CHEE Seminar: Mike Bernardo and Meghan Thiemann
Monday, January 30, 2023 – 3:00 p.m.
Mike Bernardo
Deputy Chief
Boulder Canyon Operations
Department of the Interior
Meghan Thiemann
Civil Engineer (Special Projects)
Boulder Canyon Operations
Department of the Interior
"Colorado River Basin: System Status"
Zoom link
There will not be a social hour following the seminar this week.
ABSTRACT
The Colorado River Basin, one of the most critical sources of water in the West, continues to experience unprecedented conditions of drought and low runoff. Lake Powell and Lake Mead recently ended the calendar year at their lowest levels since initially filling, and the latest modeling projections indicate that these elevations will continue to decline in the coming years. This presentation will provide an overview of the Colorado River Basin and discuss hydrology, operations and projections, and drought response actions.
BIOSKETCHES
Mike Bernardo is the deputy chief for the Boulder Canyon Operations with second-level oversight of the River Operations and Modeling & Research Groups. In this capacity, he continues to work with multi-disciplinary teams to continue to challenge the status quo by collaboratively pursuing the best available science and using it to continually advance our methods and support our agency’s decisions. Mike graduated from the New Jersey Institute of Technology with bachelor’s degrees in both mechanical engineering and business, he holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and is currently pursuing his doctorate in public policy. Mike is a licensed professional engineer in the State of Nevada, a certified project management professional, a leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) accredited professional in building design and construction, and a diversity change agent for the Department of the Interior.
Meghan Thiemann is a civil engineer for special projects in the Bureau of Reclamation Interior Region 8: Lower Colorado Basin’s Boulder Canyon Operations Office (BCOO) where she assists the office chief and deputy chief on the coordination of office program goals and projects and supports the office in matters associated with the Colorado River drought and reservoir conditions. She has a bachelor's and master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of Florida, holds a professional engineer (P.E.) license in environmental engineering in the State of Nevada and is a certified project management professional (PMP).