The High Water Mark - Volume 30, Issue 3

THE HIGH

WATER MARK

THE NEWSLETTER OF THE FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION

2020 - Volume 30, Issue 3

THE HIGH

WATER MARK The Newsletter of the Floodplain Management Association August 2020 - Volume 30, Issue 3 Mission: To promote the common interest in reducing flood losses and to encourage the protection and enhancement of natural floodplain values.

Alex Yescas - Chair HDR Engineering, Inc. 858-712-8283

Darren Suen - Director Central Valley Flood Protection Board 916-574-0609

Jeremy Lancaster - Advisor California Geological Survey 916-445-1825

Mike Nowlan - Vice Chair Wood Rodgers, Inc. 916-326-5277

Millicent Cowley-Crawford - Director Woodward & Curran 415-321-3421

Salomon Miranda - Advisor California DWR 818-549-2347

Connie Perkins - Gutkowsky - Secretary Central Valley Flood Protection Board 916-480-5386

Brian Walker - Director City of Roseville 916- 746-1349

Alan Haynes - Advisor NOAA 916-979-3056

Brent Siemer - Treasurer City of Simi Valley, DPW 805-583-6805

Kyle Gallup - Director Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District 951-955-1265

Eric Simmons - Advisor FEMA Region IX 510-627-7029

Abigail Mayrena - Director Clark County RFCD 702-685-0000 John Moynier Vince Geronimo - Director Mead and Hunt 916-993-4606 Brian Brown - Director City of West Sacramento 916-617-4559

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George Booth - Past Chair Sacramento County 916-874-6484 Kelly Soule - Advisor California DWR 916-574-1205 Jose Lara - Advisor California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) 916-845-8883

Carol Tyau-Beam - Advisor Hawaii DLNR 808-587-0267 Erin Warnock - Advisor Nevada DWR 775-684-2890 Jeanne Ruefer - Advisor HWC INC 775-722-7395 Mary Seits - Executive Director Floodplain Management Association 760-936-3676

CONTENT

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A Note From The Chair

4

Federal/National News

6

State News

8-9

Meet the Board

13

Call for Articles

14

Flood Risk Communication

16-17

NOAA/NWS Update

18-19

We Have A Rich History

20 -21

Reducing Flood Damage in a Crawlspace

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FMA NEWS

A NOTE FROM THE CHAIR

By Alex Yescas Hello Fellow Floodplain Managers, I am hoping that you and your families are all doing well during this most unusual period. This has been an unprecedented summer; around this time, my family and I would have been coming back from our annual trip to Baja.

Instead, we chose a weekend getaway to the local southern California mountains. Similar to our daily work lives, we have all adjusted as best as we can to what many people describe as the “new normal” during this COVID-19 event.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding us, we all have projects that require our attention in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis.

In order to keep projects moving, we need funding to support the work. As I have mentioned in past newsletters, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has developed its revamped hazard mitigation grant program known as the Building Resilient Infrastructure Communities (BRIC) program. This is a great source to help fund your flood mitigation projects.

Our annual conference is right around the corner (September 8-11, 2020) and we are excited to be offering our first ever virtual event. We have excellent speakers and presenters scheduled throughout the week and will have a large number of attendees from both the public and private sectors. I would like to thank our Conference Planning Committee and our Executive Director Mary Seits for leading the planning of this unique virtual conference.

I would also like to thank our sponsors for continuing to support the association so that we can deliver the premier flood conference in the western United States. I look forward to seeing you all (virtually) next month!

SAVE THE DATE Southwest Extreme Precipitation Symposium (SWEPSYM) Integrating Water, Flood, and Stormwater Management Infrastructures with Enhanced Observations and Forecasting Postponed to October, 2020 Due to Pandemic TBA – Tempe, AZ Floodplain Management Association Annual Conference September 8-11, 2020 Virtual Conference Venue 1. We have gone virtual! We will use the Hubilo platform and it’s not too late to register. In fact, you can even register the day of the conference. Please register asap here 2. A great line up of keynotes, panels, tech sessions and even game nights is in store!

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Keynotes include: Plenary I: Colonel Handura, Commander of the Sacramento District, will share his vision for engaging with the region's stakeholders to advance flood risk management and protection, and what he sees on the horizon as we prepare for the next generation of flood challenges.

