Page 27 - Jan-Feb 2021 Vol 38 No 6
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predicted by our traditional design any supporting data from municipalities use. That information could be reflected
practices. However, with climate change, very difficult. That is why your assistance in cost comparisons for infrastructure
we receive these storm events more is so very important to us. Accounts with designed using the traditional best
frequently. the rainfall data, pictures and even videos engineering practices, versus cost data
Here’s How You Can Help would be invaluable. for infrastructure and control measures
designed to better accommodate these
We need your assistance. If your We hope to gather this information short duration, high intensity rainfall
community has (or has access to) a and use it to demonstrate to Public events.
tipping bucket rain gauge that is set to Works officials and to the public how
record rainfall depth every 15 minutes, these short duration, high intensity Also, your assistance may help give
we would like for you to identify a couple events may drive changes in how information on what such infrastructure
of short rainfall events that lasted less storm water systems are designed and could add to development costs.
than six hours and produced two or more maintained. Or, at very least, provide a We intend to look at infrastructure
inches of rain. sense for the risk that these storm events retrofit costs, so that the public can be
have on low-lying areas. educated on what their cost would be for
Even if you do not have access to a dealing with these events in established
tipping bucket rain gauge, the USGS has When irate citizens with existing developments.
52 of these rain gauges distributed across infrastructure are threatening to sue,
Tennessee and the NOAA has 21. If you we hope to be able to provide helpful We look forward to hearing from you.
can provide the dates, then we will go to information for local governments to
those agencies and see if their rain gauges
were able to capture the storm event. John R. Buchanan, Ph.D., P. E. John C. Chlarson, P.E.
Associate Professor and Extension Specialist Public Works Consultant
There are several other rain gauge Construction Science, Water and Wastewater Eng. UT Municipal Technical Advisory Service
networks across the State, but they only Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science
record daily values. The benefit of the john.chlarson@tennessee.edu
15-minute data is that it provides rainfall jbuchan7@utk.edu
intensity in addition to the total storm
depth. By their very nature, these short
duration, high intensity rainfall events
are typically very localized.
This localization, and even isolation,
makes collecting firsthand accounts with
View online at tnpublicworks.com 27
