Project Highlights

• Value of coordinating the activities of field crews and modelers – Crews can collect model calibration data over the same temporal and spatial framework as other field data – Modelers can provide more reliable calibration and validation of models in support of specific field studies, and improve model performance for the interpretation of data • Calibration of the RMA11 transport model was facilitated by field electro-conductivity (EC) measurements Collaborators and Project Funding

• Regional San Environmental Laboratory Staff • Consultants – Applied Marine Sciences, Inc. • Dr. Mine Berg • Professor Raphael Kudela (UC Santa Cruz) • USGS Water Science Center – Jim Orlando • BSA Environmental Services, Inc. • Funding provided by Regional San Sacramento Research Value of adding modeling

• Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant is upgrading its treatment processes – EchoWater Project • Regional San and AMS staff conducted a survey in May and Oct. 2016 – Baseline conditions, pre-EchoWater • RMA model outputs will be used in the interpretation of survey data – Volumetric % of source waters – Particle tracking for transport time (in progress) Sacramento River Study

16 stations, 11 on the mainstem Sacramento River and 5 at the mouths of .

May be able to relate plankton growth rates to transport time from upper Sacramento River and tributaries.

But… Sampled on different dates over a 1-week period.

Uncertainty regarding sources of water at each mainstem Sacramento River station.

Uncertainty regarding water mixing at , especially and . Applied Marine Sciences, Inc. 2017 (Fig. 1) Sacramento River Survey – Sample Sites

Colusa Basin Drain

RM 95

Feather River Isleton Field Survey Variables and Methods

Variable Name Sample Method Site name, River mile, Mainstem/tributary, Date, Time, GPS General record location Depth, Temperature, pH, Electrical conductivity, Dissolved Sonde oxygen, Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) (vertical profile) Variable Fluorescence (Fv / Fm, phytoplankton stress) Phytoflash Turbidity, Ammonia, Nitrate, Total nitrogen, Ortho-phosphate, Water sample Dissolved organic carbon, Metals (total, dissolved), Pesticides, (pumped) Chlorophyll (analytical), Picoplankton, Phytoplankton, Stable Nutrient Isotopes (Kendall lab) Microzooplankton (≥35 µm), Macrozooplankton (≥154 µm) Net sample Clams (Corbicula fluminea) Trawl Phytoplankton uptake of Ammonia + carbon, Nitrate + carbon Uptake experiments Flow modeling data: GPS, Time, Temperature, Electrical Boat transects / conductivity (surface sample) Sonde RMA Models RMA developed and calibrated the RMA2 and RMA11 models for flow and water quality transport from the upper Sacramento and Feather through the Delta to a downstream boundary at Martinez.

Observed flow stations were used for computing the river inflows for the RMA2 model.

Main water sources were the upper Sacramento, Feather, and American Rivers.

Secondary sources, such as the Colusa Basin Drain and East , were included when data were available.

RMA11 Model output estimated volumetric percentages of source waters at ten sampling locations between approximately Knights Landing and Isleton. East Canal RMA2 Model Development Feather River Finite element-based program for the simulation of 2-D depth averaged steady and unsteady flow. Sacramento Obtained bathymetry data and River developed model grid.

Model grid is a combination of 1-D and 2-D sections, with 2-D developed near major confluences. American River

Images show examples of 2-D Sacramento model bathymetry and grid detail at River several areas. RMA2 Model Calibration – Feather River

Preliminary model development and Red = model output flow and stage calibrations were Stage done using an existing May 2012 (ft) data set that had good boundary conditions, and conditions Blue = USGS gage somewhat similar to May 2016.

Also modeled flows for the May and October 2016 periods of our river survey.

Graphs show Model-Data comparison, October 2016 at Verona. Flow (cfs) Remainder of presentation will focus on the October 2016 data.

October 18-28, 2016 Flow Mass Balance Sacramento River Sutter Bypass Feather River

Worked to estimate uncertainty in flow sources.

