The Runoff Dilemma: Paved and Sealed

The following information gives an explanation for the flood zone designations used by First American Flood Data Services:

source: http://www.mass.gov/mgis/q3zones.htm

Zone V: An area inundated by 100-year flooding with velocity hazard (wave action); no BFEs have been determined.

Zone VE: An area inundated by 100-year flooding with velocity hazard (wave action); BFEs have been determined.

Zone A: An area inundated by 100-year flooding, for which no BFEs have been determined.

Zone AE: An area inundated by 100-year flooding, for which BFEs have been determined.

Zone AO: An area inundated by 100-year flooding (usually sheet flow on sloping terrain), for which average depths have been determined; flood depths range from 1 to 3 feet.

Zone AO (Alluvial Fan): An alluvial fan inundated by 100-year flooding (usually sheet flow on sloping terrain), for which average flood depths and velocities have been determined; flood depths range from 1 to 3 feet.

Zone AH: An area inundated by 100-year flooding (usually an area of ponding), for which BFEs have been determined; flood depths range from 1 to 3 feet.

Zone A99: An area inundated by 100-year flooding, for which no BFEs have been determined. This is an area to be protected from the 100-year flood by a Federal flood protection system under construction.

Zone D: An area of undetermined but possible flood hazards.

Zone AR: An area inundated by flooding, for which BFEs or average depths have been determined. This is an area that was previously, and will again, be protected from the 100-year flood by a Federal flood protection system whose restoration is Federally funded and underway.

Zone X: An area inundated by 500-year flooding; an area inundated by 100-year flooding with average depths of less than 1 foot or with drainage areas less than 1 square mile; or an area protected by levees from 100-year flooding.

Zone XX: An area that is determined to be outside the 100- and 500-year floodplains.

Posted by John Hartmann at 3:37 PM | Permalink

ProvPlan is a non profit organization set up by the city of Providence and the State of Rhode Island that allows users to create custom maps using multiple layers of information.

Provplan website- provplan.org

"The Mapper"

Posted by at 2:47 PM | Permalink

In the 1930's, the former Soviet Union initiated a progam to transform the desert into farmland that diverted two main tributaries from the world's 4th largest inland sea. The result was a catastrophic and harsh example of how much climate, the environment, and people are dependent upon the stability of water.

South Aral Sea 'gone in 15 years'
-Nicola Jones

"The Aral Sea is disappearing even faster than previously thought, with a new study of the southern part of the sea slashing its life expectancy by decades.

Since the 1960s, the sea has been drying up as a result of poor management of irrigation channels that steal water from rivers feeding it. Once the area of Ireland, it is now a quarter that size and broken into two fragments - the North Aral Sea and South Aral Sea (see map).

Because of the costs involved, only the smaller North Aral has been earmarked for rescue (New Scientist print edition, 4 January 2003), and several dams to stem water loss from it have been build since the mid-1990s.

Meanwhile, the South Aral has been abandoned, and as it dries up it is wreaking havoc on the environment. It is leaving behind vast salt plains, transforming the climate with hotter summers and colder winters, destroying what remains of local fisheries, and producing massive dust storms that spread disease.

There are projects in place to mitigate these effects, such as planting vegetation in the exposed seabed to prevent desertification. To their organisers, the sea's rapid decline is an urgent call to action..."

Read the rest of the article at NewScientist.com

United Nations Environment Programme : Aral Sea Graph

Posted by at 12:16 AM | Permalink

NAME - RESEARCH - TECHNOLOGY

Margo - Pawtuxet River Water Shed - Nonpoint Pollution Improvements
Rob - Containments - Phytoremediation
Courtney - Parking - Parking Lot Materials & Systems
Dana - Water Consumption - Water Conservation Technology
Carolyn - Water Sheds - Synthetic Soils & Brownfields
James - Sewage & Drainage Systems - New Runoff Systems
Amy - Groundwater - Systems of Groundwater Recharge

Posted by John Hartmann at 2:57 PM | Permalink

Here you will find the collaborative list of pertinent abbreviations.
BMP / Best Management Practices
CRMC / Coastal Resource Management Council
DDT / Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane
DEM / Department of Environmental Management
EDTA / Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid
EERE / Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
EPA / Environmental Protection Agency
USGS / United States Geological Survey
FEMA / Federal Emergency Management Agency
GIS / Geographic Information Systems
GMO / Genetically Modified Organism
HOV / High-Occupancy Vehicle
MGD / Millions of gallons per day
NIMBY / "Not in my back yard."
NPL / National Priorities List
Q=ciA / Where Q= Peak discharge, c = Rational method runoff coefficient, i = Rainfall inch/hour, A = Drainage area, acre
RIDOT / Rhode Island Department of Transportation
SAMP / Special Area Management Plan
SPF / Sand-Plant Filter
STB / Save The Bay
WRWC / Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council
WWF / World Wildlife Foundation


Let's collect more: email me with corrections / more entries. [dbryan@risd.edu]

Posted by at 1:25 AM | Permalink

Here is more on the new Arizona Cardinals Stadium with its grass field on a moveable tray system that we were discussing in class. Until this opened the NFL had to play at Arizona State's stadium.

Posted by at 5:58 AM | Permalink

Ditch - A long and somewhat narrow uncovered hollow or Trench dug in the ground to recieve and/or conduct water
Trench - A long and narrow, often vertically sided excavation made for the placement of pipe, wire, and footings, or for the conduction of water.
Swale - A moist, usually grassy area in low-lying land or an easy -sided drainage trench through a park or a lawn.

Posted by at 1:27 AM | Permalink

Watersheds are a naturally occuring area in which surface water drains into a perceptible and definite system. Bounded by slope and ridge lines and, ultimately, basins. From A Dictionary of Landscape Architecture by Baker H. Morrow

Watersheds do not adhere to political, city, state or country boundaries. They are another way of creating communities on an ecologically sensitive level.

See RIGIS for downloadable maps of RI at
www.edc.uri.edu/rigis-spf/Statewide/state.html

See the World Wilflife's explanation of what they call a hydroshed at: www.worldwildlife.org/freshwater/hydrosheds.cfm

Posted by at 12:44 AM | Permalink

Design for human ecosystems: landscape, land use, and natural resources / John Tillman Lyle / BROWN ANNEX 1-SIZE HD108.6 .L95 1985

Handbook of water sensitive planning and design / edited by Robert L. France / RISD MAIN TD657 .H36 2002

New waterscapes : planning, building and designing with water / edited by Herbert Dreiseitl, Dieter Grau / RISD MAIN NA2542.8 .N48 2005

On-site stormwater management: applications for landscape and engineering / Bruce K. Ferguson, Thomas N. Debo / RISD MAIN TC409 .F47 1990

Stormwater collection systems design handbook / Larry W. Mays, editor in chief / BROWN Online

Stormwater management / Martin P. Wanielista, Yousef A. Yousef / BROWN SCI TD665 .W36 1993

Posted by John Hartmann at 6:53 PM | Permalink