San Luis Low Point Improvement Project
MBK Engineers has provided CalSim II modeling for Reclamation as part of a project team to conduct a Federal investigation into ways to prevent low-point issues in San Luis Reservoir. MBK performed extensive review of historical conditions and causes for San Luis Reservoir low point issues including changes in regulatory conditions, project operations, water demand patterns, precipitation, and crop evapotranspiration. MBK modified CalSim models to simulate operations of various project alternatives and identified and conducted sensitivity analysis to key baseline assumptions. Additionally, we developed CalSim post-processing tools to layer on the analysis of institutional measures such as groundwater banking, water exchanges, and transfers to maintain storage levels in San Luis Reservoir and support more aggressive earlier allocations. The post-processing tool quantified the volume of water available for groundwater banking and simulated banking operations based on assumptions developed by the project team for the ability to bank and return water. Recently, MBK has evaluated alternatives that would expand the capacity of San Luis Reservoir for the CVP or the CVP and SWP. The reservoir expansion would be completed as part of a project to address seismic concerns at B.F. Sisk Dam. MBK also completed a sensitivity analysis to climate change to improve understanding of the potential uncertainties related to climate change and assess whether alternatives provide robust solutions across the range of potential future San Luis operations.
