Southwestern PA Commission Water Resource Center Hosts Stormwater Resiliency, Flood Insurance, MS4 Stream Restoration BMP Webinars

The Southwestern PA Commission Water Resources Center hosts four upcoming webinars on stormwater and flood insurance topics.

The webinars include--

-- July 20: Increasing Stormwater Resiliency Through Innovative Codes & Ordinances - Noon to 1:00 p.m.: Over the past several years, the City of Pittsburgh has been experiencing a growing renaissance of new and redevelopment projects. 

However, at the same time stormwater management issues such as localized flooding, polluted waterways, and basement backups from climate change-induced cloudburst rain events continue to plague much of the City.

 In 2021, the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority in partnership with several departments in the City of Pittsburgh updated its stormwater codes and ordinances in an effort to:

-- Establish more concise regulations while streamlining the stormwater plan review process;

-- Create a more proactive code language towards encouraging successful green infrastructure practices; and 

-- Ensure stormwater infrastructure is more resilient to future climate change impacts.

AKRF will provide valuable lessons learned during this multi-stakeholder collaborative project. The presentation will also offer key technical elements from the newly developed accompanying City of Pittsburgh Stormwater Design Manual. 

The audience will learn innovative strategies for how their own municipality can go above and beyond the minimum state model ordinance language to ensure successful and climate-resilient stormwater management as part of future new and re-development.

-- August 3: National Flood Insurance Program Flood Loss Prevention Solutions -  Noon to 1:00 p.m.: This course is designed to go over the basics of flood insurance, with a review of the National Flood Insurance Program new rating methodology Risk Rating 2.0 including how they are changing the landscape of the National Flood Insurance Program.

Solutions will be shared in this energetic course that can save your residents more than 80% off their flood insurance premiums. 

In this course, we will review FEMA standards and Floodplain Construction Codes, emphasizing the powerful role compliant flood vents play on a home or building’s flood risk and how it ties into a flood insurance premium. 

We will review the Elevation Certificate and what the numbers on the form mean to a premium. This upbeat course, full of case studies and service tips will have you understanding the solutions to rising NFIP rates, the benefits of compliant, and sustainable construction in the floodplain.

-- September 14: MS4 Stream Restoration BMPs: A Turnkey Implementor’s Perspective on Cost-effective and Resilient Stream Restoration (and Creative Partnerships) - 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.: It’s well established that stream restoration is the most cost-effective MS4 BMP, when considering large sediment reduction projects in the pursuit of MS4 permit compliance. 

However, not all stream restoration BMPs are equal. Design approaches vary by their efficiency, and stream projects inherently have a lot of complicating factors (land ownership, existing utilities, long-term maintenance, flooding concerns, etc). 

While we’re still learning (thru making mistakes and course corrections along the way), the RES team would like to share some insights gained from having designed, permitted, constructed, and now maintaining over 40 miles of stream restoration across PA for dozens of compensatory mitigation and MS4 programs. 

Additionally, we’ll cover some of the creative funding partnerships that have been developed around the state to help MS4 permittees tackle the daunting task of funding these projects.

-- October 19: Cost/Benefit Comparison of the Common MS4 BMPs - 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.: While stream restoration tends to be the go-to BMP for larger sediment reduction projects, the DEP allows municipalities to employ a large suite of BMPs to achieve their sediment reduction targets for MS4 permit compliance. 

These different BMPs can also be an opportunity to improve, enhance (or complete long overdue maintenance) on a variety of public and private infrastructure. 

Experts from a leading regional municipal engineering firm and stream/wetland restoration company will provide insights on the pros and cons of the common MS4 BMPs, to help MS4 permittees spend every precious MS4-program dollar as cost-effectively as possible.

Click Here to register and for the Water Resource Center's Event Calendar.

For more information on programs, initiatives, other upcoming events and more, visit the Southwestern PA Commission Water Resources Center website.

[Posted: July 7, 2022]  PA Environment Digest