PHRC Webinar: Restoring Floodplains to Manage Stormwater

Throughout the country, Engineers and developers are facing the same challenge; balancing project development needs while meeting the stormwater management requirements. Over the past few decades, stormwater management requirements have become more complex as flooding, drought, and ecological damage to watersheds have become more apparent. Although there are regional nuances, stormwater management goals can be generalized into three main categories: volume control, rate control, and water quality. These three general goals dictate the types of stormwater management Best Management Practices (BMPs), i.e. stormwater facility types, which are required for any given project. Traditional BMPs can assist in addressing the direct regulatory impacts of a development, but do little to address the regional water quality and peak mitigation goals of the larger scale watershed.

Floodplain restoration provides an alternative to traditional BMPs. Floodplain restoration not only mitigates the development’s direct impacts but also manages and treats the tributary water providing a regional benefit to the overall watershed. Many Engineers, Land Planners, and developers instinctively assume that the floodplain area within their project site is worthless from a development standpoint; however an innovative ecological approach to stormwater management and regional water quality is quickly changing those perceptions.

This presentation will cover the basics of stormwater management regulations and the history of floodplains in Pennsylvania, and the concept and application of floodplain restoration for Land Development. Additionally, case studies from multiple central Pennsylvania sites will provide real-world applied benefits in terms of developable area\density, economic, and ecological improvements (including pre and post stormwater monitoring data).