Plenary II: Panel – “Insurance Innovations: It’s not your Grandmother’s Flood Insurance” When NFIP’s flood insurance rating was created in the late 70’s, it could easily be done with a pencil and paper…and maybe a calculator. But much has changed in 40+ years.

Tune in for the revolutionizing of the flood insurance industry.

Plenary III: Ryan Buras, Deputy Director, California OES will provide an overview of flood hazard mitigation approaches in the State of California. These approaches encourage information sharing and the coordination of a unified approach to flood hazard mitigation efforts across the State. He will discuss funding opportunities, including Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Building Resilient Infrastructure Communities (BRIC), Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA), and Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) grants.

1. Over 20 panels, 18 technical sessions, and 10 workshops all with topics ranging from NFIP Updates, Grants, Legal Issues, Mapping and Modeling, Emerging Professionals, 408 Authorization, Covid-19 Lessons Learned, and much much more!

2. Game Nights with Vince Geronimo! Join Vince from 5:006:00 pm on Tuesday and Thursday to refresh and associate!

3. Headwaters to Floodplains (H2F) Game Night! 5:006:00 pm on Wednesday evening. This Jeopardy style engagement opportunity is sure to be a blast!

4. Our virtual platform provides a unique opportunity for exhibit booths. Be sure to visit, chat and associate with each vendor during the breaks.

5. Networking lounge! Again, the virtual platform offers a lounge where you can meet up with others for one-to-one chats or join a conversation with many.

6. Contest!! We will be holding a contest to see who can accumulate the most points during the virtual conference.

The winner receives a $100 gift card. You earn points by attending sessions, visiting exhibit booths, participating in chats, rating speakers, setting up your profile, etc. Just about everything you do has a point value attached to it.

Should be fun!

Look forward to having you all join in for the first ever FMA Virtual Conference!

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Leading with Science® Tetra Tech is pleased to be ranked #1 in Water

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Our commitment to safety is ingrained in our culture and at the forefront of every project.

FEDERAL/NATIONAL NEWS FEMA Updates • Proposed policy was announced earlier this year on the new mitigation funding program called Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC). Comments and input were due to FEMA in May 2020. A series of webinars on BRIC have been given this summer and are viewable on FEMA’s YouTube channel.

• A major effort currently at FEMA is preparations for hurricane and wildfire season amid the pandemic. An abovenormal 2020 hurricane season (campaign website from the NFIP) is expected according to NOAA and Hurricane Douglas passed close to Hawaii in late July.

• FEMA’s Office of the Flood Insurance Advocate released their annual report identifying policyholder and property owner concerns and frustrations.

• The National Flood Insurance Program and federal budget are currently authorized until the end of the federal fiscal year (September 30, 2020).

For an update of the latest disaster declarations CLICK HERE

For information on Flood Insurance Reform – Rates and Refunds CLICK HERE NEWS RELEASES NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

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We Make a Difference 7

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Delivering innovative, cost-effective and sustainable solutions integrating water, people and the environment Watershed & Stream Corridor Planning • Flood Risk Management Flood Studies & Modeling • Ecosystem Restoration Climate Change • Community Planning • Geospatial & LiDAR

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STATE NEWS California 1. DWR Awards $28 Million in Grants for Local Flood Risk Reduction Projects in Small Communities Three small disadvantaged communities in the Central Valley will receive $28 million in grant funding as part of DWR's commitment to support projects that reduce flood risk to people and property.

Hawaii For archived Wai Halana Newsletters CLICK HERE

For the new transformed flood information platform from Hawaii visit their exciting new weekly blog HERE

FULL STORY

2. How Sheds Help Ensure Healthy Water Quality for Millions of Californians You may have noticed them on trips down the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, small buildings, just 10 feet by 12 feet, sticking up out of the water.

These buildings are part of the DWR Continuous Environmental Monitoring Program (CEMP) and house state-of-the-art water quality sampling and recording technology.

FULL STORY

3. Sustainable Groundwater Management Grant Program – Virtual Public Meeting On July 31, 2020, DWR announced a 45-day public comment period for the Draft SGM Grant Program Proposition 68 Implementation Proposal Solicitation Package (PSP). The public

comment period will close at 5 p.m. on September 18, 2020.

