Essential Civil Engineering Specialties

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Civil engineering is an ever-growing field that revolves around the design and structure of newly constructed buildings and other fabricated structures. It is a field with many personal and monetary rewards.

Sub-Specialties in Civil Engineering

Most students specialize in one area of civil engineering. The following are some of the most popular areas to specialize in.

Environmental Engineering

These engineers work to reduce the human impact on the natural surroundings. This may include repairing any damage caused during construction while also discovering methods to keep the damage from happening again. Those working with the environment have to deal with both man’s impact and the disposal of waste created in a safe manner.

Coastal Engineering

Like environmental engineers, coastal engineers work to protect the ecosystem. Specifically, these specialists work to help stop the erosion of coastal areas and beaches. Because their jobs are affected by the tides and weather, engineers in this field must also have a firm understanding of marine geology and oceanography to be successful.

Structural Engineering

Probably the best-known civil engineering specialty, however, is structural engineering. This field splits into bridges and buildings as each requires a different method to design them. With both, consideration of the load is important. However, the load bearing on a bridge comes from a slightly different force than that of a skyscraper. Additionally, other forces such as earthquakes affect the structures differently.

Geotechnical Engineering

A geotechnical engineer understands the environmental rock and soil and how this relates to the structure. They work with structural engineers to help properly lay the foundation so that it won’t crack or buckle over time. In addition, these specialists often work with mining and petroleum engineers to help develop a solid understanding of the subterranean conditions. These engineers also work to create tunnels and dams.

Degrees Are Necessary

Any civil engineering job requires a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in engineering. However, many firms require their civil engineers to complete an advanced degree beyond their undergraduate studies. A master’s degree in engineering management is one such option.

Thanks to Maria Eklind on flickr for the image used in this post.

All About Civil Engineering

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Civil engineers are the unsung heroes who ensure buildings, bridges, and roads are structurally sound. As one of the largest areas within the engineering job set, these specialists are responsible for the design and upkeep of public works features. These include roads and bridges in addition to ports, airports, and railroads.

History of Civil Engineering

Civil engineering has been around since ancient Egypt. Some scholars believe the field started as far back as 4000 BC.

Architects v. Civil Engineers

Architects’ duties include designing and constructing buildings. Civil Engineers, on the other hand, must deal with government regulation, cost construction breakdown, and potential hazards to the environment. Some civil engineers also perform experiments on the surrounding area to help ensure that the foundation is solid. These experiments also work to determine which building materials are best suited for the environment.

Training

In order to become a civil engineer, interested parties need at least a bachelor’s degree in engineering with a focus on civil engineering. Those who want to do more than just the basics should obtain a Master’s or even a Doctorate in the field. Those with a bachelor’s degree can usually work in the field while earning their graduate degree.

In addition to obtaining an advanced degree, some states require civil engineers to undergo state licensing. This includes gaining additional yearly education and passing an exam. Engineers may need several years of experience prior to sitting for the licensing test.

Salaries and Other Considerations

Civil Engineers have a median salary of $82,050. Of course, the top 75th percentile makes around $104,190. The positions within the field that make the most money include oil and gas professionals in Texas and California.

There is growth in the civil engineering field, making it ideal for new workers to get into. It can be a stressful job due to its inflexible schedule and involved workload, but knowing that the world has safer infrastructure makes it worthwhile.

The Facts About the NEXUS Pipeline Project

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Spectra Energy and DTE Energy has launched an interstate pipeline project called NEXUS. This gas transmission pipeline is tailored to supplement the current supply of natural gas. The pipeline will stretch from the current receipt points in the eastern parts of Ohio to the southeastern parts of Michigan. To achieve this goal, the contractors will have to interconnect it with the existing pipeline grids such as the Texas Eastern system, the DTE gas system, and the Vector Pipeline System, and seek the services of professional land planning and development experts to make informed decisions when laying the pipes.

Total Cost of the Project

The project is estimated to cost approximately $2 billion, and the construction works are scheduled to start in early 2017. The main objective of this project is to meet the current increase in demand in Ontario and the upper Midwest. Some of the entities that will benefit from this project are local gas distribution companies, industrial users, and power generators.

Environmental Impact Assessment

In 2014, the pre-filing process for this project was started, and the relevant documents were submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Currently, the FERC is carrying out studies to determine the impact that this project will have on the environment. The municipal engineering team will also be involved in the evaluation to ensure that it does not hamper the functionalism of existing infrastructures.

To enhance transparency and monitoring, four compressor stations and three regulation and metering stations will be installed in Ohio and Michigan. Other ancillary components such as mainline valves, launchers, and receivers will also be fitted along the pipeline.

