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Flooded agricultural field along Woodbridge Road in Lodi, California (DWR, 2019).
Who We Are
The Flood-MAR Network is a vibrant collaboration of individuals and organizations dedicated to promoting Flood-MAR implementation in California.
Stay up-to-date with the latest Flood-MAR news and activities!
Coordinating Team
The Coordinating Team supports the Flood-MAR Network to ensure that the Network is effective in promoting the implementation of Flood-MAR projects throughout California. The Coordinating Team helps identify emerging and priority topics that should be brought to the Network for discussion and further action. Coordinating team members meet monthly, and team membership rotates annually.
If you are interested in joining the Coordinating Team, contact floodmar.network@gmail.com
2024 Coordinating Team Members:
Adam Hutchinson, Orange County Water District
Aysha Massell, Sustainable Conservation
Cliff Feldheim, Ducks Unlimited
Eric Ginney, ESA Associates
Glen Low, Earth Genome
Graham Fogg, UC Davis
Dr. Helen Dahlke, UC Davis
Jamie Cameron-Harley, California Department of Water Resources
Jason Wiener, ESA Associates
Jenny Marr, California Department of Water Resources
Jesse Roseman, Grower
Kamyar Guivetchi, California Department of Water Resources (retired)
Kristan Culbert, American Rivers
Meredith Goebel-Szenher, Stanford University
Michael Founds, cbec eco engineering
Philip Bachand, Bachand Associates
Samuel Cunningham, Provost & Pritchard Consulting Group
Sarah Puckett, American Rivers
Scott Bradford, US Department of Agriculture – ARS, SAWS Unit
Action Teams
Action Teams are collaborations of volunteer Flood-MAR Network members who seek to identify and advance a particular product, project, or initiative over the next one to two years. The six Action Teams emerged from discussions during the March 2023 quarterly Flood-MAR Network workshop, demonstrating a desire to leverage the collective resources of the Network, turn ideas into tangible outputs to benefit the Flood-MAR community, and ultimately advance Flood-MAR statewide.
The Action Teams are:
- Estimating Recharge – seeks to identify best approaches for the practical estimation of aquifer recharge.
- Incentives for Flood-MAR – expands information-sharing regarding existing and previous incentives programs and generates ideas for new incentives or strategies.
- Water Quality Monitoring – identifies considerations for managing or mitigating contaminants under flooded conditions, and compiles data to support agencies in developing best practices, guidance, and models for Flood-MAR.
- Instream Flows - considers how to balance water used for recharge and instream ecological needs during Flood-MAR project operations.
- Assessing Policy – explores ways to further leverage opportunities and/or address barriers to effective State support and coordination.
- Website – manages content and maintains updates to the floodmar.org website. The Flood-MAR website was formally released to the public October 10th, 2023 (read the Flood-MAR HUB press release here).
We invite you learn more and consider joining an upcoming meeting if your work (or your curiosity) intersects with the goals of an Action Team. Our work is improved when our expertise and experience are shared!
To join or be added to an Action Team email roster and learn of upcoming meetings and efforts, please drop us a note at floodmar.network@gmail.com.
A panoramic view of the water release from Lake Natoma at Nimbus Dam in Sacramento County, California as a precaution against flooding after an atmospheric river storm
dumped heavy rain and snow across Northern California (DWR, 2019).
Network Related Events and Activities
Monthly Lunch-MAR Webinars
Lunch-MAR webinars take place the first Wednesday of each month from 12:30 – 1:30 pm PT. In these webinars, network members and invited guests present on and discuss a wide range of topics relevant to Flood-MAR, ranging from water rights to geophysics.
To join a Lunch-MAR Session, please use this link [Note: The link was updated on 01.21.2026 for sessions occurring from February 2026 – December 2027. Registration is not required to join.]
Wednesday, June 3, 2026, 12:30PM -1:30PM PT
Flows, Fish, & FIRO – Willamette FIRO Pilot Study
Presenter: Andy Martin, US Army Corps of Engineers
Sneak Peek: The Willamette FIRO Pilot Study is exploring how advanced forecasting, adaptive reservoir operations, and ecosystem restoration can work hand-in-hand. Andy Martin (USACE Portland District) will share lessons learned from this multi-agency effort to support fish, flows, flood protection, and water supply reliability.
Wednesday, July 1, 2026, 12:30PM -1:30PM PT
Scaling up Recharge in the Sacramento Valley
Presenter: David Guy, Northern California Water Association
Sneak Peek: Coming Soon!
Wednesday, August 5, 2026, 12:30PM -1:30PM PT
Coming Soon!
Presenter: Coming Soon!
Sneak Peek: Coming Soon!
Virtual Flood-MAR Network Workshops
All Flood-MAR Network members are invited to attend periodic virtual workshops. These workshops provide opportunities for members to engage in conversations and collaborate on Flood-MAR projects.
Latest Network Workshop: Friday March 28, 2025 from 10 am – 12 pm
This virtual workshop aimed to reflect on the progress made in 2024, re-energize our collective efforts, and collaboratively shape priorities for 2025. Key objectives were:
- Showcase recent impactful work from Network Members
- Advance collaborative initiatives to for Flood-MAR implementation in California
- Encourage active participation in the Network’s activities
- Engage members in the planning of the 2025 Biannual Network Form
FIRO-MAR Learning Group
The FIRO-MAR learning group is dedicated to sharing information on the latest advancements in linking forecast-informed reservoir operations (FIRO) with Flood-MAR. This group is on a short break and will reconvene in 2025.
