Welcome to the 2011 Briefing Series for Members of Congress and Staff

First in the 2011 series

2011—The Year of the Flood?

Flooding is the most frequent natural hazard. Flooding causes billions of dollars in damage and threatens lives and property in every State. For more than 100 years, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has played a critical role in reducing flood losses by operating a nationwide streamgage network that monitors the water level and flow of the Nation's rivers and streams. Come hear how USGS and its partners are working to meet the challenge of reducing America´s flood risk. Refreshments provided courtesy of the Interstate Council on Water Policy (ICWP) For more information on the USGS Congressional Briefing Series, please visit www.usgs.gov/solutions.

• WaterWatch—Maps, Graphs, and Tables of Current, Recent, and Past Streamflow Conditions
  
• From the River to You: USGS Real-Time Streamflow Information
  
• Effects of Urban Development on Floods
  
• National Streamflow Information Program Brochure
  
• The World's Largest Floods, Past and Present: Their Causes and Magnitudes
  
• Large Floods in the United States: Where They Happen and Why
  
• USGS Flood Summary Reports
  

• Brian McCallum: USGS Flood Activities (18.2 MB)
• Tom Graziano: NOAA's NWS and the USGS: Partnering to Meet America's Water Information Needs (10.2 MB)
• Brian C. Hurt: Benefits of a Flood Warning Network to Findlay, Ohio (6 MB)

• Representative Maurice Hinchey

• Interstate Council on Water Policy (ICWP)

Speaker Biographies

Brian McCallum
Assistant Director, USGS Georgia Water Science Center

Brian started working for the USGS in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he helped establish the Louisiana HydroWatch, a state-wide hydrologic monitoring network. As part of the flood monitoring effort, he was co-author for the "Amite River Flood Track-ing Chart", a public-awareness tool that has a distribution of over 1 million copies and has been used in many other parts of the country. He was also co-author of the "Surface-Water Data for Georgia", a GIS-based cd-report that helped redefined the USGS publication approach to basic data reports.In February 1999, he was selected as the USGS Federal Engineer of the Year by the National Society of Professional Engineers. And in May 2003, Brian was awarded the William A. Jump award that is given annually to one Federal employee for exemplary service in Public Administration. In 2010, Brian led the effort to develop the new WaterAlert service to email and text users of water data based upon their preferred threshold levels. He is also leading the effort in the Southeast to implement Flood Inundation Mapping at flood-prone streamgage locations.

Tom Graziano
Chief, Hydrologic Services Division, NOAA National Weather Service

Dr. Graziano is the Chief of the Hydrologic Services Division (HSD), which oversees NWS plans, policies, and procedures for hydrologic warning and forecast operations. Through partner and customer outreach, HSD personnel identify and validate ser-vice needs and establish operational requirements for hydrologic observations, forecasting applications, and training to enhance operational services. Dr. Graziano has presented several papers at scientific conferences and has served on the American Meteorological Society Hydrology Committee. Dr. Graziano has been recognized by the Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for his work in hydrologic services. He was awarded a Bronze Medal in 2003 for the implementation of new flash flood decision assistance software, and a Bronze Medal in 2001 and a NOAA Adminis-trator's Award in 1999 for his work to enhance the operational end-to-end quantitative precipitation forecasting process. Dr. Graziano also received several awards during his tenure with the U.S. Air Force including the U.S. Air Force Air Training Command Civilian Instructor of the Year for 1988.

Brian Hurt
Marathon Oil (formerly City Engineer Findlay, OH)

Mr. Hurt was employed with the City of Findlay in 2005 as a Project Engineer and was promoted to the City Engineer in July of 2007. He served as City Engineer until April 1st, 2011. During his tenure with the City of Findlay, Mr. Hurt responded to five of the City's top 11 historical floods, including a flood that tied the largest the City had ever recorded. Mr. Hurt worked with the USGS and the National Weather Service to install a flood warning network in 2008 and 2009. Since 2008, Mr. Hurt worked with the Corps of Engineers to conduct a flood feasibility study for flood risk management inside Findlay. Prior to employment with the City of Findlay, he worked four years for American Electric Power as a Transmission Line Project Engineer. Mr. Hurt is a licensed civil engineer for the state of Ohio and a graduate of Virginia Tech.

For information on the Briefing on Capitol Hill, please call 703-648-4455.