{"id":11424,"date":"2025-10-16T14:32:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T19:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.carahsoft.com\/wordpress\/?p=11424"},"modified":"2025-10-16T14:33:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T19:33:24","slug":"bentley-forecasting-resilience-how-atlas-14-strengthens-stormwater-and-sewer-design-blog-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carahsoft.com\/wordpress\/bentley-forecasting-resilience-how-atlas-14-strengthens-stormwater-and-sewer-design-blog-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Forecasting Resilience: How Atlas 14 Strengthens Stormwater and Sewer Design"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What forward-leaning State and Local agencies are doing to turn risk into readiness<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of us in public works know exactly what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s (NOAA) Atlas 14 is, where it is used and why it matters. What has changed lately is not the definition, it is the urgency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across jurisdictions, we are seeing the same trend: Flood risk is up, funding scrutiny is rising and legacy assumptions are hitting resistance. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reports that over 75% of federally declared disasters are flood-related, and NOAA\u2019s latest data shows record-setting rainfall intensity increasing across several states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, it is no surprise that design criteria anchored in decades-old rainfall estimates are facing hard questions during permitting and public review. For teams navigating FEMA, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and local requirements, the gap between historical design standards and current expectations has never been more apparent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is where updated Atlas 14 data is reshaping workflows\u2014not in concept, but in practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Familiar Tool, New Pressures<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Atlas 14 has always been foundational, but recent updates and regulatory emphasis have made it non-negotiable in many contexts. Whether it is used to update a stormwater ordinance or justify capital investments, the message is clear: Designs that do not reflect this data face uphill battles\u2014especially when tied to Federal funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In North Carolina, for example, several jurisdictions have already adjusted their stormwater management ordinances to explicitly require Atlas 14 integration. Fairfax County\u2019s own guidelines mandate its use in culvert sizing and detention basin design. And in Texas, new flood risk mitigation plans are using Atlas 14 data as a baseline for grant applications under FEMA\u2019s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program. The bottom line: If your designs are not grounded in this data, your funding case\u2014and your technical case\u2014can be hard to defend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With rainfall intensity trending higher across multiple regions, stormwater programs that once relied on 10- or 25-year benchmarks are now expected to model 50- and 100-year events\u2014or even higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Design For What Is Likely, Defend Against What Is Possible<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Colleagues across State and Local Government (SLG) are asking the same question: How can we use this data not just for box-checking, but for making better decisions? How do we defend design assumptions in permit review? How do we model flood events that reflect local topography and future rainfall patterns? How can we show that our Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) priorities align with resilience goals, rather than just meeting regulatory minimums?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is where predictive modeling comes in. Teams using tools like Bentley OpenFlows Sewer or Bentley OpenFlows Storm are leveraging Atlas 14 as a referenced input to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n