This construction project contract was awarded to Flour Corporation in February 2015 by both Spectra Energy and DTE Energy. The contractor will be responsible for all tasks that involve construction engineering and management such as designing and constructing the compressor stations.

Indeed, the NEXUS pipeline project will increase the supply of quality and affordable natural gas in the United States and Canada.

Cleveland: “The Forest City” Again?

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On March 8, 2016, the Cleveland City Planning Commission approved a 25-year plan to halt dramatic losses of the city’s tree canopy, aiming to restore the area to what once was known as “The Forest City.” In rare praise from commission members, the $75,000 plan was approved with commendations.

The Nickname

No one knows for sure why Cleveland became “The Forest City,” but the idea of the city as a highly sophisticated society in a heavily forested environment may have been inspired by the observations of Alexis de Tocqueville in his classic 1835 “Democracy in America.” Many are convinced, however, that William Case, secretary of the Cleveland Horticultural Society and later mayor of the city, played a significant role in advancing the nickname for Cleveland.

Lush Green to Miles of Gray

So dramatic is today’s absence of trees that Cleveland’s city limits as seen from satellites in outer space are defined by bald patches of asphalt and concrete. In fact, land surveys suggest that Cleveland loses 90 acres of urban forest per year from invasive parasites and poor maintenance. The Cuyahoga County Planning Department says Cleveland ranks near the bottom of the county’s 59 communities in its tree canopy percentage. Moreover, with only 19 percent tree coverage, Cleveland ranks seventh behind 10 American cities that include Detroit (23 percent), New York (24 percent), Cincinnati (38 percent), and Pittsburgh (42 percent).

Sounds Like a Plan

Initially released by Mayor Frank Jackson’s administration last October, the Cleveland Tree Plan, funded by a blend of private and public funding, details a framework and vision for all the work to come. According to the plan, Cleveland must begin by planting 35,000 trees per year. If the city shoots for tree coverage of 40 percent by 2040, it must plant nearly 700,000; to do less is to face a tree coverage of 14 percent by 2040. Following the plan’s approval, a coalition of community organizations will begin implementation, with clear steps for outreach, education, government agencies, property and business owners, and additional funding.

Plant With a Purpose

Property owners in the city and elsewhere are urged to “Plant with a Purpose” by planting and restoring trees to neighborhoods of with high rates of child poverty and unemployed residents. Such steps advance the very real potential of improving air quality and absorbing the water runoff from storms, among other benefits. In fact, the city’s proposed Tree Plan map identifies areas of heat stress where trees would strategically impact the oppressive temperatures of “heat islands,” or areas that see a notable increase in heat during the summer months due to a paucity of trees.

Monetary Benefits Not to Be Ignored

Despite its drastic loss of trees, Cleveland’s existing canopy of trees still provides about $20 million in environmental services per year. These figures include 1.8 billion gallons of rainwater absorbed ($11 million), 415 tons of air pollution absorbed ($1.8 million), hot month energy costs reduced by shade ($3.5 million), and property values enhanced ($4.5 million).

Watersheds: What Are They, How Do They Work, and Why Do They Matter?

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A watershed, also referred to as a “catchment” or a “drainage system,” comprises the land draining into a particular body of water. Watersheds have a huge impact on human communities because pollution can filter through the system and have many more wider-reaching implications than are immediately apparent. Lack of proper management, which often involves engineering projects like levees, can lead to flash floods, erosion, and other dangers.

Despite health and safety hazards, many people do not fully appreciate the necessity of taking care of these systems because they’re not aware of what they are and how they work. Below are some common questions and answers about this vital environmental component.

What is a watershed?

A watershed is the specific area of land that drains into a body of water. This means that it can be any size. For example, the catchment of a backyard creek is a lot smaller than that of the Mississippi River, which has the fourth-largest watershed of any river in the world (after the Amazon, Congo, and Nile). The Mississippi watershed covers almost 40% of the continental United States.

How does the system work?

Water enters the watershed of a river, lake, or ocean from two main sources. One source is smaller streams, rivers, or drainage areas that flow into larger bodies of water. For example, a tiny creek in Montana could eventually join the Missouri River and then the Mississippi River, thereby contributing to the Mississippi River’s overall watershed. Since the Mississippi River drains into the Atlantic Ocean, the river and its catchment are also part of the larger catchment of the Atlantic Ocean, a catchment which includes the Congo and Amazon rivers as well.

The other major contributor is precipitation. Rain and snow that doesn’t land in a body of water seeps into the soil, and much of this eventually finds its way into underground streams that join the rest of the watershed process.

