inundation is the best integration

I started this project with a fitting phrase from our geology goddess program manager: "Inundation is the best integration." It's apt for this project in more ways than one. There is a lot of onboarding to be done--most of which is the fun part. Running around to pump stations that were planned out by Thomas Edison himself. Going to meetings with the mayor who happens to be the president of the water utility (this isn't common). Getting caught up on the data gaps (there are many). Figuring out how to communicate with my coworkers (that's always a lesson in psychology).

And we're on an emergency contract to help get us through hurricane season without being flooded. This article describes some of it, though the speculation doesn't look completely accurate to me. On projects like this, the scope tends to evolve the more information that is gathered.

I usually work in the drinking water/wastewater world but a pump is a pump and a water pump is a water pump. Plus, my role here is to work with the management team.  In that role, I'm privy to some awesome email chains on the engineering nitty-gritty. The other day I started an email chain like this. But mostly I think it was me trying to ask questions and the engineers realizing that I didn't know what I was talking about and needing to educate me. Whatever. I still fan-girled. And then got permission to post it here.

From one of our experts Adam Hosking: "Below is a table we included in the NYC resilience study and I use regularly where I can. We have to move away from the “1 in …” terminology, it’s a misrepresentation of a statistical value, that no one outside the risk management community really understands. Likelihood of occurrence within a certain period (generation, lifetime, mortgage, etc) is much more meaningful.Of course, then there’s the fact that the probabilities are increasing due to climate … but one step at a time!"

If a site is within this flood area

The chance of being impacted by flooding

The likely number of times it will be damaged in 50 years is

in one year is

at least once in 50-years is

500-yr

0.2%

10%

Unlikely

100-yr

1%

39%

Once or unlikely

50-yr

2%

64%

Once

20-yr

5%

92%

2-3 times

10-yr

10%

99.5%

5 times

5-yr

20%

99.999%

10 times

1-yr

100%

100%

50 times

Check out this very well done article they sent me! It starts the dialogue about assessing storms by their relevance to a home’s mortgage.

 Reading: Fifth Season book 3. LOVE THIS SERIES.

Listening: Anna Kendrick's book Scrappy Little Nobody

Working: On a fantastic stormwater project!