July 2007 NEWS

July is Smart Irrigation Month

Did you know that one-third of the water Americans consume daily is used to irrigate lawns, water gardens, and maintain landscaping? More alarming, up to fifty percent of that water goes to waste due to over watering, runoff, and evaporation. With a few simple steps, we can significantly reduce the amount of water we use?and waste?on our lawns and gardens without compromising their health or appearance. July is Smart Irrigation Month, and EPA is encouraging homeowners across the country to take a closer look at their outdoor water use. There are several simple steps you can take to save water and money such as watering in the early morning to minimize evaporation, avoiding watering driveways and sidewalks, utilizing mirco-irrigation (such as soaker hoses), and consulting a WaterSense irrigation partner for advice on in-ground sprinkler systems. For more information on watering efficiently and to locate a WaterSense irrigation partner in your area, visit http://www.epa.gov/watersense/pp/irrprof.htm.

OW Recognized for Community Involvement Effort

In June, over 300 professionals met at EPA's 10th Annual Community Involvement Training Conference. Participants selected our poster for their People's Choice award. Developed in partnership between the Office of Water and the Earth Conservation Corps (ECC), the poster was chosen for its effective environmental message. Proclaiming the message "An Anacostia River That's Clean Doesn't Have to be a Dream," it focuses attention on an environmental problem on the river -- flowing through the heart of our Nation's Capital -- and spurs residents to action.

The 2007 conference, entitled Community Involvement: Celebrating the Past, Looking to the Future, underscored the value of successes over the last ten years. Participants talked about their achievements and shared lessons learned. They also explored innovative ways to promote sustainable environmental protection through government-community collaboration.

The Earth Conservation Corps is a nonprofit organization providing professional development and environmental training to disadvantaged young people from the Washington DC Metro area. For more information about their programs, visit their website at http://www.ecc1.org/ . For more information about EPA's efforts to increase public awareness of water quality standards issues, send an e-mail to desselle.frances@epa.gov.

EPA Seeks Technical Assistance for Small Drinking Water Systems

EPA is soliciting proposals to provide training and technical assistance to small and/or rural public water systems to develop and implement source water (ground water and surface water) protection plans and wellhead protection plans. EPA is also soliciting proposals to provide training and technical assistance to small and/or rural public water systems for rule implementation, capacity development, and water systems operations. Public water systems include community water systems, and other small and rural non-community systems such as hospitals, schools, or mobile home parks.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Hurricane Katrina and the Impact of Engineers

The Thoughts of Stephan Butler, P.E., M.ASCE

Office of Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
2007 ASCE Congressional Fellow

Note: Stephan Butler is a participant in ASCE's Congressional Fellowship program, which since 1996 has given engineers the opportunity to spend a year's term working in the U.S. Congress.

In April’s Congressional Fellow Report I touched on the importance of access and proximity to our elected officials and briefly described my job function and the policy proposals on which I’ve been working. This month I would like to drill deeper into those topics, illustrating the discussion with stories from my visits to Louisiana.

When I arrived on Capitol Hill I made visiting Louisiana my first order of business, on the belief that I would be better able to consider federal policy matters and their implications on Louisiana if I understood the problems being faced by its citizens while rebuilding and recovering from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. With this goal in mind, I met with some of the citizens and professional groups involved in the rebuilding of New Orleans. I was especially touched by my meetings with representatives from the grassroots groups Levees.org, the Episcopal Relief and Development Office of Disaster Response, Jericho Road (Episcopal Housing Initiative) and All Congregations Together. These groups represent the residents of New Orleans who, acknowledging a present leadership vacuum in the local community, have banded together to reconstruct their own neighborhoods and communities. Jericho Road, for instance, aims to be the catalyst that will bring displaced families home by providing quality housing opportunities for low income families. They hope their efforts will lead to long term housing collaborations throughout the city and in that way empower individuals, rehabilitate neighborhoods and transform communities.

