WATERBURY, CT, Jan. 2, 2003 -- Haestad Methods announced that its suite of stormwater software has been approved by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and added to its list of numerical models accepted for use in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
PondPack, StormCAD, CulvertMaster, and FlowMaster, which are used by thousands of municipal governments, state and federal agencies, and consulting firms in the U.S., can now be used for determining flood hazards in all 50 states.
The NFIP makes federally backed flood insurance available to residents and businesses in over 20,000 U.S. communities and identifies and maps the nation's floodplains. FEMA's Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) and Flood Insurance Studies (FISs) provide communities with 100-year flood elevations for rivers and coastal areas, which are used in the implementation of floodplain management programs.
"This is where our software comes in," said Jennifer Hatchett, Director of Government Relations at Haestad Methods. "Over the years, an increasing number of our users have asked if they could use our software for FEMA flood studies or for supporting revisions to existing FEMA flood maps. We contacted FEMA to initiate the review and approval process for our software, and I am proud to say that we have delivered on our clients' needs."
With FEMA approval, existing users of Haestad Methods' stormwater software will be able to take on NFIP related work using tools they are already comfortable with. Cliff Toberman, President of Toberman & Associates, said: "Before FEMA approval, we would perform a preliminary analysis using Haestad Methods' software and then have to use another product that was harder to use, inconsistent, and limited in graphing and reporting capabilities. Now, with Haestad Methods' FEMA approval, we only have to use one package that is uniform, easy-to-use, and accurate. This is going to save us time on our projects."
"Future users will have an added bonus when they select stormwater software from Haestad Methods," added Hatchett. "The ability to apply the software to a broader scope of projects will just add to the return on their software investment."
About the Approved Software:
PondPack® is a stormwater modeling program for urban hydrology and detention pond design. Its major function is to analyze a simple site or complex, networked watershed for pre- and post-developed conditions. It is also used to estimate storage requirements; compute outlet rating curves with tail water impacts; and analyze interconnected ponds with multiple outfalls and bi-directional flow.
StormCAD®is a multifunctional program that allows users to model detailed storm sewer system networks, including components of pipes, inlets, junctions, and outlets. The main purposes of the program are to design storm systems and analyze the performance of storm sewers under various scenarios.
CulvertMaster®is a software modeling program for designing and analyzing culvert hydraulics. This program uses HDS-5 methodology to compute headwater elevations and rating curves for submerged or unsubmerged culvert inlets and outlets operating under inlet or outlet control. It can also be used to evaluate roadway overtopping.
FlowMaster®is a software program for the design and analysis of pipes, ditches, open channels, weirs, orifices, and inlets. This program's "Hydraulic Calculator" can be used to solve for any unknown variable using the Manning, Hazen-Williams, Kutter, Darcy-Weisbach, or Colebrook-White formula. Its inlet computations strictly comply with the latest FHWA Hydraulic Engineering Circular Number 22 (replaced HEC 12) and AASHTO inlet computation guidelines.
To celebrate this milestone, Haestad Methods is offering special pricing for a limited time on its stormwater suite. To learn more about this offer and Haestad Methods' products, visit http://www.haestad.com.
About FEMA and the NFIP:
FEMA is an independent federal agency reporting to the President of the United States and tasked with responding to, planning for, recovering from, and militating against disaster. For more information on FEMA, visit: http://www.fema.gov
The NFIP is a federal program that makes federally-backed flood insurance available in communities that agree to adopt and enforce floodplain management ordinances to reduce future flood damage. NFIP publications include Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) and Flood Insurance Studies (FISs). For more information on the NFIP, visit: http://www.app1.fema.gov/nfip.
