Title
Approve an Agreement for Services with FlowWest, Inc. in the dollar amount of $275,000 for work to be performed related to the Monterey County Water Resources Agency Flood Emergency Response Project (Project). (Staff: Peter Kwiek)
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Monterey County Water Resources Agency Board of Directors:
Approve an Agreement for Services with FlowWest, Inc. in the dollar amount of $275,000 and authorize the General Manager to execute the agreement.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
The Monterey County Water Resources Agency (Agency) requests approval to enter into a Professional Services Agreement with FlowWest, Inc. for work to be performed related to the DWR Grant-funded Monterey County Water Resources Agency Flood Emergency Response Project (Project).
The project seeks to improve local flood emergency response by developing an emergency management and communications tool allowing rapid viewing of county mapping products to allow advanced flood warning in local communities. The need for updated flood inundation mapping and emergency response protocols were identified during the flood emergency events of 2023.
Under the agreement, FlowWest will develop a planning tool for the Agency that allows rapid viewing of Salinas River flood inundation mapping based on user input of forecasted flows or stages in the Salinas River. This tool will assist the Agency in predicting flooding extents given forecasts of river flow and provide advanced warning to impacted communities. This effort will realize a significant cost-savings by leveraging an existing HEC-RAS computer model of the Salinas River originally developed by FlowWest in 2014-2015 and updated in 2023. This model predicts hydraulics of the Salinas River from approximately Bradley at the southern extent to the Monterey Bay at the Northern extent. This model will be further updated and refined, simulations of a wide range of flows will be run, flood inundation maps will be created, along with a software tool that allows these maps to be used to forecast flooding patterns.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
At its April 15, 2024 meeting, the Agency Board of Directors authorized staff to engage with DWR and apply, execute, and manage documents related to the grant funding this Project. The Agency Finance Committee recommended that the Board of Directors approve the subject agreement.
FINANCING:
Funding for this agreement will be provided by a combination of State Department of Water Resources Statewide Flood Emergency Response Grant funds awarded to the Agency in 2024 in the amount of $180,000 and Agency matching funds for the remainder ($95,000). The Agency is also seeking to reduce its funding obligation through distributive cost-sharing with other emergency management partner agencies.
This project is in the adopted FY2025 budget.
Prepared by: Peter Kwiek, Associate Water Resources Hydrologist (831) 755-4860
Approved by: Ara Azhderian, General Manager, (831) 755-4860
Attachments:
1. FlowWest Agreement - Draft PSA
2. Board Order