Planning + Sitework
16-25%of exam
Soils + Materials
9-14%of exam
Hydraulics
25-39%of exam
Hydrology + Groundwater
15-23%of exam
Water + Wastewater
23-35%of exam
Quick Facts
- Exam
- PE Civil WRE
- Owner
- NCEES
- Format
- CBT closed book
- Questions
- 80
- Time
- 9-hour appointment
- References
- Electronic only
- Spec
- April 2024
- Fee
- $400
- Pass rate
- 68% first-time
Project Planning
- Takeoff
- Measured quantities
- Unit price
- Quantity times rate
- Lump sum
- Single allowance
- Critical path
- Zero-float sequence
- Present worth
- Today's equivalent cost
- Lifecycle cost
- Total ownership cost
Project Sitework
- Cut/fill
- Earthwork balance
- Grading
- Shape drainage
- Benchmarks
- Elevation control
- ESC
- Erosion sediment control
- Silt fence
- Perimeter control
- Outlet protection
- Prevent scour
- Work zone
- Safety control
- Retaining wall
- Lateral support
- Adjacent facilities
- Protect neighbors
Soil Mechanics
- Active pressure
- Wall yielding
- At-rest pressure
- No wall movement
- Surcharge
- Extra surface load
- Compaction
- Dry density target
- Bearing capacity
- Shear support
- Settlement
- Service deformation
Materials
- USCS
- Grain size + plasticity
- No. 200
- Fines divider
- Slump
- Fresh workability
- Cylinders
- Strength acceptance
- PVC
- Corrosion resistance
- Ductile iron
- Pressure strength
Continuity
Q stays; V changes with A
Q=VASmaller AHigher VSame flow
HGL vs EGL
HGL
- Pressure head
- Elevation head
- Grade line
EGL
- Adds velocity
- Total energy
- Above HGL
Pressure vs energy
Hydraulics Picker
- Pipe continuity→Q=VA(Flow balance)
- Pressure energy→Bernoulli(Grade lines)
- Pipe friction→Darcy-Weisbach(Headloss)
- Water mains→Hazen-Williams(Empirical)
- Uniform channel→Manning(Free surface)
- Flow regime→Froude(Critical check)
- Pump selection→System curve(Operating point)
- Cavitation risk→NPSH(Suction check)
Analysis Design
- Mass balance
- In minus out
- Steady state
- No accumulation
- HLR
- Flow per area
- SLR
- Solids per area
- Detention time
- Volume over flow
- Weir
- Level to flow
- Flume
- Channel flow
Grade Lines
EGL rides one velocity head higher
HGL: pressure+zEGL: +V2/2gLosses dropPumps lift
Darcy vs Hazen
Darcy-Weisbach
- Broad equation
- Friction factor
- Any fluid
Hazen-Williams
- Water pipes
- C factor
- Empirical
General vs water-only
Closed Conduit
- Continuity
- Q=VA
- Bernoulli
- Energy accounting
- HGL
- Pressure + elevation
- EGL
- HGL + velocity head
- Major loss
- Pipe friction
- Minor loss
- Fittings/entrances/exits
- Pump curve
- Added head
- NPSH
- Cavitation check
Manning vs Bernoulli
Manning
- Open channel
- Roughness slope
- Uniform flow
Bernoulli
- Energy balance
- Pressure conduits
- Grade lines
Uniform flow vs energy
Open Channel
- Manning
- Uniform open flow
- Hydraulic radius
- Area over wetted perimeter
- Froude
- Regime indicator
- Subcritical
- Deep slow flow
- Supercritical
- Shallow fast flow
- Critical depth
- Minimum specific energy
- Hydraulic jump
- Energy dissipation
- Culvert control
- Governing headwater
Subcritical vs Supercritical
Subcritical
- Deep slow
- Downstream control
- Fr below 1
Supercritical
- Shallow fast
- Upstream control
- Fr above 1
Slow vs fast
Runoff
Shorter Tc means higher i
TcIDFQ=CIAPeak flow
Detention vs Retention
Detention
- Temporary storage
- Releases flow
- Lowers peak
Retention
- Permanent pool
- Keeps volume
- Promotes treatment
Delay vs store
Hydrology Picker
- Small peak→Rational(Q=CIA)
- Runoff depth→NRCS CN(Losses)
