EBC Climate Change and Dam Management Program
Impact of Increased Precipitation on Infrastructure in New England
Thursday, March 27, 2014
GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc.
249 Vanderbilt Avenue
Norwood, Massachusetts
Climate change is more than higher temperatures and rising sea levels. It is a
wholesale alteration of the hydrologic cycle through which water circulates within the
environment in New England and beyond. The modern practices of hydrology,
hydraulic engineering, and water resources management are based in large part on
historical data collected over many decades. Climate change may result in past trends
being no longer indicative of future impacts. Practitioners and professionals in many
fields will be impacted, including:
 Water Resource infrastructure Operation and Design
 Flood Impact Mitigation
 Dam Management
 Coastal Structures including Sea Walls
 Site Remediation
This EBC program will provide policy leaders, scientists and engineers with a better
understanding of a variety of techniques they need to utilize to adjust their designs and
operational strategies in order to accommodate the new reality of changing trends in
rainfall, snowfall, runoff, and storm intensity.
DRAFT AGENDA
7:30 a.m.
Registration and Continental Networking Breakfast
8:00 a.m.
Welcome
 Daniel K. Moon, President & Executive Director, EBC
8:15 a.m.
Introduction
 Chad Cox, Program Chair and Moderator
Principal, GZA GeoEnvironmental Inc.
8:25 a.m.
Accounting for Climate Change in Civil Design
 Eric Nelson, Sr. Project Manager, Bioengineering Group, Inc.
8:50 a.m.
Examining Recent Rainfall Trends in New England and Its Impact on
Flood Frequency
 David R. Vallee, Hydrologist-in-Charge

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Ed Capone, Service Coordination Hydrologist
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
9:45 a.m.
Networking Break
10:15 a.m.
Finding Balanced Water Management Solutions for the Connecticut
River Under a Changing Climate
 Katie Kennedy, Applied River Scientist
The Nature Conservancy, Connecticut River Program
10:45 a.m.
Flood Hazard Evaluation and Resiliency in the Era of Extreme
Weather and Climate Change
 Peter H. Baril, P.E., Hydrologist / Principal
GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc.
11:15 a.m.
Panel Discussion
Panel Moderator: Chad W. Cox, P.E., GZA GeoEnvironmental
Panel Members:
 Eric Nelson, Sr. Project Manager, Bioengineering Group, Inc.
 David R. Vallee, NOAA
 Ed Capone, NOAA
 Peter H. Baril, P.E., GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc.
 Katie Kennedy, The Nature Conservancy
12:00 p.m.
Adjourn
Program Chair
Chad W. Cox, P.E., Civil Engineer / Principal
GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc.
249 Vanderbilt Ave., Norwood, MA 02062
(781) 278-5787 // chad.cox@gza.com
Chad W. Cox, P.E. is the head of the Dams Practice Group at GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc.
Chad has over 18 year of experience in the areas of dam engineering, small hydropower, water
resources, and general civil engineering. He holds a B.S.E. degree in Civil Engineering (Water
Resources) from Princeton University and an M.Eng. degree in Civil Engineering from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chad has conducted numerous dam inspections and
designed a number of dam rehabilitation projects. Chad is also the Chair of the EBC Dam
Management Committee.
Speakers
Peter H. Baril, P.E., Principal/Hydrologic Engineer
GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc.
249 Vanderbilt Avenue, Norwood, MA 02062
(781) 278-3818 // Cell: (781) 760-6419 // peter.baril@gza.com
Peter Baril is a senior environmental engineer and Principal with GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc.,
working out of the Norwood, Massachusetts office. He has over 30 years of consulting
experience in water resources engineering. His primary focus is in surface water hydrology and
open channel hydraulics in support of GZA’s dam and water resources engineering
practice. He is Principal-in-Charge for a number of dam safety improvement projects for water
supply clients including The Metropolitan District, First Taxing District Water Department
(Norwalk), and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. He earned a Bachelor of
Science degree from Fairfield University and a M.S. in Hydrology while attending the University
of New Hampshire. Mr. Baril is a Registered Professional Engineer licensed in
Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.
