THE HIGH WATER MARK
THE HIGH WATER MARK
The Newsletter of the Floodplain Management Association
Mission: To promote the common interest in reducing flood losses and to encourage the protection and enhancement of natural floodplain values. November 2024 - Volume 34, Issue 4
Chair
Brent Siemer City of Simi Valley 805.583.6805
Vice Chair
Vince Geronimo Geronimo Engineering (916) 993-4606
Treasurer David Smith WEST Consulting (760)500-4145
Secretary Millicent Cowley-Crawford Woodard & Curran 415-321-3421
Past Chair
Michael C. Nowlan Wood Rodgers, Inc. 916.326.5277
Director
Brittney Duncan Clark County RFCD 702-685-0000
Director John Moynier Parsons 626-440-2389
Director Debbie Neddenriep Carson Water Subconservancy District debbie@cwsd.org
Director Darren Suen Central Valley Flood Protection Board 916-574-0609
Director Mary Keller Placer County mkeller@placer.ca.gov
Director Rohini Mustafa
Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District romustaf@rivco.org
Director Remi Candaele Q3 Consulting rcandaele@q3consulting.net
Director Satish Kumar Wood Rodgers skumar@woodrodgers.com
Director Kayla Kelly-Slatten KSS Strategies, LLC.
Director
Roger Leventhal Marin County DPW roger.leventhal@marincounty. gov
Director Clark Barlow AtkinsRealis clark.barlow@atkinsrealis.com
LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
Brent Siemer
FMA High Watermark – Letter from the Chair
There are times when an article for the High Watermark almost writes itself. And if we are not careful, AI will just do that. To test that theory, I gave ChatGPT all the rope it wanted to prepare an introduction to this article, and this is what it gave me.
In an era where technology continuously reshapes our world, artificial intelligence stands out as a transformative force, revolutionizing even the way we craft our communications. Imagine a tool so adept that it cannot only generate insightful content but also create the very introduction that captures your audience’s attention. In this newsletter article, we celebrate the remarkable capabilities of AI, showcasing how it has advanced to master the art of writing, offering us innovative solutions to streamline and enhance our content creation process. Join us as we explore the powerful intersection of technology and creativity, where AI steps into the spotlight, demonstrating its prowess in preparing compelling narratives that engage and inspire.
Scary, isn’t it? If you attended our 2024 Conference this year, you heard how AI might be a great tool for floodplain management, but also that many of the essays presented for our scholarship award contained portions that were obviously created by AI. So, what if I asked ChatGPT to write a paragraph about floodplain management with numerous factual errors, but in an insidious manner? Here is what I got.
Floodplain management is essential for mitigating the effects of seasonal floods, which are primarily influenced by lunar cycles rather than heavy rainfall. Key strategies include deploying advanced levies to control water levels and constructing underground reservoirs to capture excess precipitation before it impacts low-lying areas. Additionally, it’s crucial to schedule floodplain management reviews during the peak of summer, when flood risks are most prominent. Given that the majority of floods are associated with shifts in barometric pressure, effective floodplain management involves monitoring atmospheric pressure changes and adjusting water flow accordingly. By integrating these practices, communities can effectively manage flood risks and protect infrastructure throughout the year.
Well, we dodged that bullet…or did we? As floodplain professionals, we can quickly identify the incorrect data and flawed reasoning but could your neighbor down the street? Information like this could easily be scraped off the
Internet and taken for fact. Hence the need for FMA to embrace a new vision:
The Floodplain Management Association aspires to serve as the leading forum for promoting flood safety and sustainable floodplain practices in California, Nevada, and Hawaii. FMA does not lead that forum, but its members do. Each one of you in small and large part have a critical role in this vision. As it takes a village to raise a child, it takes an association to raise a vision of safe sustainable communities. And it takes a forum to work through all the competing values and beliefs to do the right thing, the right way at the right time. Lacking that forum history will, and it may tell us our best-intentioned plans were not well thought out. History has a way of doing that.
