Following is the complete package—memorandum plus two attachments.
In Reply Refer To:
Office of Surface Water
Mail Stop 415
Sunset Date: June 8, 2005
July 20, 2000
WATER RESOURCES DIVISION POLICY MEMORANDUM NO. 2000.12
Subject: PROGRAMS AND PLANS--Policy and Guidelines for
Documentation and
Reporting of Flood Events
-expectation that USGS
disseminate near real-time flood data and flood summaries on the World Wide
Web,
-increased expectation
of USGS participation in flood response programs by cooperators, emergency
management agencies, and other customers,
-rapidly growing
importance of direct media interaction by USGS field offices,
-long-term reductions
in budget and staffing at nearly all levels of government, and
-much more restrictive
rules and procedures for WRD cost accounting.
Attachment 1 to this memorandum describes WRD district office
responsibilities in preparing for and responding to floods. Flood events have been grouped into three
categories for the purpose of describing products and services that districts
are expected to provide for each category of flood.
The national guidelines and procedures for tracking flood
expenses, which are described in Attachment 2, will allow districts to track
events and to handle two types of costs for each event: those incurred to provide "Continuity of Service" and
"Analyses of Risk." Specific
accounting data will be used by WRD district, regional, and headquarters
offices to track the costs of flood response; to determine district reimbursements
for response costs; and to quickly provide information for the preparation of
requests for congressional supplemental appropriations.
Over the past few years, there have been significant problems in
obtaining adequate funds to cover the costs of districts' responses to
widespread major flood events. This funding shortfall has resulted in
inadequate documentation and reporting on some major floods and, in some cases,
substantial unexpected costs to districts.
The increase in Hydrologic Networks and Analysis budget line item for
real-time hazards in FY 2000 allows us to establish a modest $250,000 reserve
for responding to extreme events, including both floods and droughts. This reserve will help support the
activities identified in Attachment 1.
Our budget request for
FY 2001 will allow us to set aside $500,000. This is still less than the $1.5 million
needed for a vibrant reserve, however, it will enable the districts to respond
to floods knowing reserve funds are available.
It is the intent of the division to
continue to use existing funding mechanisms, as well as the new reserve to
support flood activities. The existing mechanisms include: continuing to have districts responsible for
costs of Category I and lesser floods, requesting supplemental appropriations
from Congress for repairing and replacing damaged instruments and structures,
and preparing requests and proposals for reimbursable funding from other
agencies for work beyond the WRD mission priorities.
Implementation of the new flood policies and guidelines throughout
the WRD is important. WRD must clearly communicate to employees, customers, and
the public the agency's role in flood response; and provide a viable long-term
plan for the funding of flood-related expenditures.
/signed
by Catherine L. Hill, Acting/
Robert
M. Hirsch
Chief
Hydrologist
2 Attachments
Distribution: A, B, FO, PO
This memorandum supersedes WRD Memorandum No. 87.29, dated
February 11,
1987.
USGS:WRD:OSW:Thyorke:jr:x5305:6/12/00:jrose/tech.memos
File: 202-04-Project
Control Files/Hydrologic Hazards
*****************************************************************
ATTACHMENT 1:
Attachment 1: U.S. Geological Survey
District Responsibilities Before, During, and After Flooding
Numerous Federal, State, and local
agencies as well as news media and interested citizens depend upon the U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS), Water Resources Division (WRD) to provide hydrologic
information prior to, during, and after flooding. Accordingly, WRD must prepare for and respond decisively and
consistently to all flood events. One
crucial step toward ensuring that WRD's basic flood responsibilities are met is
to clearly describe the flood-related products and services that district
offices are expected to provide. During
flood events, WRD districts routinely give priority to ensuring that
streamgaging stations critical to the needs of cooperators and emergency
management agencies are functioning, to verifying and extending stage-discharge
ratings at active streamgaging stations, and to keeping near real-time
stream-stage and discharge information accurate and up-to-date. When extreme flood events occur, districts
increasingly are called upon to perform tasks beyond the traditional role of
keeping stations functional and making discharge measurements. Similarly, WRD's traditional post-flood
duties have expanded as a result of Federal, State, and local governments'
heightened commitment to rapid delivery of assistance to flood victims. The magnitude, extent, and toll on life and
property customarily dictate the appropriate level of effort necessary for WRD
to fulfill its mission responsibilities of providing accurate, timely
stream-stage and discharge information during flooding and, afterward,
documenting the setting, causes, and hydrologic significance of the
flooding. For the purpose of describing
WRD's flood responsibilities, it is useful to categorize flood events as
follows:
Category I: Flooding in one or more river basins (hydrologic
cataloging units) that results in peak streamflows generally in the 10- to
50-year recurrence interval range. Districts are expected to cover the costs of
flood response for Category I and lesser flood events.
