Flood Data

Our data collection and analysis efforts support flood management and emergency response. We develop and provide real-time tools to assess flood conditions and flood control system status. We maintain systems that support flood operations by:

• Collecting, storing, and managing information so it is accessible to flood managers and the public.
• Providing real-time meteorological, hydrologic, and climate information.
• Improving data collection and exchange to enhance flood forecasting models.
• Providing emergency flood information and warnings based upon existing and forecasted conditions and field reports.
• Developing information management tools to support emergency operations.
• Minimizing risk of exceeding river capacity by gathering and sharing data for use in coordinated reservoir operations.
• Improving warning times by enhancing communication among local, state and federal agencies,and providing improved data gathering and exchange.
• Inspecting, documenting, and assessing the integrity of levees in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Flood Control Projects.

California Data Exchange Center

The California Data Exchange Center (CDEC) collects and disseminates real-time hydrologic and climate data to support flood forecasting, water supply forecasting, river-level monitoring and reservoir operations. CDEC is a centralized location for real-time information gathered by various federal, state, and public agencies and provides this information to the public, news media, government agencies, public agencies, and private agencies.

River Forecasting

We provide daily river forecasts and flood warnings during periods of high flows in cooperation with the National Weather Service. During flood events, we provide real-time forecasting information to inform flood emergency response decisions. We also:

• Develop and improve forecasting procedures for flood forecasting and flood warning activities.
• Create water supply forecasts for the Snow Surveys Program, as well as update and refine forecast modeling techniques.
• Provide statewide and regional reports of surface water conditions, including precipitation, reservoir storage and inflows, and streamflow and surface runoff totals.
• Conduct hydrology studies.
• Update flood and rainfall frequency statistics.
• Develop procedures, models and software systems to process telemetered data for forecasting and modeling purposes.