WaterSMART

Internal Applied Science Project Examples

Improved Hydrologic Modeling

Quantifying Risk Exposure and Tolerance of Conjunctively-Managed Water Supplies to Enhance Drought Preparedness and Response.

Reclamation, in partnership with the Texas Water Development Board and local government entities, are developing an Enhanced Drought Response and Reservoir Operations (EDRRO) Model for three of Reclamation’s Texas reservoirs. The EDRRO Model simulate reservoir firm yield under a range of conjunctive management scenarios that incorporate supplemental supply sources to make near-term projections, while also accounting for actual water use. Simulations include new droughts of record and a range of paleo-droughts. The EDRRO Model evaluates "what-if" demand management scenarios and identify the associated risks of the reservoirs going dry based on different types of droughts.

Incorporation of Sea Level Rise into the CalSim 3 Model

Reclamation will improve the capability to model impacts of sea-level rise on salinity using the CalSim 3 model, the primary reservoir operations planning model. Meeting the outflow requirements to the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta is a function of sea level and salinity conditions. CalSim 3 currently incorporates salinity through an artificial neural network (ANN) representing how salinity changes with water management decisions. The existing ANN represents only a single sea-level condition. Model improvements will employ a first-order regression scheme representing salinity across all sea-level conditions and automate the process of producing updated higher accuracy ANNs, using supercomputing tools. The project results will provide water managers with broad survey capability combined with the ability to refine salinity estimates rapidly.

Simulating Impacts of Groundwater Withdrawals on Base Flow and Reservoir Storage to Inform Conjunctive Management Strategies

Reclamation will collaborate with the Lugert-Altus Irrigation District, the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, and the United States Geological Survey to simulate the impacts of groundwater withdrawals on base flow depletions in the North Fork Red River and evaluate how the base flow depletions affect the storage and yield of Reclamation's Lugert-Altus Reservoir. The reservoir has seen storage drop to 9 percent full due to droughts since 2010. The results of this project help water managers better understand how groundwater wells affect the base inflows and reservoir storage for Lugert-Altus Reservoir and inform adaptive management strategies.

Improved Forecasting Tools

Developing Predictive Equations to Forecast Reservoir Sedimentation Rates

Reservoir assets enable Reclamation’s water delivery and power generation. Through time, the reservoir storage capacity decreases due to the deposition of sediment and debris naturally transported to reservoirs by rivers. Reservoir surveys detect capacity change and are used to calculate reservoir sedimentation rates. Reclamation manages approximately 300 reservoirs and only one-third have been surveyed since dam closure. This project is using reservoir surveys from Reclamation, US Army Corps of Engineers, and published state data to detect trends in sedimentation rates that can be applied to unsurveyed reservoirs.

The project has so far calculated sedimentation rates at 535 sites across the United States, accounting for sediment trapping by dams in their upstream drainage basins. In addition, there are forecasted sedimentation rates for these 535 surveyed sites. The data is being analyzed in addition to other various parameters such as precipitation, soil/geology, climate zone, ground cover, land use, and topography to identify variables important to predicting sedimentation rates. Once complete, these predictive equations will infer sedimentation at Reclamation’s unsurveyed reservoir assets.

Improve GIS and Data Management

Quantifying Sedimentation in Starvation Reservoir following the Dollar Ridge Wildfire Using Sonar and Drone Technologies

Reclamation partnered with Brigham Young University, Central Utah Water Conservancy District, the USGS, and the Utah Division of Water Resources to quantify sediment deposition in Starvation Reservoir. Sonar is used to capture the underwater reservoir topography and drones are used to capture the topography above the water surface. Following the Dollar Ridge Fire in 2018, operators of Starvation Dam witnessed large amounts of sediment flowing into the reservoir, and more sediment and debris are anticipated to continue entering the reservoir over the next several years. This project will result in more accurate sedimentation rates, allowing for the development of new reservoir capacity tables, which will be used to inform reservoir operations, including the release capacity for water deliveries.

Collaborative Conservation and Adaptation Strategy Toolbox

Reclamation will expand the Collaborative Conservation and Adaptation Strategy Toolbox (CCAST), a geospatial database of conservation case studies and tools on climate adaptation and aquatic restoration practices. The project will share lessons learned and best practices that can be applied in restoration projects to assess climate risks to sensitive aquatic species through a community of practice that exchanges issue-based knowledge and works together on actionable science and tools that support decision-making. CCAST supports restoration activities by providing an easily accessible platform for sharing of information and decision-support tools, communicating management activities across watersheds, building networks, and improving project outcomes.

Reclamation will develop and publish a GIS database to catalog existing field survey data from coatings and hazardous materials inspections at Reclamation dams, powerplants, and pipelines across all regions. These inspections and surveys support construction and maintenance at Reclamation facilities by determining the quality of existing coatings and if hazardous materials such as asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls, and regulated metals are found in the paints, coatings, dust, and sediment at the facility. Survey reports and data are currently stored in various locations. Consolidating the inspections results and reports in a database will improve access to this information and will help staff identify locations where additional inspections should occur. The database will be accessible by all Reclamation employees, and information about the new tool will be presented and distributed.