| Name | Mina |
|---|---|
| Last Name | Sartipi |
| Home Address | 701 E M L King Blvd Chattanooga, TN 37403 United States |
| Organization Name | University of Tennessee at Chattanooga |
| Describe Your Role In The Organization | Founding director of the Center for Urban Informatics and Progress (CUIP), UC Foundation Professor, Department of Computer Science, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Areas of Expertise: Smart Cities, Data-Driven Solutions, Data Science. |
| Organization Address | 615 McCallie Avenue Chattanooga, Hamilton 37403 United States |
| Website | https://www.utc.edu/research/center-urban-informatics-and-progress |
| Best Phone Number To Reach You | 423-425-5336 |
| Alternate Phone Number | |
| Email Address | Mina-Sartipi@utc.edu |
| Alternate Email Address | Jordan-Gwarjanski@utc.edu |
| Please Describe Your Project In Detail | As urbanization spreads and climate change increases the intensity of storm events, our stormwater infrastructure is tasked with conveying more runoff than ever before. As the capacity of existing infrastructure falls below what is needed, new approaches are critical to ensuring public health and maximizing the capabilities of our stormwater assets. We believe that the use of “smart stormwater” provides one solution to these challenges. Through this approach, low cost sensors, real-time data transmission, advanced data analytics, and control systems are leveraged to provide new insights into how the stormwater system is functioning and allow the adaptability to shift this function in real time to meet objectives. We propose to implement smart stormwater elements in collaboration with the City of Chattanooga Water Quality Program. This will involve (1) installing sensors in a selected Chattanooga urban stream to monitor conditions and provide advanced warning of possible flooding, and (2) installing controllable valves and sensors on stormwater ponds in the same watershed to allow improved stormwater management through data science. These ponds can now be controlled as a system based on real-time data and weather conditions instead of draining solely due to gravity. Essentially, we would now have a miniature TVA-style controllable system where objectives can be optimized through machine learning. These approaches have been utilized in a few locations nationwide and would advance Chattanooga’s reputation as a model for smart cities. We will work with the City of Chattanooga’s IT department and Smart City Division to ensure connectivity between the sensors and the data infrastructure UTC has built for the smart city projects. The data infrastructure enables the ability to efficiently integrate sensors and ingest real-time data from disparate data sources while providing scalable fault-tolerant storage. The data ingested from the sensors will be analyzed in real time using the stream processing module provided by the data infrastructure. More importantly, we will build a predictive model that uses data from other ponds, weather, anticipated amount of rain, and other factors to make the stormwater management a proactive system versus a reactive one. Finally, readings generated from the sensors will be integrated into a real-time, web-based dashboard accessible from anywhere on any device. Multiple types of notifications such as email can be quickly configured using thresholds or values-based triggers on the dashboard. CUIP will develop the dashboard by utilizing the existing Smart City dashboard CUIP developed for its MLK Smart Corridor. The dashboard will provide a historical and holistic view of the sensor's environment with real-time and historical data, metrics, and predicted values displayed for easy-to-use monitoring and analytics. In close collaboration among our city and academic partners, we have collected the required data to start the site selection process immediately. The sensor design/deployment and other components of the proposal can also start as soon as the project is funded. We have developed prototype sensors and control valves in other studies that can be modified for use in Chattanooga, minimizing our ramp up time. |
| Please explain how your project meets the requirements of the American Rescue Plan | This project is consistent with the goals of the American Rescue Plan as part of President Biden’s efforts to reduce climate pollution and increase resilience to climate impacts. Creating a sustainable, data-driven system that can be controlled by municipal public works departments in real time to decrease stormwater runoff, improve water quality, and increase resilience to extreme weather sufficiently meets the requirement to “(d) make necessary investments in water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure” as stated in the interim final rule by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Further, previous projects with similar objectives have already demonstrated how these investment requirements will be met by improving restorative in-stream impacts after performing pond retrofits, one of the goals of this project. |
| Where would your project take place? | We will use several sources to create a data-driven approach to identify an area within the city limits to adopt our project. First, the City of Chattanooga has a heat map of localized flooding in neighborhoods, allowing an investigation of areas that have trouble with water overflow. Next, data from “citydata.com”, dated Jan. 21st, 2022, showed the neighborhoods of East Lake, Alton Park, and Avondale have a high percentage of residents below the poverty line. Matching these two data sources, we observed that these neighborhoods have also seen higher occurrences of flooding making them viable options for the project. Our goal from here is to use additional data to identify pond(s) and streams within these areas that are monitorable assets, then select the best match for our project goals. |
| How much will your project cost in total? | 700000 |
| Do you have any matching funding sources from other local governments, private entities, non-profits, or philanthropic entities for your project? | No |