Image shows return flows north of Knights Landing and west of the Feather River.

Numerous ungauged withdrawals and discharges.

Calculated net accretions / depletions to provide an estimate of the uncertainty posed by these ungauged flows. Knights Landing

Uncertainty relates to the total flow Verona volume in the river, and the proportion of flow from various sources. Sacramento River Survey The Guardian “Tracer” Methods

Pumping water for chemistry, pico- and phytoplankton

Surface water sonde and PhytoFlash

Sonde for vertical profiles Field Methods – East Canal confluence

• Field crew collected cross-river transects and vertical water profiles for temperature and electrical conductivity (EC) at tributary confluences, to assist with calibration of the RMA11 Model Calculated mixing proportion East Sacramento Sacramento Canal River River

430 µS/cm

139 µS/cm RMA11 Model Output – Sacramento River at East Canal confluence

RMA11 is a fine element water quality model. Solves a set of differential equations representing the conveyance of dissolved or suspended material by advection and turbulent mixing. Used for calculation specifying the volumetric proportions of each boundary source water in the model domain.

Sacramento River 80% Sacramento East Canal River Water

Remaining water volume was from East Canal 98% Sacramento River Water

% Sacramento River Water Field Methods – Feather River confluence

• EC measurements collected near the confluence of the Sacramento River and Feather River Feather River

91 µS/cm

Sacramento River RMA11 Model Output – Sacramento River at Feather River confluence

Feather River

More East Canal water on this side 84% Sacramento River Water

% Sacramento River Water 93% Sacramento River Water

Sacramento River Field Methods – American River confluence

EC measurements above and below the EC measurements and mixing confluence of the Sacramento and proportion calculated using a two American Rivers. component mixing model downstream of the confluence

Sacramento River American River Sacramento River

65 µS/cm 139 µS/cm

Calculated mixing proportion RMA11 Model Output – Sacramento River – just downstream of American Sacramento River at River confluence American River confluence 27% <1% American Volumetric percentages at the upstream American River transect downstream of the Sacramento- American confluence (upper figure), and River Water model output at the downstream transect Water of the confluence (lower figure). % American River Water

Sacramento River – further downstream of American River 2% confluence American River Water 20% American River Water % American River Water Electro-conductivity (EC) Mixing Model

• Example for river mile 56, downstream of the confluence of the Sacramento River and American River Field Measurements EC Mixing Model: y=a*x + b*(1-x)

x (proportion American) 1-x y American Sac Abv American Sac at RM56 Measured EC (µS/cm) 65 139 131 a b Mixing fractions at Measured EC 0.11 0.89

American flow (cfs) Sac flow (cfs) Sac Blw American Flow (cfs) 1000 8400 9400 Flow Fractions 0.11 0.89 EC at calculated flow fractions 131.1 Volume Fractions 0.10 0.90 Model Outputs Volumetric Results

• Volumetric calculations at most well-mixed locations replicated measurements provided by the flow and EC data

100 DICU = Delta Island Consumptive Use 90 80 70 60 DICU Regional San 50 American 40 Feather 30 East Canal

Proportion of Flow (%) Flow of Proportion 20 Sacramento 10 0 Upstream 95 87 79 70 63 56 47 44 39 31 19 Downstream Colusa Basin Drain not flowing River Mile Conclusions

• Coordinate activities of field crews and modelers • EC data facilitated the model calibration • For more information – RMA. 2017. RMA Technical Memorandum. Regional San Project 3 Documentation: Hydraulic Modeling to Estimate Proportional Water Sources to the Lower Sacramento River. Prepared for Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District. Prepared by Resource Management Associates, December 18, 2017. 79 p. – AMS. 2017. Final Report: Spatial and Seasonal Patterns in Irradiance, Phytoplankton, and Grazers Along the Sacramento River, California. Prepared for Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District. Prepared by Applied Marine Sciences, Inc., August 14, 2017. 65 p.