Enhancement of Resilience to Extreme Weather and Climate Events: Proactive Flood Management

Floods are among the most damaging natural disasters, and there is evidence that flood risk will increase in the future due to a warming climate, physical changes in watersheds, and continued development in flood-prone areas putting more assets at risk of inundation. Floods cause damage across the entire built environment, but they pose particular challenges for wastewater, stormwater, and drinking water utilities. While assessing flood risks is challenging, there are many tools and strategies that utilities can implement to help reduce risk and increase resilience. This project helps wastewater and stormwater utilities navigate the challenges of flood risk assessment by (1) summarizing the state of knowledge and best practices for flood risk assessment and management; and (2) developing a synthesized, easy-to-use interactive pocket guide for enhancement of wastewater and stormwater utility resilience to extreme weather and climate events by focusing on proactive risk assessment and flood management. The pocket guide assists utility users in selecting datasets, methods, models, and tools that are appropriate for their flood conditions, management objectives, and other factors. Published in 2023.

Originally funded as WERF project SIWM-17-15.