May 6, 2022 | 12:00 - 1:30 PM EDT

Moderator and MC: Jill Hoffmann, White River Alliance

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Agenda:

1. Flooding risks in the foreseeable future, and tools for planners and policymakers

• “The Current State of Floodplain Mapping” - David Knipe, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water
• “Future Trends and Potential Mitigation Options” - Bob Barr, IUPUI, and Siavash Beik, Christopher B. Burke Engineering
• Q & A 

2. Community planning and resilience

• “Flood Risks, Impacts, and Resilience Planning – Lessons from Louisiana” - David Johnson, Purdue University
• “Indiana Communities Addressing the Challenge” - Sheila McKinley, Indiana Association of Floodplain and Stormwater Management (INAFSM) and Christopher B. Burke Engineering
• Q & A

Speakers

Robert Barr, IUPUI - Robert Barr is a research scientist (fluvial geomorphology and hydrology) at the Center for Earth and Environmental Science at IUPUI. His primary research focus is on understanding the physical processes necessary to achieve and maintain healthy stream systems. Bob has participated in numerous large-scale stream assessments, including the Kankakee and Maumee Rivers in northern Indiana, and Eagle Creek and White Lick Creek in Central Indiana. Bob’s current projects include the Indiana Fluvial Erosion Hazard Mitigation Program and the School Branch National Water Quality Initiative. In addition to his academic research interests, Bob has served as a consulting hydrologist and fluvial geomorphologist for over 16 years.

Siavash Beik, Christopher B. Burke Engineering - Siavash Beik is the Christopher B. Burke Engineering, LLC (Burke) Vice-president and its Principal Engineer, with 40 years of professional experience in water resources engineering, planning and management, hydrology and hydraulics, and project management. He is a national leader in promoting flood resiliency, flood risk management, and emergency action/emergency response planning for flooding from natural causes or dam and levee failures. He is active in many national and state professional organizations and currently serves as the ASFPM National Technical Policy Committees’ Coordinator.

David Johnson, Assistant Professor of Political Science and Industrial Engineering, Purdue University - Dr. Johnson’s work relates to the development of simulation models, economic analysis, and decision support tools to improve environmental policy and adaptation to climate change. He emphasizes uncertainty analysis and the assessment of tradeoffs between competing objectives. He is the lead developer of the flood risk model used to evaluate flood protection systems for Louisiana’s 50-year, $50 billion Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast. He has assisted local levee districts with concept development for infrastructure projects and is currently leading a study, funded by the National Academy of Sciences, of how to better incorporate social vulnerability and equity considerations into the evaluation of flood risk protection projects.

David Knipe, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water - David was named the Director of the Division of Water in November 2021. Prior to that, he managed Indiana’s floodplain mapping program and the Cooperating Technical Partner program though FEMA, among other responsibilities at the Division. He has been with the DNR since 1992.

Sheila McKinley, Christopher B. Burke Engineering - As Burke’s Director of Planning, Sheila McKinley leads each project with an integrated and holistic approach. Preserving our environment is important to Sheila, as evidenced through her efforts to promote the natural and beneficial functions of floodplains and green infrastructure stormwater management practices. She leads a talented team of planners, environmental specialists, and GIS experts through a variety of stormwater, floodplain, and emergency planning and policy projects. Sheila currently serves as the chair of the Indiana Association of Floodplain and Stormwater Management (INAFSM) Floodplain Committee.

Additional resources

Video on Flood Risk in the Upper White River (HEC)