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2005 News Releases
Record-breaking Rainfall Hits Allegheny County
Once Again
3 Rivers Wet Weather Calibrated Rainfall System Reports Accurate
Rainfall in Near Real-time
PITTSBURGH, PA—January 7, 2005—Pittsburgh
area homeowners just seem to begin recovering from one heavy rainstorm
when another one hits. This week is no exception. According to the
3 Rivers Wet Weather (3RWW) calibrated radar rainfall system, nearly
every community across the County over a four-day period (Jan. 3-6)
received a total of at least three inches of rain with many communities
topping out at four inches or more. The average rainfall in Pittsburgh
is one-tenth inch.
“While this rainstorm doesn’t compare to the flood
the region experienced in September, it’s still demonstrates
very clearly the need for our region to implement better storm water
management techniques,” said John Schombert, executive director
of 3 Rivers Wet Weather.
The calibrated radar rainfall system is designed to help municipal
representatives track accurate rainfall in their communities nearly
as it occurs, so they can evaluate how their collection systems
function during heavy rainfall and plan more effective future solutions.
Rainfall data is collected through a network of 33 rain gauges
strategically placed based on localized storm patterns and areas
that are difficult for the radar to detect, such as hillsides, tall
buildings and valleys. (The raw data from these gauges is in the
table below.) The data is then calibrated with the NEXRAD radar
coverage area using specialized software. This calibration fills
in the gaps between rain gauges and determines the virtual rainfall
specific to each square kilometer (.4 square miles) in Allegheny
County. The resulting data is equivalent to having a total of 2,275
rain gauges throughout the region.
Rainfall data is available via the 3 Rivers Wet Weather Web site
where users can access near real-time
data (with a 15-minute delay) in the form of a color-coded
map. Data from the last 30-60 days is also available in this section
of the web site via a color-coded map. A historical
section provides rainfall data older than 60 days.
Editor’s notes: If you have received this information by
fax and would like to receive an electronic jpg of the color-coded
map showing rainfall across Allegheny County, contact Tracy Schubert
at 412-578-8197 or tschubert@achd.net or
click here. This link takes you straight to the Real-time Rainfall
Data. Select a map showing the cumulative rainfall over the last
30-60 days. Input the time frame you are interested in—Jan.
3-Jan.6—choose the 5 in. scale and click on view. You can
then right click on the resulting color-coded map to save it as
a jpg file.
About 3 Rivers Wet Weather Demonstration Program
The 3 Rivers Wet Weather Demonstration Program (3RWWDP) is a
non-profit organization created in 1998 to support Allegheny County
municipalities in addressing the region’s aging and deteriorating
sewer and storm water infrastructure. During nearly every rainfall
or snow melt, excess water gets into the municipal sewer systems,
which results in untreated sewage overflowing into area streams
and rivers—a violation of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA).
Municipalities in the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN)
service area now face an EPA Administrative Consent Order to begin
compliance with the CWA.
3RWWDP, a joint partnership between the Allegheny County Health
Department (ACHD) and ALCOSAN, helps to promote the most cost-effective,
long-term, sustainable solutions through benchmarking sewer technology,
providing financial grants, educating the public and advocating
inter-municipal partnerships
Contact: Tracy Schubert
Public Outreach Manager
412-578-8197 · Fax: 412-578-8065
tschubert@achd.net
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