By Decire Gonzalez KC'S BLOG • • • • • • 0 Comments

World Water Day

World Water Day is an annual observance held on March 22nd since 1993 to bring awareness of the importance of worldwide freshwater. In honor of this day, it’s important to bring awareness on how important freshwater is, the main concerns on how freshwater is suffering in today’s society, and how we can address these freshwater issues we are facing.

We all know that freshwater is a vital resource for life due to being an important aspect of supporting human civilization and our ecosystems. But did you know that less than 3% of the world’s surface is freshwater? Therefore, is important to come up with solutions and work together to preserve freshwater worldwide. We might not see freshwater as a luxury since we can easily obtain it, but in other parts of the world, it is hard to obtain clean water. Freshwater is important to our food production because, without freshwater, it would be impossible to harvest sustainable crops and food. Having access to clean water is indispensable for agricultural production. In addition, freshwater is one of the main sources to feed the farmers’ animals.

One of the concerns of freshwater is pollution, and it is the main reason why our freshwater is suffering today. Pollution has been taking over our freshwater resources such as rivers and lakes, which is making our water undrinkable, and it is also causing harm to our wildlife. Therefore, so many species of our wildlife are in danger of extinction. One of the reasons why we cannot maintain proper sanitation to our rivers and lakes is due to overuse. The overuse of these freshwater resources can be trigged by many factors, such as population growth. Population growth causes our rives and lakes to dries up, which leads to freshwater shortages.

We need to act now and address these freshwater concerns because this will be a big and dangerous issue that our future generations will have to face. In order to fight the freshwater crisis, we need to come up with strategies and approaches worldwide. Some important areas that we can approach are getting educated on these issues and coming up with ways to change our lifestyles, coming up with new technologies to recycle wastewater, and improving our infrastructure.

We need to unite globally and individually to do our parts in maintaining our freshwater resources no matter what side of the world we are in.

 

By Decire Gonzalez KC'S BLOG • • • • • • • • 0 Comments

Why is Environmental Engineering Important?

Environmental engineering is one of many methods used to mitigate environmental issues we are facing today.

Environmental engineering is a branch of engineering that concentrates on improving environmental quality. According to the American Academy of Environmental Engineers (AAEE), environmental engineering is defined as "the application of engineering principles to the management of the environment for the protection of human health, for the protection of nature's beneficial ecosystems, and for environment-related enhancement of the quality of human life." In other words, the main goal of environmental engineering is to protect humanity from negative environmental effects. Environmental engineering is a key tool to fight against climate change; this is done by using environmentally friendly materials and developing new materials that can adapt to climate change. For example, eco-concrete and eco-bricks are two environmentally friendly materials used by Environmental Engineers.

Some of the main focuses of environmental engineering include air pollution management, water supply and treatment, and wastewater treatment and management, the benefits of which include easily available drinking water, preventing the spread of waterborne diseases with effective sanitation systems, and monitoring air pollution. Focusing on these areas allows mankind to maintain a much healthier quality of life than would otherwise be the case.

KC understands the importance of fighting against environmental issues. KC’s engineering staff includes a wide range of experienced and talented personnel encompassing all our main areas of service, and includes dedicated civil and environmental engineers experienced in drainage, stormwater, drinking water, and wastewater solutions. To learn more about KC’s services, please visit our Services tab.

By Decire Gonzalez KC'S BLOG • • • • • • • 0 Comments

Infrastructure Week, Day 2: Water

Water is a vital resource, but with a rise in deteriorating infrastructure and underfunded programs like the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), we’ve run into a nationwide problem. In recent years, we’ve witnessed water crises on a national scale in places like Michigan, Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, New York, and the Southwest United States. Over one million miles of pipes work to deliver water around the county, most of that aging infrastructure having been laid many decades ago. Now more than ever, America requires government action to upgrade insufficient water infrastructure. Clean, reliable drinking water is a commodity that everyone, without exception, should have access to.

At KC Engineering and Land Surveying, P.C. (KC), our water supply group works to create sufficient, long-term methods to provide safe water. With a group of skilled water, wastewater, civil, and environmental engineers, KC is able to provide lasting solutions to various municipalities, residential developments, agencies, and more. KC continues to play a vital role in ensuring the functionality of filtration systems, water resources, and water treatment.

By Decire Gonzalez KC'S BLOG • • • • • • 0 Comments

Infrastructure Week, Day 2: Water

Water is a vital resource, but with a rise in deteriorating infrastructure and underfunded programs like the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), we’ve run into a nationwide problem.

In recent years, we’ve witnessed water crisis on a national scale in places like Michigan, Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, and even closer to home here in New York, as well as in the Southwest United States, where drought conditions continue to worsen.

Over one million miles of pipes work to deliver water around the county, most of that aging infrastructure having been laid numerous decades ago. Now more than ever, America requires government action to upgrade insufficient water infrastructure. Clean, reliable drinking water is a commodity that everyone, without exception, should have access to.

At KC Engineering and Land Surveying, P.C. (KC), our water supply group works to create sufficient, long-term resolutions to provide safe drinking water. With a group of skilled water, wastewater, civil, and environmental engineers, KC is able to provide lasting solutions to various municipalities, residential developments, and many more.

With projects like the Wallkill Water System Interconnect, Kosuga Well 7 Development, and LaGuardia Airport Trunk Main Relocation, KC continues to play a vital role in ensuring the functionality of filtration systems, water resources, and water treatment.

By Decire Gonzalez KC'S BLOG • • • • 0 Comments

Everything You Wanted to Know About Water Treatment Plants

Did you know that 99.7% of Earth’s water supply is not usable by humans? This unusable supply includes not only saltwater but fresh water supplies from lakes and streams that often contain Cryptosporidium, E. coli, Hepatitis A, and Giardia intestinalis. The water we drink, from taps and bottles and fountains, goes through an extensive treatment process to rid itself of these harmful pathogens.

A water treatment plant serves its local community by sourcing its water from the surface, from lakes, streams, reservoirs, or from the ground, where water pools after seeping in from rain or snowfall. The plant is then tasked with disinfecting and purifying this “raw,” or untreated, water.

Below is a step-by-step look into how your water is treated:

The first step of the purification process is coagulation and flocculation: in this step, a coagulant, such as aluminum sulphate or iron salt, is added to the water to neutralize the negative charge of any dirt, parasite, or bacteria that might be present. This neutralization enlarges the harmful particles in preparation for the following step.

The second step is referred to as sedimentation, where the now enlarged dirt particles can more easily sink to the bottom of the water.

The third step is filtration, where the water is run through sand, gravel, or charcoal to weed out the enlarged dirt particles.

The fourth step is disinfection where a chemical such as chlorine or chloramine is added to the water to both kill any remaining parasites or bacteria and prevent the growth of new ones.

Finally, the purified water is stored in a water tower and, with plenty of gravity and pumps, is delivered into your home.

Want to find out more about the quality of your drinking water? Visit this site to access an annual drinking water quality report from your local water supplier.