02 twdb - flood protection planning grants

02 2d storm water modeling in addison

03 enhanced field data collection with mobile gis

04 tips & tricks: hec-ras fast tipissue 1 fall 2009

a n e w s l e t t e r f r o m t h e wat e r r e s o u r c e s e n g i n e e r i n g g r o u p o f h a l f f a s s o c i at e s , i n c .

NCTCOG Upper Trinity River Basin Map Needs AssessmentErin Atkinson, PE, CFM, GISP

with the completion of fema’s map modernization (map mod) program in fiscal Year 2008 and the beginning of the multi-Year risk map (mapping, assessment, and planning) initiative, the texas water development board (twdb) and the texas natural resources information system (tnris) realized the need to initiate a comprehensive map needs assessment (mna) for texas. in June 2009, they entered into an agreement with halff associates and the north central texas council of governments (nctcog) to fund an “mna pilot project” for the upper trinity river basin (utrb). the major tasks of the pilot project were to collect, process, and prioritize regional flood mapping needs and to develop procedures and guidelines for the state-wide mna process.

the fundamental objectives of the mna process and the mna pilot project were to ascertain the relative accuracy and validity of existing flood

House, senate agree on

corps of engineers funding for 2010

continued on page 2

a house-senate conference agreed to allocate $33.5 billion for water resources and energy that increases spending for the u.s. army corps of engineers for fiscal Year 2010.

the agreement calls for total funding for the corps of engineers of $5.4 billion, $43 million above fY 2009 and $320 million above the administration’s 2010 request. the agreement includes $2.4 billion, $198 million above 2009, to address more than $1 billion in the backlog of operations and maintenance for navigation infrastructure that is critical to the u.s. economy.

the agreement said the bill also includes $2 billion for construction

t h eCurrenthazard data and to identify previously unmapped areas where new flood hazard data are needed. the flood mapping needs identified in the pilot project report will be incorporated into the overall texas mapping plan being prepared and maintained by the twdb, and provided to fema. the mna pilot project included the criteria from fema’s coordinated needs management strategy (cnms), a national watershed-based database used to identify and track areas that need flood map updates, to

ensure compatibility with fema’s risk map objectives.

the mna pilot project covered 20 counties, either partially or fully, in and around the nctcog region. five stakeholder outreach meetings and an open house were conducted over a one-month period in order to collect the mapping needs from the public. a total of 65 communities and counties attended these meetings and identified 1,291 new mapping needs. the mapping

requests gathered during the stakeholder meetings were compiled, qualified, prioritized, and ranked by applying national and regional prioritization criteria. the final report for the pilot project provides data in several geospatial summaries including 1) by communities; 2) by streams and rivers; and 3) by 12-digit hydrologic unit code (huc) watershed boundaries. the 1,291 mapping requests represent 2,370 miles of stream and reflect approximately $44 million in flood mapping needs in the utrb project area. u

Mna pilot project 20 counties 1,291 new mapping needs 2,370 miles of stream   $44 million in flood mapping needs 

halff associates is assisting the town of addison, texas, develop a storm water master plan to address drainage issues. addison is one of the oldest and most urbanized cities in north texas. the major land uses in addison include retail and shopping centers, commercial, and multi-use development. previous studies indicated that the existing storm drain system was inadequate to accommodate future development without detention. additionally, the location and degree of damage that may occur during a major storm event (such as the 100-year flood) was unknown.

with the geographic location of addison being the upper end of several streams draining to neighboring cities, this study not only focused within the town limits but also evaluated downstream runoff impacts to the adjacent cities.

primary tasks include 1) refining an existing gis storm water database with as-built drawing information and data collected with mobile gis; 2) 2-dimensional (2d) modeling of storm drain systems with wallingford software

– infoworks sd; 3) identifying problem areas and providing alternative solutions for improvements; and 4) providing master plan recommendations with estimates of probable construction costs.

new storm water hydrologic and hydraulic models were created by using the refined existing gis storm water database with updated aerial topography and field data. these models were used to analyze the existing storm drain system for a wide range of storm events and to develop proposed solutions.

