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After Repeated and Record-Breaking Stormwater Damage, Alexandria Names a New Flood Czar

Daniel Medina Signs On As Flood Mitigation Manager

David Medina
David Medina will manage flood mitigation program and act as liaison to Alexandria City Council Stormwater Advisory Group.

ALEXANDRIA, VA – Alexandria City Manager Mark Jinks has announced the appointment of Daniel Medina, Ph.D., P.E., as Flood Action Alexandria Program Manager for the City, effective October 11. In this new position, Dr. Medina will work across City departments to ensure successful delivery of the flood mitigation program and manage Alexandria’s stormwater capital project portfolio. He will also address the concerns of Alexandria’s residents by serving as liaison to the City Council-appointed Ad Hoc Stormwater Utility and Flood Mitigation Advisory Group.

“Dr. Medina’s broad experience in numerous aspects of water and environmental engineering, especially in urban areas–along with two decades of program management experience–make him well positioned to help deliver the City’s critical stormwater and flood-mitigation projects,” said Jinks.

Dr. Medina’s experience encompasses an extensive array of water resources areas, including stormwater management, flood-risk management, climate resilience and watershed restoration.  He has led projects in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and the Middle East. Prior to joining the City, Dr. Medina served in management and technical leadership roles in several prominent national and global consulting firms. He has also served as a consultant for the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.

Residents are reminded not to walk through the open waters because of contamination with open sewer lines that dump into the Potomac. The City has remnants of a 200-year old sewer system that is in the process of being rectified, but it will take years to correct. The legislature has put a 2025 deadline on the City, and recently City Council approved turning over ownership all of the archaic sewer lines to Alexandria Renew Enterprises. The project, branded RiverRenew, will be monumental, but the agency has the ability and structure to manage and implement the changes as efficiently as possible.
Residents are reminded not to walk through the open waters because of contamination with open sewer lines that dump into the Potomac. The City has remnants of a 200-year old sewer system that is in the process of being rectified, but it will take years to correct. The legislature has put a 2025 deadline on the City, and recently City Council approved turning over ownership all of the archaic sewer lines to Alexandria Renew Enterprises. The project, branded RiverRenew, will be monumental, but the agency has the ability and structure to manage and implement the changes as efficiently as possible.

 

Dr. Medina is a member of the Water Environment Federation (WEF), the Urban Water Resources Research Council in the Environmental & Water Resources Institute (EWRI) of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).  He also served as peer reviewer for the National Research Council’s landmark report, “Urban Stormwater Management in the United States.” He was invited to testify before the U.S. Senate Environment & Public Works Committee on the effects of uncontrolled highway runoff on receiving waters. He has authored more than 80 publications, presentations and workshops on urban watershed issues. He was co-editor of the latest Manual of Practice for “Design of Urban Stormwater Controls,” published jointly by WEF and ASCE. He currently serves as Past Chair of WEF’s Technical Practice Committee, whose mission is to chart the organization’s technical direction.

Dr. Medina earned his civil engineering degree in 1982 from Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia, and a doctorate in 1989 from Cornell University’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

MORE: PHOTOS: Old Town Floods Before Hurricane Hits

Mary Wadland

Mary Wadland is the Publisher and Editor in Chief of The Zebra Press, founded by her in 2010. Originally from Delray Beach, Florida, Mary is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Hollins College in Roanoke, VA and has lived and worked in the Alexandria publishing community since 1987.

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