Terry Feldmann, PE, Principal and Agricultural Group Manager, had the opportunity to sit down with Sarah Michaels of Food, Farms andamp; Biofuels segment at WEEK Channel 25 to discuss an ongoing project with a client in southern Illinois that has installed a biogas digester. This feature brought a spotlight to Agricultural Engineering and the broadness of the profession. This special focused on livestock system and manure handling and utilization design in the agricultural engineering field.

So the way a digester works is by growing and maintaining bacteria that utilizes the organic matter in the manure. We utilize heating that up to around a little over a 100 degrees Fahrenheit to encourage the growth and of methanogenic bacteria that those are the ones that produce process the organic matter in the manure, or a large majority of the OM, and converts it into methane.

One of the nice pluses when you produce the biogas can be converted to power. The other benefit that the effluent, or the leftover manure, still has pretty much all the nutrients that farmers and crops can utilize, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium. The farmer can still use the digester effluent for fertilizing his crops and add value to a byproduct from the livestock by applying it to the crops.

Maurer-Stutz, Inc. has provided planning which included engineering survey, soils and geotechnical investigation. Design services included permitting with relevant state and federal agencies as well as developing site and structural design plans. MSI also provided limited construction observation for the project. MSI looks forward to sharing more about this project in a future feature once the project is completed.

On Tuesday, May 19, 2020, the result of heavy flooding on the Tittabawassee and Tobacco rivers, the Edenville Dam and Sanford Dam in Midland County, Michigan failed. The Edenville Dam was the first failure. The Sanford Dam, which was downstream of the Edenville Dam, was also a complete breach and total failure. These dams are operated by Boyce Hydro LLC.

Boyce Hydro LLC had been notified for 14 years of deficiencies on the Edenville Dam and after inaction the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission revoked their license in September 2018 over unaddressed safety problems, such as not having sufficient spillway capabilities during a flood event. This revoked license however did not address the deficiencies as the Michigan Department of Environment, Great lakes and Energy (EGLE) classified the dam as “fair” in 2018, but also expressed concern over the spillway. The owner of the dams has said their inaction to fix the dam is due to a lack of funds.

The article quoted above discussed the State of Michigan’s regulatory capability of monitoring all of the dams and enforcement ability they have for high hazard dams. See more about this discussion here: https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/05/24/dam-safety-unit-2-staff-supervisor-1000-dams/5247566002/

The AGU Advancing Earth and Space Science Blog has a technical narrative of the Edenville Dam failure from the above video from https://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/2020/05/21/edenville-dam-failure-2/

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has rated Michigan’s dam Report Card as a C-minus in 2018, an improvement from a D in 2009 after several poor rated dams were removed. The report notes that two-thirds of the dams are older than their 50-year design life, and in the next 5 years, 80% of the dams will be older than their design life.

Do you have a dam that needs an inspection or an assessment for maintenance? Reach out to Maurer-Stutz to discuss our Dam Safety services.

Gayle Baker, an agricultural services engineer at Maurer-Stutz, recently wrote an article that was included the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) Resource Magazine. Gayle is a Member at Large for the Young Professional Community (YPC) Executive Committee.

Resource Magazine for March/April 2019 is a publication which features first-hand accounts by eighteen “women of ASABE” who share their experiences, challenges, and joys in pursuing higher education and successful careers in a historically male-dominated field.

Check out the full publication here: https://bt.e-ditionsbyfry.com/publication/?i=569108#{%22issue_id%22:569108,%22page%22:0}

Resourceandnbsp;is published six times a year in both print and electronic formats. The magazine features trends, new technologies, issues, and applications related to agricultural and biological engineering. Past issues, available below, reflect the many interest areas of the society and readers.

The Public Land Survey System was created because, in the 1780s, the new United States of America needed money. The Revolutionary War had left the federal government with debts, and its leaders planned to raise funds by selling off land where American colonists had yet to settle.andnbsp; Atlas Obscura on has a great article on how the Public Land Survey System was created.

Throughout history, numerous incredible engineering projects have been established and completed. From the earliest annals of history to modern times, there are numerous creations that showcase our ability to realize an incredible constructive vision. While every engineer or anyone who appreciates structures may have their own opinion on what engineering project is most impressive, it can be assumed that these ten would be placed at the top.

Courtesy – Norwich University