Last week I had the opportunity to attend the Association of State Floodplain Managers annual conference in Louisville, Kentucky.
The conference is five days packed full of everything from technical workshops to field tours to policy discussions, as well as presentations from floodplain and stormwater experts from all over the world.
One of the most interesting things about the conference is the presentation of both sides of one issue. You will find reasons for structural projects as well as reasons for non structural projects. You will learn why a BMP works for one community yet not for another.
The keynote speaker this year was Jill Techel, Mayor of Napa, California. She discussed the flood mitigation project that the City of Napa has undertaken. I’ve been fortunate enough to visit Napa, and I never would have guessed that many of the features of the community had a dual purpose. The downtown amphitheater is actually a flood storage area. The architecturally-beautiful bridges replaced bridges that once constricted flow. Their riverside trail is incorporated with a floodwall. And they have further plans for enhancements to their park system to allow for flood flows to be diverted away from residential and commercial areas. It just goes to show that it is possible to incorporate flood mitigation features into a community as an enhancement.
There were several members of NeFSMA who attended the conference and we will get some additional feedback from them posted over the next week.
If you have an opportunity to attend, I hope you take advantage. This conference has something for everybody including building code officials, insurance agents, engineers, regulators, and anyone who has an interest in water resources.
Submitted by Lori Laster, NeFSMA Treasurer
About Our Association
- Nebraska Floodplain and Stormwater Managers Association
- The Nebraska Floodplain and Stormwater Managers Association (NeFSMA) is an active organization of over 100 members representing over 50 organizations. NeFSMA pursues multiple purposes including: 1.)promote public awareness of floodplain and stormwater management; 2.) promote the professional status of floodplain and stormwater management and secure all benefits resulting there from; 3.) promote cooperation and information exchange between individuals and entities concerned with floodplain and stormwater management; 4.) keep individuals concerned with floodplain and stormwater management well informed through educational and professional seminars and to provide a method for dissemination of information, both general and technical; 5.) inform and educate concerned individuals of pending floodplain or stormwater legislation, funding and other related management matters. Please browse our website to learn more about NeFSMA at www.nefsma.net. If you are interested in joining, either contact one of the board members or complete the membership form.
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