To: Board of Directors, Sonoma County Water Agency
Department or Agency Name(s): Sonoma County Water Agency
Staff Name and Phone Number: John Mendoza 707-547-1929
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Engineering Support for Forecast-Informed Reservoir Operations
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to execute the First Amended and Restated Agreement for Engineering Support for Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations Phase II with the Regents of the University of California, Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E), in a form approved by County Counsel. The amended agreement increases the amount by $150,000 (CW3E to pay Sonoma County Water Agency), expands the scope of work to include work on Howard Hanson Dam, and the transferability to other reservoir systems, and extends the agreement term by one year for a new not-to-exceed agreement total of $250,000 and end date of August 14, 2024.
B) Authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to amend the Phase II agreement to extend the term and increase payment to Sonoma County Water Agency and to add time, scope, and payment for additional years (CW3E to pay Sonoma County Water Agency), with approval of County Counsel.
C) Authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to enter into an Agreement for Engineering Support for Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations Phase III with the Regents of the University of California, Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes, in a form approved by County Counsel (CW3E to pay Sonoma County Water Agency).
D) Authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to amend the Phase III agreement to extend the term and increase payment to Sonoma County Water Agency and to add time, scope, and payment for additional years (CW3E to pay Sonoma County Water Agency), with approval of County Counsel.
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Executive Summary:
Since 2014, Sonoma County Water Agency (Sonoma Water) has partnered with several federal, state, and local agencies, universities, and others to develop and test Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO) at Lake Mendocino. FIRO is an innovative management strategy that uses data from watershed monitoring and modern weather and water forecasting to help water managers selectively retain and release water from reservoirs in a manner that reflects current and forecasted conditions. As FIRO matures for Lake Mendocino and transfers to other reservoir systems, the need to leverage key Sonoma Water engineering expertise has become apparent for the success of the larger program. University of California, CW3E, has requested engineering support services to expand FIRO across the United States.
Discussion:
HISTORY OF ITEM/BACKGROUND
FIRO is an innovative management strategy that uses data from watershed monitoring and modern weather and water forecasting to help water managers selectively retain and release water from reservoirs in a manner that reflects current and forecasted conditions. Available storage for many existing multi-purpose reservoirs is allocated according to static storage guide curves (also called “rule curves”), which balance the need for water supply, flood protection, and dam safety. Guide curves were developed using seasonal runoff patterns and basin hydrologic characteristics from data available at the time of reservoir construction and are often overly conservative for flood protection at the expense of water supply storage. FIRO is a novel approach to reservoir management that could improve water supply reliability while also improving downstream flood protection for many multi-purpose reservoirs.
Through a collaborative process between the Army Corps of Engineers, Sonoma Water, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, and California Department of Water Resources, Lake Mendocino was selected for a pilot study to evaluate FIRO as a management strategy. It is a dual-use reservoir for water supply and flood control located in the Russian River basin in northern California. It is owned and operated for flood control by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and is operated by Sonoma Water for water supply. The Corps operates Lake Mendocino in accordance with operational rules to meet the reservoirs’ congressionally mandated purposes. To explore potential implementation of FIRO, the Lake Mendocino FIRO Steering Committee, a collaborative partnership that consists of water managers and scientists from several federal, state, and local agencies, and universities, submitted an initial deviation request to the Corps in 2018 for completing studies that are consistent with Corps procedures and protocols, and pursuing interim deviations to the Water Control Manual (WCM) to test and evaluate FIRO strategies before WCM changes are proposed. Since the initial request, deviation requests have been submitted and approved in each subsequent year and currently Lake Mendocino is operating under a 5-year deviation that expires in 2025. The Corps is currently in the process of updating the WCM for Lake Mendocino to incorporate FIRO operational strategies.
FIRO implementation is also being explored at Lake Sonoma, another reservoir operated by the Corps for flood control and Sonoma Water for water supply. A Lake Sonoma WCM update study was initiated in 2023 to evaluate FIRO strategies and a deviation request has been approved for water years (Oct 1st-Sep 30th) 2024 through 2026 to test the FIRO strategies.
FIRO Partnership and Collaboration
The effort to develop FIRO has been led by Sonoma Water and CW3E, engaging experts and stakeholders in civil engineering, hydrology, meteorology, biology, economics, and climate from several federal, state, and local agencies; universities; and others. There is significant interest and support for developing FIRO at other appropriate locations across the United States.
Based on the success to date of the Lake Mendocino demonstration pilot project, the potential application of FIRO is being evaluated for several additional reservoir sites in California, including Prado Dam, Yuba-Feather River, Howard Hanson Dam, Seven Oaks Dam, and other sites yet to be determined. This larger effort is being led by CW3E with funding provided by the Corps.
The need to leverage Sonoma Water’s engineering expertise has been identified as necessary for the success of expanding FIRO to new reservoir sites. Consequently, Sonoma Water proposes entering into agreements with CW3E to continue providing hydrologic and engineering support for research and development efforts associated with FIRO. Sonoma Water’s contributions will include scoping and developing selection criteria for additional reservoir sites, as well as required data collection, processing, and evaluation of candidate sites. In addition, Sonoma Water will provide engineering support to transition the FIRO model, developed by Sonoma Water, from a research application to an operation’s model domain.
