As long-time readers know, I seldom refer to my work as a geotechnical engineer on this blog. Most of that has to do with the fact that I blog about my interests in politics and other things, apart from my daily work material, but also because there is really not that much to blog about, although some people do devote entire blogs to the subject. Of course, one can find a blog dedicated to nearly any topic, even say, a blog about turtles.

In the news however, is one of my current projects, listed as one of "The 10 Pieces of U.S. Infrastructure We Must Fix Now." The short blurb states, "Ongoing efforts to investigate and repair the levees have been met with opposition from local officials, who question the Corps' analysis." That is both true and false. The Corps is not doing the analysis; I am (along with many, many others). And local officials are more worried about the potential that land will be "taken away," since widening and flattening a levee is typically the easiest and cheapest method for rehabilitation. Where constraints exist that do not allow for that, more expensive options are then evaluated. Most of the property is farmland, however, and in my unofficial opinion, restoring natural drainage is the best long-term solution, but is also the least popular politically.

Labels: misc