Breakout Session Details:

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Monday, November 13

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"Kmart vs. Kroger et al."

 

Session date & time: Monday, November 13 | 9:50-10:35 am 

 

"In May 2010, a major rainfall event caused flooding in Corinth, Mississippi and the surrounding region. Significant damage to both residences and businesses resulted from this flood event.  The Fulton Crossing Shopping Center, where Kmart and Kroger stores were both located, sustained major damage.   On the 1-year anniversary of the storm, Kmart sued Kroger and seven other defendants in U.S. District Court.  In brief, the suit alleged that Kroger’s presence in the floodway of Elam Creek directly led to the damages incurred by Kmart.  I was invited to serve as a subject matter expert for 3 of the defendants in the case.  Certain technical aspects arose from the various arguments posed by Kmart, including rainfall measurement, Letter of Map Revision, and HEC-RAS modeling.  These aspects will be discussed and illustrated in the presentation.  Lessons learned from the perspective of a local floodplain administrator, who was impacted by the lawsuit, will also be highlighted."

 

Speaker: Jamie Monohan, PE, CFM

 

Jamie Monohan is a project engineer with Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson, Inc. in Richmond, Virginia.  He has worked in the field of water resources engineering and planning for 27 years.  He is a graduate of University of Virginia and returned to the Commonwealth in 2021 after living in Mississippi for 16 years, with most of that time spent working on FEMA flood mapping projects.

 

"Meeting the Challenges of Dam Safety in your Community"

 

Session date & time: Monday, November 13 | 9:50-10:35 am 

 

Recently, the DCR Dam Safety Division has been sending letters to public and private dam owners statewide, letting them know that their dams are not meeting state regulations.  In many communities this has resulted in more than 50% of the known dams being classified as unknown hazard class putting them out of compliance with state regulations. With many of these being private dams, there are often questions about who owns the dam, who owns the land the dam is on, and how resources can be secured to start working towards regulatory compliance.  Even with public dams, the requirements can be very challenging.  This presentation will provide some steps towards having a safer community by tackling dam safety and partnering with private dam owners in your community.  It will present thoughts about municipal agencies leveraging the benefits to public safety and water quality to partner with a private civic association to make repairs to their dam and improve the associated lake for the benefits to the neighborhood, downstream property owners, and the broader community.  Dam safety projects also involve wetland impacts, resource protection area and floodplain permits, and other permitting challenges related to water borne structures, and in some cases, state grant funding assistance. Through a broader discussion about public safety we hope to provide insights on how to tackle the dam safety challenges in your community with time for answering questions about the public and private dam concerns you might be facing at this time.

 

Speaker: Don Rissmeyer, PE, CFM

 

Don Rissmeyer is a licensed professional engineer in six states and Washington DC, as well as a Certified Floodplain Manager. He has over 30 years of experience in providing consulting engineering services to governmental clients at the local, state and federal level. He currently helps manage the Environmental and Water Resources Division for A. Morton Thomas and Associates where he has worked for 18 years. He is also a Past-President of the ASCE Virginia Section and the Virginia Floodplain Management Association (VFMA).

 

Mr. Rissmeyer also served on the 2014 DDOT Green Infrastructure Standards Development Team, and is currently serving on the ASCE National Committee for Permeable Interlocking Concrete Pavement (PICP), who is developing a national standards manual for design, construction and maintenance of PICP permeable pavement systems. He is also a Past President of the Richmond Branch and Virginia Section of ASCE.

 

"Data-driven Resident Flood Communication & Outreach"

Session date & time: Monday, November 13 | 11:05-11:50am 

 

