Industry News

General Pipe Cleaners will be showcasing latest drain cleaning technologies at WWETT25 Show in Indianapolis

General Pipe Cleaners ushers in their 95^th anniversary, by raffling off one Flexi-Rooter^® 100 flexible shaft drain cleaner a day at the 2025 WWETT Show!

• Booth #6561. (You must stop by General’s Booth to enter!)
• Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis IN.
• Feb 18-20, 2025.

In addition to the popular, powerful Flexi-Rooter 100, General will highlight its whole, respected range of rugged, reliable drain cleaning, inspection, and repair equipment – including cable machines and Jet-Set^® electric, gas, and trailer water jets.

The innovative Flexi-Rooter 100 offers:

• A stronger flexible shaft – with muscle to shred roots in 4” lines and flexibility to navigate 2” pipes.
• Integral variable speed motor with handy foot pedal control – for safe, “two hands” operation guiding the flexible shaft through lines.
• Pioneering, two-part cleaning array – pairing General’s unique ClogChopper^® cutters with carbide chain cutters for awesome clog-clearing capability.

Jet-Set water jets slice through grease, sludge, sand, ice, and other “soft” stoppages that many cable drain cleaners can’t clear. As nozzle thrust drives the hose down lines, it unleashes high-pressure, wall-to-wall pipe cleaning action – pulverizing blockages and flushing them away.

General’s rugged, reliable water jets are excellent for clearing clogs in restaurants, hotels, hospitals, factories, schools, sports arenas, care facilities, shopping centers, waste treatment plants, septic systems, and more!

Make sure you also visit Booth #6561 – and enter to win a Flexi-Rooter 100!

Can’t make the show? General’s mobile-friendly www.drainbrain.com website offers quick, easy, intuitive access to its full line of drain cleaning, water jetting, and inspection systems. Or call the Drain Brains^® at General Pipe Cleaners at 800-245-6200 for more information.

The American Water Works Association (AWWA), in collaboration with the Water Environment Federation (WEF) The Water Research Foundation (WRF) and Karmous Edwards Consulting (KEC), have launched a project on the Role of Generative AI (GenAI) for the Global Water Sector.

The research will establish a foundational understanding of GenAI’s role for water utilities, develop and share best practices and case studies for GenAI applications in water, and establish a research roadmap for advancing future applications of this innovative technology in the water sector.

“Generative AI is a game changer that will transform the water community in ways we cannot yet fully imagine,” said AWWA CEO David LaFrance. “The amazing members of the project team will lay the foundation to bring unimagined possibilities into our daily strategic operations. AWWA is proud to be part of this ground-breaking exploration.”

Working with a diverse group of global water utilities—including utilities from South Korea and the United Kingdom—under the technical leadership of Karmous Edwards Consulting, the project will explore the application of GenAI to address critical water sector challenges, such as infrastructure management, water resource and environmental resilience, and public engagement and understanding of the value of water.

“While digital transformation of the water sector has been underway for several years, the emergence of GenAI technologies represents a significant opportunity to further transform the water sector by providing powerful, accessible solutions for utilities of all sizes,” said WEF Executive Director Ralph Exton.

The ability of GenAI to analyze and generate insights from vast datasets – both structured and unstructured – can help utilities uncover trends, optimize resource allocation, and support data-driven decision-making at all levels and in all roles. Significantly, GenAI has the potential to augment human resources rather than replace them, enabling water sector professionals to focus on higher-value tasks, make more informed decisions, and drive innovation.

“Together, we aim to leverage the cost-effective yet sophisticated capabilities of generative AI to enhance utility operations, bridge the digital divide among utilities of all sizes, and establish a research roadmap that will propel global digital transformation in the water sector,” said Gigi Karmous-Edwards, principal of Karmous Edwards Consulting.

Project outcomes will serve to define new approaches to leverage GenAI technologies, mitigate risks and advance digital transformation in water to enhance utility capacity to address current and future water challenges.

