| |
|
Note From The Editor |
Greetings,
McElroy is honoring a time-honored tradition that was popular for the company in the 1970s and 1980s – we’re going to hit the road to showcase some of our latest innovations. It wasn’t all that long ago that McElroy would load up a van with fusion equipment and venture to different locations to showcase the products, perform training or even look over previously purchased equipment.
The latest edition of the McElroy Road Show will launch later this spring, canvassing much of North America with stops in various locations throughout the summer. From Texas to Canada and from East Coast to West Coast, McElroy will be showcasing our 2009 product introductions with live demonstrations, presentations on how the machines work and information on how these products can fit in your day-to-day operations.
Currently slated to appear at the 2009 Road Show are:
- The DynaMc™ Hand Pump Machines – McElroy personnel will be on hand to demonstrate the new line of hand-pump machines. You’ll be able to see the two- and four-jaw versions of DynaMc 28 HP and 412 HP.
These machines are designed so that the operator provides the fusion force and the compact design allows for easier in-ditch fusions.
- Productivity-Enhancement Tools – Now, McElroy is adding to their line of productivity-enhancing tools with the Low Profile Rollers, Hydraulic Clamping for 412 and 618 machines and PowerAssist for the PolyHorse. Each of these products will be on-hand to demonstrate the time and cost savings accrued by using these products on your fusion jobsite.
- MegaMc® 1600 information – The new MegaMc1600 four-jaw is McElroy’s largest fusion machine. The 1600 is so big that it would have been hard to bring along on this adventure, but McElroy personnel will be on hand to answer any question regarding our largest fusion machine, which fuses pipe from 20” to 63”.
- Our new Stub End Holder design – McElroy has had stub end holders in their product line, but a recent advancement in the design will have fusion operators excited about fusing pipe to stub end fittings. The new design has a single adjustment point that self-centers the four serrated clamping jaws and holds the stub end concentric to the pipe. The new holder will be available for a demo.
|
|
We encourage you to stay tuned to future Connections to see when the Road Show will visit a location near you.
Sincerely,
Tyler Henning
thenning@mcelroy.com
P.S. – Do you have an interesting jobsite that you would like to share? McElroy is always looking for fusion websites where HDPE is being used and fused to solve an infrastructure problem. |
|
| New Product Spotlight: PolyHorse PowerAssist |
Worksite productivity has a new ally – the McElroy PolyHorse PowerAssist. The PowerAssist is the perfect compliment to the PolyHorse, a piece of equipment for handling and staging 3” to 20” high-density polyethylene pipe on a jobsite. With the new PowerAssist attachment, an operator can get a powered roller to assist in maneuvering pipe up, down and into a McElroy fusion machine.
The PowerAssist quickly and easily taps into a McElroy fusion machine’s hydraulic facer lines with no tools necessary. Available as part of a PolyHorse kit or individually for attachment to existing PolyHorses, the PowerAssist is a viable option for boosting your fusion operations.
Click here for more information on the PolyHorse PowerAssist. |
|
| McElroy in the News |
McElroy had the honor of being on the front cover of WaterWorld March 2009 issue. To read more about the Low Profile Rollers that were featured, visit www.waterworld.com. |
 |
| Underground Construction featured two McElroy products – the new DynaMc 28 HP and the Low Profile Rollers in their February 2009 issue. We invite you to read what Underground Construction is saying about these products at www.uconline.com |
 |
| The Simulus Issue |
Everything You Need to Know About the Stimulus Bill
In February, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was passed by both the U.S. House and Senate. Included in the $787 billion to be spent are various water and infrastructure projects. Since some of the projects could affect you and your business directly, we’ve included several links that can help you navigate the ins and outs of the recovery act.
Recovery.org - A website that lets you, the taxpayer, figure out where the money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is going. There are going to be a few different ways to search for information. Within days after the signing of the legislation, Federal agencies started distributing funds, and you can see which states, Congressional districts, and even Federal contractors are receiving them.
www.recovery.org
Stimuluswatch.org – This website was built to help the new administration keep its pledge to invest stimulus money smartly and to hold public officials to account for the taxpayer money they spend. They do this by allowing you, citizens around the country with local knowledge about the proposed "shovel-ready" projects in your city, to find, discuss and rate those projects. These projects are not part of the stimulus bill. They are candidates for funding by federal grant programs once the bill passes.
www.stimuluswatch.org
The Plastic Pipes Institute (PPI) distributed the press release at the link below to explain how municipalities can stretch their stimulus dollars with the use of HDPE.
http://plasticpipe.org/pdf/stimulus-2009.pdf
Examples of how the stimulus is already being distributed:
Indiana’s sewer, water plants to get $122 million
By Rick Callahan, Chicago Tribune
INDIANAPOLIS -- State officials are drafting plans to spend nearly $122 million in federal stimulus money to clean up Indiana’s aging, overflow-prone sewers and upgrade its drinking water systems.
Indiana cities and towns competing for a share of that money had to submit applications by day’s end for the projects they hope get stimulus funds. Officials expect to have a final tally soon of how many applied for the aid.
Click here to read the entire story.
EPA: Wyo. could get $39M stimulus for water work
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- The Environmental Protection Agency says Wyoming could get up to $39 million in stimulus funds for water and sewer projects.
The agency says the federal package includes $19.4 million for Wyoming's Clean Water State Revolving Fund and $19.5 million for its Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.
Click here to read the entire story.
Stimulus gives $258M to Illinois for clean water
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- The federal Environmental Protection Agency says that the state of Illinois will receive $258.5 million in stimulus money to go toward clean water projects.
