25 September 2013

The Flood Next Time

UPDATE: CU/CIRES/NOAA/WWA have just released their "preliminary assessment of Front Range floods." You can find it here in PDF.

I have an op-ed published today in the Boulder Daily Camera, titled "The Flood Next Time." The intended audience is the Boulder community, and here is an excerpt:
One of the first steps that Boulder should take in the near term is a rigorous evaluation of how we did in the flood. What actions did we take in recent decades that worked? Where can we do better?

The city has seen an enormous amount of development since 1969, and the floods of 2013 tell us where the water in a flood actually goes. Infrastructure -- including especially in our mountain communities and our city storm sewer systems -- needs a hard look. Improving that infrastructure will require investments that won't be cheap, and which will need to be evaluated against competing, worthwhile priorities.
Comments welcomed.

Also, there is an all-star panel discussion of experts today at CIRES organized by the Western Water Assessment looking at the floods across the Front Range. Details here. It will be livestreamed and will be worth your time.