Hydroeconomic Optimization and Reoperation of Folsom Reservoir for Flood-Managed Aquifer Recharge Implementation
Publication: Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 150, Issue 10
Abstract
The increasing occurrence of prolonged droughts and extreme wet events in California poses significant challenges to the management of the region’s water resources. To address these challenges, the utilization of Flood-Managed Aquifer Recharge (Flood-MAR) has emerged as a potential solution. This study developed a multiobjective hydroeconomic model to assess the economic impact of implementing Flood-MAR and reoperation of Folsom reservoir within the American River Basin. The simulation module consists of a hydrological model and a linear programming groundwater recharge model. The economic impact evaluation considers three main components: the value of groundwater recharge, surface storage, and hydropower generation. The findings demonstrate that the adoption of Flood-MAR and reoperation of Folsom reservoir offer considerable economic benefits, with minimal adverse effects on the downstream system. Two different model solutions were analyzed: one that aimed to maximize recharge and storage benefits, and one that prioritized hydropower generation. The former exhibited an increase in reservoir storage compared with historical operation, along with increased water allocation for groundwater recharge during wet and normal years. The latter showed substantial gains in hydropower generation but occasional drops in reservoir storage below historical levels. Despite these differences, the solution emphasizing recharge and storage benefits was deemed to be more realistic, considering the risk of future droughts and uncertainties in climate and hydrological forecasts. Overall, this research provides a foundation for assessing the economic impact of Flood-MAR implementation in the Folsom reservoir system.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
The FolSim model, multiobjective optimization code, reservoir inflow, observed storage (retrieved from the California Data Exchange Center), dam characteristics (extracted from CalSim model), and CALVIN model outputs used to develop the economic evaluation modules are available upon request from the corresponding author.
References
Afshar, A., M. A. Tavakoli, and A. Khodagholi. 2020. “Multi-objective hydro-economic modeling for sustainable groundwater management.” Water Resour. Manage. 34 (Apr): 1855–1869. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-020-02533-4.
Aghakouchak, A., L. Cheng, O. Mazdiyasni, and A. Farahmand. 2014. “Global warming and changes in risk of concurrent climate extremes: Insights from the 2014 California drought.” Geophys. Res. Lett. 41 (24): 8847–8852.
Alamanos, A., D. Latinopoulos, G. Papaioannou, and N. Mylopoulos. 2019. “Integrated hydro-economic modeling for sustainable water resources management in data-scarce areas: The case of Lake Karla Watershed in Greece.” Water Resour. Manage. 33 (Jun): 2775–2790. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-019-02241-8.
Berg, N., and A. Hall. 2015. “Increased interannual precipitation extremes over California under climate change.” J. Clim. 28 (16): 6324–6334. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-14-00624.1.
Blanco-Gutiérrez, I., C. Varela-Ortega, and D. R. Purkey. 2013. “Integrated assessment of policy interventions for promoting sustainable irrigation in semi-arid environments: A hydro-economic modeling approach.” J. Environ. Manage. 128 (Oct): 144–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2013.04.037.
Booker, J. F., R. E. Howitt, A. M. Michelsen, and R. A. Young. 2012. “Economics and the modeling of water resources and policies.” Nat. Resour. Model. 25 (1): 168–218. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-7445.2011.00105.x.
Cai, X., D. C. McKinney, and L. S. Lasdon. 2003. “Integrated hydrologic-agronomic-economic model for river basin management.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage. 129 (1): 4–17. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9496(2003)129:1(4).
Cai, X., and M. W. Rosegrant. 2002. “Global water demand and supply projections: Part 1. A modeling approach.” Water Int. 27 (2): 159–169. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060208686989.
California Department of Water Resources. 2018. Flood-MAR: Using floodwaters for managed aquifer recharge. Sacramento, CA: California Department of Water Resources.
Deb, K., A. Pratap, S. Agarwal, and T. Meyarivan. 2002. “A fast and elitist multiobjective genetic algorithm: NSGA-II.” IEEE Trans. Evol. Comput. 6 (2): 182–197. https://doi.org/10.1109/4235.996017.
Dettinger, M. D. 2013. “Atmospheric rivers as drought busters on the U.S. West Coast.” J. Hydrometeorol. 14 (6): 1721–1732. https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM-D-13-02.1.
Dillon, P., and M. Arshad. 2016. “Managed aquifer recharge in integrated water resource management.” In Integrated groundwater management: Concepts, approaches and challenges. 435–452. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Dogan, M. S. 2019. “Hydropower generation optimization in the era of renewables and climate change.” Ph.D. thesis, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of California.
Dogan, M. S., M. A. Fefer, J. D. Herman, Q. J. Hart, J. R. Merz, J. Medellin-Azuara, and J. R. Lund. 2018. “An open-source Python implementation of California’s hydroeconomic optimization model.” Environ. Modell. Software 108 (Oct): 8–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2018.07.002.
