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Stormwater Modeling: Case Studies to Support EPA's Homeland Security Research Program
Citation:
Ratliff, K. Stormwater Modeling: Case Studies to Support EPA's Homeland Security Research Program. US Coast Guard Academy undergraduate engineering class, RTP, NC, April 15, 2021.
Impact/Purpose:
This presentation provides an overview of stormwater modeling case studies to support EPA's Homeland Security Research Program. Following a wide area contamination incident, contamination can be spread widely throughout the environment, resulting in a lengthy recovery process that can take months or even years. During that time, environmental transport processes such as rain can further spread contamination beyond its location of initial deposition. Stormwater modeling tools can be used to predict the precipitation-driven transport of this contamination, which aids in recovery efforts. This presentation is being given to an engineering class at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and is of broad interest to scientists, engineers, and decision makers involved in emergency response and recovery efforts.
Description:
Stormwater modeling tools can be useful for predicting the precipitation-driven transport of contamination in the environment, and these models can be used following an intentional or natural disaster to aid decision makers for a variety of tasks, including developing sampling and decontamination plans, as well as selecting areas for storing waste. In this presentation, case studies utilizing stormwater models illustrate the utility of these models during response and recovery efforts, and an overview of the types of data needed to develop the models is provided.