Hamilton’s Lower East End Drainage Study

The Lower East End Drainage Study was initiated by the City of Hamilton to address severe wide-spread basement flooding as well as surface flooding in the Lower East End of the City. This is an older area of the City that is serviced by a complex combined sewer system and includes the highest concentration of reported flooding problems. Many area residences and businesses have been damaged during storm events, particularly during a number of large events that occurred in the last few years. To respond to these problems, the Lower East End Drainage Study involved investigating the many flooding-susceptible areas with respect to the capacity of the combined sewer system as well as the primary overland flow routes in order to understand the causes of the flooding problems, and involved assessing stormwater management initiatives, identifying potential remedial measures and recommending solutions. An “All-Pipes” model of the sewer system was developed using MIKE URBAN to facilitate the assessment and the testing of over 90 potential remedial measures.

Nahed Ghbn Ph.D. from the City of Hamilton and Andrea Kauppinen P.Eng. from MRC will describe the nature and causes of the combined sewer flooding problems in the Lower East End of Hamilton, highlight the adopted approach to identify measures to address the flooding problems, describe the steps to assess the potential remedial measures in terms of benefits and risks as well as cost, discuss the challenges in dealing with such a complex and highly constrained system, and present the approach to prioritizing the recommended measures.

Where: ICLR, 20 Richmond Street East, Suite 210, Toronto

ICLR seeks to strengthen the insurance community’s awareness of the risks associated with natural hazards. Each month we will host an informal discussion of current research and industry issues related to natural hazards. Member companies can send two participants at no cost. A fee of $75.00 will apply for additional attendees. The cost for non-members is $150.00 per person for each forum. Business casual dress.

http://www.iclr.org