Institute for Water Resources

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA. In recent years staff from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Institute for Water Resources (IWR) and its Collaboration & Public Participation CX have worked alongside USACE’s Pacific Ocean Division to support the Southeast Asian countries of the Mekong River Basin on water resources management issues. In 2016, the IWR team led a series of workshops on Building Capacity in Public Involvement, Shared Vision Planning, & Conflict Resolution for the government of Lao PDR’s Ministry of Energy & Mines. The Lao PDR had requested the support to help them better address local, regional, and international concerns regarding the multiple planned hydropower projects in the Mekong basin. The success of the workshops led to a request from the Mekong River Commission (MRC) to provide interest-based negotiation and collaborative modeling training for its staff and joint commission members. In July of 2017, IWR staff Drs. Seth Cohen, Guillermo Mendoza, and John Kucharski of HEC, led members of the Joint Commission from the four countries of the MRC (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam) in a series of Shared Vision Planning (SVP), collaborative gaming, and negotiation techniques to prioritize national and regional interests, examine tradeoffs, and seek joint solutions for the Lower Mekong Basin. An outcome of that first workshop was a request to use current MRC data and develop a collaborative planning model to provide a common point for discussion and an understanding of the tradeoffs associated with various management plans. In November 2017, IWR staff Drs. Jennifer Olszewski and Seth Cohen, along with consultant Sarah Helinek, conducted a second workshop in Vientiane, Laos to present the model to stakeholders. Addressing Trans-boundary Water Resources Management Challenges Trans-boundary water resources management is complex and requires evaluating and then balancing multiple and often competing priorities and goals. It is further complicate

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA. The Institute for Water Resources welcomes new Director, Dr. Joe Manous. As Director, Dr. Manous oversees a multi-disciplinary Field Operating Agency that supports USACE’s Civil Works (water resources) missions through water resources planning, policy and decision-support model development; hydraulic and hydrological engineering; dam and levee safety; and training and national/international interface with academia, professional societies, and non-government organizations. Prior to becoming IWR Director, Joe served as a Water Resources Engineer and Manager for International Activities at IWR, where he specialized in the areas of water resources and environmental security issues associated with water. He also worked closely with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, Headquarters USACE, and was an Adjunct Professor at George Mason University teaching courses in engineering economics and water resources. Dr. Manous is a retired US Army Corps of Engineers officer and his last active duty assignment was as Academy Professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he taught courses in environmental engineering, water resources, and environmental security.

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA. The Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) were created by the U. S. Department of Interior (USDI) in 2009 to support independently directed, multi-organizational landscape conservation partnerships in twenty-two eco-regions of the United States and adjacent nations. The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers was invited to join most of the LCCs. The purpose of this report, just released by the Institute for Water Resources, is to describe the LCC mission and administration, their relevancy to the USACE, the benefits of participation, issues thwarting further USACE participation, and possible approaches to issues management through to the end of 2016. The great value of landscape conservation partnerships is now widely recognized among federal and state agencies as well as numerous nongovernment organizations. After the research for this report was completed, the LCC partnerships began a transition into arrangements that appear likely to elevate the leadership roles of the States. Regardless of future organizational evolution, the results described in this report should inform any USACE involvement in the conservation partnerships of the future.

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA. Many of IWR’s employees take advantage of opportunities to serve in other areas of our organization, enabling valuable exchanges of information and expertise while also building important relationships. Ms. Stacy Langsdale, P.E., Ph.D., undertook one such developmental assignment for four months in 2017 to the USACE’s Los Angeles District (SPL). Drawing from her experiences working at IWR’s Collaboration and Public Participation Center of Expertise (CPCX), as well as Headquarters Levee Safety Program’s Public Awareness and Communications Team (PACT), Dr. Langsdale was able to jump right in and provide valuable support to SPL. The Los Angeles District is responsible for more than 120 levee systems. The District has O&M responsibility for approximately 20 percent of these, but the vast majority are operated and maintained by local cost-share sponsors. Langsdale’s primary task was to help the Dam and Levee Safety section design and conduct workshops to help Levee Sponsors prepare for communicating the risks associated with levees. This effort is part of USACE’s transformation to a risk-based organization to ensure life safety. SPL staff who attended an internal levee safety risk communication training the previous year found it valuable and decided local sponsors could benefit from similar training.

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA. On Nov 30, 2017, Dr. Robert “Bob” Brumbaugh, a truly one-of-a-kind U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employee, retired after 35 years of service, successfully living up to the old adage, “leave a mark on the organization a little better than you found it.” Dr. Brumbaugh received his B.A. and M.A. in Geography from the University of Arizona and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles where his studies focused on fluvial geomorphology, plant ecology, and paleo-environmental analysis. Before coming to IWR, Bob worked in the Los Angeles District as a water resources planning study manager. In 1989, he was selected to participate in the Planning Associate Program where he met Dr. Gene Stakhiv who saw firsthand that Bob was a man of ideas and was instrumental in bringing him onboard IWR to help with the National Drought Study and the Corps Strategic Plan ("Vision 21").

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA. National Engineers Week (Feb 17-24), founded in 1951, coincides with the birthday of President George Washington, also known as America's first engineer. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Institute for Water Resources (IWR), in conjunction with USACE HQ, held a special event to commemorate the week. The speaking program was broadcasted from USACE HQ and included remarks by Lieutenant General Todd T. Semonite, USACE Commanding General and Chief of Engineers, as well as presentations on the local D.C. United soccer stadium, an update on the power grid restoration in Puerto Rico, and the completion of Olmsted Lock & Dam.