Resident communication and outreach are fundamental aspects of floodplain management. If done successfully, they can have cascading positive effects. Providing community members with actionable flood risk information can empower them to take individual action to mitigate and adapt, resulting in fewer compliance issues over time. More-informed residents can also mean a safer community overall, with open lines of communication helping to strengthen government trust. While effective communication is crucial, making it a priority can be difficult in communities where floodplain managers have competing important tasks and not enough time. Compounding this is the need for clarity and specificity – in communities with high rates of development, residents often seek detailed information about individual properties. It can be hard to provide nuanced data to a large public and even harder to keep track of that communication for internal recordkeeping or programs like the CRS. Using the case study of Forerunner’s work with a partner community, this session will outline how the community combines technology with robust outreach strategies to boost resident communication. We’ll discuss how software like Forerunner can help communities pull together disparate datasets and mobilize information for property-specific outreach to provide smarter resources to a variety of stakeholders. We’ll explore how incorporating digital workflows into outreach can ensure faster response time, better compliance enforcement, and stronger data continuity. The presentation will also include suggestions on how other communities might be able to leverage data to strengthen their floodplain management programs.

 

Speaker: Owen MacNeill

 

Owen MacNeill is an Account Executive at Forerunner. He is a New Jersey native who is passionate about coastal and climate resilience and has brought that passion to the communities he works with alongside Forerunner. Before joining Forerunner, he worked in the enterprise automation space where he sold software to the Fortune 500. Now, he focuses on partnering with government agencies across the United States to improve their floodplain management processes and better inform the public of their flood risk. 

 

"CRS Introduction”

Session date & time: Monday, November 13 | 11:05-11:50am 

 

Speaker: Emily Schmidt, CFM

 

“National Flood Insurance Program Compliance and Community Assistance Visits”

 Session date & time: Monday, November 13 | 1:30-2:15pm 

 

Is your community prepared for a Community Assistance Visit?  Participation in the National Flood Insurance Program is an agreement between the participating communities and FEMA.  NFIP participating communities agree to adopt FEMAs regulations in a local flood damage prevention ordinance and enforce it.  In return FEMA provides flood insurance, federally backed mortgages and loans, and disaster assistance.  Community Assistance Contacts and Visits are FEMAs way of ensuring compliance with these regulations.  It is also an opportunity for FEMA to help improve a community’s floodplain management programs and in turn become more resistant to flooding.  In this session we will review the National Flood Insurance Program regulations and what it means to be in compliance with them.  We will also go over the process for a Community Assistance Visit, what information FEMA will be looking for, and some common compliance issues that have been seen in the field.

 

Speaker: Kenya Lovill, CFM

 

Kenya Lovill, CFM, graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering from Drexel University in 2015.  Currently, Kenya works at FEMA Region 3 in the Floodplain Management and Insurance Branch as the State Support Specialist for the State of Virginia.  In this role, she provides technical assistance and training to the State of Virginia and its NFIP participating communities.  Prior to starting at FEMA, Kenya worked for the New Jersey National Flood Insurance Program Coordinator’s office.  Earlier in her career, Kenya worked at the New York City Parks Department and the Philadelphia Water Department as a Green Infrastructure Engineer. 

 

"Modeling and Analyzing a Pier as an Abutment for Scour Analysis – Is it Appropriate and When?"

Session date & time: Monday, November 13 | 1:30-2:15pm 

 

Scour Analyses are critical components of bridge design.  Hydrodynamic scour occurs within flowing water with high velocity, which can carve out scour holes that compromise the integrity of a structure.  Furthermore, flood events introduce increased quantities of water at higher velocities and depths than normal conditions.  Estimating the size and depth of these scour holes during major flood events is essential for risk management and ultimately the safety of drivers and pedestrians using the bridge.  The theoretical scour depths and elevations are then used to determine the elevation to which bridge foundations are installed.

 

Developing accurate and dependable scour estimations can save lives, but it can also be expensive to drive piles deeper to account for scour.  It is prudent for the engineering team to design bridge foundations assuming no ground support (lateral or vertical) due to soil loss from long-term degradation, stream instability, and contraction scour.  Overestimation of scour depths can increase the cost of bridge infrastructure, but underestimation of scour depths can lead to bridge failure and possibly loss of life.  Though it is important to design to the most cost-effective parameters, ensuring the safety of the community is of utmost importance.

 

A major difference between scour at abutments vs scour at piers is that abutments are impacted by effective flow on one side (from a cross sectional point of view), whereas piers are impacted by effective flow on both sides.  So, what if there is a situation with a pier that is only impacted by effective flow on one side?  Are such piers bound to the pier scour equations?  Are the pier scour equations more conservative than the abutment scour equations in such a situation?

