VOODOO HYDROLOGY WEBINAR #3 IN THE ANNUAL SERIES (January 2015): “Understanding the inner workings of the black boxes and unstated assumptions inherent in urban stormwater hydrology is essential to ensure proper application,” stated Andy Reese, co-author of the popular textbook “Municipal Stormwater Management”
Note to Reader:
In February 2013, Andy Reese delivered a webinar for Forester University titled Voodoo Hydrology – Pitfalls of Urban Hydrology Methods & What You Need to Know. The webinar triggered an overwhelming response. So much so that it has become an annual series, with successive webinars in January 2014 and January 2015.
Pitfalls of Urban Hydrology Methods & What You Need to Know
As a stormwater community, we have for years relied upon common urban stormwater hydrologic design methodologies and trusted their results. But, should we? Join returning speaker Andy Reese as he exposes the black box of urban hydrology. In this webinar, Andy will (with his normal humor) “lay bare” the popular urban stormwater methodologies, as well as their key elements, assumptions, most common misuses, and proper application.
“Urban hydrology, including newer Green Infrastructure sizing approaches, as commonly practiced, is an inexact science at best,” states Andy Reese. “If we were omniscient, we could do an exact job of urban hydrology. Instead, we rely on engineering judgment and guesswork, ultimately striking a compromise between accuracy and data availability, and resulting in an answer that is close to correct.”
“As such, understanding the inner workings of the black boxes and unstated assumptions inherent in urban stormwater hydrology that we commonly use (e.g., computer packages) is essential to ensure proper application.”
Audiences that Would Benefit
Join Andy in exploring the inner workings of some of the most popular urban stormwater methodologies, as well as their common misuse and misapplications. Through discussion of the associated elements and pitfalls, you will gain comprehensive understanding of urban stormwater hydrologic methods and their proper application to employ in your urban stormwater hydrologic design.
If you are a stormwater plans reviewer, compliance officer, design engineer, consultant manager, professor, or attorney, this course is for you!
Learning Objectives:
Attendees can expect the discussion and education of the following learning objectives:
- Understand common urban stormwater hydrologic methodologies and elements.
- Understand the basis for common urban stormwater hydrologic methodologies.
- Understand the key assumptions, pitfalls, and common misuse and misapplication of urban stormwater hydrologic methodologies.
- Understand the limits of these methods, and the keys to successful application.
Andy Reese is on the faculty of Forester University, an initiative of Stormwater Magazine in the United States.
To Learn More
To read an article posted previously on this Rainwater Management community-of-interest about the February 2013 webinar, click on Voodoo Hydrology: “In the absence of flow data, we make the Big Assumption,” says Andy Reese.
And to learn even more, click on Voodoo Hydrology: Andy Reese on ‘Pitfalls of Urban Hydrology Methods & What You Need to Know’
