Description

1) Assessing Flood Resiliency in Bladen County, North Carolina
Chris Stanley, PE, CFM, McAdams cstanley@mcadamsco.com
Co-presenters: Cameron James, PE, CFM, james@mcadamsco.com

Abstract: North Carolina continues to be impacted by an undeniable increase in the frequency and severity of major stormwater events each year, including hurricanes and tropical storms as well as just the more common short-duration, high-intensity rainfall events that are frequent throughout the year. This is particularly true for the eastern part of the state, which is highly susceptible to the rapidly changing climatic patterns impacting our coastal communities. Characterized by flat terrains and many existing developments and communities located near major flood sources such as rivers and streams, finding solutions to mitigate flooding within these communities can be a significant challenge. Combined with the challenges of upgrading and maintaining its rapidly-aging drainage infrastructure, communities are being forced to gain a better understanding of its stormwater assets and find ways to fund the much needed improvements. McAdams is performing a watershed study and storm drainage analysis for several municipalities within Bladen County, including the Towns of Bladenboro, Elizabethtown, Dublin, White Lake, Clarkton, and White Lake. These municipalities within the County have experienced severe flooding on multiple occasions through the years, including during Hurricanes Matthew and Florence, due to a combination of poor drainage and aging, undersized stormwater infrastructure. Bladen County has an interest in preventing or minimizing the flooding during significant weather events in each of these municipalities, including the more frequent, nuisance type flooding events that these areas experience routinely. The overarching goal of this project is to assess each community’s drainage system and identify areas of deficiency and required improvements. McAdams will be leading the stormwater hydrologic and hydraulic modeling process as part of an engineering team to assist in the identification of needed stormwater upgrades and will also assist in the development of Stormwater Capital Improvement Planning (CIP) for each municipality. This will aid in building better resiliency for these communities against an evolving climate, changes in rainfall patterns, and the threat of future flooding from hurricanes and other significant weather events. This study is being funded by a grant from The North Carolina Office of Resiliency and Recovery CDBG-DR. This presentation will highlight some of the 1-D and 2-D modeling technologies that McAdams is applying to this project to assess predicted flooding and will also highlight some of the strategies each of the communities are considering to help mitigate flooding, plan for future capital projects, and prepare for future storm events.

2) A Stormwater Management Evolution: Lessons From Consolidating Two Decades of Watershed Master Planning
Dan Fricke, PE, CFM, JEO Consulting Group, dfricke@jeo.com
Co-presenters: Tim Zach, TZach@lincoln.ne.gov

Abstract: This presentation will provide lessons learned from the review and consolidation of 20 years of flood risk management, stream stability and water quality master planning, which can inform other and future stormwater programs and planning efforts. Considerations which will be highlighted include: leveraging technology for public education and reporting; prioritization methodologies for different project types as well as scoring considerations in 2022 compared to 2000; nonstructural/land use controls necessary to address flood and erosion hazards; and GIS, hydrologic, and hydraulic data creation and cataloguing for effective stormwater and floodplain management. Historically, urban stormwater was viewed no differently than the version which goes down the toilet, to be flushed away as expeditiously as possible. Over time we began to understand more of its value, along with its risks, as well as the complexity of managing order-of-magnitude-swings in discharges. Communities undertaking urban stormwater management must balance its scale, available funding, and land use planning while satiating development needs, risk reduction, water quality, and stormwater corridor management. Between 2000 and 2018, the City of Lincoln, Nebraska developed 14 different Watershed Master Plans for all its watersheds, including future growth areas. These 14 plans have been used to identify watershed management projects (over 200) and recommendations consistent with local priorities, including flood risk reduction, stream stability, and water quality. Project implementation needs far outweigh available funding, with less than one-third of planned projects having been implemented to-date. Given the 14 different planning efforts, each having been completed for different purposes and at different times, as well as the need to prioritize implementation funding, the city recently consolidated these 14 Watershed Master Plans into a single Comprehensive Watershed Master Plan.

3) Cloquet’s Stormwater Resilience Assessment & Action Plan: Prioritizing Flood Resilience Projects based on Damage Potential & Vulnerability Assessments
Riley Mondloch, SEH, rmondloch@sehinc.com
Co-presenters: Carson Webb, cwebb@sehinc.com

Abstract: The City of Cloquet secured more than $100,000 from a recently established funding program in Minnesota focusing on planning activities that increase community resilience to climate change and reduce localized flooding. SEH worked closely with the City to develop a Stormwater Resilience Assessment & Action Plan that identifies locations and causes of localized flooding, assesses risk, damage potential and community vulnerability due to localized flooding, develops potential projects to reduce flooding and mitigate the effects of climate change, and estimates the cost of project implementation. Public engagement was conducted during the development of this Plan to obtain information about past flooding and provide educational opportunities for the public to learn about the City’s stormwater infrastructure, climate change, and their ability to improve community resiliency. This presentation will provide an overview of the recent work completed to develop the City of Cloquet's Stormwater Resilience Assessment & Action Plan.