2011 NeFSMA Conference - FEMA RiskMAP Product, Multi-Frequency Grids for Lincoln

FEMA RiskMAP Product – Multi-Frequency Grids for City of Lincoln, Nebraska, William Zung, CFM Greenhorne & O’Mara, Jason Schneider, P.E., CFM Greenhorne & O’Mara, Ben Higgins, P.E. City of Lincoln, Nebraska

As one of FEMA’s Risk MAP Early Demonstration Projects Greenhorne & O’Mara completed Multi-Frequency Grids for the Little Salt Creek Basin.  The Little Salt Creek Basin is made up of 72 miles of new detail study completed by the City of Lincoln as a Cooperating Technical Partner (CTP).  Greenhorne & O’Mara leveraged this existing detail study to create the following Flood Risk Datasets:  Depth grids as the 10%, 4%, 2%, 1%, and 0.2% annual chance floods, percent annual chance flood grids, percent chance of being flooded in a 30 year grid, water surface elevation grids, and velocity grids.  These products were presented to the City of Lincoln for outreach materials to help communicate risk to stakeholder.

2011 NeFSMA Conference - FEMA RiskMAP, New Datasets

New Datasets that are Part of FEMA's RiskMAP Program, Andy Megrail and Rodney Odom, FEMA Region VII

This session will introduce attendees to new products and datasets that are part of FEMA’s Risk MAP program.  The products covered in this session include non-regulatory products such as the Flood Risk Report, Flood Risk Map, Flood Risk Database, and Discovery Report.  The datasets that comprise these products include: Changes Since Last FIRM, Flood Depth & Analysis Grids, Flood Risk Assessment Data, and Areas of Mitigation Interest.

The presenters will show the current products and facilitate a Question & Answer session about the products.

After hearing this presentation the audience will have a better understanding of the tools being developed to realize the risk of the floodplain areas.  The tools will identify risk both in the form of dollars and in the form of not only the regulatory 1% level but also for targeting potential mitigation through lower and higher events being identified.

2011 NeFSMA Conference - Stormwater Management Practices: Some Cost Comparisons

Stormwater Management Practices: Some Cost Comparisons - Lowell Johnson, City Administrator, Wayne, NE; Katie Underwood, P.E., Olsson Associates, David P. Shelton, UNL Extension Agricultural Engineer

Session participants will learn about:

·   Selected green infrastructure practices for stormwater management

· Cost comparisons of green and gray infrastructure stormwater management practices for projects in Wayne, NE and LID practices in Overland Park, KS

·  University of Nebraska stormwater management programming and information available to municipalities and others

Traditional approaches treat stormwater as a problem to be conveyed away as rapidly as possible with curbs, gutters, storm drains, and similar practices. The new paradigm views stormwater as a resource to be retained and used on-site or allowed to infiltrate. Green infrastructure such as rain gardens, bioswales, rain barrels, eco roofs, and others manage stormwater on a small scale more naturally, conserve water, and improve water quality by retaining runoff that may contain multiple contaminants. On a larger scale, low impact development (LID) helps protect aquatic resources, water quality, and the natural hydrology of a watershed as development takes place. Both green infrastructure and LID practices are based on the premise that nature knows best how to manage water and stormwater runoff. These practices can often be used to help meet USEPA MS4 requirements. This proposed presentation will highlight selected green infrastructure and LID practices for managing stormwater.

Municipalities have generally been somewhat slow to adopt green infrastructure and/or LID practices for a variety of reasons. One of these is lack of familiarity with the practices, while another is lack of cost comparisons between these practices and the much more familiar gray infrastructure and conventional development practices. Although not an MS4 municipality, Wayne, NE has installed several green infrastructure practices within the past two to three years in new residential and industrial developments. This presentation will summarize cost comparisons for the green infrastructure and traditional gray infrastructure in these developments. As an example, in one industrial development, 2,000 linear feet of bio-swale was installed at a cost of $48,000 as compared to the original design of 2,000 linear feet of concrete pipe and two drop structures costing a total of $115,000.