I also met with Levees.org founder Sandy Rosenthal, whose group is advocating for an independent bipartisan Levee Commission to investigate the failure of the federal flood protection in metro New Orleans. The grassroots group, which now numbers over 12,000 members, was recognized as a “powerful force” by Congressman Bobby Jindal, who stated the following: “The voice of Levees.org members over the past year has been a powerful force in helping members of Congress and the White House see the importance of providing South Louisiana with Category 5 hurricane protection and giving Louisiana a share of offshore energy royalties so that Louisiana can begin to rebuild its coasts."

Also, I was fortunate to get a personalized tour of the Port of New Orleans with Deborah Ducote Keller, P.E., Director of the Port Development Division, past president of the ASCE’s New Orleans Branch and resident of St. Bernard Parish. During the tour of the facilities and the adjacent neighborhoods, I found myself overwhelmed and in shock. As a World Trade Center first responder after 9/11, I thought I understood devastation, but the impact on New Orleans stretches for mile after square mile. Vast regions of the city and surrounding parishes are obliterated. The houses continue to be safety and health hazards, as they still need to be gutted and demolished; the roadways have lost their top courses, are buckled, and have sink holes; other crucial infrastructure is similarly destroyed.

Seeing the scope of the problem confirmed my belief that I made the correct decision by coming to work on Capitol Hill, which has allowed me to bring engineering ideas, such as the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation’s work on multiple lines of defense and better land use practices, to Washington, D.C., for consideration by law makers.

More broadly, I believe that the USA’s infrastructure systems have deteriorated to the point where this country’s future economic competitiveness is in jeopardy and our elected officials, who are entrusted with safeguarding our nation’s future, have ignored the warnings. Reversing or even arresting the decline of infrastructure systems will require creative solutions and visionary leadership from the engineering community.

In this context, there are two readily-apparent ways for engineers to affect change. First, engineers need to position themselves better by seeking public office, which would provide them with proximity and access to the legislative process. Second, in order to help Congress to better understand technology transfers and complex scientific principles before implementing new policies, the engineering discipline should actively recruit and pitch its professionals for placement on lawmaker and committee staffs. This second tactic is likely to require a cultural shift in the engineering profession. Talented engineers will not readily pursue alternative but important career paths if they think that their work will be dismissed or devalued by the profession, including its societies and licensing boards. Likewise, lawmakers and committees are unlikely to understand the benefits of having engineers on their staffs and deferring to their judgment on important social issues without a significant public relations campaign by the profession. The stakes are high enough, however, that extreme measures are necessary.

I firmly believe that engineers must get involved in the political process in order to affect change, and I urge every engineer who reads this article to consider competing for an appointment to the Congressional Fellowship or support an employee who would like to do so. The Fellowship provides one of the best ways to share your expertise and experiences with our country’s top decision-makers. Also, it allows you to learn new approaches to communication, managing, problem-solving and advocating for vital public works projects.

ASCE/EWRI News

EWRI Members Assume Leadership Roles in AAEE

EWRI member Cecil Lue-Hing has

recently been elected Vice-President of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers. Debra Reinhart is another active EWRI member who holds a leadership position, serving as the President Elect. AAEE is a professional association dealing with environmental engineering specialty certifications. The general mission of the organization is the advancement of of all environmental engineering causes, as well as ensuring the public health, safety, and welfare of all people while maintaining harmony with the environment. The strong EWRI presence in AAEE's leadership structure should hopefully facilitate for successful collaboration among the two organizations in the future.

EWRI Award in Honor of Virginia Tech Victim

The Emerging & Innovative Technologies Committee is developing an EWRI award in honor of Dr. G.V. Loganathan, M.ASCE, who was killed during the Virginia Tech shootings on April 16, 2007. The award will pay tribute to this man and his great contributions to the field of environmental and water engineering, as well as the impact he had on civil engineering students over the years.

Dr. G.V. Loganathan

Dr. Loganathan, a native of India, was an active member of EWRI and ASCE. He served on the Trenchless Installation of Pipelines Technical Committee, Environmental and Water Resources Systems Technical Committee and acted as vice chair for the Operations Management Technical Committee. Also, in 1996, Dr. Loganathan was recognized for his work when he received the Wesley W. Horner Best Paper Award from the Journal of Environmental Engineering. His studies of interest revolved largely around hydrology, water resources systems and hydraulic networks and he taught at Virginia Tech for 15 years.

