Session Details
The Architecture of Community Action from Insight to Impact
Speaker: Kristi Sturtz, ALM, AICP (Sturtz Public Management Group, LLC)
Collaboration is essential for resilience planning because complex challenges cannot be addressed by any single sector, agency, or community acting alone. This session will cover how to develop the mindsets, skills, and tools needed to deeply understand complex community issues, inspire others to engage in collaborative change, and effectively mobilize ideas into action. This session will cover how collaboration transforms resilience planning from a technical exercise into a strategic, inclusive, and community-driven process—laying the foundation for sustainable, long-lasting resilience.
Transforming the Scale and Equity of Living Shorelines in SC
Speaker: Susanna Hopkins (The Nature Conservancy)
In 2024, The Nature Conservancy was awarded a $6.8 million federal NOAA grant to increase the scale and accessibility of nature-based solutions across the coast of South Carolina. The project is composed of three major tasks, the Laurel Bay Living Shoreline, the establishment of a Community Assistance Program, and the development of Coastal Resilience Implementation Plans. Each component of this project addresses the key missions of the proposal in some way- to contribute towards the implementation of large scale coastal restoration, or improve the accessibility of these solutions to coastal residents, particularly those in under-resourced communities. TNC and partners are currently operating in the second year of the grant, and are excited to continue to provide resilient, nature-based solutions to communities and habitats along the coast of South Carolina.
A Dream within a Dream – A Multi-Layered Plan to Improve Coastal Community Resilience
Speaker: Aaron Akin, PhD (Seamon, Whiteside & Associates, Inc.)
As another hurricane season approached, the small coastal town of Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina took proactive measures to secure state and federal funding for vital projects. These included the development of a comprehensive stormwater master plan, a coastal community resilience plan, and the implementation of approximately $10 million in stormwater infrastructure improvements. These fully funded projects were undertaken simultaneously, showcasing a multi-layered approach to bring the Town’s infrastructure back to life and improving its overall resiliency to withstand future coastal storm events.
Resilient SC: Elevating Infrastructure Resilience through Comprehensive Digital Elevation and Connectivity Mapping
Speaker: David Vaughn and Kevin Autry (Clemson University)
This session will showcase Resilient SC, a comprehensive initiative advancing infrastructure resilience across South Carolina. By integrating high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) with transportation networks and critical infrastructure data, Resilient SC provides communities with actionable insights to anticipate, absorb, recover, and thrive amid environmental change. Highlighting applications in the Pee Dee Region, Savannah River watershed, and coastal Lowcountry, the session will demonstrate how this data-driven approach supports resilience planning, particularly for flood-prone and sea-level rise-affected areas. The discussion will emphasize collaboration, innovative mapping techniques, and scalable frameworks that enhance resilience for transportation, stormwater, and climate adaptation infrastructure. This session is ideal for engineers, planners, and decision-makers seeking to leverage data for effective community resilience planning.
Sullivan's Island Resilience and Sea Level Rise Adaptation
Speakers: Kim Morganello and Lucas Hernandez (Weston & Sampson); Rebecca Fanning (Town of Sullivan's Island)
The Sullivan’s Island Resilience and Sea Level Rise Adaptation was developed in 2024-2025 with partners Weston & Sampson, Elko Coastal Consulting, and McCormick Taylor. A Hydrologic and Hydraulic model helped determine existing and future conditions to identify the most flood-prone areas of the island, and the unique capacity of green stormwater infrastructure to provide myriad co-benefits while reducing vulnerability. As a result, ten adaptation strategies were proposed ranging from policy recommendations to infrastructure improvements on a spectrum from site-specific to community-wide. The strategies are prioritized based on feasibility and effectiveness at mitigating impacts, while also providing co-benefits. Stakeholders were engaged through personal interviews, engagement sessions, presentations to decision makers, and a community survey. Visualizations of existing conditions and adaptation strategies are featured to build consensus and aid decision-making. The resulting plan provides guidance for capital improvement priorities and funding options tailored to the Town of Sullivan’s Island, but applicable region-wide.
Evaluating the Hydrological Performance of Release Systems Retrofitting Rainwater Harvesting Cisterns
Speakers: Sarah Waickowski, PE, PhD, and Beatriss Calhoun (Clemson University)
Previous research has demonstrated passive and active release mechanisms retrofitting rainwater harvesting cisterns can mitigate stormwater runoff. However, passive release systems can discharge during storm events and contribute to runoff. Additionally, active release systems typically consist of real-time control that require proprietary software and components that can be expensive to obtain. To address these concerns, Clemson University is currently evaluating the hydrologic performance of a non-proprietary, active release mechanism that retrofits a cistern’s passive release system. The performance of the active release system (e.g., peak flow reduction, percent bypass) will be compared to a cistern retrofitted with traditional passive drawdown. Both 2,100 gal cisterns have been sized to capture 87% of the average annual runoff, and each cistern will receive runoff from a sloping metal roof with an area of 1,043 ft2. This presentation will include hydrologic data from each cistern.
