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In the Fall of 1993, I took a sabbatical leave to study droughts
at the famed Departamento Nacional de Obras Contra Secas (DNOCS) [National Department of Works Against Droughts], in Fortaleza,
Brazil.
This work led to several papers on drought hydrology, among them, notably,
Characterization of drought across climatic spectrum.
While in Fortaleza one evening, I went to dinner with a couple of classmates from Colorado State University
who happened to be in town for business. One of them had developed a very good reputation in
stochastic hydrology going back to his years as a Ph.D. student in the seventies.
Curious to find out what he was up to, I said: "José, what are you doing these days?"
He answered: "Urban hydrology."
I said: "That is something new to you, isn't it?
He replied: "It is simple. All you do is build a channel in the middle of the street, and drain the water
as fast as you can."
I said: "That's the way it used to be. Nowadays it is a lot more complex than that. Urban hydrology is not just drainage;
it is also retention."
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