Biennial Forums
Flood-MAR forums have been held biannually since 2017 to discuss and address the opportunities and challenges of implementing flood-MAR in California.
2025 Flood-MAR Forum | Grounded in Success, Growing Towards the Future
Thank you to everyone who joined us November 5–6, 2025 at the Network’s biennial Forum event for two incredible days of connection, learning, and momentum-building. The energy was off the charts! We couldn’t have done it without ALL OF YOU!!
Want to relive the highlights?
- Review the final 2025 Forum Agenda here
- Video Clips of all sessions are now available to view on our YouTube Channel here.
- Read the newly published 2025 Forum Summary Proceedings here.
- Scan through the Speakers’ Slide Decks Here.
- Our friends at Sustainable Conservation put together a fantastic recap capturing the ideas, inspiration, and big takeaways. Check it out here: “From Concept to Practice: Reflections on the 2025 Flood-MAR Network Forum.”
And a HUGE THANKS to this year’s amazing sponsors who help keep the Network thriving and make this biannual event possible!
2023 Flood-MAR Forum | Flood-MAR in Action
The Flood-MAR Network hosted its fourth biennual Flood-MAR Public Forum on November 7 & 8, 2023, at the CSUS Harper Alumni Center in Sacramento. Nearly 100 Flood-MAR practitioners gathered to share success stories and lessons learned from the landmark wet winter of 2022 – 2023 and identify areas for further preparation needed to implement projects that use floodwaters for managed aquifer recharge in future wet years, for the benefit of communities, ecosystems, and agriculture.
- Read the short summary document which synthesizes highlights of the event here.
- Watch recordings of the many excellent presentations and discussions from the event by clicking the links in the event agenda below.
From this sharing of experiences and ideas, Forum discussions culminated in five main takeaways:
- California is poised to scale up Flood-MAR as a significant strategy for addressing groundwater overdraft, but more work is needed.
- Partnerships and collaboration among growers and water managers have been key to successful Flood-MAR.
- Flood-MAR lends itself to multiple benefits beyond groundwater recharge and flood protection.
- State support and coordination across agencies helps streamline and activate Flood-MAR.
- Flood-MAR projects are a good investment for California.
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"For me, [Flood-MAR] is the solution that provides the hope. That proves the solutions are on our land, if we work together, and are willing to take an integrated resource management approach and think about all the multi-benefits."
Karen Ross
CA Dept. of Food and Agriculture Secutiry
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2023 FLOOD-MAR FORUM | Flood-MAR in Action
Tuesday, November 7, 2023, 12:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Wednesday, November 8, 2023, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM
FORUM AGENDA | DAY 1
Mike Antos – Stantec
Karla Nemeth – California Department of Water Resources
Aaron Fukuda – Tulare Irrigation District
Christine Gemperle – Grower
Mark Hutson – Grower, Hutson Farm
Julia Barfield – The Nature Conservancy
Andy Fisher – U.C. Santa Cruz
Kristin Sicke – Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District
Table Discussions – Share Your Success Stories!
Moderator: Sarah Woolf – Water Wise
Chase Hurley – Water and Land Solutions
Bill Stretch – Fresno Irrigation District
David Guy – Northern California Water Association
Mike Mierzwa – CA Department of Water Resources
Mike Myatt– Environmental Defense Fund
Daniel Mountjoy – Sustainable Conservation
FORUM AGENDA | DAY 2
Graham Fogg – UC Davis, Network Coordinating Committee Member
Moderator: Ashley Boren – Sustainable Conservation
Paul Gosselin – California Department of Water Resources
Erik Ekdahl – State Water Resources Control Board
Don Cameron – California State Board of Food and Agriculture
Sustainable Groundwater Management Office Tools, Steven Springhorn – CA Dept. of Water Resources
San Joaquin Valley Flood-MAR Dashboard, Christine Gutierrez – GEI
District and Grower Guidance, Aysha Massell – Sustainable Conservation
San Joaquin River Watershed Studies, Jim Wieking – CA Dept. of Water Resources
Eco-FIP Toolset and Pilot Studies, Michael Founds – cbec eco engineering
Fastpath, Meredith Goebel-Szenher – Stanford University
Introduction to the Network’s six Action Teams, Kamyar Guivetchi – CA Dept. of Water Resources
Estimating Recharge, Graham Fogg – UC Davis
Water Quality, Daniel Mountjoy – Sustainable Conservation
Instream Flows, Noelle Patterson – cbec eco engineering
Assessing Policy, Charles Delgado – Sustainable Conservation
Incentives for Recharge, Laura Ramos – Fresno State & Sam Cunningham – PPENG
Flood-MAR HUB, Kirsten Ondris – UC Davis & Meredith Goebel-Szenher – Stanford University
Table Discussions – What are your priorities to prepare for the next wet year?
Karen Ross – Secretary, California Department of Food and Agriculture
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Thank you to this 2023 Flood-MAR Forum Sponsors!
Join the Flood-MAR Community
Coachella Valley Water District’s Thomas E. Levy Groundwater Replenishment Facility in Coachella, Calif.
Photo Credit: DWR
Copyright 2022-Present, Flood-MAR and Contributing Authors.