WEBINAR SERIES: Forecast-Informed Reservoir Operation

PART 4: National Applications and Transferability

ORIGINALLY AIRED FEBRUARY 17, 2021 | 1:00 - 2:00 PM ET / 10:00 - 11:00 AM PT

Description

Fourth in a series of Forecast-Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO) webinars, this webinar will focus on taking the lessons learned by applying FIRO at the initial pilot reservoir, Lake Mendocino, and transferring them to other locations. The process and rationale used to select other pilots will be shared along with the current status and findings to date. FIRO transferability lessons will inform the development of a Screening Level Assessment Tool to allow the quantification of the myriad requirements for FIRO success, and allow portfolios of reservoirs to be categorized by suitability for implementation.

Learning Objectives

1. Identify criteria USACE used in selecting additional FIRO pilot sites.
2. Compare FIRO pilot application lessons learned.
3. Describe purpose and uses of the Screening Level Assessment Tool.

Speakers

Cary Talbot
Chief, Flood & Storm Protection Division
US Army Engineer Research & Development Center

Dr. Cary Talbot is Chief of the Flood & Storm Protection Division in the Coastal & Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL), US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) where he has worked since 1994. As Division Chief, he supervises the execution of research and development activities of over 100 scientists, engineers and technicians in a wide range of coastal, hydraulic, hydrologic, estuarine and riverine engineering, data collection and analysis applications. He is also the Program Manager of the Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO) Program, a reservoir-operations strategy that uses enhanced monitoring and improved weather and water forecasts to inform decision making to selectively retain or release water from reservoirs to improve specifically targeted benefits. Dr. Talbot earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in Civil & Environmental Engineering from Brigham Young University in 1993 and 1994, respectively. He earned a PhD in Environmental Engineering from the University of Connecticut in 2008.

Elissa Yeates
Research Civil Engineer
US Army Engineer Research & Development Center

Elissa Yeates joined the Hydrologic Systems Branch as a research engineer in February of 2016. She supports a wide range of projects, including continental-scale streamflow forecasting, Forecast-Informed Reservoir Operations, quantification of social effects for flood risk management, and forecasting dredging requirements for navigation. Elissa earned her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 2015. Prior to enrolling in the Cockrell School of Engineering, Elissa evaluated public education programs for Gibson Consulting Group in Austin, Texas. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Humanities from the University of Texas at Austin in 2009. She is currently completing a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering from Mississippi State University.

Webinar Recording & PDH Certificate

Included with your webinar registration is access to a recording of the webinar and a fillable certificate to self-report your Professional Development Hour (PDH) credit. The recording, your certificate, and any available slides will be emailed to you in the days following the webinar. Access to the webinar recording will be available on AWRA’s Webinar Center and in the email you will receive from [email protected].