Municipal Sewage: Three Communities Try to Cope
To meet federal clean water guidelines, New Hampshire's Winnipesaukee River Basin, the City of San Francisco, and the City of Milwaukee have to upgrade their treatment to...
Graduating Engineers: 1930/1980
The life of a graduating engineer entering the world in 1930 is contrasted with that of 1980. Through the use of interviews, the article covers the opportunities, working conditions, salaries...
What's Happened to the Quality of Asphalt�
After the 1973 oil embargo, state highway departments began complaning that the asphalt cement supplied by refineries did not have as before. Although the asphalt met departmental specifications,...
Acid Rain
Current information on acid rain is reviewed in eight papers presented at an April, 1979 session sponsored by the Research Council on Environmental Impact Analysis of the ASCE Technical...
Construction Risks and Liability Sharing
Extensive litigation, large claims, construction conflicts and long delays have been increasing at an alarming rate during the past decade the trend is unmistakable and the dollar magnitude,...
The USGS Centennial: From Mining to Mapping the Moon
The United States Geological Survey was established 100 years ago by the U.S. Congress primarily to determine the extent of the rapidly industrializing nation's mineral resources. The...
Mapping America is Never-Ending Task for USGS
For its first topographic surveys, begun in 1879, USGS measured distances by counting revolutions of a wheel, ran traverses by chain and compass, and used a barometer to determine elevations....
Flood Studies Led to National Flood Insurance
Federal responsibility for flood insurance was decreed by Congress in 1956, after it realized that the private insurance could not alone bear the risk. Flood-plain management, a prerequisite...
Why Does a Federal Demonstration Project Succeed or Fail�
This is a condensed version of an article published in
Non-Government Consensus Standards: Changes in the Wind�
Article clarifies the standards-writing climate in the U.S. today. Among key thrusts are: (1)The Federal Trade Commission just published a draft regulation that would significantly change...
Fledgling Standards-Writing Program: Progress Report
Officially reborn just over two years ago, ASCE's standards effort now includes more than a dozen standards-writing committees at work or now being formed. Focus is in four...
New Umbrella Society for Engineering is Taking Shape
If all goes as planned (and the prognosis is good), 1980 will see the start of operation of a new umbrella society in engineering. The joint creation of many engineering specialty societies...
Nuclear Waste Disposal: Is there a safe solution?
Will fission nuclear power play a major role in the American power industry during the next 50 years? Whether or not it does will largely depend on whether the federal Department of Energy...
Corps Takes New Approach to Flood Control
As urban development increased storm runoff into the Charles River, a dam built in 1910 became inadequate to protect the Boston area from flooding. Boston suffered $5,000,000 in flood...
What Has the U.S. Gotten Out of the Space Program�
Since the time of its creation in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has spent billions of dollars on space activities. What has the U.S. gotten out of these tremendous...
Confusion Prevails in Federal Minority Business Efforts
Minority business participation in federally-funded programs should be doubled, according to President Jimmy Carter. A number of programs have been set up to accomplish this goal; an overview...
Regulations: More is Less
Federal regulations have mushroomed since 1969. Agencies to write and enforce regulations have grown as well. Now, say engineers in industry, it is increasingly not economically feasible...
Slow Trend for Asphalt with H2O
Cutback asphalt, made fluid by heating and by adding petroleum solvents, is becoming less popular because of the energy crisis and air pollution control standards. Replacing cutbacks are...
Do Federal Grants Distort a City's Capital Investment Priorities�
The availability of federal grants in some areas and no grants in others sometimes leads to absurd distortions in a city's true capital investment needs. Under construction...
Top Highway Problems: Finance and Maintenance
The nation's highway departments say their number one problem is inadequate funds. Congress and the Federal Highway Administration are worried that, due to inadequate highway...
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