“This exciting project will gather insights and lessons learned from utilities who already have experience implementing GenAI strategies,” said WRF CEO Dr. Peter Grevatt. “These case studies will help others across the water sector see the potential associated with the use of these new tools, while demonstrating how to pursue secure experimentation, thereby mitigating the cybersecurity concerns sometimes associated with GenAI.”

Project results will be available in late 2025. Visit the project page on WRF’s website for updates on project progress.

Industry leaders deliver comprehensive distribution of AI-based water management, protection and risk mitigation solutions throughout the U.S.

WINT Water Intelligence, a global leader in cutting-edge water management and leak-prevention solutions, announces a strategic collaboration with Ferguson, the largest value-added distributor of plumbing supplies, PVF, waterworks, and fire and fabrication products in the United States. WINT’s solutions are now available to Ferguson’s extensive distribution network, offering a broader selection of advanced technologies that complement Ferguson’s existing commercial building solutions.

“We are thrilled to team up with Ferguson, a true leader in the plumbing and HVAC industries,” said Alon Geva, WINT’s CEO. “This strengthens WINT’s distribution channels with more capabilities while also allowing us to concentrate on elevating and further developing our innovative software solutions. Together, we aim to set new standards in water management and leak detection.”

Moving forward, Ferguson will now offer WINT’s advanced water management solutions to its customers and manage the distribution of WINT’s systems throughout the United States. The relationship will take the industry standard to the next level when it comes to accurate water consumption monitoring, water damage prevention, water waste reduction and promoting water sustainability across the board, while positioning each company at the forefront of water management.

“As the importance of preventing leaks and water damage grows, we recognize the need to provide our customers with the most advanced and reliable solutions available,” said Trey Horne, Ferguson outside sales representative. “Working with WINT ensures our customers have full access to top technology to help safeguard their properties and minimize the impact of water-related issues, all while driving the path toward better sustainable water management together.”

WINT systems installed in buildings report to reduce water consumption and its associated carbon emissions by 20%-25%. Moreover, a recent study by Munich Re, the world’s largest global reinsurer, found that construction jobsites protected by WINT dramatically reduce the impact of water leak damage; sites where WINT was installed were found to submit 73% fewer insurance claims and resulted in 90% less payouts when compared with sites not protected by WINT.

WINT equips contractors, developers and property management teams with holistic solution for managing water throughout the lifecycle of a building, from construction to operation. It is used globally by customers including Suffolk Construction, HP, PepsiCo, the Empire State Building, as well as many other leading enterprises, general contractors (GCs) and facility owners.

The WINT platform includes portfolio-wide water monitoring and analysis, leak mitigation with real-time detection and auto shut-off; unparalleled anomaly detection and analytics powered by advanced AI algorithms; and comes with an enterprise-grade management for operation in large and mid-sized facilities. Green buildings deploying WINT can add multiple credits to their overall LEED sustainability score to increase their overall ranking.

To explore how you can benefit from the Ferguson and WINT collaboration,click here.

Leading Denver home services company gives back to local organizations in 2024 through High 5 Cares

High 5 Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electric, a family-owned and operated home service company serving residents in the greater Denver metropolitan area, prioritizes its commitment to giving back to their community year-round through the charity High 5 Cares. In 2024, High 5 donated $25,127 to six local charities in the Denver area and surpassed a big milestone of over $100,000 donated since 2018.

“Supporting the Denver community through High 5 Cares is an important pillar of our business,” said Levi Torres, co-owner of High 5 Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electric. “Our technicians enjoy having a way to give back and serve others on a local level. And passing the $100,000 donation milestone reflects the impact our team has made on the city they call home.”

High 5 wrapped up 2024 with a $4,117 donation to Hope House, a Denver-based nonprofit that works with young moms. Other local charities they supported include Step Denver, We Don’t Waste, Judi’s House, Beyond Home and CASA.

“Our customers are like family to us, and we want to support the causes that are important to them,” Torres said. “We encourage our customers, our team and our community to recommend new partners for addition to the High 5 Cares program this year.”

To learn more about High 5 Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electric, or to schedule an inspection, visit http://high5homefix.com/ or call (720) 637-5177.