Abstract
A climate-driven water resource model of California’s Sacramento River Basin (SACB) is presented, based on the Water Evaluation and Planning model Version 21 (WEAP21). The model’s configuration, calibration, testing, and limitations are presented. The major contribution includes an integration of the watershed’s surface and subsurface hydrology, consumptive, and nonconsumptive use, and the water management infrastructure and controls that determine how water naturally flows and is managed. The SACB was subdivided into numerous catchments; groundwater basins; irrigated areas; urban/export use; environmental requirements; and canals, diversions, and reservoirs in an attempt to characterize the forces that act on water throughout the basin. A monthly climate time series forced an embedded hydrologic model that simulates runoff, groundwater-surface water interactions, and consumptive agriculture and urban water uses. Results show that the model can reproduce both local and regional water balances, including managed and unmanaged streamflow, reservoir storage, agriculture and urban water uses, and the allocation of ground water and surface water supplies, which should be useful for various California water planning processes.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported through a research grant from the U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development Global Change Research Program (Grant No. UNSPECIFIEDCX 82876601), and the Assessment Initiative at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The review by three anonymous reviewers greatly enhanced the message and content of the paper. The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 135 • Issue 5 • September 2009
Pages: 303 - 313
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Sep 8, 2005
Accepted: Nov 14, 2008
Published online: Aug 14, 2009
Published in print: Sep 2009
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