Leveraging Stormwater Modeling to Prepare and Recover from Emergencies

About the Webinar

Originally presented on April 9, 2025

Recording Coming Soon!

Responding to disasters is difficult enough, but adding potential impacts from rainstorms can exacerbate those response and recovery efforts. Stormwater can transport pollutants, such as heavy metals, pathogens, and nutrients, which threaten the quality of rivers, lakes, and oceans. Many emergency personnel and stormwater operators have not considered or planned for the challenges in predicting and mitigating transport of biological agents (e.g., anthrax-causing bacterium) or long-lasting radionuclides (e.g., cesium-137) that may result from a contamination event. 

Over the last five years, EPA's Homeland Security Research Program has demonstrated how EPA's Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) can be used to track the fate and transport of contaminants through multiple case studies. The program has developed a Stormwater Emergency Response Tool and Optimizer (SERTO) to leverage SWMM to plan sensor detection networks prior to an emergency. This presentation will provide an overview of how these tools can be used for emergency response and preparedness through the case studies' key findings and preview of SERTO.

About the Presenter

Anne Mikelonis is a researcher in the EPA's Office of Research and Development's Homeland Security Research Program. Her current work focuses on the fate and transport of biological and radiological contaminants in urban areas. Previously, her research focused on physical and chemical water, wastewater treatment processes and nanoparticle synthesis, and characterization. Anne holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois), a M.Eng. in Environmental Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, Massachusetts), and a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. She is also a registered Professional Engineer in the State of North Carolina.