Containment

Maccaferri, a leading provider of Civil Engineering and Environmental solutions for over 130 years, has developed the MacDam™ to control ash and fine sediment runoff on burned or barren slopes. Fire is an ever present force in forests and rangeland and is an important natural process in the renewal of ecosystems. However, as human populations expand, people and their homes, businesses and public infrastructure are not only threatened by the incidence of natural and man-induced wildfires, but ultimately areas affected by fire can succumb to a secondary disaster resulting from the erosion of barren soils.

The City of South Pittsburg has filed a lawsuit against engineering firm James C. Hailey & Company and W&O Construction Company, Inc. James C. Hailey & Company, of Nashville, is the City's engineer and W&O Construction Company, Inc., of Livingston, Tenn., was hired to build a new sewage treatment lagoon for the South Pittsburg Water and Sewer Company. Read more. Learn more here.;

Registration is open for the GeoHydraulics Workshop in New Orleans, Louisiana. The two-day event will be held November 8 - 9 and bring together...

Starting next season the European and Dutch national champion Hockey Club Bloemendaal will play its home matches on a Triple-T System hockey pitch. After MHC Ede, HC Bloemendaal is the second field hockey club in the Netherlands to have a pitch based on the Triple-T System. This system is entirely focused on optimum player comfort, high ball speed and low friction in both wet and dry conditions. These characteristics, which support the high-grade technical game, were the main reasons for HC Bloemendaal to opt for this system. TenCate supplied the artificial grass fibers. Learn more in the release.

A couple years ago, Geofabrics Australasia helped a private landowner correct beachfront erosion and provide a long-term shoreline protection strategy. The landowner sent a photograph to Geofabrics this week of the coastline at high tide. The geotextile bag design is providing exemplary support. Settlement and erosion are not appearing. The installation remains strong. "The View from..." is a continuing series of photographs from the field. Share your geosynthetics success. Email the editor, Chris Kelsey, at chris@geosynthetica.net.

Geosynthetica has reached a major milestone: its 20th anniversary of delivering geosynthetics stories! In internet years, that’s a long, long time. The publication was...

In September 2014, a new mining conference focused on the utilization of geosynthetics within this vital global engineering sector will convene. From 8-11 September...

Houston-based GSE Lining Technology has announced the appointment of Steve Eckhart to the Vice President of Sales & Marketing, North American Operations position. Mr. Eckhart is an industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience. He has worked for GSE before and is well-familiar with its product lines and applications expertise. Congratulations are due to him on his appointment, and a warm welcome back.

A new effort by the LSU AgCenter to streamline biofuels research may have a positive impact on local sugar cane, forestry and other agricultural producers while increasing the Louisiana's use of biofuels. For example, timber processing leaves behind tons of branches, bark and debris -- biomass -- that can be converted to biofuel. Algae aquaculture also could generate significant biomass for fuel, and has been a subject of intense research nationally and at the AgCenter. Learn more here.;

More about John Greenwood's SELOC (Self-Erecting Low-Cost Barrier) system from an October 2009 article in a Nottingham newspaper. It's an interesting stormwater and flood management system. Learn more here.;

The early registration deadline for GeoHalifax 2009 is 17 July 2009. Full conference registration includes membership in either the Canadian Geosynthetics Society (CGS) or the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) - Canada National Chapter (CNC). Take advantage of the preferential pricing and membership offer. Conference fees increase $100 after 17 July. Secure registration for this 20-24 September 2009 (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) event is available online. Learn more here.;

The PG&E partnership with BioEnergy Solutions in California to harvest animal waste methane and convert it to residential power has gained the notice of newspapers and agencies around the world. A Malaysian newspaper has published an article on the project and included a photograph of a BioEnergy Solutions executive walking across the membrane cover atop one of the massive waste lagoons. Learn more here.;

The March 2011 Geosynthetic Institute conference (GRI-24) included an intriguing presentation from Profs. Hsuan and Olson regarding the role of geomembranes in algae production. The two investigated the potential interaction between geosynthetic technologies (e.g., geomembrane tubes, covers and floating bags) and this fast-growing sector for biomass energy. They also identified how waste streams from municipal solid waste landfills may potentially be used as feedstocks to cultivate algae for the production of biodiesel. Learn more here.;

Many levees in California are in need of repair, according to experts. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pledged $500 million to upgrade the state's levee system, but the Army Corps of Engineers -- which is busy in Afghanistan -- is needed to fix most of the levees, an official said. Without repairs, a levee failure in the Sacramento area could hamper the ability of 25 million Californians to secure fresh water, experts noted. Learn more here.;

An amended release on the 2008-2009 GSI Fellowships awards is now posted. One of the research topics was incorrectly listed in the original release.

