Date: November 20, 2025 | 2:00 PM EST/1:00 PM CST
Presenters: Anthony Milordis, Ph.D.
Credits: 1.0 PDH | 0.1 CEU | Approved for all Envirocert International, Inc. (ECI) Certifications: Approval #PDH-0207
Sponsor: Oldcastle Infrastructure
Cost: Free
Climate change is reshaping stormwater management in Florida, where sea level rise, intense rainfall, and compound flooding threaten conveyance, storage, and treatment systems. Sea level rise isn’t just a coastal issue as it directly undermines stormwater performance by reducing outfall capacity and increasing backflow risk. A survey of Florida municipalities reveals key barriers to adaptation: limited funding and staffing, uncertain climate projections, fragmented governance, and poor integration between stormwater and land use planning.
To overcome these, engineers must be involved early in adaptation planning to ensure feasibility and avoid costly redesigns. Design standards also need updating as historic rainfall data and elevation benchmarks no longer suffice. Future-facing criteria must account for higher groundwater tables and more intense storms. Fiscal vulnerability compounds the challenge. As sea level rise erodes property values, tax revenues shrink, threatening capital budgets for stormwater infrastructure. Deferred maintenance and aging systems under climate stress demand long-term financial planning. Infrastructure decisions are inherently political, and planners play a vital role in advocating for resilient investments and aligning upgrades with climate goals.
Finally, collaboration is essential. Stormwater engineers should engage across jurisdictions—with regional councils, municipalities, water management districts, and the state—to make complex challenges more manageable and build unified resilience strategies.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify key barriers and constraints that cities encounter when implementing climate adaptation strategies.
- Explain the importance of integrating stormwater engineering principles early in the planning process to enhance climate adaptation outcomes.
- Describe the fiscal vulnerabilities that coastal communities face in addressing climate adaptation challenges.
- Evaluate strategies for fostering collaboration within organizations and across jurisdictions to improve climate resilience efforts.
About the Presenter
Anthony Milordis, Ph.D., is a resilience-focused urban planner with expertise in climate adaptation, stormwater infrastructure, and municipal planning in Florida.
Dr. Milordis currently serves as a Resilience Planner at the Pasco County Department of Public Works, where he leads efforts to integrate climate resilience into infrastructure and land use planning. Prior to this role, he held senior planning positions with Leon County Development Support and Environmental Management and conducted comprehensive plan reviews for the State of Florida, contributing to statewide policy development and community planning initiatives.
He earned his Ph.D. from Florida State University, where he taught classes in urban planning and natural resource management. His academic work bridges the gap between environmental systems and public policy, with a focus on how climate change affects vulnerable communities and local government operations. Anthony has published work on barriers to climate adaptation, fiscal vulnerabilities of coastal development, and addressing climate driven displacement.
His work emphasizes the importance of early engineering input in planning, evolving design standards for stormwater systems, and cross-jurisdictional collaboration to build resilient communities.
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Course Includes
- 1 Lesson
- Course Certificate
