ADA Compliance and Civil Engineering

ADA Compliance and Civil Engineering

Many years ago, a colleague complained to me about how demanding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) design requirements were, as well as expensive and time-consuming. She saw very little benefit in them since they did not benefit her directly at the time....
Pervious Surfaces

Pervious Surfaces

In past articles, we have talked about roof and rain gardens as methods to reduce the amount of stormwater runoff reaching storm drain systems by filtering out contaminants and leeching them back into the groundwater. However, if we look at any city or developed area,...
Watershed Stewardship

Watershed Stewardship

Unsurprisingly, clean water is at the heart of a healthy ecosystem and vibrant environment. However, for many decades, if not centuries, actual stewardship was not as crucial as simply addressing a focused need to provide potable water to humans, irrigation for...
Construction Specifications

Construction Specifications

I am not a big fan of reinventing the wheel, but I have been burned enough in my career by “cutting and pasting” that I make it a habit to start from scratch as often as I can when writing a proposal, memo, scope, and, especially, project specifications. As civil...
Our Changing Hydrology

Our Changing Hydrology

The EPA reported the following statement on August 1 of this year: “In recent years, a larger percentage of precipitation has come in the form of intense single-day events,” which has occurred since 1996 (EPA “Climate Change Indicators: Heavy Precipitation, August 1,...