Month: October 2025

Soil Boring Tests

Soil Boring Tests

Soil Boring Tests

10/04/25

“How can we determine the conditions and composition of the soil beneath our feet?”

Construction projects are usually built over soil. The soil’s properties have a sizable impact on the project’s design. To understand the soil conditions and composition, people can drill a hole into the ground, extract a soil sample, and then analyze the results. These Soil Boring Tests are an essential part of construction activities, helping people understand a multitude of important information, ranging from stormwater infiltration rates to support stability.

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Hard Water

Hard Water

Hard Water

10/03/25

“What’s special about water with high mineral ion content?”

Water will change depending on what it’s exposed to. When water percolates through limestone, chalk, or gypsum deposits, it might pick up ions such as calcium and magnesium. When this Hard Water comes into contact with soap, the fatty acids can react with the minerals to create a chalky precipitate that sticks to surfaces, leading to difficulty in cleaning, plumbing, appliance performance, and HVAC heating system efficiency. Water softening can reduce a water’s hardness

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Collect Pond NYC

Collect Pond NYC

Collect Pond NYC

10/02/25

“How did a former pond have a massive influence on the development of Manhattan?”

When we think of Manhattan, we imagine tall skyscrapers resting upon impervious concrete and flanked by hordes of honking cars in one of the most densely populated parts of the world. But hundreds of years ago, when Manhattan was under its rightful indigenous land stewardship, the island was mostly lush forest with plentiful fresh water. On the lower end in what is now Chinatown was a body of water that the colonizers later called Collect Pond. The A subdivision of the Lenape people lived in a settlement by the southwestern shore of Collect Pond. A while after the land was stolen by Europeans, the pond was used for fishing and later a summer picnic and winter ice skating rink. Businesses later discharged their contaminated wastewater into the pond, resulting in severe public health hazards. The city decided to drain Collect Pond by building a canal to the north and filling the pond with soil in 1811. This development paved the way for the creation of the modern Canal Street in New York City, forever altering the structure of the metropolis.

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Microirrigation

Microirrigation

Microirrigation

10/01/2025

“How can we make more optimal irrigation techniques using a low-pressure, low-flow approach?”

Traditional irrigation techniques might result in landscape overwatering, leading to wasted water and damage to foliage. We can avoid these issues if we apply more efficient, low-pressure, low-flow-rate techniques that bring water directly to the roots of a plant. These Microirrigation techniques can save large percentages of water applied to the system.

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