Technology Solution: ESRI® and GOOGLE™ Technologies
| Client: |
Colorado Water Conservation Board |
| Market(s): |
Water/Information Technology |
| Focus Area: |
Decision Support System, Water Resources Management |
| Project: |
Flood Decision Support System for Colorado |
Challenge
Flood DSS Map Viewer
The Colorado Water Conservation Board needed a flood decision support system. Before implementing a statewide system, the CWCB needed a means to evaluate implementing a prototype flood decision support system.
Solution
In 2006, the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) and Riverside Technology, inc. (Riverside) developed a prototype Flood Decision Support System (DSS) focusing on Larimer County. This prototype was an example website bringing together floodplain, historical flood, and multi-hazard information. In 2010, CWCB and Riverside partnered to develop a Flood DSS for the State of Colorado.
Riverside Goes to Work
Riverside's work on this project involved providing a clearinghouse of flood-hazard and flood-related information for use by floodplain administrators, emergency managers, developers, the insurance industry, government agencies, and the public. Provides timely and well-organized flood outlook data products for emergency managers.
Results
The results of Riverside's work on this project include links to the state's document retrieval system, giving users easy access to flood-related documents. The following seven major components are integrated in the Flood DSS:
- Floodplain boundaries: this component includes regulatory floodplains from FEMA as well as local floodplain data where available.
- Historical flood information: this component includes location and summary information about historical floods that have occurred.
- Real-time data: this component includes real-time precipitation, snowpack, streamflow, and flood outlook products.
- Community information: this component includes NFIP participation status by community and information about the community rating system.
- Weather modification: this component includes information about cloud seeding activities in the state.
- Restoration projects: this component includes information about watershed restoration projects in the state.
- County and local flood-related data.
The Flood DSS also links to the State’s document retrieval system, giving users easy access to flood-related documents.
In addition to working with the CWCB on the Flood DSS, Riverside has supported the CWCB in developing and maintaining Colorado’s Decision Support Systems (CDSS) since 1993.