Ground Improvement

Viking Containment has been awarded the Reuse Water Lagoon contract for the design, supply and installation of a liner and Floating Cover system by Gold Alliance for SA Water in Adelaide. The water to be stored in the lagoon is reuse water from the wastewater treatment plant it is treated and recycled water for irrigation purposes. The liner system is a reinforced polypropylene complete with a flownet leak detection layer. Learn more here.;

Access to or from construction sites often involves crossing over very weak or variable ground conditions. Thus, before work can begin on site, engineers are often first challenged with the problem of how they actually get to site. With a couple notes from recent wind farm contructions, Nigel Wrigley of NewGrids Ltd. writes on how geosynthetic reinforcement solutions provide the answer.

The world's largest manufacturer of fiber optic sensors for civil engineering applications and the world's leading provider of geosynthetics are collaborating in the development of a unique geotextile monitoring solution -- TenCate GeoDetect® -- that will provide unprecedented detail about the properties of embankments, slopes, walls, levees, roads, rails and other earth structures. Customers will benefit from the real-time monitoring of every square meter of land for ground movement, soil erosion, settlement and other changes. Read more.

The U.S. needs to spend more than $1 trillion between now and 2035 to upgrade its aging water system, if pipes are replaced at the end of their useful lives, according to a report by the American Water Works Association. "Postponing infrastructure investment in the near-term would raise the overall cost and increase the likelihood of water main breaks and other infrastructure failures," the report noted. The ASCE has reported that $9.4 billion per year needs to be invested between now and 2020. Learn more here.;

Department of the Army U.S. Army Corps of Engineers USACE District, New Orleans This solicitation will be issued as a Request for Proposal (RFP) resulting in the award of a single firm fixed price (FFP) contract. The work consists of clearing and grubbing; placing compacted embankment; fertilizing, seeding, and mulching; placing surfacing material and geotextile fabric; maintaining access/haul road and ramps; and other incidental work. A Request for Proposal will be issued on or about 3 December 2009, and the Proposal Due Date will be on or about 4 January 2010. The estimated value of this work is $25 million to $100 million.

East Coast Erosion Blankets LLC, Bernville, Pa., is proud to announce the hiring of John Ravert, a technical expert in the erosion and sediment control field. John brings a wealth of experience to his new role as Director of Technical Services. He is a CPESC and NICET-certified Erosion and Sediment Control engineering technician and can be reached at +1 610 488 8496, email jravert@eastcoasterosion.com.

China Daily reports that the government of China has closed approximately 46,000 illegal mining firms over the past two years for safety and pollution violations. The country has wrestled with, and granted considerable latitude towards, environmentally damaging practices. The State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) and affiliated agencies have vowed to establish and enforce more stringent mining regulations. Learn more here.;

The Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA) and the Environment Agency have awarded a US$436 million contract for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of the world’s largest strategic water project to a joint venture between Arabian Construction Co (ACC) and POSCO Engineering and Construction Co (POSCO). Learn more here.;

The 12th International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium (Sardinia 2009) will be held in Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy) from 5 - 9 October 2009. Though organizers have received more than 700 abstracts, they are extending the call to 15 April 2009, in part out of deference to potential authors/presenters who were overlooked in emailings from the conference organizers and scientific committee.

The Canadian Young Geotechnical Engineers and Geoscientists Conference is a national specialty conference held every three years and aims to create a relaxed environment where young members of the geoengineering and geoscience communities are provided a great opportunity to share technical knowledge and exchange career experiences. The 3rd cYGEGC will be held 16-18 September 2010 in Waterton Lakes National Park, Calgary. Abstracts of no more than 400 words should be submitted in English or French to the Technical Chairs, Matthew Perras and Maureen White, by 1 February 2010. Learn more here.;

Environmental Connection 2013, annual conference and expo of the International Erosion Control Association (IECA), is the world's largest soil and water event. Combining quality education with a world-class expo, Environmental Connection 2013 is the premier gathering place for the erosion and sediment control community. Don't miss out as Environmental Connection comes to San Diego, 10–13 February 2013. Learn more about the short courses, early registration rate, and much more here.

