FLOOD04413

• County: Statewide
• Basin: Statewide
• Title: Improving American River Flood Frequency Analysis
• Date: 1/1/1999
• Prepared By: National Research Council
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Educational/Technical/Reference Information

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Preface

when appropriate, from a wide range of stakeholders and USACE personnel
concerned about flood risk management for Sacramento and environmental quality
of the American River and its tributaries. Much of this interaction with interested
parties occurred at a committee-hosted workshop and meeting in Sacramento on July
12-15, 1998. At that workshop, the committee gathered input, deliberated on the
issues, outlined this report, and took on work assignments. Following the meeting,
the committee members made calculations and drafted and refmed this report, which
represents a consensus of our multidisciplinary committee.
The fIrst chapter of this report provides a brief ovelView of the historical and
ongoing development of flood control measures on the American River, associated
technical issues, and policy implications. Chapter 2 provides a description of the data
types that can be used in estimating flood exceedance probabilities for the American
River. Chapter 3 presents and discusses the committee's flood frequency estimates
for the American River. Chapter 4 reviews the meteorology of floods associated
with the hydrologic cycle of the American River. Lastly, Chapter 5 provides a
summary of the committee's fmdings and recommendations for the improvement of
flood frequency analyses for the American River. The committee expects that its
report will be helpful in planning for flood risk reduction in Sacramento, but so many
general technical and policy issues presented themselves in Sacramento that, as the
study progressed, we began to see our analyses as a case study with broader
implications. We hope those with interests outside Sacramento will fmd our report
useful.
Leading this project was a special pleasure. It is not often that one has the
opportunity to address a problem as technically challenging and politically charged
as the one assigned to our committee. To lead a group as experienced and
intellectually powerful as ours was both an honor and a challenge. I am grateful for
the opportunity to have led the members of this group, and I thank them for their
many contributions. Our work was supported by three WSTB staff members, Ellen
de Guzman, Mark Gibson, and Stephen Parker, and a consultant, Charles Rodgers of
the University of Wisconsin, who were of great assistance in facilitating our work.
On behalf of the committee and the Water Science and Technology Board, I also
would like to express our appreciation to the fme staff of the U.S. Anny Corps of
Engineers with whom we. interacted during this study. Our principal liaisons were
Robert Childs and John Mack of the Sacramento District. Interaction "ith them and
their colleagues at the district and at the Corps Hydrologic Engineering Center in
Davis, California was critical to the success of this study. Additionally, the
committee was briefed, informed, and assisted---principally at its July 1998
workshop--by numerous other individuals from other agencies and organizations
familiar with the issues at hand. They are too numerous to list (more than 30) but we
are indebted for the information and perspectives they provided.
The report has been reviewed by individuals chosen for their diverse
perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the
NRC's Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to
provide candid and critical comments that will assist the authors and the NRC in
making the published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets
institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study
charge. The content of the review comments and draft manuscripts remain confi.