Atlas-SSI recently had the privilege of providing a facility tour to U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith and her staff. We discussed the Infrastructure Bill and how American companies like Atlas-SSI are ready to take on the challenge to help rebuild and modernize our water treatment, wastewater treatment and port facilities. U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith is a public servant committed to conservative principles as she works for all Mississippians. She is the first woman elected to represent Mississippi in Washington, D.C.
The infrastructure package is designed to enhance American competitiveness, create jobs and make our economy more sustainable and resilient. Over a trillion dollars will be invested into critical projects, including America’s water infrastructure, ports, power grid and climate resilience. Of note, this bill makes the largest investment in drinking water and wastewater treatment infrastructure in American history, helping to ensure that clean water is delivered to millions of families and the protection of our environment.
Atlas-SSI manufactures and services equipment that is critical to accomplish the goals set out in the infrastructure package, including dual-flow traveling water screens, thru-flow traveling water intake screens, bar screens, trash rakes, dredging buckets, electrically powered material handling cranes and much more. Let’s have a look at how these solutions fit with the infrastructure plan.
Resilience of Water Infrastructure and Clean Drinking Water
The infrastructure plan invests over $100 billion into solutions that help to improve water and wastewater infrastructure and to make it more resilient to climate change. During 2020, the United States faced 22 extreme weather and climate-related events with losses exceeding $1 billion per event. The funds will help to protect against the impact of droughts, floods and wildfires. Traveling water screens, bar screens and trash rakes are often the first line of defense to help mitigate flooding at stormwater management and flood plain sites and they help to ensure a reliable and continuous flow of water to treatment plants. Atlas-SSI offers the following solutions to help support these initiatives:
- Gator Rake bar screens that are designed to operate under unpredictable water conditions during periods of extreme drought or heavy rain.
- Landy trash rakes which efficiently clean virtually any type of debris from water control and intake points to help prevent flooding.
- ‘Fish friendly’ 316(b) traveling water intake screens that help to protect the environment while ensuring a continuous flow of water to treatment facilities.
- Rebuild services that restore old water intake screens to to better than original condition to safely extend the operating life of the assets.
Ports and Waterways
This infrastructure bill invests $17 billion in America’s port infrastructure to help address repair backlogs and large-scale project funding to reduce congestion, move goods faster and reduce carbon emissions. Atlas-SSI has been providing solutions to major ports around the world for over 45 years, which helps to increase competitiveness and the sustainability of material handling operations.
- We design and build large clamshell bucketsand grapples at our manufacturing facilities in the United States that have been used on high-profile deep water port projects, hurricane response, environmental river restoration and waterway navigation projects.
- Our clamshell bucket rebuild services offset a significant amount of carbon dioxide. By rebuilding and reusing the steel components of an average clamshell bucket, the carbon equivalent for producing new steel can be eliminated, saving up to 28 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
- Atlas-SSI offers a full line of electric equilibrium cranes and equilibrium port cranes that efficiently load and unload barges and cargo ships and offer unique advantages for profitability, efficiency and sustainability.
After the facility tour and team meeting, we were excited to have seen the following tweet from U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith:
sencindyhydesmith Had a great tour of @atlas.ssi facility in Monticello. Its work advances important water infrastructure projects, and could be vital to the #YazooBackWaterPumps. This is the type of enterprise that has great promise for the future of MS. and the USA. Thanks for showing me around!