Dr. Andrew Earles is the Executive Vice President of Wright Water Engineers (WWE) in Denver, Colorado. Andrew specializes in hydrology, hydraulics, and stormwater management and has worked on these types of projects for 25 years, including, master planning, design of regional stormwater facilities, regulatory flood hydrology, and stormwater monitoring and modeling. Andrew is a Professional Engineer, Professional Hydrologist, and member of the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers.
Abstract
Incorporating Climate Change & Uncertainty into Stormwater Infrastructure Design
For many decades stormwater infrastructure has been designed based on stationary climate assumptions. However, with increasing temperatures, engineers and scientists are facing questions of how increasing temperatures affect the hydrologic cycle, in particular rainfall characteristics that are used to size infrastructure. This presentation will discuss tools and approaches that are being implemented in Colorado and across the country to address this complex question. In addition, effects on green infrastructure and water quality due to increasing temperatures and changing rainfall characteristics will be discussed. Finally, the presentation will discuss potential strategies for design of resilient stormwater infrastructure to accommodate an uncertain future climate.