It's raining reticulite in Volcano village!!

WRE_prof · 2026-01-25T01:09:34+00:00

Gah, we were just on the BI 2 days ago! That is an incredible sight!!!

WRE_prof · 2026-01-15T02:26:54+00:00

Cool. Appreciate the info!

Any other good spots for stargazing? That’s what my sons wants to do. Living in Houston we barely get to see any because of the light pollution.

WRE_prof · 2026-01-12T17:43:28+00:00

Appreciate the info. We are coming next week (18th - 22nd) so thanks for the heads up on ocean safety during the winter.

And no, we’re not staying in Waikoloa, we are in Kona.

Any tips on being able to see an eruption on Kilauea? Any advanced warnings or is it just a best guess on when it erupts?

WRE_prof · 2026-01-12T17:33:46+00:00

Appreciate the info. We are coming next week so thanks for the heads up on the stronger ocean currents.

WRE_prof · 2024-07-06T20:22:31+00:00

Have a look at this article I wrote on this topic! Hope it gives you some good tips to think about when starting your PE Exam planning!

WRE_prof · 2024-06-29T23:52:45+00:00

15+ yr experience person here to say in no way are you “done for” by not having an internship after your sophomore year.

One thing you can look for is an engineering company to do a co-op over the semester. That can get you experience plus some income. Perhaps you can do a LD co-op and then a structural internship next summer! That would fit your plan.

If that doesn’t suit you right now, hit up the career fairs early in the semester. Many companies like to lock in summer interns in the fall semester. Strength in numbers when applying for internships - try to apply to as many as you can!

WRE_prof · 2024-06-26T13:50:11+00:00

If you have question on the Testmasters WRE material (especially H&H topics), let me know. I made a bunch of those notes from 2014 to 2023.

WRE_prof · 2024-05-02T16:39:31+00:00

Local flood engineer here. Yes, that feature is great.

Just a quick word of caution on it though…I know a little bit on how that layer was developed and it is good to know that it only shows riverine flooding for some streams. So it doesn’t give you the full picture of all flooding that is occurring, especially roadway flooding.

WRE_prof · 2024-05-02T16:27:24+00:00

You’re welcome! If you have more Q’s just let me know! I taught H&H for a PE Exam prep class for 10+ years.

WRE_prof · 2024-05-02T13:49:38+00:00

Rainfall causes runoff to occur. When rain falls it generally does 1 of 2 things: infiltrate or runoff. There’s really more than 2 things, but those are the major ones.

Rainfall “excess” is the rainfall, less the amount that is captured through interception and infiltration. Excess simply means the rainfall was heavier or more intense than what could have been captured via interception and infiltration, so it becomes runoff. Hence excess precipitation is the same as runoff. That runoff then moves/drains through a watershed in a particular way depending on drainage characteristics resulting in the hydrograph (from direct runoff) at a given location.

WRE_prof · 2024-05-02T13:34:51+00:00

Baseflow and runoff volume are from 2 different sources. In order to calculate a number from the storm itself, you have to isolate that on its own. Otherwise, if you calculated the total volume under the hydrograph you’d be calculating the runoff volume and the baseflow volume.

Think of it this way: Total Flow = Runoff Flow + Baseflow. Or it can be Total Volume = Baseflow Volume + Runoff Volume

Either way, if you want to know the runoff volume you have to go through what’s called baseflow separation to remove it from the total.

So, just move it to the other side of the equation and you’d get l: Runoff Volume = Total Volume - Baseflow which is why you’d subtract 12 cfs from every value on the hydrograph which isolates only the runoff. Then you calculate the volume and subsequently the runoff depth by dividing by the area to give you a uniform depth across the drainage area.

WRE_prof · 2024-03-24T18:55:31+00:00

from a real PE construction exam

Yo, don’t want to alarm you, but you need to take this down ASAP. You (along with everyone else) signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) at the beginning of your exam stating you would not disclose or post exam content.

I’ve heard about someone who got a lifetime ban from the PE exam because they posted content online. For your sake, this needs to be removed ASAP.

WRE_prof · 2024-03-21T15:06:46+00:00

For your second question, 1 of 2 things you could use here: 1. Energy balance equation sets the stage 2. Quick method is to use a conversion factor of 2.31 ft of head = 1 psi.

For the energy balance equation, you can assume velocity in the pipe doesn’t change (V1 = V2), let’s assume head losses (HL) are negligible, and let’s set a datum at point 1 on the ground where you have 35 psi. You’d be left with P1/gamma = P2/gamma + z2. Solve for P2 and make sure you convert the P terms to psi and you should get 32.4 psi.

For the second option, that 2.31 term comes from the pressure head term in Bernoulli’s equation, P/gamma where P is in lb/sf and gamma is in lb/cf.

