Civil Engineering Orientation

Current Fields & Career of

Civil Engineering - 4
 Civil Engineering and other Professions

Introduction
Civil engineering is regarded as one of the most important engineering fields
across the globe. The industry is about solving real world problems through
designing, constructing, managing and maintaining the infrastructure that plays a
vital role in the development of countries and supports modern society. This
includes buildings, bridges, roads, airports, dams, sewage systems, flood
mitigation works and so on; the list is endless. Civil engineers are at the forefront
of innovation in our societies.
As you can see, although civil engineering is a profession that generally focuses
on creating physical manmade structures, it is an extremely broad field that
encompasses multiple sub-disciplines. This chapter presents this sector.
 Current Fields & Careers of Civil Engineering

Fields of Civil Engineering:

1. Structural Engineering
2. Construction Engineering
3. Geo-Technical Engineering
4. Water Resource Engineering
5. Environmental and Energy
6. Transportation Engineering
 Current Fields & Career of Civil Engineering
IV. Water Resources Engineering
Water resources engineering is the study and management
of equipment, facilities and techniques that are used to
manage and preserve life’s most plentiful resource. In
addition to assessing how and the best ways in which to
control water as it pertains to water-related activities –
such as irrigation, waste disposal and canal development –
water resource engineers are also frequently involved in
water management to ensure that it’s safe to drink both for
humans, plants and animal usage. Surface water makes up
about 71% of the planet, which is the equivalent of roughly
326 million cubic miles. At the same time, though, just 3%
of the Earth’s water is fresh, according to the Bureau of
Reclamation. And of this total, 2.5% of it is out of reach,
contained in the soil, polar ice caps, the atmosphere and
glaciers or too polluted to use safely.
 Current Fields & Career of Civil Engineering
IV. Water Resources Engineering
Water resource engineers may
be tasked with the awesome
responsibility of ensuring that
the planning and management
of available water supply are
adequately leveraged and
remain safe to use for as long as
possible. They may also be
involved in water treatment so
that the quality of water is
improved upon for various end
uses, whether that’s
recreationally, commercially or
industrially.
 Current Fields & Career of Civil Engineering

IV. Water Resources Engineering

Water resources engineers strive to improve the quality and quantity of water resources
in a specified area. They design and construct hydraulic structures typically dams, canals
and water distribution systems, sewer drainages and culverts. This area of engineering
adopts principles of hydrology, meteorology and resource management (among other
elements), so extensive knowledge is required. These engineers usually focus on flood
and storm water analysis, wastewater treatment procedures and ground water
remediation.
When executing activities within water
resource management facilities, water
resource engineers must understand
physicochemical and biological processes
for water and water treatment.
 Current Fields & Career of Civil Engineering

IV. Water Resources Engineering

Major Functions Of Water Resources Engineering:
• Water resources engineering generally deals with the provision of water for human
use, and the development of techniques for the prevention of destruction from floods.
Water resources engineering also includes the planning and management of facilities
that are constructed for these tasks like making canals for irrigation and sewers for
drainage and to avoid waterlogging, and all other issues related with the usage and
control of water remediation.
• To meet the water requirements of society and the environment, initially an estimate
is carried out regarding the water available, the demand now and projected demand
when the work will complete and future considerations, and then the requisite
infrastructure is designed, including the water treatment plants and the pipes
network, for the conveyance of water to the taps and waste water from the toilets to
the treatment units.
 Current Fields & Career of Civil Engineering

IV. Water Resources Engineering

Other Tasks of Water Resources Engineering:
• Sewer systems for storms and wastewater.
• Irrigation network.
• River engineering, including ice covered rivers.
• Hydraulic structures, including dams, spillways, floodways and reservoirs.
• Seepage control.
• Hydrology.
• Floods, flow of mud and debris.
• Wave analysis.
 Current Fields & Career of Civil Engineering
IV. Transportation Engineering
Transport engineering continues to be
one of the most pivotal civil
engineering disciplines. Engineers in
this sector design, construct and
maintain all forms of public
transportation systems across the
world, including roads, railways, ports
and airports. Their aims are to improve
the overall traffic movement, reduce
traffic congestion and minimize the risk
of accidents from happening. This can
be achieved by either designing a
completely new system, or by altering
an existing one.
 Current Fields & Career of Civil Engineering
IV. Transportation Engineering
However, in order to effectively improve
transportation links, engineers need to
take into consideration a variety of
factors, such as the economic, political
and ethical impact the new system will
have. Transportation engineers apply
technology and scientific principles to
the planning, functional design,
operation and management of facilities
for any mode of transportation in order
to provide the safe, rapid, comfortable,
convenient, economical, and
environmentally compatible movement
of people and goods (transport).
 Current Fields & Career of Civil Engineering

