September 2014

Great outreach event or other activity? Let the whole Region know! If you’re a local ASCE leader and your Section, Branch, Younger Member Group, or Student Chapter has staged any special events, engaged in outreach from grade-school kids to lawmakers, done charity work, fund raising or anything of the sort, let ASCEnews Weekly know and we may include it in next month’s Region report. You may already have written about it and posted pictures in your newsletter, website, or social media. Share the details and any photos at asce.org/localnews. Got questions? Write to submissions@asce.org. See the other Region reports for August If you live adjacent to a Section in a different Region, or are merely interested in the other Region reports for August, click on each to view them:   Region 1   Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section, Buffalo Section, Connecticut Society of Civil Engineers Section, Ithaca Section, Maine Section, Metropolitan Section, Mohawk-Hudson Section, New Hampshire Section, New Jersey Section, Puerto Rico Section, Rhode Island Section, Rochester Section, Syracuse Section, Vermont Section Region 2   Central Pennsylvania Section, Delaware Section, Lehigh Valley Section, Maryland Section, National Capital Section, Philadelphia Section, Pittsburgh Section Region 3   Akron-Canton Section, Central Illinois Section, Central Ohio Section, Cincinnati Section, Cleveland Section, Dayton Section, Duluth Section, Illinois Section, Michigan Section, Minnesota Section, North Dakota Section, Quad Cities Section, Toledo Section, Wisconsin Section Region 4   Arkansas Section, Indiana Section, Kentucky Section, North Carolina Section, South Carolina Section, Tennessee Section, Virginia Section, West Virginia Section Region 5   Alabama Section, Florida Section, Georgia Section, Louisiana Section, Mississippi Section   Region 6   New Mexico Section, Oklahoma Section, Texas Section Region 7   Colorado Section, Iowa Section, Kansas City Section, Kansas Section, Nebraska Section, South Dakota Section, St. Louis Section, Wyoming Section Region 8   Alaska Section, Arizona Section, Columbia Section, Hawaii Section, Inland Empire Section, Montana Section, Nevada Section, Oregon Section, Seattle Section, Southern Idaho Section, Tacoma-Olympia Section, Utah Section Region 9   Los Angeles Section, Sacramento Section, San Diego Section, San Francisco Section Region 10   All International Sections, Branches, and Groups Missed last month's Region 1 update? See the August edition of  News Around Region 1  Share this page via social media and email:

BOSTON SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS SECTION Government affairs chair lays out case against ballot proposition on gas tax “A ballot initiative with far reaching implications for our economy will be decided this fall. … for many taxpayers, it is such an abstract issue that they simply shrug when asked what the consequences of a ‘yes’ vote might be. The ballot question that is so important to our economy is the proposed repeal of the indexed gas tax,” wrote William F. Lyons, Jr., Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section’s government affairs and professional practice committee chair, in the Section’s September newsletter. Last year, Massachusetts adopted landmark transportation finance legislation that indexed the gas tax to inflation, so it will increase gradually every year to keep pace. “Rejecting the gas tax index will result in a funding shortfall of more than $1 billion over a ten year period. … Without the revenue generated by the gas tax index, many projects critical to our economic competitiveness will be in serious jeopardy,” Lyons said.  Read the article in the September BSCES News.   Section website>>

METROPOLITAN SECTION Younger Members Forum tours world’s largest UV water treatment facility Courtesy Skanska A group of ASCE Metropolitan Section YMF members got a unique glimpse of the facility that provides secondary disinfection for all of New York City’s drinking water.  The $1.5 billion Catskills/Delaware Ultraviolet Facility, the world's largest, was built to prevent “crypto,” both the parasite and the disease. Cryptosporidium is a microscopic parasite that causes the disease cryptosporidiosis. Exposure to UV light alters the parasite’s DNA to prevent it from reproducing. Learn more about the tour the Metropolitan YMF enjoyed.  Section website>>

IN ASCE’s CIVIL ENGINEERING ONLINE MAGAZINE Researchers aim to shield computers from seismic forces A team from Howard University is testing the best methods to protect sensitive computer, telecommunications, and electrical equipment during earthquakes. See what the shake tables have found in ASCE’s online edition of Civil Engineering magazine.

IN ASCE’s CIVIL ENGINEERING ONLINE MAGAZINE World map indicates where new roads, ecology clash Researchers have mapped the economic benefits – and environmental consequences – of a projected massive surge in road building in the developing parts of the world. See what expansion may mean in ASCE’s online edition of Civil Engineering magazine.