Cleaning the Built Environment After the Big Celebration

The city of Philadelphia’s football team won the big game for the first time ever and its long-suffering fan base celebrated the victory in kind. In February, the city held a massive parade for its football team, a turnout that some estimated teetered over 700,000 people. With this great turnout came its inevitable byproduct: trash. Lots of trash. Roughly 90 tons of trash, the most the city has ever generated for a single event and nearly double its previous record of 58 tons for a victory parade for its baseball team in 2008.

Philadelphia came prepared. The city’s Department of Streets mobilized a team of 300 workers, using 100 kinds of equipment, to follow the procession of the parade to clean up the immediate aftermath.

Are Smart Cities Real?

Is the smart city hype cycle over? Have concerns about cost, security and public skepticism finally won out over the benefits of efficiency, sustainability and public safety? It is fair to consider whether the futuristic visions of hyper- connectivity and advanced livability, enabled by accessibility to vast streams of data, can withstand the very real concerns that municipalities cannot afford the technologies behind smart city projects.

Participatory Planning Produces Strategic Blueprints for Cities

Graeme Thompson, communications specialist for the Tetra Tech-implemented U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Urban Municipal Governance project (UMG) in Guatemala, discusses how the project executed a three-month technical assistance initiative to help four municipalities deliver high-quality operating plans to the Ministry of Finance. All opinions expressed in this post are the author’s own.

Tetra Tech Conducts Hawaiʻi State Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment

According to a new report released by the State of Hawai‘i, the impact of sea level rise poses an imminent danger to the islands of Hawai‘i, with the potential to cause the loss of roads, utilities, and structures across the state. Tetra Tech developed the “Sea Level Rise Vulnerability & Adaptation Report”—the first statewide assessment of its kind—in conjunction with the State of Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources, Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands. The accompanying, interactive Hawai‘i Sea Level Rise Viewer illustrates projected impacts to coastal areas.

Grid Modernization: Increasing Capital Investments To Decrease Risk

Growing commitment to distributed energy resources (DER) is forcing continued modernization of the grid — and the effort shows no signs of letting up. Whether by regulatory mandate or stakeholder pressure, system upgrades are being made worldwide to support the increase in renewable energy, while making infrastructure smarter and more resilient. Historically, attention to the grid’s distribution system focused on poles and wire maintenance and upkeep, but growing connectivity between assets is requiring a more holistic approach.

Expanding the Vision for Funding Water Projects

Trevor Clements, Tetra Tech’s Mid Atlantic regional manager for Integrated Water Management, spoke to the North Carolina State Water Infrastructure Authority, the independent body with primary responsibility for awarding both federal and state funding, on the topic of One Water and its relationship to infrastructure funding on December 13, 2017. In this post, he shares his perspective on how communities can make the best use of limited water infrastructure funding. All opinions expressed in this post are the author’s own.

Disrupting the Electricity Industry

Where does the future lie for electricity? One UPS expert believes it is in the auto-consumption and peer-to-peer trade of electricity. It’s no secret that going green is challenging. Governments, businesses and individuals must consider several factors when making the shift to alternative energy, including availability, cost and storage. In the case of electric energy, rising demand means we have to start rethinking the way electricity is produced, transported and consumed.

Tetra Tech Receives Environmental Business Journal Industry Award

In January 2018, Environmental Business Journal (EBJ) recognized Tetra Tech with an award for Business Achievement: Large Firms. EBI Inc. will present the annual EBJ awards for outstanding businesses at its Environmental Industry Summit XVI in San Diego, California, on March 21, 2018. The Environmental Industry Summit is an annual three-day event hosted by EBI, Inc. and 2020 Environmental Group.

Electrification on the Rise: Can Electric Vehicle Charging Networks Keep Up?

Last year marked a monumental turning point for the future of electric vehicles (EVs), with several auto companies such as Volkswagen AG, General Motors and Volvo announcing significant electrification plans. Bolstered by improved battery technology, longer battery range, greater variety and lower prices, consumer confidence in EVs is at an all-time high. According to Forbes, light-duty EV sales in the United States rose 37 percent in 2016.

Utilities need to start thinking now about how they are going to scale up power infrastructure to meet the increased demand for commercial and personal vehicles. Although the benefits of electrification are undeniable, the move away from internal combustion engines is raising questions about energy management and grid stability.

A Sustainable Solution for Food Waste: Transforming Waste Products Into Energy in Michigan

With food waste from local manufacturing threatening to overwhelm available waste treatment capacity in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the City has begun a project to convert that waste to energy. Tetra Tech is leading the design phase of a $38-million waste-to-energy biodigester as part of the city’s goal of using 100-percent renewable energy to power city buildings by 2025. Biodigesters combine organic waste with microorganisms in air-tight tanks, creating a biogas that produces energy to power and heat buildings.

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