Draper, A. J. 2001. Implicit stochastic optimization with limited foresight for reservoir systems. Davis, CA: Univ. of California.
Draper, A. J., M. W. Jenkins, K. W. Kirby, J. R. Lund, and R. E. Howitt. 2003. “Economic-engineering optimization for California water management.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage. 129 (3): 155–164. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9496(2003)129:3(155).
Emami, F., and M. Koch. 2018. “Agricultural water productivity-based hydro-economic modeling for optimal crop pattern and water resources planning in the Zarrine River Basin, Iran, in the wake of climate change.” Sustainability 10 (11): 3953. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10113953.
Esteve, P., C. Varela-Ortega, I. Blanco-Gutiérrez, and T. E. Downing. 2015. “A hydro-economic model for the assessment of climate change impacts and adaptation in irrigated agriculture.” Ecol. Econ. 120 (Dec): 49–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2015.09.017.
Famiglietti, J. S. 2014. “The global groundwater crisis.” Nat. Clim. Change 4 (11): 945–948. https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2425.
Gailey, R. M., G. E. Fogg, J. R. Lund, and J. Medellin-Azuara. 2019. “Maximizing on-farm groundwater recharge with surface reservoir releases: A planning approach and case study in California, USA.” Hydrogeol. J. 27 (4): 1183–1206. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-019-01936-x.
Gale, I., and P. Dillon. 2005. Strategies for Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) in semi-arid areas. Paris: UNESCO.
Goharian, E., M. Azizipour, S. Sandoval-Soils, and G. E. Fogg. 2020. “Surface reservoir reoperation for managed aquifer recharge: Folsom reservoir system.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage. 146 (12): 04020095. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0001305.
Goharian, E., M. Azizipour, S. Sandoval-Solis, and G. Fogg. 2021. “Using cellular automata approach to optimize the hydropower reservoir operation of Folsom Dam.” Water 13 (13): 1851. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13131851.
Goharian, E., R. Gailey, J. Medellin-Azuara, S. Maples, L. Adams, S. Sandoval Solis, G. E. Fogg, H. E. Dahlke, T. Harter, and J. R. Lund. 2016. “Whole watershed management to maximize total water storage: Case study of the American-Cosumnes River Basin.” In Proc., AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts. Washington, DC: American Geophysical Union.
Griffin, D., and K. J. Anchukaitis. 2014. “How unusual is the 2012–2014 California drought?” Geophys. Res. Lett. 41 (24): 9017–9023. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL062433.
Hanak, E., and J. R. Lund. 2012. “Adapting California’s water management to climate change.” Clim. Change 111 (Aug): 17–44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-011-0241-3.
Harou, J. J., M. Pulido-Velazquez, D. E. Rosenberg, J. Medellin-Azuara, J. R. Lund, and R. E. Howitt. 2009. “Hydro-economic models: Concepts, design, applications, and future prospects.” J. Hydrol. 375 (3–4): 627–643. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2009.06.037.
Herman, J. D., and M. Giuliani. 2018. “Policy tree optimization for threshold-based water resources management over multiple timescales.” Environ. Modell. Software 99 (Jun): 39–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2017.09.016.
Howitt, R., J. Medellin-Azuara, D. MacEwan, J. R. Lund, and D. Sumner. 2014. Economic analysis of the 2014 drought for California agriculture. Davis, CA: Center for Watershed Sciences, Univ. of California.
Howitt, R. E., J. Medellin-Azuara, D. MacEwan, and J. R. Lund. 2012. “Calibrating disaggregate economic models of agricultural production and water management.” Environ. Modell. Software 38 (Oct): 244–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2012.06.013.
Hyman-Rabeler, K. A., and S. P. Loheide II. 2023. “Drivers of variation in winter and spring groundwater recharge: Impacts of midwinter melt events and subsequent freezeback.” Water Resour. Res. 59 (1): e2022WR032733. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022WR032733.
Kahil, T., et al. 2018. “A continental-scale hydroeconomic model for integrating water-energy-land nexus solutions.” Water Resour. Res. 54 (10): 7511–7533. https://doi.org/10.1029/2017WR022478.
Kasler, D. 2016. “Largest California reservoirs releasing water for flood safety.” Accessed August 6, 2022. https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/water-and-drought/article67772672.html.
Kocis, T. N., and H. E. Dahlke. 2017. “Availability of high-magnitude streamflow for groundwater banking in the Central Valley, California.” Environ. Res. Lett. 12 (8): 84009. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa7b1b.
Levintal, E., M. L. Kniffin, Y. Ganot, N. Marwaha, N. P. Murphy, and H. E. Dahlke. 2023. “Agricultural managed aquifer recharge (Ag-MAR)—A method for sustainable groundwater management: A review.” Crit. Rev. Environ. Sci. Technol. 53 (3): 291–314. https://doi.org/10.1080/10643389.2022.2050160.
Lund, J., J. Medellin-Azuara, J. Durand, and K. Stone. 2018. “Lessons from California’s 2012–2016 drought.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage. 144 (10): 04018067. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000984.