FULL STORY

For current precipitation and runoff conditions visit DWR’s websit here.

FMA NEWS

Nevada Nevada Floodplain Management Program: The Nevada Division of Water Resources (NDWR) Floodplain Management Program has always strived to provide consistent ongoing outreach efforts and presence in the public, from the classroom or at large events in communities throughout the State. We are now navigating how we can continue to provide outreach during this time that has eliminated our previous methods.

Nevada Outreach: Our team is currently drafting a Request for Proposal in which we will be seeking a contracted partner to assist us in creating grade school curriculum. The curriculum will go hand in hand with some of our other virtual outreach materials.

All Things Stormwater 9

These materials include our Flood Fighter interactive computer game and our Story Maps that allow for an interactive learning experience about the history surrounding Nevada’s major rivers. The curriculum will be designed to build a more in-depth and age specific learning experience on top of our outreach material. We have some great ideas, we just need that partner with knowledge and credentials to help bring this to life in the classroom, or virtual classroom.

We hope by making it versatile, we will be aiding teachers by giving them access to at home material in their back pocket.

We are excited to announce that NDWR will be hosting National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and Elevation Certificate virtual workshops in the fall. Our team has been working with Region IX and a contractor to bring this all together.

The dates for these virtual workshops will be announced in the near future. The bi-annual Nevada Floodplain Management Newsletter will be released near the end of August. Once the newsletter is published, it can be found at http://nevadafloods.org/index.html.

The Dam Safety Emergency Action Plan and Table Top Exercise Workshop, hosted by NDWR and USACE Silver Jackets will be held virtually on August 26th. For more information on this workshop please email NVSilverJackets@ usace.army.mil.

Stormwater Design • Hydrology & Hydraulics Flood Hazard Mitigation • Watershed Planning

Q3 Consulting Q3consulting.net

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WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERING

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  CLIENTS INCLUDE: US Army Corps of Engineers Nat’l Flood Insurance Program Participating Communities Federal Emergency Management Agency California Department of Water Resources Tennessee Valley Authority

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Site Specific PMP Studies Stream Restoration Water Quality & Contaminant Transport Modeling Groundwater Dam Breach Inundation Mapping & Emergency Action Plans Training and Technical Support

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www.westconsultants.com FMA NEWS

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MEET THE BOARD ERIN WARNOCK

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I was born and raised in Davis, California where I grew up close to extended family and spent a lot of time playing sports and being outdoors. I came to Nevada to earn my B.S. in Geology from the University of Nevada, Reno. I began my career the day after graduation, working for the Nevada Division of Water Resources, Dam Safety Program over three years ago. I was so grateful to have landed a great job right out of the gates and soon realized this was somewhere I could see myself working, growing and enjoying for a long time. As team a member of the Dam Safety Program I performed dam inspections, assisted in the permitting process of both dams and water rights, managed annual dam storage fees, and was the lead in Emergency Action Plan outreach and approvals. Although I enjoyed working with Dam Safety, when the State Floodplain Manager position opened up, I knew it could be a whole new adventure and really challenge me to grow as a professional. I became the new Nevada State Floodplain Manager and NFIP Coordinator this year in February. I’m happy to still be a part of the Nevada Division of Water Resources and gain more knowledge in my new role.

Using technology to mitigate natural disasters Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico in 2017, dropping more than 35 inches of rain – washing out roads, bridges and homes. At least 35 dams, including the 90-year old Guajataca Dam near the city of Quebradillas, experienced damage and required immediate evacuation.

The potential for dam breach was high.

In non-COVID-19 times, my job would be taking me to conferences, workshops, and outreach all around. Not only do I look forward to these events, but I when I can, I like to try to block out some vacation time to explore the new places my job takes me. I really enjoy seeing new sights (especially if they are geologic) and tasting new cuisine.

In my free time I love to get outside as much as possible, this includes camping, hiking, trail running, paddle boarding, swimming, rock hunting, and if I can do it with family and friends, that’s even better!

In my down time, I love hanging at home with my cat and enjoying a new healthy recipe.