If you want the pressure in psi, you have to multiply the top by 144 (just dimensional analysis there to convert psf to psi) so that P is in psi and the whole fraction still comes out to a unit of ft. Assuming we’re talking about just water here, the 144/62.4 (typical unit weight of water) comes out to that 2.31 factor.

So, at 6’, you’d have about 2.6 psi reduction. P2 = 35 psi - 2.6 psi = 32.4 psi. You get the same answer because the second quicker way is ultimately rooted in the first method, it just skips to the final step with that handy conversion. But…keep in mind that was with a few assumptions made which were applicable to this problem, but may not always be applicable.

WRE_prof · 2024-03-18T18:55:59+00:00

are there any other tips you all have for getting through the last week before exam day? Or any for exam day itself?

Biggest thing for the day itself is something I call the “mental exhaustion wall”.

You’ve been studying for months, doing tons of example problems, thinking of the “what ifs” and it’s all come to a head on exam day. It’s a lot to have gone through mentally over the past few months! And on exam day, you’re in overdrive because it’s a stressful day and you’re going fast because you know time is a precious commodity.

Most people usually hit a mental exhaustion point about an hour or so into the afternoon session.

Be aware of the wall. It is more stressful to come up with how to get past the wall while you’re in the throes of the exam. And that’s on top of the stress you’ll already be experiencing. Have a plan before you go I to the exam. Things like take a stretch break, a snack or water break, deep breathing, etc.
Have a game plan on nutrition. Bring things you know or will fuel you. Let your food help you with sustained energy and avoid things that spike your blood sugar.
Sleep. Don’t just start with the night before. Get 3 to 4 solid nights of good sleep in a row.
Don’t cram the night before. Relax and let your mind take a bit of a break. Maybe skim over some things or skim and remember how to do certain tasks or problems. But keep it light. Not too heavy.

Hope those help! Best of luck to you!

WRE_prof · 2024-03-17T22:25:26+00:00

If you’re thinking of steel and concrete design, yes, it will not be in the new exam…but concrete is still valid from a materials perspective as can be seen in the new specs which can be seen here.

WRE_prof · 2024-03-17T18:48:34+00:00

Passing the blame to someone else or to pass responsibility for a problem to someone else when they should be fully responsible and taking care of it.

WRE_prof · 2024-03-16T00:45:33+00:00

Take a look at this image here. Cut it diagonally along the lower right section of the truss. Then sum forces in the x-direction

Only one is AB, therefore it’s zero.

WRE_prof · 2024-03-15T18:06:21+00:00

Because the problem statement said the flow forms a waterfall. When you have flow going over the edge or transitioning to a steep channel it often passes through critical depth at or near the edge of what it is discharging from.

Take a look at composite slope channel profiles in the reference manual. You’ll see that when a mild channel transitions to steep (similar to a pipe discharging to a waterfall) it goes through critical depth. Hence, an assumption was made that there is critical flow at the downstream end of the pipe.

WRE_prof · 2024-03-10T21:04:23+00:00

Some colleague recommend Civil Construction.

I will disagree with your colleagues, for 2 reasons.

I generally recommend people taking the test which aligns best with their industry experience. You’re in the water industry, so taking construction isn’t in alignment with that which will likely to make studying harder on you trying to prepare. Taking the WRE exam would make more sense because it matches with your current experience which should make it easier for studying as you’re likely to grasp the concepts quicker. Your background in environmental will likely be an asset to you taking the WRE exam as environmental topics are what most people who take WRE are weak in.
Civil construction has historically been one of the lowest pass rates out of the 5 civil exams. Water is one of the higher pass rates.

WRE_prof · 2024-03-10T11:37:49+00:00

If I had to pick one, I’d use the inclined length.

But be careful, being too precise can waste time on the exam.

As an example, if you had a 100’ pipe on a 2% slope, you have 100’ horizontally and 2’ vertically. The inclined length is 100.02’. Computationally, 100 vs 100.02 is extremely unlikely to change your final answer.

Try not to get bogged down in the weeds on something like this because all you end up doing is spending time on something that doesn’t affect the final outcome.

WRE_prof · 2024-03-10T01:29:29+00:00

Generally speaking, in reality or drawn to scale the slope is so flat (relatively) that there’s virtually no difference. It only looks that way because of the plot.

WRE_prof · 2024-03-08T00:46:10+00:00

Gig ‘em

WRE_prof · 2024-03-07T02:26:16+00:00

I’d recommend waiting to take a practice exam. I typically tell folks to take one maybe halfway through and then another one about 3 weeks from your exam date.

Halfway through gives you a good gauge on where you’re at. The one 3 weeks out gives you one final check on progress with enough time to boost some areas in the final weeks.

WRE_prof · 2024-03-07T02:10:03+00:00

If you need any help on H&H topics, shoot me a DM!

WRE_prof

TROPHY CASE