August’s top stories: California passes water plan, Anglian Water signs £450m contracts

California passes $7.5bn water plan

California passed a $7.5bn water plan that envisages development of infrastructure in the state in the midst of a drought.

The plan was passed almost unanimously with 77-2 votes in the Assembly and 37-0 in the Senate.

The plan intends to expand water storage capacity and improve groundwater management, increase regional self-reliance, protect and restore important ecosystems in the state, manage and prepare for dry periods, and increase flood protection.

Anglian Water signs £450m worth of deals under AMP6 frameworks

UK-based Anglian Water signed £450m worth of contracts with Barhale, Clancy Docwra, Kier MG and Morrison Utility Services for the sixth asset management programme (AMP6), which will be carried out between 2015 and 2020.

Under the deal, Clancy Docwra and Kier MG will be responsible for delivering Anglian Water’s integrated metering and developer services (IMDS) programme, worth around £200m.

The two firms will co-ordinate with employees at Anglian Water for a domestic and business metering programme, which includes water efficiency audits to conserve water.

MIT researchers work on producing power using saltwater

Mechanical engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are researching a model to generate electricity using a mix of river and seawater.

The researchers are working on a method of power generation called pressure retarded osmosis (PRO), wherein two water streams of varying salinity levels are combined to produce energy.

The PRO system could be used to power a wastewater treatment plant by mixing seawater with treated wastewater to produce renewable energy.

China invites Analytica to develop municipal wastewater treatment facilities

China invited Analytica Bio-Energy to design and build municipal wastewater treatment facilities for population centres throughout the country.

For this purpose, the company was invited to participate in the government-mandated and comprehensive wastewater management programme in China.

The company will take the lead position in the programme to develop municipal wastewater treatment plants in the country.

Thiess-CH2M HILL joint-venture selected for Western Australia water recycling plant

Infrastructure company Thiess and engineering, construction and operations company CH2M HILL were selected by Western Australia’s Water Corporation to build an advanced water recycling plant (AWRP) in Craigie, north of Perth.

The $80m project has been undertaken to improve Perth’s potable water supply, with treated wastewater from the Beenyup Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) to be introduced by the AWRP into aquifers.

The design, construction, commission, performance testing and validation of the AWRP will be completed for an initial operating capacity of 14 gallons a year, alongside flexibility for expanding the operating capacity to 28 gallons a year.

Clark Water to invest $90m in Pampanga, Philippines

Clark Water, a subsidiary of Manila Water, revealed plans to invest PHP3.93bn ($90m) in water and wastewater infrastructure in Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga, Philippines.

The investment will help the company provide water services in Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zones, which is its concession area.

Separately, the company also signed a deal with Clark Development to extend the water concession in the area through 2040.

BluMetric to supply oil-water separators for Panama Canal expansion project

BluMetric Environmental was awarded a contract to supply six oil-water separators for the third set of locks on the Panama Canal project in Panama.

The contract follows a previous contract that requires the Canadian company to install eight wastewater treatment plants for the canal’s lock houses.

BluMetric water division president Dan Scroggins said: "BluMetric’s products and services continue to be key to this huge construction project.

BluMetric will supply the separators through the first half of fiscal year 2015. The project was 77% completed as of July and is scheduled to be completed in 2015.

Water loss due to drought raising land level in western US says research

Considerable loss of water due to drought has resulted in the rising of land in the western US, researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in the University of California found.

GPS data collected by the scientists reveals that the western US has lost nearly 240 gigatons (63 trillion gallons) of water since 2013.

The shortfall is equivalent to a four-inch sheet of water covering the entire region.