Blog | Allen & Major

Shop Talk Blog Post - Observation and Maintenance of BMPs, Why It’s Important to Your Bottom Line

“In February 2000 the Northern Virginia Planning District Commission issued a report to owners and operators of stormwater best management practices (BMPs), urging them to properly maintain their systems. According to the report, “Over half of BMPs fail in the first five years due to lack of proper maintenance.” For those ...

Shop Talk - Test Pits and Percolation Tests

Test Pits and Percolation Tests (“Perc Test”) – Why They are Essential to Your Project Test Pits are excavated in support of a Project to understand the subsurface conditions of the on-site soil. Test pits are required for two (2) main functions – for a Stormwater Management Plan (SMP) utilizing infiltration Best ...

Shop Talk - Pervious Pavement/Pavers

The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the primary federal law that regulates the quality of the nation’s water bodies. The CWA, through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program, establishes pollution limits for anyone discharging into streams and lakes, including cities.One of the greatest tools in the engineering toolbox when it ...

Shop Talk - Hydrant Flow Test

For a new residential or commercial building program, a hydrant flow test is required. A hydrant flow test determines the water availability for firefighting activities, fire sprinkler systems, or domestic water demand. The tests are also useful in determining the general condition of the water distribution system. The data that’s collected is ...

Shop Talk - Wetland or Detention Basin, Timing is Everything

Do you own or are you planning to acquire a Massachusetts property with a detention basin that has turned into a wetland? When a detention basin is not maintained for several years, there can be standing water, woody growth, wetland plants, and even animals living within what was previously an engineered and constructed ...

Three Reasons Property Owners Should Contact A Surveyor

While you will often hear a surveyor extol the virtues of having a survey, it is the conversations we have with property owners with buyer’s remorse that hit us the heaviest. We are often contracted to provide a survey after-the-fact. When a client has a boundary situation and needs to decide ...

Smart Strategies for Pollinator Enhancements in Your Landscape Design

Beneficial insects that include what we typically consider pollinators (i.e. bees, butterflies, etc.) are essential for human health, food production, and wildlife management. Pollinators are responsible for $18-27 billion in the US food industry. Simply stated, no pollinators equal no food, and there is an unprecedented scale of habitat loss ...