For the past two years, our team has partnered with DHI Water & Environment and staff from City of Portland, Oregon's Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) to pioneer new approaches to stormwater infrastructure assessment and investment prioritization. 

Our blended team has been working together on a weekly basis to design, develop, test and refine an integrated suite of geospatial models that BES staff may use to better understand factors such as:

• the age and condition of stormwater infrastructure in different areas of the City

• the local volume capacity of infrastructure in different areas of the City

• the presence and capacity of non-curb and drain infrastructure 

• risk levels associated with flooding, property and habitat impacts throughout the City

Surface runoff and risk models have been linked to an Esri-based GIS asset inventory of inlets, pipes, and culverts to route stormwater through the piped stormwater network. To deal with a constantly changing and improving asset inventory, all work is performed using GIS automation techniques. This ensures that as the asset inventory improves the latest information will be reflected in the capacity and risk assessment results.

The progressively enriched suite of models are being used by the City to plan, prioritize and schedule their capital investments in the City's stormwater management systems.