Fathom’s Post

Good morning TEXAS FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENTASSOCIATION members and other flood/stormwater professionals! If you're on the fence about attending this year's TFMA Technical Summit in August, hopefully this teaser will sway you to register! Usually at #TFMA conferences we have 5, sometimes 6 concurrent session tracks. For this year's technical summit, we will have SEVEN (7) concurrent tracks. That's right...SEVEN. There will be TONS of learning opportunities including new mini workshops lasting 30 or 60 minutes within the concurrent sessions. "What are some of these mini workshops" you might ask? Here's a sneak peek... - A Practical Approach to Enforcement for Local Communities - Permitting in the Floodplain - Substantial Damage - Model Reviews with RASMapper - Flood Mitigation Funding - CLOMRs, LOMRs, and MT-2 Reviews - 1D/2D Modeling for Impact Analyses - Dam Breach Modeling Basics As usual, the conference will kick off with full-day trainings on Tuesday, 8/27 with Texas Water Development Board's Floodplain Management 101 course, FEMA's NFIP 201 course, Freese and Nichols' workshop on HEC-RAS 2D, and Flood Warning hosted by WEST Consultants, Inc. In addition, half-day trainings will be held on Friday, 8/30 on Technical Flood Mitigation from Freese and Nichols, Reviewing 2D models by HDR, and Fluvial Geomorphology from WEST Consultants, Inc. The agenda grid is still in its first draft at the moment but is expected to be finalized by the beginning of next week! More information for the conference registration and hotel room block info can be found on TFMA's brochure for the event here: https://lnkd.in/gFKFnBhu #TFMA #SeeYouThere

I have seen #badger settlements where animal tunnels have entrances and exits close to proposed #infrastructure and wonder how engineers can solve this problem to ensure the #resilience of the infrastructure. This is why this article caught my attention and may be of interest to you... I think, the new technology discussed in the article below should not only help to detect badgers on #flood defences, but also on critical infrastructure that requires embankments, such as railway lines, whether in flood plains or not... railway embankments in flood plains are more likely to fail during floods if they have experienced burrowing activity by animals... https://lnkd.in/dcuf3hRv

Join the @ASCE webinar and hear about the FDEP's Statewide Vulnerability Assessment!

U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Civil Works: MISSION USACE-CW has three main mission areas: (1) commercial navigation; (2) flood and storm damage reduction; and (3) aquatic ecosystem restoration. COMMERCIAL NAVIGATION USACE-CW facilitates commercial navigation by supporting safe, reliable, cost effective, and environmentally sustainable waterborne transportation systems. The Nation’s infrastructure to support transportation of commercial goods by water involves a network of navigable coastal channels, inland waterways, and related navigation features maintained by USACE-CW, as well as publicly and privately owned marine terminals, intermodal connections, shipyards, and repair facilities. AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION The USACE-CW aquatic ecosystem restoration mission includes efforts with local communities to restore degraded ecosystem structure, function, and/or process to a more natural condition. FLOOD AND STORM DAMAGE REDUCTION Under its flood and storm damage reduction mission, USACE-CW works with communities to reduce the risk to public safety and property damage from riverine flooding and the water-related effects of a coastal storm. The work that USACE-CW performs under this mission includes its emergency management work, as part of the overall Federal effort to help affected communities prior to, during, and after a major flood or coastal storm. A lake performing a deep drawdown in order to perform inspections and maintenance on the dam. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

River survey procurement: I have some questions. 🌍What issues did you have with your last procured survey? 🌍Did the survey data enable your flood risk assessment to build a better hydraulic model? 🌍 Was the project's critical path honoured? 🌍How could your experience of dealing with the survey company been improved? Our latest case study demonstrates how diligent preparation solves these problems for you. https://lnkd.in/gYMuZhk5 #survey #geospatial #safety

“Strategic river management requires a certain level of ‘foresight competency’” Understanding the evolutionary trajectory of river channels is essential for those involved in river corridor planning, flood risk alleviation, maintaining channel stability, and river restoration. Accordingly, a decision support framework has been recently developed that integrates decadal scale modeling of channel morphology evolution to benefit strategic planning of river management and restoration. Such foreshadowing would allow water managers to assemble contingent predictions fostering several plausible futures in channel evolution. Management actions could be developed to either avoid certain unlikely or undesirable “possible” futures (e.g., severe channel instability) or as part of strategic decision-making directed toward a “preferred” future condition (e.g., dynamically sustained channel diversity).  Interestingly, neither may be the most “probable” future based on recent trends in the boundary conditions. The approach requires converting forecasting model outputs into metrics of channel evolution that highlight transitions either within or between channel morphology states. Here, seven process-based state transition metrics are proposed covering channel planform, morphological stability, corridor belt width, floodplain connectivity, bank erosion rate, bedform habitat diversity, and ecohydraulic diversity.  To aid decision support, the metrics are converted into graphical indicators that are intuitive for management use. Please see Downs et al. (2023) in JAWRA, “Visioning channel evolution for river management: Toward a functional decision support framework”

