Page 8 - March-April2020 Vol37 No7

Far left: A Barge
Master Plan in Action from page 7
Once the PCSWMM model was
implemented, the results were calibrated
to ensure it accurately represented the
system and could be used to evaluate
flood mitigation alternatives. The model’s
implementation also created risk maps by
using building footprints and LiDAR data
to identify structures at a greater risk of grows. Developers must answer to certain
flooding.
Structures were color-coded on the
risk map to assist in quickly identifying
problem areas. The Barge Information
Management team created a custom tool
with GIS capabilities, which uses the
model’s results to generate the LOS for
each structure. In terms of this process,
the LOS rating indicates the return period
each asset could accommodate.
Applying these technologies
modernized the City’s data collection and
provided access to real-time, accurate
information. This allowed Germantown to
confidently identify drainage basins with a system enabled Germantown the ability
low LOS and continue to the next phase of
the master plan.
Efforts Taking Shape
Determining where to start was only
part of the equation. Barge and the City
of Germantown were now faced with
the task of finding creative solutions to
a multi-faceted issue affecting the entire
city. Though the assets with the lowest
LOS scores were identified, the solution
could not be contained to those basins.
A problem of this magnitude and in
such highly-developed areas required
innovative solutions. Simply making pipes
or conduits larger in one area only moves
the problem downstream. With this in
mind, the City evaluated new detention
basins within existing developments,
expanded existing detention basins, and
8 TPW March/April 2020
evaluated flow diversions and parallel
drainage systems to alleviate flooding.
In addition, Germantown saw a
window of opportunity for collaborating
with developers through their required
regulations and standards. New
developments still were being constructed;
a process likely to continue as the City
infrastructure obligations, so the City
leveraged developers’ capabilities to
assist in fixing the stormwater drainage
network.
For instance, if a development is
progressing in an identified problem
basin, the City could require over-
detention. Collaboration and
communication between the developer
and the City allows for better management
of the development’s impact on the
overall drainage system, not just the pipe
downstream.
Precise awareness of their stormwater
to see the larger picture, which alerted
them to opportunities to combine
projects. This not only saved funding and
staffing resources, it also created greater
accountability between the City and
developers.
Remediation Efforts in Action
While no municipality wants to face a
crisis, preparation is essential. Through
the geodatabase and the modeling
system, City staff can evaluate emergent
needs quickly, like in the storm event
experienced on June 7, 2019, when an area
of Germantown received almost 10 inches
of rain in less than four hours.
That June rain event was estimated
to have a greater than 10,000-year-
recurrence interval for precipitation. It left community through innovation and
more than 100 homes flooded, 90 percent
of which did not have flood insurance
employee in the process
of surveying the City’s
stormwater assets
marks the dimensions
of a culvert.
Near left: While taking
inventory, surveyors
typically spend their
entire day in the field.
This process is made
much more efficient by
the modeling software
Germantown chose to
implement.
because they were outside of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Special Flood Hazard Area.
With the Stormwater Master Plan
already underway, City officials were able
to reassure the public that they foresaw
the potential flooding issues, were already
working to resolve the concerns, and
would approach this effort with new vigor.
Germantown’s relationship with Barge
meant the City was not only prepared to
communicate a plan to the community,
but they also had Barge’s help with
engaging their constituents.
Environmental events can wreak
havoc on a community and are beyond
the control of even the most efficient
and effective governments. These newly-
implemented capabilities and technologies
empower Germantown to respond to
immediate needs or events confidently
and quickly.
The Results of Effective Collaboration
Now, twenty years after the City’s
growth spurt, prompting the actions
taken to develop the master plan and
related efforts, Germantown has earned
the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality
Award. Given to only four municipalities
since its inception in 1987, this is a
prestigious recognition of an entity’s
quality in organization and efficiency.
The criteria to be considered are
excellence in: leadership; strategy;
customer relations; measurement,
analysis, and knowledge management;
workforce; operations; and results. The
Stormwater Master Plan represents one
in a multitude of intentional decisions
that helped the City achieve this
commendation, and emphasizes their
dedication to creating a smarter, safer
collaboration.