When the final phase of a several-acre shopping mall complex outside of Birmingham, AL was completed about five years ago, the developer installed a 400,000 gallon fountain to set off the beautiful surrounding scenery provided by its landscape. Since then, they started paying around ten thousand dollars a month more than their expected water bill for this addition, which they assumed was a result of evaporation from the fountain spray, since the fountain water itself is recirculated.

The United States spends $25 billion annually on pavement maintenance and traffic services to maintain four million miles of highway. This expenditure is about 27% of the $90 billion spent each year on US highways. Annual pothole-patching costs for state highway agencies in the United States are estimated at $300 to $400 million. Money spent on the local level is twice that amount.

A persistent leak in a 28,000 square foot built-up roof stimulated a commercial building owner to find the cause. Using a FLIR ThermaCAM® infrared camera, John R. Tendorf of Murray Roofing Company, Inc. was able to locate and mark off a relatively small 1,200 square foot wet area, which was torn out and replaced.