DSS-WISE™ software enabled us to develop two-dimensional dam breach mapping.

Our teams are using advanced technology to help support and protect our communities.

Scan the code for current career opportunities.

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With offices throughout California, Hawaii and Nevada, AECOM is ready to meet your floodplain, mitigation and resilience needs.

atkinsglobal.com FMA NEWS

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 Mary.Seits@Floodplain.org and may contain 2-3 small pictures. Preferred length is less than 850 words.

For more details call (760) 936-3676.

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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RELIABLE SOLUTIONS: • Watershed Management • Floodplain Management • Storm Water Management • River Restoration • Flood Facilities Design • Sedimentation and Erosion FMA NEWS

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FLOOD RISK COMMUNICATIONS Eric Simmons, FEMA Region IX First Street Foundation, or FSF, reported on

June 29th that 14.6 million properties are at a high-risk for flood damage; 5.9 million more than in the special flood hazard area. Coverage of the data release by the non-profit FSF has been ample and varied. Flood mapping brings up many related issues: affordability, building codes, environmental justice, future conditions, infrastructure maintenance, land use, map accuracy, property values as well as risk management. Now we can add that the mapping need not just be from the government.

Riverine, coastal and pluvial analyses by FSF are on Flood Factor which provides a simple flood risk score of 1 to 10 for 142 million properties.

A score is based on cumulative likelihood of flooding at different flood depths as shown in FSF’s graphic below. It’s worth noting that no building has zero flood risk. FSF’s data has

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been aggregated by neighborhood, state and in a national report. Some claim the lack of robust and well-maintained infrastructure is the threat. More argue the culprit is sea level rise and intensifying rains. Others blame FEMA because the hazard has been under mapped with flooding sources unstudied and some communities not having a Flood Insurance Rate Map. The cause of flood risk and future losses, however, is human occupancy and development in the floodplain not constructed to withstand the hazard.

FSF calculated for California that almost 1.1 million properties, or about 9% of the state’s total, are at a high-risk of flood damage while FEMA’s maps indicate about 495,000 buildings are flood prone. That’s more than double! And flood risk is getting worse. In addition to present day analyses FSF’s data incorporates 2050 hazard projections.

Their conclusion is another 1.5 million properties nationwide and 60,000 in California will be at a high-risk of flood damage in 30 years.

FEMA flood maps remain the backbone for floodplain management, but they are not geared towards informing individuals of flood risk. FSF’s work is complementary to Flood Insurance Rate Maps which have a different use and design than the data on Flood Factor. FEMA has not evaluated FSF’s new data. ASFPM reports the Flood Factor data may be useful in making broad management or planning decisions or inform risk in a nonconsequential manner. Many will be watching how the mapping on Flood Factor evolve with plans to add more precise data on dams and stormwater systems as well as information for Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

Related Press Highlights: California WaterBlog, Engineering News-Record, National Association of Realtors, Scientific American & The New York Times

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NOAA/NWS UPDATE Alan Haynes, Hydrologist in Charge, California Nevada River Forecast Center Water Supply

Period of Record for HEFS Traces Changes

April-July runoff from the Sacramento Basin ended up about 64% of average or about 79% of the median, while it was 56% of average or 63% of the median for the San Joaquin Basin.

Since the recalibration effort will rely on data from 1980 onward, instead of 1950 onward, the traces from the Hydrologic Ensemble Forecast Service (HEFS) will change. Instead of about 60 traces there will now be about 40.

Projected El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Phase ENSO-neutral conditions are currently present in the Tropical Pacific. There is a near equal chance of either ENSO-neutral conditions persisting or La Nina conditions developing in the fall of 2020 and continuing in the winter. (See Fig. 1) CNRFC Major Activities and Announcements Re-Calibration For All CNRFC Basins This Year Each year the CNRFC re-calibrates a subset of its hydrologic basins on a 6-year rotating basis. This year, the CNRFC is switching over to calibrate all basins more closely to its operational observational network. Figure 2 summarizes the changes in observed forcings used to calibrate the CNRFC’s hydrologic model.