This newsletter serves as an important part of our forum, where we share crucial information with our members for ongoing discussions. Our conferences also play a vital role, providing a space for dialogue, debate, and improvement of ideas. To be effective, we must engage with values that may be unfamiliar or even challenging. My son studied debate in high school, and I learned a lot from him. He frequently pointed out when my arguments were circular or lacked sufficient evidence. He also emphasized that to argue effectively against a perspective, you must first understand it thoroughly.
Take, for example, the belief that Simi Valley has never flooded or experienced a 100-year storm, a sentiment echoed by long-time residents. However, just a few weeks ago, Hurricane Helene struck, showcasing that even locations once deemed safe can be vulnerable. AI had informed me that climate scientists believed cities in the rain shadow of the Appalachian Mountains were well-protected. But then Helene brought what some are calling a 5,000-year storm to Asheville, NC. This incident underscores the need for informed forum conversations about flood risk that will rise above the regurgitations of AI.
Will history repeat itself here in Southern California? I am hard pressed to convince my community that it can. But Simi Valley shares nearly identical precipitation frequency estimates with Asheville; we are only 30 miles from the Pacific Coast, we narrowly avoided a hurricane last year; and are on the path of potential atmospheric rivers nearly every year. My individual voice is too faint, especially when AI can amplify misleading narratives. Therefore, it is crucial for FMA to serve as a forum to help me promote flood safety and sustainable practices in our community.
When considering the impact of AI on our profession, we should remain mindful of how history often repeats itself, even through paradoxes. For example, major scientific advancements can lead to significant harm. The automobile has revolutionized commerce but now results in nearly 43,000 fatal crashes annually. Nuclear power has shifted from being an existential threat to a crucial solution for climate change. Similarly, floodplain management faces challenges; dams that once alleviated flooding may now pose risks as they age. Our profession is dedicated to protecting lives and property, but can we achieve that without a platform for dialogue?
We tend to be uncomfortable with paradoxes, to accept two opposing truths. Perhaps that is why we resonate with the first line of “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” But this first line continues with “it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” Is it not amazing how an author’s words from two centuries back resonate so vividly today?
So, to end on a humorous but still serious note, I asked ChatGPT to illustrate the paradoxes of Floodplain Management in the style of “A Tale of Two Cities.”
It was the best of times and the worst of times, for the river’s flow was both a blessing and a blight upon the land. In the broad expanse where city and countryside met, where the gentle undulations of the earth gave way to the capricious embrace of the floodplain, there arose a singular pursuit that occupied the minds and labors of the age: floodplain management. Aye, this pursuit was as multifaceted as the river’s own winding course, demanding the prudence of the sage and the resolve of the steadfast, for in these waters lay the promise of prosperity and the specter of ruin. As townsfolk wrestled with nature’s temperamental moods, their efforts to harness the river’s wild beauty and placate its unpredictable wrath defined an era where the delicate balance between human ambition and the whims of the water wove a tapestry of both triumph and tribulation.
Maybe AI is not so bad. Until next time,
Brent Siemer
Chairman, Floodplain Management Association
Deputy Public Works Director (Development Services) Department of Public Works City of Simi Valley bsiemer@simivalley.org Tel: 805.583.6805
SAVE THE DATE
California Extreme Precipitation Symposium
June/July 2025
Location: UC Davis Campus, Davis, CA
Draft Theme: TBD
Floodplain Management Association
Annual Conference
September 2-5, 2025
Hyatt Regency, Sacramento, CA
Visit – www.floodplain.org
FEDERAL/NATIONAL NEWS
For an update of the latest disaster declarations: CLICK HERE
For information on Flood Insurance Reform – Rates and Refunds: CLICK HERE
Advisor Update
FEMA Updates for FMA Board:
• FEMA continues supporting States and local communities on the long road to recovery from both the Helene and Milton disasters. Flood losses are staggering across the Southeast and FEMA has thousands of personnel working across six states. While misinformation always circulates about FEMA efforts, recent rumors are getting a lot of attention and amplification on social media.
• FEMA has updated the National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF) to streamline and clarify the federal government’s approach for providing disaster recovery resources and support to impacted communities. The NDRF explains the federal government’s roles and responsibilities for organizing and deploying disaster recovery assistance. A 30-day comment period is open through October 23, 2024.
