From mavensnotebook.com – Recently, the Department of Water Resources, Office of Floodplain Management launched a new safety initiative called Headwaters to Floodplains which applies an integrated regional watershed management approach to the realm of flood management.  The initiative is intended to enhance public engagement and facilitate sharing innovative flood risk reduction ideas and projects on a watershed basis. At the January meeting of the California Water Commission, Mike Mierzwa from DWR’s Office of Floodplain Management briefed the Commission members on the new initiative.  He is a civil engineer with extensive expertise in hydrodynamic modeling and the planning of large scale water systems.  He’s also been part of DWR team working on the public benefits for the Water Storage Investment Program. Mr. Mierzwa began by noting that headwaters and floodplains are places where Californians live and work. “We’re focused in on the land use connectivity with flood risk and consequences and the cooperation, so if there’s one key thing I could stress today, it’s this theme of cooperation at all levels of government as to how we manage flood risks.” (more)