This manual establishes criteria and presents guidance for geotechnical investigations during the various stages of development for both civil and military projects. The manual is intended to be a guide for planning and conducting geotechnical investigations and not a textbook on engineering geology and soils exploration. Actual investigations, in all instances, must be tailored to the individual projects.

Geotechnical investigations are made to determine those geologic, seismologic, and soils conditions that affect the safety, cost effectiveness, design, and execution of a proposed engineering project. Because insufficient geotechnical investigations, faulty interpretation of results, or failure to portray results in a clearly understandable manner may contribute to costly construction changes, post-construction remedial work, and even failure of a structure, geotechnical investigations and subsequent reports are an essential part of all civil engineering and design projects.

The purpose of this manual is to present principles and methods for construction control of earth and rock-fill dams. This manual is a guide to construction and inspection of earth and rock-fill dams in those aspects that pertain to safe and satisfactory performance.

This engineer manual provides guidance for analyzing the static stability of slopes of earth and rock-fill dams, slopes of other types of embankments, excavated slopes, and natural slopes in soil and soft rock. Methods for analysis of slope stability are described and are illustrated by examples in the appendixes. Criteria are presented for strength tests, analysis conditions, and factors of safety. The criteria in this EM are to be used with methods of stability analysis that satisfy all conditions of equilibrium. Methods that do not satisfy all conditions of equilibrium may involve significant inaccuracies and should be used only under the restricted conditions described herein.

This manual is intended to guide design and construction engineers, rather than to specify rigid procedures to be followed in connection with a particular project.

Appendix A contains a list of Government and non-Government references pertaining to this manual. Each reference is identified in the text by either the designated publication number or by author and date.

This manual provides guidance for the design of coastal revetment, seawalls, and bulkheads.

In areas subject to wind-driven waves and surge, structures such as revetment, seawalls, and bulkheads are commonly employed either to combat erosion or to maintain development at an advanced position from the natural shoreline. Proper performance of such structures is predicated on close adherence to established design guidance. This manual presents important design considerations and describes commonly available materials and structural component. All applicable design guidance must be applied to avoid poor performance or failure. Study of all available structural materials can lead, under some conditions, to innovative designs at significant cost savings for civil works projects.

This manual provides information on hydrologic engineering studies for reservoir projects. These studies can utilize many of the hydrologic engineering methods described in the manuals listed in paragraph 1-4. Hydraulic design of project features are not included here; they are presented in a series of hydraulic design manuals.

This manual is divided into four parts. Part 1 provides basic hydrologic concepts for reservoirs . Reservoir purposes and basic hydrologic concerns and methods are presented. Part 2 describes hydrologic data and analytical methods. Part 3 covers storage requirements for various project purposes, and the last, Part 4, covers hydrologic engineering studies.

This manual provides guidance and procedures for frequency analysis of: flood flows, low flows, precipitation. water surface elevation, and flood damage.

Frequency estimates of hydrologic, climatic and economic data are required for the planning, design and evaluation of flood control and navigation projects. The text illustrates many of the statistical techniques appropriate for hydrologic problems by example. The basic theory is usually
not provided, but references are provided for those who wish to research the techniques in more detail.

The techniques described herein are taken principally from “Guidelines for Determining Flood Flow Frequency” (46 – Water Resources Council, “Guidelines for Determining Flood Flow Frequency,” Bulletin 17B, Hydrology Committee, Washington, D.C., March 1982), “Statistical Methods in Hydrology” (1 – Beard, L. R., “Statistical Methods in Hydrology,” U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento, CA, January 1962), and “Hydrologic Frequency Analysis” (41 – U.S Army Corps of Engineers, “Hydrologic Frequency Analysis,” Volume 3 of Hydrologic Methods for Water Resources Development, the Hydrologic Engineering Center, Davis, CA, April 1975).

The purpose of the Coastal Engineering Manual (CEM) is to provide a comprehensive technical coastal engineering document. It includes the basic principles of coastal processes, methods for computing coastal planning and design parameters, and guidance on how to formulate coastal flood studies, shore protection, and navigation projects.

