Quebec City has deployed a real-time decision-support system that uses modeling, monitoring, and other measures to regulate flooding conditions for a 100-year storm event. Authors Diana Qing Tao and Martin Pleau of Tetra Tech and Denis Brisson and Nathalie Jolicoeur of the City of Quebec explain how the real-time control (RTC) system provides flood protection. […]
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to combine two popular streamflow analysis tools into a single, integrated resource. The Surface Water Toolbox (SWToolbox), which has not yet been released to the public, will allow users to compute an extensive number of metrics associated with modeling how surface […]
In the lowest and most arid parts of the Colorado River basin, moisture from the ground rises into the atmosphere before condensing rapidly to form frequent and sudden thunderstorms. These storms, which typically control the flow of runoff, provide irrigation for river-bank plants, supplement water supplies, and affect the chance that the river will flood, […]
A new study warns that extreme precipitation over land will increase in the world’s wettest and driest areas, with the hydrological cycle intensifying as a result of global warming. Released by Nature Climate Change, a monthly journal dedicated to publishing the most significant and cutting-edge research on the science of climate change including its impacts […]
The U.S. and Canadian governments have adopted targets to reduce phosphorus entering areas of Lake Erie by 40% in an effort to improve water quality and minimize risks to public health. The reductions seek to decrease the amount of low oxygen “dead zones” in the central basin of Lake Erie, encourage algae growth at a […]
RE.bound program develops new resilience bond A team of private sector partners has released the framework for a new insurance-based product intended to generate capital for risk-reduction projects. The RE.bound Program, released Dec. 9, 2015, offers a new financial product called a “resilience bond.” These bonds are designed to help manage the financial risk from […]
With the potential for more frequent and intense storms as part of a changing climate, communities now are looking at how they manage rainwater and flooding. Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) partnered with two Twin Cities’ communities — Minneapolis and Victoria — in a federally-funded study that examines the effects of changing rainfall patterns and […]
Current flood models do not account for cities’ effect on local rainfall patterns, which could lead to significantly underestimating the severity and frequency of floods in urban areas, a study finds. Purdue Professor and Indiana State Climatologist Dev Niyogi and collaborators at China’s Tsinghua University showed that impervious city surfaces can influence dramatically the way […]
The Green Infrastructure Wizard, or GIWiz, is a new web-based tool from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that is helping communities consider the benefits and uses of green infrastructure. The tool responds to growing community interest in using green infrastructure as a means of addressing water quality concerns and a range of other local […]
On Sept. 16, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released a new interactive mapping tool that provides predicted concentrations for 108 pesticides in streams and rivers across the United States. The tool enables users to identify which streams are most likely to exceed water-quality guidelines for human health or aquatic life. The predictions also can be used […]
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