Cost- Effective Civil Engineering

Often civil engineering costs aren’t always taken into account as carefully as possible when sites are developed for construction. Environmental challenges that could become very expensive later are often simply neglected at the outset, when they can be solved well in advance. While some companies are finally adapting to the reality that better civil development planning actually saves money in the long-term, too often we still find companies with skyrocketing construction costs that could have been avoided with better planning. Using cost-effective civil engineering can save lots of money later on.

Green Solutions that Save Money

One of the biggest problems for those starting new construction projects are environmental factors not taken into account when a site is selected. Often factors such as potential contamination of the water table are discovered later; this damage can often add months of searching for a solution as well as higher costs later. In the case of a municipal or state project, these costs can be quite prohibitive and then passed onto the taxpayer. Green solutions can usually be found that are environmentally safe, but the big secret is that most such solutions can be found before construction even begins, through the use of technologies such as permeable reactive barriers for water filtration, and applied at the planning stage. Taking advantage of these green technologies before work begins reduces costs and saves time overall.

Natural Filtration Systems

In-situ soil treatment in conjunction with permeable reactive barriers can substantially decrease or eliminate groundwater contamination which invariably comes with new construction. These solutions are fairly straightforward. Barriers are placed around the construction area which force contaminated water to pass through them. These barriers can also be directed so that water moves only towards the barriers. The barriers are treated with bonding agents which ensure that contaminants are trapped at the level of the barrier, never making it to the groundwater that escapes past the barrier. In combination with in-situ soil mixing, which is used to help eliminate other contaminants from the area, the groundwater is cleaned, and the surrounding environment is completely undamaged. Water is directed through bio-polymer drains so that contaminated groundwater doesn’t travel outward in the water table and damage local vegetation or drinking water.

Proper Planning Can Save From More Expensive Solutions Later

While environmentally friendly civil engineering solutions can often be somewhat more expensive than traditional solutions, it’s important to remember that when such solutions need to be used, it’s because traditional solutions in those cases would themselves either be unfeasible or potentially expensive. While greener solutions can often be used to reverse the damage already caused, it’s far more cost effective to take civil engineering into the planning phase to avoid expensive and slow repairs to environmental damage later. Companies working in construction are already taking advantage of these newer technologies to save money in the long run as projects which have a lower impact environmentally can usually be completed on time more easily and take all potential possibilities in terms of future problems out of the equation. Making sure to use environmentally sound techniques at the outset helps ensure that there won’t be any costly disasters later.