Geosyntec professionals will be actively participating in 2018 Illinois Association Floodplain and Stormwater Management (AFSM) Annual Conference at Tinley Park Convention Center in Illinois on March 14 - 15, 2018.

Geosyntec attendees for the event are: Lee Hauser, Matt Bardol, and Rishab Mahajan (Illinois
IAFSM was founded in 1986 by professionals interested in and responsible for floodplain and stormwater management in the State of Illinois. The IAFSM is a local chapter of the Association of State Floodplain Managers. Their objectives are to: promote the common interest in floodplain and stormwater management, enhance cooperation among various local, state, and federal agencies, and encourage effective and innovative approaches to managing Illinois' floodplain and stormwater management systems.

Abstracts

Title: Developing a Green Infrastructure Plan for the Western Richton Park Development Corridor
Presenters: Lee Hauser (Geosyntec), Kate Evasic (CMAP), and Tom Price, PE (CDF)
Session: 3C Green Infrastructure
Time: Wednesday March 14, 3:20 p.m.

The Village of Richton Park is evaluating the opportunity to pursue long-term growth and development in an undeveloped area of the community. This area boasts expressway access, making it attractive for economic development, as well as significant natural resources, including floodplain, headwater streams, and wetlands. Through its Local Technical Assistance program, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, with assistance from Conservation Design Forum and Geosyntec Consultants, is working with Richton Park to develop a plan to advance stormwater management that achieves natural resource and flood protection as well as the Village's vision for near-term and future development. An initial topographic analysis indicated that the volume of storage within the 100-year floodplain boundary far exceeded what would be expected from a 100-year, 24-hour rainfall event. Thus, it was clear that the analysis in the current FEMA study did not adequately account for the attenuation from floodplain storage. To re-analyze the system and develop an approximate flood profile, floodplain boundary, and floodway boundary that accounts for the available floodplain storage, the team developed a hydrologic and hydraulic model of the study area to evaluate alternative peak flows. The hydrologic model demonstrates a considerable reduction in flow through the area when the active floodplain storage is considered. The hydraulic analysis indicates that the BFE could potentially be reduce by approximately 5.5 ft, which would result in approximately 66 additional prime acres for development while providing an opportunity for stream corridor restoration. Building on this analysis, the team developed an integrated green infrastructure development plan for near- and long-term development that delineates the green infrastructure network, revised floodplain, and proposed development areas. The team will present the analysis, concept plan, and lessons learned from this unique project.

Title: Tools for flood risk management and increased resiliency through intelligent infrastructure control
Presenters: Matt Bardol, PE, CFM, CPESC, D.WRE (Geosyntec)
Session: 5C Modeling Tools
Time: Thursday March 15, 1:30 p.m.

Extreme meteorological events in urban coastal settings often result in overland flooding and storm surge. These events can cause considerable hazards to infrastructure, businesses, and citizens. Traditional flood mitigation measures (e.g., detention basins, tide gates, etc.) are becoming increasingly difficult to construct, permit, and maintain. As a result, existing flood mitigation measures are increasingly being identified as opportunities for potential retrofit projects to improve or expand their function. However, the mandate to preserve the original function of the facility and/or work within the inherent limitations of the existing passive infrastructure can often interfere with achieving the full potential of these retrofits. New and innovative approaches to stormwater and coastal storm surge management are needed to maximize the effectiveness of existing passive controls, minimize risk, and increase opportunities for restoration of coastal ecological resources. Recent advances in information technology, infrastructure, hardware systems, and software are providing a foundation for a future of digitally connected and dynamically monitored and controlled infrastructure. Real-time monitoring and dynamic control of stormwater and coastal infrastructure is now a viable, cost-effective option to provide enhanced resiliency to flooding while meeting competing goals such as maintaining and improving our existing fragile natural resources. This presentation will provide an overview of the tools available for intelligent control of infrastructure and will focus on projects that have used this technology. In particular, this presentation will highlight projects where innovative real-time controls have been used to retrofit existing infrastructure to minimize flooding risk, will discuss the application of real-time controls on tide gates for adaptive management, and other relevant applications. The presentation will conclude with a discussion on how these retrofits can be tied into an internet connected resiliency network capable of providing system-wide real-time visualization of flood risks and recommended flood risk mitigation actions.

Session Moderator: Rishab Mahajan
Session: 5C Modeling Tools
Time: Thursday March 15, 01:30 pm

The session will feature presentation on state-of-art tools for floodplain and stormwater management. The session includes presentation on system modeling with Innovyze software; flood risk management and increased resiliency through intelligent infrastructure control; and using Envision 3.0 for sustainable infrastructure tools

More Information

Learn more about the event: http://www.illinoisfloods.org/18_conference.html.
Learn more about IAFSM: http://www.illinoisfloods.org/about.html.
For consultation regarding floodplain and stormwater management, contact Matt Bardol at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..