Why is this important for Sonoma Water? What is the benefit?
In order to prove its value and effectiveness, FIRO must be tested and demonstrated at multiple locations and in different environments, and this work requires the collaboration of the partnership.
FIRO implementation at multiple sites allows improvement to Sonoma Water’s model, with those benefits resulting in improved results for FIRO implementation at Lake Mendocino. Successful implementation of FIRO at additional sites will increase support for funding of other reservoirs including Lake Sonoma. Implementing FIRO at Lake Sonoma is an important additional objective because it supports the goal of modifying the WCM for Lake Sonoma, resulting in significant improvements in how the reservoir is managed for both water supply and flood control.
Budgeting and Funding of the Work
CW3E’s budget procedures require agreements to be limited to one year. Sonoma Water is returning to the Board to amend the Phase II agreement for an additional year, and requests Board approval to enter into an additional agreement currently being negotiated with CW3E for future Phase III work.
Services to be Performed by Sonoma Water
Phase II, First Amended and Restated Agreement - FY 2023/2024 and FY 2024/2025
Under the Phase II First Amended and Restated Agreement (Amended Agreement), CW3E will pay Sonoma Water to provide FIRO engineering support including work for Lake Mendocino, Lake Sonoma, Prado Dam, Yuba-Feather River, Howard Hanson Dam, Seven Oaks Dam, and other yet-to-be-determined reservoir sites, as well as water management engineering research and FIRO transferability.
Sonoma Water and CW3E originally entered into the agreement for engineering support for FIRO Phase II, dated January 1, 2023, through August 14, 2023, in the amount of $100,000. This amendment increases the agreement amount by $150,000.
CW3E will reimburse Sonoma Water for costs up to $250,000. Remaining costs of $56,598 will come equally from Sonoma Water’s General Fund and the Russian River Projects Fund.
This Amended Agreement covers services rendered from August 15, 2023, to August 14, 2024.
Phase III, Future Agreement - FY 2024/2025 and FY 2025/2026
Under the future Phase III agreement, CW3E will pay Sonoma Water to continue providing FIRO engineering support including work for Lake Mendocino, Lake Sonoma, Prado Dam, Yuba-Feather River, Howard Hanson Dam, Seven Oaks Dam, and as-yet-to-be-determined reservoir sites, as well as water management engineering research and FIRO transferability.
CW3E will reimburse Sonoma Water for costs up to the amount negotiated in the future Phase III agreement and future amended agreements. Estimated expenses for the first year of FIRO Phase III engineering support are $206,317. Sonoma Water will invoice CW3E up to $150,000 of the total project costs. Remaining costs of $56,317 will come equally from Sonoma Water’s General Fund and the Russian River Projects Fund. Final negotiated expenses and revenue will be budgeted in Sonoma Water’s FY 2024/2025 budget.
The Phase III agreement will initially cover services rendered from August 15, 2024, to August 14, 2025. Sonoma Water’s General Manager will amend the agreement annually, as needed, to extend the term, increase payment to Sonoma Water, and add scope, with approval of County Counsel.
County of Sonoma Strategic Plan
N/A
Sonoma Water Strategic Plan Alignment
This item directly supports Sonoma Water’s Strategic Plan and is aligned with the following goal, strategy, and action.
Goal: 3. Environmental Stewardship - Protect and sustain our watersheds to maintain water resources, ecosystems, and communities.
Strategy: 3.1 Ensure current and future water supply reliability by complying with the Federal and State Endangered Species Acts.
Action Item: 3.1.1 Ensure current and future water supply reliability by complying with the Federal and State Endangered Species Acts.
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
06/06/23: Approved agreement between Sonoma Water and Regents of the University of California, Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes for engineering support for FIRO. Cost $100,000; term end August 14, 2023.
01/14/20: Approved agreement between Sonoma Water and Regents of the University of California, Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes for engineering support for FIRO. Cost $240,278; term end August 14, 2020. Board also granted authority for Sonoma Water General Manager to amend the agreement for additional years with the approval of County Counsel.
12/17/19: Approved agreement between Sonoma Water and Orange County Water District for FIRO engineering support. Cost $32,000 (Orange County Water District paid Sonoma Water $20,000); term end June 30, 2020.
05/20/14: Approved Agreement for Scientific and Educational Cooperation between the Regents of the University of California on behalf of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Sonoma Water.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY23-24 Adopted |
FY24-25 Projected |
FY25-26 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$206,598 |
$206,317 |
$208,063 |
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
|
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|
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Total Expenditures |
$206,598 |
$206,317 |
$208,063 |
|
Funding Sources |
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|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
$28,299 |
$28,158 |
$208,063 |
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State/Federal |
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Fees/Other |
$178,299 |
$178,159 |
$179,031 |
|
Use of Fund Balance |
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General Fund Contingencies |
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Total Sources |
$206,598 |
$206,317 |
$208,063 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Budgeted amounts of $103,299, each, are available from FY 2023/2024 appropriations for the Sonoma Water General Fund and the Russian River Projects Fund, with $75,000 funded for each fund from the Regents of the University of California funds to offset costs and $28,299 in cost share from each fund. Appropriations projected for future years will be budgeted in those fiscal years.
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
None
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None