Helpful Tips to Celebrate Water Quality Month
August 15, 2017
The month of August is National Water Quality Month, and it’s the perfect time to learn more about how to protect water quality in your local community and beyond. Pollution in the water supply – whether groundwater or surface water – is an ever-growing problem, 
but there are steps you can take in your daily life to help protect sources of fresh water.
Drinktap.org, a valuable resource from the American Water Works Association, offers some simple tips to aid the water quality improvement effort this Water Quality Month:
- Use a commercial carwash to clean your vehicle. Washing your car at home can potentially flush harmful chemicals down the storm drain, which leads directly to lakes and rivers.
- Always pick up after your pets.
- Make sure to properly dispose of used motor oil. One quart of motor oil can contaminate more than 250,000 gallons of water!
- Sweep your driveway rather than spraying it down with your hose.
- Be mindful of pesticide and fertilizer use in your home garden as these can permeate the soil and contaminate ground water, or be swept away in runoff, affecting surface water.
- Do not flush prescription medications down the toilet. All too often, these medications end up in the wastewater system and are introduced out into the environment. Check with your local health department for information on proper disposal in your community.
- Help pick up litter on the streets and join in a beach, stream or wetlands clean-up project.
Incorporating small changes such as these into your daily routine have a big impact on the quality of water in your community and in our public spaces
Discussing Solutions to Alabama’s Deteriorating Wastewater Infrastructure
July 21, 2017
Frank McFadden, founder of McFadden Engineering, presented solutions for alleviating stress on deteriorating wastewater infrastructure in Alabama at the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Alabama Section annual summer conference on July 19 in Orange Beach, Ala. An expert in innovative water and wastewater engineering, Mr. McFadden advocated for the use of sustainable, decentralized treatment methods as an alternative to centralized wastewater treatment.
In March 2017, the ASCE graded the United States’ overall wastewater treatment infrastructure as D+, and Alabama earned a grade of C- in the same category. About 65 percent of wastewater collection system infrastructure in Alabama has reached the end of its useful life, which has resulted in broken, cracked, clogged and disjointed pipes.
The health of wastewater infrastructure is important to maintaining the Alabama’s water quality, and the existing infrastructure no longer keeps up with demand. Aging wastewater treatment infrastructure and the sheer abundance of wastewater produced in the United States have created an urgent need for alternative treatment methods outside of centralized public and private wastewater treatment systems.
Learn more about McFadden Engineering’s wastewater treatment expertise.
McFadden Engineering: Environmentally Sound Solutions
July 12, 2017
Meet our leadership team. From left, Frank McFadden, P.E., Founder and President; Hope McFadden, Founder and CFO; Brad Newton, P.E., Vice President and Senior Engineer.
The McFadden Engineering team specializes in providing environmentally sound solutions to solve unique engineering needs. We are environmental and civil engineers with extensive experience throughout the Southeast United States.
As a client-oriented firm, our philosophy centers around our clients’ success. By prioritizing client relationships, we can anticipate potential challenges and offer innovative engineering solutions to achieve results. With each new project, we aim to deliver holistic solutions that go beyond technical facets, addressing financial concerns and anticipating the perceptions of regulatory agencies, outside parties and the general public. Through excellent established relationships with local, state and federal regulatory agencies, we have the tools to navigate and advocate on our clients’ behalf.
We are prepared to help our clients address all their civil and environmental engineering needs. Our team is ready to work with you to find an environmentally sound solution tailored to your needs. Learn more about our civil and environmental engineering services.