Quality of Stormwater Infrastructure Systems in Vulnerable Communities: Three Case Studies from Texas.

A properly functioning local stormwater drainage system is essential for mitigating flood risks. This study evaluates the quality of roadside drainage channels in three underserved communities in Texas: the Sunnyside neighborhood in Houston (Harris County), a neighborhood in the City of Rockport (Aransas County), and the Hoehn colonia (Hidalgo County). These communities have a history of flooding, are highly socially vulnerable, and rely on roadside ditches as their principal stormwater drainage system for runoff control. Mobile lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) measurements were collected for 6.09 miles of roadside channels in these communities. The raw lidar measurements were processed to evaluate drainage conditions based on the channel's geometric properties, hydraulic capacity, and level of service. The assessment results are linked to a Geographic Information System (GIS) tool for enhanced visualization. Finally, the paper provides insights regarding the quality of stormwater infrastructure in the study communities and discusses their practical implications.

Interdisciplinary Citizen Science and Design Projects for Hazard and Disaster Education.

Disaster science is increasingly incorporating interdisciplinary methods and participatory research techniques. Yet, traditional higher education programs remain focused on lecture. More examples of educational efforts that meet these need of future researchers and practitioners to foster collaborate across disciplines and with communities are needed. This paper describes one such effort that included three projects co-designed and co-led by university students, faculty, and community residents to address flooding challenges in socially vulnerable neighborhoods. This paper overviews the educational program, the three projects, provides feedback from graduate and undergraduate students who helped initiated these efforts, and discusses benefits and challenges for similar interdisciplinary and participatory educational programs. Benefits for students include increased interdiciplinary dialogue, improved science communication, increased research participation, real-world research experience, and awareness of resident perspectives and knowledge. Challenges, though, are a lack of cultural competency among students, time needed to earn resident trust, and mismatched community, academic, and student schedules.