Civil Engineering Consultant – Stormwater Management, Grading & Drainage
Stormwater detention has been used as a strategy for managing urban stormwater runoff since the early 1970s. Originally, detention ponds were designed for larger storm events (10-year, 25-year, 50-year, or even 10-year). By the early 1980s, stormwater detention ponds were also being designed to improve water quality, specifically suspended pollutants. The following blog post outlines … Read more
Site grading is an essential skill for civil engineers to master. This is because grading is an extremely important part of the land development process. Site plans prepared for the purpose of constructing a new development typically include several sheets. One of these sheets will include the grading and drainage plan. In some cases, grading … Read more
Manning’s roughness coefficient, which is also commonly referred to as Manning’s n, is an empirical parameter that represents energy loss due to a variety of things such as friction losses, flow separation, turbulence, and very sudden contractions or coefficients. Relatively recently, the United States Army Corps of Engineers released versions of HEC-RAS that include two-dimensional … Read more
The Manning’s roughness coefficient, which is also commonly referred to as Manning’s n, is an empirical parameter that represents energy loss due to a variety of things such as friction losses, flow separation, turbulence, and very sudden contractions or expansions. Manning’s n values are applied to Manning’s equation, which calculates open channel flow. In HEC-RAS, … Read more
I am an engineer with a professional background in hydrology and hydraulics. Recently, I began working at a new company that is involved in a variety of water conservation projects throughout California. Several of my coworkers have taken permaculture courses. At first, I wrote off permaculture as a bit “fluffy.” However, the more I learned … Read more
Sediment transport is the “brown” side of HEC-RAS modeling, which involves determining how sediment is transported along a stream. In my experience, sediment transport analyses are performed for projects associated with streams/channels that are aggrading and degrading. It is important to model such streams to ensure that they do not cause damage to nearby infrastructure. … Read more
Rainwater harvesting has a long history. However, in many places around the world, the practice of rainwater harvesting has diminished significantly. Admittedly, it is much easier to obtain water by turning on the tap. However, as water consumption outpaces the rate of groundwater recharge, water supplies are becoming increasingly stressed. This problem is exacerbated by … Read more
One of the biggest challenges faced by river engineers today is stabilizing degrading channels. Urbanization and the associated increase in the amount of impervious area have caused an increase in runoff and stream flow rates. As a result, many stream beds have experienced a reduction in channel slope through downcutting or increased channel meander. For … Read more
The best tank material for your site depends on a variety of factors including whether the tank is to be installed above ground or underground, your budget, the water quality required, the site configuration, climate, and structural characteristics. Selecting an appropriate tank for your rainwater harvesting system is important because it is most likely the … Read more