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Engineer Juan de Dios Ray loves Mexico.  It is evident in the way he speaks about her people and history.  We travel down a busy road somewhere near Veracruz, Mexico and the constant beep of assorted horns tells us that most of the people here don’t have a millisecond to waste.  They are hurrying to make a living at whatever it is that they do.  Poverty surrounds the road and the background of brightly colored houses somehow seems in contrast to the street beggars.  The road is full of mammoth potholes and we avoid them in the dented rental.

Juan points to the road and says, “It is hard for a
politician to put money into water infrastructure
when his population sees that the streets
are in such poor condition.  If he fixes a
road, they immediately see the
results.”

Makes sense until you realize
that Mexico has had water trouble
for as long as anyone can remember. 
Now Mexico is drying up, 12 million of Mexico's 100 million citizens have no running water at home.

Some 26 million have no sewage service.  The problem is compounded by Mexico's widespread pollution. Almost three-quarters of the country's natural water reserves are contaminated to some degree, says Mexico's National Water Commission.

Environmental concerns are at the forefront of government plan; however, and money is on the way to help conserve water.  The water agency estimates that Mexico's water infrastructure needs at least US$3 billion of investment per year for the next decade.  In August, the government unveiled PROMAGUA, a program of federal subsidies designed to attract private investment to water projects in 178 cities with populations exceeding 50,000 inhabitants. Under the program, local authorities can apply for subsidies up to 65% of the cost of a specific project.  The remainder is expected to come from investors.

Forty percent leak rates are normal and part of the reason the entire Country has been implementing HDPE for water since the mid 1990’s.  On the whole, they are on the band wagon with fused joints and Juan de Dios Ray is showing civil engineers all over Mexico that PVC can be fused as well.  The construction project we are visiting is a new eleven mile, raw-water, source-pipeline near the city of Veracruz, Mexico.  The line will provide fresh water to thousands of people.

Juan works for Durman who is now the exclusive producer of Underground Solutions, Inc.’s products and services throughout Mexico, South America and the Caribbean.  Juan thinks fused PVC will be great for Mexico’s water.

“It doesn’t leak,” he says with a grin as if that is all the explanation needed.  “You see, I understand how thirsty Mexico has become.”

Beaumont, TX - The city of Beaumont Texas was recently faced with the problem of preventing contamination of their raw water source while at the same time protecting the delicate environment of the wetlands that surround their water canal. City officials put on their creative, problem-solving hats and embraced offshore techniques to accomplish both objectives. The innovative operation is drawing attention from other parts of the country that have similar problems.

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PLASTICS PIPE INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES EDUCATIONAL AWARENESS CAMPAIGN DIRECTED AT NATION’S MAYORS
Heroic Measures Require Heroic Actions; Mayors Seen as Frontline Heroes

IRVING, TX – Feb. 12, 2008 -- To draw attention to the practical and cost-effective
solution of using high density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe for fixing the country’s crumbling
infrastructure, the Plastics Pipe Institute (PPI), a non-profit advocacy for the plastic piping
industry, has initiated a new educational awareness campaign.
Illustrating how mayors and other responsibly-minded municipal staff members are

Alaskan Gasline Team to Discuss North Slope Pipeline at Pipeline Opportunities Conference
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is sending her gasline team to Houston on March 25 to update attendees at the 4th Annual Pipeline Opportunities Conference with the latest news on the proposed North Slope natural gas pipeline project.

The announcement comes amid increasing pressure from Washington lawmakers to get moving on the landmark project quickly. Palin has made no secret of her determination to see a pipeline built with or without the support of the major producers. Her gasline team is holding statewide meetings on the project and the trip to Houston will mark their first presentation outside of Alaska.

Blumenauer Holds 2nd Trust Fund Meeting
Cong. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) recently confirmed that he is putting together a trust fund/grant program bill, though a finished bill is probably still a long way off. He did this at another in his series of discussions on water infrastructure issues, which was held February 27.

At the discussion, he distributed a brief “discussion outline” of a possible trust fund bill, which raised more questions than it answered. However, what is clear is that many of the central structural problems that have plagued the trust fund/grant program idea are still there. The chief among these problems is the funding source for the program. In the February 27 outline, Blumenauer named five potential funding sources, most of which we have either seen before or are extremely vague. According to the outline, the funding sources could include:

• Per container fees on bottled beverages;
• Taxes on certain flushable products;
• Higher penalties for industrial discharges;
• Corporate environmental taxes; and
• Taxes on agricultural chemicals.

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Schwarzenegger, Feinstein seek compromise on Calif. water bond
SACRAMENTO -- Unable to broker a water deal last year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger enlisted the help of Sen. Dianne Feinstein in the hope she can persuade lawmakers to...
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Supreme Court allows Montana lawsuit against Wyoming to proceed
BILLINGS, Mont. -- The U.S. Supreme Court has said Montana can continue with a lawsuit that charges Wyoming has been using too much water from a pair of rivers that flow...
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Las Vegas water rates increasing? Officials cite drought
LAS VEGAS -- Water will be more expensive this summer in southern Nevada, after the regional public water supplier approved a four-tier rate increase to go into effect in April.
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Water Wars -- S.C. lawmakers debate water permits
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Drought and booming development could mean water wars in South Carolina and the first shots are being fired in the General Assembly.
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Kansas AG expects court battle with Nebraska over Republican River
TOPEKA, Kan. -- Kansas' new attorney general expects to file more litigation against Nebraska with the U.S. Supreme Court over the Republican River.
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Pipeline & Gas Journal presents…
Pipeline Opportunities Conference
March 25, 2008
Hyatt Regency Houston

The Pipeline Opportunities Conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Houston, 1200 Louisiana Street in the Imperial Ballroom. Register early and save! Pay $225 for the first attendee and only $100 for each attendee from the same company. Discounted registration ends March 14. To register on our secured server, click HERE.

Hotel rooms are going fast! Call the hotel at 713-654-1234 and ask for the Pipeline Opportunities Conference rate of $169 or click HERE for online reservations.

For the complete agenda, visit www.pgjonline.com.

Contact Jeff Share, Editor of Pipeline & Gas Journal at jshare@oildom.com or Karen Francis, Convention Manager at kfrancis@oildom.com if you need additional information.