Stormwater Models Unleashed: Real-Time Forecasting for Smarter, Safer Cities

Live Webinar | May 28, 2026

Stormwater Models Unleashed: Real-Time Forecasting for Smarter, Safer Cities

Discover how Portsmouth is using a real-time digital twin of its stormwater system to improve flood forecasting, emergency response, and community resilience through advanced modeling, predictive analytics, and actionable data.

Summary

Urban stormwater management faces increasing challenges from intensified weather events and rising flood risks. Over the past year, the City of Portsmouth Engineering and Technical Services has piloted a real-time digital twin for its stormwater system, harnessing the power of advanced modeling to proactively manage and assess impacts from tidal and rainfall-driven storm events. This groundbreaking initiative transforms traditional, static models into dynamic, actionable platforms—empowering city staff and emergency managers with up-to-the-minute insights to support critical operational and safety decisions.

This pilot marks a pivotal advancement in the City of Portsmouth’s comprehensive Flood Resilience Strategy. By implementing a real-time flood warning system, Portsmouth is enhancing its ability to safeguard infrastructure and communities, especially during severe weather events. The presentation will explore how the digital twin platform enables improved flood modeling and forecasting accuracy, fosters optimal coordination and notification processes, and enhances response times during storms.

Speakers Cristina Popa, PE, Alex Carlson, PE, and Dax Blake, PE will share practical lessons learned from the pilot, supported by real-world examples ranging from summer thunderstorms to powerful nor’easters. Attendees will gain insights into the tangible benefits, operational challenges, and best practices for leveraging real-time stormwater modeling.

Looking ahead, this session will delve into the future evolution of the Actionable Stormwater Platform, including opportunities for integrating real-time weather data, predictive analytics, and automated notifications. These advancements are crucial for developing effective flood resilience strategies in vulnerable communities, extending beyond the limitations of traditional studies and infrastructure upgrades.

Use this time to discover how digital innovation is driving smarter and safer cities and learn how your community can adopt these advanced tools to strengthen flood resilience and emergency response.

Course Learning Objectives

By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

Describe the benefits of deploying real-time digital twin platforms for stormwater system management and flood resilience.
Explain methods for improving flood modeling and forecasting accuracy, including integration of weather and tidal data.
Analyze operational challenges and solutions from real-world storm events using actionable modeling platforms.
Evaluate strategies for optimizing coordination, notifications, and response times during storm events.
Identify future opportunities for incorporating predictive analytics and automated notifications to support vulnerable communities.

Supported by

About the Presenters

Bio

Mr. Blake is a seasoned (28 years) clean water leader and engineer with a diverse set of professional experiences. He has served as a consultant delivering masterplans to address long range utility needs, as a utility leader and executive directly navigating the challenges and driving solutions for communities, and as a tech focused solution provider leveraging innovative approaches to extracting the most from our systems. Mr. Blake understands utility challenges from the perspective of the utility. He has led multiple efforts to develop innovative sewer overflow control plans to address consent decree mandates and simultaneously enhancing communities with stormwater improvements and green infrastructure. As the leader of the City of Columbus, OH Division of Water Reclamation, he was engaged in all aspects of utility operations executing a capital program in the billions, championing innovation and technology to enhance operations, and guiding the utility to address stormwater water quality, CSO, and SSO consent decrees using Integrated Planning, while also supporting the long term economic growth and sustainability of the Central Ohio community.

Mr. Blake holds a B.S. from Ohio University and a M.S. from The Ohio State University, both in civil engineering. He began his professional career at Malcolm Pirnie, now Arcadis, in 1998 developing infrastructure master plans to address community needs, water quality, and compliance for drinking, stormwater, and clean water utilities throughout the Midwest. In 2005, he moved to the public sector in a leadership role serving the citizens of central Ohio and the City of Columbus as the Administrator of the Division of Sewerage and Drainage. Later, he joined Sanitation District Number #1 of Northern Kentucky. Following his public service roles, Mr. Blake joined a small wastewater technology company, EmNet, which was later acquired by Xylem where he focused on optimizing wastewater networks and treatment. He has come full circle returning to Arcadis supporting clients across the country applying the expertise and insights gained from the diverse experiences.

Bio

Alex Carlson is a Senior Water Engineer with 10 years of experience delivering complex water resources and flood mitigation solutions for municipal, federal, and private clients across Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic region. A licensed Professional Engineer and certified Stormwater Plan Reviewer in Virginia, Mr. Carlson specializes in hydrologic and hydraulic (H&H) modeling, floodplain management, levee and floodwall design, watershed master planning, and resilient stormwater infrastructure. He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Old Dominion University (2015) and has spent seven of his ten professional years with Arcadis.Mr. Carlson has a proven track record of leading multi-million-dollar flood protection projects from concept through construction. Among his most notable work is the Addison-Evans Water Production Facility Floodwall in Chesterfield, Virginia — a $25.1 million project where, mid-design, a National Weather Service-classified 700-year flood inundated the second floor of the operations building. Mr. Carlson led the redesign effort to increase the level of protection, pursue FEMA accreditation for the floodwall, implement interim floodproofing measures, and secure over $8 million in grant funding on behalf of the client. He also served as Principal Engineer on the $27 million Huntington Levee Flood Control project in Fairfax County, designing approximately 2,900 linear feet of levee and a dual-mode stormwater pumping system — including a 154-mgd high-water pump station — that has protected one of Northern Virginia’s most flood-vulnerable communities since going online in 2019.Mr. Carlson’s current work includes leading stormwater design for the Four Mile Run Storm Sewer Upgrades in Alexandria, Virginia, where new parallel box culverts and outfall infrastructure are being designed to account for 2070 projected rainfall and tide patterns, and supporting the City of Portsmouth’s stormwater resilience program through urban watershed H&H modeling in PCSWMM. He is recognized for his ability to translate complex hydraulic modeling into actionable, cost-effective infrastructure solutions and for his skill in coordinating across local and federal agencies, utility stakeholders, and community partners.

Bio

Cristina Popa is a Water Resources Engineer with 7 years of experience in urban water management. Cristina’s background includes assessing and optimizing municipal water, wastewater and stormwater systems. Her expertise includes integrating data analytics and Python programming to develop intelligent solutions for stormwater and wastewater management. Cristina has also worked with municipalities to evaluate and coordinate Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) and Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permits, developing a deep understanding of permitting regulations and compliance processes.

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