 

This presentation investigates these questions and relates them to an analysis of a stream with a proposed double-span bridge that has a pedestrian underpass separated from the principal hydraulic opening by a continuous wall pier.  The pedestrian underpass is elevated above the channel and overbanks, and the wall pier prevents effective flow through the principal hydraulic opening from entering the span with the underpass.  Therefore, the flow dynamics at the pier are similar to what is typically seen at an abutment.  This presentation discusses this scenario and compares models and scour results of a double-span bridge situation (with a pier) vs a single-span bridge situation (pier modeled as an abutment).  1D HEC-RAS models were used to evaluate scour estimates for both situations according to the procedures and guidelines presented in Hydraulic Engineering Circular No. 18 (HEC-18), Fifth Edition.  Additionally, a 2D HEC-RAS model of the double-span situation was developed to show the flow interaction and velocities around the pier more accurately.

 

Results of the 1D models yield greater velocity through the bridge when the pier is modeled as an abutment (single-span) rather a pier (double-span).  This directly leads to increased contraction scour depth estimates.  Results of the 2D model yield relatively shallow depths and low velocity through the pedestrian underpass.

 

Speaker: William J. Leonetti, PE, CFM

 

William Leonetti is a Project Engineer for Rummel, Klepper & Kahl (RK&K) and has over 10 years of professional experience.  He is certified in VA, MD, and DC as a Professional Engineer (PE) and is as a Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM).  He received both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Civil Engineering from West Virginia University in 2013 and 2014, respectively.  William is co-author of the published Watershed Based Plan for Little Tenmile Creek (HUC-8 #05020002) and co-author of another Watershed Based Plan that is in press – for Lick Run of the Cheat River.  Will’s professional focus has been on water resources, mainly hydrology and hydraulics, storm water management conveyance and design, and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

 

 "Virginia Beach CAV"

Session date & time: Monday, November 13 | 2:20-3:05pm 

 

Speaker: Whitney McNamara, CFM

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Whitney is a Certified Floodplain Manager and Environmental Planner with Virginia Beach, VA, and currently serves as the City’s Floodplain Administrator and CRS Coordinator. She has spent the past 10 years working to overhaul and update the City’s Floodplain Management Program and integrate floodplain review throughout the development process. During her time with Virginia Beach she has addressed compliance issues in a 2012 CAV, revamped the City’s Floodplain Ordinance, and was instrumental in the City’s entry into the Community Rating System as a Class 7 Community. She holds a Master of Environmental Management degree from Duke University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Marine Biology with a Minor in Environmental Studies from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

 

"Hybrid Solutions for DOT applications for Proactive Road Flooding Alerts"

Session date & time: Monday, November 13 | 2:20-3:05pm 

 

 As water managers and engineers, it’s important to understand our watersheds, the urban landscapes, and their response to extreme events like heavy precipitation and rising surface water levels. These events can impact property, municipal infrastructure, and water quality.  Of the numerous tools at our disposal, there are many benefits to continuous water monitoring systems, including knowing in time where flooding issues could occur, enabling proactive action.

 

Speaker: Chuck Kozora

 

At OTT HydroMet, Chuck Kozora manages the states of OH, PA, WV, and VA, by offering service, support, and solutions for hydrology and meteorology monitoring applications. Prior to OTT HydroMet, Chuck focused on water treatment for the municipal and energy sectors. Chuck holds a Master of Science degree in Chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor of Science degree from Penn State University. In his spare time, he enjoys photographing, cycling, hiking, and backpacking.

