Copeland Creek flood analysis
Faculty
Departments
Partners
- Sonoma County Water Agency
- Center for Environmental Inquiry
- Department of Transportation
- Sonoma Resource Conservation District
- City of Rohnert Park
- City of Penngrove
- City of Petaluma
Students
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For millennia, Copeland Creek has been jumping its banks, depositing sediments on an alluvial fan where the creek empties onto the Santa Rosa plain. During high flow events, Copeland Creek may overtop its banks at an avulsion site as it exits Sonoma Mountain. The overbank flow during such events enters the San Pablo Bay watershed, likely exacerbating flooding in Penngrove and Petaluma. Today, with much of the fan and plain developed, the same flooding process has significant impacts on the safety and economy of our local communities. This study uses hydraulic modeling and various return interval peak flow events to understand the conditions that cause Copeland Creek to flood and where the floodwaters travel. Flood modeling and field studies help public agencies and community groups design solutions.
| Title | Format | Download | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Assessing Copeland Creek inter-watershed overbank flow, a pilot study" | report | Jesse Gebauer | |
| "A pilot study of inundation from Copeland Creek overbank flow" | poster | Jesse Gebauer |
