Civil Engineering Consultant – Stormwater Management, Grading & Drainage
The following blog post is a guide that will help you on your path to becoming a Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM), specifically passing the CFM exam. As climate change continues to shape our world, the need for skilled professionals who can mitigate and manage flood risks has become increasingly vital. By earning your CFM certification, … Read more
Recently, I took the Certified Floodplain Managers (CFM), which is administered by the Association of State Floodplain Managers. Luckily, I passed! However, while studying for the exam, I found that, unlike the PE exam, there was not a lot of information available online about the CFM exam. For this reason, I decided to write the … Read more
On Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM), a regulatory floodway is designated by blue and orange diagonal hatching. The floodway is useful because it facilitates land use planning that regulates development in flood-prone areas. Although floodway delineations are based on hydraulic analyses, one could argue that floodway mapping is both an art and a science. This … Read more
Jarrett’s equation can be used to estimate an accurate Manning’s n value for steep streams. This is important because steep mountain streams should, in many cases, be assigned a higher Manning’s n value than what is shown in Chow’s Manning’s n value tables (which is a table many hydraulic engineers reference regularly). For example, Chow’s … Read more
I have heard the term “attenuation” thrown around throughout my career. However, it took me a long time to actually understand what the term means. It turns out that flow attenuation is actually a fairly simple concept. In summary, attenuation of flow refers to any means by which peak flow is reduced. Therefore, the attenuation … Read more
It is important to understand the risk of flooding to your property because many homeowners’ insurance policies do NOT cover flooding. A Brief Overview of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Following the Great Flood of 1927 on the Lower Mississippi River, Congress mandated the construction of flood protection infrastructure (e.g., levees, dams, diversions, pump … Read more