 

"Virginia’s Flood Resilience Plans "

Session date & time: Monday, November 13 | 3:20-4:05pm 

 

The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation is charged with developing, administering, and implementing the Virginia Flood Protection Master Plan and the Coastal Resilience Master Plan. These state-led plans, managed by DCR’s Office of Resilience Planning, represent a coordinated interagency and intergovernmental strategy to address flood risks that impact all Virginians. The plans, informed by localities and other stakeholders, complement and inform community-led flood resilience plans and decision making. Together Virginia is building an integrated network of resilience plans operating at multiple scales of governance to minimize loss of life, property damage, and negative impacts on the environment.  Virginia is scheduled to prepare the Virginia Flood Protection Master Plan by December 2025, and the Coastal Resilience Master Plan Phase II by December 2024.  During this session, DCR will share its strategy, approach, and progress toward advancing both planning efforts. The presentation will also feature the recently released Coastal Resilience Web Explorer User Portal, a collaborative living database of coastal resilience actions.

 

Speaker: Matt Dalon

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Matt Dalon is the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Office of Resilience Planning, Program Manager.  The Office of Resilience Planning is charged with developing and implementing The Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan and The Virginia Flood Protection Master Plan to minimize the impacts to minimize loss of life, property damage, and negative impacts on the environment resulting from flooding.  After 14 years in the private sector providing holistic waterfront solutions, Matt joined DCR in 2021.  He is a Professional Engineer, Certified Floodplain Manager, and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Lehigh University and a Master’s Degree in Ocean & Coastal Engineering from Oregon State University.

 

Norfolk CSRM: Working WITH the Army Corps of Engineers

 

Session date & time: Monday, November 13 | 3:20-4:05pm 

 

The City of Norfolk has an awesome opportunity to get infrastructure built that will minimize the impacts to storm surge in the city, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is at the forefront of this opportunity. With a 65%/35% funding split between USACE and the City of Norfolk, this is a team effort to get this work done – One the City is happy and proud to be a part. In our presentation, we will share what we have learned about processes that must be followed when sharing a project with USACE. We will also share the challenges and the opportunities in this teaming arrangement. We value the teaming relationship we have with USACE, so our presentation’s purpose is not to sway anyone from following in our footsteps, but instead give you the tools to be prepared and successful.

 

Speakers:

 

Christene Mitchell, PE, ENV SP

Matthew Simons, AICP, CFM 

 

As Deputy Resilience Officer for the City of Norfolk, Matt Simons is a key leader for the Norfolk Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM) program. Matt provides technical and policy guidance for funding, design and construction of the CSRM program – A program that includes integrating structural solutions, such as floodwalls, levees and pump stations; natural and nature-based solutions, such as living shorelines; and nonstructural solutions for individual residents, such as basement fills and elevating homes. The goal of the program is to produce resilient layers of defense for Norfolk, Virginia in a manner that protects the unique character of the city. Matt has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Economics from Old Dominion University, a Post-graduate in Urban Design from the University of the West of England, and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning, Urban Revitalization from Virginia Commonwealth University. As a father of three with one being less than a year old, his current activity outside of work is being at home helping his wife take care of their beautiful family.

 

Christene Mitchell is an Associate Vice President at AECOM, and she focuses on providing colleagues and clients management support. She is a leader / co-leader for many initiatives, both within and outside, of AECOM, including for the Norfolk Coastal Storm Risk Management Program and the City of Richmond's Combined Sewer Overflow Program. Christene has experience as a manager in both the public and private sectors, which provides her a unique perspective to lead initiatives. Christene has a Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Old Dominion University and a Master of Engineering in Engineering Management from Duke University. She is also a Professional Engineer in Virginia and North Carolina. Christene came into this profession because of her love of water, so when she is not at one of her son’s soccer, baseball or basketball games, you will find her near or on the water.

 

Resilience in Water Resources: Concepts to Applications

 

Session date & time: Monday, November 13 | 4:10-4:55pm 

 

The term resilience is used to address a wide range of issues related to water resources from environmental conservation to infrastructure management and planning policy development. In this session we’ll explore how we’ve taken our resilience framework and applied it in the real-world. Implementation of both in small- and large-scale efforts in that include technical engineering, planning, policy support, partnering and engagement all contribute to increasing resilience in communities we’ve worked with across the nation.

