Built Environment

Hurricane Floyd submerged the Greenville, North Carolina, water treatment plant in 1999. Following that event, the city used a federal grant to construct a berm and pumping station to protect the plant.  Dave Gatley/Federal Emergency Management Agency

Mitigation projects yield positive return on investment in coastal, inland states

CLICK HERE - REPORT - Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves: Utilities and Transportation Infrastructure (122 page .PDF report)

pewtrusts.org - by Forbes Tompkins - November 20, 2018

From elevating roadways in Nebraska to moving wastewater treatment plants away from flood plains in Iowa, proactive measures before flooding can provide a major return on investment, according to a new report from the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS). The report, “Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves: Utilities and Transportation Infrastructure,” provides analysis and key examples that underscore the benefits of investing in mitigation measures.

A hole in the basin near Taylor Bayou created a shift in the dirt and the wall where the levee exists, County Judge Jeff Branick tells KFDM/KBTV. It is not clear what caused the hole. There is no timetable for repairs but workers are attempting a temporary fix. They were building a pad at the levee late Monday morning. There is also no official cost estimate of the fix. The levee is close to the Valero docks. (KFDM/KBTV photo)

kfdm.com - by Angel San Juan and Brandon Scott - August 7, 2017

A failed levee near Taylor Bayou could compromise a portion of Jefferson County south of Beaumont - mainly Port Arthur and its surrounding refineries - if a tropical storm or hurricane hit the area, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

In a news release dated Aug. 4, the Corps states it was notified by Jefferson County Drainage District-7 of a failure of a section of floodwall near Taylor Bayou last Tuesday morning.

A hole in the basin created a shift in the dirt and the wall where the levee exists, County Judge Jeff Branick tells KFDM/KBTV.

submitted by Albert Gomez

miamiherald.com - by Julie Dick - December 14, 2015

Miami-Dade County leaders have a number of decisions to make in the coming days, months and years that will define how we prepare for a changing Miami. If unsustainable developments are approved and move forward — be it a landfill expansion, a highway running through the Everglades ecosystem or new commercial and industrial development in currently undeveloped low-lying areas — they will create future liabilities and sprawling urban areas that will require expensive, though not necessarily effective, flood control. This will put the region’s water resources at risk.

On Tuesday, the County Commission is scheduled to consider whether to approve an application from the Neighborhood Planning Company for an industrial and commercial development on more than 60 acres of agricultural land and wetlands outside of the Urban Development Boundary (UDB).

The development would sit entirely on top of the West Wellfield Protection Area, in which certain land uses and activities are regulated or prohibited to protect the potable water supply from contamination and to provide recharge of the aquifer. Industrial development on this site puts our drinking-water supply at risk. This proposal should not move forward.