Exploring a Flood Control Infrastructure Project Here’s a glimpse into a fascinating flood control project captured from a drone. The footage shows 5-meter-long steel sheet piles being installed almost entirely into the ground using an excavator and a vibratory hammer along the riverbank and the base of the levee. This setup is likely designed to counteract the piping effect and extend the seepage path of water, thereby slowing down its filtration rate. Role of Steel Sheet Piles in Flood Control Projects: - Preventing Piping: Steel sheet piles create a barrier that prevents soil particles from being carried away by water flow, effectively stopping the piping effect which can lead to levee failure. - Seepage Control: By driving sheet piles deep into the ground, the seepage path is extended, reducing the speed at which water can filter through the soil. This helps in maintaining the structural integrity of levees and embankments. - Structural Support: These piles provide additional structural support to levees, making them more resistant to the forces exerted by floodwaters. - Durability: Steel sheet piles are highly durable and can withstand harsh environmental conditions, ensuring long-term protection for flood-prone areas. Comment: Although I do not have the specific details of this project, from my perspective, it could have been optimized by using vinyl sheet piles instead of steel. This substitution could have achieved both financial and ecological benefits. 📽: zinOdA ESPORT (YT) 🌎 Do you like it? Follow me and Hit 🔔 Ring on my profile for more content about #civilengineering #geotechnicalengineering #ecology #construction #vinylsheetpiles #geosynthetics

Secerna LLP Explores Cutting-Edge Flood Defence Innovations As we navigate the closing chapters of 2023, we invite you to dive into the dynamic realm of flood defence technology. In this article, we uncover insights into the EU Floods Directive, the UK's significant investment in flood defences, and a global surge in patenting activity—a promising landscape for innovators. Explore recent breakthroughs in #floodbarriers and structural innovations, playing a pivotal role in shaping the future of #floodprotection. https://lnkd.in/e35T84A4 Our collective commitment to intellectual property underscores the critical importance of safeguarding flood defence technologies. If you share our passion for innovation and engineering, let's connect! Reach out to us at docketing@secerna.co.uk, and together, let's contribute to the future of flood resilience. #InnovationInFloodDefence #EngineeringSolutions #IntellectualProperty #SecernaExpertise #FloodDefence #Flooding #IP #Flood

[Publication Alert] The center's Executive Director Dr. Anabel Abuzo, COE Research Coordinator EnP./Engr. Jefferson Jr. Vallente, Research Associate Engr. Gifrey Sulay, and Research Associate Engr. John Michael Osia with their co-authors Dr. Alexis Fillone and Avalyn Cahulogan recently published their paper "Evaluation of Vulnerable Routes and Simulation Under Normal and Flood Conditions in Cagayan De Oro City, Philippines" in the Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies Vol. 15 = Environment and Climate Change category. The main study evaluated the route and traffic flow analysis under normal- and flood- conditions. They used baseline data of the city to conduct travel conditions and perception profiles under normal- and storm- conditions coupled with spatial and simulation analysis of roads during flood conditions. Through this, they were able to develop flood mitigation maps and management strategies for vulnerable roads and routes in the city. The output of the study included transportation and built environment engineering solutions in line with flood mitigation and flood management policies. Dr. Anabel A. Abuzo and Dr. Alexis Fillone are members of IRG-38 of the Eastern Asia Society of Transportation Studies. You may read the full paper here: https://lnkd.in/dV942w5W

#WMO Guideline for #Flood Forecasting & Early Warning Systems: ☑   Data and Sources: (#hydrology, #metrology, #topography, social& structural). ☑   Forecast Elements: (Meteorologist, water& environmental experts, safe operation center, software and computing capabilities). ☑   Key Communication Considerations for Data Transmission Channels: (Available facilities in the region, amount of information to be transmitted, operation requirements, economics and coast of system). ☑   Effective Notification for Flood Warning: (A single authoritative voice, When the flood will occur and reach certain heights?, Which areas may be inundated?, What floodwater depth and velocity is expected, Other factors which may affect safety). ☑   Decision support and Potential Users: (High level government decision makers, Public & Private Infrastructure managers, civil contingency & emergency services, staff from other government departments). ☑   Good Coordination to Reduce the Risk: (Allowing operational teams, emergency personnel and organizations to plan, alerting the public about flood timing and location so they can prepare, warning about likely impact on dwellings, roads and defense structures, Enabling preparation for evacuation and emergency procedures). ☑   Possible Actions to Warnings: (Rural flood plain populations move livestock and property to higher areas or to purpose-built flood refuges, Urban areas organize road closures and diversions, temporary flood barriers and possible evacuation). ☑   Review of the Warning System After Flood Events To Identify Potential Improvements: (Warning delivery, receipt, action performance).  #floodmanagement #flooding #floodrisk #floodmitigation #floodresilience #floodcontrol #floodprotection #flooddamage #floodprevention #floodinsurance #floodforecasting #floodwarning #earlywarning