ASCE strives to keep its standards up to date with the latest developments in civil engineering.
To stay on top of industry shifts, standards committees assess their standards every five years to evaluate the content’s timeliness. If changes are required, the committee will begin updating the standard, and if not, it is reaffirmed.
A reaffirmed standard means that the committee responsible for the standard does not have any substantive changes to the published standard. Reaffirmed standards are a key part of ASCE’s mission to advance the civil engineering profession for the betterment of all. The process ensures that ASCE standards are reliable, dynamic, and safe.
Similar to a new or updated standard, there is a balloting process for reaffirming ASCE standards, as well as a public comment period. If no substantive changes result after public comment, the reaffirmed standard is approved by the ASCE Codes and Standards Committee. The standard then has (RYEAR) added to the number (e.g., ASCE/EWRI 70-19(R2025).
Recently, several standards committees finished evaluating the need for updates on multiple standards and determined that some were appropriate to reaffirm. ASCE’s Structural Engineering Institute reaffirmed Design and Construction of Frost-Protected Shallow Foundations, SEI/ASCE 32-01. ASCE’s Environmental and Water Resources Institute reaffirmed three standards: Estimation of Aquifer Hydraulic Properties by Inverse Numerical Modeling of Aquifer Pumping Tests, ANSI/ASCE/EWRI 70-19; Calculation of the Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity of Fine-Grained Soils, ANSI/ASCE/EWRI 65-17; and Standard Practice for the Design, Operation, and Evaluation of Supercooled Fog Dispersal Projects, ASCE/EWRI 44-20.
Find out below what each of these standards entails.
Design and Construction of Frost-Protected Shallow Foundations
ASCE/SEI 32-01(R2025) provides guidance on foundation insulation for protecting heated and unheated buildings. It offers step-by-step guidelines referencing design tables, climate maps, and other data “to furnish a complete frost-protection design.”
By using proper foundation insulation techniques, civil engineers can enhance construction efficiency, energy efficiency, and frost protection while minimizing site disturbance.
Estimation of Aquifer Hydraulic Properties by Inverse Numerical Modeling of Aquifer Pumping Tests
Developed by EWRI’s Standards Committee on Fitting of Hydraulic Conductivity Using Statistical Spatial Estimation, or KSTAT, ASCE/EWRI 70-19(R2025) is part of a series of standards designed to improve the probabilistic and empirical characterization and understanding of the saturated hydraulic conductivity groundwater parameter.
This standard includes guidelines for estimating the hydraulic properties of a groundwater system by inverse numerical modeling of aquifer pumping tests where inverse methods based on analytical solutions for aquifer response to pumping are not applicable.
Calculation of the Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity of Fine-Grained Soils
ASCE/EWRI 65-17(R2025) is another installment in the standards series aimed at enhancing the probabilistic characterization of saturated hydraulic conductivity.
This standard offers guidelines for calculating saturated hydraulic conductivity, permeability, and porosity of fine-grained soils.
Standard Practice for the Design, Operation, and Evaluation of Supercooled Fog Dispersal Projects
ASCE/EWRI 44-20(R2025) provides guidelines for programs focused on dispersing supercooled fog. It was published by the Atmospheric Water Management Standards Committee within EWRI.
This standard aims to mitigate negative effects of lengthy periods of fog on various industries, such as aviation, transportation, mining, and agriculture. It covers fog characteristics and supercooled fog dispersal technology and details the process through which supercooled fog dispersal operations should be designed, conducted, and evaluated.
Access the full catalog of ASCE standards at the ASCE Library.