 

Speakers: 

 

John Hoffman, PMP

Necolle Maccherone, CFM

 

John Hoffman has 28 years of experience in operations management, financial management, and management of large-multidisciplinary technical resources related to water resources, community and disaster resilience services.  His expertise is in developing resource management systems to successfully deliver large portfolios of technical services spanning Federal, municipal and private clients.  As a Senior Technical Manager at AtkinsRealis, John is responsible for resource management for a multi-disciplinary group of water resource engineers, GIS and Resilience specialists for FEMA PTS, CTP clients as well as state and municipal agencies.  John obtained his CFM in 2003 and has supported several state chapters as well as the ASFPM Foundation efforts and is currently a member of VFMA.

 

Necolle has worked to increase community flood resilience through sound floodplain and stormwater management in her professional and volunteer work for many years. As a project manager for Atkins, she supports national policy and program efforts within FEMA’s Risk MAP Program related to flood hazard mapping and community engagement. She has also worked on local mitigation planning and climate vulnerability assessment efforts in Maryland.  Necolle is the immediate past Chair of the Maryland Association of Floodplain and Stormwater Managers (MAFSM) and a former Board member of the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM).

 

"Coastal Storm Risk Management Study 101 for Local Governments"

 Session date & time: Monday, November 13 | 4:10-4:55pm 

 

Speakers:

Grace Tucker

Emily Steinhilber

 

At EDF, Grace works to build and maintain collaborative partnerships with diverse local, regional and national partners to collectively advocate for comprehensive, research-based and equitable planning and policies to reduce flood risk in Virginia. She is committed to bringing together sound science and effective communications to develop and implement locally-supported solutions that address historical inequities and build resilience for communities and ecosystems in the face of climate change. Grace previously served as the Program Coordinator for the Climate Resilient Coasts and Watersheds team, working with our Restore the Mississippi River Delta coalition’s science and federal policy teams on natural infrastructure, adaptive management, coastal legislation, and behavioral science initiatives. She earned her B.S. in Environmental and Sustainability Sciences with concentration in Water Resource Policy and Management and a minor in Law and Society from Cornell University.

 

Emily leads EDF’s Virginia program to build and maintain collaborative partnerships to collectively advocate for comprehensive, research-based and equitable coastal planning and policies, ensuring resilient communities and ecosystems as the Commonwealth adapts to a changing climate. She holds a JD and Master’s in Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School and a BA in Economics and History from the University of Virginia. Emily serves on the WHRO Governing Board, the Lynnhaven River NOW Board of Directors and on the City of Virginia Beach’s Wetlands and Flood Prevention Bond Referendum Oversight Boards.

 

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Tuesday, November 14 

 

"Coastal Hazard Studies using AI-Enabled Field Reconnaissance"

Session date & time: Tuesday, November 14 | 8:30-9:15am

 

The reliability of overland wave modeling using WHAFIS relies on accurate data representation along transects for model inputs. Previously, detailed field observations were necessary, but now high-resolution street-level data from tools like Google Earth™ can enhance surveys. Our proposed framework shows the ability to use Google Earth street view imagery combined with computer vision to estimate First Flood Elevations (FFEs) of buildings along transects. This automated workflow can reduce the need for field surveys, providing a cost-effective approach validated against elevation certificates for planning and mitigation studies.

 

Speaker:

 

Arslaan Khalid, PhD

 

Dr. Arslaan Khalid is currently serving as a Senior Coastal Engineer for a leading engineering firm. He brings expertise in coastal and riverine flood risk modeling/evaluation, geospatial analysis for flood mapping, estimation of risk using latest analysis techniques, and developing real time flood forecast systems. His technical expertise includes 2D hydrodynamic and wave modeling (ADCIRC, Delft3D, SWAN, WAVEWATCHIII) and advanced programming for big-data analysis. He is also experienced in parallel processing, cloud computing and advanced visualization techniques. He has demonstrated these skills for problem solving across several water resources projects in research as well as industry.

