Southwest Extreme Precipitation Symposium (SWEPSYM) (Virtual)

Sharing Knowledge About Extreme Precipitation — Droughts to Floods — in the North American Southwest

Theme: Exploring Extreme Conditions Impacting Water Supply from Colorado River Basin

Why this theme?
The Colorado River basin provides water to nearly 40 million people and irrigates nearly 5.5 million acres of agricultural lands, both within and outside of the basin. Areas outside the basin receiving water include Denver, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, Los Angeles, and San Diego for public (municipal) supply, and the Imperial Valley in California and the Mexicali Valley in Mexico for agricultural water supplies.

Droughts and floods are the historic extreme climatic conditions in the basin. Recent climate change impacts are altering these extreme conditions. Exploring the past, current, and potential future impacts from climate changes on droughts and floods will be covered by ten speakers over two half-days.

What is the purpose of SWEPSYM?

The purpose of the Southwest Extreme Precipitation Symposium (SWEPSYM) is:

• To focus attention on precipitation extremes in the Southwest region of North America,
• To share technical and scientific information and knowledge about the various factors responsible for producing extreme precipitation and the hydrologic processes responsible for generating runoff in semi-arid and arid areas,
• To advance our understanding of the causes of extreme precipitation with the hope of increasing the warning time in advance of extreme precipitation ranging from droughts to floods, and
• To exchange information on engineering, water management, flood control, agricultural, and other Southwest regional needs for information on extreme precipitation.

WEST Presence:

WEST is a proud sponsor of this event.