Containment

There continue to be many (whale) failures of geomembrane liners in waste water treatment plant lagoons and farm manure ponds. These failures are generally due to leakage through the liner, the inability to remove leakage, the generation of methane, and the subsequent inability to vent the methane. Dr. Ian Peggs of I-CORP INTERNATIONAL provides 24 points to follow during design and installation to prevent these failures.

Georges Mougin has long been fascinated with the potential to harvest potable water from icebergs for drought-affected regions. Roughly 20% of southern Europe faces water supply crises. Mougin has previously proposed wrapping icebergs in insulating geotextiles to reduce melting during towing. Now, he is using 3-D modeling to show how an iceberg can be towed to southern Europe using only a single tugboat. Learn more here.;

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Aquaculture" report to their offering. The US aquaculture industry includes about 6,400 farms with combined annual revenue of more than $1 billion. No major companies dominate the industry, which is fragmented. Read more.

Aquaculture is the world's fastest-growing food resource. As aquaculture operations have expanded in order to meet demand while simultaneously relieving open water resources of the need to supply so much food, EPDM liners have become primary tools of containment and healthy aquaculture facilities. Learn more about EPDM and Carlisle's interaction with the aquaculture field (PDF). Learn more here.;

Geosynthetica welcomes its newest underwriter: Carlisle GeoMembranes. With a renowned supply of reinforced and unreinforced polypropylene geomembranes, EPDM geomembranes, and the GeoRod and GeoFlashing product lines, Carlisle's containment technologies are utilized in aquaculture, agriculture, potable water, mining, and many other application sectors. Learn more at the company website. Learn more here.;

Increasingly tougher environmental regulations for farms have motivated the incorporation of better containment barriers. Carlisle Syntec's GeoEPDM membrane systems provide cost-effective, long-term solutions for virtually any exposed animal wastewater containment application. These highly puncture-resistant membranes have proven themselves in exposed applications for more than 40 years. Read more from Carlisle (PDF). Learn more here.;

Anaerobic digestion has become an increasingly popular technology for treating wastewater. Not a new technology, it has been practiced in various industries in the United States for several decades. In the earlier days of its use, companies chose anaerobic digestion as a means for controlling odor as well as to meet industry regulations for waste management. Read a white paper from Seaman Corporation: "Anaerobic Digestion: Applying Geomembranes in A Wastewater Treatment Technology That Saves Cost and Lowers Carbon Footprints." Learn more here.;

Viking Containment offers a case study library on its new website. Current offerings include stories that detail floating cover, landfill, wastewater, and reservoir work. Based in New Zealand, Viking is a leading supplier and installer of geosynthetic products. Learn more on the case study page. Learn more here.;

Viking Containment has been awarded the Reuse Water Lagoon contract for the design, supply and installation of a liner and Floating Cover system by Gold Alliance for SA Water in Adelaide. The water to be stored in the lagoon is reuse water from the wastewater treatment plant it is treated and recycled water for irrigation purposes. The liner system is a reinforced polypropylene complete with a flownet leak detection layer. Learn more here.;

Viking Containment has been awarded the Reuse Water Lagoon contract for the design, supply and installation of a liner and Floating Cover system by Gold Alliance for SA Water in Adelaide. The water to be stored in the lagoon is reuse water from the wastewater treatment plant it is treated and recycled water for irrigation purposes. The liner system is a reinforced polypropylene complete with a flownet leak detection layer.

New Zealand-based Skellerup Containment Systems, part of Viking Group Ltd., is changing its name to Viking Containment. Viking Containment is New Zealand’s leading supplier and installer of geosynthetic products, including geosynthetic liners, baffle curtains, floating covers, geotextiles, geocomposites and geogrids. Under this new identity, the company will continue its tradition of reliability and strong quality control and assurance standards. Viking offers a comprehensive program to ensure that all design and manufacturer installation specifications are complied with. The company holds accreditation from the International Association of Geosynthetic Installers (IAGI) Certified Welding Technician (CWT) Program. Learn more here.;

Neighbors of Alby Quarry in Alton, Illinois are pleased to learn that the years of blasting they've endured may finally be at its end. A new proposal has suggested converting the quarry into a construction debris landfill. During a public meeting, the proposal was discussed. A clay liner with a geosynthetic barrier would be installed to secure the site. This might be the first instance in the US of the neighbors encouraging the construction of a landfill. Learn more here.;

New Zealand-based Skellerup Containment Systems, part of Viking Group Ltd., is changing its name to Viking Containment. Viking Containment is New Zealand's leading supplier and installer of geosynthetic products, including geosynthetic liners, baffle curtains, floating covers, geotextiles, geocomposites and geogrids. Learn more.

