Dear :
Please join us for the next CASFM Metro Social to be held on Wednesday, August 13, 2014 at Old Chicago in Westminster from 4:00pm to 6:30pm. Kevin Stewart of UDFCD will be giving a presentation on the September 2013 flood and how it compares to others. CASFM will provide pizza, yep I said pizza, and a cash bar will be available. Just show up, no RSVP is needed. Old Chicago is located at 8711 Wadsworth Boulevard in Westminster, just southeast of the intersection of Wadsworth Boulevard and 88th Avenue.
CASFM SOCIAL PRESENTATION ABSTRACT
National news reports credited flood warning systems with saving hundreds of lives during the Colorado Front Range floods of September 2013. UDFCD's flood warning program played a key role in providing early threat notifications to local officials well ahead of the worst of the flooding. Access to real-time rainfall and water level information from streams and reservoirs provided critical emergency decision support during this epic event. Easy access to this data enabled many agencies to quickly analyze the storm and provide the public with information concerning its magnitude and frequency. With damages exceeding $2 billion it was immediately apparent that a major flood disaster had occurred. However, the reported "facts" about the rainstorm and flood peaks caused many to question just how big and rare this flood really was. This presentation will offer a closer look at what the District subsequently discovered by sharing a perspective on how engineers might best contrast this event with familiar hydrologic design practices.
BIOGRAPHY
Mr. Stewart is a registered professional engineer and manages the Information Services and Flood Warning Program of the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District (UDFCD) in Denver, Colorado. He has been a member of UDFCD's engineering staff for the past 30 years. UDFCD serves 2.8 million people that live and work in the Denver/Boulder metropolitan area and covers over 1,600 square miles encompassing Denver and parts of six surrounding counties including 32 cities and towns. UDFCD's flood warning program was developed following the 1976 Big Thompson Canyon flash flood in Colorado that claimed 143 lives. The program operates in close partnership with NOAA's National Weather Service, local emergency managers, and the public safety authorities engaged with flood response and recovery. It provides forecasts and notifications concerning flood threats directly to the local governments. The program also operates and maintains a large network of over 200 automated gaging stations that report rainfall and stream levels in real-time.
Before joining UDFCD's staff in 1984, Mr. Stewart worked for Muller Engineering Company in Lakewood. Prior to that, he was with the State of Iowa's floodplain management program where he served as the state coordinator for the National Flood Insurance Program. Mr. Stewart is a civil engineering graduate of Iowa State University and past president of the National Hydrologic Warning Council.
We look forward to seeing you.
E. Danny Elsner
CASFM Metro Rep