Olsson Associates conducted a cost analysis for implementation of LID and conservation development Best Management Practices for sites in Overland Park, KS, and found costs to be comparable with conventional development practices. Summary data for single-family, multi-family, and commercial/office sites evaluated will be presented.

In 2006, the University of Nebraska formed a Stormwater and Green Space Work Group, with an initial focus of addressing the needs of Phase II communities across Nebraska relative to stormwater management regulations. Publication and other educational material development was a primary emphasis of this group. Further supporting stormwater management programming, UNL received a USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant in 2009. Components of this grant include extension education, research on existing rain garden hydrology, and curriculum development for Landscape Architecture college courses. This presentation will highlight educational and other programming offered by UNL Extension to help municipalities and others address stormwater management issues.

2011 NeFSMA Conference - Toward Sustainable Green Infrastructure

Toward Sustainable Green Infrastructure - Justin Evertson, Green Infrastructure Coordinator, Nebraska Forest Service and Annie Folck, Stormwater Program Specialist, City of Scottsbluff.

The Nebraska Forest Service and Nebraska Statewide Arboretum are launching the Greener Nebraska Towns Initiative to assist Nebraska communities in developing model sustainable landscapes and in developing the plans, tools, and incentives to achieve more sustainable use of natural resources in the care and management of green infrastructure.  Emphasis will be placed on the development of landscapes that help conserve potable water while simultaneously reducing stormwater runoff.  Greener Nebraska Towns is a response to some of the important environmental challenges facing Nebraska’s communities:

• Increasing demands on water supplies and excessive use of water for landscape maintenance.
• Polluted/degraded waterways, flooding and stormwater issues.
• Declining community forests including lost canopy cover, poor species diversity and questionable planting practices.
• Lack of biological diversity, lost wildlife habitat and excessive use of pesticides.
• Our general disconnect from nature.

Up to ten communities from across the state will be selected as partners through a competitive application process.  All partner communities will implement model public landscapes that demonstrate stormwater BMPs, water conservation practices and significant tree planting.  Native plants will be emphasized with the goal of greatly improving biodiversity across the community landscape.  In addition to the physical projects implemented, partner communities will undertake a fairly rigorous public information campaign to help educate as many people as possible about the importance of green infrastructure, sustainable landscaping and stormwater management.  Partner communities will be asked to involve a broad segment of the community in project planning and in developing the long-term education and civic-management tools (policies, ordinances, etc.).  Partner communities will receive up to $50,000 in grant funds along with technical assistance in project planning, landscape design and public outreach.

This presentation will highlight the primary purposes of the Greener Nebraska Towns Initiative and other green infrastructure programs of the Nebraska Forest Service including the Waterwise Landscapes Initiative and Trees for Nebraska Towns program.  The City of Scottsbluff and its associated activities in green infrastructure management will be highlighted as one of the ten GNT partners.  Attendees will:

Gain understanding of the programs available from Nebraska Forest Service and Nebraska Statewide Arboretum to assist with community green infrastructure enhancement and public outreach.  

The important role that various components of green infrastructure play in the viability of a community, i.e. trees, native plants, stormwater BMPs, etc.  Anticipated projects and activities to be undertaken in Scottsbluff as a Greener Nebraska Towns partner and as the primary hub of the Panhandle for stormwater BMP demonstration.

2011 NeFSMA Conference - Reconstruction of Ames Iowa Storm for the Papillion Creek Watershed

Reconstruction of Ames Iowa August 2010 Storm for the Papillion Creek Watershed, Amanda Grint, Papio-Missouri River NRD, Omaha, NE and Laurie Carrette Zook, HDR Engineering, Inc., Omaha, NE

Could the Ames, IA storm that caused so much damage to Iowa State University have happened in the Omaha metro?  How would the Papillion Creek Watershed, which includes Omaha and surrounding communities, respond to a similar rainfall? August 8-10, 2010 three days of rainfall totaling 8 to 9 1/2 inches hit Ames resulting in 1 death, a community of 56,000 residents without drinking water and $30 to $40 million in damages to Iowa State University. 

