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NEWS
MEETINGS
U.S. Conference of Mayors Meets in
Washington D.C.
Annually, the U.S.
Conference of Mayors
Water Council meets in
Washington, D.C., at the
St. Regis Hotel. This
year’s meeting took place
Oct. 27-28.
Co-chairs for the council
are Mayor Jennifer
Hosterman, Pleasanton,
Calif., and Mayor Stephanie
Rawlings-Blake, Baltimore
Md. Considering the meeting
was being held in
Water Council co-chairs (l-r) Stephanie
Rawlings-Blake (Baltimore, Md.) and
Jennifer Hosterman (Pleasanton,
Calif.) presided over the meeting.
Washington, D.C., there was considerable focus on matters related
to the federal government. At the top of the list was a discussion
on “Federal Water and Wastewater Mandates.”
The general atmosphere of the mayors was that there is an
ever-increasing number of unfunded mandates. The mayors
discussed that with tighter municipal budgets, it is difficult to
address these mandates. Discussing the wastewater mandates at
the meeting were Susan Bodine, Barnes & Thornburg, and
Adrienne Nemura, Limno Tech. Regarding the drinking water
mandates, Tom Curtis of AWWA was present.
The second day of these council meetings is usually devoted
to innovations. Chad Carney of 3M made a presentation titled
“A Sustainable and Cost Effective Rehabilitation Solution for
Potable Water Infrastructure” based on 3M’s new water pipeline
coating system. Veolia Water has developed a new
approach to public-private partnerships based on performance
contracting. Harald Jensen and David Gadis of Veloia made a
presentation titled “A Winning Formula for Your City
Winnipeg Alliance Reshapes How City Manages Water
Infrastructure Challenges.”
There was a session on “System Efficiencies, Emergency
Preparedness and Innovations.” A new Water Council member,
PureSafe Water System’s Gerald Stoehr made a presentation on
“Providing Water Supply in Disaster Events and Recovery
Periods.” Another new Water Council member, Schneider Electric,
made a presentation on “Energy Performance Contracting and
Supply Management for Water and Wastewater Treatment.”
Edwin Newell was there on behalf of Schneider Electric.
As the meeting closed, the mayors met privately with U.S.
EPA officials.
ADVANCED METERING
Aclara Provides Total AMI Solution to
Town of Culpeper
The Town of Culpeper, Va., has chosen Aclara to provide a
total advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) solution for electric
and water meters. Aclara is part of the Utility Solutions
Group of ESCO Technologies Inc.
Culpeper’s new AMI system will deliver remote meter reading
to 5,000 electric and 6,400 water customers. It will employ
Aclara’s TWACS power-line technology for reading electric
meters as well as its STAR Network system for water meters.
In addition, Aclara will supply enterprise meter-data-management
(MDM) and consumer-engagement solutions to
Culpeper. A web portal will provide access directly to usage
data, allowing the town to better service its customers.
Culpeper also will employ Aclara solutions to manage and
restore services after power outages, control usage during peak
electric demand, and implement acoustic leak detection to find
water losses in the distribution system.
“Access to near real-time information will help us understand
events on our utility networks and to be proactive in our
response to outages, tampering, theft and leaks,” said Mike
Stover, Director of Light and Power for the Town of Culpeper.
“For example, the ability to identify the extent of power outages
without sending personnel to the field will exponentially
improve our ability to restore services quickly.”
BUSINESS
Xylem Launches as New Global, Pure-play Water Technology Company
Xylem Inc. (NYSE: XYL)
announced Oct. 31 that it has completed
its spinoff from ITT Corp.,
and has begun operations as a $3.2
billion standalone global water technology
company. Xylem’s marketleading
product brands, applications
expertise and technological strength
enable the transport, treatment, testing
and efficient use of water in public
utility, residential and commercial
building services, industrial and agricultural
settings. The company serves
customers in more than 150 countries
to address critical water issues such as
growing water scarcity, aging infrastructure
and more stringent environmental
regulations.
“I’m extremely proud to announce
the launch of a unique company, the
product of more than 100 years of
experience in the water business and
the collective work and expertise of
our nearly 12,000 employees and
our strategic partners around the
world,” said Gretchen McClain, president
and CEO of Xylem. “While our
name has changed with the spinoff,
our customers will find in Xylem the
same commitment to providing local
service to meet their specific needs
while leveraging our global network,
technological strength and applications
expertise.”
Xylem serves a $30 billion segment of
the global water equipment and services
market through a distribution network
consisting of a direct sales force and independent
channel partners. The company’s
products and services address the full
cycle of water and are key in the collection,
distribution and use of water. Wellknown
and respected product brands
such as Bell and Gossett, Flojet, Flygt,
Godwin, Goulds Water Technologies,
WTW and YSI, among others, will continue
their place in the water industry as
a part of the Xylem portfolio.
14 Water Utility Infrastructure Management
November/December 2011