FlowWest is pleased to announce the addition of Dr. Michael MacWilliams PhD, PE to our team as a partner and Principal Engineer. Dr. MacWilliams expands FlowWest’s capabilities into new areas including three-dimensional hydrodynamic and sediment transport modeling, sea level rise planning, and coastal and marsh restoration. He will extend FlowWest’s reach in San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta with new capabilities and clients.
Every spring, the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) hosts a conference in Washington, D.C. to bring together administration officials, federal policymakers, and public water agencies to network and advocate for good water policy. FlowWest is sponsoring it and will be sending 2 attendees.
FlowWest is pleased to announce the addition of Dr. Michael MacWilliams PhD, PE to our team as a partner and Principal Engineer. Dr. MacWilliams expands FlowWest’s capabilities into new areas including three-dimensional hydrodynamic and sediment transport modeling, sea level rise planning, and coastal and marsh restoration. He will extend FlowWest’s reach in San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta with new capabilities and clients.
FlowWest founder Dr. Mark Tompkins to participate in National Academy of Sciences Policy Forum on Nature Based Solutions in Washington, D.C. February 7-8.
EBMUD invited FlowWest employees for a tour of the Mokelumne River hatchery and the adjacent Mokelumne River spawning and rearing habitat, led by Fisheries and Wildlife Manager Michelle Workman. FlowWest Co-Founders Paul Frank, Anthony Falzone and Mark Tompkins joined Environmental Planner Skyler Lewis to see both Chinook salmon and steelhead in the fish ladder and holding areas getting ready to enter the hatchery, and walked out on the bridge over to see the fish spawning in the river. Read more to learn about these incredible fish.
The City of Oakland has been working on a community-driven creek restoration project that will improve three daylighted sections of Courtland Creek, within Courtland Creek Park. The Courtland Creek Restoration Project (Project), an Oakland Measure DD Initiative, will protect, enhance, and restore approximately 950 feet of open creek channel.
FlowWest is thrilled to be participating in the biennial California Adaptation Forum. FlowWest has been working at the forefront of climate vulnerability assessment, adaptation planning, and climate resilience strategy development for nearly a decade. The Forum will be held this year in Pomona, CA from 7/31-8/2, and promises to be an inclusive gathering that will bring together folks approaching this complex work from different perspectives in order to expand climate resilience across the State. In our climate adaptation work, we have grown to appreciate the deep importance of creating spaces for diverse voices to be heard and how empathic practice is necessary for building pathways to climate resilience. Read more below.
"In the Sonoma County wine region, north of San Francisco, a group of vineyards and local agencies is working with the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians on a multimillion-dollar system of pumps and pipes that would grab large gulps of the Russian River during storms and distribute it to growers’ fields. The challenge, said Philip Bachand, an engineer on the project, will be persuading California water officials, who he said are overly concerned that allowing people to reroute floodwater will deprive others downstream."
The Statutory Exemption for Restoration Projects will speed up project timelines and cut down on paperwork to implement much-needed restoration across California.
OAKLAND, CA, December 28, 2022. The Basso/La Grange Reach Floodplain and Spawning Habitat Restoration Project is one of the first in California, and the first in Stanislaus County, to qualify as statutorily exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Statutory Exemption for Restoration Projects (SERP). The SERP is just one of the many innovative tools developed by California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) as part of its “Cutting the Green Tape” Initiative. The statutory exemption is solely for projects that "conserve, restore, protect, or enhance, and assist in the recovery of California fish and wildlife, and habitat upon which they depend or that restore or provide habitat for California native fish and wildlife". The project is one of only 12 projects that have been determined to be exempt under the SERP, and underwent a rigorous review process. FlowWest crafted the exemption documents and worked closely with CDFW to ensure the submittal materials included everything the CDFW Director needed to find the project statutorily exempt. FlowWest is providing the full suite of planning and floodplain design services for the project.
FlowWest has been selected by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) as one of 2020’s fastest-growing inner city businesses! The ICIC 100 award recognizes one hundred companies experiencing rapid growth and making a meaningful impact on their cities and communities. Proudly based in Oakland, California, FlowWest looks forward to expanding our engagement with our great home town, and to making connections with other small businesses working hard to strengthen their inner city communities. More details available in our press release.
Dr. Mark Tompkins will be leading a session on floodplain reconnection at this year’s Geomorphic and Ecological Fundamentals of River and Stream Restoration professional short course at the Sagehen Field Station near Lake Tahoe. This course attracts a diverse array of river restoration professionals and is a phenomenal learning and collaborative experience. Dr. Tompkins has been an instructor for this course for over a decade and looks forward to meeting a passionate group of river restoration professionals.
Mark Tompkins will represent FlowWest at the National Academy of Engineering’s sixth Arab-American Frontiers Of Science, Engineering, and Medicine Symposium November 4-6 in Kuwait City. The event is hosted by and in partnership with the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science. The meeting will bring together US and Arab scientists, engineers, and medical professionals to discuss major scientific and engineering advances on the topics of big data, water systems, the microbiome, air quality, and next-generation buildings and infrastructure. Dr. Tompkins will be presenting on FlowWest’s ground-breaking work using open water data, remotely sensed habitat data, and artificial intelligence to improve management of water resources and restoration of aquatic ecosystems.
Sadie Gill from FlowWest is at Microsoft's AI for Earth Summit in Redmond, WA this week! The conference is focused on the latest technology in machine learning and other tools on Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing environment and how AI can solve pressing environmental challenges.
Sadie is leading our ongoing work quantifying floodplain habitat for anadromous fish using remote sensing and machine learning, and she’s presenting this work at the conference.
