Atkins’ Experts Talk Resilient Communities at Premier National Flood Conference
Fourteen experts from Atkins, one of the world’s leading design, engineering, and project management consultancies, will present topics, moderate sessions and teach workshops at this year’s Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan June 19-24.
Atkins will join other flood reduction experts to improve preparedness in local communities by helping practitioners sharpen skills and learn approaches that minimize flood risks, reduce losses from floods, and protect public health and safety at the six-day conference, the largest in the world for floodplain management.
The 2016 conference theme is focused on partnership in the Great Lakes region, home to 21 percent of the world’s surface fresh water by volume. Atkins presenters will share their experiences working with federal, state, and local agencies in helping communities in the region understand their vulnerabilities to flooding, explore new methods for master planning, develop mitigation tools and increase resiliency.
In honor of this year’s Great Lakes location, Atkins presenters Stacy Wright and Michael DePue will showcase the company’s work to improve mitigation efforts in Detroit, Michigan. Since 2014, Atkins has facilitated meetings among federal, state and local stakeholders in the Motor City on the topic of goal setting to become a resilient, sustainable city, helping to define the necessary steps to meet those goals.
“Working on flood management solutions across the United States allows us to draw from best practices throughout the country,” said Atkins’ Mike DePue, PE, CFM, PMP, who leads project work with Detroit. “We are proud to be helping Detroit define its flood mitigation strategy as they work to create a more resilient community.”
Topics to be covered at the ASFPM national conference include master planning, resiliency tactics, public outreach, emergency management, flood mapping challenges, and environmental compliance.