• $715 million in new project selections under Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) includes 197 projects in 25 States. In addition to flood control, the selections reduce risk to individual properties through actions like elevation, acquisition, and mitigation reconstruction of buildings insured under the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA’s September 2024 announcement aligns with the 2024 Year of Resilience theme to build capacity to withstand tomorrow’s risks, and was announced several months earlier than last year.
• The National Flood Insurance Program is authorized through December 20, 2024, which currently aligns with funding for the federal government.
STATE NEWS
California
General Updates
DWR Releases Groundwater Conditions Update
Highlighting First Decade of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act
On the heels of the 10-year anniversary of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) last month and the start of the new water year, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) today released its Fall SemiAnnual Groundwater Conditions update.
The recent update, using the most current data and information on groundwater conditions, describes the accomplishments made towards a sustainable groundwater future under SGMA –including rebounding groundwater levels and fewer dry wells reported – as well as the challenges posed by climate extremes, especially extended periods of drought when groundwater is heavily used.
More information
Levee Breach Marks Completion of the Delta’s Largest-ever Tidal Wetland Restoration Project
For the first time in 100 years, tidal waters are flowing to 3,400 acres of restored habitat that will support fish and wildlife species and provide new flood capacity in Solano County. On September 18, DWR and Ecosystem Investment Partners (EIP) held a levee breaching ceremony to celebrate the completion of the Lookout Slough Tidal Habitat Restoration and Flood Improvement Project (Lookout Slough). This multi-benefit project restores tidal wetland habitat and produces food for Delta smelt and other fish species, while reducing overall flood risk in the Sacramento area.
More information
California Prepares for Extreme Weather Swings as New Water Year Approaches
On September 26, DWR previewed the new water year, which started on October 1, by highlighting preparations for more extreme weather events this season following a record hot summer across much of California and a looming La Niña pattern.
Briefing highlights
Briefing recording
Briefing presentation
California Preseason Flood Coordination Meetings
Each fall before the flood season begins, we conduct meetings with flood emergency response partners and county emergency operation officials throughout the state. Staff from emergency response agencies provide regional and local updates on annual flood preparedness activities, as well as an opportunity to coordinate.
2024 Preseason Flood Coordination Meetings
• Tuesday, Sept 10 – Sacramento
• Thursday, Sept 12 – Fresno
• Wednesday, Sept 18 – Butte
• Tuesday, Oct 8 – San Joaquin
• Thursday, Oct 10 – Alameda
• Tuesday, Oct 15 – Shasta
• Wednesday, Oct 16 – Mendocino
• Thursday, Oct 24 – Merced
• Tuesday, Oct 29 – Tulare
• Wednesday, Nov 13 – Napa
• Friday, Nov 15 – Monterey
• Wednesday, Nov 20 – San Bernardino
• Thursday, Nov 21 – Santa Barbara
FEMA’s Technical Mapping Advisory Council (TMAC)
DWR is participating in the TMAC’s administrative and sub-committee meetings to work on this year’s report, which will address validating FEMA’s flood hazard and flood risk methodologies and how the data can be used to effectively manage flood risk.
FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program
DWR will be presenting at the North Central Region Office’s National Flood Insurance Program Workshop on November 14 in the City of Suisun. This 8-hour workshop is intended to target regional NFIP communities (~90) to teach the basics of the NFIP, as well as FEMA’s new approaches to NFIP compliance.
Continued on next page
STATE NEWS (Continued)
Funding Opportunities
Grant Funding Available to Install or Upgrade Stream Gages
DWR announced a new partnership opportunity to support the state’s ability to measure stream and river flows through the California Stream Gage Improvement Program (CalSIP) as climate extremes continue to impact the state’s water supply.
As part of the approximately $7 million program, DWR is seeking to partner with public agencies to install, upgrade and/or reactivate existing stream gage stations. This effort will expand California’s ability to access critical data that can inform important water management decisions during both flood and drought conditions.
Funding for stream gaging under CalSIP is available for eligible public agencies and federally listed Tribes that have expertise and qualifications (or utilize external consultant technical support) in the installation and operation of a surface water monitoring station. Applications are reviewed monthly. The final deadline to submit an application is December 31, 2024.
Information about the grant program Stream Gage Improvement Map
Webinars
CNRA Secretary Speaker Series
Secretary Wade Crowfoot hosts monthly discussions with leaders and big thinkers from across California to discuss emerging natural resources issues. This open forum allows for new and different perspectives about how we best steward California’s resources. These events are public, live-streamed on YouTube, and recorded for later viewing.
More information about the series and links to materials shared during webinars
YouTube recordings of past webinars
Questions?
Nikki Blomquist, Advisor
California Department of Water Resources
Nikki.Blomquist@water.ca.gov (916) 820-7749
Salomon Miranda, Advisor California Department of Water Resources
Salomon.Miranda@water.ca.gov (818) 549-2347
RESTORING
Since 2006, WES has committed to restoring sensitive and degraded ecosystems, including floodplains. California’s floodplains are essential for controlling large inundation events and fight climate change protecting communities and species habitats.
STATE NEWS
(Continued)
Hawaii
See the latest news stories relating to Hawaii’s floodplain management issues. For the transformed flood information platform from Hawaii visit their exciting weekly blog at https://waihalana.hawaii.gov/
Some of the latest articles relate to the new flood maps affecting O’ahu homeowners, Maui County’s new floodplain administrator, and much more, provided by the DLNR Engineering Division.
For archived Wai Halana Newsletters (prior to 2018) https://dlnreng.hawaii.gov/nfip/wai-halana/
Nevada
Come visit Nevada’s website www.nevadafloods.org to find out what’s happening!
CALL FOR AWARDS COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Mary Keller
A kick off meeting will be held in January with bi monthly meeting until award submittals are reviewed in July. Please contact Mary Keller at mkeller@placer.ca.gov with interest.
The FMA awards committee is looking for some committee members. The positions open are as follows.
Nominations Coordinator:
Manage the online nominations form and compile received nominations for the committee to review.
Award Recipient Liaison:
Coordinate with committee-selected and FMA boardapproved award recipients to collect information needed, such as photos, mailing address, additional biography info, etc.
Awards Plaque Coordinator:
Coordinates ordering and delivery of awards plaques for award recipients. Coordinate with Award Recipient Liaison to obtain accurate information for the awards plaques, including recipient’s preferred name on the award, mailing address, etc.
Awards Program Editor:
Review the nomination justifications received and edit it for the conference program and posting on the FMA website.
Historian:
Be familiar with FMA Awards history and past recipients, in order to provide guidance to committee decisionmaking and selection of award winners.
CALL FOR ARTICLES!
The FMA Newsletter welcomes the input of its members and now our extended family of readership to contribute to the conversation! Keep the great articles coming! We need to hear from all of you. There’s always room for more to join the ranks of published authors. Showcase your programs, projects, tools, policies, regulations or ideas to hundreds of floodplain management professionals throughout the U.S.! Articles must be submitted in Word format to fmaed@floodplain. org and may contain 2-3 small pictures. Preferred length is less than 850 words.
For more details, call (916) 847-3778.
INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS
Floodplain Studies
Hydrology
Hydraulics
Dam Safety
Sediment & Scour
Flood Forecasting/ Warning
EMPOWERING THE NEXT GENERATION: FMA’S EMERGING PROFESSIONALS COMMITTEE
The Floodplain Management Association (FMA) recognizes the importance of nurturing the next generation of professionals in floodplain management. To this end, the Emerging Professionals (EP) Committee was established to provide resources, opportunities, and an innovative space for young professionals eager to contribute to the field.
The EP Committee focuses on several key areas:
• Leadership Development: Offering training programs to cultivate leadership skills among emerging professionals.
• Educational Opportunities: Organizing events such as “Lunch & Learns” and webinars to enhance knowledge on pertinent topics.
• Professional Networking: Facilitating connections through events like “Mentorship Meet & Greet Socials” to build robust professional relationships.
• Community Outreach: Engaging in initiatives that educate and support communities affected by flooding and related challenges.
A cornerstone of the EP Committee’s efforts is its Mentorship Program, designed to connect emerging professionals with experienced mentors in the industry.
This program aims to foster professional growth, provide guidance, and share valuable insights into career development within floodplain management.
The committee’s events have included:
• Mentorship Meet & Greet Socials: Informal gatherings that allow mentees and mentors to connect and discuss career paths.
• Lunch & Learns: Informative sessions covering topics such as flood equity and the impacts of redlining.
• Webinars: Virtual discussions on subjects like “Starting Your Own Business,” providing insights into entrepreneurship within the field.
These initiatives underscore the EP Committee’s commitment to fostering a supportive and engaging environment for emerging professionals in floodplain management. By offering diverse opportunities for learning, networking, and professional development, the committee plays a vital role in shaping the future of the industry.
For those interested in getting involved or learning more about the EP Committee’s activities, additional information is available at https://floodplain.org/ page/epaboutus.
Strengthening Our Nation’s Levee System
FOCUS ON PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION
Creating
LEVELING UP YOUR FLOOD-SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS WITH EDUCATIONAL GAMES
Rebecca Verity, Cindy Tejeda and Rachael Orellana
In recent years, water managers across the Arid West have been tested; navigating the high stakes impacts of repeated droughts and floods, while maintaining a clean water supply and keeping our communities safe. More and more agencies are looking for new approaches; innovation to improve management of both the dry years and wet. Frequently, we are also faced with the daunting tasks of identifying the costs of critical improvements and safeguards and explaining how to pay for it all. As water rates rise during drought and again after floods, our Boards, customers, and regulators, rightfully ask tough questions with complex answers:
• How can we bring ourselves and our staff quickly up to speed with the range of new solutions and begin to explore the benefits and cost-effectiveness of each?
• How can we best communicate to non-technical audiences the need, urgency, breadth, and benefits of such investments?
In this article, we review a non-traditional approach developed in a private-public partnership by flood managers and climate resilience experts to provide a creative, effective approach to answering both questions: a collaborative board game called That Dam Game! Playing a board game is not the obvious next step. But perhaps it should be. Here’s why:
Prioritizing how to spend limited resources on critical communal issues such as flood safety, and water management, is always challenging – particularly when multiple viewpoints are at the table. Conversations about flood risk and water supply can push on all our emotional buttons. Adrenaline spikes, and cortisol rises. Our brains and bodies are poised for action and opposition, not listening, learning, or collaboration. It’s not a great way to teach, compromise, or make communal decisions.
When the Nevada Silver Jackets were introduced to That Dam Game!, they partnered with game creators to host the game at the 2024 FMA Annual Conference. Over 40 local, state and federal agency representatives played, with moderators and presenters from USACE, NV Division of Water Resources, Clark County, and Carson City. The game embodies the Silver Jackets collaborative spirit, which recognizes that no single agency has the complete solution, but each has something to contribute.
“Playing That Dam Game! brought out productive conversation among strangers. It was a great ice breaker as each player shared their expertise and skill sets naturally. While playing the game, my team experienced a dam failure, and we discussed how, in the next round, we would prioritize [differently]. Experiencing life as a dam operator introduced me to a side of things that I don’t usually get to experience. I really enjoyed playing the game in a safe space without real life consequences.”
--Sarah Fichtner, NV State Floodplain Manager, NV Silver Jackets Team Lead
There are significant benefits of a game-based approach to communicating challenging messages. First, the simple act of playing improves learning. To get through the game, players are focusing their attention on key concepts such as “How much does this solution cost? What kind of benefits will it provide? What are my alternatives?” During play, the table discussions, successes and failures all bring new ways to learn. Second, collaborative games, as opposed to competitive games, invest team members in helping each other win. That is key: no matter who is at your table, if you are actively helping each other towards a
Players at the 2024 Floodplain Manager’s Association Conference in Henderson, NV, put their heads together to outsmart big weather.
common goal, you are also opening a door to mutual liking and trust. Those feelings can last long after the game is back on the shelf.
“Tabletop games, like the one used during the FMA Annual Conference, can bring key watershed representatives together to build shared understanding and identify actions needed to manage floods and droughts. With the growing impacts of climate change and aging infrastructure, these games present complex realities in a simple, accessible way, emphasizing the increasing importance of informed decision-making. This exercise aligns well with DWR’s newly launched Watershed Resilience Program, which, through five pilot watersheds, focuses on managing and adapting watersheds to meet current and future multi-sector water resources challenges.”
-- Romain Maendly, DWR’s Climate Action Coordinator
Finally, a game about serious topics can temporarily change the way we physiologically respond to those topics. Because a game is not real, defenses start out low, keeping stress low. Players cycle through laughter and faux despair, empathy, and triumph. Laughter and triumph reduce the stress hormones like cortisol and flood our systems with healthier hormones such as dopamine, endorphins, and oxytocin, which improve our mood, and increase receptiveness to new concepts. With stress low and happiness high, players with diverse expertise are more open to developing a shared understanding, to dialogue, and to considering new perspectives in pursuit of a shared win.
Eric Shearer, a research engineer with the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, enjoyed sharing his experience with Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO) while hearing his teammates’ (representing local, city, and state agencies and private engineering firms) different perspectives and priorities. He says:
“Working on FIRO for two years now, I have listened to many different perspectives of dam/reservoir stakeholders - this has taken it one step further by putting me in their shoes. The challenging thing about a dam is that it has so many different groups of people and agencies who rely on it for different purposes. Operating a dam requires knowledge of different perspectives and an understanding of how you might meet those different needs.”
In That Dam Game!, players invest to build dam resilience against big weather. The resilience menu is designed to include both traditional and innovative solutions, which collectively provide a wide array of benefits. Teams can build new campsites, solar power or spillways, improve forest health or fisheries, reduce wildfire risk or invest in FIRO, but will their choices provide the protection they need? As play commences, and weather impacts are felt, players operate their spillways, buy and sell water, and discover new lessons: that drought may be as costly as flood; smaller investments may have out-size payoffs and multi-benefit solutions truly can provide unexpected resilience. Games call on our creative skills, put us into a solution mindset, help us learn, and help us strategize. They can break down barriers and help us identify new ways to tackle hard problems together. These are features we all need, more than ever, to solve the coming tests that changing weather poses to our dams and water management practices.
That Dam Game! is designed to promote critical conversations in both professional and public audiences, from middle school up, and is ideal for staff or board exercises, stakeholder outreach, or even just a fun lunch at the office. The game is a collaboration of GEI Consultants, Inc. and Yuba Water Agency, with input from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. We’d love to help your team play, too.
CONVENING, COLLABORATING, CONNECTING AND VARIETY ARE THE SPICE OF FLOOD RISK COMMUNICATION
Lisa Messano
On the first day of this year’s annual FMA conference, a dedicated group of conference attendees joined the Risk-informed, Climate-aware, and Equitable Approaches to Better Communicate Flood Hazard and Risk panel during the lunch hour. In a session facilitated by Eric Simmons, FEMA Region 9, four panelists shared their insights as representatives for Federal, Regional, and State programs. They responded to the central question of ‘how can the floodplain management community do a better job communicating flood risk?’ The recurring themes of convening, collaborating, connecting, and the importance of variety stood out as elemental to communicating flood risk to the public.
Bunny Bishop, Chief, Water Planning & Drought Resiliency, Nevada DWR, started the panel with a breakdown on the theme of variety. As she advanced slides through the specifics of how Nevada Floods works to achieve the goal to create flood resilient communities in Nevada, she covered tactics such as story maps, billboards, public service announcements, High Water Mark campaigns, annual Flood Awareness activities, and in person events at schools. Another critically important tactic is to ask floodplain managers directly about what they need and how the State can support them. Residents want to hear about natural hazards and risk from their local officials, and the State serves as an important resource and support to the work floodplain managers are doing in their communities.
Dr. John Tennert, Regional Flood Control District, Clark County, framed floodplain management as keeping floods away from people and people away from floods. Rainfall studies conducted by the District help to develop a better understanding of the flood risk. And based on an assessment of extreme rainfall using climate model predictions, the District concluded rain events will happen less often but be more extreme when they do occur. Using real data collected from a series of rain gauges and whether stations throughout Clark County and climate model predictions helps the District to inform drainage infrastructure.
