Infrastructure and Environment

Course Instructor:
Dr. Sabahat Hussan
 Link between infrastructure and
environment
Infrastructure (the built environment) is inextricably
linked to the natural environment.
• The materials that we use to build infrastructure
come from the natural environment.
• The infrastructure components have been built on
(or below) the earth's surface.
• Rivers are utilized for transportation and drinking
water.
• Travelling paths are made by tunnels through soil and
rock.

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 Contd…
A substantial portion of civil and environmental
engineering work is related to water.
• Road drainage
• Dewatering during construction excavation
• Construction site storm erosion control
• Rip-rap armoring of bridge abutments
Rip-rap refers to irregularly shaped rocks (size from 4 inches to greater than 36
inches, and weighing from 3 pounds to more than a ton) that are used for
erosion protection and slope stabilization. Larger sizes are needed at sites with
greater water velocities or steeper slopes.
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 Contd…
• The predicted depth and intensity of precipitation affects the
design of every hydraulic component of the infrastructure
(e.g., dams, levees, culverts, gutters).
• Hydraulic components of the infrastructure are not designed
based on annual average precipitation. If they were, they
would be undersized 50 percent of the time.
• Hydraulic components are designed based on a selected
recurrence interval. Common terminology, for example, is a
“100-year storm” or “100-year drought.” This does not mean
that the event will occur once every 100 years; rather, it
means that the event has a 1 in 100 (1 percent) chance of
occurring in any given year.
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 Contd…
• The relationship between the storm intensity
and its recurrence interval is illustrated by
intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) curves

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 Hydrologic Cycle
• The hydrologic cycle refers to the circulation of
water between the atmosphere, surface
water, and the subsurface.

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 Hydrologic Budget
• The mass of all the water in the natural
environment remains virtually constant.
However, over time, the mass of water stored
in one form or hydrologic component does
vary. This change can be analyzed with a
hydrologic budget, and is expressed in
equation form

𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 = 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝐸𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 − 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝐸𝑥𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔

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 Hydrologic Budget: Example
• For example, a hydrologic budget for a lake
would tabulate the inputs (e.g., runoff,
groundwater inflow, and direct precipitation)
and outputs (e.g., evaporation, outflow to
river); the difference between the inputs and
the outputs is the change in volume in the
lake, which varies seasonally and annually as
evidenced by changes in lake levels.

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 Watershed
• A watershed is the area draining (i.e., contributing
runoff) to an outlet point. The outlet point may be
the mouth of a river or stream, a culvert, or a
stormwater inlet.
• When designing hydraulic structures, engineers must
delineate (i.e., draw the outline or boundaries of)
contributing watershed areas.

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 Contd…
Watershed characteristics of interest include the
• type of land cover (e.g., crops, forest,
pavement),
• the soil types (e.g., sand or clay), and
• topography (flat, hilly, mountainous).

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 River and Flood Plain
• Because of complexities such as soil
infiltration rates, snow melt, and the varying
travel times of storm runoff to rivers, a 100-
year storm does not necessarily result in a
100-year flood.
• A floodplain is the land along a stream or river
that is inundated/flooded when the stream or
river overtops its banks.

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 Contd…
• A cross-section of a river and floodplain with several flood
stages is shown below.

• Base flow is identified, which corresponds to the “normal”

water depth for the river at times between substantial runoff
events.
• For runoff events with recurrence intervals greater than 2
years, the depth of water will be higher than the top of the
riverbank, and given the topography of the land, this water
will spread laterally across the floodplain to a land elevation
equal to the water depth.
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 Habitat/ Natural Species
• Development inherently eliminates wildlife
habitat and otherwise affects the natural
environment; however, it is possible to
minimize habitat loss by controlling the
location or type of development.
• Federal and state regulations also limit
development in areas documented as habitat
for endangered species.

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 Wetlands
• Wetlands are areas that have, for a significant
portion of the plant growing season;
groundwater within a few feet of the ground
surface or ponded water at the ground
surface.
• Proper identification and location of wetlands
is critical at development sites, and is
accomplished using wetland delineation.

