Presenting and Sponsoring Groundwater Resources Association of California Western Groundwater Congress

Groundwater Resources Association of California Western Groundwater Congress

DBS&A is the Platinum Sponsor for the Groundwater Resources Association (GRA) of California Western Groundwater Congress taking place in Burbank, California, on September 12 through 14, 2023. Hydrogeologist Douglas (Gus) Tolley, PhD, will present on the development of a multi-agency and multi-basin groundwater banking data management application. He is also the Student Engagement Chair for the conference and will be moderating the Student Networking and Participation Program (SNAPP) Talks session as well as the Interconnected Surface Water and Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems session. Other sessions at the event will focus on sustainable groundwater supplies and storage, groundwater management, and contaminant assessment and remediation, and more. Learn more about the event.

Meet Dr. Tolley, DBS&A Vice President and Principal Hydrogeologist Tony Morgan, PG, CHG, and Hydrogeologist Phoebe Nicholls at our exhibit to learn more about DBS&A’s data management capabilities. Geo-Logic Associates’ affiliate Summit Water Resources’ newest team member, Brad Bessinger, PhD, RG, will also be in attendance.

 

Presentation Abstract

Development of a Multi-Agency and Multi-Basin Groundwater Banking Data Management Application for the Santa Ana River Conservation and Conjunctive Use Program

Gus Tolley, PhD (Presenter), Daniel B. Stephens & Associates, Inc.

Gregory Buczek, Daniel B. Stephens & Associates, Inc.

Gordon Ng, Eastern Municipal Water District

 

With the threat of increasing climate variability and climate extremes, groundwater banking is being looked at more and more by water agencies as one way of securing water supplies during dry years. Although the principle of water banking is relatively simple in theory, it quickly becomes quite complicated in practice as it requires accounting for physical water stored, rights to the physical water (i.e., “paper water”), and the financial costs of buying, conveying, recharging, transferring, and extracting groundwater. This talk will present a newly developed web-based application for the Santa Ana River Conservation and Conjunctive Use Program (SARCCUP) that facilitates water banking operations and data management across six groundwater basins managed by five regional public agencies. The system walks users through established workflows for offers and deliveries, which can range from a simple purchase and delivery of water between two agencies to a complex multi-agency transaction with both physical and water rights transfers. A series of checks built into the application ensure that transactions that violate system rules are not allowed. Example violations of system rules include purchasing more water than is available or outside of the specified delivery dates, and extracting more water than is available or an agency has rights to in a groundwater basin. Additional application functionality includes a user-customizable graphical dashboard, advanced graphing and data export, document library, and customizable automated reporting.