A better understanding of this process will hopefully increase awareness of the need for proper watershed management and measures against pollution.

Thinking Outside the Box to Fund State and Local Infrastructure

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Overhead Photo Of A Building - The C.W. Courtney Company

As the federal budget becomes tighter and tighter, funding for state and local roads is one of the first items to be cut from the budget. Additionally, many city and county roads are completely ineligible for funding from the federal government and must be maintained with state, county, or municipal funds. The problem is that those budgets are already so tight that there’s often very little funding left over for infrastructure maintenance. As a result, many Americans across the country pay the price when they drive over unfilled potholes, poorly maintained roads, and outdated bridges on a daily basis.

What’s the Problem?

In theory, gas taxes and other state transportation taxes and fees should go toward maintaining state infrastructure, but there’s simply not enough funds to cover every repair that needs to be made. This means that the burden of repairing roads and other infrastructure falls on local governments, which often have to pay for repairs using property taxes or other general funds. Of course, if local governments use that money for infrastructure repairs, other public services, like police departments and fire departments, lose funding. Because those types of services are critical for keeping residents safe, there’s often simply not a way for local governments to pay for infrastructure maintenance, especially in small towns or rural areas. Worst of all, the longer roads and bridges go without maintenance, the more expensive and difficult it is to fix problems when they can no longer be put off without risking the safety of residents.

What’s the Solution?

By changing their approach to building and maintaining roads and other infrastructure, local governments can afford to provide residents with safe, high-quality roads and bridges. As populations surge in many areas of the country, cities and municipalities often attempt to keep pace with infrastructure needs by undertaking new projects, like widening roads or building new highways, rather than putting that funding toward maintenance of existing roads. By taking the approach that fixes existing roads and bridges before creating new ones, local governments can save a lot of money and avoid potential headaches down the road. Additionally, as homebuilders develop new residential neighborhoods to keep up with the surge in population, states and municipalities could consider requiring homeowner’s associations to contribute to some or all of the cost of road maintenance.

There’s no “one size fits all” approach to maintaining state and local infrastructure, but by thinking outside the box, local communities can come up with new ways to fund roads and bridges.

Photo Credit: University of Minnesota Duluth

Chagrin River Watershed Guidelines Empower Landowners

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As part of the Erie River basin, the Chagrin River watershed includes thirty-two communities and three state parks across Ohio’s Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, and Portage districts. These watershed communities face higher risks for flooding, erosion, and poor water quality, which are heightened further by careless development and mismanagement of land. Local governments can protect their communities by enforcing standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency. However, it is in the hands of each community to enact further laws as necessary to ensure the safety of their unique natural environment.

For those unfamiliar with the latest in environmentally sustainable governance, this task can seem overwhelming. However, the Chagrin River Watershed Partners (CRWP) have developed model regulations that serve as guidelines for local governments in watershed communities who are interested in adopting the most effective policies for environmental protection. These model regulations provide detailed examples of restrictions, laws, and guidelines for day-to-day operations that government officials can choose to put into practice. CRWP provides interested local governments with tailor-made planning and guidance as they create official legislation and ongoing support for the implementation process. Here are the major areas that CRWP’s model regulations cover.

Conservation Development

Conservation development is based on the premise that urban growth should be carried out in a way that preserves natural open spaces and avoids urban sprawl. By carefully planning where and how to place buildings and strategizing the frequency and spread of parking lots, local governments can design their communities efficiently.

Reducing Erosion, Sedimentation, and Flood Damage

Erosion occurs when the top layers of soil containing important mineral sediments are washed away. Erosion can lead to agricultural infertility and severe flooding. However, if sediments build up in other locations, the effects can be equally harmful to marine life, agricultural output, and the quality of local water sources. Proper management, regulation, and inspection of business and homeowner properties can drastically reduce the risk of erosion and flooding.

Riparian and Wetland Setbacks

Riparian areas and Wetlands are uniquely vegetated environments based around natural bodies of water. By regulating how close buildings and human dwellings can be built to wetlands and riparian areas, local governments can allow the environment to naturally regulate water flow, storm-water drain-off, and water purification.

Managing Storm Water Removal and Waste Disposal

Effective management of waste disposal and policing of the illicit discharge of toxic substances into local bodies of water, combined with efficient methods for disposal of storm water, can protect the water that we drink and the communities we live in. Government regulation and inspection combined with individual accountability can make huge strides in protecting Chagrin River watershed communities from pollution.

By designing policies based on the model regulations made available on the CRWP’s website, local communities and governments in the Chagrin River Watershed and beyond can learn how to better protect their environment as part of an ongoing global movement towards environmental sustainability.