Category II: Widespread flooding in one or more river basins that
results in peak streamflows generally in the 50- to 100-year recurrence
interval range. Additional costs of
flood response for Category II events will be covered by division-level, or
higher, funding sources.
Category III: Widespread flooding in one or more river basins that
results in peak flows generally greater than 100-year recurrence interval
levels or a localized flood, such as the Big Thompson Canyon (Colorado) flood
in 1976, that results in numerous deaths and extensive property damage. Usually a Category III flood event will
result in a Federal disaster declaration.
Additional costs of flood response for
Category III events will be covered by division-level, or higher, funding
sources.
Accurate categorizations of flood events
are difficult at the onset of flooding and normally only become possible as the
event unfolds. A listing of the
continuum of district flood responsibilities has been prepared and is shown
below. It should be noted that some of
the "During" and "After" flood responsibilities involve
data collection and/or analysis for discontinued stations and miscellaneous
sites. Only the minimum number of
discontinued stations or miscellaneous sites needed to adequately define the
extent, magnitude and frequency of an event will be authorized for work funded
by the USGS. Activities that require
the concurrence of the Office of Surface Water are denoted with asterisks. Other traditional activities such as
detailed floodway studies and flood-extent mapping of riverine and coastal
areas will only be done when funded by other agencies or special USGS
appropriations.
Districts are expected to perform the
following tasks as part of their hydrologic data and information programs:
· prepare and
maintain a flood plan
· update peak flow
file annually
· identify
streamgaging stations where stage and discharge information are critically
important to cooperators and emergency management agencies during floods
· establish and
maintain an Internet page that depicts up-to-date stream-stage and discharge
information for selected stations equipped with telemetry (satellite, telephone, VHF radio, etc.)
· establish and
periodically test redundant means for receiving and processing real-time flood
data at one or more alternate sites when district communication links are
impaired (the real-time hazards initiative is funding this development)
· conduct or
participate in interagency coordination meetings for the purpose of explaining
WRD's mission responsibilities and to develop sound working relationships with
emergency management officials and key water resource program managers and
technical staff
· develop means to
quickly disseminate flood information to governmental agencies that are likely
to access USGS data during flood events
· develop and
implement a proactive news media and public information plan designed to
provide timely flood information and explain our role in monitoring and
analyzing flood data
· arrange for
assistance from other WRD offices when flood response efforts exceed local
resources, including: field, office, and communications/reporting assistance
· strive to
develop program to extend stage-discharge ratings at all National Weather
Service forecast locations to the 200-year flood level (the real-time hazards
initiative is funding some rating extensions)
DURING
Category of Flood I II III
· activate
interagency and media emergency communication X X
procedures.
· request
assistance from other WRD offices as required. X X
· monitor stage
data transmissions frequently to provide X X X
initial quality assurance of provisional data and identification
of problems at critical gages
· assign field
teams to visit malfunctioning gages, assess X X X
problems, and correct problems. If necessary, establish an
alternative method of determining and
reporting stage data
from critical gage sites
· extrapolate
stage-discharge ratings to new peak stages X X
and provide the information to
requesting agencies as soon
as possible
· obtain direct
measurements of extreme flows at active X X X
stations to verify or provide
information for the modification of
rating extensions; with the
understanding that safety of
personnel is a top consideration at all
times
· make peak
stream-stage determinations at selected active and X X X
discontinued stations, as needed to help determine the extent
and magnitude of the event *
· determine peak
flow at selected discontinued stations X X
and miscellaneous sites by direct flow
measurement *
· collect sediment
and/or water-quality samples at selected X X X
stations, as identified in the district
flood plan *
AFTER
Category of Flood I II III
· repair and
replace damaged gage structures and equipment X X X
· make peak
stream-stage determinations at active stations, X X X
selected discontinued stations, and
selected miscellaneous sites,
in order to determine or verify the
areal extent and magnitude
of the event *
· determine peak
flow at all active stations, using X X X
indirect measurements when necessary and
appropriate
· determine peak
flow at selected discontinued and X X
miscellaneous sites using indirect flow
measurements when
necessary and appropriate *
· estimate the
recurrence interval of the flood peak for
X X X
stations where flows are known within
reasonable accuracy
(+/- 20 percent)
· obtain NWS
estimates of precipitation that caused or X X
contributed to the flood, along with recurrence interval
estimates when they become available
· document flood
profiles along selected stream reaches **
X X
· recompute
flood-frequency statistics for active stations and X X
selected discontinued stations *
· estimate
flood-volume and flood-volume duration recurrence X
intervals for selected active stations
· prepare Internet
flood-information page and/or fact sheet X X
describing the flood and placing the
event in historical perspective
· prepare Water
Resources Investigation Report, Professional X
Paper, or similar report describing in
detail the setting, causes,
resulting flooding, historical
perspective, etc. of the flood
· participate, as appropriate, in disaster-recovery and disaster- X X X
assessment meetings and reconnaissance trips upon request from
emergency-management or similar agencies (FEMA, State EMA’s,
COE, BOR, etc.)
