Latest News
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Coachella Canal Lining Project wins award
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July 31, 2008
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The San Diego Chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) named the Coachella Canal Lining Project 2007 Project of the Year. The Coachella Canal Lining Project is a substantial accomplishment in meeting a goal of the 2003 Quantification Settlement Agreement to conserve Colorado River water. Prior to lining the last remaining earthen section of the canal with concrete, approximately 26,000 acre-feet of water seeped through the canal annually. Now, instead of losing water through seepage, the conserved water is conveyed to San Diego for use....
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Construction productivity underestimated
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July 31, 2008
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The downward trend in U.S. construction productivity is largely the result of mis-categorization by the Census of Business, according to a paper in July’s Journal of Construction Engineering and Management. Much of the construction industry fabricates made-to-order components for construction that the Census of Business wrongly considers part of the manufacturing industry, the authors say. The off-site operations that produce steel, precast concrete, and curtainwalls have consistently higher productivity than on-site construction operations....
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Company proposes using algae to treat wastewater and create energy
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July 31, 2008
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Algaewheel, Inc., proposed building a facility in Cedar Lake, Ind., that uses algae to treat municipal wastewater and uses the sludge byproduct to produce electricity, heat, and biofuel. Christopher Limcaco, president of Algaewheel, announced that the company has partnered with Thieneman Construction to develop and design the proposal....
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White paper examines use of public-private partnerships
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July 31, 2008
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The American Council of Engineering Companies of California (ACEC California) released a white paper examining the use of public-private partnerships (PPPs or P3s) in delivering new infrastructure projects and upgrading California’s aging existing infrastructure....
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Sanborn tests mobile mapping system
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July 31, 2008
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In July, Sanborn’s St. Louis office began a three-month test of a commercial, off-the-shelf mobile mapping system known as Landmark. Sanborn will use the system, which can be tailored for use in a wide range of mapping applications, for asset collection and LIDAR imaging to map highways, bridges, college campuses, and cities. At the end of the trial period, Sanborn will provide feedback, including recommendations for new project applications, to Landmark’s manufacturer, Ontario, Canada-based Applanix, with whom Sanborn has a longstanding relationship....
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Buildings conference set for October
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July 31, 2008
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The 2008 Structural Engineers’ Buildings Conference & Expo will be held Oct. 2-3, 2008, at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta. This fourth annual event is produced by ZweigWhite, publisher of CE News, in association with Structural Engineer magazine, the National Society of Professional Engineers, and the American Institute of Steel Construction. The 2008 conference chairman is Charles H. Thornton, Ph.D., P.E., chairman and CEO of Charles H. Thornton & Company, LLC, and founding principal of Thornton Tomasetti....
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GZA GeoEnvironmental rehabilitates small hydropower dams
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July 31, 2008
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GZA GeoEnvironmental Inc., recently assisted Crane & Company with a feasibility study and grant application with the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative Renewable Energy Trust that will allow Crane to rehabilitate a small hydropower system at its Dalton manufacturing facility. GZA investigated the feasibility of hydroelectric power generation at two existing dams and will now work with Crane to design and construct a rehabilitated small hydropower generation facility at the Byron Weston Defiance Mill and the associated Byron Weston Dam No. 2....
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AECOM completes Earth Tech acquisition
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July 30, 2008
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AECOM Technology Corporation completed its acquisition of Earth Tech, Inc., a business unit of Tyco International Ltd. With the acquisition, AECOM increases its global presence, particularly in the Americas, Europe, Australia, and Asia, and expands its workforce to more than 40,000 professionals. AECOM also said the acquisition significantly strengthens its water and wastewater business, while augmenting its position in the environmental, facilities, and transportation sectors....
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EPA hits five Idaho projects with stormwater fines
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July 30, 2008
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In July, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced fines totaling more than $360,000 levied against state and local agencies and contractors involved in road, utility, and development projects in Idaho. This is the fifth year in a long-term regional enforcement initiative to improve compliance with the Construction General Permit, which is part of the Clean Water Act’s (CWA’s) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. The permit requires construction site operators to design, install, and maintain stormwater controls to prevent polluted runoff from harming water quality....
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20th annual public-private partnerships event
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July 30, 2008
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The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) will host its 20th Annual Public-Private Ventures in Transportation Conference, Sept. 15-16, 2008, in Washington, D.C., at the Hilton Washington Hotel. With a changing political landscape, ARTBA says a number of important questions will be addressed during the two-day event: How will a new Administration and new Congress address transportation financing? What role will public-private partnerships play in next year’s important rewrite of the federal surface transportation law? What’s happening in state legislatures on transportation financing choices?...
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Decline in travel impacts highway trust fund
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July 30, 2008
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New federal data showing further steep declines in the number of miles Americans are driving is additional proof that the country needs new means—other than the gas tax—to finance the nation’s transportation infrastructure, according to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters....