with infoworks sd/2d capabilities, the modeling results have precisely analyzed the hydraulics in both closed conduits and open channels. the fully dynamic 2d module simulated the surface flooding on the streets and low-lying areas. the module also accurately calculated the overland flows spilling across drainage boundaries. this tool greatly assisted in identifying flooding sources and problem areas, allowing halff to develop reasonable solutions. the existing systems were analyzed, problem

areas were identified, and alternative improvements were recommended to the town for review and evaluation. alternative improvement investigations included upsizing the storm drains and inlets for local relief, upsizing storm drain main trunk for system relief, installing new storm drains to divert flows for system relief, and preserving existing storage on vacant properties. u

projects, $313 million above the request, and $160 million for investigations, $60 million above the request, “to plan and design america’s next generation of water resource infrastructure.”

the energy department is slated to receive $27.1 billion in 2010, $318 million above the 2009 level but $1.3 billion less than the president requested.

the bill provides $1.13 billion to the interior department, $67 million above the request and $12 million above 2009, to continue to support and improve the nation’s water infrastructure, including $1.1 billion for the bureau of reclamation for dams, canals, water treatment and conservation, and rural water projects.

the trinity river project’s federal appropriations are done:

$12.594 million for the dallas floodway extension (new levees and wetland cells)

$1.345 million for the dallas floodway (balanced Vision plan and interior drainage) u

continued from page 1

Flood Protection Planning GrantsJessica Baker, PE, CFM

t e x a s w at e r d e V e l o p m e n t b o a r d :

each year, the texas water development board (twdb) requests applications for flood protection planning grants for cities

and counties in texas. the purpose of the program is for the state to assist local governments in the development of flood

protection plans for entire watersheds. the plans are to provide protection from flooding through structural and non-structural

measures. the funded planning study can include the analyses to determine and describe the flooding problems, potential

solutions to flooding problems, and the estimated benefits and costs of the solutions.

during the past several years, up to

$1 million dollars has been authorized

for flood protection planning from the

twdb research and planning fund.

It is anticipated that the Request for Applications for Fiscal Year 2010 will be released in October. Applications will be due in January 2010, and once again, $1 million dollars will be available.

in fiscal Year 2009, halff associates

worked with multiple communities

in texas to prepare successful

flood protection planning grant

applications. halff has worked on successful texas water development board flood protection planning grant projects with

the cities of balch springs, corsicana, eagle pass, and mcallen as well as hays, bastrop, wharton and maverick counties.

if your community is interested in preparing a fY 2010 grant application, contact your local professional halff associates’ water

resources representative. u

House, senate agree on

corps of engineers funding for 2010

2D Storm Water Modeling in AddisonAndy Chow, PE, CFM

are your citizens Missing out on DiSCOUNTeD FlOOD iNSURANCe PReMiUMS?

fema’s community rating system (crs) rewards communities that undertake floodplain activities beyond the minimum requirements of the national flood insurance program (nfip). the objective of the crs is to reward communities for what they are doing, as well as to provide an incentive for new flood protection activities. Your community is probably already performing many of the activities that could earn you crs points and discounted flood insurance! for more information about joining fema’s crs program, contact your local professional halff associates’ water resources representative. u

e n h a n c i n g F i e l d D a t a C o l l e c t i o n e f f i c i e n c y w i t h A r c P a d M o b i l e G i SNoelle Gaspard, PE, CFM, GISP

for the past 3 years, halff associates has utilized mobile gis in-house to perform field data collection using a trimble handheld mobile device with ersi arcpad software. at halff, mobile gis has been used for various types of projects including stream assessments, hydraulic modeling field reconnaissance, storm water system assessments and flood damage assessments. for each of these projects, customized data entry forms were designed to be used in arcpad. each data point was spatially referenced with x and Y coordinates using gps. once data was collected in the field, the spatially referenced gis data was uploaded to the desktop computer and instantly ready for analysis, avoiding the need for post-processing.

a customized mobile gis program can be a very effective tool for communities to collect field data. Various industries and field personnel

use mobile gis applications to complete both complex projects

advances in technology have dramatically improved traditional methods for gathering data in the field. the use of mobile gis software provides field-based personnel with the ability to capture, analyze, and display geographic information without the use of paper data collection. by implementing a digital workflow, field personnel can bypass the time-consuming step of entering and processing pen and paper field data. this leads to increased efficiency and accuracy and decreased data redundancy.

esri and trimble 2009 Mobile

government grantsesri & trimble are curently offering more than $90,000 worth of grants to state or local governments to receive software, hardware, and training for development of mobile gis projects. this program represents a means of providing governments with the tools and equipment necessary to develop and extend their gis programs into the field via next-generation mobile GIS and server gis technologies.

this is a great opportunity for your community to develop a mobile gis program!

