FMA NEWS THE NEWSLETTER OF THE FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
May 2018 - Volume 28, Issue 2
FMA NEWS The Newsletter of the floodplain management association May 2018 - Volume 28, Issue 2
Mission: To promote the common interest in reducing flood losses and to encourage the protection and enhancement of natural floodplain values.
Brian Brown - Director MBK Engineers brown@mbkengineers.com 916-456-4400
George Booth- Chair Sacramento County Boothg@saccounty.net 916-874-6484
Darren Suen – Director California DWR Darren.Suen@water.ca.gov 916-574-0653
Alex Yescas – Vice Chair Harris & Associates Alex.Yescas@WeAreHarris.com 800.827.4901
John Powderly - Director
Maria Lorenzo-Lee – Secretary California DWR Maria.Lorenzo-Lee@water.ca.gov 916-574-0625 Mike Nowlan - Treasurer Wood Rodgers, Inc. MNowlan@woodrodgers.com 916-326-5277 Andrew Trelease - Director Clark County RFCD ATrelease@regionalflood.org 702-685-0000 Connie Perkins - Director City of Sacramento CPerkins@cityofsacramento.org 916-808-1914 Salomon Miranda – Director California DWR Salomon.Miranda@water.ca.gov 818-549-2347 Brent Siemer – Director City of Simi Valley, DPW BSiemer@simivalley.org 805-583-6805 John Moynier – Director Stantec John.Moynier@stantec.com 916-773-8100
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Mark Seits – Past Chair HDR Engineering, Inc. Mark.Seits@hdrinc.com 858-712-8312 David Pesavento - Advisor California DWR David.Pesavento@water.ca.gov 916-574-0625 Alan Haynes - Advisor NOAA Alan.haynes@noaa.gov 916-979-3056 Eric Simmons - Advisor FEMA Region IX Eric.Simmons@fema.dhs.gov 510-627-7029 Carol Tyau-Beam - Advisor Hawaii DLNR Carol.L.Tyau@hawaii.gov 808-587-0267 Bunny Bishop – Advisor Nevada DWR 775-684-2834 bbishop@water.nv.gov Dianna Woods - Advisor ASFPM Dianna.Woods@co.yakima.wa.us 509-574-2328 Mary Seits - Executive Director Floodplain Management Association (760) 936-3676 mary.seits@floodplain.org
CONTENT
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A Note From The Chair
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Federal/ National News
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State News Call for Articles SWEPSYM Summary
6-9 11 12-13
Meet The Board
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Notice of Funding Opportunity
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Tribute to Carl Morrison
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FMA NEWS FMA NEWS
A NOTE FROM THE CHAIR By George Booth Our Floodplain Management Association is about managing flood risk, protecting life and property, and the many associated beneficial functions of floodplains. This year the Board is focusing on the third word in our name: association. We are working with committees and the conference planners to think about how we might better associate with each other. Our Membership Committee and Executive Director are working with the following numbers; apparently, there are 1549 people who associated with FMA, at least a time or two, in the past four years; however, with a recent Board decision the circulation of this newsletter is now over 4,000 who have a connection to FMA. These figures should be interesting to those of you with something to advertise in this newsletter.
Why should you attend the FMA Conference? •There are associates who might be interested in knowing about your product or services. •You will meet other local floodplain managers who share similar, interesting, or differing experiences. •If you are new to floodplain management, trying to stay above water (pun intended), you will find seasoned professionals with whom you could associate and kick around questions and ideas. •You can find someone to help you solve your nagging engineering puzzle. •Sometimes it is just nice to meet with other people fighting the same fights and surviving another day in this dynamic profession. We hope to associate with you soon.
To associate is to connect or bring into relationship as a companion, partner, or ally. An association is an organization of people with a common purpose and having a formal structure. The Board hopes that associates of the Association will meet others and enjoy associating. There has been so much, in some areas too much, going on this past year: fires, floods, mud, record storm in Hawaii, and some areas are still struggling with a drought. The FMA Board is excited about the September Conference and an opportunity to associate with members and hear about your experiences. We want to make the conference friendly and welcoming, so even the more bashful among us will associate with others. To take the gamble out of your attendance at the FMA Conference in Reno, there will be a jam-packed schedule of Association activities. We are planning various networking, team-building, and associating opportunities capped with the Thursday evening event. Very fun!
