Decision Support Tool for Groundwater Banking in Temecula Valley Groundwater Basin

Rancho California Water District (RCWD) partnered with EKI to develop a decision support Tool (DST) to help guide RCWD’s ongoing operational and groundwater management decision making within the Basin. The groundwater flow model that spatially represents the physical characteristics and simulates historical transient stresses to the portion of the Basin is managed by RCWD and is maintained by a third party. Model queries and refinements were processed prior to deploying the DST.

The DST that EKI is developing allows RCWD staff to directly interface with the groundwater flow model in a predictive capacity and generate visualizations of key model outputs through a user-friendly graphical interface. The DST is customized based on key design features identified through close consultation with RCWD staff, and includes multiple components that will allow  staff to specify a range of future hydrologic and water supply availability assumptions, assign various operational and management frameworks (including: where to deliver surface water and extract groundwater supplies), run the accompanying groundwater flow model, and view key model outputs to inform the RCWD Board of Directors’ groundwater management and policy decisions.

EKI engaged with RCWD stakeholders – including its policy makers, engineers, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Information Technology (IT) teams – to design and develop the DST. EKI developed and deployed the DST using a two-phased approach. Phase 1 focused on DST scoping and prototype development. EKI worked closely with key RCWD staff to finalize the scope and objectives of the DST to align with the District’s goals. Under Phase 1, EKI compiled and conducted a detailed review of the existing groundwater operations, monitoring datasets, and annual reports and held interviews with RCWD staff and key stakeholders. In Phase 2, EKI designed the DST interface to include the following features:

• Representation of future groundwater use and conditions under a range of future hydrologic and water supply availability assumptions.
• Quantification of when, where, and how much water to deliver, extract, and recharge to mitigate impacts to the groundwater system under periods of drought.
• Evaluation of the effectiveness of existing and proposed groundwater management policies and projects relative to established sustainability metrics and adjudication requirements.

EKI completely integrated the DST interface with RCWD groundwater flow model to run and analyze future scenarios. EKI deployed the DST and the underlying model into Azure Cloud and provided RCWD with a User Guide on how to use the DST.

Outcome

EKI has implemented a cutting-edge approach to improve model accessibility and value for its clients, including developing internal modeling toolkits to help streamline model input file generation, execution, and post-processing of results. EKI has also integrated these processes into customized, user-friendly decision support tool (DST) interfaces that allow clients to directly specify critical model inputs, run, extract, visualize, and compare model results to inform operational management decision-making. EKI’s approach to developing and deploying DSTs allows for streamlined data analytics and improved communication of outputs to support real-time operational and management decision-making.