The Company has been preparing the Black Rock Canyon Mine for production. During the first and second quarters of 2011 work has included: road preparation, plumbing for the geotextile tubes, electrical work, additional fencing and enhanced security measures. The Company is also making repairs that are necessary prior to production to one of its water wells.

In the fall of 2010, as a part of a training day in South Carolina for an International Erosion Control Association (IECA) state group, videographer Chelsea Thompson conducted interviews and captured footage of full-scale erosion and sediment control testing procedures at TRI Environmental's Denver Downs Research Facility (DDRF) in Anderson, South Carolina. Those videos have now been uploaded for open access online. The nine videos in the series address performance issues associated sediment retention devices (SRDs), including silt fence, ASTM D 7351 toe-of-slope testing, curb inlet filters along gutter lines, turbidity treatments, inlet filters for area inlets, ASTM D 6459 slope testing, sediment traps and baffles, sediment bags, and ASTM D 7208 check structure testing in trapezoidal channels.

The latest newsletter from the Geosynthetics Interest Group of South Africa (GIGSA) is available. The May 2011 issue features an article on a new combination drainage and soil reinforcement geosynthetic, the "Prez Sez" column, upcoming GIGSA and geosynthetics-related events, express railway track maintenance, the submission call for the biennial GIGSA awards, a new government specification for pipes, and more.

The former limestone quarry in Batavia, Illinois has been leaking 250,000 gallons per day despite the thick soil and clay layers beneath the 43,000 square foot swimming area. Removal of a Fox River dam has changed the hydrostatic pressure acting on the site and lowered water levels, thus increasing the leakage. Engineers from AECOM recommended installation of a geomembrane liner; that proposal has been approved with a $134,000 contract. Learn more here.;

Authorities in the shoreline erosion-plagued region of Orissa (Kendrapara District), India, are gearing up to use geosynthetic tubes to save a threatened sea embankment. This is country's second such project. A team from the World Bank has been inspecting the endangered embankment, and technical experts from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Chennai will visit shortly. Learn more here.;

The American Water Works Association (AWWA) has announced major revisions to its standard ANSI/AWWA D130-11, AWWA Standard for Geomembrane Materials for Potable Water Applications. This standard pertains to geomembrane materials supplied in sheet form for lining, covering, or lining and covering potable water reservoirs. The standard includes requirements for material properties, fabrication, and installation. Major revisions include an updated title, updated definitions, new repair information, and changes to a quality control testing table. Comments on the revision are sought through 17 June 2011. Learn more here.;

The Town of Berlin, Maryland has posted a project advertisement PDF for a new lagoon liner. The engineer of record for the project is URS Corporation. The ad notes: "Sealed bids for the Project will be received by 3:00 p.m. local time, on June 21, 2011, at the Town Hall Building, located at 10 William St, Berlin, MD 21811, and will then be opened and read aloud. A pre-bid meeting will be held on June 2, 2011 at 3:00 pm at the Town Hall in Berlin. Learn more here.;

All flood threat is not over in Vicksburg, Mississippi; but the Mississippi River has crested, engineers believe, at 14.1 ft above flood stage level. Moving at 13 mph (normal rate, 5 mph) and carrying 17 million gallons of water per second, the potential flood damage could have been enormous. Round-the-clock maintenance and monitoring of levee defenses seems likely, though, as high water levels may linger until mid-June. Learn more here.;

Arizona’s breccia pipes contain some of the world’s purest uranium. There is a significant amount of interest in establishing mining operations to explore and extract it. That interest cannot currently be pursued due to a federal segregation, or time-out, imposed in 2009. But, change may be in the forecast because the segregation expires in July. Learn more here.;

GSE, an international producer of geosynthetic materials, has announced the release its Online Interactive Drainage Design Manual. This is the third edition in the series, which has been authored collectively by industry design professionals. This volume includes contributions from Robert Bachus, Dhani Narejo, Mengjia Li, Te-Yang Soong, and Richard Thiel. The first edition was published in July 2004 and the second in June 2007. The manual is designed to assist users in specifying cost-effective drainage systems and aid in the preparation of construction details.

Bernama has published a second story about geosynthetics in greener infrastructures. The story cites comments made by Malaysia's Minister of Works, Datuk Shaziman, during the official opening ceremony of NAUE's new Bentofix plant in Selangor. Learn more here.;

Almost 25 years ago, NAUE transformed the geosynthetic barrier field for sustainable, environmental protection applications. It was in 1987 that NAUE invented the needle-punched method of manufacturing geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) materials. Today, NAUE is proud to take another step on the path of innovation that has guided the company since its founding in 1967. NAUE has announced the opening of a new Bentofix® production center, NAUE Asia Sdn. Bhd., in Malaysia. The center is dedicated to serving the Asian and Oceanic markets.