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Mapping Australia's groundwater
The Australian Government is working to secure Australia's future water resources through a first-of-its-kind stock take of the nation's underground water reservoirs.
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Emerging forever chemicals found in drinking water and humans
An emerging class of forever chemicals has been found, according to a new study.
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Master Plumbers condemns gas bans
The Master Plumbers Association (MPA) of New South Wales has criticised the City of Sydney, the City of Parramatta and other local government areas (LGAs) proposing a ban on implementing gas in new builds in the state.
“This move demonstrates a clear lack of consideration for its impact on essential services, such as heating, hot water supply, and the functionality of establishments like restaurants and larger buildings,” says the association, which represents licensed contracting plumbers from across NSW.
“The decision made by these councils appears to prioritise environmental concerns without taking practicality into account. While acknowledging the importance of sustainability, it is crucial to balance environmental responsibility and ensure the functionality and efficiency of our city’s infrastructure.”
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Changes to Gas Installation Standards Discussed in Recent Live Event
Recently, Standards Australia hosted a live event, 'Changes to AS/NZS 5601.1 2022 Gas Installations, Part 1: General Installations'.
Presented by Mr. Enzo Alfonsetti, of Energy Safe Victoria (and the current Chairperson of the Gas Technical Regulators Committee AG006 at Standards Australia), the live webinar aimed to equip participants with essential information about the major changes introduced in the 2022 edition, which replaced the 2013 version
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Sizing sanitary plumbing and drainage systems
Australian Building Codes Board recently commissioned Arup Australia to investigate the current methods used within Australia for sizing sanitary plumbing and drainage systems. The Report takes into account industry trends and recent observations to determine whether the current design methods are appropriate for plumbing and hydraulic designers going forward or whether there is an opportunity to improve these methods.
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Digitisation, automation, and digital processes are all important parts of the water sector now
IFM Efector is an automation, digital processes, and communication sensing technology manufacturer. It has a strong focus on the water and wastewater industry. National product and brand manager Glenn Thornton explains their industrial focus.
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How can satellites track groundwater depletion? New research can do it.
A new twist on old tech offers novel monitoring solutions using satellite radar altimetry, thanks to research at the Ohio State University. Researchers have pioneered a tool that can track the loss of groundwater in California’s Central Valley.
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SA Water water main breaks reach five year low
A wetter-than-average end to 2022, combined with SA Water’s continued investment in maintaining South Australia’s water network, has underpinned the lowest number of water main leaks and breaks recorded across the utility’s state-wide network since 2017.
Three thousand five hundred thirty-two water main leaks and breaks were reported in 2022* across SA Water’s 27,000-kilometre network. This is compared to 3782 in 2021, with last year also below the annual average for the past ten years.
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PFAS in groundwater
Water treatment specialist Hydroflux has developed a new process to treat PFAS in groundwater. The process can be implemented on new and existing GAC, IX and SAFF systems to reduce operating costs for treating long and short-chain PFAS. The technique also provides environmental benefits through a reduction in energy use. It also avoids the use of pre-treatment chemicals required for traditional filtration processes.
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New PFAS models could show flow through groundwater
A new study by the University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers offers a simplified new way of understanding PFAS movement through groundwater, with improved PFAS models.
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Construction-related failures in plumbing pipe (United States)
By Alan Humphreys PhD, PE, and Phillip Sharff, PE
“Metal corrosion is an ever-present problem in the plumbing industry. Common piping materials such as copper, steel, and cast-iron are readily oxidized and thus undergo aqueous corrosion at a rate dependent on the corrosivity of the service environment.
When properly designed and installed, plumbing systems will provide many decades of problem-free service. Careful corrosion engineering management, including attention to details such as materials selection, fluid mechanics, water-chemistry control, protective coatings, cathodic protection, and suitable material corrosion allowance, should ensure these materials comfortably survive their design life. However, actions during the construction or renovation of a building can have unintended consequences that can dramatically reduce the service life of plumbing systems.
This article highlights some recent plumbing pipe failures caused by actions during construction or renovation and discusses methods to avoid such problems.”
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