Engineering for Municipal Services - A Comprehensive Guide

Engineering for Municipal Services - A Comprehensive Guide

Basics of Municipal Engineering

Municipal engineering deals with many fields concerned with city planning and maintenance. This should not be confused with urban design because urban engineering involves planning the layouts of the streets and placement of buildings and other public places. Engineering for municipal services involves planning, designing, and maintaining the water and drainage systems, the transportation systems, and taking into consideration the various factors like the natural level of the local water table, what dangers the city may be exposed to, and the soil and underlying geological conditions. Urban designing is like designing the body of a car and municipal engineering is like making the entire car, right from the smallest component to the biggest, work the way it was intended to.

Fundamentals of Municipal Engineering

History of Road Construction.

The Town Planning Of Machu Picchu

What the Romans taught us about Aqueducts

Waste management, managing water services, hydrology, and providing engineering in vulnerable zones are some of the major responsibilities of municipal engineers.

Geology

The condition of soil and the condition of the water table are studies initially done before the first bricks are laid for building the city. This initial phase will prove to be the most important phase in ensuring the safety of people who will reside in the area for years, or perhaps centuries, to come.

Fundamentals of Geotechnical Engineering

Geotechnical vs Geoenvironmental Engineering

Soil Mechanics and other Geotechnical Topics at Bright Hub

Cliff Stabilization

Erosion Control Using Geosynthetics

Hydrogeology Defined

How to Read a Soil Report

This series of five articles covers the basics of soil mechanics and should be of interest to those in the geotechnical and civil engineering fields, as well as agriculturists.

Geotechnical Topics: Soil Mechanics

The study of hydrology includes a variety of topics on management of water resources, including what the term “100 year flood” means, the steps of the water cycle, understanding the water cycle diagram, and how to predict when a flood crest will reach a town. There are three articles in this series.

Practical Applications of Hydrology - The Study of Water

Waste Management

To keep a city clean, waste must be disposed of properly. Waste in the form of garbage, household wastes, and human wastes should be taken far away from city where it can be processed. To carry the wastes to the edges of the city, proper sewage systems have to be implemented. Even the early Romans understood the importance of proper sewage and drainage systems, and records show that their drainage systems were impressive even by today’s standards.

Other ways of keeping the city clean is by sweeping the streets and making sure that garbage trucks do their duty. Here are a few resources with which you can learn more about waste management and why it is essential to a city’s functioning.

How to Calculate an Urban Drainage System

How a Dry Well can Help to Drain Storm Water Runoff

Storm Sewer Drainage System Design Overview

Standard Operation Procedures for Street Sweepers and Cleaners

Building the Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal

Excel Spreadsheets for Design of Storm Water Drains and Their Inlets

Waste Incineration as an Alternative to More Landfills

Water Services

Water is an important resource for every living being. It is the responsibility of the municipality to provide the people of the city with purified water devoid of any harmful substances. Although this may seem simple, some very complex planning and maintenance goes in making sure that every house in the city is provided with clean water. The engineers who are responsible for this take care of a variety of jobs. They design and maintain the water treatment plants, make sure that the water is not polluted, and make sure water is provided to the residents throughout the year.

Why is Groundwater So Important?

Basics Of Water Resources Engineering

An Introduction to Drinking Water Treatment

Conserve Water by Using Rain Water

Drinking Water from Wastewater

Municipal Engineering in Vulnerable Zones

Not every city can be built on stable plains. Cities are built on hills, in earthquake prone areas, on or near coastal areas, and in other landscapes of various descriptions. Designing cities in such places requires meticulous planning and taking into account the various dangers posed by nature to the residents living in such areas.

What is Earthquake Engineering?

Population Dynamics in Planning for Infrastructure Needs

Highway Construction & Engineering

Road Traffic Safety Barriers

The Future of Municipal Engineering

From the Romans to the 21st century, things have changed a lot. With the advancement in technology, certain things have only gotten worse, for instance, the climatic conditions. The drastic changes in the climatic patterns across the world has lea to a growing awareness of global warming and its effects. Modern municipal engineers take this seriously and are slowly moving forward in making every municipal service ecologically friendly and green.

Eco-friendly Construction

Small Green Footprints

Going Green in Communities (in the Green Living Channel)

References

  • Author’s personal experience and linked articles.