NNC's "Forum Project" continued in the cities of Allentown and Easton, two
communities that have experienced waterway and flooding issues in the Lehigh Valley. Easton, which is located near the confluence of the Lehigh and
Delaware Rivers, has had $11,114,525 in flood insurance payments since the
1970s. Allentown, located near the Lehigh River, has historically protected
much of their floodplains as parkland. However the community has other
waterway-related concerns.

To reach the residents in the two communities, the project director, Kate
Brandes, engaged with the fire departments, city officials, the
Environmental Advisory Councils, community leaders and groups, and
distributed 250 flyers to residences and businesses in the communities.

Three focus groups were held in each city in late March, which provided NNC
with background information about the cities that was used to help prepare
for the flood forums. The focus groups also provided ideas and feedback
from the communities about what they might like to see in our developing
flood science center. The focus groups were followed by forums held in both
communities during mid-April. One of the two forums held in Easton was
conducted in both Spanish and English and about one third of the audience
was Spanish-speaking.

The forums began with a science presentation about flooding. Guest
scientists included Lafayette College professor Dr. Dru Germanoski and John
Miller, a water resource engineer with Princeton Hydro. The science
presentation was followed by four discussion questions, including one
question in which residents deliberated about the best resolution to a
community-specific flooding scenario.

A summary report of the focus groups and forum events can be found at:

Allentown Flood Focus Group Report

Allentown Flood Forum Report

Easton Flood Focus Group Report

Easton Flood Forum Report