One of the little-known facts about the expansion of settlers into the interior territories of the United States was the essential role that surveying played in establishing settlements. As tracts of land were allotted to settlers, these tracts had to be measured, marked and recorded. This effort called for enterprising people who were educated, resourceful, and tough enough to live off the land.

Over the next 20 years, upgrades to the nation’s water system alone are expected to cost three to five trillion dollars. Yet appropriations to replace critical infrastructure continually fall short. Municipalities and utility companies are under enormous pressure to make existing assets more efficient.

In his poem, Mending Wall, Robert Frost captured the adage of a New Hampshire neighbor who observed “Good fences make good neighbors.”

While this may be true in cases where boundary lines are valid and undisputed, fences can make decidedly worse neighbors when the fence lines are in question. The sovereign boundaries and borders of nations, in particular, make for hotly contested claims if the official lines are vague or questioned.