ASTM International Committee D35 on Geosynthetics has appointed an interim staff manager: Jeff Adkins. He can be contacted at +1 610 832 9738 or jadkins@astm.org. Jeff will attend the committees upcoming meeting in Atlanta (1-3 February 2012). Additional support for D35 will continue to be provided by Barbara Lake, blake@astm.org or +1 610 832 9713. Visit the committee's home page for more information on standards work, publications, symposia and more. Learn more here.;

Professor Imad Al-Qadi, currently the Founder Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, has been named a Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Prof. Al-Qadi is one of 13 ASCE members to earn this honor of distinction in 2010. Among his many career milestones is his work with geosynthetics, including his founding of the Transportation Research Board's (TRB) Subcommittee AFS70-2 on Geosynthetics in Flexible Pavement Systems.

LEED certified buildings require specific products and designs to reduce the building's impact on the local environment. Layfield has a number of key products that can be incorporated into the design of a LEED building to accomplish specific design requirements. Layfield provides a number of products for storm water retention and detention, drainage products for green roofs, and permeable pavements structures. The LEED points available for specific products or product designs can vary by region or source. We invite you to contact Layfield to confirm the LEED points for each product during the design phase of your project. Learn more here.;

Creating a new company called Tuberias Tigre-ADS Limitada will combine ADS corrugated pipe and Tigre's mining, solid wall pipe to expand sales of both products in South America. The financial arrangements of the new joint venture were not disclosed.

INDEX is a triennial conference and exhibition from Edana.  With more than 12,000 attendees and 500 exhibitors, INDEX is the world’s largest nonwovens-related conference. This year, Daniele Cazzuffi (Past...

In New Zealand, the Greater Wellington Water Supply Department has embarked on an ambitious plan to bolster the Stuart Macaskill water storage lakes capacity. The two to three-year project will add at least 13% of supply to the lakes, simply to preventing seepage loss. The old clay-only liners in the lakes will be scraped back and replaced with geosynthetic containment technologies. Learn more here.;

The Hellhole Canyon Preserve in Valley Center, California was damaged during wildfires in 2003 as was nearby William Heise Park in Julian. County officials have budgeted more than $230,000 for erosion control and trail restoration schemes. An additional $67,000 has been set aside for the El Capitan Open Space Preserve in Lakeside. Learn more here.;

The Montmorency Oscoda Alpena Solid Waste Management Authority Board in Michigan needs to cap a waste cell. Initial feelings were to use only clay as a temporary bandage; but the board is now leaning towards a linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) cap in order to provide a longer-term solution and leachate control. Learn more here.;

On his recent trip to Abu Dhabi, where he attended (and spoke at) the 4th Geosynthetics Middle East conference, Ian Peggs learned not only that a Canadian passport will not get you a visa to the UAE but that the constraints and barriers to geosynthetics continue to drop and understanding continues to grow. It's all part of an international dialogue. Read his latest contribution from the field.

ASTM Interntional Committee D35 on Geosynthetics has established work item WK29397, "Standard Practice for Exposure and Retrieval of Samples to Evaluate Installation Damage of Geosynthetics." It is a work item revision to existing standard D5818-06. After the winter meeting in San Antonio it was voted to make modifications on section 7.1.7 of the standard. This ballot ONLY changes the existing paragraph to a clearer paragraph. Learn more here.;

The International Association of Hydro-Engineering and Research (IAHR) will hold a workshop on "Geosynthetics and Modern Materials for Coastal Proction and Related Applications" on 6-7 August 2010 at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM). This event is being organized in conjunction with the 9th International Conference on Hydro-Science and Engineering (ICHE 2010). Read more about the presentations.

In mid-November 2009, The Geosynthetic Insitute (GSI) - Taiwan held the 4th installment in its series of interntaional geosynthetics conferences in Taiwan. This series has brought expert speakers in from around the world and allowed attendees from across Asia and further to connect with researchers, manufacturers and others in Taiwan's region. Dr. C. Wayne Hsieh, director of GSI Taiwan, has sent along a couple photographs from the gathering.

Glenn Darilek and Daren Laine of Leak Location Services Inc. (LLSI) have published a thought-provoking piece on Action Leakage Rates (ALR) over on the redesigned Geosynthetics Magazine website. At open, Darilek and Laine note not that a certain ALR is achievable with good construction practices but whether there is a practical solution if it is not. Read "A new sensible approach: Are we specifying action leakage rates or actionable leakage rates?" online. Learn more here.;

Applied Market Information's (AMI) 8th annual Polyethylene Films conference will take place 18-19 March 2010 in Daytona Beach, Florida. The event will include Resin 2 Revenue’s Blown Film Symposium. Preferable pricing is available through 24 September 2009. View the brochure in PDF for registration information and the call for presentations. Learn more here.;