HURST, TX The Cement Council of Texas (CCT) will conduct a short course and tour on Sept. 14, 2017, of the Lower Colorado River Authority's new 1,100-acre Lane City Reservoir, 60 miles southwest of Houston, Texas. The event will begin at the Wharton Civic Center (Wharton, Texas) at 1:00 PM, with presentations, a catered dinner, and bussing to the nearby construction site, returning by 9:45 PM.  (More information and online registration at http://www.cementx.org/soil-cement_lane_city.)

Soil-cement uses material recovered from site excavation, mixed with portland cement, to protect embankments from decades of wave and wind action.  Soil-cement slope protection is economical, and has performed well in numerous Texas dam projects for more than half a century. At the short course, industry experts will highlight soil-cement's history, characteristics, design considerations, and construction methods. Attendees will then directly observe the construction techniques, specialized equipment, and quality assurance operations during the night-time site tour. 

The course is targeted for engineers, contractors, public agencies, and testing laboratories engaged in water resources infrastructure design and construction. CCT Executive Director Jan Prusinski said, "This is an important educational event because similar soil-cement on-site training has not been held in the U.S. in decades.  With several other large-scale Texas soil-cement reservoirs in the design pipeline, this is a one-time opportunity for water resources professionals to be trained in best practices."

The Cement Council will issue 6.5 professional development hours for attendees' continuing education, and will distribute reference materials for future use. 

The Lane City Reservoir is the first significant reservoir to be built in the lower Colorado River basin in decades, and will add up to 90,000 acre-feet per year to the region's water supply. It features:

"¢ A five-mile-long, 45-foot-tall reservoir embankment;
"¢ Stepped soil-cement for erosion protection;
"¢ 230,000 cubic yards of site-manufactured soil-cement, from recovered excavated soils.

The Cement Council of Texas has organized this educational event in cooperation with project owner the Lower Colorado River Authority; contractor Phillips and Jordan; and engineer CH2M.