Floodplain Management and Dam Safety modeling applications in Fairfax County
In this presentation, an overview of Fairfax County’s floodplain management, dam safety, and emergency response programs will be provided. The development of hydrologic and hydraulic models to support these programs and several applications will then be discussed. The development of base hydrologic and hydraulic model for the County’s regulatory floodplain will be outlined. These models use a framework that allows incorporation of future changes in rainfall. A number of applications that show the utility of the framework and how the models can be effectively leveraged to develop detailed models as needed on a site-specific basis will be presented. The streamlining of dam breach inundation studies using 2-D hydraulic modeling will be discussed, a well as an application to allow rapid breach mapping using limited information to support emergency response. A novel use of a 2-D hydraulic model to guide supplementary pumping operations during coincident rainfall and tide events in an area protected by a tide gate will be also be presented.
Author Bio
Dipmani Kumar has over 30 years of experience in water resources planning and project implementation. He currently serves as Chief of the Watershed Modeling and Analysis Branch within the Stormwater Planning Division of the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services. Elfatih Salim is a seasoned hydrologic and hydraulic modeling specialist with over thirty years of experience focusing on stormwater management, floodplain analyses, and dam safety inundation and incremental damage analysis studies. He is fluent in ArcGIS Pro, HEC-HMS, and HEC-RAS software deployments. Ekta Amar is a Floodplain Management Specialist and an Engineer IV in the Stormwater Planning Division of the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services in Fairfax County, VA. She provides technical oversight for floodplain management and oversees the County's participation in the National Flood Insurance Program and the Community Rating System.