 

 

"Unlock Efficiency by Using eLOMA for Streamlined LOMA Applications"

Session date & time: Tuesday, November 14 | 9:15-10:00am

 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Electronic Letter of Map Amendment (eLOMA) tool provides licensed land surveyors and professional engineers with a web-based system to submit a variety of LOMA requests as a faster alternative to the standard application process. The eLOMA tool offers users the advantage of swiftly generating an official FEMA determination document, significantly reducing the usual processing period of 30 to 60 days for a standard LOMA. eLOMA enables users to submit applications for individual structures, a portion of a recorded property, or entire legally recorded parcels of land, provided no fill has been placed to raise the elevations of the subject structure or property. The eLOMA tool is available to any licensed professional who registers through FEMA's Mapping Information Platform, which is located online at https://hazards.fema.gov.

 

This presentation will:

 

•        Provide a summary of the eLOMA tool;

•        Highlight plans for a comprehensive eLOMA Technical Guidance document and future trainings and web-based learning opportunities;

•        Provide insight into how the accuracy of eLOMA submittals correlates directly with audit frequency; and

•        Discuss the steps necessary to achieve an eLOMA Super User status to reduce the number of audited submittals.

 

Speaker:

 

David Mummert

 

David Mummert has over 21 years of National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) experience with Michael Baker International in the MT-1 (LOMA) Group. He is a graduate of St. Mary’s College of Maryland with a degree in Biology with a specialization in Environmental Science. He is currently the Flood Map Amendment Services (FMAS) contract eLOMA Coordinator for all 10 FEMA Regions and Subject Matter Expert for LOMA and eLOMA processing through FEMA’s Mapping Information Platform (MIP) website.

 

 

"Rolling Easements"

Session date & time: Tuesday, November 14 | 10:30-11:15am

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Wetlands Watch is helping coordinate the recordation of the first private rolling conservation easement in the US. In partnership with a local land trust, the Coastal VA Conservancy, Wetlands Watch is working with the Elizabeth River Project to develop a rolling conservation easement that will be placed over the organization’s new Resilience Lab headquarters. A rolling conservation easement “rolls” along with shoreline encroachment due to sea level rise, enforcing development restrictions that reflect the changing parcel characteristics. In addition to prohibiting new and future development, this legal instrument can help facilitate the migration of shoreline buffers, dunes, living shorelines, and wetlands, ensuring species survival and preservation of ecosystem services, such as erosion control, flood mitigation, habitat, and water quality. 

 

This legal instrument could provide one tool to help local governments plan for retreat as sea levels rise. In addition to being a planning tool, property owners who agree to a rolling easement could receive federal or state tax benefits. In this way, property owners can play a crucial role in how communities prepare for climate change, while also receiving financial benefits. This presentation will focus on the coordination between Wetlands Watch and various stakeholders to record the rolling conservation easement, and how this process can potentially work in other coastal communities. Additionally, this presentation will highlight lessons learned from recording the rolling easement, including the importance of transparency among all stakeholders involved.

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Speakers:

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Mary-Carson Stiff, CFM , JD

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Mary-Carson Stiff is Executive Director of Wetlands Watch, a Norfolk, Virginia based nonprofit working statewide to conserve nature in a changing climate. Mary-Carson leads Wetlands Watch with a specific focus on climate change adaptation planning, floodplain management, wetlands migration, and policy. She is a Certified Floodplain Manager, Chair of the Coastal Virginia Community Rating System Workgroup, and Board Member of the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation. Mary-Carson obtained a J.D. in 2013 from William & Mary Law School and a B.A. from Bates College in 2008.

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Savannah Newbern

 

Savannah Newbern, Flood Risk Project Manager for Wetlands Watch is a coastal planning enthusiast who has previously worked in local government on the Outer Banks of North Carolina for Dare and Currituck counties. While serving as a Planner for these communities, Savannah worked in floodplain management and administered the National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System (CRS), as well as reviewed development plans for compliance with local, state, and federal requirements. Savannah graduated from East Carolina University with a Bachelor of Science in Urban and Regional Planning with a concentration in neighborhood development and housing and a minor in anthropology.

 

 "A Journey to a Smart Watershed"

Session date & time: Tuesday, November 14 | 10:30-11:15am

 

Urban stormwater management represents one of the most pervasive, significant environmental issues in the U.S. Due to shifts in the frequency and intensity of rainfall events, increasing economic development, and urbanization, cities and communities are faced with growing challenges around flood risk management and protection of property, public health, and safety.

