By Kevin Wheeler and John Carron (AMEC Earth and Environmental); Laura Blaylock (Tarrent Regional Water District); and Kirk Kennedy (Kennedy Resource Company)

Abstract: AMEC and the Kennedy Resource Company applied the RiverWare model developed for the Tarrant Regional Water District to study the effects of a number of proposed operational policy improvements. These policy improvements allowed projected climate conditions to be considered in the operational guidelines along with system state conditions. Methods of estimating climate conditions were developed, tested and applied to the RiverWare model based on transition probabilities and downscaled atmospheric climate parameters. Benefits including reduced pumping costs, decreased reservoir spills, fewer shortages to water users and minimizing evaporation losses were evaluated to select a combination of policies to maximize system efficiency.