Urban Watersheds Perspectives

Undoing the Past/Designing a Better Future

I find that Civil Engineers are generally a very traditional bunch of professionals. They tend to be conservative in design and use well established and proven approaches to a design problem. However, in a typical multi-faceted urban watershed project, this type of "traditional" approach isn’t likely to result in a successful project. Instead a "neo-traditional approach is more often required. There are a variety of terms that embody this attitude and if fully embraced, they are more likely to produce the desired results. Try these on for size:

1. Thinking outside the BOX

2. Expanding the toolbox

3. "Color outside the lines"

The last one really hits home for me personally. It is quoted from the article that is linked above. I like the analogy because it seems very appropriate to engineers. Much like an artist who isn’t likely to produce a great work of art which stands the test of time, an engineer isn’t likely to produce a project which is truly appreciated for generations to come, without "coloring outside the lines". We engineers (and I say "we", because I am one too, which is why I can cover this topics that most planners and architects wouldn’t dare touch) have to think past the well established, well-proven methods and (where appropriate) take risks. We will never prove innovative, out of the box solutions work, unless they are tried and tested and even allowed to fail.

There must be consideration for the future, long-term results of our efforts. It is hard to find an urban area these days that isn’t striving to improve its "Quality of Life" which is strongly tied to the quantity and quality of its natural space, green space and open-space. And where do the greatest opportunities exists for such spaces? They exist within streams, creeks, rivers and drainage corridors. These areas, preserved in their natural state, offer the greatest opportunities for habitat, recreation, and flood conveyance. However, even in various states of degradation and disrepair, opportunities arise quite frequently to repair, restore and revitalize these areas. The main point to take away here is that quite often it is the engineer that is the "first responder" on scene for these opportunities. Be it the need to improve drainage, flood conveyance, repair erosion or preserve utility infrastructure. Engineers need to learn to "color outside the lines" in order to be part of the advocacy that creates projects future generation can live with and appreciate. We should ask the hard question "does this project benefit future generations."

posted by JACQUE THOMAS

Floodplains – Sometimes hard to define – but when the waters roll, the boundaries can be all too clear

Before I even begin, I have to give you my "I’m not an engineer disclaimer." I am not an engineer. I am a wildlife biologist that works for an engineering firm.

Now that that’s out of the way…

Those who live near, work in, or play in riparian areas have a general idea of what floodplains are. However, the only real exposure most people have to floodplains may lie in the dramatic television footage of high water rescues. Here in north Texas, we have seen much of this footage lately, almost nightly, on the news. As a matter of fact, as I write this post, the skies are booming with yet another round of thunderstorms and I think we will break the record for the all-time wettest June.

Outside of the world of computer models, most floodplain boundaries are hard to discern. However, when the clouds break open and rain falls abundantly, the line can become very clear very quickly. We all look to hydrologists and hydraulic engineers to draw the line between floodplains uplands (whether we know it or not). It’s a lot to ask of these analytical folk - the reality is that the natural world generally defies sharp definition. Add that general truth to the fact that the changes that we impose on our watersheds in the form of development, etc., result in an ever-changing and hyper-dynamic floodplain. As a biologist, I tend to view largely physical systems such as our watersheds as living organisms. As such, I tend to take a more conservative view of things like floodplains. That is, I tend to treat them as a bit more mysterious – I view mathematical calculations and analytical definitions of ecological systems with a great deal of skepticism.

We certainly need our H&H models, floodplain maps, our roughness coefficients and LOMRs. But I wonder if we wouldn’t be a little better off in terms of "flood preparedness" if we took a more mystical view of floodplains - if we just let them be what they are: wild, somewhat untamable, and awe-worthy parts of our environment that should be given a healthy amount of respect.

A final disclaimer… In no way am I suggesting that we should leave our floodplains alone or just stay out of them. In fact, the very changes we have imposed on our floodplains often necessitate engineering solutions. But that really is the subject for a future post (preferably by an engineer).

posted by RANDY ALEXANDER