IV. Transportation Engineering

The planning aspects of transport
engineering relate to urban planning, and
involve technical forecasting decisions and
political factors. Technical forecasting of
passenger travel usually involves an urban
transportation planning model, requiring
the estimation of trip generation (how
many trips for what purpose), trip
distribution (destination choice, where is
the traveler going), mode choice (what
mode is being taken), and route
assignment (which streets or routes are
being used).
 Current Fields & Career of Civil Engineering

IV. Transportation Engineering

More sophisticated forecasting can include other aspects of traveler decisions, including
auto ownership, trip chaining (the decision to link individual trips together in a tour) and
the choice of residential or business location (known as land use forecasting). Passenger
trips are the focus of transport engineering because they often represent the peak of
demand on any transportation system.
Transportation engineering, as practiced by civil engineers, primarily involves planning,
design, construction, maintenance, and operation of transportation facilities. The
facilities support air, highway, railroad, pipeline, water, and even space transportation.
The design aspects of transportation engineering include the sizing of transportation
facilities (how many lanes or how much capacity the facility has), determining the
materials and thickness used in pavement designing the geometry (vertical and
horizontal alignment) of the roadway (or track). Beside these operations planning,
logistics, network analysis, financing, and policy analysis are also important to civil
engineers, particularly to those working in highway and urban transportation.
 Current Fields & Career of Civil Engineering

IV. Transportation Engineering

Before making any sort of planning, the Engineer must take an account of the database
of the area or if it is appropriate, the previous system in place. This inventory or
database must include information on:
1. Population
2. Land use
3. Transportation facilities and services
4. Economic activity transportation.
5. Travel patterns and volumes
6. Regional financial resources
7. Community values and expectations
8. Laws and ordinances
 Current Fields & Career of Civil Engineering

IV. Transportation Engineering

These inventories help the
engineer create system models
to accurately forecast the
future demand or conditions.
With automobiles and other
future transportation
advancements planned to be
introduced in the upcoming
years, transportation engineers
will always be in demand.
 Current Fields & Career of Civil Engineering

V. Environmental and Energy

This sub-discipline concentrates on creating
ways to conserve highly populated areas and
preventing pollution from effecting the natural
environment. Environmental engineers conduct
detailed analysis on a wide range of
environmental problems and develop solutions
to these issues. Some of the tasks they are
responsible for include solid waste
treatment/management, treatment of water
sources and improving the quality of water and
air. Understanding of atmospheric sciences and
hydrology is needed in order to excel in this
career.
 Current Fields & Career of Civil Engineering

V. Environmental and Energy

Energy and environmental engineering is a
branch of energy engineering which seeks
to efficiently use energy and to maintain
the environment. Energy engineers require
knowledge across many disciplines. Careers
include work in the built environment,
renewable and traditional energy
industries.[1]
In this area, solar radiation is important and
must be understood. Solar radiation affects
the Earth's weather and daylight available.
This affects not only the Earth's
environment but also the smaller internal
environments which we create.[2]
 Current Fields & Career of Civil Engineering

V. Environmental and Energy

Energy engineering requires at least
an understanding of mechanics,
thermodynamics, mathematics,
materials, stoichiometry, electrical
machines, manufacturing processes
and energy systems.
Environmental engineering can be
branched into two main areas:
internal environments and outdoor
environments.
 Current Fields & Career of Civil Engineering

V. Environmental and Energy

Internal environments may consist of housing or offices or other commercial properties.
In this area, the environmental engineering sometimes stands for the designing of
building services to condition the internal environment to a comfortable state or the
removal of excess pollutants such as carbon dioxide or other harmful substances.[3]
External environments may be water courses, air, land or seas, and may require new
strategies for harnessing energy or the creation of treatment facilities for polluting
technologies.
This broad degree area covers many areas but is mainly mechanically and electrically
biased. It seeks to explore cleaner, more efficient ways of using fossil fuels, while
investigating and developing systems using renewable and sustainable resources, such as
solar, wind and wave energy.[4]practices.
 Current Fields & Career of Civil Engineering

V. Environmental and Energy

As the name would suggest, environmental engineers are concerned with developing
ways to prevent pollution of the natural environment and with remediating areas that
have already been polluted by industrial activity or mining. Environmental engineering
also encompasses aspects of urban planning as well as the health and safety of indoor
environments. Environmental engineers are typically employed by private consulting
firms and governmental regulatory agencies.
Environmental engineers help solve environmental problems and challenges. These
engineers apply biology and chemistry theory as well as soil science to the areas of
waste disposal, pollution control, recycling, and public health. Primary responsibilities
include producing environmental investigation reports, developing environmental
protection practices, monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of environmental
programs, and acting as counsel for environmental cleanup and remediation projects.
Engineers who specialize in environmental engineering must follow new and evolving
environmental best practices.
 Current Fields & Career of Civil Engineering

Test Exercise: