Start the week with the latest in the geoengineering world. Here's the GeoWire conversation for the week of June 15. WORK SMARTER. BIG PROJECTS On June 8, the California State Assembly approved an expedited USD $576 million for the much needed Anderson Dam Seismic Retrofit Project. The bill's author, Assemblyman Robert Rivas (D-Hollister, Calif.), warned of "catastrophic" failure if a large...

On this day in history (June 11), in 1776, the Second Continental Congress formed the Committee of Five, which was charged with drafting the Declaration of Independence. The team of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman made quick work of their committee assignment--modern committees, take note!--returning in only a couple weeks with one...

The Canadian Geotechnical Society’s annual conference was to be held in Calgary this September, but the local organizing committee made the decision to reschedule the in-person GeoCalgary for 2022. (The 2021 gathering was already scheduled for Niagara Falls.) The CGS, meanwhile, began planning to still hold its annual conference. For the time, it will be a digital event: GeoVirtual...

Though TRI Africa Environmental Services is one of the newest members of TRI’s international group of independent, third-party engineering services providers, it has quickly become South Africa’s leading CQA consulting entity for geosynthetic liner integrity surveys. The company provides essential environmental protection verification, through monitoring geomembrane installations in waste management. It’s also looking out for its immediate community. On 20...

Start the week with the latest in the geoengineering world. Here's the GeoWire conversation for the week of June 8. WORK SMARTER. BIG PROJECTS Nevada might soon host the largest solar power project in U.S. history. A 690-MW solar  electric generating facility has been greenlighted on 7,000 acres outside of Las Vegas. Argentina, Chile, and Boliva's "Lithium Triangle" has been hit hard...

In construction and engineering with geosynthetics, lower price is never a substitute for the value of experience. The cheap can come out quite expensive if you cut out experienced design, specification, installation, and/or CQA. Most preventative measures are low cost in and of themselves, and especially in regards to a typical geosynthetic project's overall budget (in which the geosynthetic...

In 2003, Geosynthetica and Dr. Ian Peggs of I-CORP International began to agitate for the creation of an industry-wide movement on risk management in geosynthetic projects. The initial efforts were launched with a column in GFR magazine (now Geosynthetics). By early 2004, a white paper was drafted to support the creation of the Geosynthetics Risk Management Program. Admittedly, the...

As it nears its 25th anniversary, the MATTEX GROUP continues to expand. The company, which has been a long-time producer of geotextiles, agrotextiles, artificial turf, and more, has announced a significant expansion of its woven geotextile production capacity at facilities in the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. “The increased focus is on the woven geotextiles on...

Oscar Wilde often gets credit for the phrase “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” though Wilde was merely building upon an aphorism popularized earlier in the 19th century by Charles Caleb Colton.  In manufacturing, and especially where patents are involved, imitation can get a little too cozy. It may lead to patent infringement cases. Presto Geosystems has certainly dealt...

After spending a number of years working in Australia’s geosynthetics engineering field, American Joseph Little returned to the States and founded the environmental engineering consultancy firm, Little Environments PLLC in Raleigh, North Carolina. Little brought back considerable insight into the use of geosynthetics in shoreline applications—a major area of engineering in Australia—and a drive to provide, as his website...