HW5 and 6: Civil Engineering Controversies, Disasters, and Successes
The purpose of this assignment is to research events in the news that are associated with Civil
Engineering. You will rate your top three choices on a sign-up sheet, and be assigned to one of
the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Alamosa, CO, Drinking Water contamination, spring 2008; environmental
Midwest Levee failures, summer 2008; water resources, geotechnical, environmental
Destruction during earthquake in Sichuan China, 2008; construction and structures
Minneapolis interstate bride collapse, 2007; structures, construction
New Orleans flooding during Hurricane Katrina, Aug/Sept 2005; structures, geotechnical,
water resources, environmental, construction
6. Arsenic in water supplies in Bangladesh, etc; water resources, environmental, geotech
7. World Trade Center twin towers collapse & rebuilding; structures
8. Air pollution in Beijing, China, summer Olympics; environmental, transportation
9. US 36 expansion plans (on-going): EIS; transportation,
10. Poudre River Dam, Colorado (current); water resources, environmental, structural
11. Three Gorges Dam, China; structures, geotech, construction, water resources,
environmental
12. Structures built for the 2008 summer Olympics, China; structures, construction
Homework 5 [30 pts; submit powerpoint slides via CULearn by 1 pm Nov 11]:
Make 1 to 3 slides highlighting key points about your topic, that you will share in 4-min
presentation to a break-out group.
Describe the problem
Discuss civil engineering contributions – to problem, solution, types of CVENs, etc.
You should have your paper mostly done BEFORE you try to make your slides (see Homework
6).
Use a minimum font size of 20 for text on the slides.
Include some interest – such as pictures, diagrams
The first slide should include a TITLE (your assigned topic) and your name
Slide information (research on topic evident, linked to engineering) 15 pts
Slide format (font sizes, interest, layout) 10 pts
In-class discussion: your rating of other presentations; student ratings of your info 5 pts
Homework 6 [80 pts; due before 2 pm on November 18]:
Write a paper that includes the following information and answers the following questions.
Note that questions/comments during your in-class discussion on Nov. 11 may help identify
weaknesses in your information that you can address before submitting your paper.
Submit an MS Word or PDF file via CULearn.
Format hint: give your paper a title that makes it clear which topic you were assigned; include
your name, course, date
1) Give an overview of the problem or project; highlight engineering-related aspects [15 pts]
Discuss if the root of the problem was man-made (in the design itself; human pressures
on water resources/transportation infrastructure; human desire) and/or largely beyond human
control (such as extreme weather, earthquake, etc.)
2) Describe how Civil Engineers contributed to the initial structure(s) or situation that may have
contributed to the failure or disaster. [15 pts]
- For topics 1-8: Could changes have been made that would have avoided or minimized
the problem? Why/why not?
- For topics 8-12: discuss negative effects that resulted/may result from the project; how
were/are these being minimized
3) [15 pts] For topics 1-8: Describe how Civil Engineers contributed to studying the problem or
solving the problem once it occurred
For topics 9-12: How did engineers plan for and avoid potential problems; what lessons
can be learned for other similar projects
4) Summarize your thoughts
Do you want to work on this type of project or issue in your own career? Why or why
not? [5 pts]
What was most unexpected about what you learned? [2 pts]
What do you still want to know, but couldn’t find out about your situation/project? [2 pts]
5) References
Include in-text citations to information used in your paper [3 pts]
Include a final list at the end that includes complete bibliographic information. [4 pts]
References can include websites.
A minimum of 2 references is required (at least 1 must be a publication); if only websites
are used, a minimum of 6 different websites is required. [3 pts]
- Written report format: typed (12 pt font, single spaced, 1” margins); complete sentences;
correct spelling; layout (includes headings, etc); name on all pages; pages numbered; includes
some interest (pictures, tables, figures, etc.; no more than 1 page of overall report) 8 pts
- Overall length (should be 3-6 pgs) 8 pts
Links to more information on the Civil Engineering-related Projects and Incidents:
Alamosa Water, spring 2008: 200 to 400 residents in Alamosa, CO, were sickened when the city
water supply became contaminated with Salmonella. It is still unclear how the bacteria got into
the water. However, Alamosa is one of the few communities that did not disinfect its water
before distribution. High dose chlorination was used to clear the water system, and long term the
community plans to continue disinfection of its water. During the outbreak, citizens were
required to use bottled water, although during the high chlorine treatment there was also a time
when the residents could not use their tap water even for showers.
