Southern California WAF Project

Southern California Watershed Assessment Framework Project

Application of the Watershed Assessment Framework to Southern California watersheds based on an analysis of ecological and socio- economic conditions

Restoring Southern Californian watershed processes, especially sustainable water use and re-use, has the potential to provide ecological and social benefits both within the region and to the Sacramento-Bay Delta. Conditions of and influences on watershed services can often be measured using indicators – defined here as a discreet measure of one aspect of environmental quality that can be used alone or in combination with other indicators to deliver a message or tell a story related to the overall environmental health of an ecosystem. The goal of this project is to describe ecosystem services and social/economic conditions for Southern California watersheds using both scientifically accepted and community-based indicators of health, with a focus on re-creating sustainable watersheds to reduce water imports.

Advisory Process We will pilot the Watershed Assessment Framework (WAF) in measuring and reporting on the ecosystem and socio-economic benefits/conditions in Southern California watersheds. The development process will be coordinated with CALFED’s process for water quality, water supply, and ecosystem restoration and with the Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program. We will coordinate and collaborate closely with WAF projects in other regions through a statewide WAF Coordination Council, which we will lead. We will form a local technical advisory committee (LTAC), which will be provided with existing conceptual models, existing goals and objectives identified through the Greater Los Angeles County Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (IRWMP) and watershed management plans, and descriptions of available data for the categories in the WAF. Through our membership in the IRWMP, we will sponsor application of the WAF for performance measurement by our large IRWMP. With the LTAC, we will develop a limited set of critical indicators for a focus watershed. We will assess how representative these indicators are for measuring ecosystem and management performance and for feasibility of measurement in the focus watershed.

Selecting Candidate Indicators We have developed a palette of candidate condition indicators and performance measures, based on our work to date with the IRWMP project, projects enhancing groundwater recharge, extensive monitoring of upper watershed processes (USFS, UCLA) and lower watershed conditions (LASGRWC, USC, UCLA) and improving community connections to natural watershed processes. We will develop a comprehensive database on a selected focus watershed for evaluation of potential indicators for Southern California. We will measure the status of attribute indicators and where relevant, change in status. Status for metrics and indicators within attributes will be assessed relative to a regional standard, historic condition, legal standard, or major regional planning goal, depending on the metric/indicator and need. Trends in status will be analyzed using contemporary tools in trends analysis,

Reporting The independent indicators will be combined in WAF using contemporary methods in multi-objective index development to facilitate the development of an overall condition index. For the focus watershed, we will develop a reporting device that reflects a need for uniformity within the region and is coordinated with other regions.

Project Lead: Los Angeles San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council Project Team: LASGRWC, USC, UCLA, US Forest Service PSW Research Station, Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Private Consultants

The Los Angeles & San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council 700 N. Alameda Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 T 213/ 229-9945 F 213/ 229-9952