Underground Construction - January 2020 - 8

NEWSLINE LATEST INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS
Survey Recognizes Company
Leaders for Underground
Infrastructure
A recent in-depth survey by Underground Construction magazine revealed the most recognizable companies among personnel within the underground
utility and pipeline infrastructure market place.
Participants in the survey were asked to "name
the top three companies that come to mind as
leaders in supply, equipment and/or services" in
several industry categories, including horizontal
directional drilling (HDD), cured-in-place-pipe
(CIPP) and laterals.
For HDD, manufacturers Vermeer and Ditch
Witch received overwhelming recognition from
survey respondents followed by fellow manufacturer American Augers and contractor Michels.
In the equally competitive CIPP ﬁeld, contractor
Insituform was the most recognized company in the
market by a large margin. The next tier of recognized
companies included contractors SAK, Michels and
Granite Inliner along with manufacturer Interplastic.
Leading company recognition for laterals was
LMK followed by HammerHead, Maxliner and BLD.
For manholes, Raven dominated the responses.
While Insituform again led the recall responses

for mainline water and sewer rehabilitation, HammerHead was a strong second.
In open cut/trenching categories, Ditch Witch
and Vermeer led all companies largely due to their
dominant market positions with trenchers which
are primarily designed for underground infrastructure work. Coming in strong were John Deere,
Case and Caterpillar.
In the ﬁeld of damage prevention and safety, Subsite strongly led the ﬁeld followed by Badger Daylight.
The survey, conducted in August and September,
also provided insights into industry trends of greatest
interest to respondents. The survey is ongoing and
further results will continue to be updated.

USDA to Invest Over $630
Million in Water Improvement
for Rural Communities
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy
Under Secretary for Rural Development Donald
"DJ" LaVoy has announced that the department is
investing $635 million in 122 projects to improve
water systems and wastewater handling services in
rural communities in 42 states.
The department is funding the projects through the
Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant program.

"These investments will bring reliable infrastructure to rural communities. They will replace
old, fragile, leaking water pipes with new ones and
allow upgrades to water handling systems that are
decades old, boosting water pressure and cutting
water losses," LaVoy said.
Eligible applicants include rural cities, towns and
water districts. The funds can be used for drinking water, stormwater drainage and waste disposal systems
in rural communities that meet population limits.
For example, the following water and wastewater
projects in rural communities will receive funding:
* The city of Amity in northwest Oregon will
use a $1.6 million loan and a $1.7 million grant
to upgrade the municipal water system. The
investment will be used to improve the water
treatment intake system. Additionally, larger
pumps will be installed in reservoirs and at the
water treatment plant.
* The Forest Park Tenants' Association Cooperative
in Jaffrey, N.H., will use a $2 million loan and a
$1.4 million grant to make water, wastewater and
stormwater improvements at a 116-unit housing
park. All water mains and a section of the
sewer main will be replaced, and a stormwater
management system will be installed.

$234 Billion CAPEX Expected over Next 10 Years for Water/Wastewater Infrastructure
More than $234 billion of capital expenditures
(CAPEX) are forecasted over the next decade to
address aging municipal water and wastewater
pipe network infrastructure. Precipitated by decades of underinvestment, municipal utilities are
under increasing pressure to address deteriorating
linear assets at a faster pace.

JANUARY 2020 | UConOnline.com

According to Blueﬁeld Research's new
report, Underground Infrastructure: U.S. Water &
Wastewater Pipe Network Forecast, 2019-2028,
pipe networks and associated hardware (e.g.
manholes, hydrants, valves) make up 37 percent
of total forecasted municipal CAPEX that includes
water & wastewater treatment facilities.

The cost of managing 3.2 million miles of
underground distribution and collection systems
is escalating for municipalities. Water losses
through leaks for U.S. utilities average 15 percent
annually, with some cities, towns and communities losing more than half of all water pumped
and treated for distribution to customers. Network
expansions, particularly in high population growth
across the sunbelt states (e.g. Texas, Arizona), will
drive the lion's share of new-build spend.
At the same time, rising costs to address
these growing needs will continue reshaping the
installed material types. Well-established, large urban centers (e.g. Boston, New York) will continue
to rely on traditional, legacy materials, like ductile
iron, while suppliers of polymer-based products
(e.g. PVC, HDPE) will make greater inroads on the
peripheries of existing pipe networks, where developers have greater inﬂuence on procurement.
The scale of investment required necessitates
prioritizing rehabilitation of these aging assets
and is expected to usher in more advanced asset
management, such as predictive analytics.

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Underground Construction - January 2020

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