Opportunities for Nature-Based Solutions to Provide Resilient Shoreline Enhancement
Speaker: Maura Boswell, PhD, PE (HDR, Inc.)
Coastal environments are dynamic and choosing resilient shoreline treatments to mitigate erosion and enhance habitat is vital to the overall success of coastal projects, especially in the face of sea level rise, increasing storms, and other climate change impacts. South Carolina has a variety of coastline dynamics including high wave energy ocean coasts, lower wave energy environments along protected inland bays, and current-affected riverine shorelines. This presentation will focus on nature-based solutions (NBS) that can be implemented as shoreline erosion mitigation and habitat enhancement to provide adaptive features and increase shoreline resilience when considering specific climate change impacts. Examples of projects that incorporate marsh mounds, oyster reefs, and reclaimed trees will be provided to indicate design applicability and key considerations when implementing these features.
Resilience and Sustainability: A Layman's Explanation for Environmental Preparedness
Speaker: Mark Johnson (Beaufort County)
Resilience and Sustainability are two different terms and concepts that are being used together more often these days and are buzz words for environmentalists and climate change advocates. We will explain both terms, how they are different but work together and what they have to do with Public Works. Our examination will bring relevance to these concepts and show how we are using them already in the projects and day to day work we do with infrastructure. We will also look at some specific means and methods to achieve both concepts in our project planning.
Building Smarter: Enhancing Infrastructure Resilience through the Envision Framework
Speaker: Jennifer Ninete, ENV SP, STP (Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure)
The Envision Sustainable Infrastructure Framework offers a comprehensive approach for guiding and evaluating the sustainability and resilience of all types of infrastructure. Designed for use by agencies, municipalities, consultants, contractors, and operators, Envision supports more sustainable planning, designing, and delivering practices.
Building Statewide Resilience: Planning, Coordination, and Project Implementation with the SC Office of Resilience
Speakers: Lisa Falta, EIT, Phleisha Lewis, Karen Hardison, and Hope Warren (SC Office of Resilience)
The South Carolina Office of Resilience (SCOR) is committed to enhancing the state's ability to anticipate, absorb, recover, and thrive when presented with environmental change and natural hazards by planning and coordinating statewide resilience, long-term disaster recovery, and hazard mitigation. This session will discuss current SCOR programs and projects in the region, in addition to resources and information to inform local efforts. SCOR’s mitigation department will highlight current SCOR-funded flood mitigation projects in the Lowcountry region. SCOR’s resilience planning team will discuss the Statewide Resilience plan, risk and resilience data found in the Resilience Atlas, and coordination efforts happening at the watershed-level.
City of Folly Beach Model Living Shoreline
Speakers: Kim Morganello and Lucas Hernandez (Weston & Sampson); Jenna Stephens (City of Folly Beach)
The City of Folly Beach seeks to educate the community on the design, permitting, and installation of living shorelines to broaden the application of this emerging practice. The City is working with Weston & Sampson and Shoreline Restoration Group to establish a model living shoreline at the City-owned Folly River Park. Three living shoreline strategies were selected based on existing site conditions and the desire to showcase a proof of concept. The project requires engineered drawings which were developed to meet all requirements of the permit application. Community involvement includes a classroom-style component combined with hands on opportunities to construct a living shoreline. A community guidebook provides concepts and information on a step-by-step process to living shoreline implementation. The model living shoreline will educate residents and visitors alike on the form, function, and benefits of living shorelines in creating a more resilient coastline.
The Nature-Based Exchange: Fostering the Implementation of Natural and Nature-Based Solutions in SC
Speaker: Nicole Pehl (The Nature Conservancy)
While there is growing interest in moving away from using solely traditional hard infrastructure and better utilizing the spectrum of hybrid and nature-based approaches where appropriate, many barriers still exist to planning for, designing, and building natural and nature-based solutions (NNBS). There is a significant need to educate on NNBS and bring diverse groups together to break down these barriers and move towards equitable and innovative implementation. Recognizing this need, The Nature Conservancy formed a public/private collaborative with the City of Charleston, Clemson University, Biohabitats, Robinson Design Engineers, and Surculus to develop the Nature-Based Exchange in 2022. Designed initially as a series of practical and outcome-based workshops, the Exchange now offers in-depth trainings for practitioners along with a public-facing podcast (“Conversing with Nature”). Through these efforts, the Exchange aims to bring together an array of partners to discuss and develop NNBS for South Carolina.