Stormwater Assistance Programs

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CW Courtney Stormwater Management

Stormwater management is incredibly important to the health and safety of a city. An excess or gathering of water drainage can lead to detrimental flooding, stagnant water pollution, and costly cleanups that can all be prevented. In 2003, the Cuyahoga County Board of Health implemented a stormwater assistance and management system that aims to prevent these damaging side effects of poor stormwater drainage. The Phase II Stormwater Assistance Program is made up of six control measures.

Two of these measures are public education and public involvement. At the end of the day, it is up to the population to take a stand against a public nuisance. These two facets of the program are meant to teach the county about the concerns and problems of poor storm drainage and the unpleasant effects it can have on their personal lives. Once the public education measure helps people understand the negative impacts of poor stormwater drainage, the public involvement measure helps get them motivated about fixing these issues.

The next three measures (Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination, Construction Site Runoff Control, and Post-Construction Site Runoff Control) have been set in place as ways to stop current problems and prevent future ones. They allow for the city to monitor sites that are particularly susceptible to pollution and make sure that their runoff is controlled and managed.

The public can often be unaware of the impact poor stormwater drainage has on their community. Often times, the people who are most directly responsible for runoff aren’t even aware of the problems that they are causing. That is why it is so important to learn about how these issues can affect personal life and how they can be stopped. Thanks to the Cuyahoga County Board of Health, seminars are available for both children and adults to attend, and volunteer stream monitoring and cleanups can be scheduled through Phase II of the Stormwater Assistance Program.

How to Get a Grant for Your Project

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Every city has its shortcomings and opportunities. Whether it’s something to do with the roads, the urban development, or the area’s environment as a whole, there is no city that is entirely perfect. That said, there are always ways to make improvements in an area’s infrastructure. Of course, these improvements start—and often end—as little ideas in people’s heads. The problem is that a lot of people are intimidated to start ambitious projects like this because they are afraid they won’t be able to find the funding to complete them. The reality is that there are partnerships out there that seek to back these ideas through grant funding opportunities.

The C.W. Courtney Company is a general civil engineering consulting firm that has been providing civil, municipal, and environmental engineering services since 1903. The company has completed numerous projects around the Cuyahoga County area and is always interested in new projects to be involved with. They also provide the opportunity for people to apply for grant funding. For those that have a request or specific project in mind for their area, they are encouraged to apply for one of The C.W. Courtney Company’s grant funding opportunities. The team is responsive to ideas and requests.

Each of The C.W. Courtney Company’s grant funding opportunities includes the involvement of a principal engineer who will be in charge of the planning and oversight of the project. These engineers are experienced and dedicated to turning ideas into realities. The fourth generation company has 112 years of experience in the municipal engineering, land surveying, and construction management fields. They have completed a myriad of different projects, including major highway constructions and sewer system overhauls. Their experience with both municipal and private projects allows them the unique opportunity to see both sides.

The Ohio Dam Safety Program

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The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) has made updating the state’s dams safety standards a priority in recent years. This has led to the Ohio Dam Safety Program (ODSP), a program of both legislation and local regulatory practices that seeks to improve general dam safety and upkeep within the state of Ohio.

Within the next few years, capital projects will replenish existing dams within Ohio and bring them in line with current safety standards. For potential developers and builders, it is important to know what portions of the ODSP will affect you. Over 350 inspections will be conducted by the ODNR before the end of the 5-year ODSP.

Public Importance

Dams play an important role in the local economy and surrounding ecosystem. Dams can provide water critical for drinking or manufacturing, provide a level of protection against floods, and create recreational sites for local residents.

When not properly maintained, dams also have the potential to ruin property and cause great loss of life. More than 8,000 people have died in accidents related to dam failures in the last century. The Ohio Dam Safety Program represents an effort to avoid preventable disasters in the future.

Laws Related to Dam Safety

In Ohio, the owner of a dam is responsible for the upkeep of the dam in a way that does not put the public or property at risk. The Ohio Revised Code and Ohio Administrative Code both have laws that further regulate the permits, annual fees, inspections, size, and location that guide dam owners.

Some notable laws that potential dam builders should be aware of are Ohio Revised Code 1521.063, which classifies dams as class I, II, or III, and regulates the annual fees applied to each classification, and Ohio Administrative Code 1501:21-21-01, which lays out the rights of the chief to do periodic inspections to make sure dams are in-line with current safety standards.

If you are interested in building a dam in your area, contact the C.W. Courtney Company for help navigating your local dam safety regulations and making sure your dam is safe and functional. Learning about the Ohio Dam Safety Program is a great way to prioritize public safety with your project.