 

With advancements in technology, communities are starting to better understand the behavior of their sewersheds, improve utilization of new and existing infrastructure, and cost-effectively achieve regulatory compliance and public safety. Successful adoption and growth of such technologies requires consideration of changes to procurement, project delivery, operations, culture, and partner and public engagement.

 

This presentation will focus on the benefits of a digitally connected watershed and the lessons learned from cities and utilities along their journey. Case studies highlighted will include Fairfax County, Howard County, and Albany, NY and their approach in leveraging technology to mitigate the impacts of flooding (and combined sewer overflows in Albany). Presentation topics will include:

 

Getting started

Procurement

Project implementation and sewershed optimization

On-boarding

Operations and maintenance

Managing the data landscape

 

Learning Outcomes for “A Journey to a Smart Watershed”

Navigating the digital landscape

Understanding scaled adoption - from procurement to operations and maintenance

 

Speaker: Jason Murnock, CPESC, CPSWQ

 

Though not an engineer, Jason has over 20 years of experience in water quality and quantity projects, particularly in ecological restoration for Chesapeake Bay and MS4 permit-driven TMDL reductions. This has given him a broad understanding of nutrient credit generation and trading, as well as climate resiliency needs here in Virginia. The smarter use of stormwater management via real-time controls can assist in all of these challenges, as you will hear in his presentation. 

 

 

 

"Planning for Climate Change: Approach to Estimating and Adapting Flooding Exposure for HRSD Facilities"

Tuesday, November 14 | 11:20-12:05am

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The Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) provides wastewater services to 1.7 million people in southeast Virginia. The low topography, regional climatology, and coastal proximity of this region make many of HRSD’s pumping and treatment facilities vulnerable to flooding. This vulnerability is increasing with climate change and rising sea levels, increased storm surge, and greater rainfall recurrence frequency. HRSD facilities are located over a wide expanse of over 3,000 sq. miles, posing a significant challenge to accurately determine flood elevations. To make these large-scale analyses both accurate and practicable, a tiered framework of flood risk evaluation was adopted to account for susceptibility to coastal, pluvial, and/or fluvial flooding. Based on flooding type, site-specific exposure was computed using hydrodynamic models. Storm surge elevations utilized the high-fidelity models employed by USACE for the North Atlantic Coast Comprehensive Study. Pluvial and fluvial flood elevations were determined using two-dimensional hydraulics in HEC-RAS and by expanding on available base flood elevations published by FEMA, respectively.

 

The flooding exposure evaluations completed as part of the HRSD Climate Change Planning Study are intended to support subsequent vulnerability assessment and mitigation analysis planning tasks. The completed analyses can be updated in the future to include additional detail for designing and implementing site-specific mitigation measures.

 

Speaker: Jayanthi "Jay" Gopal, PE

 

Jay has over a decade of experience as a water resources engineer and her primary interests are surface water modeling and climate resilience. She has been involved in the development, calibration, and application of detailed hydrologic and hydraulic models to support planning and design of stormwater systems and climate resilience studies. Jay holds a master’s in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Nature-based Design Approaches in Floodplain and Coastal Management

 

Session date & time: Tuesday, November 14 | 11:20-12:05am

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As regulatory frameworks push municipalities towards holistic land management and nature-based design approaches that deliver stacked benefits, interdisciplinary floodplain restoration is an increasingly important tool for planning and prioritization. Restoration practitioners from Biohabitats, a company with a broad portfolio in floodplain restoration and nature-based design, will draw from their experience serving municipalities and other clients across Virginia and the nation to review the process of collaborative planning from inventory to assessment to prioritization and public engagement. This presentation will examine restoration approaches in floodplain and coastal management through recent project examples.

 

Speaker:

 

Justin Park, PLA, ASLA

 

Justin Park is a Senior Landscape Architect with Biohabitats, Inc, an interdisciplinary ecological design firm based in Baltimore, Md. Justin graduated with a B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Mary Washington (Fredericksburg, VA) and a M.L.A. from Virginia Tech (WAAC - Alexandria, VA). Although he has been involved with stormwater LID and stream/wetland restoration projects, his recent project focus is on coastal restoration and resiliency along urban waterfronts.

