Feb 19, 2025: NHS Webinar 1: Modelling and Statistical Approaches to Flood Hazard Mapping

The Canadian Water Resources Association (CWRA) is pleased to announce a webinar series in early 2025 in collaboration with Environment and Climate Change Canada’s National Hydrological Service (NHS). This series will highlight groundbreaking hydrology and hydraulics research conducted as part of the Flood Hazard Identification and Mapping Program (FHIMP) and showcase the latest advances in flood mapping science across Canada.

The webinars are targeted at flood mapping practitioners, researchers, interested parties, and the general public, offering an opportunity to tune in for presentations from subject matter experts at no cost to the participants. All webinars and accompanying materials will be offered in both official languages. Recordings of the presentations and resources will also be made available online after the sessions.

Webinar 1: Modelling and Statistical Approaches to Flood Hazard Mapping (Wednesday, February 19th at 1-3 pm EST)

• Jongho Keum (Research Associate, McMaster University), “Hydrologic Modeling in Ontario for Flood Hazard Identification and Mapping”
  • Speaker Bio: Dr. Jongho Keum is a Research Associate at McMaster University, holding a PhD in Water Resources Engineering from Utah State University. His research focuses on hydrology, water resource systems and engineering, as well as the development of decision-support tools for water resource and quality management. Dr. Keum has contributed to various projects involving hydrologic modeling, flood forecasting and early warning systems, and the design of hydrometric networks.
  • Presentation Description: This study focused on configuring three hydrologic models—MESH, HYPE, and SUMMA—for application in Ontario, enabling the identification of flood hazard regions. Additionally, we tested both model-agnostic and model-specific modules to establish a centralized and consistent model configuration process.
• Cuauhtémoc T. Vidrio Sahagún (Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Calgary), “Modelling water extremes in a changing world through statistical approaches”
  • Speaker Bio: Dr. Vidrio-Sahagún earned a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from the University of Guadalajara and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Calgary. He is currently a Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Calgary. His research focuses on extreme hydrologic and climatic events under climate change and other human-induced changes
  • Presentation Description: Water extremes, like heavy rainfall and floods, may intensify with climate change, but their nonstationarity is often overlooked. We develop advanced methods for hydrologic frequency analysis and bias correction that improve prediction accuracy and reliability, prevent over- or under-design, and support climate-resilient engineering practices. Our frameworks integrate recent research advancements, account for nonstationarity, and facilitate reproducibility.

Available in French

About the Flood Hazard Identification and Mapping Program (FHIMP)

The Flood Hazard Identification and Mapping Program (FHIMP) is a collaborative, Government of Canada initiative led by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), in partnership with Public Safety Canada, and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). The FHIMP is investing in updating Canada’s existing flood mapping capabilities.

In partnership with provincial and territorial governments, the FHIMP aims to complete flood hazard maps of higher-risk areas in Canada and make this flood hazard information accessible. These maps will help emergency planning by guiding the placement of evacuation routes and support land use planning by identifying locations for building critical infrastructure and flood mitigation structures like dikes. Flood maps provide reliable information on flood hazards and support decision-makers and Canadians in their efforts to adapt to a changing climate while protecting properties and lives.

A second component of the FHIMP is the funding of universities and non-profit organizations to develop flood science and integrate the impacts of climate change and uncertainty into flood hazard mapping. From 2021 to 2024, the Government of Canada invested $3M in this aspect of FHIMP and these webinars highlight research supported by this investment.

About CWRA

The Canadian Water Resources Association (CWRA) is a national registered charity comprised of members from the public, private and academic sectors who are committed to promoting responsible, innovative, and effective water resources management.

Formed in 1947 as the Western Canada Reclamation Association, CWRA is the only national organization addressing all water resources issues across all regions of Canada. We offer a range of services and programs focused on professional development, providing expertise and advice, education, and collaboration.