This is the first demonstration of the USGS Flood Inundation Mapper in Vermont and it will be particularly helpful in emergency situations. The National Weather Service already has a NWS Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service page for Waterbury that predicts how high the river will get (stage) and describes where the water will spread. The new USGS Flood Inundation Mapper will work together with the NWS page to visually illustrate the buildings, roads and services that will be affected during specific flood events.
Zoom to Waterbury, Vermont and click on the triangle.
USGS has also released an updated study of flood hazards in Waterbury. This new study uses fresh information about river flows and improved landscape information covering the area north of Main Street. The FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map in effect now used flood information up through 1998.
Flood maps for the Winooski River in Waterbury, Vermont, Scott Olson 2014: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2015–5077.
On the Waterbury Flood Inundation Mapper – the extent of flooding at the 429 foot stage just exceeds the USGS calculation for the extent of the one percent annual chance flood.
In April 2015 Waterbury also received an independent study commissioned by the Lake Champlain Basin Program:
Evaluating the Costs and Benefits of Floodplain Protection Activities in Waterbury, Vermont and Willsboro, New York, Lake Champlain Basin, U.S.A.R. Schiff, S. Bighinatti, E. Fitzgerald, N. Wahlund, D. Carlton, A. Church, J. Louisos, and B. Cote, Milone and MacBroom, Inc.; Fitzgerald Environmental Associates; Earth Economics, and DK Carlton and Associates. April 2015.
One page summary: Floodplain Management Economics Fact Sheet, Waterbury, Vermont.
This Lake Champlain Basin Program study looked at mapped flood hazards as well as trends affecting future flooding. This thorough study was particularly attentive to the costs and benefits for communities like Waterbury to plan and create an affordable flood resilient future.
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