RIVERWARE® MODEL DEVELOPMENT

SAN JUAN BASIN RECOVERY IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM HYDROLOGY MODEL

Precision is working with the Western Colorado Area Office of the Bureau of Reclamation, and other stakeholders of the San Juan Basin Recovery Implementation Program, to continue development and application of a daily timestep RiverWare model of the San Juan River in southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. The model simulates detailed concurrent recovery program and water supply operations in Navajo Reservoir and downstream to Lake Powell, including coordinated operations on the Animas River and other important tributaries. The model is used for various planning type studies in the basin, including evaluation and revision of the 1999 SJBRIP Flow Recommendations and ESA Section 7 consultations of proposed actions within the basin.

Arkansas River RiverwAre planning model (abrw)

Precision was contracted by the Bureau of Reclamation's Eastern Colorado Area Office to significantly enhance its Frying Pan Arkansas model.  The model was extended to include the basin below Pueblo Reservoir, Fountain Creek, and the Purgatoire River.  This included modeling many new reservoirs and water users.  The model from the headwaters to Pueblo reservoir was updated and accounting and the water rights solver were added.  Development work will continued until 2018, and the model was used to support several Bureau of Reclamation studies and reports.

Truckee / Carson TROA Operations and Accounting Model

Precision partners with the US District Court Federal Watermaster/TROA Adminstrator to utilize, maintain,and develop a RiverWare® modeling system for the Truckee Carson Basins. This modeling system is the principal tool for administration of the Truckee River Operating Agreement (TROA), which became operational on December 1st, 2015. TROA is an innovative, flexible, accounting based operating agreement for the Truckee River Basin in California and Nevada. The model performs the official accounting of the system, it provides hydrologic forecasts, and performs operational forecasting as well as facilitates the collective operation of the basin by the stakeholders. The system also has the capability to utilize the River Forecast Center’s “Ensemble Streamflow Prediction” (ESP) forecasts to provide basin stakeholders with estimates in uncertainty in the future condition of the system to support probabilistic decision making.  Precision has been actively working on this project for over 12 years.

Colorado River Mid-Term Probabilistic Operations Model (MTOM) 

Precision worked with the Upper Colorado Region and the Lower Colorado Region of the United States Bureau of Reclamation to develop a mid-term probabilistic operations modeling system (MTOM) in RiverWare for the entire Colorado River Basin. The MTOM system simulates the operations of all major basin reservoirs including Glen Canyon Dam and Hoover Dam, the significant upper basin and lower basin demands, and flows throughout the basin. The model is driven by the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center’s 60-month ESP forecast ensemble. The system runs each of the forecasts in the ensemble and analyzes the output of all runs collectively to estimate the probability of meeting key flow targets, or significant elevations in the reservoirs, or other important thresholds 2-5 years into the future. The MTOM system significantly improves the information available to Reclamation’s operations staff, decision-makers within the Bureau of Reclamation, and stakeholders in the basin to make better-informed decisions concerning planning and management of Colorado River Basin Water.

Truckee / Carson TROA Planning Model

Precision partners with the Lahontan Basin Area Office of the Bureau of Reclamation and a team of technical representatives from the basin’s stakeholders to maintain and develop a RiverWare long term Planning model for the Truckee and lower Carson River basins that simulates operations of the Truckee River Operations Agreement (TROA).  The model simulates the significant mandatory and voluntary operations prescribed and permitted by TROA.  The model has been used to evaluate policy and long-term impacts of changes within the basin including climate change, demand change, policy change, and even changes physical characteristics and significant features in the basin. Many stakeholders in the basin have used the model for significant planning studies. Stakeholder use has resulted in significant improvement to the model. Users include: Truckee Meadows Water Authority, California Department of Water Resources, Cities of Reno, Sparks and Washoe County, City of Fernley, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Churchill County, and the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe.

Truckee / Carson Pre-TROA modeling suite

Precision worked with the Federal Watermaster and the Lahontan Basin Area Office of the Bureau of Reclamation to develop, operate, and maintain a suite of RiverWare models that simulate the Pre-TROA law of the River on the Truckee.  The suite of models include a backward-looking Accounting Model, a hydrologic Forecasting Model, a one-year forward looking Operations Model, and a long term Planning Model.  Each of these models was used extensively by managers and stakeholders within the basin for all aspects of water management within the basin since 2004.