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SAVE THE DATE
California Extreme Precipitation Symposium Paleoclimate Insights for Planning Future Water Resources in California July 9, 2018 UC Davis Conference Center, Davis, CA MORE INFORMATION HERE
Floodplain Management Association Annual Conference September 4-7, 2018 Atlantis Resort – Reno, Nevada
FEDERAL/NATIONAL NEWS
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FEMA Updates: April 2018 • FEMA released its 2018-2022 Strategic Plan with three goals: build a culture of preparedness, ready the nation for catastrophic disasters, and reduce the complexity of FEMA programs. • FEMA’s release of revised Risk MAP Standards and Guidance was February 2018. This delay from the Fall allowed for ongoing disaster operations. CLICK HERE TO LEARN ABOUT THE CHANGES
• Highlights on how the Nation saves by being prepared for hazards is available in a new report by the National Institute of Building Science. Mitigation is a key component of resilience and the newly released report authored demonstrates the financial benefits of loss reduction activities. The report updates benefit-cost ratios for several types of mitigation measures and is available HERE
For an update of the latest disaster declarations CLICK HERE
For information on Flood Insurance Reform – Rates and Refunds CLICK HERE
FMA NEWS
STATE NEWS California
1. Retrofits to Perris Dam Reduces Seismic Risk. DWR completed a major retrofit to Perris Dam in Riverside County as part of a statewide effort to reduce seismic risks to dams. MORE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE HERE
2. Metropolitan Water District Votes to Support WaterFix: Statement from DWR Director Nemeth. The Metropolitan Water District Board (MWD) voted 61% to 39% in support of California WaterFix in its entirety. DWR released this statement from Director Karla Nemeth regarding the Board’s decision. MORE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE HERE
3. DWR Finalizes $85.8 Million in Grants for Local Implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. DWR announced awarding $85.8 million in grants for groundwater sustainability projects that directly benefit severely disadvantaged communities. MORE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE HERE
4. Statewide Water Content Still Far Below Average Despite Late Winter Storms. April 2nd’s snow survey by the California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program indicates that water content in the statewide mountain snowpack increased from 23 percent of the March 1 average to 52 percent of today’s historical average. MORE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE HERE
5. Tree-Ring Study Reveals Historical Drought Record in Southern California. As part of ongoing work to improve California’s preparedness for dry conditions and better adapt to climate change, DWR has released results of a study examining Southern California tree-ring data, and the centuries-long story the tree-rings reveal. MORE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE HERE
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6. DWR, Local Agencies Commemorate Completion of State Water Project’s East Branch Extension. DWR and local partners commemorated the completion of a project to extend the State Water Project’s East Branch Aqueduct to bring additional supplies to communities in eastern San Bernardino County on February 22, 2018. MORE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE HERE
7. East Porterville Water Supply Project Connects 755 Homes. A partnership of state and local agencies, working to help homeowners affected by California’s multi-year drought, finished connecting 755 homes to a safe, reliable, permanent water supply.
Hawaii Keep our friends in Hawaii in your thoughts and prayers over the coming months as they wrestle with the aftermath of flooding (4 feet of rain in two days) and now lava! We are sure that they are being kept busy serving the communities in the state of Hawaii and assisting in their recovery. Because things have been so busy, the latest Wai Halana newsletter is from December 2017. There will be plenty to write about, after all the hard work is done. Stay tuned. If you know Carol Tyau be sure to offer her some words of encouragement. WAI HALANA NEWSLETTER
MORE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE HERE
8. DWR to Invest Millions in Groundwater Sustainability for Disadvantaged Communities and Local Agencies. DWR announced $85.8 million in grants for groundwater sustainability projects that directly benefit severely disadvantaged communities, and for local agency development of Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs). MORE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE HERE
9. DWR Recommends Funding for Water Desalination Projects. The Department of Water Resources (DWR) held a public meeting on Feb. 5 to present draft funding recommendations for the Water Desalination Grant Program, Round 4. MORE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE HERE
10. DWR Responds to Latest Independent Report on Oroville. The Independent Forensic Team (IFT) released additional findings from its review of the February 2017 Lake Oroville Spillways incident. The report builds on the IFT’s interim memo from September 2017 that identified physical causes of the incident. MORE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE HERE
11. Report of the Activities of DWR to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board: JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH FMA NEWS
STATE NEWS (CONTINUED)
Nevada
