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The California State Water Project (SWP) is an engineering marvel. Planned, built, and operated by the state’s Department of Water Resources (DWR), it is a multi-purpose water storage and delivery system that extends across two-thirds of the state, bringing together canals, pipelines, reservoirs, and hydroelectric power facilities.
“The State Water Project provides a water supply to 27 million Californians and about 750,000 acres of farmland,” says Molly White, the DWR’s water operations manager for the State Water Project.
Most of California’s water comes from rain and snowfall in the northern part of the state, but the highest areas of demand are urban centers and agricultural areas in the Bay Area, central coast, and south. SWP engineers utilize natural waterways and constructed conveyance facilities to move water from where it’s most abundant to where it’s most needed. They also maintain storage facilities that capture and hold water from wetter times and deliver according to demand throughout the year. Altogether, the SWP supports two-thirds of California’s $2.8 trillion economy, reinforcing how crucial proper water management is to the state’s livelihood.
“Californians really have to keep in mind that we should be moving away from the concept that drought is just an occasional emergency that happens and goes away to continuing to recognize the importance of making water conservation a way of life in California,” White says.
During drought years, the California DWR prepares and implements a drought contingency plan. Most recently, that included temporary petitions that sought modifications of certain water rights requirements, and empowered the SWP to manage the limited water supply to meet suitable water quality in the San Francisco Bay-Delta for minimum human health and safety needs. The Delta watershed covers more than 75,000 square miles and includes the largest estuary on the west coast. DWR also installed a drought barrier: a rock-filled channel closure across West False River in the western Delta, to minimize salinity intrusion in the area.
“In addition to actions taken in Water Years 2021 and 2022, DWR is also taking steps to improve water supply through new infrastructure and expedited groundwater recharge,” White says.
Not all the infrastructure is brick and mortar: the Groundwater Accounting Platform is a state-supported data tool that enables groundwater sustainability agencies across California to track water availability and use. The platform works with other state efforts such as the Open and Transparent Water Data Act, the Newsom Administration’s Water Resilience Portfolio and Water Supply Strategy, and the DWR Water Accounting team’s Water Budget Handbook.
The most important new water management proposal in California is the Delta Conveyance Project. The Delta is an integral component of California’s water distribution system: 50 percent of California’s water supply flows through it. Seismic threats, a rising sea level, and other consequences of climate change threaten it. The proposed Delta Conveyance Project would protect and preserve the Delta’s water supply by rehabilitating critical infrastructure and building new conveyance methods.
“If the Delta Conveyance Project would have been in place, we could have captured an additional 228,000 acre-feet between January 1 and January 31 of 2023 to be moved to storage to meet future water supply needs,” White says. “That is about 35 percent of the total volume exported by the SWP in Water Year 2022.”
Drought is complex. Like any environmental issue, it is the result of a wide variety of inputs, and relates to several fields of study. Engineers need to collaborate across different disciplines to enable effective water management and collect more accurate data.
The DWR collaborates with research partners to analyze post-fire impacts on snow and hydrology, and to better model snowmelt and runoff, soil conditions, sublimation, and changes to the landscape from climate change, fire, and tree mortality. Staff in DWR’s Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting are coordinating with hundreds of scientists, researchers, and partner agencies to present the best picture of runoff conditions possible in the face of unprecedented drought and climate change.
“As California experiences more extreme wet and dry periods, it is critical for the State to deploy innovative forecasting and water management strategies to adapt to our changing climate,” White says.
DWR is making big investments in its forecasting capabilities. It pulls data from aerial flights over the state’s river basins. DWR and federal and local water agencies have developed a Forecast-Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO) program to use scientific improvements in forecasting atmospheric rivers to better anticipate and manage large storm events while maximizing opportunities to increase water supply. Machine learning allows DWR to consider, and analyze, more variables in its forecasting.
“We must continue investments in new technologies, like advancement in forecasting, atmospheric river research, aerial snow surveying, groundwater recharge, water recycling, and desalination, as well as the importance of modernizing our infrastructure and flood management system,” White says.
In addition to upgrading sensors for enhanced data collection, a significant effort is underway to replace the aging physical infrastructure of many hydrometeorological data collection stations. Many of the towers, poles, and buildings that house the sensor equipment are in danger of failure when subjected to the harsh conditions experienced in the Sierra Nevada mountains during the winter. DWR has identified a structural solution engineered to withstand extreme wind events while also making it safer for DWR staff to repair and maintain. Construction of these new structures is expected to begin in the summer of 2023.
Drought isn’t a problem exclusive to California, but it is an endemic one. New and aspiring engineers would do well to take note of what the state’s accomplished concerning its water supply, and where it’s headed next. Further interdisciplinary collaboration, both formal and informal, can pave the way for more effective results.
“As new innovative tools to address climate change impacts are developed by the next generation of engineers, this will further our work to sustainably manage California’s water supply,” White says.
Matt Zbrog is a writer and researcher from Southern California. Since 2018, he’s written extensively about a wide range of engineering disciplines, with a particular focus on the potential impacts of major technological breakthroughs. His work largely centers around conversations with engineering faculty at top universities, highlighting their research in areas such as nuclear power, artificial intelligence, soft robotics, and semiconductor design. He’s also worked with leaders and subject matter experts at the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), and the Society of Women Engineers (SWE).
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