ivy frances, cfm, cem chief, floodplain management and ...ivy frances, cfm, cem chief, floodplain...
TRANSCRIPT
Ivy Frances, CFM, CEM
Chief, Floodplain Management and Insurance Branch
FEMA Region One
Where we are Today In recent years we spent billions of dollars on disasters
So many flood
claims have been
paid that the NFIP
is 20 billion
dollars in debt
We have Maps
Building regulations
Mitigation
Flood Insurance
We have Mitigation plans
Recovery plans
Master plans
Comprehensive plans
Where we areSo . . .
With all this disaster relief funding
and all the preparedness, plans and mitigation projects. . .
Where are we
Are our communities
more resilient?
In other words . . . Despite all these efforts, when we look into the next 10,
20 say 50 years - what is the picture you see?
If another disaster struck – would that town or city look the same, worse or better off?
Or can we
envision a future
where flood
waters passes
through town as
a celebration of
renewed life, a cleansing of the floodplain with deposition of woody debris for wildlife and nutrients for the next growing
season? (Can you imagine that!!!)
History
The first theory of geomorphology was devised by the Chinese scientist Shen Kuo (1031-1095 AD).
Around 1884 William Morris Davis devised the geographical cycle or cycle of erosion.
History Early 20th century – scientists begin systematic, direct,
quantitative measurements of the landscape and investigating the scaling of these measurements.
prediction of the past and
future behavior of landscapes
Quantitative geomorphology
emerges
History Luna Leopold
Management of water resources cannot be successful as long as it is naively perceived from an economic and
political standpoint.
History Gilbert White
Father of floodplain
management
Worked on natural hazards, particularly flooding, and the importance of sound water management
GEOMORPHOLOGY
Geomorphology
Let’s get a common understanding of what geomorphology is all about.
Landscape scale Field Observations
Processes Physical Experiments
Dynamics Numerical Modeling
Human influences
Fluvial Geomorphology Bedrock
Sediment transport
Deposition
Human interactions
Coastal Geomorphology Dynamic interface between the ocean and the land
Wave action
Sediment movement
Human impacts
Brief review the development of geomorphology
So that we recognized our history
as floodplain managers
Provides common basis from which we work and associate with each other
Understand that our predecessors overcome the status quo thinking – that with which we have in common
This is our history
It tells a story of courage
Thinking outside the box
Adding the undeniable human factor to its impact on the landscape
Next Steps
So we have history
We have the science
We have the answer!?!?
Healthy urban streams have been
recognized as a fundamental
prerequisite to achieving sustainable
management of our cities and
fulfilling our imperative to maintain
healthy aquatic ecosystems for future
generations.United Nations General Assembly 1987
We reduce damages to increasingly frequent events, while increasing vulnerability to catastrophic events.
Development in floodplains occurs at the expense of safety and efficiency,
Are we there yet? We need to infuse geomorphic elements in our plans
and project designs to gain diversity of aquatic habitat, aka healthy streams
Channel variability
Grade changes
Sediment storage and
movement
Erosion
Are we there yet? We involve biologists,
wildlife scientists, botanists, fishery experts
Not to review projects, but to design, discuss, incubate ideas that then become projects
We move out of our silos
We support each other
We embrace chaos – and become comfortable with being uncomfortable - stand up to the status quo
Are we there yet?
We involve citizens
We educate the public to make informed decisions –not make decisions for them
As Practitioners Use science – geomorphology is not experimental
Educate ourselves and each other
Understand and count ALL the benefits
Use adaptive management – monitor, evaluate and change to
meet success criteria
As Practitioners Have several options available and ready – option A,
option B, option Q . . .
Draw a line in the sand – push the pendulum back, like our floodplain heroes did.
Remain hopeful
Take an action,
a small step, and a
smaller step yet
Mentor a higher schooler, speak at the local science club, write a letter to the editor
If we all take a small action – they will add up
When you grew up what did you want to be?
When I grow up I want to be a floodplain manager!
It ain’t easy Structural solutions are easy:
Visibly solves a problem
Citizen trust structural projects
Non structural solutions are not so easy:
Can’t see good ones (show someone a floodplain reconnection project!)
You Can discourage floodplains that look like a model
With your help and helping each other we can bring geomorphology and other scientific disciplines back to planning, funding and implementation of projects that bring