The Nevada Division of Water Resources Floodplain Management Program and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are hosting two free Nevada Nature Based Flood Mitigation Workshops in June 2018. The workshops will provide community leaders, local officials, stakeholders and the engineering community with information regarding natural solutions to flooding and local flooding issues. Both workshops will have a webinar/ conference call for remote participation. Earn Continuing Education Credits! 5 CFM Credits (in person attendance) 1 CFM Credit (webinar participation) 5 PE Professional Development Hours Carson City –Tuesday, June 12, 2018 9:00 AM –4:30 PM University of Nevada, Cooperative Extension 2621 Northgate Lane, Suite 12 Carson City, NV 89706 Las Vegas –Thursday, June 14, 2018 9:00 AM –4:00 PM Henderson Code Enforcement Building 2101 Moser Drive Henderson, NV 89011 Please register by June 4. Submit your name, organization, workshop location, and continuing education credit request to: MARGARET.C.ENGESSER@USACE.ARMY.MIL WEBINAR INFORMATION
(Click the link to enter the web space, then select the “Call Me” option and have the meeting dial in to your phone) Phone Only: 877-336-1829 Code: 8841488 Security Code (if requested): 1111 Events Sponsored by:
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CALL FOR ARTICLES! The FMA Newsletter has undergone a makeover and we are awaiting your contributions! Utilize our new format to showcase your programs, projects, tools, policies, regulations or ideas with interactive links and engaging design. Please provide an unformatted Word document of your story without embedded images to MARYSEITS@FLOODPLAIN.ORG. You can signify formatting with brackets: [bullet all lists], [bold paragraph headers] etc. •Images
you wish to be included with your article must not be embedded in the Word document; send them separately and labeled with names corresponding to where you’d like them used in the Word document. •Articles must have a brief title and a byline. •Supply a high-resolution headshot of the author. •Article length should be no more than 850 words. •Please include an “About the Author” post script, to provide our audience with the context of your perspectives. •Avoid using too many bulleted lists, diagrams or graphs in your article. YOU CAN CONTACT DGARRISON@SMITHMOOREASSOC.COM WITH ANY QUESTIONS.
in design, nature is our best teacher.
www.trwengineering.com
Tory r. Walker engineering
r e l i a b l e s o l u T i o n s i n WaT e r r e s o u r c e s
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760-414-9212 FMA NEWS
SWEPSYM SUMMARY By Forest Cannon The inaugural Southwest Extreme Precipitation Symposium (SWEPSYM), co-sponsored by the Floodplain Management Association and the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E), was held at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, CA (Pictured Below) on March 29th.
SWEPSYM was held at the Robert Paine Scripps Forum on
SWEPSYM was established to focus attention on precipitation extremes in Southwestern North America, and their impact on regional hydrology and water resource management.
the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Campus in La Jolla, CA. photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
Dr. Matthew Kirby of CSU-Fullerton delivers a presentation on the use of lake sediments to reveal Southern California ’s history of droughts and flooding.
FMA NEWS
The theme for the inaugural event was: Southwest U.S. Droughts and Floods: Past Events and Future Changes. The Symposium brought together researchers, engineers, and practitioners to exchange technical and scientific information about the various factors responsible for producing extreme precipitation and the hydrologic processes responsible for generating runoff in semi-arid and arid areas, both in a historical context and with an eye towards projected changes in the coming decades. Various topics related to flooding and drought in the Southwest were presented by a diverse group of speakers from academic institutions, government agencies and public utilities. Among the speakers was Dr. Marty Ralph, Director of CW3E at Scripps, who presented on recent developments in understanding the meteorological origins of extreme precipitation in Southwestern U.S., and Jeanine Jones, Interstate Resources Manager for the California Department of Water Resources, who discussed the need for improved precipitation forecasting for better Colorado River Basin drought contingency planning.
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The Symposium’s agenda additionally included talks featuring both historical perspectives and climate projections, providing insight on how current conditions compare to historical climate, and what changes are to be expected. For example, Dr. Matthew Kirby (pictured below), Professor of Geological Sciences at Cal State Fullerton, delivered a presentation titled Lake Sediments Reveal Southern California’s Long History of Droughts, Pluvials, and Floods, demonstrating the value of taking a historical perspective on understanding the current state and future fate of water resources in the Southwest. His talk was complemented by a presentation by Dr. Alex Hall, Professor of Atmospheric Science at UCLA, who discussed research results indicating robust evidence for increasing precipitation extremes in California based on an ensemble of downscaled climate projections. Dr. Mike Anderson, the California State Climatologist, capped the day’s talks with a presentation on informational needs for long-term water resource management and planning in the Southwest, which synthesized how research can support water management, regionally. Speakers were re-convened in a panel (pictured below) at the end of the morning and afternoon sessions to discuss how to translate novel research that improves understanding of precipitation and hydrology in the Southwest into actionable information that benefits engineering, water management, flood control, and agriculture.
