Blogs

This is part 3 in our new Arc Flash blog series. Click here to read the first one "Arc Flash 101" and here for part 2 "Beyond the Label: Building a Complete Electrical Safety Program"!

Watch the video or read below.

Welcome to our latest episode of Grate Expectations. Today, we’re exploring how municipalities can effectively prepare for MS4 compliance, ensuring their communities not only meet legal requirements but also protect their natural water resources.

When I began my engineering career, fresh out of school with a bright and shiny E.I. after my name, I came to my first job feeling educated and ready to tackle whatever the job threw at me. I quickly realized my education was only a very small fraction of what I needed to know to be a successful engineering consultant.

This blog is part 2 in our new Arc Flash blog series. Click here to read the first one "Arc Flash 101"!

When most people think of arc flash safety, they picture the hazard labels on electrical panels that are bright, bold warnings with calorie ratings and PPE requirements. And while those labels are crucial, they’re only the beginning. A truly effective electrical safety strategy goes far beyond compliance stickers. It requires a comprehensive Electrical Safety Program rooted in NFPA 70E, one that keeps your people safe, your documentation clear, and your operations resilient.

In this post, we take a look at what building a full-cycle safety program really involves, and how utilities, municipalities, and facility owners can move from “check-the-box” to “culture-of-safety.”

When you hear about protecting our rivers, lakes and streams...what do you think of? Proper waste disposal? Using less chemicals? Properly disposing of plastics and other supplies? Picking up “extras” left by that one neighbor’s dog from down the street? 

Those are all great things to help the environment, but we’re here to talk about the often-overlooked storm drains (preferably ones without creepy clowns with red balloons).

When we think about the challenges facing our water and wastewater systems, most of us picture aging pipes, heavy storms, treatment plant upgrades, or an aging workforce. But there’s another hazard that’s less visible — and far more dangerous — for the people who keep our water systems running every day: arc flash. 

April 2^nd through the 13^th, I had an opportunity to travel to Malawi Africa with my family and Design Outreach (DO) team members to help bring clean water, sanitation, and medical support to rural villages.

DO is a Christian nonprofit comprised of a global team of problem solvers dedicated to creating solutions to the biggest problems facing people in low-income countries.

Have you ever heard of construction site erosion and sediment control best management practices (BMPs), also known as construction site BMPs? Prior to working at Wessler, I hadn’t - and little did I know the importance of them in preventing the most common stormwater pollutant from damaging our nation’s waters: sediment.

2025 is under way and there are several civil engineering conferences/events to look forward to throughout the great Hoosier and Buckeye states! Here are some coming up through the end of April with registration already open (or will be open soon).

These certainly are not all of them but if you plan on attending any of these, the Wessler team looks forward to seeing you there!

If you came to this article after Industrial Pretreatment Part 1, welcome back! If this is the first article you are looking at, I recommend reading Part 1 to get an understanding of the threats that unregulated industrial discharges present to the environment, public infrastructure and public safety. This blog will explain what role pretreatment plays in protecting the health of the environment, the safety of the public and the stability of the infrastructure that serves our needs.

Recently, I attended my fourth Wastewater Industrial Technical Training Education Conference (WITtec) in Greenwood, Indiana. The conference attendees included wastewater professionals from government entities throughout Indiana, as well as private consultants and vendors who specialize in wastewater treatment processes and equipment. I learned a lot at the conference this year, but the one thing that stood out to me the most was learning about a couple of disasters that are prime examples of the consequences of unregulated industrial discharges to our local infrastructure and ultimately, our local environment.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released their much-anticipated final rule announcement for the legally enforceable new drinking water standards limiting exposure to a class of chemicals called PFAS, known as “forever chemicals.” Under the new rule from the EPA, water utilities must monitor drinking water supplies, ground water and surface water for PFAS chemicals and be required to notify the public and reduce contamination if levels exceed the new standard of four (4) parts per trillion (ppt) for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. One ppt is equal to a grain of sand in an Olympic size swimming pool, meaning four ppt is equal to four grains of sand per 2.64 million gallons of drinking water.