A "Natural Cap Conference" will take place in Amsterdam, the Netherlands from 19-21 April 2011 to address green rehabilitation strategies and opportunities for hazardous waste sites. The event is rooted in the success of the innovative Volgermeerpolder project in the Netherlands. In that remediation work, which will conclude on the opening day of the conference, local peat lands exhibited excellent containment capabilities. Using peat instead of expensive construction materials in the remediation design resulted in significant reductions in the project cost. This natural cap solution was made possible through intelligent an use of geosynthetics, including fiber optic-optimized monitoring geosynthetics from TenCate. Download the event flyer.

On 5 November 2015, a catastrophic tailings dam failure occurred at an iron ore mine in Brazil. The reported  death toll from...

Alpharetta, GA - Terminus, the first occupant of the massive LakePoint Sporting Community & Town Center Complex in Emerson, GA, is a cable-pulled Wake...

On 29 January 2010, ASTM Committee D35 on Geosynthetics and the Geosynthetic Research Institute (GRI) will host a workshop in San Antonio, Texas on "Geosynthetic Material Durability: Field and Laboratory Experiences." David Suits, executive director of the North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS), reports that GRI's Bob and George Koerner are still open for receiving abstracts for the event. This one-day sympomsium will not require a full paper; only an extended abstract. For more information, please contact George Koerner at gkoerner@dca.net or Sam Allen at SAllen@tri-env.com. Learn more here.;

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (ADS) is continuing to expand its product line by acquiring the assets of another leading manufacturer of concrete drainage structures, Frederick Precast Concrete, Inc. (Greencastle, Pennsylvania). Known for its custom as well as stock structures, Frederick Precast is being added to ADS' other recent acquisitions enabling it to provide a complete line of sanitary, storm and water structures to the mid-Atlantic United States. ADS purchased the Foltz Concrete Pipe Company of Winston-Salem, North Carolina in April and Piedmont Concrete of Pineville, North Carolina in May.

Military efforts along the Gulf Coast continue today as part of the federal response force to clean up the oil spill. About 1,900 Defense Department and associated personnel are deployed to the Gulf. They are providing ongoing support to contain the leak and clean up the spill, including military-owned skimmers and pollution control equipment. The American Forces Press Services has published a piece that shows one of the many ways the military is combatting the oil spill: through the installation of separation and erosion controlling geotextile underlay with rock wall berms.

Stormwater industry leaders Craig Beatty, John Moll, and David Mongeau have co-authored an introduction to the newly formed Stormwater Equipment Manufacturers Association (SWEMA). They write, "The stormwater sector needs to band together for a common cause. We need to support the regulatory and engineering communities, as well as the individual cities and states now grappling with how to implement Clean Water Act and other stormwater regulations." Read more in their message and about SWEMA here.

By Chris Kelsey – This is Part 1 of 2 of a profile. Part 1, based on an interview with HUESKER North America's first...

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation says it will continue to release water from a southwest Nebraska reservoir to relieve stress on a damaged dam. The bureau says it found cracks in the Red Willow Dam's embankment. Engineers have been examining the structure since a sinkhole was discovered in October. Red Willow Dam is 126 feet tall and it forms a reservoir of 85,070 acre-feet. It's located about 11 miles north of McCook. Learn more here.;

ASTM Committee D35 on Geosynthetics has announced the approval of a new standard: D7852 - Standard Practice for Use of an Electrically Conductive Geotextile for Leak Location Surveys. Developed by Committee D35.10 (Subcommittee on Geomembranes), the scope aims for the standard to be "applicable to all types of geoelectric surveys when there is otherwise not a conductive layer under the geomembrane."