The ASCE San Francisco
575 Market St, Suite 400 | San Francisco, CA 94105
415-546-6546 | htpp://www.asce-sf.org
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June 2021, Volume 70, No. 6
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The world has changed but civil engineering work doesn't stop. During these difficult times, ASCE is committed to supporting the entire civil engineering community and has a dedicated online resource offering ways to stay informed and stay connected in these unprecedented times.
Visit ASCE Collaborate to hear from colleagues about how they are handling their new surroundings.
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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
by Richard Markuson, Region 9 Legislative Advocate
2021-22 Legislative Session – Lots of Revenue
The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) said late in April that California’s budget coffers are filling so fast that the state may have to cut taxes and find creative maneuvers to direct money toward government programs in the coming years. A convergence of factors, from massive stock market gains to slow population growth, will likely trigger a rarely invoked appropriations limit that requires California to send tax rebates and spend more money on education once revenues surpass a level tied to spending in the late 1970s. The requirement has created new headaches for California budget writers as revenues keep outpacing projections due to unforeseen economic strength among high-income earners. While the state is tens of billions of dollars ahead of where leaders thought California would be a year ago during the depths of pandemic closures, the path to spending all of that money is murky, as the Analyst’s Office recently outlined. California is expected to have a budget surplus topping $20 billion by the time Gov. Gavin Newsom releases his May budget revision next month. Also, California will see some $26 billion in additional federal funds through 2024 from the national stimulus package approved earlier this year, though that money would not directly affect the spending limit.
The LAO says that besides tax refunds and school spending, some options for Newsom and the state Legislature include:
- Increasing spending on local governments and capital projects like housing.
- Cut taxes. However, this could trigger the federal stimulus penalty.
- Redefine what counts as an exclusion from the Gann Limit. That includes potentially reducing the amount some school districts can spend so the state can spend more on other purposes.
- Ask voters to provide a temporary increase in the Gann Limit; increase district spending limits; exempt reserve savings from the Gann Limit calculation; or overhaul the Gann Limit entirely.
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San Diego Section Newsletter Article
Final Major Capital Improvement Project at the Miramar Water Treatment Plant, the Miramar Clearwells Improvements Reaches Completion
by Ed Matthews, PE, Principal Professional, Kleinfelder
At $110 million, the Miramar Clearwells Improvements project has been the largest current capital improvement project for the City of San Diego since 2016. This project essentially replaces the last vestiges of the original Miramar Water Treatment Plant (WTP) – first constructed in 1959. The Miramar WTP supplies treated water to approximately 600,000 North San Diego customers.
Two finished water reservoirs within the WTP – Clearwells 1 and 2, built in 1959 and 1974, respectively – each at the end of their service life, required replacement with new clearwells designed for modern seismic codes. This project provided advanced flexibility in operation, maintenance, and disinfection, culminating in the WTP’s ultimate capacity of 215 million gallons per day (MGD) and enhancing its ability to respond to changing water quality conditions with full redundancy and reliability for its customers.
As the prime consultant, Kleinfelder provided engineering management, design, and construction support services, mobilizing talent from across the U.S. The addition of a 215 MGD pump station required physical modeling in accordance with Hydraulic Institute standards, and the resulting design was custom-engineered for providing the necessary hydraulic grade line through the Miramar WTP for current and future maximum flows.
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Disaster Preparedness Update
by Doug Taylor, P.E., M.ASCE
Chair, ASCE Region 9 Disaster Preparedness Committee
Wildfires are the “New” California Disaster
It’s been a long time since Safety Assessment Program (SAP) volunteers were needed after a major earthquake in California. Not sxo with fires. In 2019, 21 SAP-trained and certified volunteers from ASCE assisted the town of Paradise to perform rapid inspections of approximately 18,000 homes and commercial properties following the deadly Camp Fire. Last September, not even a year later, 15 ASCE SAP volunteers living in the area of Fresno assisted Fresno County to do rapid assessments of roughly 2,000 homes after the Creek Fire, California’s largest in terms of acres burned. A week later, more ASCE SAP volunteers assisted Napa County after that fire. All these volunteers were trained and pre-certified so they could respond when they were needed.
To get trained and certified before COVID, you had to attend a 5-to-6-hour session IN PERSON, typically given on a Saturday. But now you can get trained and certified in the comfort of your home via Zoom. No travelling, no expense for meals or the training site… it’s all FREE!
I’m hosting SAP training/certification via Zoom on Saturday, August 21st starting at 9:00 am. These Zoom sessions go quicker than the in-person sessions, so expect to be done by 1:00 pm. Just email me at dtaylor@outbackmaterials.com and give me your full name, cell phone number and whether you’re a licensed engineer or “other” professional. I’m only registering licensed PEs for this session (no EITs for now).
I hope you’ll take advantage of this opportunity. Then you’ll be ready to help people who desperately need your skills.
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by Eugene Bass
Occasionally, an engineer may be called upon to produce a “certification.” Questions may arise as to the effect of the certification and whether the act of certification results in an expansion of the liability potential otherwise applicable to the engineer.
The laws of the State of California have addressed the use of the words “certify” and “certification” by professional engineers. The law states, “The use of the word “certify” or “certification” by a registered professional engineer in the practice of professional engineering or land surveying constitutes an expression of professional opinion regarding those facts or findings which are the subject of the certification, and does not constitute a warranty or guarantee, either expressed or implied. As with any other “expression of opinion” the engineer must take care that the opinion is rendered in a non-negligent manner. In performing professional services for a client, an engineer has the duty to have that degree of learning and skill ordinarily possessed by reputable engineers, practicing in the same or a similar locality and under similar circumstances. The engineer also has the duty to use the care and skill ordinarily used in like cases by reputable members of his or her profession practicing in the same or similar locality under similar circumstances, and to use reasonable diligence and his or her best judgment in the exercise of his professional skill and in the application of his learning, in an effort to accomplish the purpose for which he or she was employed. If the engineer holds himself or herself out to be a specialist, he or she must have the knowledge and skill ordinarily possessed, and to use the care and skill ordinarily used, by reputable specialists practicing in the same field and in the same or a similar locality and under similar circumstances.
Perfection is not required in the performance of engineering services but they must be performed non-negligently. A warranty is a promise. There is no warranty that applies to the performance of engineering services other than that those services will be performed non-negligently. But again, negligence is defined relatively. There is also no implied warranty that the product of the engineer will be suited for its intended use, only that product will be produced non-negligently. Care must be taken in contracting for engineering services that the engineer does not guarantee perfection or warrant that the engineering product will accomplish a specified objective thus contractually becoming obligated to a higher than “non-negligent” standard of care. This article is intended to provide general information regarding legal issues. It is not to be relied upon as specific legal advice or in place of the need to seek competent legal advice on specific legal matters.
This article is intended only to provide general information regarding legal issues. It is not to be relied upon for legal advice. Contact your attorney for advise and guidance on general and specific legal issues.
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NEW ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES
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