For more than 13 years, Engineers Without Borders has been building engineering projects that empower communities to meet their basic needs.

With 300 chapters across the United States, more than 15,900 volunteers work together to provide engineering services and have impacted more than 2.5 million lives.

Mike Brunner, Water Resources Group Leader at The Kleingers Group, is currently acting as a mentor for the group, helping to train Miami University students who plan to travel to Ecuador, South America or Rwanda, Africa. Under the guidance of a mentor, the students will provide engineering services to build water systems that ensure the communities have access to water.

In late September, Brunner helped the students learn a variety of hands-on skills and the practice of engineering and surveying theory, including how to run an elevation level circuit, mix and place concrete, construct water piping systems, and test concrete beams.

Particularly popular was the process of breaking beams, which was done by having increasing numbers of students stand on the beams, which were positioned 3 inches off the ground until they broke. This was preceded by reviewing the design calculations and making predictions of how many students it would take to break them and how much they would deflect before breaking.

At an upcoming meeting this weekend, Brunner will help teach the student volunteers about building masonry walls.

Each training session prepares students for civil engineering, surveying, and other experience they may need on their upcoming trip.

“I had been looking for an organization like this, with an opportunity to give back and work with students for a long time,” Brunner said. “This really is a wonderful organization.”

Engineers Without Borders is organized by local chapters that partner directly with communities, mostly international, on projects to meet the community’s self-identified needs. The vast network of dedicated volunteers ranges from first-year engineering students and engineering professionals to public health professionals.

The over-arching philosophy of EWB-USA is to partner with communities in a sustainable way, and through the use of appropriate technology, so that they have ownership in the project(s) and will be able to maintain the project facilities long-term.

Along with two or three other local professional engineers, Brunner meets weekly with the student volunteers to provide advice and direction on the engineering/technical aspects of the project, as well as to guide them through the development of the project documents and EWB-USA paperwork.

Two different teams of Miami students from the chapter, along with a mentor, traveled to Ecuador and Rwanda last year to gather survey data that is being used to design the projects and to meet the local community leaders and citizens. Trips for the construction phase are being planned for this year.

The Kleingers Group was pleased to participate as a guest of the ULI East Central Regional Product Council which took place in Pittsburgh, PA earlier this month.  This select group of ULI members from the ULI Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, and Pittsburgh region focused on Urban Infill and Mixed-Use Development.  As the host city, Pittsburgh provided an exceptional backdrop for a discussion on how an urban core is being redeveloped thanks to many key drivers for public and private investment.

The group began the session with a walking tour of the downtown area.  The City of Pittsburgh has seen over $3 billion of investment completed over the last 10 years with another $2 billion in the planning stages.  It has transformed from a steel city to a cultural mecca with over thirty theaters in the downtown area.  Pittsburgh has a very dense, urban core with narrow right of way and relatively aged, historic buildings – a differentiator from Columbus. Mellon Square was once thought of as the “death of Pittsburgh” but is now a restored, elevated plaza surrounded by hotels, renovated office/residential buildings, and retail uses.

According to http://www.downtownpittsburgh.com, the redevelopment of residential housing within Pittsburg is rapid with 1,084 residential units opening since 2010 and 90.8% of apartments being rented at the end of last year.  The average rental rates are higher than we are currently seeing in the Columbus area and mixed-income projects are prevalent.

Mixed-use buildings are somewhat the norm and green buildings are important to the office users in Pittsburgh. PNC is currently completing a new tower building rising 33 stories above the surrounding rivers with over 800,000sf of office space.  This building is touted as the world’s greenest skyscraper and has dramatically changed the skyline of the City.

Along with the downtown area, the group toured East Liberty and Bakery Square, which are mixed-use redevelopments outside the urban core which include transit-based development and a new transit center.  Transit and light rail are important to making these developments work and the City seems committed to transportation improvements including a new bike share program.  The Bakery Square development has landed Google as a main office user in the redeveloped bakery building.  A green street featuring permeable pavement and stormwater infiltration systems has been dedicated to public use and will be maintained by the City.  This is one example of the commitment of both public and private entities together to not only implementing sustainable principles within the design and construction but also turning this new, green infrastructure over to City ownership and maintenance.

An All-Star panel discussion including representatives from the City of Pittsburgh, Urban Redevelopment Authority, Hillman Family Foundations, Heinz Endowments, and Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group made it evident that the public, private and philanthropic groups are very aligned and engaged to make these projects successful.

The number of investment groups available to developers and the dedication to mass transit is certainly advantageous to the Pittsburg region. However, the overwhelming desire of today’s workforce to live, work and play in urban areas with accessible means of transportation and the walkability to these places is a common theme that the Columbus region continues to work toward with urban development and redevelopment in our region. Methods on how to deal with this demographic shift have been characterized within the Insight2050 report established through a joint effort of MORPC, Columbus 2020, and ULI-Columbus, providing critical thoughts on how public policies will impact future land use. Public policies and transportation top the list of concerns for the continued development success of our area and how we will compete with our neighbors.  The Columbus region has embraced some transit options such as shared-use bikes and cars and Uber, but we are still at the drawing board on mass transit options and funding is a constant concern.

The “brain drain” seems to be a buzzword at nearly every engagement centered around the future success of the Columbus area.  The area must become attractive enough to keep our talent within our region to live, work and play.  This means progressive thinking and risk-taking.  Columbus2020 is one example of an economic development engine that is collaboratively bringing investment and jobs to the region as a whole. Although the Columbus region is taking strides forward every day, we were excited to learn from the success of one of our neighboring regions.

The Kleingers Group recently created plans for the first underground utility connection installed under the new Cincinnati Streetcar while the overhead lines are energized.

Specifically, the Water Service Branch Plan created by Kleingers identifies the routing of a new water service line and the location of the bore pits required to tunnel under the streetcar line.

Like most projects in an urban setting, the routing of the new waterline had to be configured in a tight space while avoiding a number of existing utilities, all at various depths. The location of the bore pits also had to be chosen carefully to work around a large number of existing utilities.

The new water line, installed by Greater Cincinnati Water Works, will service a building currently under renovation by 3CDC.

Plans submitted to Greater Cincinnati Water Works were approved the same day, allowing work to begin quickly.

The project is expected to be the first of many to come that will require extra care to work around the tracks for the Cincinnati Streetcar.

Delaware County is currently conducting a series of public meetings to gather input before they start revising their sanitary sewer master plan. The Kleingers Group recently attend the meetings and is encouraging area developers to get involved.

Two things to note:

1. The county is currently looking for input from developers. The new master plan will affect sanitary sewer plans and development throughout the county. If you are a developer who works in Delaware County, now is a great time to voice your opinions about what you would like to see happen before the planning process gets underway.
2. Delaware County is also looking for information about specific projects to incorporate into the plan. They intend to consider existing and future developments as well as economic conditions, affordability, funding, and infrastructure assessments in developing the master plan. Understanding your plans for the future can assist the county in developing the best master plan.

Getting involved is easy. There is a public meeting tomorrow, Thursday, Aug. 20 at the Frank B. Willis Government Building on US 23 North or you can submit your feedback online at www.co.delaware.oh.us/sanitary. You can also find a link to the meeting presentation here.

We’ll try to keep you informed as new developments happen, but getting your feedback in early is important so it can be considered as the county develops the plan.