For Eastern Heights Utilities, it’s been business as usual for more than 50 years. Based in rural Greene County, Indiana and serving more than 7,000 connections across six counties, this water utility system contains 12 elevated storage tanks, three wellfields, four booster stations and more than 500 miles of water mains in the distribution system. The utility employs 14 staff who reside within the Greene County limits with the average employee having worked at EHU for more than 20 years; a tight knit team, to say the least! EHU employees work seamlessly together to tackle difficult issues within their system as evident by the hundreds of pictures on the walls of these teammates banding together to fix main breaks, digging holes to find leaks or demonstrating how much ice cream can be piled on top of a waffle cone. They are colleagues, teammates… family.

We are very pleased to announce that Dylan Lambermont, P.E., LEED AP has been promoted to the position of president of Wessler Engineering. Following 14 years of exemplary leadership under Brent Siebenthal, Dylan becomes just the fourth person to serve as president, with responsibility for the day-to-day operations and executive leadership of the company.

The use of drones in civil engineering applications offers numerous benefits that can increase the efficiency, accuracy and safety of various tasks and can be easier to learn than one might think.

The following article was originally published in the Summer 2023 issue of Indiana Digester.

Has your community received a Work Plan Request from the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) and you’re wondering what to do next? If INDOT roadways through your community are listed for improvements, have you thought about how the upcoming project will affect your underground utilities? Do you have a map of where your underground utilities are and know what will be affected? 

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Do you have a stormwater master plan in place? Do you know what goes into a stormwater master plan? Our latest blog touches on the attributes of a stormwater master plan and why they are important. 

Ask anyone in “The Region” how they would describe Northwest Indiana and you’re very likely to hear words like hard working, resilient and industrious. In that way, Wessler’s expansion to Northwest Indiana through the opening of our Hobart office represents more than just business growth. It is an alignment of values. The Wessler Way of being thankful, humble, kind, devoted and excellent is consistent with the character of the Calumet Region.

Wessler is proud to announce Jacob Barker as our latest Employee Spotlight!  Jake has worked at Wessler since 2011, serving as an environmental services project manager.

What are your roles and responsibilities at Wessler?

I am a project manager in our Environmental Services group. I work with clients to ensure that they remain in compliance with local, state and federal environmental requirements. I work out of the Carmel, Indiana office where I also assist with some of the administrative functions of the office. I also serve as Wessler Engineering’s team captain for the Water For People – Run for World Water 5K corporate team.

You’ve seen and read them countless times on billboards, in print ads, on websites, packaging, and even on clothing. Taglines are a common marketing and communications tool used by companies and organizations around the world. These short phrases are part of a company’s brand identity.

June 23 is International Women in Engineering Day celebrating the growing number of women entering the field of engineering, as well as those accomplished professionals who have experience in the field.

Have you ever heard someone talk about the “bugs” at their wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and wondered “what the heck are they talking about?” You may have thought, “I don’t see any bugs in the wastewater.” Don’t worry, you are not alone! These “bugs” are in a whole other world we can’t see with our naked eyes. So let’s peer through a microscope at these “bugs”...

As part of our sponsorship with Accelerate Indiana Municipalities (Aim), the Wessler Engineering team hosted a "Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) - An Alternative Delivery Method" webinar to share information on this value-added option for municipal leaders to consider in their financing evaluations. Special thanks to Warsaw Indiana Mayor Joe Thallemer, Waterloo Indiana Town Manager Pam Howard and GM Development Owner Greg Martz who joined Wessler Vice President and Fort Wayne Office Manager Aaron Hutton, P.E. on the webinar.

As a resource for our municipal clients to help prepare for funding coming from the American Rescue Plan Act, the Wessler Engineering team is sharing the following article courtesy of the National League of Cities: Local Recovery: Five Principles for ARP Implementation. Our thanks to the NLC for permission to share these helpful tips.

Wessler is proud to announce Jen Landis is the subject of this month's Employee Spotlight!

