Building a More Resilient Avon: Leveraging Technology for a Safer Future
Collin Hayes
Livingston County Interactive M.A.P. showing floodplains in the Town.
In this series of posts, I'm diving deep into proactive approaches to build resiliency in Avon, particularly in the face of increasingly frequent severe weather events. It's a critical conversation for our community's future.
In previous posts, I discussed how strategic planning and smart zoning regulations can significantly reduce stormwater runoff, protect our water quality, and effectively mitigate flood damage. I also explored how comprehensive hazard planning can provide a framework to organize, implement, and assess these efforts.
In this post, I want to talk about the array of technological tools that are available to our Town in tracking historical weather patterns and storm events, identifying areas of frequent flooding, and monitoring the health and effectiveness of our infrastructure.
Understanding Stormwater Management
For context, stormwater management is a critical part of municipal planning. It involves tracking how rainwater runoff flows through a town after storms, as this water can pick up pollutants and carry them into local waterways. Effective planning allows municipalities to develop strategies that stop this pollution before it contaminates local bodies of water.
Stormwater management planning also encourages municipalities to routinely examine key infrastructural elements such as roads, storm drains, sewer lines, and municipal facilities. In fact, New York State's Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit requires the mapping of conveyance system components like piping, inlets, culverts, and manholes, as well as the completion of an outfall reconnaissance inventory every five years.
The Power of GIS: A Foundation for Resiliency
One vital tool in stormwater management planning is Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Livingston County currently provides GIS mapping services, and their Interactive Public M.A.P. already offers valuable information on property lines, ownership, zoning designations, and a host of other resources.
The opportunities for using GIS in Avon are virtually limitless. The Town can use GIS to effectively manage our infrastructure by:
Inventorying and assessing assets: Cataloging and characterizing assets that might otherwise be overlooked.
Evaluating risk: Determining the likelihood of failure for each asset.
Planning maintenance: Budgeting for future maintenance and repairs based on asset condition and repair history.
Proactive intervention: Repairing or replacing infrastructure components before they fail or become too costly to fix.
Tracking projects and communicating: Monitoring project progress and informing the public about repair timelines.
By mapping out local stormwater conveyance systems, the Town can also determine which areas face the highest risk of flooding. This allows us to mitigate the risk by installing permeable pavement, improving street-level drainage systems, and outfitting public buildings with passive resiliency measures such as flood-proof doors and barriers that automatically activate when flood levels reach a certain height.
Advanced Technologies for Flood Prediction and Management
Beyond fundamental GIS applications, there are several advanced technologies that our Town can leverage to build even greater resiliency:
Hydrological Modeling: GIS-based hydrological models simulate rainfall runoff and river flow, helping to predict flood scenarios and identify flood-prone areas.
Digital Twins: Creating virtual replicas of the Town's infrastructure (buildings, roads, power grids, drainage systems) allows us to simulate the impact of different flood scenarios and identify vulnerabilities, informing proactive maintenance and infrastructure improvements.
Machine Learning (AI): These tools can analyze vast amounts of historical weather data, real-time sensor data (rainfall, river levels), and even satellite imagery to predict flood timing, location, and severity with much greater accuracy and lead time than traditional methods. Google's Flood Hub is an example of an AI-powered system providing local flood forecasts.
Weather Sensors and Networks: Deploying a dense network of sensors to monitor rainfall intensity, water levels in rivers, streams, and storm drains, soil moisture, and even wind speeds. This real-time data feeds into forecasting models, providing crucial information for early warnings.
Smart Drainage Systems: These innovative systems can detect water levels, clear blockages automatically, and regulate flow. They can communicate with central flood management systems to adjust water flow across the network and send alerts.
Data Dashboards and Visualization: Presenting real-time flood data and insights in easily understandable dashboards, maps, and reports for officials and the public.
Floodplain Management Software: Streamlining permitting for building and construction in flood zones, and providing instant reporting to state and federal agencies like NYSDEC and FEMA.
Multi-channel Alert Systems: Utilizing various communication channels (SMS, mobile apps, social media, emergency broadcasting systems, public announcements) to disseminate timely and concise flood warnings and instructions to residents.
The Benefits for Avon
By embracing these technologies, the Town of Avon can realize significant benefits:
Reduced Risks and Increased Preparedness: Early warnings allow for timely evacuations and advanced preparation to decrease damage.
Minimized Property Damage and Economic Losses: Proactive measures and informed responses reduce the impact on infrastructure, homes and businesses.
Improved Emergency Response: Real-time data helps allocate resources effectively and streamlines recovery efforts.
Enhanced Community Resilience: Targeted efforts and improved communication foster a more prepared and adaptable community.
Data-Driven Decision Making: Provides officials with accurate insights to make informed choices about land use planning, infrastructure investments, and emergency protocols.
Investing in these technological tools isn't just about preparing for the next storm; it's about building a more secure and sustainable future for all of us in Avon. I'm committed to exploring every avenue to make our Town more resilient.