For more information about this award, please contact Walter Grayman at grayman@fuse.net, or Mohammed Karamouz at karamouz@ut.ac.ir. Also, information can be found at the Emerging & Innovative Technologies Committee's website.

Submit Nominations for Public Service Awards

ASCE invites its members to submit award nominations for those having shown excellence in public service. The ASCE Committee on Volunteer Community Service (CVCS) believe that formal recognition of efforts made by members of ASCE is very important. With this strong conviction, the CVCS administers and awards program that recognizes outstanding public involvement as those volunteeer efforts on a group basis as well as individually. Public involvement has been officially defined as those volunteer efforts that better our world in areas such as local or national legislation, education at all levels, non-profit volunteer organizations, and community activities.

With this in mind, there are two awards that can be presented up to four recipients for each respective award. They are as follows:

• ASCE Public Service Award: presented to an organized component within ASCE (Section, Branch, Young Member group, etc.)
• ASCE Citizen Engineer Award: presented to an individual ASCE member

The awards will be presented at the 2008 Regional Leadership Conferences as follows:

• Regions 1, 2, 4, & 5 - January 11-12, 2008 in Baltimore, MD
• Regions 3, 6, & 7 - January 25-26, 2008 in Austin, TX
• Regions 8 & 9 - February 8-9, 2008 in Las Vegas, NV

The nomination forms, complete with full descriptions of each award, are available for both the Public Service Award and the Citizen Engineer Award. All nominations must be received by October 1, 2007. Please contact Reggie Smith by telephone at (800) 548-2723 x 6158, by fax at (703) 295-6132, or by e-mail at rsmith@asce.org.

Technical Tour Possibilities Through EWRI

Karen Kabbes, Technical Chair of EWRI Tampa Congress, with a group of field tour attendees on air boat in Lake Trafford  near Naples, FL. The 1600 acre lake is  being restored jointly by the Corps of Engineers, South Florida Water Management District and State of Florida to improve water quality and fish habitat.

Like other EWRI events, the World Environmental & Water Resources Congress 2007 offered ample opportunities to take part in technical tours available based on the local geography. With this year's event taking place in Tampa, Florida, a collection of EWRI members were able to attend a tour of the Everglades, specifically featuring the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and an airboat tour on Lake Trafford. This tour provided the chance to learn about the Western Everglades Restoration Projects by visiting these two sites. The Sanctuary allowed attendees to enter the natural habitats of indigenous birds, as well as alligators. The tour of Lake Trafford, the largest lake south of Lake Okeechobee, allowed the members to witness the effects that took toll from the nutrient runoff from agriculture and urban development.

This was just one option available through the Congress this past May. Other technical tours included the Tampa Bay Regional Surface Water Tour, Southwest Florida Water Management District Tampa Bay Shoreline Restoration Tour, and a Canoe Trip along the Hillsborough River. Past Congresses have featured exciting outtings such as a tour of Valmont Irrigation in 2006 in Omaha, Nebraska; as well as a tour of the Eklutna Water Treatment Plant, with the 2005 Congress in Anchorage, Alaska.

Technical tours provide an engaging venue over the course of a Congress. They grant EWRI members an opportunity to step away from the lectures and sessions, and see the issues first-hand. Members are encouraged to take advantage of the tours, so please check the Congress 2008 website frequently for updates in next year's outtings. The website for the World Environmental & Water Resources Congress 2008 in Honolulu, Hawaii can be found at: http://content.asce.org/conferences/ewri2008/.

Meeting Spaces Still Available for HMEM 2007

Meeting rooms are still available for the Hydraulic Measurements & Experimental Methods Conference 2007 (HMEM 2007). Scheduled times and rooms can be reserved for committees on September 8 & 9, 2007. Each day, meetings will be held from 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. The technical sessions will take place on September 10-12, 2007, and will be followed by technical tours on the 13th. To apply for meeting space, please complete the meeting request form to be found here. Once completed, you may submit the form to EWRI Administrative Coordinator, Ann Rountree at 1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Reston, VA 20191 or by fax at (703) 295-6371.

