substances anywhere. Nevertheless, in reality, the smallest things can cause the biggest damage to the roadways—especially over time. Erosion is the act of soil, rock or other material washing away from one part of the ground and moving elsewhere. This is normally a geology term describing the movement of dirt or earth being washed away. However, erosion affects roadways too.
Erosion is something that affects us all. Through simple runoff that may wash away dirt, to serious landslides that can harm property or even take lives, erosion comes in many forms. While some erosion is 100% natural, such as the water erosion that caused the Grand Canyon to form, other erosion is caused due to things we do in our day-to-day lives.
Rural areas face many challenges when compared to urban or even suburban locales. Keeping the roadways in good condition is one of the biggest challenges. This is especially true when erosion comes into play.
An estimated 700 water main breaks need repair each day in the U.S. primarily due to the country's aging water infrastructure. The EPA reports that 30 percent of pipes delivering water to 100,000+ people are between 40 and 80 years old, with another 10 percent of those pipes even older than those estimates.
As temperatures begin to drop and winter weather rears its ugly head for another year, one area of the waterworks industry becomes increasingly important with each passing day: water mains. It goes without saying that freezing temperatures increase the chances of a water service or main break with each degree. However, only by having an understanding of exactly what happens during freezing temperatures will you be able to take the appropriate steps to keep these water mains safe all throughout the season. A frozen water main is a potentially devastating problem that can affect thousands of people in one fell swoop.
For the eighth consecutive year, Team E. J. Prescott is proud to present its winter seminar series. These highly interactive workshops are designed to provide solutions to the problems associated with the maintenance and construction of our critical infrastructure.
All participants earn certificates for 5.0 Professional Development Hours.
