Photo By Brannen Parrish | Travis Wilsey, is the flood plain manager for Tulsa District Corps of Engineers. In...... read more read more
TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa District Corps of Engineers Flood Plain Manager, Travis Wilsey, attended Oklahoma State University where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering.
He began his career with Tulsa District with the hydraulics and hydrology section where he worked on periodic assessments of the dams. During the 2019 record flooding event he prepared water inundation forecasting, transitioning to the flood plain management position soon after the 2019 event.
“After three and a half years in this position, I pride myself in providing excellent customer service to all stakeholders, private landowners, business owners, surveyors, and government agencies,” said Wilsey.
As a flood plain manager, Wilson is responsible for providing base flood elevations to customers, managing fee collection from flood plain management services and developing hydrologic and hydraulic studies as assigned.
Wilsey serves as the technical point of contact for the silver jackets program within the district. The silver jacket teams work across multiple agencies, pooling their efforts to address and mitigate flood risks for the state.
“The work he does through silver jackets helps towns and counties make informed decisions when it comes to local flooding mitigation efforts and increasing community resiliency,” said Maranda Blankenship, hydraulic engineer. “He provides an important service to the public through his floodplain management services duties, and he does a great job at stakeholder outreach via the Oklahoma Floodplain Managers Association meetings and workshops.”
With policy changes, local ordinances, and guiding people through flood plain information, Navigating the vast landscape of floodplain management can be challenging. There is a lack of widespread awareness regarding FEMA-regulated floodplains which can further complicate day to day business for Wilsey.
He finds joy in taking these challenges and making people’s lives easier. Using his knowledge, he can quell worries about flood plain development or help a homeowner save money using a deliberate approach to flood plain management.
“Most people think land in a flood plain is unusable or very expensive to develop,” said Wilsey. “In most cases, this is not true.”
Wilsey notes every flood plain project is different and provides its own set of challenges. Data to develop the hydrology can be limited or not available. However, technology is getting better, and data collection is becoming more widely available.
| Date Taken: | 05.01.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.01.2024 16:17 |
| Story ID: | 470050 |
| Location: | TULSA , OKLAHOMA, US |
| Web Views: | 109 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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