| Please describe the source and list amounts of any other funding. | |
| What portion of the project are you asking the city to fund? | |
| If funded, when would your project start? | March 1, 2022 |
| How long would your project take to complete? | The project will be completed in several phases over the course of two years |
| What milestones would you use to measure your project’s progress? | We will use the following SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound) milestones to measure our progress: (I) Finalized the design and assembly of the water level sensors and controllable valve (Q1-Q3 of Year 1). (II) Configured sensor and integrated stormwater-related data into the data infrastructure (Q1 and Q2 of Year 1). (III) Designed, implemented, and tested the connectivity between in-stream sensors, the pond(s)’ controls/sensors, and city data infrastructure to ensure real-time and reliable data transmission (Q2-Q4 of Year 1). (IV) Verified descriptive and predictive algorithms to ensure effective stormwater management (i.e. stream level predictions and optimized pond function) using historical data (Q2-Q4 of Year 1 & Q1-Q2 of Year 2). (V) Fully developed system for stormwater management that can be applied to other locations with minimum modification (Q2-Q4 of Year 2). (VI) Submit a final report and present the results to the advisory committee and the city of Chattanooga. |
| How would you ensure accountability and transparency throughout the project lifecycle? | Our team has a history of working closely with different departments in the City including the Department of Public Works (Maria Price and Joshua Rogers) and IT Department (Kevin Comstock). The academia team (Mina Sartipi, Computer Science faculty at UTC and Jon Hathaway, Civil Engineering faculty at UTK) will collaborate closely with the team from the city at all stages of the project, from the problem definition to decision making processes. Additionally, we will have an advisory board with stakeholders and will meet with them on a quarterly basis. Examples of the board members include but are not limited to, neighborhood leaders, a state representative, a city representative, and private industry representative(s). Data gathered from the project will be shared as it is collected (after getting approval from the city) and the results will be included in the quarterly reports and presentations. Milestones and their status according to the timeline will be included in the reports for accountability. Raw data will also be available to other city departments for their review. We have built a strong and diverse team that have had experience with similar projects in the past. The team covers areas such as hydraulic and water resources, civil engineering, environmental science, and computer science. The team also includes members from the Water Quality and Smart City divisions to ensure the challenge and the proposed solution are relevant and feasible for deployment in Chattanooga. |
| If successful, how would your project benefit the community? | If successful, this project will create an optimized, sustainable, and scalable system to achieve multiple objectives that benefit the community: (I) Increased awareness of possible flooding due to real-time in-stream water level measurements. This is particularly important for low-income or underserved communities, where the neighborhoods are lower in elevation and suffer from infrastructure issues, especially considering that many members of these communities cannot afford flood insurance. (II) Improvements in water quality for the affected areas, resulting from retaining water for extended periods and reducing in-stream erosion. This will also improve the city’s ability to adhere to the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) requirements. (III) The reduction in stormwater runoff also reduces the potential merging with sewer infrastructure, decreasing the possibility of E. coli contamination. (IV) Increased effectiveness of existing stormwater infrastructure, reducing the expense of costly upgrades. (V) Creates a sustainable tool for the city to monitor flooding and water quality for the foreseeable future. Additionally, this tool is likely to be utilized on many municipal projects going forward as technological innovation continues to improve throughout the twenty-first century. |
| How will you attract community buy-in for your project? | In collaboration with The Enterprise Center of Chattanooga, we will plan several community engagement activities (e.g., focus groups and meetings with neighborhood association boards, etc) to inform the community of the project, what technology will be used, how it will benefit society, and to put concerns to rest. In the past, we conducted similar community engagement activities to know citizen’s perception regarding smart city related projects, specifically building a testbed (MLK Smart Corridor) in downtown Chattanooga. We have learned that being transparent with citizens, involving them in the process, and explaining the potential benefit will be very helpful in attracting their buy-in. |
| Name | Jordan Gwarjanski |
| Contact Information | Jordan-gwarjanski@utc.edu |
| Name | Jon Michael Hathaway |
| Contact Information | hathaway@utk.edu |
| Name | Mina Sartipi |
| Contact Information | Mina-Sartipi@utc.edu |
| Name | Maria Price |
| Contact Information | mprice@chattanooga.gov |
| Name | Kevin Comstock |
| Contact Information | kcomstock@chattanooga.gov |
| Name | Joshua Rogers |
| Contact Information | jsrogers@chattanooga.gov |
| Is there anything else you would like us to know about your project? | This project will leverage the lessons-learned and know-hows the team have gathered through federally funded smart city projects from the Department of Energy, Department of Transportation, and National Science Foundation. The common denominator among this proposal and other previously funded projects are the goals of making our urban environment observable, collecting data over long time periods, and employing data-driven approaches to solve vexing sustainability and infrastructure problems. |