Introduction to

Environmental Engineering
CIV 381
The College of New Jersey
Fall 2014

Kenneth F. Najjar, Ph.D., P.E.

Adjunct Professor
Civil Engineering
August 28, 2014

Education of Instructor
B.E., City College of New York in Civil
Engineering
M.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology in
Environmental Engineering
Ph.D., Rutgers University in Environmental
Science

Background of Instructor
Delaware River Basin Commission
Manager, Planning & Information Technology
Consultant Environmental/Engineering
Adjunct Professor
Villanova University Civil & Env Eng
Rider Univ Geology, Env & Marine Sci
TCNJ Civil Engineering

Experience of Instructor
CDM (NYC, Virginia)
Wastewater Treatment
Water Supply and Distribution
Hydrologic & Hydraulic Modeling (HEC, storm surge, etc.)

Van Note-Harvey Associates (Princeton)

Site Engineering (roads, drainage, grading, etc.)

Stormwater Management (detention basins, dry wells, etc.)
Floodplain management
Water system modeling

Experience of Instructor
(contd)

ENVIRON Corp (Princeton)

Site Remediation (soil, sediments, ground water)
Litigation Support
Environmental Due Diligence

Independent Consultant
Underground Storage Tanks
Site Remediation
Corporate training

Experience of Instructor
(contd)
DRBC (West Trenton, NJ)

Basin Planning
Water Supply & Water Quality Management
Interstate Coordination & Collaboration
Integrated Watershed Management

Teaching
Water Resources Planning & Management (VU)
Watershed Management (UPenn)
Environmental Engineering (TCNJ)

From Water Resources Planning, Andrew Dzurik, 2003

Sustainability
creating, to pass along to our children and to
theirs, a natural resource base whose yields in
economic prosperity, social improvement,
environmental quality, and natural beauty will go
on and on tomorrow and forever because of
political choices we are willing to make today.
Bucks County Planning Comm.

A sustainable water resource is one in which the

present needs of all water uses are met without
compromising the ability to meet future water
uses.

Obstacles to Sustainability
Population Growth
Climate Change
Shale Gas Development

Population Growth
Population has experienced exponential
growth:

About 6 Billion people in 2005

Possibly 9 billion people by 2050
Slow population growth up until mid-19th century
Doubling times have become shorter
Life expectancy has increased
Birth rates have greatly exceeded mortality rates
People are more mobile and can live anywhere

Exponential Growth Rates

The J Curve

Linear Growth: 2 people grow 8 times: 2x8=16

Exponential Growth: 8th power of 2 people: 28 =256 people
2000
6.3 billion

1975
4 billion

1AD
200 million

1930
2 billion
1850
1 billion

1650
500 million

2003 World Population Rank by Countries

1.3 b
1.05b

Global population density

(the darker the shading, the higher the population density)

Forecasting Population Change

Formula to represent population change:
P2 = P1 + (B D) + (I E)
Where
P = population
B = births
D = deaths
I = immigration
E = emigration

Projecting Future Population

Growth
Exponential growth and doubling time
The logistic growth curve
S shaped curve that is generated by the logistic growth
equation.
A small population grows rapidly
But the growth rate slows down
The population eventually reaches a constant size.

Logistic carrying capacity

The population size at which births equal deaths and there is
no net change in population

Sustainability and Carrying

Capacity
What is the maximum number of people the
Earth can sustain?

Impacts of the Human Population

Rapid growth of humans results in problems
obtaining an adequate food & water supplies
Expect problems with maintaining lifestyle:

Water supplies for irrigation, drinking, and industry

Farmland to produce crops to feed a hungry earth
Food production is an energy-intensive business
Supply of energy and minerals for our material based
lifestyle
Pollution of air, land, and water
Global warming

Loss of Agriculture Land-- Land is limited

Convert cropland to residential area and parking lots.

Urban Sprawl: loss of land

Baltimore and DC areas

Urban Sprawl: loss of land

Urban Sprawl

Baltimore and DC areas

Urban Sprawl: loss of land

Baltimore and DC areas

Urban Sprawl: loss of land

Baltimore and DC areas

Urban Sprawl: loss of land

Baltimore and DC areas

How do we resolve issues created by

Human Population?
What consequences will we face because of our growth
of the human population?
Energy and natural resources are finite supplies on earth
Where do we find more?

Water supplies have been exhausted in many places

Where do we find more? How do we re-distribute?

Croplands are replaced by homes and cities

Where do we find land for farms?

Waste, the products of our life style, must be put

somewhere
Where do we put it and at what cost?

How do we resolve issues created by

Human Population?
What consequences will we face because of our growth
of the human population?
Carrying Capacity, its ability to sustain its
population at a basic, healthy, moderately
comfortable standard of living
Have we exceeded it?

Global Warming, the activity of billions of people

is impacting the climate of earth
Can we stop or reverse the trend?

Climate Change

Power station in Sofia, Bulgaria

Seaside Park, NJ
after Superstorm
Sandy

Droughts

Drought of the 1960s

Flooding

What does the future hold?

Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC)
Increased threat from heavy
precipitation events - rated Likely
Increased threat of drought events
rated Likely

Increased hurricane activity

expected to continue for next 15
years
Some experts say the increase is
permanent

Assumptions for Future Scenarios

Increasing Temperatures 2- 4o C
Equal or Increased Precipitation 7 9%
Greater Intensity of Storms/Hurricanes
More Precipitation in Winter Months
Warmer Summers
Working at the Extremes
Floods and Droughts

Increase in Sea Level Rise

Inundation (height + tidal range change)
15-20% range increase at Balt. For 1m rise (Zhong et al., 2008)

Storm Surge
Salinity Increases

Shale Gas Development

Natural Gas Well Pad and Drill Rig in , PA

Conventional well

Unconventional well

Time Factor
Very few hydrocarbon deposits are found in
rocks less than 1 to 2 million years old
Geologist suspect the process is slow and takes
longer than a few tens of thousands of years
Oil and Natural gas are nonrenewable energy
resources
The organic material falling to the sea floors
today will not be useful as petroleum products
in our lifetime

Natural Gas Exploration in Shale

Natural fractures "joints" in Devonian-age shale

We are here

Marcellus Production in Northeast: Largely Horizontal Wells

Positive Aspects of Natural Gas

Drilling
Economics: more jobs, revenue to industry &
leaseholders, increased tax revenue
Energy independence: Some estimates indicate
decades worth of gas for the U.S. that would
decrease our reliance on foreign oil
Location: Marcellus shale is close in proximity
to high population areas in N.E.

Three Major Areas of Concern

Water - effect on water resources:
By reducing the flow in streams
By reducing aquifer water supply
Potential contamination of ground and surface waters

Landscape: On-site drilling operations may potentially

add, discharge or cause the release of pollutants into
the ground water or surface water
as well as transportation impacts
Wastewater: The recovered "frac water" must be
treated and disposed of properly.
http://extension.psu.edu/natural-resources/wildlife/marcellus-shale/illustrated-guide

Why Solving Environmental

Problems Is Often Difficult
1. Exponential growth

The consequences of exponential growth and its

accompanying positive feedback can be dramatic

2. Lag time

The time between a stimulus and the response of a system

If there is a long delay between stimulus and response, then
the resulting changes are much more difficult to recognize.

3. Irreversible consequences

Consequences that may not be easily rectified on a human

scale of decades or a few hundred years.

Sustainability Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GorqroigqM