As the City of Kenosha embarked on a comprehensive analysis of their storm water infrastructure from both flood control and water quality perspectives, the City was hit with back-to-back intense rainfall events in July of 2017 that resulted in significant local and regional flooding. The immediate public health and safety concerns tied to this flooding event doubled down the City’s efforts to simultaneously develop a long-term plan for the future, while also quickly addressing some of the most pressing concerns.
Water systems across all fifty states have tested positive for lead contamination that threatens the health of those who drink it, especially young children and pregnant women. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, there is no safe level of lead, particularly for children. While Wisconsin communities have done a good job of providing safe water, communities can use new legislation to further improve safety.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is now accepting grant applications for construction of storm water treatment practices through the Urban Nonpoint Source and Storm Water Grant Program. This is a valuable funding program that helps offset the cost of meeting MS4 Permit requirements and protecting local lakes, streams, and wetlands in Wisconsin.
MS4. TMDL. NPDES. These acronyms (and many more) can sometimes make complying with municipal storm water regulations seem like an exercise in alphabet soup more than anything else. A variety of recent advances in ways of thinking and technology can simplify regulatory compliance.
In addition to doing illicit discharge inspections during dry weather, monitoring storm sewer outfalls during snow melt and rain events can reveal pollutants that accumulate and mobilize only when storm water flows through the system.
The Village of Menomonee Falls is the perfect example of how long-range planning can increase your SCADA system's reliability. Over the past 25 years, their ongoing system maintenance and regularly scheduled hardware and software upgrades have resulted in no significant failures. Read more to learn how they did it.
Water utility alert! Due to the recent change to Wis. Stats. §66.0601(2m)(b), you can transfer the public fire protection (PFP) municipal charges to end-use retail customers without having to reduce your municipal levy limit.
Storm water controls are necessary to prevent flooding, protect property, and to protect local lakes and streams. Unfortunately, effective storm water controls are often very costly. Maintenance to ensure these features keep working means additional costs that are added on each year.
SCADA systems are an important tool in the day to day operations of water & wastewater utilities. Do you have a good strategy for ensuring that your SCADA system stays up to date and provides the optimum levels of reliability, security, and efficiency? Learn how regular analysis and planning can extend the life of your SCADA system hardware and software, and how periodic planned updates can be more economical than waiting to replace critical components when a failure occurs.
One common concern with green infrastructure practices is their functionality in cold weather. However, studies have shown that green infrastructure continues to be effective for water quality treatment and peak flow reduction in cold weather.
The City of Peshtigo has experienced recent sewer system overflow events that have been partly due to high wet weather flows. R/M assisted in performing a smoke testing program as part of the City’s sewer system evaluation survey (SSES).
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Ruekert & Mielke, Inc. co-founder John H. Mielke. John passed away peacefully on Monday, January 1, 2018, at the age of 99.
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.
