One of the great ironies in the water industry ? in addition to the central irony that we generally pay so little for something of such irreplaceable value ? is the fact that so many cities are in desperate need of investment in infrastructure while so much money is available, but seemingly just out of reach.

Xylem Inc. (NYSE: XYL) announced Oct. 31 that it has completed its spinoff from ITT Corp., and has begun operations as a $3.2 billion standalone global water technology company.

A total of 16,961 water professionals and 923 exhibiting companies from around the world attended WEFTEC 2011?the Water Environment Federation?s (WEF) 84th annual Technical Exhibition and Conference Oct. 16-19 in Los Angeles.

Echologics, a developer and leading provider of acoustic-based technologies for water loss management, leak detection and pipe condition assessment, secured a three-year master services agreement with United Water.

RedZone Robotics, Inc. announced the acquisition of Cleanflow Systems, a leading provider of wastewater condition assessment technologies based in New Zealand. RedZone is a leading designer and manufacturer of robotic wastewater inspection technologies and related analytic and decision-support tools, serving municipalities, contractors, and engineering firms.

Sustainable infrastructure systems have been increasingly discussed in recent years. But perhaps just as important is resiliency. How quickly can a water system bounce back after an incident? It comes down to planning and preparation.

While North America faces the ?pay now or pay later? challenges of rehabilitating aging underground pipe infrastructure, another issue ? unrelated to age ? is lurking beneath the surface.

The Plastics Pipe Institute Inc. (PPI) announced a new slate of officers for 2011 through 2013 at its annual meeting in Hilton Head, S.C. Gary Runyan of Zurn Pex Inc. was named Chairman of the Board, a two-year appointment.

United Water announced that the company has signed a five-year contract for professional operations, maintenance and management of the water and wastewater systems with the City of Pontiac, Mich., located 30 miles northwest of Detroit.

The Tullahoma Utilities Board (TUB) has selected Mueller Systems, a leading provider of innovative water infrastructure products and services and technologically advanced metering systems for water, electric and gas systems, to upgrade its water and electric infrastructure with a state-of-the-art advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) network and water and electric smart meters.