Read the text below and say whether the statements are true, false or not given.
CIVIL ENGINEERING: IT’S NOT ALL BRICKS AND METAL
Ask anyone in the street what civil engineering is and the most likely reply will involve metal or concrete. In other words, most people associate engineering with bridges, roads, buildings and factories. We are not taught about engineering in school, so why should people consider anything else?
Structural, geotechnical and transport engineering are certainly three important strands of civil engineering and without them, we would not have houses to live in or roads to travel home on. But civil engineering extends further than this. Indeed, it can be viewed as something that covers everything you need in life.
One area of civil engineering that has become increasingly important and popular in recent years is environmental engineering. Interestingly, the growth of this area seems to have attracted increasing numbers of women into engineering careers.
Dr Charlotte Paterson, a lecturer in Environmental Engineering at the School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences at Newcastle University, paints an interesting picture of environmental engineering through her own experience and specialisation: waste stabilisation ponds.
Dr Paterson spent several years in the late 1990s doing field work in Tanzania and Australia for her PhD. This research may sound like an exciting and romantic opportunity for a young academic. However, Dr Paterson is quick to point out that she spent most of this time floating in a small boat on ponds containing sewage.
If the aim of civil and environmental engineering is to use the forces and power of nature for the benefit of mankind, then waste stabilisation ponds provide the perfect example of this in action. This way of treating sewage uses a natural process which exploits the energy of the sun and bacteria to clean dirty water.
How does it work? Sewage treatment systems need to be given good conditions for the biodegradation of waste. This is usually done by adding oxygen to the water which can be achieved by mixing the water mechanically. An alternative method, however, is to use solar power.
With this solar-powered method, algae are grown on the pond. The algae produce oxygen and the organic pollutants in the water are eventually broken down. The clean liquid is then separated from the dirtier solids which are removed to be treated. This offers a low-cost solution to a problem that affects billions of people worldwide.
This is one example of an environmental engineering technology that can improve the lives of many people worldwide. As Dr Paterson points out, one of the main aims of her own area of expertise is to find solutions for the billions of people who have neither clean water nor adequate sanitation.
Civil engineering is a narrow subject that does not affect our daily lives.