Design for Flooding

DONALD WATSON, FAIA, an architect and planner, is former chair of the Yale School of Architecture Environmental Design Program, and former professor and dean of the School of Architecture, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He received the 2002 ACSA Distinguished Professor Award and the 2005 AARC Haecker Leadership Award for Architectural Research. His publications include Climatic Building Design, winner in the Architecture and Urban Planning category of the American Publishers Award for Professional and Scholarly Excellence. MICHELE ADAMS, P.E., a water resources engineer, is principal and founder of Meliora Environmental Design in Kimberton, Pennsylvania. Her work encompasses environ- mentally sensitive site design and sustainable water resources engineering.

• Preface and Acknowledgments viiForeword by Carol Franklin, RLA, FASLA ixForeword by Daniel E. Williams, FAIA xiIntroduction xvPart I: Nature of Water 1Chapter 1: Weather 31.1 Sun and Earth 31.2 The Atmosphere 61.3 Weather 17Chapter 2: Land and Water 312.1 Water and Carbon Cycles 312.2 Biodiversity and the Landscape 362.3 Follow the Water: The Opportunity for Watershed Planning 43Chapter 3: Flooding 493.1 Flooding from Increased Precipitation 493.2 Flooding from Severe Storms 543.3 Economic and Social Costs of Water-Related Natural Disasters 61Part II: Design With Water 67Chapter 4: The Natural Landscape 714.1 Understanding the Natural Water Balance 714.2 When the Water Balance Is Altered 744.3 Soils and Vegetation 784.4 Subsurface Water Movement 834.5 Stream Systems, Wetlands, Riparian Zones, and Floodplains 84Chapter 5: The Altered Landscape 915.1 When the Landscape Is Altered 915.2 Altered Stream Systems and Increased Flood Damage 955.3 Why Detention Does Not Solve Flooding 985.4 Summary: The Natural Landscape as a Model for Resilient Design 99Chapter 6: Design for Inland Flooding 1036.1 Resilient Design for Inland Flooding 1036.2 Tools for Watershed Protection 1256.3 Communities and Buildings in Floodplains 129Part III: Flood-Resistant Design 131Chapter 7: Flood Design Analysis 1357.1 Definition of Terms 1357.2 Flood Elevation: Base Flood and Design Flood 143Chapter 8: The Coast 1518.1 Coastal Processes 1518.2 Shoreline Protection 1608.3 Flood Barriers and Floodgates 1648.4 Summary of Coastal Protection Measures 164Chapter 9: Flood Design Practices for Buildings 1699.1 Overview of Flood Design 1699.2 Flood Design at the Building Scale 176Part IV: Design For Resilience 197Chapter 10: Flood-Resistant Design for Sites and Communities 19910.1 Coastal Communities 19910.2 Comprehensive Planning for Resilient Communities 20710.3 Local Actions to Build Community Resilience 210Chapter 11: Sea Level Rise 21911.1 Sea Level Rise: The Issues 22011.2 Sea Level Rise: Design Responses 223Chapter 12: Design for Resilience 25712.1 The Wave of the Future 25712.2 Models for National and International Action 25912.3 Design Resolution 268Epilogue 271Glossary 273Index 295