Government Threatens Retired Engineer With a Crime for Doing Math 39

[drawoh]

Institute for Justice [—] YouTube

I am Googling him here, and it appears he has presented himself as an expert witness. Do chemical engineers understand flooding, piping and stormwater?

--
JHG

 

[3DDave]

Perhaps they should bring in the guy from the Post 10 YouTube channel who has hundreds of videos of him, a guy unlikely to have any college degree (though I could be wrong) repairing drainage problems that are a direct result of designs by holders of PEs (and the occasional beaver family.)

I certainly don't see any PEs in the flood areas explaining that failing to account for the debris that is clogging the drains is a problem - but sure, if it wasn't for reality those drains would be perfect. Would a PE expert in drainage know such things?

 

[MTNClimber]

That’s a maintenance issue, not a design issue. Talk to the local public works department.

 

[CWB1]

The local municipal engineer is ultimately responsible for the design and maintenance of all public works in their jurisdiction, so design vs maintenance is a moot point.

 

[cvg]

no, debris clogging is often a design issue. as in you failed to provide a large enough trash rack to handle the debris that should have been predicted. us flood control engineers usually provide a factor of safety for such things...

 

[MTNClimber]

I watched a couple of Post10 videos. Seemed to me the issue was vegetation getting clogged in the grates of inlets, typically for catch basins, during or after heavy intense storms in the fall. I'm interested in how you would design for that?

In my area, the good DPWs would just periodically clean the streets and catch basins during the fall, not increase the size of the inlet to allow for a bigger grate.

 

[cvg]

standard practice is to size the grates assuming 50% clogged. if debris is assumed to be a frequent problem, than a grated inlet is the wrong choice. it probably should not have a grate. or the grate should be designed to not clog. there are options.

maintenance is usually not the solution, because a grate can easily get clogged during a storm and no opportunity to come out and maintain it during the rain.

 

[IRstuff]

Nevertheless, lots of storm drains tend to get no maintenance until it clogs; "It's not a problem until it's a problem" is often the philosophy

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

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[3DDave]

Does anyone know the reason for the original analysis at the core of the issue?

 

[CrabbyT]

This man's heart is as big as his mailbox.

This might be food for thought for KootK. That is, if you dole out free engineering advice, don't call yourself an engineer. Just call yourself a concerned citizen or maybe just say things like "this is not engineering advice, but a W16x26 would support that roll-up door just fine."