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Plastics Pipe Institute forms advisory board
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July 30, 2008
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The Plastics Pipe Institute (PPI) created an advisory board comprising experts in the municipal water and wastewater industry to advise the non-profit institute, municipalities, and the industry on issues related to high-density polyethylene (HDPE) piping systems....
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A/E firms’ profits drop amid slowing economy
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July 30, 2008
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After record highs last year, profits among architecture and engineering firms have decreased, a new study shows....
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Autodesk and Bentley agree to advance software interoperability
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July 15, 2008
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At a joint press conference last week, Autodesk, Inc., and Bentley Systems, Inc., announced an agreement to expand interoperability between their portfolios of architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) software. Autodesk and Bentley will exchange software libraries, including Autodesk RealDWG, to improve the ability to read and write the companies’ respective DWG and DGN formats in mixed environments. In addition, the two companies will facilitate work process interoperability between their AEC applications through supporting reciprocal use of available Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). With this agreement, the companies aim to improve AEC workflows by enabling broader reuse of information generated during the design, construction, and operation of buildings and infrastructure, and by enhancing the ability of project teams to choose among multiple software sources....
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EPA re-issues construction site stormwater permit
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July 15, 2008
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is re-issuing a stormwater Construction General Permit, which expired July 1, 2008, The permit uses most of the same terms and conditions as EPA’s 2003 permit. EPA is coordinating the permit with a second effort that is underway to establish national clean water standards, known as an effluent limitation guideline, for the construction and development industry....
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Free ’Green Streets’ webcast
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July 15, 2008
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Watershed Academy sponsors free monthly webcasts for watershed practitioners from around the globe. On Wednesday, July 23, 2008, the EPA presents Green Streets: From Gray Funnels to Green Sponges, discussing how communities can more effectively manage rainwater and snow melt where it falls, incorporating more green designs into long-term urban and transportation planning....
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Bell, Cochran and Eastman to keynote 2008 Buildings Conference
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July 15, 2008
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2008 Best Firm To Work For Summit
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July 15, 2008
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Highway construction materials up 15 percent
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July 1, 2008
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Prices for iron and steel components were up 93 percent in May 2008, compared with May 2007, according to a June 30, American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) economics report. Higher steel and metal prices were one of the driving forces in pushing overall highway and street construction materials 15 percent higher compared to the same month in 2007. During the same time period, inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index was 4.2 percent. Overall, ARTBA has tracked a 48-percent increase in combined material costs from 2003 through the end of 2007....
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EPA orders landfill remediation
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July 1, 2008
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In early June, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered landfill operator Republic Services of Southern Nevada to begin remediation work immediately at the Sunrise Mountain Landfill in Clark County, Nev. Cover on the Sunrise Landfill, a 440-acre closed municipal solid waste landfill, failed during a series of storms in September 1998, sending waste into the Las Vegas Wash., which discharges directly into Lake Mead....
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New website for watershed protection
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July 1, 2008
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The Center for Watershed Protection launched a new website with a new look, a new structure, and new resources. The Center said it created a more resource-rich site to serve two equal purposes: provide a solid understanding of what the Center does and what it’s about, and to provide guidance and research resources from the Center and other organizations to watershed professionals....
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Participate in a branch-office survey
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July 1, 2008
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Nevada students win ASCE competition
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July 1, 2008
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A/E firm leaders report successful marketing strategies
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July 1, 2008
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ASFE says SBA process raises firm risks
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June 30, 2008
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Homebuilders pay for stormwater violations
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June 17, 2008
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Four of the nation’s largest homebuilders agreed to pay civil penalties totaling $4.3 million to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act, the Justice Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced. The companies also agreed to implement company-wide compliance programs that go beyond current regulatory requirements and put controls in place that will keep 1.2 billion pounds of sediment from polluting the nation’s waterways each year....
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Pipe integrity focus of industry feud
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June 17, 2008
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On June 11, The Plastics Pipe Institute (PPI) issued what it called a "cautionary advisory" (read a copy here) regarding the integrity of fusible polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe. PPI said that fusible PVC pipe is susceptible to rapid crack propagation (RCP) and that this characteristic has led to a number of recent water pipeline failures. In particular, the group cited a failure in Naples, Fla., in May 2008, in which a newly installed 36-inch fused PVC water main cracked, causing significant damage and requiring costly repairs.
Underground Solutions, Inc. (UGSI), supplier of the fusible PVC pipe used in Naples, immediately responded with a letter to customers (click here to read) defending fusible PVC pipe performance and detailing what it called "misleading claims" and "inaccuracies" in PPI’s press release....
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2009 construction forecast revised
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June 17, 2008
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The Construction Outlook, a quarterly construction market forecast developed by FMI’s Research Services Group, indicates construction for 2008 remains much the same, but the outlook for 2009 has been revised down slightly because a downturn in nonresidential construction usually lags a slow down in the general economy. Nevertheless, water supply and sewage and waste disposal construction are expected to increase....
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Competitive pay ranked top retention challenge
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June 17, 2008
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WERF seeks research guidance
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June 17, 2008
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