Mobile gis thursday seminar

learn more about the esri/trimble mobile government grant and how halff is implementing mobile gis. attend our mobile gis seminar at the Halff Associates Richardson Office, october 22.

“halff mobile gis” presented by noelle gaspard, pe, cfm, gispoctober 22, 2009 / 11:45a – 1:00pRichardson Halff Office*lunch provided – please rsVp to pat bozeman by 10/20/09, pbozeman@halff.com or (214) 346-6200.

*Not in the Richardson area? Don’t worry! the seminar will be broadcast at each Halff office. Please RSVP so we can provide your lunch at the nearest Halff office.

and routine tasks, including street sign inventories, compliance monitoring, damage inspections and pavement assessments. the uses and applications for mobile gis are endless. in any situations where data is collected out in the field, mobile gis provides a solution for time-consuming older methods of collecting and storing data.

if you would like more information about halff associates’ custom mobile gis programs or if you

have any questions, please

contact your local professional

halff associates’ water resources

representative. u

Data input forms created for Storm Water System Assessments.

Trimble GeoXT handheld GIS/GPS unit.

heC-RAS Fast TipJeffrey Alvarez, PE, CFM

often when performing hydrologic routing in hydrology models like hec-hms or hec-1, storage volume information is required from your hec-ras model analysis. what you may not be aware of is that hec-ras has a direct export to hec-dss feature built-in. this feature allows the cumulative storage volume information generated to be exported to a hec-dss file for direct use in hec-hms or hec-1 for modified-puls routing.

this feature allows the export of multiple reaches from the hec-ras model by inputting the upstream and downstream reach limit information for each reach. the program then exports the storage-

Datescheck these

important

22 Oct 2009 11:45am - 1:00pm

Halff Mobile gispresented by:noelle gaspard, pe, gisp, cfmlunch provided – please rsVp to pat bozeman by 10/20/09, pbozeman@halff.com or call (214) 346-6200 halff associates, inc.1201 north bowser roadrichardson, tx 75081

(broadcast will be streamed to all halff facilities. please note your preferred office location when rsVping.)

5 Nov 200911:30am - 1:00pm

tfMa nortH texas (region 4 & 10) local area event and luncHeon (Earn 1 CFM Continuing Education Credit)ruthe Jackson center 3113 s. carrier parkway grand prairie (hosted by romin khavari, city of grand prairie)

guest speakers:bill brown, pe storm water executive manager, city of arlington

clair c. davis, pe, cfm floodplain administrator, city of fort worth

$15 per person in advance (check), $20 per person at the door (cash or check). includes lunch and 1 cec. please rsVp and send payment (payable to halff associates) by friday, 10/30/09, to:debbie Young halff associates, inc.4000 fossil creek blvd.fort worth, tx 76137

dyoung@halff.com (817) 847-1422

Austin • Dallas • Flower MoundFort Worth • Frisco • Grand PrairieHouston • McAllen • Richardsonsan antonio

1-800 Halff us www.halff.com

&tipstricks

outflow information to a dss file. hec-hms can then read in this dss file directly to define the modified puls routing. this easy feature eliminates any manual extraction of cumulative volume information from

hec-ras as a result file. for further explanation of this feature, please refer to chapter 9 of the hec-ras 4.0 users manual or contact your local professional halff associates’ water resources representative. u

Recently at halff…twdb, tfma, the city of dallas and halff associates recently hosted a floodplain management 101 course and the cfm exam. over 70 professionals in floodplain management roles from around north texas attended.

next course at halff associates… floodplain management seminar and cfm exam, wednesday, december 9th, 2009 – 8 am to 4:30 pm course – 5 pm to 8 pm cfm exam. contact J. leon curtis, pe, cfm for more information at leon.curtis@twdb.state.tx.us

hope to see you there.