Hello,

We have curated some of the top news stories in the stormwater industry from this past month, as well as a few other items of interest. We appreciate you taking the time to read our ezine and hope that you find this stormwater related news as interesting and informative as we do.

Until next month, please work safe and stay safe.

Sincerely,
The Construction EcoServices Staff

WEF Selects San Antonio River Authority, LAN and RESPEC as Recipients of the 2020 Project Excellence Award
csengineermag.com

The Water Environment Federation (WEF) selected the San Antonio River Authority (SARA), civil engineering firm Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN) and integrated solutions partner RESPEC as the recipients of the 2020 Project Excellence Award. The award will be presented virtually during the WEF Award Celebration ceremony on Oct. 7th.

ASCE’s Best Places for Civil Engineers in 2020 Report
asce.com

ASCE’s Civil Engineering magazine researched and wrote this feature article before the widespread outbreak of COVID-19 and the subsequently declared pandemic in the United States. Since then, the health and safety of civil engineers and their families; the circumstances at engineering firm offices, public agencies, and jobsites; and the overall market for civil works projects have all entered an unprecedented phase of uncertainty. The core data on which ASCE’s Best Places for Civil Engineers report was created-including salaries, job openings, and costs of living in each of these cities-were valid at the time. How these factors may change once the current crisis has passed remains to be seen. Civil Engineering will report on these and other developments as they unfold.

Natural Climate Change Mitigation Would Benefit Texas
publicnewsservice.com

Texas is set to receive a significant chunk of money this year from the federal government to repair damage from Hurricane Harvey and multiple years of flooding, and a new report says much of it should be invested in natural and nature-based solutions. Jessie Ritter is the director of water and coastal resources policy at the National Wildlife Federation, and an author of a new report that shows when weather and climate-driven hazard events occur, natural infrastructure has proven just as effective – and sometimes, more effective – than traditional infrastructure. “When I say natural infrastructure, I mean natural features in the environment, like wetlands and healthy flood plains, restored beaches and sand dunes, oyster reefs and coral reefs,” says Ritter. “All of those things would fall into the bucket of natural systems.”

The Web’s Best Visualizations on Climate Change Facts

Over the past several decades, the international and national research communities have developed a progressively clearer picture of how and why Earth’s climate is changing and of the impacts of climate change on a wide range of human and environmental systems. Research has also evaluated actions that could be taken—and in some cases are already being taken—to limit the magnitude of future climate change and adapt to its impacts. Unfortunately, the global warming controversy still rages on–especially in politics–and this is why data visualization is helpful in this debate. Here are several of the Web’s best visualizations on climate change facts from the last few years. All these are incredibly educational and quite eye-opening. Every visualization in this list has a link next to it which will take you directly to the original study or research project.

Houston-Specific – https://www.weather.gov/hgx/climate_graphs_iah
Global – https://visme.co/blog/climate-change-facts/
Global – https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46384067

Making Nature Great Again: Integrating Biodiversity and Nutrient Targets into Watershed Management
cwp.com

In the early history of pollution management, big pipe dischargers, especially sewage treatment plants, were an obvious primary target for control. The strong and settled regulatory foundation under the Clean Water Act and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program brought measurable progress, but as the millennium approached, much work remained. The Clean Water Action Plan of the Clinton Administration hit center stage in 1998, with a timely if not overdue refocus on nutrients as a significant and growing cause of eutrophication impairments, especially in estuarine watersheds and systems where I have worked for much of my career. Nonpoint source/stormwater management was boosted by treating MS4s (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems) and certain Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) as regulated point sources requiring NPDES permits.

LIVE Webinar Series Event: Erosion Control & Stormwater Innovation 2.0

LOOKING TO EARN 3 CEU’s?
v1.0 of this webinar was so successful, we are now doing a v2.0. Hosted by IECA Region One and sponsored by Convergent Water Technologies, earn three CEUs by joining us for the May IECA Virtual Connection Webinar Series: Erosion Control and Stormwater Innovation 2.0. This event is a series of three, live, 1-hour webinars, three Wednesday’s in a row. You can attend from the comfort of your home or office or access the recorded versions if you miss one! This event is free to members and $75 for non-members.

THE THREE WEBINARS:

• TODAY, August 5th @ 12-1 PM (CDT)
  !@#$ Maintenance! It’s not a four letter word: Sponsored by Construction EcoServices | One of the most misspelled words in America is Maintenance. It’s no wonder it’s such a struggle. This course will look at how good stormwater design can reduce long-term maintenance costs for Green Stormwater Infrastructure as well as traditional stormwater projects.
• Wednesday, August 12th @ 12-1 PM (CDT)
  Innovative Industrial Stormwater Strategies: Sponsored by California Filtration Specialists| The US NAVY has been looking to reduce metals leaving their shipyards that have accumulated over the past 300 years. This class will look at a revolutionary new approach to removing metals from stormwater and meeting local TMDL’s.
• Wednesday, August 19th @ 12-1 PM (CDT)
  10 Pounds of GSI in a 5 Pound Bag: Sponsored by ACF Environmental | Green Stormwater Infrastructure Best Management Practices are often times seen as large, expansive Raingardens that eat up real estate and are a burden to developers and property owners. This class will explore projects throughout the country where space was tight and innovative strategies employed to maximize treatment without compromising the owners bottom line.

NOTE: if you are a non-member of the IECA and wish to attend these webinars, having a free IECA user account set up is required prior to event registration. The event registration process on the IECA website is less confusing if you create your free account first. Then, go to the event page and complete the event registration process.

A Special Offer for Our Engineer Friends

Construction EcoServices is pleased to announce that Dusty Learned, PE has joined our organization. Dusty brings a suite of civil-engineer focused services into our offering to help further support our civil-engineer clients.

To celebrate this, throughout August, we are offering a STORMWATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLAN AT NO CHARGE with any design plan that has one or more of our recommended SWQ systems specified.

Say Hello to Dusty Learned, PE

A resourceful and licensed engineering professional with over 20 years of civil engineering design and project management experience in land development projects, stormwater management and hydraulic analysis, and jurisdictional permitting. Dusty obtained a B.S. in Civil Engineering from The University of Memphis and his desire to sustainably improve the way we develop the world around us led him to obtain a M.S. in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering from Villanova University.

New Services Dusty and Construction EcoServices Can Provide You:

• As-Built Certification
• Design Consultation
• Annual Stormwater Quality Repermitting
• SWQMP & SWPPP Sub-Consultancy
• Low Impact Development Design Support and Modeling
• Enhanced Quality Assurance / Quality Control

FODS Sweepstakes

FODS is giving away three prize packages as part of our FODS Summer Sweepstakes. Buy or sell eight FODS Trackout Control Mats now through September 25, 2020, for your chance to win.

We offer stormwater consulting and value-engineering services, turnkey SWPPP compliance services during construction activity, erosion control solutions for slopes and channels, and post-construction compliance services for stormwater management systems for detention and stormwater quality treatment. Need help? Contact us today.