Geosyntec staff presented on Floodplain and Stormwater Management at the Illinois Association for Floodplain and Stormwater Management (IAFSM)'s 2020 Annual Conference in Tinley Park, Illinois on March 11-12, 2020.

Rishab Mahajan, P.E., CFM, Emily Campbell, P.E., CFM, CPESC and Matt Bardol, P.E., CFM, CPESC, D.WRE (Illinois) presented "HEC-RAS 2D: The Right Tool for the Job?" and Gunilla Goulding, P.E. (Illinois) co-presented "MWRD's Stormwater Master Planning Program in the Combined Sewer Area - An Update" with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.

Rishab Mahajan is a Project Engineer with 11 years of experience in hydrodynamic, sediment transport and water quality modeling with a focus on regulatory permits and requirements, stormwater management, surface water system assessments, total maximum daily load development and implementation, and nutrient criteria limit development.

Emily Campbell is an Engineer focused on hydraulics and hydrology, stormwater management, wetlands and floodplains, and NPDES permit compliance.

Matthew Bardol is a Senior Principal Engineer with more than 20 years of diverse environmental and water resource engineering experience, providing a breadth of technical expertise to address the most complex water resource situations with innovative solutions.

Gunilla Goulding is a Senior Engineer with more than 20 years of experience focused on hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, combined sewer overflow mitigation, sanitary sewer overflow mitigation, sewer system master planning, stormwater master/management planning, and pump station-force main modeling.

IAFSM's 2020 Annual Conference provided a forum for professionals involved in floodplain and stormwater management throughout the state to meet and share their knowledge and experience.

IAFSM was founded in 1986 by professionals interested in and responsible for floodplain and stormwater management in the State of Illinois.

Presentation Descriptions

Title: HEC-RAS 2D: The Right Tool for the Job?
Presenters: Rishab Mahajan, P.E., CFM, Emily Campbell, P.E., CFM, CPESC and Matt Bardol, P.E., CFM, CPESC, D.WRE
Description: HEC-RAS 5.0 was released in 2016 with two-dimensional (2D) modeling capabilities and has completely since revolutionized the world of floodplain modeling. Examples applications where 2D modeling is useful include rivers with significant meanders or poorly defined channels (i.e. braided systems). However, the regulatory framework of floodplain permitting is yet to catch up with 2D modeling advancements. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) map revisions requires the use of 1D model to calculate water surface elevation rise due to proposed development and floodway analysis. The insights from 2D model is still useful in informing the 1D models for floodplain permitting.

The presentation will showcase a series of applications for HEC-RAS 2D modeling, including leveraging the strengths of 2D modeling to inform 1D modeling or in combination as a 1D/2D model. Four case studies will include applications in FEMA floodplain mapping, dam breach analyses, and flood impacts from historic storm events. Featured projects will highlight the benefits and pitfalls of 2D modeling with many "Lessons Learned."  After this talk, attendees will be able to identify applications best suited for HEC-RAS 2D, HEC-RAS 1D as well as combination of both.

Title:MWRD's Stormwater Master Planning Program in the Combined Sewer Area - An Update
Presenters: Gunilla Goulding, P.E., and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
Description: Regarding the development of a Stormwater Master Planning Program that promotes use of a holistic approaches, multi-benefit projects, partnering with diverse stakeholders, and innovative solutions to help communities address urban flooding throughout Cook County.

Last year, the project team provided an overview of how the Program would be structured and the approach to solving urban flood problems, including basement backups and street flooding. This year the Combined Sewer Area team will provide an update on results of the first year; including data collection, program development, the development of Individual Study Profiles (pre-cursor to Stormwater Master Plans) for selected study areas; and a potential new direction for how the Program will evolve in the future.

More Information

About the event: https://www.illinoisfloods.org/event/3/14/2020-iafsm-conference
About IAFSM: https://www.illinoisfloods.org/about-iafsm
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..
Learn more about Rishab Mahajan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rishabmahajan/
Learn more about Emily Campbell: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-campbell-pe-cpesc-64675b49/
Learn more about Matt Bardol: https://www.geosyntec.com/people/matthew-bardol
Learn more about Gunilla Goulding: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gunilla-goulding-pe-6388853/