Have you ever made a typo? After all, nobody’s perfect. Most people make a mistake at some point in their careers without serious consequences. But errors at water and wastewater facilities can have particularly far-reaching …
Looking Back on Water Safety Efforts in Flint
It’s been about a year now since a group of citizens took it upon themselves to help the residents of Flint, Michigan in the aftermath of a crisis. Flint started making headlines in 2014 when …
Pink Water Incident Renews Focus on Water Treatment
Residents of Lake Charles, Louisiana, were unhappy to discover pink tap water pouring into their sinks and showers last month. The cause of this rosy surprise? An excess of potassium permanganate mistakenly added to the …
Flint Residents Get Help From Omaha Ally: UNMC
The Flint lead crisis has somewhat receded from the public eye, but that doesn’t mean that developments have slowed. In fact, a vital healthcare partner in the Omaha community, where PeopleService is headquartered, recently stepped …
Educating The Next Generation Of Water Professionals
The entire water and wastewater industry is on notice. We must deal with the fact that our entire industry will lose a significant portion of its current workforce to retirement in the next few years. …
Coffee Time? Ensuring Clean Water Through Coffee Grounds
Scientific breakthroughs and the pursuit of innovation are often the result of inspiration, testing, refining and many long, late hours of drinking coffee. Bold thinking and commitment have led a lab at the Italian Institute …
Bellevue Tackles Sewer Infrastructure Maintenance
The city of Bellevue, Nebraska, will increase sewer rates in 2017 and 2018 in order to address an issue of the utmost importance: maintaining sewer infrastructure. The Omaha World-Herald has the scoop. Obviously, nobody is ever …
Nebraska, Colorado and Kansas Reach Landmark Water Agreement
Since 1942 the Republican River, which runs through Nebraska, Colorado and Kansas, has been the subject of lawsuits and long-term disagreements between the three states. Back in 1942, the states signed a compact which divided …
Syracuse Main Break Reveals the Importance of Preparedness
Infrastructure can be problematic. There are some problems you cannot predict or safeguard against until they actually happen. One morning in September the citizens of Syracuse, Nebraska, had to contend with the harsh reality of …
The Critical Difference Between Contracting and Privatizing
Since the 1980s government institutions – from small towns all the way up to federal agencies – have been handing over control of public services to the private sector. The trend stems from the common …