Many communities have residents who have already lost or are at risk of losing their access to drinking water. These communities cannot afford to see an unmitigated, climate change-fueled future come into effect.
To understand how water managers may protect California against flooding and groundwater overdraft in a warming climate, DWR linked several distinct pieces of software that simulated upper watershed snowpack and runoff, routed river flows, managed reservoir pools, optimized recharge operations, and modeled the resulting groundwater movement to determine the ultimate fate of recharged water.
The Watershed Studies are a novel approach to modeling climate change impacts at the watershed scale, from precipitation trends in the upper watershed to groundwater behavior beneath the Valley floor.
The watershed studies released this winter offer regional-scale information on hydrology, infrastructure, and recharge potential so local partners can better coordinate diversions, improve public safety, and enhance long-term water supply reliability.
We dove deep into flood risk, floodplain potential, and environmental possibilities with our Water for the Future Program Director Aysha Massell. Now, we’re talking to our entire water team about why our DWR-backed watershed expansion is a watershed moment for Sustainable Conservation, and for California. We chatted about why scale matters when managing water, what…