I was given the opportunity to also learn more about civil and environmental engineering relating to flooding and have a chance to participate in developing and evaluating a possible simulation lab that could be incorporated into middle and high schools in the the area.

The flood tank is a physical model of how floodplains play in the existence of watersheds and the impact of unplanned development from humans.

Rainfall Simulation:

• Two plastic boards with two different size holes that simulated light or heavy rainfall and the frequency.

Different biomes Simulation the rain falls onto:

• Wetlands (simulated by sponges)

• Parking lot(flat piece of plastic)

• Retention pond (that could be put underneath the parking lot)

Other:

• There were also miniature cars and trees to put on the parking lot and wet lands, or on the floodplain.

Floodplain: Area adjacent to a stream or river that is periodically covered with high water.

Watershed: Land area that drains into a specific body of water (also known as a river basin).

No Adverse Impact (NAI): Approach to floodplain management ensures action of one property owner or community does not adversely impact properties and rights of other property owners [measured by: flood peaks, flood stage, flood velocity, erosion, sedimentation, current costs, and future costs].

Wetlands: Areas water saturates the soil or covers the land for most or all the year (ex: marshes, swamps, bogs).

Runoff footprint: Measures of impact by human activities on flooding, or potential flooding, in terms of amount of water that is discharged (runoff) from a drainage area over given period of time.

Bankfull Stage: An established gage heigh at a given location along a river or stream above which a rise in water surface will cause the river or stream to overflow the lowest natural stream bank somewhere along the river.

Flood Stage: Defined by National Weather Service. An established gage height for a given location above which a rise in water surface level begins to create a hazard to lives, property, or commerce.

Levee Systems: Usually earthen embankments designed and constructed to contain, control, or divert the flow of water to provide some level of protection from flooding.

Retention Ponds: Man-made low areas designed to capture and store runoff for a limited period of time before being released through an outlet, at a controlled release rate.

The tank came with A Stormwater Floodplain Simulation System Activities. My task was to read through the activities (and to follow some using the flood tank if they were confusing). While reading through the activities, I would try to determine which are best for Middle Schoolers and which are better for High Schoolers.

The Activities:

• Activity 1 - Case Study: A Flooded Community

• Activity 2 - Fate of Rain

• Activity 3 - Modeling Flood Risk Factors

• Activity 4 - Man-Made Attempts to Minimize Flooding

• Activity 5 - Factors Affecting Flood Forecasting

• Activity 6 - Planning a Flood-Safe Community

• Activity 7 - River Crest Analysis

• Activity 8 - Turn Around Don't DrownTM

My Examination of the Labs: