The Pros And Cons Of Civil Engineering

Increased national concern has been raised over the depletion of America’s groundwater supply in recent years. Trends such as an increasing population as well as severe droughts have contributed to the development of what is a coming water crisis in the United States. With water being pumped out of the ground for consumption faster than it can be replenished, the Southwestern region of the United States, especially, are on the verge of running out of usable fresh water. The unsustainability of current water management in this region impacts more than just the people living there. Much of the vegetation and wildlife native to this region that depend on this water are facing extinction (Hayes). Civil Engineers working in the field of water management …show more content…
While the NSPE Code of Ethics states that an engineer should strive to serve the public’s interest, it also holds the engineer responsible for adhering to sustainable development in order to protect the environment for future generations ("NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers"). From this alone, it is obvious that the engineers are acting not in accordance with the NSPE Code of Ethics. The Civil Engineers are actually harming the environment by lowering the groundwater table beyond what the vegetation’s roots can reach when water is pumped out for the public with the knowledge that there hasn’t been enough precipitation to replace it. Following the death of the vegetation is the subsequent endangerment of the wildlife in the region which relied on the vegetation as a food source. The ASCE Code of Ethics actually deals with this situation much more directly. Canon I of the ASCE Code of Ethics states that “Engineers should be committed to improving the environment by adherence to the principles of sustainable development so as to enhance the quality of life of the general public” (“Code of Ethics”). Sustainable development means that civil engineers should only proceed with economic development in a way that does not irreversibly deplete natural resources. In relation to this subject, the civil engineers should only work on water resource projects that will be sustainable going forward. Clearly the usage of groundwater is not sustainable and is endangering the