Role of Science and Engineering in Decision-Making Within the State and Regional Water Boards

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | December 16th, 2005

The primary purpose of State Water Resources Control Board and the nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards is to preserve and protect the beneficial uses of all waters

The primary purpose of State Water Resources Control Board and the nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards is to preserve and protect the beneficial uses of all waters of the State. This includes all ground water, more than 1.6 million acres of lakes, 211,000 miles of rivers and streams, more than 1.3 million acres of bays and estuaries, 1,609 miles of coastline, and the first three miles of ocean off of our coastline. The California legislature found that “activities and factors which may affect the quality of the waters of the State shall be regulated to attain the highest water quality that is reasonable . . . (and) that the state must protect the quality of waters in the state from degradation inside or outside the boundaries of the state.” How we use water, or expect to use water in the future determines its beneficial uses. A designated beneficial use determines the quality of water that must be maintained for that use. Protecting water quality and preventing degradation in order to preserve beneficial uses of water relies heavily on science and engineering. Protecting water quality also depends on an equitable system for allocating water resources, which is carried out by the State Water Resources Control Board’s water rights program. This report discusses the role of science and engineering (technology) in decision-making at the water boards in implementing federal and state laws along with their implementing regulations, and water board plans and policies.

Salton Sea Reclamation Act of 1998

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) | January 27th, 1998

San Francisco Bay Microplastics Project: Science-Supported Solutions and Policy Recommendations

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | September 2nd, 2019

Plastics in our waterways and in the ocean, and more specifically microplastics (plastic particles less than 5 mm in size), have gained global attention as a pervasive an

Plastics in our waterways and in the ocean, and more specifically microplastics (plastic particles less than 5 mm in size), have gained global attention as a pervasive and preventable threat to marine ecosystem health. The San Francisco Bay Microplastics Project was designed to provide critical data on microplastics in the Bay Area. The project also engaged multiple stakeholders in both science and policy discussions. Finally, the project was designed to generate scientifically supported regional and statewide policy recommendations for solutions to plastic pollution. 

San Francisco Bay Nutrient Management Strategy Observation Program

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | July 1st, 2020

This document presents a planning-level description of the draft Nutrient Management Strategy Observation Program (NMSOP), including estimated budget and approach for ph

This document presents a planning-level description of the draft Nutrient Management Strategy Observation Program (NMSOP), including estimated budget and approach for phased growth. The NMSOP represents the design that is needed to address NMS†data needs¨ not an existing program. The proposed design represents a balance between two key goals: ● Target high priority NMS data collection needs ● Where feasible, align field work and data collection efforts with other programs’ established infrastructure, to enhance cost-effectiveness and sustainability. While an inter-program collaborative approach is important for securing NMSOP’s long-term sustainability, building a reliable consortium will require up-front effort to establish inter-program science, management, and financial agreements. This document focuses on the NMSOP scientific program design and growth, with institutional program development described in a companion work plan (SFEI 2016b).

San Francisco Bay Shore Inventory: Mapping for Sea Level Rise Planning

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | July 1st, 2016

With rising sea levels and the increased likelihood of extreme weather events, it is important for regional agencies and local municipalities in the San Francisco Bay Are

With rising sea levels and the increased likelihood of extreme weather events, it is important for regional agencies and local municipalities in the San Francisco Bay Area to have a clear understanding of the status, composition, condition, and elevation of our current Bay shore, including both natural features and built infrastructure. The purpose of this Bay shore inventory is to create a comprehensive and consistent picture of today’s Bay shore features to inform regional planning. This dataset includes both structures engineered expressly for flood risk management (such as accredited levees) and features that affect flooding at the shore but are not designed or maintained for this purpose (such as berms, road embankments, and marshes). This mapping covers as much of the ‘real world’ influence on flooding and flood routing as possible, including the large number of non-accredited structures. This information is needed to: identify areas vulnerable to flooding. identify adaptation constraints due to present Bay shore alignments; and suggest opportunities where beaches, wetlands, and floodplains can be maintained or restored and integrated into flood risk management strategies. The primary focus of the project is therefore to inform regional planners and managers of Bay shore characteristics and vulnerabilities. The mapping presented here is neither to inform FEMA flood designation nor is it a replacement for site-specific analysis and design. The mapping consists of two main elements: Mapping of Bay shore features (levees, berms, roads, railroads, embankments, etc.) which could affect flooding and flood routing. Attributing Bay shore features with additional information including elevations, armoring, ownership (when known), among others. SFEI delineated and characterized the Bay shore inland to 3 meters (10ft) above mean higher high water (MHHW) to accommodate observed extreme water levels and the commonly used range of future sea level rise (SLR) scenarios. Elevated Bay shore features were mapped and classified as engineered levees, berms, embankments, transportation structures, wetlands, natural shoreline, channel openings, or water control structures. Mapped features were also attributed with elevation (vertical accuracy of <5cm reported in 30 meter (100ft) segments from LiDAR derived digital elevation models (DEMs), FEMA accreditation status, fortification (e.g., riprap, buttressing), frontage (e.g., whether a feature was fronted by a wetland or beach), ownership, and entity responsible for maintenance. Water control structures, ownership, and maintenance attributes were captured where data was available (not complete for entire dataset). The dataset was extensively reviewed and corrected by city, county, and natural resource agency staff in each county around the Bay. This report provides further description of the Bay shore inventory and methods used for developing the dataset. The result is a publicly accessible GIS spatial database.