Pictured from left to right: Dr. Matthew Kirby, CSU-Fullerton; Jeanine Jones, DWR; Dr. Michael Dettinger, USGS; Dr. Amanda Sheffield, NOAA-NIDIS; Dr. Marty Ralph, Scripps.
Additional Scientific Details Southwestern US water resources are dependent on precipitation that exhibits significant interannual variability, primarily due to the dominant influence of extreme precipitation events on annual precipitation. Adding to the complexity in understanding the role of extreme events in southwestern US flooding and drought development is the region’s bimodal precipitation distribution; featuring significant contributions from both atmospheric rivers during winter and the North American monsoon in summer. Despite the large body of published work on both atmospheric rivers and the North American monsoon, gaps remain in understanding, observing and predicting these weather phenomena. SWEPSYM focused attention on the continued investigation of the origins and impacts of both ARs and monsoon precipitation, as well as their role in flooding and drought development in historical and climate change contexts. Furthermore, the Symposium brought together researchers and stakeholders with a goal of improving communication and collaboration between the two groups for advancing understanding of the hydrologic cycle in the Southwest and improving regional water security.
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MEET THE BOARD We are happy to welcome David Pesavento to the FMA Board Of Directors David Pesavento is a registered Civil Engineer who has worked at the Department of Water Resources for 10 years. David graduated from California State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, with an emphasis in Water Resources. David spent 11 years in land development. In the private sector, David designed residential, commercial, and industrial sites, as well as infrastructure. In 2008 David started working at California’s Department of Water Resources inspecting California’s State-federal flood system and was quickly promoted to Chief of the Flood Project Inspection Section for six years. This included inspecting the channels, structures, and 1,600 miles of levee while working with local, State, and federal partners and working emergency response for water related emergencies through the CA-State-Federal Flood Operations Center. For the past three years, David has worked in communicating flood related topics, including flood risk, to other agencies and the public. This includes participating in California Silver Jackets and working with CalOES to better prepare for natural disasters. David is currently collaborating with a team to design a new setback levee in the Yolo Bypass. David joined the FMA Board as the Advisor from CA DWR in 2017 and has been on the planning committee for the past three FMA conferences. In addition to working with FMA and DWR David is an active volunteer in his community in Sacramento County with his wife and three daughters. He is an avid gardener and enjoys spending time doing a number of outdoor activities.
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ANNOUNCEMENT – ECONOMIC DISASTER ASSISTANCE Notice of Funding Opportunity EDA 2018 RESILIENCE GRANT OPPORTUNITY for federally declared disaster areas in 2017! The US Economic Development Administration (EDA) recently announced a new funding opportunity for disaster recovery project activities. •No deadline for application •Projects must be related to disaster declared counties •$93,810,000 allocated for West coast •$587 million available nationwide On April 10, 2018, EDA released the Disaster Supplemental Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) with general policies and application procedures. THIS DOCUMENT CAN BE DOWNLOADED HERE
U.S. Department of Commerce Disaster Recovery Investment Priorities: CLICK HERE April 10, 2018 Press Release, U.S. Department of Commerce Announces Availability of $587 Million to Aid Communities Impacted by Natural Disasters in 2017: CLICK HERE Subject to the availability of funds, this investment assistance will help communities and regions devise and implement longterm economic recovery strategies through a variety of non-construction and construction projects, as appropriate, to address economic challenges in areas where a Presidential declaration of a major disaster was issued under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. § 5121 et seq.) (Stafford Act) as a result of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, and of wildfires and other natural disasters occurring in calendar year 2017. For more information: EDA WEBSITE FAQS
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Please read the FY 18 Disaster Supplemental Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) carefully for all of EDA’s eligibility and program requirements under this announcement. From the NOFO: “EDA funds can be awarded to assist a wide variety of activities related to disaster recovery, including economic recovery strategic planning grants, and public works construction assistance. ... Through this program, EDA can support both the development of disaster recovery strategies and the implementation of recovery projects identified with those strategies, including infrastructure improvements and by capitalizing revolving loan funds (RLFs). ... EDA encourages the submission of applications based on long-term, regionally oriented, coordinated and collaborative economic development or redevelopment strategies that foster economic growth and resilience.” EDA REGIONAL CONTACTS: California (Coastal and Northern) Malinda Matson mmatson@eda.gov 916-235-0088 California (Central and Southern), Nevada Wilfred Marshall Wmarshall@eda.gov 310-348-5386 Please spread the word about this amazing opportunity!
CARL MORRISON WILL BE DEEPLY MISSED
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FMA NEWS THE NEWSLETTER OF THE FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
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