Ground Improvement

On November 7, residents of Austin, Texas will vote on $567.4 million bond proposal to improve water quality, largely through flood control, erosion control and drainage management measures. Read about it online. (But how will Austin-based TRI's employees vote?) Learn more here.;

New for the next CONEXPO-CON/AGG exposition, to be held in 2011, is the co-location of the 2011 International Concrete Exposition, also known as ICON Expo. The shows will be held 22-26 March 2011 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, USA. ICON Expo is organized by the National Concrete Masonry Association (NCMA) in conjunction with other leading industry groups, and serves the needs and interests of the concrete products industry, including producers, suppliers, designers, architects, and specifiers. The expo rounds out exhibits with product demonstrations, a robust education program and social networking events. Read more in the release.

The Pelekane Bay Watershed Restoration Project in Hawaii is ambitious, to say the least. The rural watershed is being transformed, after years of severe erosion and sediment flowing into Kawaihae Harbor. Nearly 400 acres are being restored to their natural vegetation. Roughly 13 acres of erosion control blankets have been installed. More than 50 check dams and 30 dams, many of which are stone wrapped in synthetic netting, are being completed. The work should be finished by December 2010. Learn more here.;

Well, this is interesting. Geosynthetics are rarely introduced to students in early education; but Andrew Harris, a high school junior in Riviera Beach, Florida, will compete in the Palm Beach County Science and Engineering Fair with his study "Geosynthetics: Creating a Stronger Soil." Harris did tests with soil samples for his project research. Read about it in the Sun-Sentinel. Learn more here.;

Mark A. Smith, CEO of Geospatial Holdings, Inc., a developer and producer of technologies and services for identifying and managing underground pipeline assets, has written an article published in the April issue of Water and Wastes Digest magazine. In the article, titled "3D Mapping and GIS: Key Tools for Utility Line Maintenance," Mr. Smith highlights the use of Geospatial's Smart Probe™ technology to help complete a project involving the mapping of water and sewer lines undertaken by the Town of Oak Island, North Carolina.

Dave Presby, of Presby Environmental, Inc, based in the North Country town of Whitefield, has been in the wastewater treatment business a long time. His dad started the company in 1948, and Dave Presby began installing septic systems at the age of 15, which gives him 45 years experience. He's now designed a pipe system that treats effluent as it passes through. Learn more here.;

APWA's Sustainability in Public Works Conference offers a meeting place for professionals in both the public and private sectors for the sharing of innovative ideas in sustainability. With the industry's newest processes and technologies available at this event, attending can prove to be a truly important investment in your community's (or business's) future. The event takes place 27-29 June 2011 in Portland, Oregon. Read more from APWA (PDF).

Designer Godefroy de Virieu and landscapers Louis de Fleurieu and Virgile Desurmont wanted to create a garden system that could accommodate more mobile lifestyle. With the help of strong geotextiles and plant dividers, they've created a system called BACSAC. Models include geotextile cubes and boxes to simple backpack-style sacks that can be clipped to railings. Learn more here.;

The Erosion Control Technology Council provides a voice for the large field of professionals who focus on engineering solutions to control soil loss and assist with vegetation establishment.  One...

The December 2009 issue of NAUE News is an important issue, for after 12 years of publication the newsletter has been given a fresh new design loaded with even more article content. This issue contains a rather diverse range of applications, from water storage for ski resorts to landfill capping; noise protection to road reinforcement; and so much more. These articles take readers around the world: Bali's first modern landfill, the Montana Department of Transportation's geogrid reinforcement study, a Polish paper company's waste management, and so forth. Keep up with the latest in NAUE News (PDF).

Residents along one of central Auckland’s busiest streets are preparing to fight plans that will see it dug up twice in a year. Residents of Curran St are less than impressed by plans to dig up the road to lay a watermain after an $800,000 upgrade in January 2009. That upgrade installed geotextiles for stabilization, but the trench work would have to slice through the cloth, undermining that protection. Learn more here.;

The geosynthetics industry has learned that Samir T. Badawi has died while traveling in Germany. Badawi has served as chairman of Houston-based Gundle/SLT Environmental Inc.'s (GSE) Board of Directors since 1995 and as company CEO since 1998. In that time, the company expanded steadily, building upon what was already a highly respected name in geosynthetic manufacturing. Badawi's considerable global business experience proved to be a good fit for GSE, which has operations around the world. Not only did he oversee GSE's important merger with SLT/ Environmental, but its acquisition by a private equity firm (Code, Hennessy & Simmons). Read more.

