About Other Recent Works: the publications listed here are authored by one or more CW3E members. For peer reviewed articles, book chapters, and atmospheric rivers book, please see: https://cw3e.ucsd.edu/publications/
This Final Viability Assessment (FVA) presents results and recommendations for future Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO) at Prado Dam. In 2017, Orange County Water District (OCWD) initiated a partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E) at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), UC San Diego, to form a multi-agency Steering Committee and test FIRO as a method to improve water supply reliability, while not impairing and possibly enhancing habitat and flood risk management. This FVA builds on the 2021 Preliminary Viability Assessment (PVA), which demonstrated that FIRO is viable at Prado Dam. The ultimate goal of this project is to inform the update of USACE’s Water Control Manual (WCM) for Prado Dam to allow flexible FIRO operations, as demonstrated by rigorous analyses and documented in this FVA.
Recognizing the importance of Atmospheric Rivers (ARs) in a changing climate, Yuba Water and the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) are working with Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E) at UC San Diego, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the National Weather Service, and other members of the Yuba-Feather Steering Committee to implement Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO) at New Bullards Bar (NBB) and Lake Oroville (ORO) in the Yuba and Feather River watersheds. FIRO is a flexible water management strategy that uses improved weather and runoff forecasts to help water managers retain or release water from reservoirs to increase resilience to droughts and floods. The primary objective of this FIRO project is to reduce flood risk; a secondary objective is to achieve water supply benefits where possible, while supporting environmental needs. This FIRO Preliminary Viability Assessment (PVA) indicates strong potential for FIRO to be a viable water management strategy for reducing flood risk in the Yuba and Feather River watersheds.
This Preliminary Viability Assessment (PVA) was initiated by the Prado Dam Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO) multi-agency Steering Committee in 2017 and follows the workplan completed in 2019. The PVA provides an initial evaluation of the viability of FIRO as a strategy for improving water supply reliability for Orange County Water District (OCWD), while not impairing and possibly enhancing environmental conditions and flood risk management. Constructed and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Prado Dam was primarily designed for flood risk management. Stormwater capture for downstream groundwater recharge into OCWD’s water supply is a secondary purpose. The PVA demonstrated that FIRO is viable, and it lays the groundwork for a Final Viability Assessment (FVA) and recommendations for updating USACE’s Water Control Manual (WCM), which governs operation of Prado Dam.