The District’s robust public communication efforts help to keep people away from floods using a variety of tactics, including paid advertising on billboards, TV, radio, print, an annual flash flood safety press conference and
proclamations, and social media. The District’s ‘water always wins’ outreach campaign alerts the public to the risks of flash flooding in Southern Nevada and a cartoon character named Drainger Danger educates up to 10,000 elementary school-aged children annually about the dangers of driving through flood water and playing in flood control facilities.
Surveys help measure the tactics that work best to communicate flood risk to the public. The District conducts a biennial survey of residents to gauge weather-related awareness. Extreme heat and drought placed ahead of floods/flash floods in the 2022 survey, but sixty-percent of Clark County respondents believe that floods are a threat.
Helene Schneider, Senior Regional Advisory, US Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), spoke about USICH’s role as the only federal agency solely dedicated to ending homelessness. They serve a coordinating role across 19 federal agencies, supporting all levels of government plus the private sector, and philanthropy to advance the most efficient and effective strategies. Ms. Schneider presented the ALL IN: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, a plan released in 2022 that offers a multi-year, interagency roadmap to end homelessness. She spoke about several resources and tools to help communities work with unhoused populations, including an online resource for communities before, during and after disasters called the USICH Research Roundup. Ms. Schneider also spoke about the soon-to-be-released Disaster Response Framework which focuses on lowerlevel incidents and identifies the need for tailored strategies to address the unique vulnerabilities of people experiencing homelessness. Due to the gap in services/ infrastructure in response between ‘steady-state’ and larger or more complex events, support for underserved populations during small-scale natural disasters, localized flooding, or extreme weather events requires nuanced and focused collaboration across all levels of government.
Lisa Messano, Michael Baker International, spoke from her perspective working with Federal, State, and local agencies leading outreach and community engagement efforts as FEMA contract support for 23 years. She observed how FEMA’s flood risk communication efforts have shifted in that time, noting that FEMA’s outreach efforts used to be more limited and focused on informing local community officials about the FEMA regulatory mapping process using highly technical information. Over the last 10 years, FEMA has been shifting to a more customer centric approach that considers how to communicate with data, and not just about data. Behavioral science and change management tools help to develop community insights, and narrative tools that use plain language and human-centered design, such
as story maps and storytelling, help community members to better understand what to do with the flood hazard and data, why, and how. She noted that historically we have used assessments and tools to quantify vulnerability in terms of infrastructure costs and dollar amounts. Vulnerability is also the opposite of adaptive capacity, meaning individuals in a high-risk place with low adaptive capacity are highly vulnerable. We need to think differently about how to communicate flood risk to the public because no matter how advanced our predictive capabilities become or how sophisticated our risk data is, narratives and storytelling will always beat analytical messaging when it comes to changing hearts and minds.
EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES TO TAKE CHARGE OF FLOOD RESILIENCE
Clark Barlow and Bradley Miller
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is known for its administration of the National Flood Insurance Program and associated Flood Insurance Rate Maps. While they identify areas where flood insurance is required and help keep new development from exacerbating flood problems, they do little to solve existing flood risk before a disaster occurs.
It makes sense. Mapping a flood hazard is only the first step in understanding and mitigating the associated risk. A community wanting to become more flood resilient faces numerous hurdles: funding, politics, technical expertise, stakeholder support—to name a few. What if we could remove barriers, empower communities and give them the tools to solve flooding issues on their own?
In Region 9, which includes Hawaii, California, Nevada and Arizona, FEMA conducted a new pilot project using resilience planning support funds. The goal was determining what data and processes could be leveraged as communities engage in resilience planning in the face of sea level rise and existing flood risk. This would be accomplished by partnering with a local community impacted by flooding and working together to develop and prioritize an actionable area drainage plan to address flooding issues. For the action plan to be useful to the community, it needed to:
• Provide a detailed understanding of the location, cause, and extent of flooding
• Identify actionable flood resilience opportunities
• Include a detailed Benefit-Cost Analysis
• Use stakeholder-driven scoring criteria to prioritize alternatives
For Region 9, the City and County of Honolulu (CCH) was a perfect partner. The low-lying Mapunapuna Industrial Area, built on top of old fishponds, has been plagued by flooding for years. The nearby Moanalua and Kalihi Streams run through economically critical areas and have a recent history of overtopping their banks. Other areas are prone to localized flooding due to a lack of storm drain infrastructure, and rising sea levels represent another threat, not just for the Mapunapuna area, but for other coastal areas around Hawaii.
