What civil engineers are reading this week

• Houston’s bold plan: Transition to surface water usage with big water pipes

  The nation’s fourth-largest city, which manages more than $1.2 billion worth of capital improvement projects for the region’s water system, will steer the area away from groundwater usage.

• This longstanding Texas coal mine will soon be home to a 1.2-gigawatt solar farm

  Construction is underway on a $1.7 billion solar and battery storage project in Texas that will turn existing coal mining land into a hub of clean energy generation.

• ‘What's in it for me?’ People more likely to help the environment when it benefits them

  Focusing on how volunteering can benefit participants, such as providing a new way to meet people or stay active, may encourage people to grab a trash bag and get to work, a new study finds.

• Scientists uncover big clue as to how Antarctica's mysterious Blood Falls came to be

  Brine that feeds the gruesome-looking Blood Falls in East Antarctica may have been emplaced when sea levels were higher than they are now, a new study says.

• To avoid legal entanglements, flag contract inconsistencies before submitting bids

  A recent case underscores how important it is for documents to be viewed as a whole with no assumption that an apparent impossibility erases a requirement.

• Boston’s $10B coastal resilience infrastructure plan wins access to billions in federal funding

  The city qualifies for a 65% federal cost share following a U.S. Army Corps feasibility study, paving the way for more than 20 flood-protection projects expected to prevent $41 billion in damages.