HomeExecutive Program Committee-Main

EXECUTIVE PROGRAM COMMITTEE

To contact the Executive Program Committee, send an email to vicepresident@hydrologicwarning.org

The Executive Program Committee (EPC) was created in 2009 by the NHWC Board of Directors to coordinate the technical activities of the organization. The EPC has a structure that mimics all facets of a hydrologic warning system--from the hydrologic event that threatens people to the warnings that go out to protect those people. The goal is to facilitate the coordination and cooperation at the federal, state, and local government levels along with academia and the private sector to share information within the large, but diverse hydrologic warning community. This community tends to operate in silos and there is a huge potential for cross-pollination of efforts to achieve a balanced, integrated approach. There are seven areas of interest where NHWC plays an active role. Hence, the EPC structure has been built around each of these areas (see list below). Not all of the seven areas are active at all times. Currently the ALERT2 Technical Working Group (a branch of Standards & Guidance), Training & Professional Development, and Conference Subcommittees are the most active.

For minutes of EPC meetings, click here.

For EPC public documents archive, click here.

Interest Area	Description
Hydrology	Assesses events that cause hydrologic disasters (droughts, floods, hurricanes, mudslides, etc.) and how they are similar and different in terms of data collection, warnings, and public safety.
Data Collection	Reviews practices, technologies, and tools available to collect high-quality hydrologic data that are the basis for warnings sent out to protect life, property, and the environment.
Modeling & Analyses	Supports and advances the techniques used to describe and predict the life-cycle of a hydrologic event. This would include decision support systems.
Hazard Communication & Public Awareness	Supports information technology systems used to relay hydrologic forecasts and warnings along with the educational products created to ensure that what is being communicated to the public is truly being understood correctly and leads to the proper action needed. New social media tools will certainly be a focal point.
Standards & Guidance	Researches, compiles, and develops best practices and protocols to be used when operating a hydrologic warning system. Technical Working Group: ALERT2TM protocols - David Haynes, Chair
Training & Professional Development	The creation of an educational and certification program for operators of hydrologic warning systems. This would cover all facets of hydrologic warning.
Conferences	Plans and organizes the NHWC conferences that incorporate the technological aspects of all the above, with special focus on the training of hydrologic warning system operators, field personnel, and staff hydrologists involved in data analyses, forecasts, and warnings.