HMT Signs Agreement with San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
July 5, 2013
NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory recently established a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the City of San Francisco to conduct site surveys for new weather radar monitoring equipment. This agreement marks the first step to deliver improved precipitation monitoring and forecast information to the city.
San Francisco, like many urban regions, faces challenges in operating their Waste Water Enterprise (WWE) in storm conditions. An advanced quantitative precipitation information (AQPI) System can also aid water managers in securing water supplies while mitigating flood risk and minimizing water quality impacts to the Bay from storm runoff and combined sewer overflows.
The AQPI System project leverages more than a decade of HMT research, including ongoing prototyping and implementation of a statewide observing network for the California Department of Water Resources. These past and ongoing investments have created the knowledge and expertise to recommend solutions for the City, to do so with confidence in their feasibility and ultimately full implementation and continuing operations. The knowledge and expertise developed over the past fifteen years in studying West Coast rainfall will be applied to improving the accuracy and temporal and spatial resolution of the AQPI System to better support WWE operations. The AQPI System will consist of a combination of state-of-the art precipitation observations and numerical model forecasts delivered in a turnkey system to meet City requirements for precipitation information.
Contact: Rob Cifelli
