On a recent trip to the Midwest, my seven-year-old experienced his first summer thunderstorm. The sudden shift in weather — from sunny and hot to gray skies speckled with lightning and rain — was undoubtedly unfamiliar to my Southern California-born boy, who watched the rain fall from our rental home’s front porch.
As the home shook with each thunder strike’s boom, and the street lit up with every crack of lightening splintering across the sky, I was immediately transported back to the summer nights of my childhood. Then, I spent days running in the rain with my cousins, the moisture on our skin a mixture of sweat and raindrops, trying to catch a rainbow as we made our way home for dinner. The sweet smell of wet grass and concrete this time was the same as it was in those days, although sharing this summer tradition with my son made it just a tad sweeter.
For Stormwater’s Summer 2022 issue, our coverage includes another seasonal tradition: StormCon. This year the event for stormwater and surface quality professionals will be held September 26-28 in National Harbor, Md.
I am most excited to welcome our keynote speakers this year, who will start the program off in a big way when they address the crowd. Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks will provide perspective on the intersection between green infrastructure, the environment, and stormwater management based on her time serving as the 8th County Executive for Prince George’s County, and as the first woman to hold the position. She will then introduce EPA’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz, who will focus on the importance of stormwater management throughout the United States, where the industry is today, and the challenges that lie ahead. Our full coverage of StormCon 2022, including products and services to keep an eye on at the show begins on page 13.
For our cover story this month, author Forrester Cook offers an approach for project owners to restore permit compliance. Through a series of five steps, the author’s field-demonstrated strategy can be applied to small, medium, and large-scale projects, though a customized approach with minor owner-conducted due diligence will be necessary. Read more on page 16.
In “Times Change, Designs Adapt” on page 20, author Cassie Bethoney provides a transformative approach to resilient park design, using Portsmouth, N.H.’s, Prescott Park as a real-world example. With over 1,150 feet of waterfront on the Piscataqua River and as the neighborhood’s lowest point, Prescott Park is a gateway for flooding. The master plan vision for the park is three-fold:
- Protect the park along its seawall edge;
- Retreat critical infrastructure; and
- Accommodate for flooding.
Collectively, Bethoney writes, these improvements are expected to mitigate flooding impacts for the entire neighborhood in the future.
Next, communicating flood risk stems from a variety of resources and functions. Cities, counties, states, and the federal government have a variety of resources available for updating flood models and flood maps. In “A Flood of Information About Floods” on page 24, read about how the use of 3D models and augmented reality can help predict the outcome of future storms and improve resilience for city planning.
You’ll also find that we’ve covered top news and new products throughout this issue, as we always do. For more, visit the home of Stormwater magazine online at www.stormh2o.com. As the summer months come to an end, my wish is that you get a few sweet moments of your own to cherish. I hope to see some of you at StormCon this year, and, if you’re at the show in person, please say hi. Thanks for reading! SW
