Please join us for a free workshop on Hydrology from 9:00am to noon on July 18, 2018 at the Central Community College in Kearney. This workshop will cover the most common methods of calculating the 1% Annual Chance (100-Year) flow values. The content of the course is designed to be approachable to local floodplain managers as well as insightful for engineers. Registration is required and limited to 40 individuals. Information for this and all of our conference activities will be available soon. 

If you're planning to attend the conference and will need hotel accommodations in Kearney, a block of rooms has been set up at the Fairfield Inn and Suites. Please call (308) 236-4200 and ask for the NeFSMA group rate. 

Have you ever wanted to see a stormwater outfall up close and personal?  If the answer is yes, you're in luck!

On July 18, 2018 (just one day before our 10th Annual Conference) you can join NeFSMA in a kayak tour of Kearney Canal. This canal is a major drainage way in Kearney.  The NPPD Tailrace joins with Turkey Creek which is the beginning of the North Channel of the Platte River.  

On the tour, you will see clean-up efforts undertaken by the Kearney Whitewater Association and much of Kearney's stormwater system.

The tour will start at 6:00 pm on July 18, 2018 and take about 1.5 hours.  No kayak experience is needed.  The cost of the tour is $30 per person and space is limited to the first 30 people who register.  Registration information for this and all of our conference activities will be available soon.

If you're planning to attend the conference and will need hotel accommodations in Kearney, a block of rooms has been set up at the Fairfield Inn and Suites.  Please call (308) 236-4200 and ask for the NeFSMA group rate.

Mark your calendar for July 18, 2018! In conjunction with our Annual Conference in Kearney, we will be offering a great green infrastructure tour.

The tour will include four sites in Kearney, including projects at Kearney Public Works, Central Community College, and Kearney High School.

All the tour details and registration information will be available in early May.  You don't want to miss it!

NeFSMA is pleased to announce the Call for Abstracts for our Tenth Annual Conference, "Nebraska's Water: Management at the Local Level" on July 19, 2018 in Kearney, Nebraska.

Click here for abstract submittal information.

Abstracts must be received by 5:00 P.M. Friday, April 13, 2018. Authors of abstracts accepted for presentation will be notified no later than April 26, 2018 and will receive further guidelines for preparation of presentations. The registration fees for presenters will be waived. No other expenses will be covered. If you have any questions please contact Committee Co-Chairs, Kellan Strauch at kstrauch@usgs.gov, Rocky Keehn at rocky.j.keehn@commonsensewre.com or NeFSMA Chair John Callen at jcallen@jeo.com.

Conference Logistics:

The conference will be held at the Younes Conference Center (http://www.younes.com/) in Kearney, Nebraska on July 19, 2018. There will be an educational workshop and a tour prior to the conference on July 18, 2018. Be on the lookout for more information including registration details in the coming weeks. In the meantime, you can contact the Fairfield Inn and Suites at (308) 236-4200 to take advantage of the special NeFSMA room rate if you plan to stay overnight.

We also plan to have a hospitality room at the conference center the evening of July 18. If your organization or business would like to be a sponsor for the social please go to https://nefsma.com/Sponsorship for more information.

The Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM) exam will be offered in Omaha on January 31, 2018 at the Papio-Missouri River NRD (8901 S. 154th St., Omaha). We will offer a study session beforehand. The schedule is below:

8:30 – 11:30 – study session

11:30 – 12:45 – lunch on your own

1:15 – 4:15 – Exam

For more information on applying for and preparing for the exam, see the following links. Please note that all applications to take the exam must go through ASFPM and be received two weeks prior to the exam date. If you are not on the ASFPM approved list, you will not be able to take the exam. Applications need to be submitted by January 17, 2018 in order to be considered. Costs for the exam are lower if you are an ASFPM member, however, you do not need to be a member to take the exam.

Application Information: http://www.floods.org/index.asp?menuid=405&firstlevelmenuid=180&siteid=1

Exam Prep Guide: http://www.floods.org/index.asp?menuID=215&firstlevelmenuID=180&siteID=1- preparation materials

NFIP Desk Reference: http://www.floods.org/index.asp?menuid=388&firstlevelmenuid=180&siteid=1- preparation materials

Please contact Chuck Chase at Nebraska DNR at chuck.chase@nebraska.gov or (402) 471-9422 with any questions.

This year's ASFPM conference will be held in Kansas City and we'd love to see a great turnout from Nebraska!

This is the world's largest and most comprehensive floodplain management conference. The conference will be April 30 - May 5, 2017, at the Kansas City Convention Center in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. 

This year's theme is "Managing Flood Risk in the Heartland" and will feature several presentations from our very own members on a variety of topics.  This conference isn't just for floodplain administrators.  Engineers, planners, surveyors, stormwater managers and many others can benefit from the broad range of session topics and workshops.

We encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity to attend this national conference so close to home!

For more information about the conference or to register, please go to www.asfpmconference.org.

