Stormwater & Flooding Videos

The problems of urban flooding in the Pittsburgh region are two-fold: 1.) a lack of useful data around the issue and 2.) a need for better regional coordination and planning. A significant limitation in analyzing flood losses is that communities are only eligible for some programs when a federal disaster declaration has been made by the president, a method that favors larger, more costly events. Thus, smaller chronic flood events or flooding in less affluent neighborhoods may not be captured. This presentation will demonstrate a novel approach to using Twitter data for extracting incidence reports and mapping flooding locations in Allegheny County. We will then use the Saw Mill Run Valley as a case study to demonstrate how to use this data to understand flooding hotspots and associated rainfall patterns for future flood mitigation and planning purposes. Decades of studies on Saw Mill Run, and most recently an Integrated Watershed Management Plan, have spotlighted the need to address the many negative impacts of stormwater runoff, including flooding, on the surrounding neighborhoods and communities. Using this innovative methodology to capture more nuanced and finer grained data will help to shape a comprehensive regional strategy for creating a more equitable, collaborative, and cohesive approach to successful flood mitigation.

This presentation details a watershed based approach to fulfill MS4 requirements, reduce local flooding, and improve local water quality.

Flooding is the #1 natural hazard to effect PA and one that is being amplified by the threat of climate change, specifically with increased rainfall and more severe storms. In this session, participants will gain a better understanding of how floodplain regulations apply to every municipality in Pennsylvania. This session will provide an overview on NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program), how to read FEMA flood maps, review the minimum State model ordinance regulations, and share examples of floodplain management in land conservation.

Tredyffrin Township is characterized by dense development on steep slopes, underlain by an aging infrastructure that proved no match for the intense storms and increasing regulatory requirements of the late 2010s. A group of citizens in the Valley Creek Restoration Partnership built on emerging widespread resident concerns about flooding to propose a Township response. This led the Township Supervisors to charter a Citizens Advisory Stormwater Task Force to help with the research and analysis of the problems and their solutions. This presentation will cover the genesis of the Task Force, its organization, the work it performed and its conclusions. We will describe where Tredyffrin is now (spoiler alert: committed to, and working on the details of, a Stormwater Management Fee), and as best we can identify factors that contributed to, and detracted from, the Task Force performance.