· prepare
proposals for follow-up flood documentation work X X X
that is beyond the scope of WRD-funded activities and
submit them to the appropriate agency
(e.g. FEMA/State
Disaster Field Offices, FHWA, DOT’s)
* Data collection and/or analyses for discontinued stations and miscellaneous sites during Category II and III floods require the concurrence of the Office of Surface Water before conducting USGS funded work.
** Flood-extent
mapping of riverine and coastal areas will only be done when funded by other
agencies or special USGS appropriations.
Each WRD Cost-Center, with a role in
responding to extreme hydrologic events (primarily Districts), is to establish
two new accounts, an 00800 account titled "Continuity of Services"
and an 80000 account titled "Analysis of Risk" for the purposes of
recording and tracking costs associated with responses to these events. Subaccounts (under each parent account)
should be established for each Category II and III flood to track costs
associated with the response to that event.
Costs are to be divided into two categories and tracked
accordingly. A description of the types
of costs to be included in each category is presented below. The base salary and normal travel costs of
Data Program employees should not be included in either of the categories.
Continuity of Service
- collecting extra hydrologic data, including the collection and
analysis of sediment and water-quality samples;
- repairing and replacing damaged stations and equipment (includes
strengthening and updating of sites as appropriate);
- installing temporary gages;
- supporting interagency coordination activities (NWS, FEMA, State EMAs,
etc.).
Analysis of Risk
This category is primarily associated
with post-event documentation and analysis.
Appropriate costs to record and track include:
- preparing reports to document the event (including salary, supplies,
contracts and other costs
required for their preparation);
- documenting high-water profiles (when appropriate);
-computing flood-frequency statistics at active and discontinued
stations;
- making indirect measurements for floods greater than 50-year events;
and
- participating in post-flood interagency meetings and task groups.
Expenses should be tracked for each
category of costs for each extreme hydrologic event. Continuity of Service costs should be placed in account
"00800" and Analysis of Risk costs in account "80000" for
all events, to facilitate a nationally consistent method of tracking costs. For
example, for the first extreme hydrologic event -- a flood in River Basin A in
April -- the expenses for Continuity of Service would be placed in 00801 and
for Analysis of Risk in 80001. For the
second extreme hydrologic event -- a
flood in River Basin B in August-- the expenses for Continuity of Service would
be placed in 00802 and for Analysis of Risk in 80002.
The purposes for tracking costs in this
manner are (1) to provide the Division with accurate information on the costs
of responding to extreme hydrologic events nationally, and (2) for the
cost-centers to be able to use the information to recover flood response costs
for Category II and III events from WRD and from sources outside the
cost-center. The costs that are
recorded and tracked should only be those costs that are not part of the
"normal" operation and maintenance costs for the data-collection
program.
Examples of costs that should not be
included are:
- regular salary and travel costs for a person in the data-collection
program doing work (discharge measurements, site visits, etc.) that would
normally be done regardless of an extreme event;
- regular salary and travel costs for a person in the data-collection
program doing "routine" flood response work for "small
floods" (Category I and lesser floods; see attachment 1); and
- equipment repair costs resulting from "small floods" (Category I and lesser floods, see attachment 1).