The History of FIM according to Jim

Goals:

• Describe the history and linage of a few of the more popular tools and libraries used to map flooding.
• Provide a baseline to help compare and detangle the different methods you might come across.

Outcomes:

• A better understanding of why we use the tools and methods we use.
• More context on the approaches we take to FIM.

This presentation

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Although I was neither there nor the victor, I still get to write the history.

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Photos are Allowed | Questions are Encouraged

: ~5 minutes | Last updated:08/09/2026 00:33:30

! PLEASE !

Interrupt me and ask questions or clarifications.

I’m here to talk with you now, not to these slides.

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This presentation

Speaker notes

1. tested in an updated version of google chrome

2. A favored quote from one of my giants: Dr. David Maidment

Timeline Scope

Speaker notes

Review: Some New Developments on Two Separate Topics: S…

Jude’s Thesis

Review: Toward Rapid Flood Mapping Using Modeled Inunda…

Kevins Thesis

Review: Dashboard V1

FLDPLN dashboard

Review: FastPLN

`

FASTPLN

Review: A Modern HEC-RAS

USACE History

• first engineer officers of the Army on June 16, 1775
• permanent branch on March 16, 1802

HEC History

• HEC-2: WIZ by Bill S. Eichert in 1964. This early version was developed on a GE 225 system at the Corps of Engineers Tulsa District office. In 1966 the first FORTRAN version of HEC-2 was released by the Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC) under the name “Backwater Any Cross Section.”
• 1995: first GUI software
• Now we’re here (V4 included enhancements for visualization, unsteady flow, and sediment transport)

St Louis Dredge potter (1932)

Review: The First 2D HEC-RAS

HEC2

Review: HEC-RAS 2025

HEC-alpha

Review: AHPS libraries

AHPS

Review: Hydraulics: One-Dimensional Analysis

1D Guidelines

Review: Guidance for Flood Risk Analysis and Mapping

Move towards 2D

Review: Hydraulics Two-Dimensional Analysis Guidance

femaHydraulicsTwoDimensionalAnalysis2020 - mandate 2D

Review: Accepting Numerical Models for Use in the NFIP

femaAcceptingNumericalModels2020 - guidelines for FIM

Review: Flood Decision Support Toolbox Executive Summar…

wallaceFloodDecisionSupport2022 - Formalize FIM library term

Review: RAS2FIM V1

RAS2FIM V1

Review: RAS2FIM V2

RAS2FIM V2

Review: RIPPLE1D

RIPPLE1D

Review: Rebranding to NWPS

AHPS rebrand

Review: Federated FIM

NWPS

Review: NFIE

NFIE

Review: OWP

NWS Vision

A Weather-Ready Nation: Society is prepared for and responds to weather, water, and climate-dependent events.

NWS Mission

Provide weather, water and climate data, forecasts, warnings, and impact-based decision support services for the protection of life and property and enhancement of the national economy. (From: https://www.weather.gov/about)

OWP Mission

The Office of Water Prediction (OWP) collaboratively researches, develops and delivers state-of-the-science national hydrologic analyses, forecast information, data, decision-support services and guidance to support and inform essential emergency services and water management decisions. In partnership with NWS national, regional, and local offices, the OWP coordinates, integrates and supports consistent water prediction activities from global to local levels. (From: https://water.noaa.gov/about/owp)

OWP

Review: OWP

NWS Mission

Provide weather, water and climate data, forecasts, warnings, and impact-based decision support services for the protection of life and property and enhancement of the national economy. (From: https://www.weather.gov/about)

OWP Mission

The Office of Water Prediction (OWP) collaboratively researches, develops and delivers state-of-the-science national hydrologic analyses, forecast information, data, decision-support services and guidance to support and inform essential emergency services and water management decisions. In partnership with NWS national, regional, and local offices, the OWP coordinates, integrates and supports consistent water prediction activities from global to local levels. (From: https://water.noaa.gov/about/owp)

Emphasis mine

A useable prediction of states of the holistic hydrology and hydraulic system that bridges scales from meso-scale to me-scale

• Useable - in both the FAIR and subjective senses
• Everywhere - EVERYWHERE

OWP

Review: A CyberGIS Integration and Computation Framewor…

liuCyberGISIntegrationComputation2018 - CFIM

Review: High resolution HAND

3mHAND

Review: FIM 2

FIM 2 - ESRI

Review: FIM 3

FIM3 - Open Source MS

Review: FIM 4

FIM 4

Review: SCHISM Manual at Ccrm-Vims-Edu

SCHISMManualCcrmvimsedu - https://schism-dev.github.io/schism/stable/

Review: FIM 100 and Beyond

We write the next steps!

Goals:

• Describe the history and linage of a few of the more popular tools and libraries used to map flooding.
• Provide a baseline to help compare and detangle the different methods you might come across.

Outcomes:

• A better understanding of why we use the tools and methods we use.
• More context on the approaches we take to FIM.

This presentation

See notes (s) and frames for image sources.

ASFPM Mapping & Engineering Standards Committe, David Knipe, and Steve Story. 2017. Guidance for Flood Risk Analysis and Mapping. FEMA.

Dewberry. 2011. Guidelines for the Development of Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service Flood Inundation Mapping. NOAA.

FEMA. 2016. Hydraulics: One-Dimensional Analysis. FEMA.

FEMA. 2018. Base Level Engineering (BLE) Analyses and Mapping. FEMA.

FEMA. 2020a. Accepting Numerical Models for Use in the NFIP. FEMA.

FEMA. 2020b. Hydraulics Two-Dimensional Analysis Guidance. FEMA.

FEMA. 2021. Base Level Engineering (BLE) Analysis and Mapping. FEMA.

Kastens, Jude H. 2008. “Some New Developments on Two Separate Topics: Statistical Cross Validation and Floodplain Mapping.” PhD thesis, University of Kansas.

Kevin Dobbs. 2017. “Toward Rapid Flood Mapping Using Modeled Inundation Libraries.” PhD thesis, University of Kansas.

Liu, Yan Y., David R. Maidment, David G. Tarboton, Xing Zheng, and Shaowen Wang. 2018. “A CyberGIS Integration and Computation Framework for High-Resolution Continental-Scale Flood Inundation Mapping.” JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association 54 (4): 770–84. https://doi.org/10.1111/1752-1688.12660.

Mark Glaudemans. 2024. Scn24-03_exp_nwps_website_t2o. NOAA.

SCHISM Manual at Ccrm-Vims-Edu. n.d. Https://ccrm.vims.edu/schismweb/.

Wallace, David S. 2022. Flood Decision Support Toolbox Executive Summary and Submittal Guidance.

Thank you for allowing me to ramble at you.