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Title: THE SACRAMENTO RIVER ECOLOGICAL FLOWS TOOL (SACEFT): A FLOWS AND RIVER MANAGEMENT DECISION ANALYSIS TOOL (SACEFT) |
Abstract/Description: Many current water planning efforts to balance demands on the mainstem Sacramento River do not explicitly account for some critical ecosystem components. Current attention focuses primarily on maintaining minimum in-stream flow and temperature requirements for the upper reaches to support listed fish species, or treating the Sacramento River as a conduit to control relationships between flow and salinity in the Delta. Incorporating additional attributes of the flow regime, and the manner in which they maintain the ecological function of the Sacramento River, should result in more effective water management and ecosystem restoration strategies.
In response to this need, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and its partners (ESSA Technologies Ltd. and Stillwater Sciences) are investigating linkages between river flow on the Sacramento River and various ecological targets in an attempt to improve conditions for those targets. A major component of the project is the creation of a decision analysis tool for linking physical models and datasets with 6 focal species and a suite of performance measures. Specifically, the Sacramento River Ecological Flows Tool (SacEFT) is a database centered software system for linking flow management actions to changes in the physical habitats for several focal species of concern.
The vision for SacEFT is to create software that makes it easy for specialists and non-specialists to expand the ecological considerations and science foundation used to evaluate water management alternatives on the Sacramento River. To meet this vision, the system must leverage existing physical datasets and models rather than reinventing wheels, and selectively fill in ecological gaps. Use of existing models is a key aspect of the system; this includes both common water planning tools like CalSim II as well as various ecologically oriented models such as the meander migration model developed by researchers at UC Davis. In the case of focal species, SacEFT will typically "build-in" select functional relationships from external models or studies when generating habitat/biological performance measures.
Associated Projects:
Peer Review of San Joaquin River Dissolved Oxygen TMDL Studies, Non-Aeration Feasibility Studies Criteria Evaluation for the San Joaquin River Dissolved Oxygen TMDL
Main Subjects:
Communication / Planning, Hydrology & Geomorphology
Specific Subjects:
data sets, Flows
Species Keywords:
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| Publication & Citation |
Author(s):
Ryan Luster
Contributor(s):
Mike Roberts
Citation:
Publisher:
The Nature Conservancy
Publication Date:
April
08,
2007
Currentness:
Funder(s):
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| Format & Access |
Information Resource Type:
Posters
(Documents)
Media Type / Format:
Computer File
Access Limitations:
Public
Use Limitations:
No Limitations
To Obtain:
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| Location Information |
Cities / Urban Areas:
Counties:
Specific Location Names:
Undefined:
Water / Special Districts:
Watershed / Streams:
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First Entered by:
Ryan Humphries on 2007/08/19
Last Edited by:
Ryan Humphries on 2007/08/19
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