CIEG 135 Introduction to Environmental Engineering Fall, 2003
Assignment 4:
Due date: October 29th at beginning of class
Show your work for full credit. Although you may work with classmates in determining how to
solve the problem, your final method must be explained in your own way, and you must be
capable of explaining all aspects of your approach.
1. Chapel Hill North Caroline has decided to build a 15 mile raw water pipeline to allow it to
purchase water from Hillsborough North Carolina, during times of drought. The engineer has
recommended that at 16 inch diameter pipeline be built. The basis for his decision is as follows:
Cost of pipe in the ground Capital cost of pumping
($/ft)
station
Expected annual power
cost
8
5
150,000
10,000
10
8
145,000
8,000
12
12
140,000
7,000
16
14
120,000
6,000
Diameter(inch)
Interest rate is 8%, expected life is 20 years.
a) Compare the four alternatives by calculating the annual cost to Chapel Hill
b) If an engineer is paid on the basis of the capital cost of the total job, which alternative might
he or she recommended if s/he based all decisions on hedonistic ethics?
c) Who might the engineer consider to be his or her 'clients' in this situation? Defend each choice
with a few sentences.
2. Engineer Dianne works for a large international consulting firm that has been retained by a
federal agency to assist in the construction of a natural gas pipeline in Arizona. Her job is to lay
out the centerline of the pipeline according to the plans developed in Washington.
After a few weeks on the job, she is approached by the leaders of a local Navajo village and told
that it seems that the gas line will traverse an ancient sacred Navajo burial ground. She looks on
the map and explains to the Navajo leaders that the initial land survey did not identify any such
burial grounds.
"Yes, although the burial ground has not been used recently, our people believe that in ancient
times this was a burial ground, even though we can not prove it. What matters we can show by
archeological digs that this was indeed a burial ground, but rather that the people believe that it
was. We therefore would like to change the alignment of the pipeline to avoid the mountain."
"I can't do that by myself. I have to get approval from Washington. And whatever is done would
cost a great deal of money. I suggest that you not pursue this further," replies Dianne.
"We already have talked to the people in Washington, and as you say, they insist that in the
absence of archeological proof, they cannot accept the presence of burial ground. Yet to our
people the land is sacred. We would like you to try one more time to divert the pipeline."
"But the pipeline will be buried. Once construction is complete, the vegetation will be restored,
and you will never know the pipeline is there," suggests Dianne.
"Oh, yes. We will know it is there. And our ancestors will know it is there."
The next day Dianne is on the phone with Tom, her boss in Washington and she tells him about
the Navajo visit.
"Ignore them," advises Tom.
"I can't ignore them. They truly feel violated by the pipeline on their sacred land," replies
Dianne.
"If you are going to be so sensitive to every whim and wish of every pressure group, maybe you
shouldn't be on this job," suggests Tom.
What responsibility do engineers have for public attitudes? Should they take into account the
feelings of the public, or should they depend only on hard data and quantitative information?
Should Dianne simply tell the Navajo leaders that she has called Wellington and that they are
sorry, but the alignment cannot be changed? If she believes that the Navajo people have been
wronged, what courses of action does she have? How far should she stick her neck out?
Respond by writing a two-page paper analyzing the ethics of this case. Please read the text
before you write your analysis.
Note: you can e-mail your homework if you prefer. Send it to derya@udel.edu .