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  • Contracts awarded for establishment of Upper Missouri Basin Monitoring Network

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District has recently awarded multiple contracts with state and federal agencies and private firms to establish the Upper Missouri Basin Monitoring Network for soil moisture and plains snowpack.

  • TAM Awards Task Orders for US Air Force Facilities/Utilities in UAE

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Middle East District awarded two task orders for the U.S. Development Area at Al Dhafra Air Base in the UAE.

  • PROPOSED PLAN AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT FOR THE BALANCE OF PLANT AND GROUNDWATER OPERABLE UNITS OF THE NIAGARA FALLS STORAGE SITE

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District is pleased to announce the availability of the Proposed Plan, Balance of Plant and Groundwater Operable Units, Niagara Falls Storage Site (NFSS). The proposed plan and a fact sheet are available on the web at: https://www.lrb.usace.army.mil/Missions/HTRW/FUSRAP/Niagara-Falls-Storage-Site/ in their respective sections.

  • Information Technology Laboratory employees win HENAAC awards

    Christine Lozano and Dr. Alicia Ruvinsky, both members of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center Information Technology Laboratory team, were named winners of the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Association Conference (HENAAC) 2020 Great Minds in STEM award.

  • NR 20-025: Nashville District to resume collection of day-use fees

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Oct. 1, 2020) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District announces that it will resume the collection of fees at its day use recreation areas beginning Oct. 8. Fee collections were suspended earlier this year when recreation areas were closed due to COVID-19 precautions.

  • Comparison of Antifungal Efficiencies of Photocatalytic and Antimicrobial-Infused Coatings: Evaluation of Five Antimicrobial Coatings Using Standard Test Methods

    Abstract: New buildings are being constructed and existing buildings retrofitted to be more energy efficient to meet increasingly stringent Department of Defense (DoD) energy standards. Although these standards save energy and lower operational costs, they also limit fresh air within a structure and can cause a buildup of harmful substances in indoor environments. Of particular concern are molds, which can put building occupants at risk and damage infrastructure. One possible solution to this increasing Army problem is to coat building materials with photocatalytic paints, which have the ability to both destroy microorganisms as well as the toxic byproducts they produce. This work compared two next-generation photocatalytic coatings against three more traditional antimicrobial-infused coatings for their ability to resist fungal contamination using three accelerated test conditions. Under each test condition the photocatalytic coatings were found to perform poorly compared to the antimicrobial-infused coatings. Moreover, the control coating, which contained no active antimicrobial (standard latex paint), performed as well as or better than all the antimicrobial coatings tested. This suggested that there may be little benefit to using antimicrobial coatings to inhibit fungal colonization over a standard latex paint; however, further testing is required to confirm this perception.

  • Evaluation of Unmanned Aircraft System Coastal Data Collection and Horizontal Accuracy: A Case Study at Garden City Beach, South Carolina

    Abstract: The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) aims to evaluate unmanned aircraft system (UAS) technology to support flood risk management applications, examining data collection and processing methods and exploring potential for coastal capabilities. Foundational evaluation of the technology is critical for understanding data application and determining best practices for data collection and processing. This study demonstrated UAS Multispectral (MS) and Red Green Blue (RGB) image efficacy for coastal monitoring using Garden City Beach, South Carolina, as a case study. Relative impacts to horizontal accuracy were evaluated under varying field scenarios (flying altitude, viewing angle, and use of onboard Real-Time Kinematic–Global Positioning System), level of commercial off-the-shelf software processing precision (default optimal versus high or low levels) and processing time, and number of ground control points applied during postprocessing (default number versus additional points). Many data sets met the minimum horizontal accuracy requirements designated by USACE Engineering Manual 2015. Data collection and processing methods highlight procedures resulting in high resolution UAS MS and RGB imagery that meets a variety of USACE project monitoring needs for site plans, beach renourishment and hurricane protection projects, project conditions, planning and feasibility studies, floodplain mapping, water quality analysis, flood control studies, emergency management, and ecosystem restoration.

  • Eutrophication Management via Iron-Phosphorus Binding

    Abstract: The presence of phosphorus (P) in excessive quantities can lead to undesired conditions, such as cyanobacterial/algal bloom. The over-enriched hypertrophic conditions or the excess amounts of nutrients (nitrogen and P, P being the primary nutrient of concern) are the major cause of harmful cyanobacterial blooms, which can be toxic and can also lead to oxygen depletion and anoxic respiration (hypoxia) in the hypolimnion. The presence of iron compounds has been shown to bind phosphorus and diminish harmful algal blooms. Therefore, an iron-plates-packed reactor has been designed to reduce P in surface water. This cost-effective and easy-to-install system has shown promising results in phosphorus reduction.

  • Physical Factors That Influence Muddy Bed Aggregate Production, Size, and Durability

    Abstract: Aggregation state significantly influences the transport characteristics of fine sediments. While research has documented the presence of mud aggregates in multiple coastal and estuarine environments, bed aggregates are largely absent from numerical models used to predict cohesive sediment transport. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is conducting studies to evaluate the impact muddy bed aggregates have on sediment management issues, and how to account for aggregates in numerical models. In this study, physical properties associated with cohesive behavior were evaluated to determine if they could be used as predictors for bed aggregate production, size, and durability. Results showed that aggregates were consistently produced in cohesive sediments, and that median aggregate size was ~10-450x larger than the disaggregated sediment. Clay content had strong correlation with relative aggregate size, though statistically significant correlations were also found with sand content, water content, and density. Durability testing indicated that aggregate break-up followed exponential models, and that in limited instances, rates of break-up correlated with organic content.

  • Development of a HEC-RAS Sediment Model for the Chippewa River, Wisconsin for Use in Predicting Future Dredging Activities

    Purpose: This U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Regional Sediment Management Technical Note (RSM-TN) describes the process of constructing and calibrating a sediment model that utilizes recent sediment data collection efforts performed by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center – Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (ERDC-CHL) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) along the Chippewa River in Wisconsin. A USACE Institute for Water Resources (IWR), Hydrologic Engineering Center, River Analysis System (HEC-RAS, version 5.0.7) unsteady flow sediment model was developed to perform a continuous simulation of bed-load and suspended load transport and dredging operations through the Chippewa River and Lower Pool 4 of the Upper Mississippi River navigation channel. The resulting model developed through this effort can be useful in forecasting future channel maintenance needs through this reach of river.