- Rain intensity→IDF(Duration match)
- Travel time→Tc(Distant point)
- Route peak→Detention(Delay release)
- Stream stage→Rating curve(Stage-flow)
Hydrology
- Rational
- Peak small-area flow
- IDF
- Intensity duration frequency
- Tc
- Longest travel time
- CN
- Runoff potential
- Hydrograph
- Flow over time
- Peak flow
- Max ordinate
- Runoff volume
- Hydrograph area
- Detention
- Delayed release
- Retention
- Permanent storage
Groundwater Wells
- Aquifer
- Water-bearing formation
- Confined
- Pressurized aquifer
- Unconfined
- Water-table aquifer
- Darcy law
- Groundwater flow
- Gradient
- Head loss slope
- Drawdown
- Pumping head loss
- Interference
- Overlapping cones
Treatment Train
Coag, floc, settle, filter, disinfect
CoagulationFlocculationSedimentationFiltration
BOD vs DO
BOD
- Oxygen demand
- Organic load
- Consumes oxygen
DO
- Available oxygen
- Stream health
- Sag curve
Demand vs supply
Treatment Picker
- Turbidity removal→Conventional train(Coag to filter)
- Pathogen control→Disinfection(CT/residual)
- Hardness removal→Softening(Calcium/magnesium)
- Ammonia removal→Nitrification(Aerobic)
- Nitrogen removal→Denitrification(Anoxic)
- Collection spikes→I/I review(Wet weather)
- Sludge volume→Dewatering(Water removal)
Water Quality
- BOD
- Oxygen demand
- DO
- Dissolved oxygen
- TMDL
- Allowable pollutant load
- Eutrophication
- Nutrient-driven growth
- Nitrate
- Nutrient contaminant
- Sorption
- Slower transport
- Decay
- Concentration reduction
Nitrogen
Nitrify with oxygen; denitrify without
AerobicAnoxicAmmoniaNitrate
Nitrification vs Denitrification
Nitrification
- Aerobic
- Ammonia to nitrate
- Needs oxygen
Denitrification
- Anoxic
- Nitrate to nitrogen
- Removes nitrogen
Oxygen vs no oxygen
Drinking Water
- ADD
- Average day demand
- MDD
- Maximum day demand
- Peak hour
- Instant high demand
- Coagulation
- Destabilize particles
- Flocculation
- Grow floc
- Sedimentation
- Settle solids
- Filtration
- Remove particles
- Disinfection
- Inactivate pathogens
- Softening
- Remove hardness
Infiltration vs Inflow
Infiltration
- Groundwater entry
- Cracks/joints
- Slow rise
Inflow
- Direct stormwater
- Roof drains
- Fast spikes
Groundwater vs stormwater
Wastewater
- I/I
- Unwanted clearwater
- Preliminary
- Screens/grit
- Primary
- Settle solids
- Secondary
- Biological treatment
- F/M
- Food to biomass
- SRT
- Sludge age
- Nitrification
- Ammonia to nitrate
- Denitrification
- Nitrate to nitrogen
- Dewatering
- Reduce sludge water
Common Traps
Flow vs load
Flow is volume/time ≠ Load is mass/time
Peak vs volume
Peak is maximum rate ≠ Volume is hydrograph area
Major vs minor loss
Major is pipe length ≠ Minor is fittings
Surcharge vs unit weight
Surcharge adds surface load ≠ Unit weight acts through depth
Open vs pressurized
Manning needs free surface ≠ Bernoulli handles pressure energy
BOD vs DO
BOD consumes oxygen ≠ DO remains available
I/I timing
Infiltration rises slowly ≠ Inflow spikes quickly
Effluent vs sludge
Effluent leaves liquid ≠ Sludge carries solids
Last Minute
- 1.Use official handbook only
- 2.Hydrology: Tc drives intensity
- 3.Rational gives peak flow
- 4.NRCS gives runoff depth
- 5.HGL excludes velocity head
- 6.EGL includes velocity head
- 7.Manning needs free surface
- 8.NPSH checks cavitation
- 9.Detention lowers peak
- 10.Retention stores volume
- 11.BOD consumes DO
- 12.Nitrification needs oxygen
- 13.Denitrification needs anoxic zone
- 14.I/I overloads collection
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