Meet the CFM - Jeanne Ruefer

Interviewed and Written by Kayla Kelly-Slatten, JD, CFM*

Jeanne Ruefer is no stranger to the floodplain community. As previous FMA Board Chairwoman and a current FMA board member, Ms. Ruefer has shown her commitment to floodplain management in the most prominent of ways. Nevertheless, it is not the titles alone that demonstrate her passion for the field. It is her ability to see opportunity in a world of loss, opportunity that leads to change and inspires floodplain professionals to act. In 1998, the United States fell into a recession, triggered by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Like many economic crises, numerous individuals found themselves fallen on hard times, jobless and unsure of what the future would hold, Ms. Ruefer one of them. Encouraged by her peers, however, she used the loss to shift her focus away from consulting, becoming the State of Nevada’s Floodplain Administrator in April of 1998. Although armed with a Master’s in hydrology and hydrogeology, Ms. Ruefer had little experience in actual floodplain management. So, within a month of securing her role, she was sent to the ASFPM conference, thrown into trainings, and dove headfirst into the floodplain community. Any ordinary individual may have balked at the complexity of floodplain management, but Ms. Ruefer continued to find opportunity in its intricacies, supported by supervisors and newly acquainted colleagues. From state governance to local water resources management, from private industry to federal advising, Jeanne Ruefer shaped her career through the lens of a CFM, even before it became a national standardized accreditation. Within three months of entering her role as a floodplain administrator, Ms. Ruefer became a beta-tester for the ASFPM’s pilot Certified Floodplain Manager program. And when ASFPM officially rolled out its CFM test at the 1999 Portland conference, Jeanne Ruefer became CFM number 34. She continues to maintain her good-standing in the program, recognizing both its institutional and personal significance. To Ms. Ruefer, becoming a CFM was more than just a smart career move. Of course, from a floodplain administrator’s perspective, she believed it would lend her greater authority and credibility in the eyes of the communities she served. More importantly, perhaps, Ms. Ruefer saw the CFM accreditation as a personal accomplishment in the wake of loss. Prior to transitioning to floodplain management, Ms. Ruefer witnessed firsthand the devastation of an atmospheric river and the hope sprung from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). With her home severely damaged by the 1982-83 El Niño event, Ms. Ruefer found a new appreciation for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and its application of the NFIP. In her own words, she grew “a soft-spot for the NFIP.” So, in a small way, obtaining her CFM became a form of repayment to the NFIP, as well as a personal commitment to serve the floodplain community and those individuals suffering loss.

Over the years of her service to the floodplain community, Jeanne Ruefer has emphasized the significance of the CFM program as a tool to gain insight into the various intricacies of floodplain management. From public education to financial roadmaps, the CFM accreditation has created a foundation from which Ms. Ruefer builds upon, sparking challenging conversations, ideas for improvements, and a universal baseline of knowledge among colleagues. Thus, when Ms. Ruefer states that the floodplain community is “poised for big changes”, it is more than a hunch. It is a well-informed assertion from a highlyqualified CFM, and the floodplain community would be wise to listen, learn, and act. 13

MODERNIZING RESERVOIR OPERATION: USACE SACRAMENTO BEGINS UPDATE OF 50-YEAR-OLD OROVILLE AND NEW BULLARDS BAR WATER CONTROL MANUALS

Joe Forbis, Jenny Fromm, Donna Lee and Nathan Pingel

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Sacramento District (SPK) is examining new ways to operate Oroville and New Bullards Bar dams by leveraging the best-available forecast technology as part of updates to the dams’ water control manuals.

Oroville lies on the Feather River, and New Bullards Bar lies on the Yuba River in Northern California. SPK developed the water control manuals that prescribe flood operation rules for the dams 50 years ago. USACE’s policy is to review and update water control manuals to ensure that the best use is made of available water resources. In 2020, SPK received a $4-million appropriation, launching the water control manual updates. The water control manual updates present the opportunity for SPK to develop flood operation alternatives that are based on the current state of the flood control system and incorporate sustainability and resiliency to changing conditions.

Sean Smith, Principal Hydrologic and Hydraulic Engineer, HQUSACE, said, “Funding for the water control manual updates allows the Corps to work collaboratively with stakeholders to ensure the projects continue to meet the current and future needs of the communities they serve.”

Map of the Yuba-Feather system in Northern California. Oroville and New Bullards Bar are operated as a system to avoid exceeding the objective flow of 300,000 cfs at the confluence of the Yuba and Feather Rivers near Marysville and Yuba City.