To help the City of Edina understand flood risk for its community better, Barr assisted in updating the city’s comprehensive water resources management plan and conducted a stormwater system vulnerability assessment for 25 specific flood areas. As part of the assessment, the city’s XP-SWMM models were updated to reflect increased NOAA’s Atlas 14 100-year precipitation frequency estimates. The models were used to identify storm-sewer-capacity limitations for a range of rainfall frequencies. Revised 100-year flood-inundation areas were mapped based on the modeled flood elevations using a customized GIS tool, then used to identify and prioritize areas where critical roadways and structures are impacted by flooding. Barr is currently evaluating the highest-priority flood areas to identify options for reducing flood risk and associated costs and benefits.
