We’re continuing our deep dive into the different engineering disciplines. Up next is civil engineering. According to Columbia University, “Civil engineering is arguably the oldest engineering discipline. It deals with the built environment and can be dated to the first time someone placed a roof over their head or laid a tree trunk across a river to make it easier to get across.
The built environment encompasses much of what defines modern civilization. Buildings and bridges are often the first constructions that come to mind, as they are the most conspicuous creations of structural engineering, one of civil engineering’s major sub-disciplines. Roads, railroads, subway systems, and airports are designed by transportation engineers, another category of civil engineering. And then there are the less visible creations of civil engineers. Every time you open a water faucet, you expect water to come out without thinking that civil engineers made it possible. New York City has one of the world’s most impressive water supply systems, receiving billions of gallons of high-quality water from the Catskills over one hundred miles away. Similarly, not many people seem to worry about what happens to the water after it has served its purposes. The old civil engineering discipline of sanitary engineering has evolved into modern environmental engineering of such significance that most academic departments have changed their names to civil and environmental engineering.”
What do Civil Engineers do?
Now that we understand what civil engineering is let’s look at what civil engineers do. The role of a civil engineer is to help solve challenges related to the design, construction, and maintenance of the physically and naturally built environment. Civil engineers are involved with all phases of projects that range from buildings, transportation, and water.
What services do civil engineers provide?
Civil engineers provide a broad spectrum of services given the scope of their responsibility. In this blog post by Leverageedu.com, the services civil engineers offer are as follows:
- Construction and Management Engineering
- Geotechnical Engineering
- Structural Engineering
- Transport Engineering
- Water Engineering
- Environmental Engineering
- Coastal Engineering
- Earthquake Engineering
- Forensic Engineering
- Highway Engineering
- Civil Engineering with Architecture
Civil Engineers’ Impact on History
When you think back in history, civil engineers have had a significant impact. In an article by The Guardian, we’re reminded of the many areas of life their work is known.
“When we think of famous civil engineers from the past, we think of Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Joseph Bazalgette, the great engineer of the Victorian age who saved London from cholera by constructing new sewers.
Nowadays, we associate civil engineering with the world’s most jaw-dropping structures, such as Sydney Opera House, the Shard, and China’s Jiaozhou Bay bridge. But civil engineering is also about maintaining and adapting the infrastructure that we depend on every day – our roads, railways, bridges; energy and water supply; waste networks, and flood defences. Civil engineers have to keep this infrastructure running effectively and adapt it to meet challenges, such as population growth, climate change, and natural disasters.”
Civil engineers are responsible for creating the infrastructure we all benefit from every day. Civil engineers have left their mark in society, from bridges and roads to the systems that bring us clean water.
Landmark’s Civil Engineers
Landmark EPC provides a wide range of civil engineering services in Colorado for residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional projects. Our team brings more than 50 years of experience in civil engineering in Colorado.
We specialize in:
- Municipal Roadway & Infrastructure Design
- Residential Roadway, Utility, & Lot Design
- Commercial & Industrial Site Design
- Structural Design
- Foundation Design
- Roads & Bridges
- Utility Planning & Design
- Water/ Wastewater Systems
- Septic System Design
- Hydraulic Drainage Studies
- Oil & Gas
- Renewable Energy
About Landmark EPC
Landmark EPC is a multi-disciplined engineering firm in Colorado. With expertise in civil and structural engineering, landscape architecture and land planning, geotechnical services, land surveying, subsurface utility engineering, and construction management, Landmark provides clients with one source for all your development project needs from design and engineering to project management. To learn more about Landmark EPC, click here to schedule a call with our team.