Meteorologists used rain gage and radar data from the National Weather Service to reconstruct the Ames, Iowa August 2010 storm over the Papillion Creek Watershed.  The Papillion Creek Watershed (outlined in the figure on the right) was transposed over the storm event in such a way as to adhere to meteorological principles that are specific to storms that impact our area.  The graphic to the right shows the most intense rainfall over the three day period, on August 11, 2010, rainfall totals were 5-6 inches just upstream of Ames.  The rainfall distribution was analyzed and reconstructed for the Papillion Creek Watershed.  The rainfall data was used to estimate flows that were then modeled using the Papillion Creek topography and geometry to estimate the effect that the Ames storm would have here.  Areas predicted to be flooded were mapped and preliminary estimates of damages were conducted.

2011 NeFSMA Conference - Multipurpose Floodplain Mapping

Multipurpose Floodplain Mapping, Jude Kastens, Kansas Biological Survey

Attendees will gain a broad understanding of the concept of a physical floodplain (or river valley). This knowledge is useful for understanding flood mitigation efforts as well as floodplain ecological assessments (e.g., wetland characterization). Discussion will include different elevation datasets and standard hydrologic processing procedures, and introduce the KBS FLDPLN (“Floodplain”) model. FLDPLN is a conceptually simple, 2-dimensional hydrologic model capable of creating a continuum of floodplain maps associated with different stream stages. These maps have a wide variety of applications, including flood extent estimation and hydrologic connectivity assessment. Several examples will be shown.

Researchers at the Kansas Biological Survey (KBS) developed a topographic floodplain model (FLDPLN) that has been used to identify and map river valley floodplains for many rivers and stream networks, including the lower half of the Missouri River. FLDPLN uses simple hydrologic principles to estimate floodplain extent as a function of floodwater depth: backfill flooding to approximate backwater effects, and spillover flooding to approximate floodwater rerouting. Consequently, FLDPLN can be used for river valley identification, flood extent estimation, hydrologic connectivity indexing, and also for scenario modeling (e.g., a particular flood event, or connectivity impacts of adding or removing a levee). Model outputs have applications for river valley morphology assessment, ecological modeling, and flood disaster response mitigation and damage assessment, and can also facilitate traditional hydraulic studies.

KBS research on Missouri River floodplain wetlands will be highlighted, and will also discuss the Segmented Library of Inundation Extents (SLIE) spanning 40 counties in eastern Kansas that is used in emergency management. Other example applications will be described as well.

2011 NeFSMA Conference - HAZUS Dam Breach Inundation Analyses

Application of HAZUS in Risk Management and Production of Updated Dam Breach Inundation Analyses - Paul Woodward and Carrie Romero, Olsson Associates

The objectives of this presentation are to educate the audience on ways to enhance Hazard Mitigation Plans during their required 5-yr update period. Key subjects presented will include the application of HAZUS in Risk Assessment and the production of updated dam breach inundation analyses.

Because the Papio-Missouri River NRD’s Hazard Mitigation Plan was the first plan adopted inthe State of Nebraska in 2006, it is the first plan to be officially updated before the mandatory 5-year deadline. However, as this presentation will emphasize, the 5-year update really isn’t a requirement, it is an opportunity to expand the possibilities of what can be achieved through hazard mitigation on multiple levels. First, FEMA and the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency are striving to get more entities involved, including schools and non-profits. Second, the range of hazards and the variety of potential actions is growing to meet the demands of thesenew agencies and to better accommodate beneficial projects.

The focus of our presentation will be to highlight the differences between the 2006 and the 2011P-MRNRD Hazard Mitigation Plan. One major difference between the two plans is the methodology used for overall risk assessment. While the original plan presented extensive historic evidence for potential hazards, the new plan utilizes FEMA’s Multi-Hazard Loss Estimation Software, HAZUS-MH. Using CENSUS and enhanced data available from local GIS sources, HAZUS-MH was able to provide damage estimates for earthquakes, floods, dam and levee failures.

One example of improved data was new analysis or redelineation for over 20 high hazard dams in the P-MRNRD. Where LiDAR and property parcel data was available, dam breach inundation maps were updated to accurately show the limits of impact and to produce a database of affected property owners should they need to be contacted during an emergency. In fact, these updated maps are not only used in the Hazard Mitigation Plan, but have been updated in Local Emergency Operations Plans for each dam and have been put to use in some local desktop exercises.