Ma, Q., Y. Yang, Z. Sheng, S. Han, Y. Yang, and J. P. Moiwo. 2022. “Hydro-economic model framework for achieving groundwater, food, and economy trade-offs by optimizing crop patterns.” Water Res. 226 (Jun): 119199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2022.119199.
MacEwan, D., M. Cayar, A. Taghavi, D. Mitchell, S. Hatchett, and R. Howitt. 2017. “Hydroeconomic modeling of sustainable groundwater management.” Water Resour. Res. 53 (3): 2384–2403. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016WR019639.
Martínez-Dalmau, J., C. Gutiérrez-Martín, A. Expósito, and J. Berbel. 2023. “Analysis of water pricing policy effects in a Mediterranean basin through a hydroeconomic model.” Water Resour. Manage. 37 (4): 1599–1618. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-023-03446-8.
Maskey, M. L., M. S. Dogan, A. S. Fernandez-Bou, L. Li, A. Guzman, W. Arnold, E. Goharian, J. R. Lund, and J. Medellin-Azuara. 2022. “Managing aquifer recharge to overcome overdraft in the Lower American River, California, USA.” Water 14 (6): 966. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14060966.
Momeni, M., Z. Zakeri, M. Esfandiari, K. Behzadian, S. Zahedi, and V. Razavi. 2019. “Comparative analysis of agricultural water pricing between Azarbaijan Provinces in Iran and the state of California in the US: A hydro-economic approach.” Agric. Water Manage. 223 (Aug): 105724. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2019.105724.
Newlin, B. D., M. W. Jenkins, J. R. Lund, and R. E. Howitt. 2002. “Southern California water markets: Potential and limitations” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage. 128 (1): 21–32. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9496(2002)128:1(21).
Richert, J. G. 1900. On artificial underground water. Moscow: Ripol Klassik.
Strzepek, K., A. Schlosser, A. Gueneau, X. Gao, É. Blanc, C. Fant, B. Rasheed, and H. D. Jacoby. 2013. “Modeling water resource systems within the framework of the MIT Integrated Global System Model: IGSM-WRS.” J. Adv. Model. Earth Syst. 5 (3): 638–653. https://doi.org/10.1002/jame.20044.
Ullrich, P. A., Z. Xu, A. M. Rhoades, M. D. Dettinger, J. F. Mount, A. D. Jones, and P. Vahmani. 2018. “California’s drought of the future: A midcentury recreation of the exceptional conditions of 2012–2017.” Earth’s Future 6 (11): 1568–1587. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018EF001007.
United States Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District. 2017. American River Watershed (Folsom Dam) operations and maintenance manual: Updated flood control manual. Sacramento, CA: USACE.
USBR (United States Bureau of Reclamation). 2019. “Folsom dam—Central valley project—California.” Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.usbr.gov/projects/index.php?id=74l.
USBR (United States Bureau of Reclamation) and SAFCA (Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency). 2004. Long-term reoperation of Folsom dam and reservoir. Final environmental assessment. Sacramento, CA: USACE.
Ward, F. A., A. S. Mayer, L. A. Garnica, N. T. Townsend, and D. S. Gutzler. 2019. “The economics of aquifer protection plans under climate water stress: New insights from hydroeconomic modeling.” J. Hydrol. 576 (Jun): 667–684. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.06.081.
Yao, H., and A. Georgakakos. 2001. “Assessment of Folsom lake response to historical and potential future climate scenarios: 2. Reservoir management.” J. Hydrol. 249 (1–4): 176–196. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1694(01)00418-8.
Yigzaw, W., F. Hossain, and A. Kalyanapu. 2013. “Impact of artificial reservoir size and land use/land cover patterns on probable maximum precipitation and flood: Case of Folsom Dam on the American River.” J. Hydrol. Eng. 18 (9): 1180–1190. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)HE.1943-5584.0000722.
Young, R. A., and J. B. Loomis. 2014. Determining the economic value of water: Concepts and methods. New York: Routledge.
Zhang, H., Y. Xu, and T. Kanyerere. 2020. “A review of the managed aquifer recharge: Historical development, current situation and perspectives.” Phys. Chem. Earth. A/B/C 118 (Apr): 102887. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pce.2020.102887.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 150 • Issue 10 • October 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 31, 2023
Accepted: Apr 25, 2024
Published online: Jul 19, 2024
Published in print: Oct 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Dec 19, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Business management
- Disaster risk management
- Disasters and hazards
- Economic factors
- Engineering fundamentals
- Floods
- Groundwater
- Groundwater management
- Groundwater recharge
- Hydraulic engineering
- Hydraulic structures
- Hydrologic models
- Models (by type)
- Natural disasters
- Practice and Profession
- Reservoirs
- Structural engineering
- Structures (by type)
- Water (by type)
- Water and water resources
- Water management
- Water storage
- Water supply
- Water supply systems
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.