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DWR Workshop: Climate Change, Extreme Weather, and Southern California Floods, January 31

Posted by: Maven on January 17, 2012 at 7:22 am

dwr-logobig_thumb.gifFrom the Department of Water Resources:

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) will hold a climate change workshop in Alhambra on January 31. The focus will be on potential climate change impacts on Southern California floods, and examples of ongoing programs to reduce flood risk. The workshop is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works Headquarters, 900 S. Fremont Avenue.

This workshop is being held as a complementary event to Governor Brown’s December 15 conference on extreme climate risks and California’s future, which focused on the threats of extreme weather events to the state’s economy, business sectors, public health, and natural resources. For background on the Governor’s conference, go to http://gov.ca.gov/ecrcf.php.

At the national level, 2011 extreme weather events set a new record for billion-dollar weather disasters, with estimated damages of $52 billion according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Statistics such as these emphasize the need for planning to avoid impacts, and to be prepared to respond when extreme weather events happen.

Floods have always been a defining feature of California’s landscape. In the great flood of 1862, newly-elected Governor Leland Stanford traveled to his downtown Sacramento inauguration via rowboat over flooded city streets. The Los Angeles coastal plain turned into a series of lakes; the area between Signal Hill and Huntington Beach became a single sheet of water as floodwaters of the Los Angeles, San Gabriel, and Santa Ana Rivers merged.

Today, half of the state’s population lives in Southern California, where the state’s highest precipitation intensities have been recorded in the mountains above Los Angeles. Climate change will affect not only precipitation intensity but also the risk of wildfire, which has historically been linked to debris flow flooding in vulnerable Southern California communities.

AGENDA
Department of Water Resources Workshop
Climate Change, Extreme Weather, and Southern California Floods
January 31, 2012
Los Angeles County Department of Public Works Headquarters 900 S. Fremont Avenue Alhambra

10:00 Welcome and opening remarks, Jeanine Jones, Interstate Resources Manager, DWR

10:20 Southern California flood climatology, Mike Anderson, State Climatologist, DWR

10:50 Climate change, extreme precipitation, and atmospheric rivers, Mike Dettinger, Research Hydrologist, USGS

11:20 Climate change and wildfire, Tony Westerling, Associate Professor, UC Merced

11:45 Lunch (on your own)

12:45 Hazard warning capabilities, Eric Boldt, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, NWS Oxnard

1:10 Statewide flood planning progress, Terri Wegener, Integrated Flood Planning, DWR

1:30 Alluvial Fan Task Force, accomplishments & follow-up actions, Mark Stuart, Chief, Southern Region Office & Ricardo Pineda, Chief, Floodplain Risk Management Branch, DWR; Jeremy Lancaster, Engineering Geologist, California Geological Service

2:25:  Alluvial Fan Task Force, the local perspective, Susan Lien Longville, Director, CSUSB Water Resources Institute

2:45:   Discussion & wrap-up

The Department of Water Resources operates and maintains the State Water Project, provides dam safety and flood control and inspection services, assists local water districts in water management and water conservation planning, and plans for future statewide water needs.

January 17, 2012 · Filed Under Climate change & water supply, Events

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