Northwest Hydraulic Consultants Ltd. (NHC) is pleased to announce that Flood Management Engineer Monica Mannerström, MEng, PEng, has received the Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia (EGBC) Meritorious Achievement Award for 2022. This award recognizes Monica’s outstanding achievements over an extraordinary 40+-year career.
Monica is an expert in flood hazard risk assessment, floodplain mapping and management, erosion control, bridge hydraulics, and dike evaluations. Supporting a wide variety of water resource projects since first graduating in 1979, Monica quickly gained vital technical experience in hydraulics, hydrology, and sedimentation, leading complex technical investigations in river environments, often in challenging and dangerous terrain. Her many professional achievements include developing a flood risk strategy for the provincial government that has improved public safety across BC. She is widely regarded by her peers as a pioneer in flood hazard management, planning, and mitigation, thanks to her in-depth technical experience and her active publication of technical papers and delivery of presentations on flood management at engineering conferences across Canada and abroad.
The Lower Fraser River region is where Monica’s professional achievements are most evident. In addition to developing a provincial flood risk strategy to guide future approaches to flood management, she brings extensive experience in hydraulic modelling and mapping rivers in the Lower Mainland for the Fraser Basin Council. Monica has also delivered seminars on flood management and peer-reviewed several EGBC guidelines on floodplain mapping and assessment in a changing climate. The guidance she has provided to provincial regulators and the professional engineering practice in BC is matched only by the many investigations she has led.
In addition to her many professional achievements, Monica has been an active volunteer with EGBC and other professional organizations throughout her career. She was instrumental in establishing the BC Flood Management Committee of the Canadian Water Resources Association, and she is a past board member of the Northwest Regional Floodplain Management Association.
While Monica remains hopeful for the future, she also recognizes that “climate change is here, and it will cause higher flood flows. Sea level rise and flooding are becoming more of a problem in communities across the province. Safety is the focus of flood management. If I could make communities just a little bit safer, that would make me very happy.”
BC is indeed a safer, more resilient province thanks to Monica’s professional achievements. Her early childhood interest in water has fueled a lifetime of learning and development of practical solutions to better understand flood hazards and manage public safety. “What gets me out of bed in the morning is thinking about the challenges I will face during the day. I’m really excited about the future and what the new technology will bring to this industry. I’m hopeful that great things will come.”
To learn more about this award and other award recipients, visit https://www.egbc.ca/About/Programs-Initiatives/Awards-Recognition/2022-Engineers-and-Geoscientists-BC-Award-Winners.
