California Appoints Geospatial Information Officer

California now has a Geospatial Information Officer, GIO. The CA GIO is responsible for ensuring that the state receives the benefits associated with geospatial data, specifically, increased data access and sharing; reduced duplication and costs; development of technology standards; centers of expertise; public outreach and increased collaboration in state and local governments. READ MORE

California's water supply vulnerable to quakes, floods

The California Department of Water Resources has just released a study that concludes there is a 40 percent chance that a major earthquake will flood 27 delta islands between now and 2030, costing billions in repairs and knocking out the water source for 25 million Californians for more than a year.

Without intervention, it is estimated that about 140 levees of California's could fail in the next century due to storms or rising seas. An earthquake of magnitude 6.7 or greater could result in fatalities, flooding of islands and costs of $15 billion. In California levees have failed about 160 times in the past 109 years. READ MORE

California Department of Water Resources: Delta Risk Management Strategy - Final Phase 1 Report

CalGIS 2009

Did you know there is a one-day HAZUS-MH class at the CalGIS 2009 conference? Last we heard there were still seats available. MORE

Army Corps cracks down on flunking levees

More than 100 levees in 16 states flunked maintenance inspections in the last two years and are so neglected that they could fail to stem a major flood, records from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers show. California was #2 on the list! READ MORE

National Committee on Levee Safety (NCLS) draft version of the Report to Congress on Recommendations for a National Levee Safety Program, DOWNLOAD