Hot Springs Public Works Director Denny McPhate recently received the Outstanding Floodplain Manager Award from the Arkansas Floodplain Management Association during its recent annual conference in Eureka Springs.
In conferring the award, AFMA recognized McPhate’s accomplishments including mitigating numerous properties along area creeks; increasing water quality and greenspace in flood-prone areas; reducing floodplain extents; and managing the city’s “unique and valuable” emergency notification siren system.
McPhate holds a Bachelor of Science in construction engineering from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MS. He has more than three decades of construction management experience in a variety of fields including residential, commercial, industrial and municipal construction. He is past president of the American Public Works Association, Arkansas Chapter, and is in his eighth year of service as the Southwest Regional Director of AFMA.
McPhate manages five city divisions, including Street, Traffic, Stormwater, Property Maintenance and Urban Forestry. He also serves as the city’s Certified Floodplain Manager and as the Credit Rating Coordinator (CRS) for the city’s participation in the NFIP (Nation Flood Insurance Program). He has served the City of Hot Springs for the past 14 years.