McIlvaine: N.A. wastewater plants to undergo $80 billion in upgrades

Municipal wastewater treatment facilities in the United States and Canada will spend a total of approximately $80 billion U.S. over the next five years to upgrade their systems and expand their capacities, according to recent analysis by market research firm McIlvaine Co. (Northfield, IL). The modifications will be undertaken for several reasons—to replace aging infrastructure, to meet water pollution discharge limits, to reduce odors, or to accommodate increasing populations in certain areas, like California and Florida. Major upgrade projects are underway in Pima County, Arizona, which is in the process of implementing a $720 million upgrade program, and in the area of Fort Worth, Texas, which is evaluating three locations for the construction of a new, state-of-the-art wastewater treatment and recycling plant. In addition, the city and county of Honolulu, Hawaii, is close to reaching a settlement with the federal government that is likely to force the implementation of $1.2 billion in upgrades to two wastewater treatment plants on the island of Oahu.