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As municipalities and suburbs grow, the available natural undisturbed land becomes much more valuable and, therefore, protected through unified development ordinances (UDO) or tree conservation areas (TCA). Urban forestry becomes a real consideration. Registered foresters and certified arborists are just the experts to find solutions and execute action plans to manage the effect of development on natural areas and advise on best practices for the future. Some tree experts have embraced new technologies to better map the existing landscape and seamlessly communicate and visualize their solutions to all involved. Tree inventories, champion tree assessments, natural buffers, basal area calculations, deformation, and hazardous tree assessments are all part of what foresters and arborists specialize in when it comes to urban development. The ArcGIS Collector app and associated geographic information system (GIS) data management software can help spatially define areas that need inventory while navigating difficult sites.
Read MorePresented by the Emerging Leaders Academy 2021-2022 Class: Studying Agency response to pandemic related shortages and analyzing methods for recovery.
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Building a truck can be a complicated process. Specifying the “right” truck can require hundreds of decisions and choices that can potentially impact each other. This session is designed to…
Read MoreOn behalf of the Utilities and Public Rights-of-Way (UPROW) Committee, the presenters will present a “Dare to Ask” session discussing lessons learned from UPROW projects and management that didn’t go…
Read MoreDue to the continuous rise of chlorides being detected in the drinking waters in the Northern Virginia region, salt reduction is needed as soon as possible. The speaker will present details of Fairfax County’s journey to successful salt reduction program development and implementation, along with best management practices.
Read MoreWith everyone’s budgets getting tighter and public expectations at an all-time high, an effective and efficient method of tracking and communicating winter operations is needed. Every agency has performance measures whether they know it or not as agencies typically track staff hours, material usage, road network level-of-service, operational response time, collisions, and much more. In this session, the speaker will discuss how the City of St. Paul has developed formal performance measures to help manage and improve work, safety, budget, performance, and sustainability.
Read MoreBuilding a truck can be a complicated process. Specifying the “right” truck can require hundreds of decisions and choices that can potentially impact each other. This session is designed to help your organization identify what you actually need, successfully manage, and sustain a long-term plow truck program.
Read MoreAll municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) conduct various activities to inspect and maintain their system, but how many have those activities organized as procedures in written form? Over the years, Charlotte Storm Water Services developed various documents for individual MS4 inspection and maintenance activities, but they weren’t all compiled in one organized manual, and the relationships between activities and various groups conducting them were not formally documented. Recognizing that, Charlotte worked with a consultant to write such a manual. The manual organizes activities in sections based on the nature of the activity. It explores program driver policies, methods and practices, inspection and maintenance schedules/frequency, documentation methods, data metrics, and staff responsibilities. This presentation will explore the resulting manual and the process, experiences, and lessons learned in developing it.
Read MoreSeveral municipalities have developed their Municipal Infrastructure Resilience Plan, but a few have moved beyond planning towards implementation. The Region of Durham has been one of those leaders to take that next step in the Greater Toronto Area and Ontario.The August 2021 IPCC’s “Code red” warning makes it all-important now for us to plan, design and build our infrastructure with future climate change impacts in mind. Hear from Durham’s Chair of Transportation Task Force on Climate Change and the Climate Consultant, who led Durham’s riverine flood risk assessment to identify the bridges and road segments that need to be improved for present and future flood risks. This presentation will help municipal staff and transportation agencies to understand how to approach a flood vulnerability assessment considering several factors, including a socioeconomic lens, to identify and improve the resilience of the transportation system in a changing climate.
Read MoreThe City of Raleigh, North Carolina, is currently developing its own Flood Early Warning System (FEWS), where capabilities include advanced prediction of potential stream flooding and at localized hotspots, with an increased lead time for road closures, evacuation, and emergency response. Operational flood modeling coupled with current precipitation estimates from gauge adjusted radar rainfall (GARR) forms the basis for predictive flood modeling in near-real-time (NRT). In the first two phases, the FEWS system was set up along Crabtree Creek, with model calibration and inundation mapping, followed by expansion to Walnut Creek to the Neuse River. Model output is configured to produce predictive inundation maps, stream stage and discharge, and notifications when critical thresholds are reached. Results from this program offer increased lead time to notify first responders and to help manage flood emergencies within the City before, during, and after the event.
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