New Precipitation and Temperature Forcings for HEFS Starting in Fall Since the introduction of HEFS forecasts around 2011, HEFS has used a frozen version of the Global Ensemble Forecast System (GEFS) known as “version 10” to produce forcings in the form of mean areal precipitation (MAP) and mean areal temperature (MAT).

Starting in the fall of 2020, HEFS will start using version 12 of the GEFS. Users may notice little difference but the GEFS v12 model has improved resolution and underlying physics compared to GEFS v10.

Figure 1

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Figure 2

Harness the power of cloud computing Flood Cloud enables users of HEC-RAS to seamlessly undertake flood modeling, at any scale, in the cloud. It delivers the on demand computational resource required to deliver the step change needed for better information on flooding.

 Improved models: More calibration and validation  Quicker results: Access high performance hardware on demand  Greater analysis: Run more plans to enable better decisions  Increased accuracy: Improved understanding of model confidence

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WE HAVE A RICH HISTORY Michael C. Nowlan Awards are a direct representation of our feelings towards specific people and their accomplishments. They can be as rich or empty as we choose to make them. They can be extremely rewarding, even to the onlooker, when we seek to understand the details and difficulties (usually) associated with the effort to achieve the award. The only folks who claim to see awards as empty gestures are the ones who don’t want to put in the effort in the first place. Don’t worry, secretly they too are acknowledging that awards are noteworthy, or should be, by their protestations.

There are different sports within the Olympics, so there are multiple medals given out every four years, each with their own level of significance, as it is within our association.

The time and effort to become a champion at gymnastics is completely different from table tennis, and rightly so.

Of course, there are potentially some awards in society that are politically influenced, or perhaps signifying nothing other than showing up. With our Floodplain Management Association, all of our awards are truly based on merit. We look at our awards as the Olympics does (they will be back one day); one gold medal at a time.

At this point you may be asking what the point of this article is. Basically, it is an introduction to the importance of honoring and remembering our current and past floodplain managers, by commemorating their important contributions. Great awards should celebrate the lives of those we honor, while also inspiring

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There are some awards that acknowledge a very focused effort, and some that acknowledge longer term cumulative efforts, like sprinting and long distance running. Bursts of strength and perseverance both are praiseworthy in our profession of floodplain management.

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others to do better. They can also go much deeper when the awards themselves are a memorial of a special individual(s).

It is a definite achievement to receive an award, and nothing should diminish that, but it is a whole different level to have an award named after you. Did you know that four of FMA’s annual awards are named after specific people? Do you know any details about the lives and accomplishments of these FMA Hall of Fame Superstars? Well, in the coming newsletters we will explore together the amazing contributions of these people who made their lasting mark on our profession. The FMA Board wants to intentionally help preserve their legacy. This newsletter should be a great vehicle for these in-depth retrospectives. Such tributes deserve to be read with greater solemnity and quiet contemplation, instead of over a microphone while people are eating their lunch and having side conversations. If you’ve taken the time to read this newsletter and article, then you are likely someone who values remembering and honoring those who lead our profession.

We should always take the time to remind ourselves of who and what matters in our lives, particularly during this time with all that is happening in our world.

FMA NEWS

ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE TO PROTECT A FLOOD-PRONE HOUSE OR BUSINESS WITH A CRAWLSPACE The ASFPM Nonstructural Flood Proofing Committee recently prepared and released a guide for reducing flood damage and flood risk to homes and businesses containing a crawlspace.

This guide provides a step-by-step decisionmaking process for home owners and business owners who want to reduce their exposure to flood damage and potentially lower their flood insurance premiums. .

While it is advisable to consult with your local floodplain management administrator on regulatory and flood insurance requirements, this guide is intended to provide basic flood risk reduction advice for structures containing a crawlspace.

2019 Floodplain Management Association Annual Conference

Flood Management Solutions From Concept to Completion Coastal and Riverine Flood Management Vulnerability Analysis Habitat Restoration Climate Change Permitting + Compliance Betty Andrews, PE bandrews@esassoc.com 707.795.0900

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This guide can be found and downloaded from the ASFPM Nonstructural Flood Proofing Committee webpage, here.

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Participate in the discussion on the FMA facebook page!

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THE HIGH

WATER MARK The Newsletter of the Floodplain Management Association