Apply Now for AAWRE Certification

The American Academy of Water Resources Engineers (AAWRE) is accepting applications for fall 2007 until August 24 at the current reduced program fee. Nearly 300 individuals have qualified for the Diplomate, Water Resources Engineer (D.WRE) credential worldwide.  Join your colleagues and peers from around the globe that have earned the D.WRE designation and validate your knowledge and expertise with AAWRE certification.  For more information and to apply for AAWRE's Diplomate, Specialty Certification program, please visit: http://www.aawre.org/appaawre.cfm

2007 Member-Get-A-Member Campaign

Recruit Members & Win Prizes!

ASCE counts on its members to help us grow by participating in the Member-Get-A-Member Drive.  The 2007 campaign presents new opportunities to recruit and new prizes to win.  The next drawing will be held September 30th, when ten members will win a $50 Exxon Mobil gas gift card.  Each recruit who joins earns their sponsor an entry in the quarterly drawing.  Help colleagues discover why ASCE has become the professional home for more than 140,000 civil engineers.  Visit www.ascedrive.org to start recruiting today!

PUBLICATIONS

Ordering Information: Visit http://www.pubs.asce.org or call 1-800-548-2723 (U.S.) / 1-703-295-6300 (Int’l.) / 1-703-295-6278 (Fax)

Environmental & Water Resources

Contains 18 papers, many of which were presented at the Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI) Congress and Fourth National EWRI History Symposium held May 15-19, 2007 in Tampa, Florida.

View table of contents

Softcover, 2007, 168 pp., Stock# 40928,

ISBN 978-0-7844-0928-2, List Price $79 /

ASCE Member $59.25

World Environmental and Water Resources Congress2007

Proceedings of the World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2007, held May 15-19, 2007 in Tampa, Florida. Contains all technical papers presented on-site at the conference.

CD-ROM, 2007, 644 papers, Stock# 40927, ISBN 978-07844-0927-5, List Price $180 / ASCE Member $135

Sedimentation Engineering

An excellent text for understanding the nature and scope of sedimentation problems, methods for their investigation, and practical approaches to their solution.

View Table of Contents

Hardcover, 2006, 424 pp., Stock# 40823, ISBN 978-0-7844-0823-0, List Price $110 / ASCE Member $82.50

CONFERENCES

2007 Hydraulic Measurements & Experimental

Methods Conference (EWRI Event)

September 10-12, 2007 (Technical Sessions)

September 13, 2007 (Technical Tours)

Lake Placid, NY

http://content.asce.org/conferences/HMEM07/

International Symposium on Managed

Aquifer Recharge*

October 28 - November 2, 2007

Phoenix, AZ

www.ismar2007.org

World Environmental & Water Resources

Congress 2008

May 13-16, 2007

Honolulu, HI

http://content.asce.org/conferences/ewri2008/

International Association of Hydraulic Engineering &

Research Congress 2009*

August 10-14, 2009

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

http://www.iahr2009.org

* EWRI  Co-sponsored Events

CONTINUING EDUCATION WORKSHOPS & SEMINARS

HEC-HMS Computer Workshop

August 2 - 3, 2007

Portland, OR

http://www.asce.org/conted/seminars/seminar.cfm?cat=4#abc112abc

Pumping Systems Design for Civil Engineers

August 9-10, 2007

Washington, DC

http://www.asce.org/conted/seminars/seminar.cfm?cat=4#abc121abc

Introduction to Detention Pond Design: Parking Lots and Urban Drainage

August 16-17, 2007

Philadelphia, PA

http://www.asce.org/conted/seminars/seminar.cfm?cat=4#abc126abc

Treatment Plant Hydraulics for Civil Engineers

August 16-17, 2007

Chicago, IL

http://www.asce.org/conted/seminars/seminar.cfm?cat=4#abc305abc

Wetlands and 404 Permitting

August 16-17, 2007

Atlanta, GA

http://www.asce.org/conted/seminars/seminar.cfm?cat=2#abc35abc

SPREAD THE WORD

Please forward this message to your friends and colleagues who share an interest in environmental and water-related issues and would like to hear from the Environmental and Water Resources Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Encourage your friends and colleagues to JOIN EWRI and receive all the benefits of being an EWRI Member.