Improving Streamflow forecasts in the Klamath Basin through the use of hydrologic simulation models

Project ID: 68-3A75-4-101-03

Federal Agency: Natural Resources Conservation Service

Partner Institution: University of Washington

Fiscal Year: 2005

Initial Funding: $10,000

Total Funding: $10,000

Project Type: Technical Assistance

Project Disciplines: Physical

Principal Investigator: Wood, Andrew

Agreement Technical Representative: Garen, David

Abstract: University of Washington will assist in the application of their spatially distributed hydraulic simulation model, DHVSM, to the Klamath River basin in the southcentral Oregon. This activity will be in cooperation with the USDA Agricultural Research Services and the Natural Resources Conversation Service. This project is sponsored by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the federal agency responsible for managing Upper Klamath Lake, the source of irrigation water supply for the Klamath Project. The application of process simulation models is the next step in forecasting technology beyond the currently used statistical models. The goal is to continue to improve streamflow forecast accuracy to improve the efficiency of water management in this basin, where there are severe conflicts among competing demands for the available water. A secondary foal is to improve the understanding of and ability to model the basin’s hydrology to determine the effects of land idling and changes in land use on streamflow into upper Klamath Lake.