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 Geologic/Rock Formations
• Understanding of geologic formations is
necessary to understand groundwater flow,
infiltration, and runoff.
• Understanding is also necessary for designing
rock cuts for roads and foundations for
buildings
• Geologic formations are sources of building
materials for roads, levees, and other
infrastructure components

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 Soil
• Soil is the uppermost (surface) layer of unconsolidated
material that lies above the uppermost layer of rock
(consolidated material), termed bedrock.
• Soil is the biologically active upper layer of unconsolidated
material and may range from approximately 2 to 20 feet in
depth below the surface. The biologically inactive
unconsolidated material below soil is termed subsoil.
• The depth of unconsolidated material varies based on how it
was deposited (e.g., by wind or by glacier) and on the shape
of the bedrock surface (i.e. uneven, smooth etc.) The depth of
unconsolidated material can vary dramatically over small
distances or in some cases can be very uniform over large
distances. 16
 Contd…
• In some locations, the bedrock represents a
massive formation which may extend vertically
for thousands of feet. In other areas, many layers
of rock exist.
• Each layer has different properties that can affect
engineering decisions. These properties include
bedrock strength, which will affect the design of
foundations, and the porosity and extent of
fractures, which will affect groundwater flow.

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 Movement of geologic formations
• Movement of geologic formations creates
stress that can cause large planar fractures, or
faults. Sudden movement along faults is the
cause of seismic activity (earthquakes), which
varies in magnitude from undetectable to
catastrophic.
• Earthquakes occur continuously, literally
hundreds across the globe in any given week.

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Contd….

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 Groundwater
• Water is found in the subsurface in pores of
unconsolidated material and in pores and
fractures in rock.
• Below the groundwater table, all pores and
fractures are filled with water. The depth to
the water table from the ground surface may
range from zero in a wetland to hundreds of
feet.

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Contd…

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 Aquifer
• An aquifer is a geologic formation that stores
water. Aquifers may be shallow (less than 100
feet below ground surface) or deep (sometimes
greater than 1,000 feet below ground surface)
and are composed of granular unconsolidated
material, of fractured bedrock, or of porous rock
(e.g., sandstone)
• Water is extracted from aquifers by drilling a well
(a vertical borehole in the ground) and pumping
the water out of the well.

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 Contd…
• One important characteristic of groundwater can be
understood by applying a hydrologic budget to an aquifer. As
development occurs, previously pervious areas are made
impervious by paving driveways and roads and by
constructing rooftops.
• As a result, more runoff occurs and there is a corresponding
decrease in infiltration to groundwater (termed recharge).
Consequently, the mass of water stored in aquifers decreases
and groundwater levels are lowered. This may lead to
decreased stream flows in streams that are fed by
groundwater, and to the unwanted conversion of wetlands to
“dry lands.”
• Similarly, pumping groundwater out of an aquifer at a rate
that is greater than the natural rate of recharge will lower
groundwater levels. 24
Contd…

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 Air quality
• Air quality primarily deals with the air that we
breathe in the lower atmosphere
(stratosphere) and the potential adverse
health effects of pollution.
• However, air quality also deals with the
degradation of structures (e.g., acid rain).

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 Climatic Change
• Human-induced climate change (i.e., global
warming) has been debated for decades by
scientists, policymakers, and the public.
Greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane,
nitrous oxide, ozone, and others) have been
rapidly accumulating in our atmosphere and
trap heat radiating outward from the earth.

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 Contd…
The potential negative consequences of climate change typically
intensify with increasing temperature rise. The consequences are vast,
including:
• Increased drought, leading to decreased water availability for
hundreds of millions of people
• Increased risk of species extinction
• Loss of coral reefs
• Changes in global carbon cycling
• Shifts in suitable habitat for species
• Increased wildfire risk
• Changes in suitability for crop production
• Increased flooding
• Loss of coastal wetlands
• Increased malnutrition and disease 28
 Contd…
• Because of melting glaciers and polar ice caps,
sea levels are expected to rise. Estimates
range from 8 inches to 20 inches over the next
century above current levels.
• If flood protection systems are overtopped,
flooding will occur.
• In order to counter these negative impacts of
climatic change, concept of green
infrastructure has been widely adopted.

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 Green Infrastructure
• Green Infrastructure refers to ecological
systems, both natural and engineered, that
act as living infrastructure.

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