Bureau of Reclamation Research and Prize Competitions to improve Hydroclimate Forecasting

Abstract:

The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is the largest wholesaler of water in the western United States, delivering water to 31 million people, serving 20 percent of western irrigators, and generating enough hydropower to serve 3.5 million homes. Providing these services requires Reclamation reservoir operators to leverage hydroclimate observation and forecast information, and aptly translate that information into effective water management. Given the imperfect nature of this information and that Reclamation’s water management effectiveness depends on the skill of these information products, Reclamation is motivated to invest in innovation to improve the state of art in hydroclimate forecasting, partnering with internal teams and outside service providers throughout the process.

Reclamation’s innovation investments range from more fundamental research to technology demonstrations, engage users, and support decisions on whether/how to adopt new technologies in water management. Primary investments are funded by its Science and Technology Program, as either internally led research projects leveraging external partnerships, or prize competitions seeking to crowdsource solutions and fresh research starting points from nontraditional sources of expertise. This presentation will highlight several recent investments, including efforts to advance subseasonal climate forecasting, develop more cost-effective estimation of snow water equivalent in western watersheds, demonstrate streamflow forecasting reliant on novel automation, and integrate advancements of this nature into reservoir operations schemes that more effectively balance water supply, flood risk reduction, environmental and other potential operating objectives.