What civil engineers are reading this week

• Bad news for Earth: Rainwater is no longer safe to drink, study says

  Even the most remote locations on the planet have rainfall that contains dangerous human-made plastic chemicals.

• Lakes Mead and Powell are at the epicenter of the biggest Western drought in history

  Nowhere is the Southwest drought more evident than at the pair of artificial Colorado River reservoirs whose plunging levels threaten major water and power sources for tens of millions of people.

• Most electric vehicles won't qualify for federal tax credit

  A tax credit of up to $7,500 could defray the cost of an electric vehicle under the Inflation Reduction Act. But the auto industry warns most purchases won’t qualify for a credit that large.

• Biden’s landmark climate and spending bill – what’s in it, and what got cut?

  The Inflation Reduction Act is a far cry from Biden’s original ambition, but it nonetheless represents victory for the presidentJoe Biden’s $740bn package tackling climate, the deficit and healthcare that has just passed the Senate and is almost certain now to become law is a far cry from his original even bigger ambitions, but it still represents a major triumph for the president.The bill – the Inflation Reduction Act – was virtually dead in the water before a last-minute turnaround by the conservative West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin saw it suddenly revived. Continue reading...

• World's largest variable diameter TBM breaks through on flood protection tunnel

  The tunnel boring machine, known as Big Tex, completed its record-breaking work to drive a new flood relief tunnel in Dallas.

• Senate votes to overturn Biden environmental rule on infrastructure

  The vote signaled strong Senate support for action to reform the often demanding federal permitting process, which can take up to eight to 10 years for highways and other major projects.