In June 2021, Region 9 contracted with Strategic Alliance for Risk Reduction (STARR II) to deliver the project. FEMA and CCH made their objectives clear from the beginning. For FEMA, it was engaging local stakeholders. For CCH, it was ensuring the plan was “actionable” and not just an informative report.
The first step was better understanding existing flood risk. A holistic watershed approach was used to analyze flooding from all possible sources including storm drain, riverine, tidal and pluvial. Hydrologic models were then developed to determine hypothetical flowrates. A coupled 1D/2D hydraulic model was developed incorporating storm drains, river hydraulics, tidal boundary conditions including sea level rise and localized flooding using a rain-on-grid approach. The result was a comprehensive issues map enabling CCH to see thveir flood risk in a way they never could before.
The next step was identifying actionable resilience opportunities. Knowing options would be prioritized and scored based on stakeholder-driven criteria, it was important to develop and understand the criteria before recommending ideas for selection. Conceptual alternatives were created based on a comprehensive list of possible scoring criteria, including environmental benefits, impact to underrepresented communities, protecting against largest losses, minimizing permit requirements and more. These criteria were presented in a day-long workshop with technical stakeholders to gather feedback on which criteria mattered most to them.
This feedback helped narrow down the list of alternatives to those the community would most likely accept.
Once mitigation alternatives were developed, costbenefit analyses were performed. To make the study as “actionable” as possible, BCAs were developed in compliance with FEMA grant applications. This enhancement enabled the study to be used as a turnkey grant application, should CCH wish to pursue grant funding for the mitigation projects in the future.
In addition, the community was equally interested in learning about scenarios that were not viable from a cost-benefit perspective as they were about alternatives where the cost benefit was high.
Mitigation alternatives were further prioritized by evaluating and scoring their alignment with finalized stakeholder-driven criteria. A prioritization tool was developed to allow CCH to adjust the weights and scoring of different criteria in response to future community engagement and feedback. Current Honolulu floodplain ordinances were also reviewed and recommendations made to limit future development from exacerbating flood risk in the project area.
By the time the study was completed in May 2024, it had empowered the community in several ways because they now had:
• A comprehensive understanding of the cause, location and extent of flooding
• A prioritized list of actionable flood mitigation options that aligned with stakeholder preferences
• A FEMA-compliant BCA for each alternative that could be used to apply for further grant funding
• A list of recommended changes to local floodplain ordinances that would improve resiliency against flooding
The response from FEMA and the community was positive, and requests to perform similar studies came almost immediately. The path to resilience is still long, with project funding, detailed analysis, aerial topography, geotechnical analysis, permitting, right-ofway, plan development, constructability, utility conflicts and construction of a mitigation project needing to be completed. While the hope is the community implements recommended mitigation projects, the empowerment they feel to solve flooding issues may be the most important benefit of all.
FLOODIE JOY!
Eric Simmons
“Being a ‘floodie’ is an unexpected joy for someone who never expected to be working.” said Debbie Neddenriep, Water Resource Specialist with Carson Water Subconservancy District. The above is from the Thursday Night Evening Casino Party at the 2024 conference. It shows the benefits of connecting professionally as well as delight in helping students with FMA’s scholarship raffle. FMA now offers two, $10,000 scholarships and is raising money to have a third scholarship at next year’s conference. Photograph by Lisa Messano, with Michael Baker International, posted in the conference Guidebook app.
All of the wonderful newsletter articles this issue are based upon presented materials at the 2024 conference, with this testimonial from Debbie being the icing on the cake!
THE HIGH WATER MARK
The Newsletter of the Floodplain Management Association