http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/epr/alamosa.html
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_8644831
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/21/health/main3959537.shtml?source=RSSattr
=Health_3959537
http://www.newsinferno.com/archives/2789
http://medical.presslib.com/infectious-diseases/791324.htm
Midwest floods and Levees, summer 2008
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/weather/jan-june08/leveetrouble_06-17.html
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/jun2008/flds-j18.shtml
http://newsok.com/midwest-flooding-may-cause-more-leveeoverflows/article/3259042/?tm=1213809669
Destruction during earthquake in China, May 2008: The 8.0 magnitude Sichuan earthquake
killed more than 70,000 and injured ~370,000 people. The collapse of some schools has been
blamed on faulty construction and/or design.
http://www.eeri.org/lfe/china_sichuan.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7397489.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7449814.stm
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=12619&size=A
http://www.heritage.org/Research/AsiaandthePacific/wm1971.cfm
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gBr_dOzJ9Pnc_U9gSgtTgE-cR-KwD91CEGP80
Minneapolis bride collapse, August 2007: On August 1, 2007, a bridge on Interstate 35W over
the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, MN, collapsed. This 1,900 ft long steel bridge
experienced a failure in the superstructure that caused the center span to fall into the river. 13
people died. The bridge was under construction during the collapse, so the loading conditions
were unusual. Investigation is on-going but it has been found that gussett plates were sized
incorrectly.
http://www.ntsb.gov/Recs/letters/2008/H08_1.pdf
http://www.asce.org/response.html
http://www.asce.org/files/pdf/pressroom/ASCE-T&I_Committee_Sept_5_2007_bridges.pdf
http://www.asce.org/files/pdf/pressroom/ASCE_Senate_EPW_Bridges_Sept_20_2007.pdf
http://www.asce.org/files/pdf/pressroom/ASCE_Bridge_Inspections_Oct_23_2007.pdf
http://www.seas.virginia.edu/enews/enews_aug07/bridge.php
http://www.coe.berkeley.edu/news-center/publications/forefront/forefront-fall-2007/inthe-news/201cperfect-storm201d-caused-minneapolis-bridge-collapse
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1649423,00.html?cnn=yes
http://notfromaroundhere.wordpress.com/2007/08/03/minneapolis-bridge-collapse-engineering-aspects/
New Orleans flooding during Hurricane Katrina, Aug/Sept 2005
http://www.asce.org/files/pdf/ERPreport.pdf [this counts as a publication, not just a
website]
US 36 expansion: A study is currently underway to determine the best way to expand the US36
corridor from Denver to Boulder. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was released
in fall 2007 and public comments received. This is a required process to build consensus. Work
is proceeding on the Combined Alternative that includes mass transit, additional lanes, and a
bikeway. The final EIS will identify the preferred alternative and its impacts.
http://www.us36eis.com/
https://www.communicationsmgr.com/projects/US36/docs/Executive_Summary.pdf
https://www.communicationsmgr.com/projects/US36/docs/2008-0118US36DEISPublicCommentExecutiveSummary.pdf
http://www.ci.boulder.co.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=237&Itemid=1206
Poudre River Dam, Colorado,
https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/html/od-tl/eis/nisp.deis.exec-summary.apr08.pdf
https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/html/od-tl/eis/nisp.deis.apr08.pdf (full document)
http://www.northfortynews.com/News/20080601GladeDebate.htm
Three Gorges Dam, China
http://www.icivilengineer.com/Big_Project_Watch/Three_Gorges/
Arsenic in water supplies in Bangladesh, etc;
http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~asrg/00SmithContamDWBngldsh.pdf
http://www.unesco.org/courier/2001_01/uk/planet.htm
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2002/bangladesh.html
World Trade Center building collapse:
http://architecture.about.com/od/worldtradecenter/World_Trade_Center_Terrorist_Attacks.htm:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/12/011204072931.htm
http://www.civil.usyd.edu.au/wtc.shtml
http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/0112/Eagar/Eagar-0112.html
http://www.ae91truth.org
Summer Olympics 2008 structures in China:
http://hrichina.org/public/PDFs/CRF.2.2005/2.2005-RF-Olympics.pdf
http://www.symscape.com/blog/beijing-2008-olympics-civil-engineering
http://www.industrial-embedded.com/news/db/?12577
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/05/sports/olympics/05swim.html?ref=science#
http://en.beijing2008.cn/56/40/article212064056.shtml
http://en.beijing2008.cn/venues/nst/index.shtml
http://www.arup.com/arup/newsitem.cfm?pageid=1098
http://www.arup.com/eastasia/project.cfm?pageid=2184
http://www.arup.com/eastasia/newsitem.cfm?pageid=11112
Air pollution China, 2008 Olympics:
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=32097
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7569876.stm