Science be Dammed: How Ignoring Inconvenient Science Drained the Colorado River

University of Arizona Press | November 26th, 2019

Science Be Dammed is an alarming reminder of the high stakes in the management—and perils in the mismanagement—of water in the western United States.  It seems decep

Science Be Dammed is an alarming reminder of the high stakes in the management—and perils in the mismanagement—of water in the western United States.  It seems deceptively simple: even when clear evidence was available that the Colorado River could not sustain ambitious dreaming and planning by decision-makers throughout the twentieth century, river planners and political operatives irresponsibly made the least sustainable and most dangerous long-term decisions. Arguing that the science of the early twentieth century can shed new light on the mistakes at the heart of the over-allocation of the Colorado River, authors Eric Kuhn and John Fleck delve into rarely reported early studies, showing that scientists warned as early as the 1920s that there was not enough water for the farms and cities boosters wanted to build. Contrary to a common myth that the authors of the Colorado River Compact did the best they could with limited information, Kuhn and Fleck show that development boosters selectively chose the information needed to support their dreams, ignoring inconvenient science that suggested a more cautious approach. Today water managers are struggling to come to terms with the mistakes of the past. Focused on both science and policy, Kuhn and Fleck unravel the tangled web that has constructed the current crisis. With key decisions being made now, including negotiations for rules governing how the Colorado River water will be used after 2026, Science Be Dammed offers a clear-eyed path forward by looking back. Understanding how mistakes were made is crucial to understanding our contemporary problems. Science Be Dammed offers important lessons in the age of climate change about the necessity of seeking out the best science to support the decisions we make.

Science Enterprise Workshop Proceedings Report for Nov. 1-2, 2016

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | March 1st, 2017

Scientists, science-policy experts, and stakeholders gathered for a two-day workshop on November 1-2, 2016 at UC Davis to better understand how collaborative science is b

Scientists, science-policy experts, and stakeholders gathered for a two-day workshop on November 1-2, 2016 at UC Davis to better understand how collaborative science is being managed, funded, and communicated in several high-profile ecosystems around the country. The program was designed to identify common themes and differences in the approaches being used in the California Bay-Delta, Chesapeake Bay and Watershed, Coastal Louisiana, Great Lakes, Greater Everglades Ecosystem, and Puget Sound. This Proceedings Report combines information found in the Science Enterprise Workshop Advance Briefing Paper, including an overview of each system, with abridged transcripts of the presentations, panel discussions, and audience questions and answers. The report is organized according to the workshop agenda and integrates slides and graphics used during the program. The contents of this report, including individual sections, can also be viewed online at (www.mavensnotebook.com) and videos from the workshop can be viewed online at (www.deltacouncil.ca.gov/youtube-page).

Science, society, and the coastal groundwater squeeze

American Geophysical Union (AGU) | April 28th, 2017

Coastal zones encompass the complex interface between land and sea. Understanding how water and solutes move within and across this interface is essential for managing r

Coastal zones encompass the complex interface between land and sea. Understanding how water and solutes move within and across this interface is essential for managing resources for society. The increasingly dense human occupation of coastal zones disrupts natural groundwater flow patterns and degrades freshwater resources by both overuse and pollution. This pressure results in a ‘‘coastal groundwater squeeze,’’ where the thin veneers of potable freshwater are threatened by contaminant sources at the land surface and saline groundwater at depth. Scientific advances in the field of coastal hydrogeology have enabled responsible management of water resources and protection of important ecosystems. To address the problems of the future, we must continue to make scientific advances, and groundwater hydrology needs to be firmly embedded in integrated coastal zone management. This will require interdisciplinary scientific collaboration, open communication between scientists and the public, and strong partnerships with policymakers.