2017 Spring Stormwater Symposium

March 8, 2017

UNO Scott Conference Center, Omaha, NE

The 2017 Spring Stormwater Symposium brings together professionals from both public and private sectors to learn from local, regional and national experts. The Symposium will focus on examples of stormwater program funding & management, and also dive deep into the life cycle of a successful stormwater management project from a team that made it happen.

The Symposium is a collaboration of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the Nebraska Floodplain & Stormwater Managers Association (NeFSMA), and the Great Rivers Chapter of the International Erosion Control Association (GRIECA). Supporting sponsors include: UNO Center for Urban Sustainability, the City of Omaha Stormwater Program, Douglas County Environmental Services, and Nebraska H20.

Program Highlights:

• Regional Water Quality Trading - Seth Brown, President of Storm and Stream Solutions, Inc.
• Wichita MS4 Program: Pollutant Banking - Ron Graber, Watershed Specialist at Kansas State University
• Spring Lake: A Case Study for Low Impact Development
• • Jim Theiler - City of Omaha
  • John Royster- Big Muddy Workshop
  • Emily Holtzclaw - CH2M
  • Rocky Keehn - SEH
  • Ryan Bentley - Big Muddy Workshop
  • Sorin Juster - Kirkham Michael
  • Nina Cudahy or Andy Szatko - City of Omaha
  • Pat Slaven - City of Omaha Parks Department
  • Janet Bonet - Resident
  • Steve Rodie - UNO

• Panel Discussion: Finding Solutions to Municipal Stormwater Program Funding Challenges

  • Seth Brown, President of Storm and Stream Solutions, Inc.
  • Heath Mello, Former State Senator
  • Donna Garden, Assistant Director of Public Works for City of Lincoln
  • Dan Lillis, Stormwater Coordinator for City of Kearney
  • Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities Representative
  
  

Who Should Attend?

We can learn a lot from nature. Low Impact Development (LID) is an approach to land development and redevelopment that works with the local environment to manage stormwater as close to its source as possible. It focuses on preserving or creating natural landscape features and practices that mimic the processes we find in nature, which effectively manage stormwater.

Are you a member of the design, development or construction community? Are you interested in ensuring quality sustainable growth in your city? Do you want to learn how to turn a "waste product" into a resource? This symposium is for you! Architects, citizens, developers, engineers, government officials, landscape architects, landscape designers, students, researchers, teachers and all others interested in the broader acceptance of interdisciplinary design approaches critical to successful LID are encouraged to attend.

Click here to register for the Symposium.

Click here to secure exhibitor space.

Click here for the complete program.

For additional sponsorship opportunities and group rates please email iecagreatriver@gmail.com.

In the September issue of Stormwater, the City of Omaha's green infrastructure projects of their CSO program were featured.

Several members of NeFSMA were quoted in the article.  Congrats to Nina Cudahy (City of Omaha), John Royster (Big Muddy Workshop), Katie Pekarek (UNL Extension), and Steve Rodie (UNO) for the national recognition of the great work you're doing!

You can read the article here.

Registration is now open for the annual Omaha Green Infrastructure Tour. 

 

On September 15, the UNL Stormwater Team, the City of Omaha Stormwater Program, and the UNO Center for Urban Sustainability will be sponsoring the annual Omaha Green Infrastructure Tour.  This year’s tour will provide a great opportunity to see how people across the city are implementing porous pavements, bioretention gardens, green spaces, wetlands, green roofs, tree planters and more!  More information is available at water.unl.edu/stormwater. Registration is available online at go.unl.edu/OmahaGreenInfrastructureTour

2016 Green Infrastructure Tour.jpg

One of NeFSMA’s core goals is to promote public awareness of floodplain and stormwater management. We are looking for volunteers from the NeFSMA community to help accomplish this important goal. We currently have three opportunities available for volunteers to help demonstrate NeFSMA’s floodplain model. We are looking for 2 to 3 volunteers to fill each available time slot. This is a very fun and rewarding way to help educate our community about floodplains.  

Event #1 – Demonstrate Floodplain Model and discuss the importance of floodplain and stormwater management for visiting families at the Omaha Children’s Museum

Date: May 21st, 2016

Location: Omaha Children’s Museum, 500 S 20th Street, Omaha, NE

Time Slot #1: 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.

Time Slot #2: 12:00 P.M – 3:00 P.M.

Click here to sign up for this event.

Event #2 – Demonstrate Floodplain Model and discuss the importance of floodplain and stormwater management for visitors for Lincoln’s 2016 Waterfest

Date: June 4th, 2016

Location: Holmes Lake Park, 70th & Normal, Lincoln, NE

Time Slot #1: 5:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.

Click here to sign up for this event.

 

Event #3 – Demonstrate Floodplain Model and discuss the importance of floodplain and stormwater management for visiting families at the Omaha Children’s Museum

Date: August 13th, 2016

Location: Omaha Children’s Museum, 500 S 20th Street, Omaha, NE

Time Slot #1: 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.

Time Slot #2: 12:00 P.M – 3:00 P.M.

Click here to sign up for this event.

Training on the flood model demonstration can be provided.  If you have any questions regarding this opportunity, please contact Mike McIntosh at 402-496-2498.