Contents

USE IT OR LOSE IT

YOUR DRINKING WATER; SOME PLAIN TALK

CITY USES NEW TECHNOLOGY TO REBUILD STREET

WHAT DO YOU NEED? THE CHANGING TIMES

by Glenn D. Cooley, P.E.

Use it or lose it, or in this case record it or lose it. If your public works superintendent quits or retires tomorrow do you know what he knew? Do you know what his schedule for street resurfacing was or where the spare parts inventory is located? Are the water system and sewer system maps up to date and are extra copies stored away? These are just a few items that need to be recorded whether it's the public works department, highway department or the wastewater treatment plant. There is a wealth of information stored in a persons brain that goes with him when he leaves or gets lost in the jumble of notes or sketches in the desk drawer.

Good records creation and retention practices are important to all departments not just the clerk's office. Schedules and procedures need to be in a formal "book" or manual. Maps should be updated as improvements are constructed and spare copies stored in a separate location.

E&M offers services that may be of interest to you. First, for the price of a mylar copy we will store maps for you as an off site facility. Copies can be made any time, at your request. Second, we can update your maps with your new facilities. This applies to both paper and CADD maps.

If you want to truly get up to date we can transfer your paper maps to digital (CADD) format and "burn" them onto a permanent CD-ROM for safe keeping. We can also provide access to low cost viewer software so that you can look at and print your maps from your own computer.

We are also available to provide low cost computer data bases for your departments of highways, water, sewer, etc. You provide the information you want organized, we setup the data and provide the software.

YOUR DRINKING WATER; SOME PLAIN TALK

By: Jeffrey C. Bahret, P.E.

Without water there would be no life on earth. It is only because of the unique physical/chemical qualities of water that living biochemical systems can function. Of these characteristics, most important is the capability of water to act as a solvent for a wide variety of substances. Biochemical reactions take place because chemicals dissolved in water can come in contact with each other to react in the various functions of living cells.

Although the solvent nature of water makes life possible, this characteristic also causes a variety of problems with the water we drink. In addition to all the essential minerals which may be dissolved in our water supply, water can also have dissolved in it such substances as pesticides, arsenic, sodium, nitrites, mercury, acids, alkalis and any number of potentially harmful and troublesome chemicals.

Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, public water supplies are unacceptable if the water continues to exceed the Maximum Contaminate Level (MCL) for any of the primary standards, all of which are of health significance. Similarly, the Safe Drinking Water Act Secondary Standards MCLs are used to establish an aesthetic classification system.

Now, how small do we measure these primary and secondary constituents when dealing with a water supply? Most of the impurities found in water are measured in milligrams per liter (mg/l). This is also expressed, not quite so precisely, as parts per million (ppm). For all practical purposes, these two measurements are equal.

As we are not familiar with these value of measurements, just how much is this in ordinary terms? First, if you cut a U.S. nickel into five thousand pieces, each piece would weigh one milligram and one liter is a bit more than one quart, so a milligram per liter is one five thousandth the weight of a nickel in one quart of liquid. Or, if you visualize better in other media, picture these examples of one part per million:

one drop of vermouth in 16 gallons of gin, or

one large mouthful in a lifetime of eating, or

one thirty-second of an inch on a football field, or

one ounce of cream in 7,813 gallons of coffee.

CITY USES NEW TECHNOLOGY TO REBUILD STREET

By: Roy R. Pedersen, P.E.

The City of Bradford, PA is currently rebuilding a 1700' portion of their High Street.

This street is an old brick street which has been overlaid with asphalt. The width was insufficient for the large trucks that needed to use the street, so the City decided to widen it by six feet.

The old curbs are being removed and replaced. The new curbs are being replaced by a slip forming process which eliminates the need to set up forms, and then remove them after the curb is hardened. This process uses very low slump (stiff) concrete and basically extrudes the curb in the proper shape and size at a pace of 5-7 feet per minute. Approximately 1700' of curbing was installed in one day.

Another new technology being utilized on the project is geotextile fabric. Three different types of geotextiles are called for on this project.

The first type is a Class I fabric which is used to line the underdrain trench. This fabric will permit water from the subgrade to flow into the underdrain while keeping the very fine soil particles out. This allows the underdrain to remain free of clogging and continue to serve its purpose.

The second type of geotextile being used is a Class 4 fabric to separate the new granular subbase material from the original ground it is placed on. This is a non woven fabric which resembles a thin, black wool blanket. It keeps the granular material from mixing with the silty soils underneath, thereby allowing the newly widened section to maintain its strength. This fabric is water permeable also.

The third type of geotextile to be used on this project is a paving fabric which will be placed over the joint between the existing pavement and the new pavement before the new wearing surface is placed. This material will help keep the joint from cracking at the interface between the old road and the widened portion.

By using these new technologies, the City hopes to realize better life and performance from this project than would have been possible prior to their development.

WHAT DO YOU NEED?   THE CHANGING TIMES

By: James A. Nearhood, PLS

Back in 1974 when I obtained my NYS Professional Land Surveyors License a client would order a survey, be it boundary or topographic, we would do the proper research, field work, mapping, sign and seal the prints and mail it out with an invoice. This is not the case today. A surveyor in the current market must ask many questions and get a great amount of feed back from his client. Now, a boundary survey can be as simple as a monumented subdivision lot, or a complete multi-layered CADD drawing computer file, or a stuffy-legalese filled ALTA/ACSM title survey. Let me explain the several directions our products can take and their requirements.

The Client, when ordering the survey, be it the owner, attorney, architect or contractor, must first be in contact with the other parties that will rely on and use the map for their purposes. Each of the above map users have different needs and sometimes the time schedule also dictates the services needed. Communication and understanding is the key.

Another factor to consider is who will rely on and use the map in the future? My discussion in this issue will consider one common map use, basic residential.

The Basic Residential Survey would seem to be one map that has stayed the same over time. Not so, there is a variety of needs, uses and requirements that come into play. These can be listed as the following types of surveys: sale, refinance, construction and dispute.

A Sale requires a map that will fill the following needs and uses that are sometimes conflicting. This survey is usually ordered by the seller or his attorney

The Seller only wants a map that will get the lot sold and no more. Since it is usually the last thing ordered by his attorney it must be done quickly and as cheaply as possible, as it is coming out of his pocket. Once the sale is closed he can walk away and not look at the map again.

The Purchaser would like a map that shows the lot he is buying in great detail. It should show the house with dimensions, driveway, landscaping, sidewalks, light poles, hydrants for fire protection, decks, pool, fences, satellite dish, etc. It will be used to find his staked property corners and as a base map for future improvements. The maps will be used for the full term of ownership and relied upon for the future sale of the property.

The Attorneys involved in the sale are looking out for their client's best interests and needs. They need a map which proves that the property and improvements do exist and are, within reasonable accuracy, in the proper place. The map should enable the seller to transfer ownership with a warranty deed. It should also enable the buyer to obtain financing and zoning uses, offsets could become an issue.

Title Insurance is usually needed when financing. The bank's attorney will contact the title insurance company's title attorney. Both of the users have their own survey and mapping requirements and standards. These two attorneys usually have no contact with the seller who ordered the survey. Problems arise when the survey is completed for the seller and then the title attorney would like the map changed or additional information put on to suit his title policy. Should there be a charge for this additional cost and service? Who should pay for it?

As I said before, communication between the concerned parties prior to the survey and mapping would streamline the process and the surveyor could produce a product that would suit the needs of parties involved.

In the next issue I will continue this discussion about other types of residential surveys.