Scott Valley Community Groundwater Study Plan

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | February 11th, 2008

This Scott Valley Groundwater Study Plan (GW Study Plan) has been requested of Siskiyou County and its Scott Valley stakeholders, as set forth in the Action Plan for the

This Scott Valley Groundwater Study Plan (GW Study Plan) has been requested of Siskiyou County and its Scott Valley stakeholders, as set forth in the Action Plan for the Scott River Temperature Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) (adopted Dec. 2005 by the California North Coast Regional Water Board [RWB]). The Action Plan sets forth the elements to be contained in this GW Study Plan; it also sets forth the needs of the RWB for certain information to be developed from the groundwater studies set forth in the GW Study Plan. It has been agreed by Siskiyou County and Regional Water Board staff that the hydrology of the entire valley needs to be understood in order to know the possible array of solutions to any water issues or problems in the Scott Valley. Siskiyou County with its management jurisdiction over groundwater (the RWB has water quality jurisdiction over groundwater under the Porter-Cologne Act) will take a community-based approach to groundwater management planning and to implementing this GW Study Plan. Data, information, and analysis are needed through studies to understand the groundwater hydrology of the Scott River system and its relationship to surface hydrology, especially in areas where groundwater could affect Scott River water temperatures, potential riparian vegetation, and habitat connectivity for anadromous fish. Without knowledge of the overall groundwater hydrology of Scott Valley, solutions to specific issues outlined in the TMDL Action Plan and the Scott River Watershed Council (SRWC) Strategic Action Plan will not be possible. It will be more cost effective to discover and prevent problems before they occur. Baseline data will be needed to determine the best approach in the design and implementation of water projects and water management alternatives and strategies to protect anadromous fish while also protecting the other beneficial uses, including the needs of agricultural operations. Much of this information will need to be developed over a period of time necessary to have a sufficient record from which to discover and test feasible and effective management strategies. This GW Study Plan was developed by the University of California at Davis (UC Davis) with the voluntary assistance of communities, landowners, the SRWC, and the Siskiyou Resource Conservation District (SRCD). The GW Study Plan is intended to be a living blueprint of the hydrologic, ecologic, water resource management, and agricultural management research needs and of the investigative approaches that can be taken to develop management practices that meet the mandate for protection of water, agricultural, and ecological resources in the Scott Valley. The GW Study Plan summarizes the current status of knowledge about the hydro-agro-eco-geography of the Scott Valley and outlines potential approaches to addressing critical current research needs. Individual study projects and tasks are described and scheduled in a way that is most efficient and timely to make the best use of funds to collect the information and data needed.

Seawater intrusion processes, investigation and management: Recent advances and future challenges

Advances in Water Resources (Elsevier) | January 17th, 2013

Seawater intrusion (SI) is a global issue, exacerbated by increasing demands for freshwater in coastal zones and predisposed to the influences of rising sea levels and ch

Seawater intrusion (SI) is a global issue, exacerbated by increasing demands for freshwater in coastal zones and predisposed to the influences of rising sea levels and changing climates. This review presents the state of knowledge in SI research, compares classes of methods for assessing and managing SI, and suggests areas for future research. We subdivide SI research into categories relating to processes, measurement, prediction and management. Considerable research effort spanning more than 50 years has provided an extensive array of field, laboratory and computer-based techniques for SI investigation. Despite this, knowledge gaps exist in SI process understanding, in particular associated with transient SI processes and timeframes, and the characterization and prediction of freshwater–saltwater interfaces over regional scales and in highly heterogeneous and dynamic settings. Multidisciplinary research is warranted to evaluate interactions between SI and submarine groundwater discharge, ecosystem health and unsaturated zone processes. Recent advances in numerical simulation, calibration and optimization techniques require rigorous field-scale application to contemporary issues of climate change, sea-level rise, and socioeconomic and ecological factors that are inseparable elements of SI management. The number of well-characterized examples of SI is small, and this has impeded understanding of field-scale processes, such as those controlling mixing zones, saltwater upconing, heterogeneity effects and other factors. Current SI process understanding is based mainly on numerical simulation and laboratory sand-tank experimentation to unravel the combined effects of tides, surface water–groundwater interaction, heterogeneity, pumping and density contrasts. The research effort would benefit from intensive measurement campaigns to delineate accurately interfaces and their movement in response to real-world coastal aquifer stresses, encompassing a range of geological and hydrological settings.