The last key difference between the original plan and the updated plan is the mitigation goals and the opportunities for using better risk assessment data to support a wide range of mitigation projects. Example mitigation actions, programs or projects include storm shelters, flood and tornado warning systems, drainage and channel improvements, property buyouts, revised flood hazard maps, backup generators, burying power lines, encourage proper tree maintenance, stormwater management, and many others.

2011 NeFSMA Conference - Antelope Creek Watershed Basin Management Plan

City of Lincoln’s Antelope Creek Watershed Basin Management Plan - Ed Kouma, PE - City of Lincoln and Jonathan Mohr, AICP - EA Engineering, Science, and Technology

The City of Lincoln (City) and Lower Platte South Natural Resources District (LPSNRD) are working with a project team of scientists and engineers to establish the Antelope Creek Watershed Basin Management Plan (Basin Plan. The City has hired a team that includes EA Engineering, Science, and Technology (EA) located in Lincoln, JEO Consulting Group (JEO) in Lincoln, Wright Water Engineers (WWE) of Denver, and nationally recognized water quality expert, Dr. Robert Pitt from the University of Alabama, to establish the Basin Plan.

The City of Lincoln, working with the NRD, is continuing an ongoing effort to establish watershed master plans in order to plan for capital improvement projects. This Basin Plan differs from past plans by focusing on improving water quality, versus improvements to flood control and stream degradation and erosion. Extensive flood control and stream stability has mostly been addressed in the Basin Plan project area. The plan is intended to provide a list of projects at a concept level that will improve Antelope Creek, a highly urbanized area in the center of Lincoln, Nebraska.

The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prepared a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) in 2007 for Antelope Creek. This segment of Antelope Creek contains elevated levels of E. coli bacteria, ammonia, and other contaminants. The two main goals of the Basin Plan are to determine the cause of the E. coli and ammonia problems and determine what can be done to reduce levels of each contaminant.

Anticipated to be completed fall of 2011, the Basin Plan will identify problem areas and list recommendations for a number of structural and non-structural Best Management Practices (BMPs) designed to reduce pollutants in specific areas of the Basin. The plan will serve as a tool to both the City and LPSNRD to identify and manage stormwater quality issues as re-development takes place within the Basin.

Attendees will learn about the City of Lincoln’s efforts to improve water quality in Antelope Creek through pollutant sources identification, assessment of the TMDL, how capital improvement projects were selected and prioritized, and how they plan to implement stormwater management BMPs.

2011 NeFSMA Conference - USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Initiative

USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Initiative – A National Program - Richard Wilson P.E., Associate Director, USGS Nebraska Water Science Center

Learning objectives: The USGS is implementing a nationwide flood-inundation mapping program. The goal of the program is to enable government officials to make timely operational and public-safety decisions during floods based on the best available data, studies, and resources. 

This presentation will outline the comprehensive and partner-based USGS Flood-Inundation Mapping Initiative and discuss early successes in Michigan and Ohio, and a real-time flood-inundation mapping project in Washington.

A powerful new tool for flood response and mitigation is digital geospatial flood-inundation mapping that shows flood-water extent and depth on the land surface. Flood-inundation maps that are tied to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) real-time streamgage data and National Weather Service (NWS) flood forecast sites enable officials to make timely operational and public-safety decisions during floods. A long-term goal of the program is to promote and implement real-time flood-inundation mapping. 


Because floods are the leading cause of natural-disaster losses, and because disasters associated with flooding can be reduced with proper preventative measures, development of a USGS National flood-inundation mapping science initiative is critical to meet USGS science strategy goals for the National Hazards, Risk, and Resilience Assessment Program major science direction. A USGS National flood-inundation mapping science initiative benefits and fosters partnerships with other Federal agencies such as the NWS, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); and State and local agencies.

2011 NeFSMA Conference - Hydraulic Model, Habitat Availability, T&E Sepcies

Hydraulic Model of the Central Platte River to Determine Habitat Availability for Three Threatened and Endangered Bird Species. Steve Smith, P.E. - Executive Director’s Office of the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program

Statement of learning objectives: Attendees will learn how an interstate and federal Program is using a hydraulic model of the Central Platte River to determine habitat availability for three threatened and endangered bird species.

