Shifting Currents: Climate Change Impacts & Adaptation in Stream Restoration
Whitney Thomas, PE, CFM, CBLP
Arcadis
Richmond, VA
Stream Restoration is an art form that requires the knowledge and application of science and engineering, and as such, is a continually evolving field as the industry continues to observe, learn, and apply from the installation and monitoring of projects. Continual use of best practices based on historic experience is crucial to creating sound bioengineered environments, but our approach in the restoration field will need to continue to adapt to a changing world and environment to implement resilient systems. Impacts of climate change on patterns affecting precipitation, groundwater, and temperature require evaluation for forward thinking design for resilient ecosystems. This discussion will review various research and opportunities to incorporate resiliency in our planning, design, and adaptive management approaches looking at stream restoration case studies implemented from the southwest, mid-Atlantic, and northeast regions of the States.
About Whitney Thomas, PE, CFM, CBLP
Whitney Thomas, PE, is a Certified Project Manager and Principal Engineer at Arcadis with a focus on ecological restoration and stormwater green infrastructure. In addition to being a registered Professional Engineer in multiple states, she is a Certified Floodplain Manager and Shorelines Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional. Her seventeen years of experience in the Chesapeake Bay Region, and background in Biological Systems Engineering, brings expertise on improving water quality and enhancing habitat in urban environments to support MS4 and TMDL compliance. She has led teams in developing and implementing projects from stream restoration, stormwater BMPs, culvert and drainage improvements, and watershed planning, to flood risk mitigation and compliance, dam safety, and MS4 programmatic support. She has led and performed stream geomorphic, habitat, and biological assessments, natural channel design, 1 and 2D H&H modelling, sediment and scour analyses, permitting, construction oversight, grant application support and administration, and post-construction monitoring and maintenance activities. She is currently Vice Chair of the Women in Stream Restoration organization, and is an active member of organizations supporting stream restoration and stormwater improvements in Virginia and Maryland.