El Nino / Flood Preparedness 2015-16

Montecito AssociationOctober 26, 2015

El Nino PreparationsA shared Responsibility

So what do we all need to be doing?

“It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” – Yogi Berra

Notable Recent Strong El Nino Years

1997

-98

1982

-83

South Coast Flooding

Urban Flooding – triggered by water generated in lower, impervious areas. Possible in any rain event (July 2015)

Stream Flooding – triggered by higher volume, sustained rainfall on a primed watershed (Antecedent Index – AI). Higher Potential exists when back to back storms prime the watershed.

Preparations• Individual Site Drainage• Creek Maintenance Work– County– Private

• Flood Insurance?• Sand and Bags

Flood Control Preparations

• Annual Maintenance Plan – Prepare Every year

• Debris Basins – Fall Prep – Winter Response

• Sand and bags• Public Outreach

Planning

Flood Control Maintenance• Most creek areas are private property • Flood Control strives to maintain channel

bottom open• Bank erosion issues

Winter Response

- Mobilize Contractors- Seek State / Fed Disaster- Restore major facilities

Online Resources• www.countyofsb.org• www.countyofsb.org/pwd• santabarbara.onerain.com/home.php• www.floodsmart.org• http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/lox/

Questions