Why can’t you establish a hard and fast protocol of exactly what you are going to do and when you are going to do it in a storm situation?

There is no standard storm event. Each storm is unique as the creek reacts quite differently depending on the rate of rainfall, the ground saturation, the areas receiving the most rainfall, and the duration of the rainfall. Each storm/flooding event is different and calls have to be made for each event based on the available data to ensure an appropriate and timely response.