As our in-house recruiter, Jen plays a key role in growing our team with additional talented professionals. So, if you are looking for a job with Wessler, you may be hearing from her!

If you missed our most recent webinar, “New MS4 General Permit Plan Review Requirements," be sure to watch the recording here.

On December 22, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the Federal Register Notice of the new Lead and Copper Rule, emphasizing better protection from exposure of lead in drinking water and empowering community leaders through information. These sweeping rule changes were published January 15, 2021.

Water: a resource easy to take for granted, but one we never should.

A community’s drinking water system is one of its most precious assets. Experienced municipal water utility teams across the U.S. spend a great deal of time providing continuous maintenance to our drinking water systems, ensuring their cleanliness, safety and functionality.

Municipal leaders and utility staffs work diligently to help ensure high quality drinking water remains a secure community resource for their local residents, businesses and schools. Because vigilance is the name of the game in the dedicated work these public servants do, implementing tools to protect drinking water systems is critically important.

2020… A year unlike any other.

As we rapidly approach the holidays, we would like to thank our clients, colleagues and partners as we – like you – adapted to the necessary changes during the past several months to keep everyone as safe as possible. While it has been a difficult year for everyone, we are grateful for each of you and hope you are able to stay safe and healthy.

Jonathan Lee is a CAD technician at Wessler Engineering. Below is a blog he wrote on using Revit and why it should be considered for your next project.

Building information modeling (BIM) is a term used in construction design for many years. For many companies, it is a standard process at the forefront in the development of products such as Autodesk Revit. But isn’t BIM Revit? In technical terms, no. BIM is considered the process that allows for easier planning, designing, visualizing and collaboration. Revit is the software that incorporates this process by using smart data and inputting information into models to help minimize costly errors and visualize the design’s intent. 

In this Employee Spotlight, the Wessler Family would like to recognize our construction site resident project representatives (RPR)s. Through thick and thin, this group has continued to excel at a high level, even with all that 2020 has thrown at them! No matter the challenge, they always step up and overcome to press forward with tremendous high-quality work. 

Fifteen years ago, Wessler Engineering leaders chose to open a satellite office located in Evansville, Indiana. Back in 2005, who would have imagined the challenges we are facing in 2020?

One of the bright spots of this year was the opportunity to recognize our 15 years as an Evansville corporate citizen and how much the community has meant to our Evansville team and our company as a whole. But the ongoing COVID-19 threat meant a traditional celebration was not possible.

Instead, we transitioned to spotlighting a local, well-deserving organization. Based on the recommendation of Evansville Office Manager/Senior Project Manager David Schminke, the Dream Center was chosen.

Drones fly in the air to reveal what’s on the ground.

This innovative technology is being used as a valuable, supplemental tool for physical site inspections.

Check out Wessler Engineering Environmental Services Project Manager Jacob Barker’s experience with drone technology to assist with construction site stormwater erosion and sediment control inspections. From providing greater access to construction sites, to capturing high resolution photos, to the potential for additional structure and marketing applications and much more, Jake offers his take on the pros and cons of this increasingly popular technology.

The following information was provided courtesy of Accelerate Indiana Municipalities (Aim).

We want to make sure you are aware of the following INDIANA legislation and to be aware of Accelerate Indiana Municipalities (Aim)’s upcoming September 1 webinar as a resource to learn more. The registration link is at the end of this blog.

If you missed our latest webinar "Avoiding the Emergency Room: Sewer System Health and Preventative Care," then be sure to watch the recording below!

Andrew “Drew” Thompson, P.E., serves as a senior project engineer at Wessler Engineering. Below is his perspective on why he decided to become an engineer and still loves being one to this day.

Think before you flush. With millions of people at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic and a large focus on ramped up activity in hospitals, we must not neglect other vital resources and infrastructure. While we may be using alternatives to toilet paper, such as baby wipes or cloths, and cleaning more often with disinfecting wipes, it is important to remember what should and shouldn’t go down a drain.