The Development of a Flood Risk Framework Plan for Washington D.C.

Sherwin Zahirieh, PE, ENV SP, Civil Engineer, AECOM

Christine Estes, Vice President, AECOM


As part of the effort to build a more flood resilient city, Washington D.C has been developing its "Flood Risk Framework Plan" to act as a guide for the city and its stakeholders to mitigate flood hazards in future Floodshed Management Plans. The Framework Plan contains several components that support the city in this endeavor. First, a framework is developed to delineate the city into separate "floodsheds" for which planning efforts can be developed for. These floodshed areas are then ranked based on a variety of factors do determine prioritization of areas in which to invest in. Second, a toolbox of green and gray infrastructure tools is presented that can be implemented throughout the city based on constraints, construction costs, losses avoided, and maintenance requirements. A method is presented to prioritize which infrastructure to prioritize in a floodshed. Finally, an outreach strategy is presented to ensure that the residents of the community can be involved in the flood mitigation planning process.

Author Bio

Sherwin is a Civil Engineer and Resilience Planner with six years of experience. He has experience with engineering design, flood modeling, MS4 compliance, and resilience planning. Sherwin has assisted with the management and execution of several multidisciplinary projects within the region that have involved coordination between design engineers, modelers, scientists, urban planners, and communication specialists. Christine has over 25 years of experience in civil and environmental engineering, and two decades of project management experience. She has worked with FEMA for over eighteen years and has been involved with the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) production of more than 100 county-wide and watershed studies where she provided management, engineering, mapping, and/or quality control expertise. As a water resources engineer, she has performed studies for floodplain management, stormwater management, watershed planning, and water quality monitoring.