Date: March 27, 2025 | 2:00 PM EST/1:00 PM CST
Speakers: Edgar Westerhof, Vice President, Arcadis
Credits: 1.0 PDH | 0.1 CEU
Sponsor: Timewell Drainage Products
The 2024 hurricanes Helene and Milton in the US, and flood disasters in central Europe in 2022 and 2024 exemplify that extreme weather increasingly spans multiple states and countries. Wider storm fronts are particularly bad news for relative low-lying communities, as excessive amounts of rain captured in larger (rural) watersheds finds its way down. In mountainous regions or densely populated urban environments, this traps people, destroys water and road infrastructure, while increased downstream flows pose great risk to properties. While much is still uncertain about the predication and impact of excessive rain volumes to regional watersheds, cities, states, and countries are diversifying and scaling up solutions to mitigate risks of extreme rain. The presentation will highlight national and global best practices and outline integrated solutions that are part of a systems approach to water management.
Learning Objectives
- Putting the 2024 US hurricane season in perspective, who and what was impacted and how can communities and assets better prepare themselves
- Outline national and international best practices in climate robust solutions, how forces of water are used for positive change
- How sustainable stormwater management and storm surge protection in coastal cities take shape through integrated planning
About the Presenter
Edgar Westerhof, Vice President, Arcadis
Edgar Westerhof is Vice President with Arcadis and serves as the US Director for Climate Adaptation. Edgar is an engineer and water management leader with over 25 years of experience in international integrated urban water management. Following his move to the US from the Netherlands in 2012, Edgar led the participation in the international HUD Rebuild by Design competition, including the winning BIG U – Waterfront Resiliency Plan for the protection of Lower Manhattan. He has contributed to numerous resilience strategies and is the contributing author of the books Blue Dunes (Columbia) and Adapting Cities to Sea Level Rise (Island Press). Edgar is member of the American Society of Civil Engineers Committee on Sustainability (ASCE-COS), and member of the Standard 73 Working Group, charged with the development of the new national Standard Practice for Sustainable Infrastructure. He is a Pratt University faculty member, teaching climate adaptation to graduate students in New York. Prior to his move to the US, Edgar was project manager overseeing infrastructure and water works for a large Public-Private Development and revitalization program in the Netherlands.
Sponsored by
Course Includes
- 1 Lesson
- Course Certificate
