FEMA Quck-2 Outcry?

[KevTen]

Has anyone else experienced the frustration of trying to use FEMA’s Quick-2 modeling program? I suppose the answer is yes and you would recommend that no one ever use it. Which brings up my question; why isn’t there any discussion, frustration or outcry to be found? Nowhere could I find a discussion about how to work around the software’s many issues. I looked here on Eng-Tips Forums and found 3 threads as only passing comments.

Before you jump in with your, “just use HEC-RAS or HEC2” comments, please realize that Quick-2 is being pushed by government agencies as an acceptable solution to determining Base Flood Elevations in Special Flood Hazard Areas. I recently attended a class put on by the local Floodplain Manager and they RECOMMENDED using Quick-2. This program is absolutely horrible and virtually unusable. Why isn’t there outcry that FEMA has released this defective product as a tool to determine BFEs for a National Flood Insurance Program (multi-billion dollar program)? Am I way off base expecting the consulting community to be up in arms when this directly impacts the health safety and welfare of the public? Any thoughts?

Thanks,

 

[cvg]

I have never been pushed to use quick-2 and I believe very little if any of the work we do for FEMA has used quick-2. There is no outcry because any competent engineer should have a better free tool and long ago realized that quick-2 stinks.

 

[KevTen]

(@cvg) That’s an interesting perspective. The regulatory agency creates software that doesn’t work and the engineer that attempts to use it is considered incompetent. By the way I did mention not to bother with a “just use something else” response (for future reference). I’m not asking if there is something else better to use. My question is why does FEMA still distribute this software if it doesn’t work or "stinks"?

 

[cvg]

the federal government has over the years developed a lot of different software with the hope that it could at some point be useful to the general public. as with many government run and managed programs, this has not always been entirely successful due to many different things including

1) lack of funding
b) lack of experience developing software
i) poor management of tax payer resources.

I believe most have long ago realized that HEC-RAS is a far better tool for open channel hydraulic analysis and don't waste much time on other tools. I'll leave it up to you to determine why the government would waste time and money promoting Quick-2...