Proposed Presentation: The Platte River Recovery Implementation Program (Program) was initiated on January 1, 2007 between Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, and the Department of the Interior to address endangered species issues in the central and lower Platte River basin. The species considered in the Program, referred to as “target species”, are the whooping crane, piping plover, interior least tern, and pallid sturgeon. Program participants have reached an agreement for participation in the First Increment of the Program for the period from 2007 through 2019.

The Program’s management objectives include improvement of the survival of whooping cranes during migration, and improvement of least tern and piping plover production. One of the management strategies to achieve these objectives is the Flow-Sediment-Mechanical (FSM) strategy. This strategy includes mechanical creation of target species habitat (e.g., building sandbars), and use of short duration high flows (SDHF) in combination with sediment augmentation to create and maintain habitat for target species.

Habitat preferred by the Program target species includes wide, braided, non-vegetated river conditions ideal for nesting and roosting. Reduced streamflow and occurrence of invasive vegetation have resulted in a reduction of preferred habitat area. A HEC-RAS hydraulic model of a 153-mile reach of the Central Platte River was used to estimate the magnitude of streamflow necessary to scour invasive vegetation. The hydraulic model was also used to determine sandbar height and channel width that would maximize flow scour potential, while minimizing the risk of nest inundation.

The presentation will briefly discuss the overall management objectives and strategies of the Program. The remainder of the presentation will be focused on the application of the hydraulic model for estimating available habitat for the target species, and determining a range of channel design parameters that would maximize the creation and maintenance of habitat under the Program’s FSM management strategy.

Responsible Floodplain Management - Invitation for ASFPM Conference Attendees

I like the invitation below.  I'll tell you why.

































I like it for a couple of reasons.  First, the title.  When I read something that has a tag line like "Responsible Floodplain Management" I automatically assume..."hmmm, there must be an irresponsible floodplain management approach" and I'm automatically hooked.  Because, of course, I don't want to be irresponsible.   But, that's just me.

The other reason I like it, is because if you are going to the National ASFPM Conferenect in Louisville, Kentucky you can take advantage of this advance opportuntiy to hear from OUR key note speaker for the NeFSMA Annual Conference.  Terri Turner with Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission and Co-Chair of the No Adverse Impact (NAI) Committee will be sharing some of the same information at both events.  If  you are going to the National Conference, you should take advantage.  If you are not, be sure to come to our Conference.  You will hear Terri plus over 15 other speakers presenting on important floodplain and stormwater information the you can't live without.  Registration is coming soon.

ASFPM National Conference - Reminder

The registration page for the National ASFPM Conference is Here

The GENERAL REGISTRATION includes admission to the Sunday welcome reception, the Monday through Thursday conference program, exhibits, the early bird sessions, Tuesday and Thursday luncheons , Tuesday and Thursday evening events, refreshment breaks, conference materials, participants list, a reserved electronic copy of the proceedings, AND 1 Supplemental Training Opportunity (choice of workshop or technical field tour). 

That is quite a lot of value!  The early bird discount window closes April 3rd, so don't delay if you are interested!

NeFSMA/NDNR 3rd Annual Conference - Topics

What Conference Themes are you most interested in learning at the 3rd Annual NeFSMA Conference on June 23, 2011.  Polls close March 11th to submit your vote on our Blog!  If there is something specific you are thinking would be a great idea, leave a comment in on this post!

You can vote in our informal poll for the Conference Themes that you have the most interest in.  Just navigate to nefsma.blogspot.com and look on the left side of the screen under the Feedburner.  You can make multiple selections depending on your interest.  When you submit your vote you can see what others have already selected. 

We are currently soliciting abstracts from possible speakers.  The information in this poll will help us make the decision about filling our agenda.

Also, don't forget that you can submit a name for our quarterly newsletter here or by emailing Lori Laster.  We will be done taking ideas soon.