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"CRS: Current Communities”

Session date & time: Tuesday, November 14 | 2:20-3:05pm

 

Speaker: Emily Schmidt, CFM

 

"R-E-S-P-E-C-T the Floodplain"

Session date & time: Tuesday, November 14 | 2:20-3:05pm

 

In urban stream corridors, we are often faced with a plethora of design goals and objectives, as well as constraints. These can conflict with one another and require stakeholders to carefully navigate the prioritization process and strike a balance to provide reasonable, effective solutions. A key factor that frequently plays into these discussions and decisions is the presence of regulated floodplains, and what is required to satisfy “No Rise” criteria. This presentation will explore examples of this decision-making process and how stakeholder involvement has been critical to achieving positive outcomes.

 

Speaker:

 

Megan McCollough, PE, CFM, ENV SP

 

Megan McCollough is a Senior Engineer, working out of the Fredericksburg office. She currently serves as Stantec's Technical Area Lead for surface water in the United States. She completed her undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering at Virginia Tech - focusing on Environmental/Water Resources, and with minors in Green Engineering, Geology, and Music. Megan obtained her graduate degree in Engineering from Colorado State University, focusing on water resources and utilities management. Megan's key technical interests include stream restoration design, stormwater management, and floodplain management, and much of her experience is in urban areas and supporting transportation-focused projects. She enjoys working with creative, collaborative teams and supporting staff on their growth journeys.

 

 

"The National Flood Insurance Program’s Recent History and Projected Future Can Be Summed Up in One Word - Changes"

Tuesday, November 14 | 3:15-4:00pm

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In the past few years, the method with which NFIP flood insurance policies were written went through the first significant changes in the almost 50-year history of the program.  This new NFIP rating methodology, also known as Risk Rating 2.0: Equity in Action, sought to modernize the rating process through providing policyholders with the true actuarial risk by drawing on numerous data sources.  This presentation will provide a review of the many changes and factors that now go into how NFIP flood insurance policies are rated.  This will be followed by an overview of some proposed methods to address affordability concerns surrounding flood insurance.  We will also discuss the availability of certain NFIP data that communities can request and the process to make such requests.

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Speaker:

Bill Bradfield, CFM

William (Bill) Bradfield is a Flood Insurance Outreach Specialist with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region 3 Office in Philadelphia.  In this role, Mr. Bradfield promotes the importance of flood insurance in building resiliency and serves as a liaison between consumers, local/state/tribal governments, industry professionals and FEMA.  He also provides technical assistance regarding flood insurance and its implications with floodplain regulations and mitigation activities. 

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"Floodplain Design, Construction & Impacts on Flood Insurance"

Session date & time: Tuesday, November 14 | 3:15-4:00 pm

 

In this 1-hour course, we’ll identify FEMA, NFIP, ASCE, ICC and Building Code Standards that

pertain to flood hazard areas. The goal is to review the potential risk associated with building in the floodplain and the mitigation steps you can take to protect structures and maintain business continuity. After the training, attendees should have a thorough understanding of the floodproofing options available as well as the recent updates and changes in the world of floodplain design.

 

Learning Objectives:

• Describe floods and the potential hazards

to buildings.

• Explain the differences between wet and

dry floodproofing techniques.

• Define the differences in engineered and

non-engineered flood openings and their

ability to ensure resilient structures.

• Active vs. passive flood proofing solutions

and the overall impact of ownership.

 

Speaker:

 

Kurt Luecke, CFM

 

Kurt Luecke is a Graduate of Kansas State University, a Certified Floodplain Manager and Flood Mitigation Specialist at Floodproofing.com. Kurt works directly with A&E and GC Estimating and Planning teams throughout the design build process providing expertise on FEMA, NFIP, ICC and ASCE guidance regulations. While keeping on-site resources and application needs in mind, they help evaluate flood mitigation solutions that will minimize liability risk and meet compliance regulations for structural and non-structural projects.

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