Morey, Thomas

Thomas Morey is a Floodplain Manager with Stantec, based in Overland Park, KS.

Titles from this speaker

Description: Alternate: 2-D Watershed Modeling in Johnson County, KS: Flood Risk Identification...

Alternate: 2-D Watershed Modeling in Johnson County, KS: Flood Risk Identification and Beyond

Abstract

Communities have been using FEMA's flood risk analyses and Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) for flood risk identification and floodplain management for decades. While FEMA continues to produce these products for flood risk communication and mitigation, the approach and methodology for flood hazard identification has been evolving with changing technology. Two-Dimensional (2D) modeling has become more common practice in hydrologic and hydraulic analysis. Consequently, FEMA has also begun shifting their flood studies from a stream reach-based approach to a watershed wide approach. Watershed wide studies allow floodplain managers to see the flood related issues within their community holistically. With Flood Insurance Rate Maps published in 2009, utilizing data from even further back than that, Johnson County, Kansas has partnered with FEMA to develop 2D watershed models to update their flood risk information. The intent is to not only update their Flood Insurance Rate Maps, but to also develop secondary information, on a watershed level, that can be used with their Risk Priority Matrix to identify and prioritize flood mitigation and infrastructure projects. This presentation will cover the technical approach of analysis, model outputs beyond floodplain boundaries, such as depth grids and velocity grids, and their potential use for identifying flood risk and flood hazard management beyond the base flood and flood insurance. The goal of the presentation is to provide attendees insight on Johnson County's watershed study approach and demonstrate how these models and products can be used beyond flood insurance so communities can then provide their valuable input to FEMA on the future of flood risk data. Presenter Bios: Sarah Smith, PE, is the Lead Program Engineer Engineer for the Johnson County Stormwater Management Program. Before coming to the county nine years ago, Sarah worked for a mid-size private engineering firm in the KC metro area primarily doing stormwater design work. Sarah earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Engineering and a Master's degree in Civil Engineering with an emphasis in Water Resources, both from the University of Kansas. In her spare time Sarah enjoys spending time with her husband and four kids and tending to her exorbitant number of houseplants. Tom Morey's career has spanned 29 years with a focus on education and protecting people and communities from physical and environmental risks. Tom has spent the last 17 years working in floodplain management for Stantec and the Kansas Department of Agriculture as the State NFIP Coordinator for the State of Kansas. In his role with Stantec, Tom is responsible for coordinating with federal agencies, states, and local communities as well as private clients on the development of Flood Insurance Rate Map Letters of Map Revision (LOMRs), Conditional LOMRs, floodplain development permits and no-rise certifications. He spends his spare time trying to keep up with his kids and barely maintaining his small farmlette in Rural Leavenworth County.

This paper was presented at the WEF Stormwater Summit, June 27-29, 2023.

SpeakerMorey, Thomas

Presentation time

13:30:00

16:45:00

Session time

13:30:00

16:45:00

SessionSession 13: Advancements in Modeling

Session number13

Session locationKansas City Convention Center

TopicWatershed-Based/Integrated Planning, Design and Modeling