In numbers released Wednesday, the federal EPA said that the economic recovery money would be split between two revolving state funds, one for clean water and the other for drinking water.
Click here to read the entire story.
Stimulus gives Wis. more money for clean water
Wisconsin will get an additional $144 million for projects to improve its wastewater and public drinking water systems thanks to the federal stimulus bill.
That’s according to the chief of environmental loans for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Robert Ramharter says the new money means state financing for wastewater projects alone will go from about $300 million to $400 million.
Click here to read the entire story. |
| Obama's first budget is a delight for water eyes |
Source: AWWA Streamlines
With the economic stimulus work done, Congress quickly turned to the regular federal budget. An outline of President Obama’s first budget, for Fiscal Year 2010, arrived on Capitol Hill, showing a huge increase in funding for drinking water and clean water. Congress also is dealing with a budget bill for FY2009, which ends Sept. 30.
The Obama budget for FY2010 shows an increase of 34 percent in the US Environmental Protection Agency’s budget, and includes $3.9 billion for the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds, $475 million for a new EPA-led collaborative effort to restore the Great Lakes and the highest-ever operating budget for the core regulatory, research and enforcement activities — $3.9 billion.
Click here to read the entire story. |
| Las Vegas Running Out of Water Another Example of Need of Water Solutions |
By John Lippert and Jim Efstathiou Jr.
On a cloudless December day in the Nevada desert, workers in white hard hats descend into a 30- foot-wide shaft next to Lake Mead.
As they’ve been doing since June, they’ll blast and dig straight down into the limestone surrounding the reservoir that supplies 90 percent of Las Vegas’s water. In September, when they hit 600 feet, they’ll turn and burrow for 3 miles, laying a new pipe as they go.
The crew is in a hurry. They’re battling the worst 10-year drought in recorded history along the Colorado River, which feeds the 110-mile-long reservoir. Since 1999, Lake Mead has dropped about 1 percent a year. By 2012, the lake’s surface could fall below the existing pipe that delivers 40 percent of the city’s water.
Click here to read the entire story.
|
| Oil of the 21st Century |
Detroit water mains are a ticking time bomb
Brittle and badly aging water pipes are lurking beneath many metro Detroit communities and will cost taxpayers billions of dollars to repair or replace over the next decade.
Industry experts say the area's water systems, many dating back more than 60 years, are reaching the end of their life expectancies and need massive improvements like never before.
Water pipes might not sound glamorous, but ruptures are causing higher water rates, tire-busting potholes, contaminated drinking water and flooded basements and streets. Large breaks often leave homes and businesses without water for several days and hinder firefighters who increasingly are finding hydrants with low pressure or no water at all.
Click here to read the entire story. |
Hiring in hydrology resists the slump
The Earth may be two-thirds water, but only about 1 percent of that water is actually usable for human consumption and agriculture. What’s more, as the planet warms and the population shifts, even that 1 percent is at risk.
That is why demand for hydrologists has been predicted to grow 24 percent from 2006 to 2016, much faster than the average for all occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Click here to read the entire story.
|
California goes to drought emergency status
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s continuing drought prompted Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to proclaim a state of emergency February 27, farmers there were preparing for radical cutbacks in planting and hiring, and many in the state were anxiously awaiting new measurements to be taken this week of the all-important Sierra snowpack, according to various reports.
The governor’s proclamation includes these measures:
● It asks all urban water users to reduce their water use by 20 percent.
● It directs the state Department of Water Resources (DWR) to take a number of steps, including expediting water transfers, offering technical assistance to agricultural water users and suppliers, taking short-term steps (such as installing temporary barriers in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta) to protect water quality and supply, and launching a statewide water conservation plan.
Click here to read the entire story.
|
Dean touts support for water plan
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Mayor Karl Dean is touting widespread support from the business community and environmental advocates for his proposed Clean Water Infrastructure Program.
Dean says a number of organizations have endorsed the plan, including the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, Greater Nashville Hotel & Lodging Association, World Wildlife Fund’s Southeast Rivers and Streams Program, Harpeth River Watershed Association and two builders and contractors groups.
Dean’s program would fund a $500 million, five-year capital improvement plan for Nashville’s water and sewer system and provide funding for stormwater infrastructure projects. Legislation for the program passed first reading by the Metro Council earlier this month, and will be taken up on second reading at a special meeting March 3.
Click here to read the entire story.
|
Kansas City issues $198.9M in bonds to improve water system
Kansas City issued $198.9 million in Water Refunding and Improvement Revenue Bonds on Wednesday and Thursday to refund about $133 million in outstanding debt and provide about $69 million to finance capital improvements to its water treatment and distribution system.
The transaction saves the city about $2.3 million in present value net debt service costs for the remaining life of the refunded bonds, the city said in a release late Friday. The projects are expected to be completed in the 2009 and 2010 construction seasons.
“I am pleased with the overall results of the bond sale and, given these challenging economic times, am excited to see the funds put to work improving the city’s water system, as approved by City residents in 2005,” City Manager Wayne Cauthen said in the release.
Click here to read the entire story.
|
McElroy Connections welcomes your feedback, story ideas, tips, or anything else related to PE Pipe and Pipe fusion. Please email your comments and story ideas to:
FOR NEW SUBSCRIPTIONS: To subscribe, visit http://www.mcelroy.com/fusion/forms/newsletter.htm
McElroy Connections is published by McElroy Manufacturing Inc. The information contained within each issue is meant as a service to our customers, distributors, and those involved with Polyethylene Pipe applications.
|