Maximizing the Value of Disaster Recovery Efforts: How to Turn Natural Disaster Pain into Resiliency Gain
Speaker: Lisa Wells, PE, CFM (Ardurra Group, Inc.)
Learn how Renewable Water Resources (ReWa) is maximizing long-term benefits of disaster recovery efforts. Following the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, ReWa, a regional wastewater treatment provider located in Greenville County, SC, undertook a significant initiative to identify and evaluate damage to their right-of-way and sewer pipelines located adjacent to stream corridors using both internal and external resources. This endeavor has not only expedited their efforts to create a comprehensive long-term plan for protecting stream corridors but will also enhance the overall resilience of their system and the surrounding watershed.
Engineering with Nature Pilot Projects at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Beaufort and Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) Parris Island
Speakers: Kat Cerny-Chipman, Amy Hunt, PE, and Taber Midgley, PE (EA Engineering); Dan Tomczak, CFM, and Daniel Buhr, PhD, PE (Jacobs); Zak Ruehman (University of Georgia); Capt Ryan Register (MCRD Parris Island)
Charleston Medical District Drainage Improvements
Speakers: Joe Fersner, PE, Michael Horton, PE, CFM, and Christopher Major (Davis & Floyd)
The Charleston Medical District encompasses several essential healthcare institutions serving the greater Charleston area and Lowcountry of South Carolina. A large area around Ehrhardt Street experienced severe flooding due to frequent precipitation, tidal influences and inadequate drainage infrastructure. This recurring issue of flooded roadways compromised accessibility and posed risks for emergency medical services. Patients, visitors, students and staff were also significantly impacted, dealing with stalled vehicles and impassable sidewalks. With funding from the South Carolina Office of Resilience (SCOR), Davis & Floyd implemented an innovative stormwater solution, including a deep tunnel extension, vertical drop shaft with a vortex structure, and advanced drainage system. This project is a highly recognized success, significantly reducing flooding in the large watershed surrounding Ehrhardt Street, improving access to critical healthcare facilities and improving community resilience. The project received the Palmetto Award, the highest recognition from the American Council of Engineering Companies of South Carolina.
Military, Community, and University Partnerships Enhancing Defense Community Resilience
Speaker: Scott Pippin (University of Georgia)
This session will describe how the University of Georgia’s Defense Community Resilience Program (UGA DCRP) is working with military installations and defense communities to build shared resilience by leveraging diverse resources to support regional collaboration, provide direct technical assistance, and develop projects that enhance resilience both inside and outside the fence line.
Sea Level Rise and Community Planning - Isle of Palms Sea Level Rise Adaptation Plan
Speaker: Ryne Phillips, PE, PhD (Seamon, Whiteside & Associates, LLC)
The City of Isle of Palms is a focal point for the Charleston area, is home to thousands of residents, and serves as a vacationing playground for millions around the globe. Life on Isle of Palms depends on a pristine landscape and flowing coastal waterways. However, sea level rise may cause those recreational waterways to become the City’s greatest threat if ignored. Based on the premonition of future flooding from sea level rise, the City made an instrumental decision to begin planning for the future. The purpose of the Sea Level Rise Adaptation Plan was to outline the potential risk due to sea level rise and identify strategies to mitigate against its effects to provide the roadmap to improving this community’s long-term coastal resiliency.
Sand River CMAC Stormwater Project - Reviewing The Effectiveness of a Continuous Monitoring and Adaptive Control Solution After One Year Of Operation
Speaker: Jason Hetrick, PE, CFM (McCormick Taylor)
Municipalities face difficult choices allocating resources and where to build infrastructure addressing stormwater management challenges. The City of Aiken is no exception as they seek to restore predevelopment hydrology in the Sand River. In 2020, design of a series of underground stormwater vaults that capture 24-acre-ft of runoff commenced utilizing forecast-based real-time control technology, also called continuous monitoring and adaptive control (CMAC). These vaults are positioned at the downstream end of Aiken’s urban watershed, upstream of major erosion in Hitchcock Woods. CMAC was estimated to increase the effectiveness of the vaults by 2x by retaining water during and after storms, increasing infiltration, and only discharging in preparation for forecast storm events exceeding the capacity of the vaults. This presentation will examine the decision to include CMAC, discuss the design process, and present the effectiveness of the system after one year of operation using actual data from the OPTI system.