The CEM is divided into two major subdivisions: science-based and engineering based. The science subdivision is further divided into three parts. The first part, “Coastal Hydrodynamics,” leads the reader from the fundamental principles of wave theory and ocean wave generation through the process of wave transformation as the wave form approaches and reacts with the shore including water-level variations and currents. The second part, “Coastal Sediment Processes,” addresses longshore and cross-shore transport as well as shelf, and wind transport processes. The third part, “Coastal Geology,” covers geomorphology, coastal classification, and morphodynamic processes on sandy shores.

The engineering-based subdivision is oriented toward a project-type approach, rather then the individual structure design and is divided into two parts. The first one, “Coastal Planning and Design,” provides information on the design process and selection of appropriate type of solution to various coastal problems. The second part, “Design of Coastal Project Elements,” provides engineering guidance on materials, fundamentals of design, and reliability.

The first four parts of the CEM and an appendix were issued in 30 April 2002. These included:

The engineering-based subdivision is oriented toward a project-type approach and is divided into two parts. Part V, “Coastal Project Planning and Design,” was published separately on 31 July 2003. The text and figures provide information on the design process and selection of appropriate types of solution to various coastal problems. Part VI, “Design of Coastal Project Elements,” which provides engineering guidance on materials, fundamentals of design, and reliability, was published on 28 September 2011.

This manual is intended to provide guidance and criteria for the design and selection of small-scale wastewater treatment facilities. It provides both the information necessary to select, size, and design such wastewater treatment unit processes, and guidance to generally available and accepted references for such information.

For the purpose of this manual, small-scale wastewater treatment systems are those with average daily design flows less than 379 000 liters per day (L/d) or 100,000 gallons per day (gal/d), including septic tanks for flows less than 18 900 L/d (5000 gal/d), small prefabricated or package plants for flows between 18 900 L/d (5000 gal/d) and 190 000 L/d (50,000 gal/d), and larger prefabricated treatment systems with capacities of no more than 379 000 L/d (100,000 gal/d).

The following manual provides a review of considerations and steps required for the design, construction and operation of constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment in rural applications (i.e. livestock operations, food processing, septic waste treatment, etc). The information provided herein is to be used by practitioners (i.e. professionals with a working knowledge of geotechnical engineering, hydrology, hydrogeology and wastewater treatment) to provide them with enough detailed information to determine if this application is applicable to their needs and if so, to help them develop, implement and operate a constructed wetland treatment system.

The guidelines outlined herein provide a standard system approach for a simple low cost, low maintenance solution. The constructed wetlands discussed in this manual are therefore limited to simple systems such as those found in nature, and do not consider more complex designs such as sub-surface systems and complex mechanical devices. The design examples used in this manual are therefore based on the simpler loading rates methods. This manual can be used by technical staff in provincial agencies, consulting firms, construction companies as well as potential operators and owners of constructed wetland systems.

This guide provides an overview of all of the technical aspects of your drinking water system so you can make sound decisions as you manage the system. This guide does not provide all of the detail and expertise to make decisions about operations and processes. You are encouraged to work with your system’s certified operator(s) for this purpose and consult with him or her for advanced issues.

Water systems are moving toward “sustainability” these days. This includes doing more planning, thinking about the long-term, and finding ways to be more self-reliant. In the coming years, our nation’s drinking water systems will face unprecedented challenges: water shortages, aging infrastructure, an aging workforce, and lack of funding, to name the most obvious issues.

As a local leader, your own actions can set the tone for the rest of the community. Therefore, it is your responsibility to be as informed as possible about the systems and processes that convey safe drinking water to your community’s residences, businesses and institutions. This guide will supply you with some meaningful information about the state of your drinking water supplies. When you have more information, you can make better decisions about current and future operations of your community’s system. By reading this guide, you are becoming engaged in the process of learning more about your responsibilities and providing an essential resource in your community.

Remember, safe drinking water is up to you and your community. Be informed. Be engaged. And be a leader.