PROJECT BENEFITS OF STRUCTURED ENGINEERING-ENVIRONMENTALINTERACTION: A CASE STUDY

摘要

A current carryover storage project in San Diego County, California is used to illustrate the concept that structured engineering-environmental interaction adds significant value to the successful implementation of the planning, design, and construction phases of virtually any large project. This concept, which was first presented to USSD in 2005, has evolved through years of experience on projects of all types throughout the U.S., but it has matured over the past 15 years through cooperative efforts on several water resource projects undertaken by the San Diego County Water Authority (Water Authority). The Engineering-Environmental Interaction concept is founded on the premise that naturally and mutually beneficial points of coordination exist between engineering designers/constructors and environmental planners/monitors on any project. If properly recognized and utilized, these points of coordination can add great benefit to the project, from start to finish. Perhaps the item of greatest interest to USSD members is the fact that this concept can be implemented through the use of simple tools, mainly schedules, project plans, and well-coordinated communications designed to clearly identify points of interaction and the benefits of a coordinated effort. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the application of this concept, and to show how implementation of a structured engineering-environmental interaction program has added value to the carryover storage project currently being undertaken by the Water Authority. This paper discusses how the interaction process was formulated for this project, how it has been implemented throughout the planning phase (preliminary design, environmental documentation, and permitting), and how it will be employed during the final design and construction phases.