NeFSMA/NDNR 3rd Annual Conference - Call for Abstracts

The embeded images below provide the information you will need to submit an abstract for the June 23rd Conference.  The event has consistently drawn attendance around 100 each year and we expect a similar turn out again.  The abstract submittal process is simple and straight forward.  Please get your information to us by the end of March.

NeFSMA 2010 Annual Conference Registration

The Nebraska Floodplain and Stormwater Managers Association is pleased to announce our second annual statewide Floodplain and Stormwater Management Conference. The conference will be Friday July 30, 2010 at the Ramada Conference Center in Kearney, Nebraska. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Kenneth Dewey, Professor of Applied Climate Science at UNL.

You can register on-line

http://dnrdata.dnr.ne.gov/floodplain/ConferenceRegistration/RegistrationForm.aspx

then send your registration fee to:

Nebraska Floodplain & Stormwater
Managers Association
Attn: Lori Laster,Treasurer
8901 S. 154th St.
Omaha, NE 68138

Or print out th form http://www.dnr.state.ne.us/floodplain/Conference_2010/Registration_Flyer.pdf and send it with your payment to Lori.

We have some great seminars lined up this year including:

• Community Guidance: Policies and Ordinances/Forms and Certificates
• Hydrology and Hydraulics for Flood and Stormwater Management and Design
• New EPA Construction Effluent Guidelines
• Post-Construction Integrated Management Practices
• No Adverse Impact Development in the Floodplain
• Levee Decertification and Recertification
• Tips to Present Highly Technical Data to a Non-Technical Audience
• How to Successfully Secure a Hazard Mitigation Grant.

Attendees will earn 6 CFM credits. Lunch is included in the registration fee. Please register by July 16, 2010.

Jesse Poore

2010 NeFSMA Chair

Greetings From the Dallas EC10 Conference

I'm finally back at my room tonight after a very long day at the International Erosion Control Association (IECA) conference in Dallas, Texas. I'm down here to learn everything I can about the new three letter curse word taking over the construction industry. That's right; ELG (Effluent Limitation Guidelines) for the construction industry. Jesse Pritts with the EPA gave a summary of the expanded narrative limitations and the new numeric discharge limits that were finalized at the end of 2009 and will be finding their way into a NPDES permit near you. One thing to remember at this point is that these new rules will require much guidance. Questions that remain unanswered are widly varied and Jesse indicated the intent to publish something to answer a lot of the guidance questions early next year; before the turbidity limits go into effect in the EPA permit. IECA will play an important role in making sure this guidance is representative of the construction, consulting, and municipal stakeholders likely to be impacted.

*Rules went into effect February 1, 2010

*Beginning August 1, 2011 turbidity limits go into effect

*More information is available at www.epa.gov/guide/construction

The other reason I have come to this symposium of soil strategy specialists was to present a half-day session about purposeful Phase II MS4 compliance. A good spirited group of consultants, regulators, and MS4 coordinators attended this morning's interactive session and learned how to improve the measurable goals in their Storm Water Management Program. Most of these communities are just now putting together the nuts and bolts of their construction stormwater program, but we also see major changes in the works for federal post-construction rules. They also learned some of the questions they should be asking their permitting authority, their community and themselves in order to create a program that has the best chance to actually realize water quality improvements and not just meet blindly comply with the minimum control measures. It was fun and speakers were given a pen with a laser pointer in the head. Cool!

Signing off from Dallas,
Jesse W. Poore, CFM
2010 NeFSMA Chair

2010 National ASFPM Conference Registration Open

You can access full information and registration forms for the National ASFPM Conference in Oklahoma City by navigating to http:://www.floods.org/index.asp?menuid=381&firstlevelmenuid=181&siteid=1 or click on the image below.

Missouri FSMA Annual Conference - Registration Open

We received notice today that registration is open for the 15th Annual Missouri Floodplain and Stormwater Managers Association Annual Conference. The dates are April 7-9th, 2010.

The links to information about the conference are included below if you are interested.

http://www.mfsma.org/conference

http://www.mfsma.org/docs/conf10/2010ConferenceBrochure.pdf

NeFSMA is still exploring options for a 2010 conference in Nebraska. We'll keep you posted with details as they become available.