Quantifying and Designing Infrastructure for Nonstationary Flood Risks

In recent years, climate change has led to a rise in intense precipitation events, presenting the need for efficient and cost-effective flood management infrastructure. In Charlottesville, VA, one key area identified for improvement is Meadow Creek. This paper examines different infrastructure options for flood management in Meadow Creek under various climate change scenarios. This analysis is carried out by optimizing infrastructure designs with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Storm Water Management Model under uncertain future conditions captured by climate projections from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6. The optimization seeks to minimize cost and runoff volume while maximizing cobenefits. Our findings provide a set of non-dominated green infrastructure solutions and provide a methodology for selecting a recommended compromise solution. This analysis contributes to our goal of addressing flood risks and long-term sustainability in the Charlottesville area.