By Joshua Nelson, P.E. As many of you know Engineering Week occurs in February each year and most of the activities in our section are centered on students (K-12 grades and university level). Therefore, I thought now would be a good time to talk about mentoring. The Orange County Branch is interested in finding ways that we can start a mentoring program that provides value to our members. There are… » Read More

By Gary Gilbert, P.E., G.E. Branch Secretary Five years ago, the ASCE Region 9 Government Affairs Committee and other engineers were advocating for high speed rail in California as an alternative mode of transportation to move people across the state.  By the end of 2008 with the passage of the high speed rail ballot initiative, engineers felt like we were finally reaching the public about the need to invest in infrastructure.  Since 2008,… » Read More

For the Orange County Branch January lunch meeting Eric Strecker, PE presented the development and implementation of the new and re-development requirements of the Water Quality Management Plans (WQMPs) for North and South Orange County Permit Areas.  Mr. Strecker provided an overview of the history of the permit adoption and subsequent efforts to come to consensus on the permit requirements as they apply to the WQMPs.  In addition, he  provided an… » Read More

By Kathereen M. Shinkai, P.E., M.ASCE Chair, 2011 Awards and Nominations We will be celebrating Professional Engineer’s Week (EWeek) from February 19th to the 25th. EWeek was founded in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) and celebrated in conjunction with President George Washington’s Birthday, who was considered the Nation’s first engineer, notably for his survey work. EWeek is dedicated to raising public awareness of the contributions that… » Read More

By Bill Lawson, PE, F.ASCE Chair of History and Heritage Committee A few weeks ago my wife and I drove to the Great Park in Irvine, CA to see "The Great Picture" of the former El Toro U. S. Marine Corps Air Station.  It was a windy day and our thoughts of also taking a ride in the orange balloon, which is a trademark of the Great Park, were quickly… » Read More

The below photographs were taken by Bill and Pat Lawson on January 8, 2012.  Please refer to the ASCE Orange County Branch February 2012 Newsletter article by Bill Lawson for additional information about The Great Picture display. The exhibit has been extended to February 26, 2012.  The exhibition is open Thursdays and Fridays noon to 4:00 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  Admission and parking… » Read More

By Ziad Mazboudi, PE In the last week of January, I represented the American Society of Civil Engineers as a member of the Committee on Critical Infrastructure at a Department of Homeland Security workshop.   The workshop was prepared in response to a National Presidential Directive to develop National Preparedness goals, specifically National Preparedness Mitigation framework.  Representatives from various federal, state, tribal, local government (I was one of them as… » Read More

By Carl Nelson By 1960 “Orange County’s Main Street” ( the Santa Ana Freeway) was extended by Caltrans from Tustin to San Clemente and re-identified as the “Interstate-5”. The Interstate financing was initiated underby by the Federal Interstate Highway Act of 1956, a “Cold War” stimulus act.                                             Actually, most… » Read More

The Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists (BPELSG) is pleased to announce that Raymond Mathe, PLS, has accepted the position of Senior Registrar Land Surveyor, effective February 28, 2012.  In 2004, Mr. Mathe was appointed by the County of Orange Board of Supervisors to serve as the County Surveyor.   Prior to his position at Orange County, Mr. Mathe worked as a Project Manager at a private engineering and land surveying firm and served… » Read More

By Ted Rigoni, PE, PMP Secretary, Transportation Technical Group, OC ASCE On Tuesday, January 10, 2012, the Orange County ASCE Branch, Transportation Technical Group, hosted a presentation by Rose Casey, Director of Highway Programs, OCTA, entitled, “OCTA’s Freeway and Grade Separation Programs.”    This presentation occurred at the University Club at UCI, and was attended by over 80 students and transportation professionals. Ms. Casey, assisted by her excellent Powerpoint presentation, summarized… » Read More

By David Eames, P.E. At a recent ASCE lunch, Eric Strecker provided an overview of the new Stormwater permit requirements for Orange County. The lunch was informative and entertaining as the audience grappled with the reality that preparation of Water Quality Management Plans or WQMPs just got a lot more difficult and a lot more expensive. The new permit offers water harvesting as an acceptable method for the reuse of… » Read More