The newspaper writer identified the project as “a stormwater retention project at the high school.” This prompted our Hydrology and Hydraulics Guru, Dr. Charles Patterson, to make sure I, Gabe Lett, the Marketing Guru, understood proper design terms.

The intersection at 7th Street and Illinois Avenue would frequently flood along Illinois Avenue during a 25-year or larger storm. At times, the water level would rise as much as 4.3 feet above the edge of the road.

While CSI draws us into the world of criminal forensics, flood forensics helps us quantify the extent of a flood -- the first step in planning the resistance to future flooding.