What civil engineers are reading this week

• The ‘100-year flood’: How the language of risk has to evolve

  Engineers need to help resolve the public’s misunderstanding about flood risk given how the “100-year” term has been used at a time when storms seem more frequent, says an expert in water resilience. 

• Designers begin work on $1.9B California dam upgrade

  The dam, which requires upgrades to meet modern seismic standards, is key to utilizing the Anderson Reservoir, the largest surface reservoir in Santa Clara County.

• EPA to make $10.8M grant available for water recruitment, training

  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announces the availability of $10.8 million in grant funding to support training for the water sector workforce. 

• If bridges could talk, this one would recount a legendary saxophonist’s reinvention

  Sonny Rollins could have gone anywhere to recharge his career. So why did he choose New York City’s Williamsburg Bridge? Read the latest from ASCE’s resident bridge expert/humorist Brian Brenner.

• Natural gas drilling could raise salt levels and boost radium levels in water

  Higher salt concentrations in samples taken near energy extraction sites indicate natural gas drilling might contribute to elevated salinity in the ground, in turn releasing heavy metals into drinking water.

• New bridge made fully of fiber-reinforced polymers paves way for future projects

  Two 50-year-old bridges that provided the only vehicle access and evacuation route for Harkers Island, North Carolina, were replaced with a modern, 3,200-foot-long fiber-reinforced bridge in 2023.