Growing Returns

Selected tag(s): water storage

Less talk, more action: It’s time to get serious about floodplain management

By Shannon Cunniff / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: May 16, 2018

I was recently cleaning out old files and came across notes from a presentation I made after the Great Midwest Flood of 1993. It was on the state of the nation’s floodplain management, a topic even more relevant today.

Many no longer recall the Great Midwest Flood despite its record-breaking precipitation, flooding and $13 billion price tag. Sure, 1993 seems like a long time ago, but I believe the reason the flood has left most people’s memory is because, over the last 25 years, the nation has experienced one devastating, record-breaking flood after another. Our memories are diluted by the frequency of such events.

Sadly, many of the lessons I shared in my presentation back then remain true today.

It’s time we stop talking and get serious about improving our nation’s floodplain management by putting these lessons into action.

Photo credit: Association of State Floodplain Managers via FloodStorageEricJohnson (license)

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged Coasts, dams, ecosystems, flood insurance, flood protection, flooding, floodplain management, floodplains, floods, Great Midwest Flood, natural infrastructure, risk reduction, western water | Read 1 Response

For California water managers, establishing new traditions takes time

By Maurice Hall / Bio / Published: February 16, 2018

The California Water Commission sent ripples through the water world recently when it gave tepid “public benefit” scores to 11 water storage projects vying for taxpayer funding.

Project proponents were understandably frustrated, and many were openly critical of the Water Commission’s process for determining public benefits. After all, they’re vying for a big pot of public money – $2.7 billion that was set aside in 2014 with the passage of Proposition 1 – and their public benefit scores are a key factor in determining whether or not they get funded.

But let’s not be so critical. The Water Commission has been handed a difficult task, and is doing the right thing by carefully considering and scrutinizing each project. Here’s why.

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged California Water Commission, groundwater recharge, Proposition 1, Water Storage Improvement Program, water use, western water | Read 1 Response