THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND GROWTH MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE DIVISION RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE ABOVE MOTION.
Approval of this item supports the Board’s Value of “[E]ncouraging investments in renewable energy, sustainable practices and environmental protection” and supporting goals to "[S]eek funding for, implement policies and pursue projects promoting, the use of alternative energy, and sustainable practices and "[I]ncrease water quality protection efforts and lead creative approaches to water storage and aquifer recharge, as well as diversification of water supplies, regionally."
This project, to be undertaken in partnership with the United States Geological Survey (USGS), supports the Broward County-wide Integrated Water Resource Plan (IWRP) for effective management of the County’s water resources. The objective is to achieve a better understanding of the potential effects of climate change and rising sea level on drainage and flood control systems in the urban environment to support adaptation strategies needed to maintain and/or improve current levels of flood protection.
The project involves improvement of the county-wide stormwater and climate vulnerability model, an integrated surface water and groundwater flow model, to assess the influences of climate change and discrete storm events on local inundation in the context of sea level rise, rising groundwater levels and increased surface water runoff. The effort will take advantage of the County’s recent collaboration with the USGS in which the County's MIKE SHE/MIKE 11 surface and ground water model was converted to MODFLOW (a non-proprietary model) with piloted application of a refined surface/groundwater interface and runoff package (developed by the USGS) supporting high resolution modeling of flood evolution, under narrow time steps. The pilot project was focused on basins covering portions of Davie and Fort Lauderdale, inclusive of areas upstream and downstream of salinity control structures. The model has allowed for analysis of discrete storms events, under future climate conditions, and evolving flood conditions at modeled one-hour intervals. This modeling platform was also employed in an analysis of critical infrastructure and future flood risk, and assessment of cascading impacts of infrastructure failure. Stakeholder participation provided strong endorsement for developing this same level of model detail for application on a county-wide basis. Once completed, the updated and improved model will aid in the identification and testing of stormwater improvements and flood protection measures needed to maintain current levels of flood protection under variable design storm conditions and sea level rise scenarios.
In summary, the objectives of the study are to:
- Develop a simplified local scale runoff/infiltration approach applicable countywide to characterize drainage capacity and the potential for inundation;
- Develop a detailed surface water model using MODFLOW-2005 compatible surface water routing model;
- Utilize realistic regional scale weather predictions based on downscaling results from existing coupled Atmospheric-Ocean General Circulation Models;
- Evaluate how surface water and groundwater systems in Broward County are likely to respond to changing climate and sea-level conditions;
- Provide an opportunity to advance techniques in modeling of this type of urban drainage system, or to create a more versatile and robust tool for evaluating the system and the effects of potential changes on the system; and,
- Evaluate strategies for mitigating possible adverse effects of climate and sea-level change on inundation and the ability to discharge excess rainfall from affected areas.
The USGS will conduct the work of this project, and will invoice the County quarterly for its share of project costs.
This agreement includes a cost share participation by the USGS at the level of $318,000, within the USGS' cooperator program. Because this is an agreement under which the County is the recipient of funds or benefits from a federal agency, the County’s standard form agreement is not used.
This agreement has been provided legal review and approval as to form by the County Attorney’s Office.
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