USGS Flood Inundation Map and NWS High Water Mark Ceremony

USGS Flood Inundation Map and
NWS High Water Mark Ceremony

A powerful new online flood mapping tool that will help emergency managers protect lives and property in the flood-prone Sweetwater Creek area was unveiled at Austell’s Legion Regional Park on Wednesday, August 22, 2012. The interactive web-based tool, called a “flood inundation map,” is the first of its kind to be created for a major urban area in the southeastern United States. Cobb and Douglas Counties were ground zero for high water and flood damages from the epic 2009 flood.

This map will help identify where the potential threat of flooding is greatest, enabling quick decisions to be made about when and how to evacuate area residents threatened by rising floodwaters. This mapping product, along with other USGS and National Weather Service tools, create a comprehensive flood preparedness “toolbox” for the Sweetwater Creek and surrounding communities.

To access the Sweetwater Creek flood inundation map, visit: https://ga.water.usgs.gov/FIM/Sweetwater.

The ceremony was held on the banks of the creek with a high water mark from the 2009 flood some 23 feet above the ball fields in the park. The NWS also installed high water mark signs under a concession stand pavilion and by the Powder Springs Road bridge. Congressman David Scott, Georgia District 13, and officials from Cobb County, the City of Austell, USGS and the NWS spoke at the event.

“Flood inundation mapping is the next phase of delivering more precise flood information for the country and we are pleased to help bring this technology to the citizens along Sweetwater Creek,” said Keith Stellman, meteorologist-in-charge of the NWS forecast office in Peachtree City.

To access the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service page for Georgia, visit: https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/index.php?wfo=ffc.

In addition to developing the flood inundation map, scientists installed a webcam over the Sweetwater Creek on Powder Springs Road near Legion Park in Austell. This camera will capture live streaming video, enabling scientists, emergency managers and the public to visually monitor the Creek’s water levels in real time.

Rick Ullom, Hydrologist, Southeast River Forecast Center, looks at a high water mark sign installed at Legion Park.

[Kent Frantz, Service Hydrologist, Weather Forecast Office Peachtree City, installs a high water mark sign by the Powders Springs Road bridge. ]

Kent Frantz, Service Hydrologist, Weather Forecast Office Peachtree City, installs a high water mark sign by the Powder Springs Road bridge.

Keith Stellman, Meteorologist-in-Charge, Weather Forecast Office Peachtree City, provides closing remarks at the ceremony.

From left to right: Honorable Joe Jerkins (Mayor of Austell, Georgia), Robert Mason (Assistant Chief, USGS Office of Surface Water, Reston, Virginia), Congressman David Scott (GA-13), Tim Lee (Chairman, Cobb County Board of Commissioners, Georgia), Keith Stellman (Meteorologist-in-Charge, NWS Peachtree City, GA).