University of Mississippi
IN-27: Innovation D

Researchers at UM’s National Center for Computational Hydroscience and Engineering created a cutting-edge software program to aid in dam-and levee-breach flood predictions and preparations across the country. With resolutions from 20 feet to 200 feet, the free system, DSS-WISE Lite, is being accessed by users from the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters, 10 FEMA regional offices, stakeholder federal agencies and state dam safety offices. The unique system allows vetted users to easily set up and run simulations of varying scenarios in the event of a dam or levee failure and obtain outcomes. The results, including fully GIS-compatible maps, are being returned to the user within a half-hour in 73 percent of the cases and within two hours in 90 percent of the cases. Within 10 months of launching the software, the system handled more than 1,800 simulations. An example of the system’s use is when a steady barrage of storms in early 2017 resulted in serious damage to the Lake Oroville spillways north of Sacramento, California, which included a concrete failure on the lower chute of the gated flood control spillway. The California Department of Water Resources used DSS-WISE Lite extensively during the incident to generate emergency flood mapping so it could prepare appropriate emergency response plans.