Selectmen voted to spend $117,000 to fix several sinkholes at the Captains Golf Course in Brewster, Massachusetts. Decaying tree stumps that were buried when the course was built has caused the sinkholes. The course will use a high tech wire mesh (Tensar Geogrid), buried with stone and sand to limit the sinking. Learn more here.;

HUESKER Synthetic GmbH writes on the beneficial impact reinforcement geosynthetics (e.g., geogrids) have on the reduction of greenhouse gases in construction. The company writes, "whether or not it is about building a house, acquiring a new car or choosing a new power supply company, sustainability is to an increasing extent a core selection criterion for consumers. Only if a house meets the latest requirements on insulation or even if it can be classified as a low energy house does it satisfy the aspirations of the modern householder. When making their decision to buy a new car, the following criteria play an increasingly important role. It should not only have as much power as possible, but it should also have low fuel consumption and create low CO2 emissions." Read more.

The island of Saint Thomas in the US Virgin Islands is one of the Caribbean’s most popular and cosmopolitan destinations. When an aging lining system began to fail...

The deadline to submit presentation abstracts to Sally Humphreys (sh@amiplastics.com) for Waterproof Membranes 2010 is: 28 May 2010. The conference is Applied Market Information's (AMI) 4th international conference on Waterproof Membranes and will be held 30 November - 2 December 2010 at the Maritim Hotel in Cologne, Germany. A welcome reception and registration will be held on the first evening, and the two-day technical program follows. Learn more.

Group CTT publishes a broad resource for the greater geosynthetics and textile industries: Textile Journal. Each issue examines market trends, changes in tests and standards, new opportunities for growth (e.g., nanotechnology), and much more. Read it online. Learn more here.;

By Preston Kendall – The International Geosynthetics Society has set a goal of getting geosynthetics engineering information into undergraduate civil engineering programs. This is being accomplished in part through...

Bernard Myles' funeral will take place at 2 pm on 14 May at Redstone Cemetery, Philanthropic Road, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 4DG, UK. Afterwards there will be a reception at Bletchingley Golf Club, Church Lane, Bletchingley, Surrey, RH1 4LP. Redstone Cemetery is 6 miles from London Gatwick Airport and 1 mile from Redhill station. Note that seating in the cemetery chapel is limited and that some guests may have to stand. For catering purposes Jeanne (Jan) would like to know approximately how many people will come to the reception. If you plan to come, or if you have any other questions, please e-mail or telephone John and Caroline Greenwood, (jandcgreenwood@hotmail.com; 01483 277558). No flowers please. It is planned that donations in Bernard's memory should go towards a bursary for a student of geosynthetics. Further details will be provided.

Geosynthetica’s Director, Elizabeth Peggs, interviewed Dr. Craig Benson (University of Virginia) and engineer John Allen (CETCO) about coal combustion residuals (CCRs) and new barrier system regulations governing CCR handling...

The NAUE Academy puts engineering knowledge at your fingertips through its series of webinars on geotechnical solutions. The free, live webinars address a wide-range of topics in which geosynthetics...

While specifications are to help provide stability, consistency and professionalism in engineering and construction, they can also lead to problems--especially when their authors do not seem to see the full implications of their assumptions. In example, Ian Peggs of I-CORP INTERNATIONAL writes about the placement of leak location in specifications and how some of these specs provide CQC but not real CQA. Errors of assumption like this may lead to facility failures.

The International Geosynthetics Society's (IGS) Indian Chapter (IGS India) has moved forward on its initiative to publish the Indian Journal of Geosynthetics and Ground Improvement on a twice-yearly basis, with the first issue covering January-June and the second issue July-December. Read about the articles in and download the inaugural issue here in PDF, learn about the publication's mission, and download guidelines to help you submit material to the journal.

Through high-level research, testing, and projects, the geosynthetics field is constantly building its durability record for materials and applications. HUESKER is marking another sort of durability anniversary: the success...

By Dr. Yoshihisa Miyata and Dr. Toshifumi Mukunoki - Soil reinforcement has been a significant geotechnical concept since the ancient era. The oldest example is the ziggurat, built by...