Balancing Water Below Sea Level

Date: Presented at StormCon 2024 in Reno, Nevada on August 28, 2024
Speakers: Andrew Woodroof & Patrick Stiegman
Credits: 0.75 PDH / Approved for all Envirocert International, Inc. (ECI) Certifications: Approval #PDH-0042

The City of New Orleans and neighboring Jefferson Parish (County) are uniquely challenged by managing stormwater in a below sea level environment while having some of the highest rainfall rates in the country. The system of levees and floodwalls designed to protect the region from hurricane storm surge creates a “bowl-effect” which traps stormwater in urban areas. Historically these flood-prone areas have managed flood risk using gray infrastructure systems of pipes, engineered canals and pump stations to “drain the bowl.” This presentation explores the efforts by Jefferson Parish and the City of New Orleans to evaluate integrated gray and green infrastructure strategies within two adjacent neighborhoods separated by the 17th Street Canal, which was one of the failure points to cause historic flooding in the City of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. In Jefferson Parish, speakers explore strategies in the Bucktown neighborhood, a historic fishing village turned mixed-used residential and commercial neighborhood undergoing significant investment and revitalization. In the City of New Orleans, speakers focus on the West End neighborhood, now recovered from the surge-based flooding of Hurricane Katrina but still challenged by an aging, undersized interior drainage system. For both projects, the team will describe the data collection, flood modeling, evaluation of project alternatives for reducing flood risk, and benefit-cost analysis for gray and green alternatives.

Session duration: 45 minutes

About the Presenters

Andrew Woodroof is a licensed professional Civil Engineer and Director of Water Resources at Digital Engineering & Imaging, Inc. in Kenner, Louisiana. He has 16 years of experience designing stormwater, drinking water, wastewater, and coastal restoration projects. Andrew is the President-elect of the Louisiana Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers and Past-Chair of the Louisiana Coasts, Oceans, Ports, and Rivers Institute. Andrew resides in New Orleans with his wife (Mia) and their four children.

Patrick Stiegman is a licensed professional Civil Engineer and Certified Floodplain Manager for Water Resources at Digital Engineering & Imaging, Inc in Kenner, Louisiana. Patrick has 9 years of experience in the planning and design of stormwater, drinking water and wastewater projects.