Water Seminar Inundation Mapping for California State Water Project Dams and Critical Appurtenant S

Inundation maps showing flooding that could result from a hypothetical failure (breach) of a dam and its related critical appurtenant structures are an important part of emergency planning and response. In 2017, California Senate Bill 92 added Sections 6160 and 6161 to the California Water Code, requiring owners of state jurisdictional dams, except those classified as “low hazard” by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Division of Safety of Dams (DSOD), to prepare inundation maps. Dam owners are required to submit inundation maps to DSOD for approval. Once approved by DSOD, these maps are to be incorporated into emergency action plans (EAPs). The EAPs must, in turn, be submitted to the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES). This presentation describes how DWR develops these regulatory inundation maps for State Water Project (SWP) dams and critical appurtenant structures.