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,...
“Greening” your City Saves Money

“Greening” your City Saves Money

I have written before about the many advantages of green roofs, rain gardens, and other sustainable design and construction options, including saving money on heating and cooling costs with green roofs, or saving on your water bill through rainwater harvesting,...
Flooding in a Drought Period

Flooding in a Drought Period

It seems counterintuitive to be concerned about flooding almost anywhere in California since we live in the longest drought period in recorded history. However, as you may have noticed, drought does not mean rain. It simply means less rain than usual for the region...
Healing the Built Environment

Healing the Built Environment

Usually, when I write articles about civil design and improving the existing conditions, I include sustainable measures, such as designing rain gardens, using permeable pavement, or designing and building plantable retaining walls. However, sometimes you need to...
Victory Gardens for our Time

Victory Gardens for our Time

During the First World War, Germany had to heavily ration food items, such as coffee, fruits, vegetables, etc. So, to mitigate this crisis, they created the “Kleingarten” in cities. Kleingarten means “small garden,” and they were installed within urban areas....