Edward Capone, Service Coordination Hydrologist
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NWS/Northeast River Forecast Center
445 Myles Standish Blvd., Taunton, MA 02780
(508) 824-5116 // Edward.Capone@noaa.gov
Mr. Capone has a background in Civil-Environmental Engineering and Meteorology. He spent
over 20 years in the private sector with hydrologic/hydraulic designs. Major work was
completed on both domestic and international dam designs. International work on dams
included setting up hydrologic/meteorologic stations for modeling and design of Large Dams in
Africa/Indonesia. Mr. Capone has spent the past 20 years employed by NOAA's National
Weather Service where he has worked as a Hydrometeorologist, Senior Hydrologist, and
currently Service Coordination Hydrologist (SCH). As SCH he leads State, Federal, and private
Partner activities and Decision Support Services as well as forecasting services at the Northeast
River Forecast Center.
Kathryn D. Mickett Kennedy, Applied River Scientist
The Nature Conservancy - Connecticut River Program
136 West Street, Suite 5, Northampton, MA 01060
(413) 586 2349 // Cell: (413) 588 1959 // kkennedy@tnc.org
Katie Kennedy is an Applied River Scientist for The Nature Conservancy’s Connecticut River
Program, where she is working collaboratively to find ways to manage flows in the Connecticut
River that will benefit both people and the environment. Prior to working for the Conservancy,
Katie was a research associate at the Alabama Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit,
where she worked to understand the ecological response of aquatic communities to altered
flows and to create a framework for reaching consensus concerning flow management prior to
hydropower relicensing. Katie has a M.S. degree in fisheries from Auburn University. She is
presently finishing a doctoral degree, also from Auburn University; her dissertation is focused on
the use of aquatic biological monitoring data for management decision making in multiple-use
systems.
Eric Nelson, LSP, P.G., Senior Project Manager/Coastal Geologist
Bioengineering Group, Inc.
18 Commercial Street, Salem, MA 01970
(978) 224-3139 // enelson@bioengineering.com
Eric Nelson, LSP, PG recently joined Bioengineering Group as a Senior Project Manager. He
has more than 30 years of varied environmental consulting experience. He has successfully
served in a variety of project/program management and operations management roles for
respected engineering consultants. He has a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College in
Geology, a Masters from University of New Hampshire in Earth Science/Marine Geology, and
an MBA from Northeastern University. Bioengineering Group is a Woman Owned Business.
Wendi Goldsmith is founder and CEO of the Salem, MA-based firm whose mission statement is
"Building Sustainable Communities on an Ecological Foundation." Bioengineering Group has
had a leadership role in the Greater New Orleans Hurricane Storm Damage Risk Reduction
System planning, engineering, and construction management program which helped influence,
deliver, and shape institutional change for $14 Billion in flood infrastructure while also affecting
future programs and procedures.
David R. Vallee, Hydrologist-in-Charge
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NWS/Northeast River Forecast Center
445 Myles Standish Blvd., Taunton, MA 02780
(508) 824-5116 x232 // david.vallee@noaa.gov
David Vallee is the Hydrologist-in-Charge of the National Weather Service’s Northeast River
Forecast Center. The center provides detailed water resource and life-saving flood forecasting
services to National Weather Service Forecast Offices and the hundreds of federal, state and
local water resource entities throughout the Northeast and New York.
David has worked for the National Weather Service for 25 years, serving in a variety of positions
including Senior Service Hydrologist at the Taunton Weather Forecast Office from 1993-2000
and as Science and Operations Officer from 2001-2006. David has extensive experience
leading hydrometeorological forecast and warning operations and directing weather research
and training programs. David’s research activities span a variety of topics including flooding,
severe weather forecasting and orographically enhanced heavy rainfall in southern New
England. David has served as the NWS lead investigator with the State University of New York,
at Albany, on a multi-year project addressing Land Falling Tropical Cyclones in the Northeastern
United States. This has improved the forecasting of heavy precipitation associated with these
land falling tropical cyclones as well as developing a better understanding the mechanisms
which lead to the recurvature and rapid acceleration of tropical cyclones as they approach the
Northeast. David has been leading an effort at the Northeast River Forecast Center to examine
changes in precipitation and temperature patterns across New England and its impact on flood
behavior. Most recently, David has been leading the NOAA National Service Assessment on
the devastating floods of September 9-16, 2013.