JOIN US FOR OUR SAN DIEGO BRANCH DECEMBER MEETING 

 This meeting will be in-person.

PRESENTATION:

Numerical Models as Sustainable Groundwater Management Tools: The Role Of Sensitivity Analysis In Data Gap Reduction

PRESENTATION INFORMATION:
The development of Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) across California has provided local Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) with the opportunity to re-evaluate their current groundwater monitoring networks and identify areas of improvement to support sustainable management. In basins where aquifer or site-specific data are limited, GSAs are challenged by the need to acquire additional data with limited funding. While the implementation of data acquisition relies on site-specific requirements, access limitations, and funding availability, the initial identification of projects can be aided by targeted modeling analyses and assessments. These analyses fall into a suite of methods referred to as sensitivity analyses, which aim to identify key drivers of uncertainty in the understanding of basin conditions. Sensitivity analyses are relatively inexpensive to perform and can be designed to answer targeted questions associated with predictions that guide management. The results from these analyses can then be used by GSAs to develop prioritized projects and locations that provide the largest reduction in the overall uncertainty in the understanding of basin conditions. This talk highlights the use of sensitivity analysis to support identification and implementation of projects in the Montecito Groundwater Basin. In this basin, interactions between groundwater and the coast are uncertain, and projected conditions associated with seawater intrusion are informed by uncertain model predictions. To better constrain these predictions throughout GSP implementation, the local GSA has pursued projects to acquire additional groundwater quality and level data. This presentation will highlight the technical framework utilized for development of the sensitivity analysis and will present key results and insights that inform ongoing project implementation in the basin.

SPEAKER: 

Trevor Jones

SPEAKER BIO:

Trevor Jones is a Senior Hydrogeologist at Dudek actively supporting agencies in sustainable groundwater management across Southern California. While at Dudek, Trevor has contributed to the development of Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) for critically overdrafted, high priority, and medium priority groundwater basins and is currently supporting Groundwater Sustainability Agencies in their GSP implementation. To support agency management and decision making in these basins, Trevor has developed, revised, and deployed numerical groundwater flow models to characterize groundwater budgets, evaluate basin optimization strategies, and characterize project efficacy and importance. Trevor and his colleagues specialize in the integration of uncertainty quantification techniques throughout these modeling evaluations to better inform decision makers and local stakeholders on the appropriate use and limitations of models as management tools. Trevor received his PhD from the University of California, Irvine, where his doctoral research focused on the development of new computational models to simulate reactive flow and transport in heterogeneous media.

Agenda:

5:30 - 7:00 p.m. – Social, Dinner and Announcements

7:00 – 7:30 p.m. – Presentation

7:30 - 8:30 p.m. – Questions and Answers, Networking

Meal Options:

Dinner will be catered by Mission Bay Yacht Club with buffet including Taco Bar. Drinks will be available.

Beer and wine will be offered with a suggested $5 donation which will support GRA scholarship fund.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

If you have any announcements or questions, please contact the Branch President, Trey Driscoll (tdriscoll@intera.com) at 760-415-1425  or Branch Vice President, Doug Roff (douglas.roff@aecom.com) at 858-945-2349.

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INTERA