2019 Fischer Award Presentation The Sacramento Water Allocation Model (SacWAM): A model for in-stream flow policy analysis 2019 Fischer Award Presentation Chuck Young

What was the motivation? State Water Resources Control Board Protect Bay-Delta watershed and its many beneficial uses Charged with adopting and updating the Water Quality Control Plan for the Delta Establishes water quality control measures and flow requirements to provide reasonable protection of beneficial uses in the watershed Need to address the prolonged and precipitous decline of native aquatic species in the Bay-Delta

What was the modeling challenge? Needed a tool that represents: the Sacramento Basin + Eastside Streams (COS, MOK, CAL) CVP and SWP operations Delta flows and operations Operations of other projects (EBMUD, PCWA, NID, PG&E, SCWA, YCFCWCD, SMUD, YCWA) Needed a tool with the ability to simulate: flows at key locations throughout the Valley “unimpaired” flows

Upper Watershed Operations Middle Fork Project PCWA, SMUD, EBMUD, NID, PG&E, SCWA, YCFCWCD, YCWA, EID, CCWD, SSWD, SEWD

Valley Floor Demands Settlement contractors Project contracts Non project irrigators Urban areas Refuges

Points of interest Flow calculations made at important locations: Major dams Flow gauges Tributary mouths

Additional Features Integrated daily crop water model based on FAO56 Optional upper watershed rainfall runoff simulation Developed in the WEAP software Georeferenced Easy to use GUI Facilitates scenario analysis

SacWAM Development - A group effort Initiated by Scott Ligare, Eleanor Bartolomeo, David Purkey Water Board Matt Holland, Vadim Demchuk, Alessia Siclari Melchor SEI Chuck Young, Jack Sieber, Brian Joyce, Anne Hereford, Susie Bresney Stantec Andy Draper, Ailsa Mcculloch, Tom FitzHugh

Thank You