Integrated Surface and Groundwater Modeling and Flow Availability
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Integrated Surface and Groundwater Modeling and Flow Availability Analysis for Restoration Prioritization Planning, Upper Mark West Creek Watershed, Sonoma County, CA Wildlife Conservation Board Grant Agreement No. WC-1996AP Project ID: 2020018 December 2020 Prepared for: Sonoma Resource Conservation District 1221 Farmers Lane, Suite F, Santa Rosa, CA 95405 and State of California, Wildlife Conservation Board 1700 9th Street, 4th Floor, Sacramento, CA 95811 Prepared by: O’Connor Environmental, Inc. PO Box 794, Healdsburg, CA 95448 Under the direction of: Coast Range Watershed Institute 451 Hudson Street, Healdsburg, CA 95448 www.coastrangewater.org Jeremy Kobor, MS, PG #9501 Senior Hydrologist Matthew O’Connor, PhD, CEG #2449 President William Creed, BS Hydrologist Dedication In recognition of those many residents of the Mark West Creek watershed that have suffered losses in the past few years to the Tubbs Fire and the Glass Fire, we dedicate this report in their honor. Many of the citizen contributors to this effort have been working for many years to advance the consciousness of the community with respect to wildfire hazards, fuel management and fire safe communities, and it is an unfortunate truth that there remains much to be done. We dedicate this report in the spirit of community service and the example that has been set by these citizens, families, friends, and communities. Acknowledgements Many individuals and organizations contributed to the successful completion of this project including the various members of the project team from the Sonoma Resource Conservation District, Coast Range Watershed Institute, O’Connor Environmental Inc., Friends of Mark West Watershed, the Pepperwood Foundation, and Sonoma County Regional Parks. Many individual landowners graciously provided access for field reconnaissance and streamflow and groundwater monitoring work. Other agencies and organizations including California Sea Grant, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, National Marine Fisheries Service, Sonoma Water, Trout Unlimited, Permit Sonoma, and Sonoma Water also contributed significantly to the project by sharing data and providing input through three Technical Working Group meetings. Limitations The descriptions of watershed and streamflow conditions described in this report are based on numerical model simulations which were developed using best available data and hydrologic practices. Available model input data varied widely in its resolution and accuracy, and while the model was calibrated successfully to available streamflow and groundwater monitoring data, the extent of available calibration data is relatively limited. All model scenarios represent hypothetical actions on the landscape and do not imply any interest or commitment on the part of landowners to implement them. Both the existing condition and scenario results represent approximations of real-world conditions that contain uncertainty and should be interpreted as a guide for understanding watershed hydrology and the effects of potential management actions rather than as precise quantitative predictions of actual or future conditions. Mark West Creek Flow Availability Analysis for Restoration Prioritization Planning Mark West Creek Flow Availability Analysis for Restoration Prioritization Planning Mark West Creek Flow Availability Analysis for Restoration Prioritization Planning Mark West Creek Flow Availability Analysis for Restoration Prioritization Planning Mark West Creek Flow Availability Analysis for Restoration Prioritization Planning Mark West Creek Flow Availability Analysis for Restoration Prioritization Planning Mark West Creek Flow Availability Analysis for Restoration Prioritization Planning Mark West Creek Flow Availability Analysis for Restoration Prioritization Planning Mark West Creek Flow Availability Analysis for Restoration Prioritization Planning Mark West Creek Flow Availability Analysis for Restoration Prioritization Planning 1 Executive Summary Introduction The Mark West Creek watershed provides critical habitat for threatened and endangered anadromous fish and was recently identified in the California Water Action Plan as one of five streams statewide for targeted flow enhancement efforts. Effective implementation of a flow enhancement program requires a detailed understanding of the natural and man-made controls on spring and summer streamflows. The primary goal of this project is to provide a comprehensive hydrologic analysis of streamflow conditions and the relative effectiveness of various potential flow enhancement actions in upper Mark West Creek watershed relative to salmonid habitat requirements. The project provides a framework for prioritizing restoration efforts and developing effective strategies and projects to protect and enhance streamflows. This study evaluates the upper 40 mi2 of Mark West Creek watershed upstream of the Santa Rosa Plain (Figure E1) identified as critical salmonid summer rearing habitat in the State Water Resources Control Board Emergency Order WR 2015-0026-DWR (SWRCB, 2015). The study was conducted over a three year period and was completed by the Coast Range Watershed Institute (CRWI) in cooperation with the Sonoma Resource Conservation District (SRCD), Friends of Mark West Watershed, Sonoma County Regional Parks, and the Pepperwood Foundation. Assistance was also provided by local staff of California Department of Fish & Wildlife (CDFW). Funding for the project was provided by a Streamflow Enhancement Program grant from the California Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB). O’Connor Environmental, Inc., completed the modeling analysis under contract with CRWI. The completed model is intended to serve as a tool to help evaluate the hydrologic consequences of future project proposals. The principal mission of CRWI as a tax-exempt scientific not-for-profit organization in this regard is to provide a virtual “home” for the model and to make it available for future use and updates as new management questions arise and new data become available. In this way, CRWI seeks to extend the benefits to the public of this grant-funded project beyond the immediate utility of its findings. Approach and Methods The principal element of the project was development and calibration of a distributed hydrologic model using the computer model code MIKE SHE. Inputs included a wide variety of climate, topographic, land cover, soils, water use, and hydrogeologic data. Outputs included estimates of the annual and seasonal water balance, streamflow hydrographs, and groundwater levels throughout the watershed. The model was constructed using 0.5-acre square grid cells to represent the landscape and stream channel cross sections spaced at 100-ft intervals to represent major stream channels. The model simulates continuous daily hydrologic conditions over a 10-yr period from water year 2009 to 2019. The model was calibrated to streamflow data at three locations and groundwater elevation data at nine locations supplemented by observations of flow conditions (wet vs. dry) on the main stem of Mark West Creek and mapped locations of seeps and springs. Mark West Creek - Flow Availability Analysis for Restoration Prioritization 2 A wide variety of existing and new data sources were used to construct the model. Topographic inputs were derived primarily from the Sonoma County LiDAR Digital Elevation Model (DEM). Climate inputs were derived from monitoring data collected by various entities as well as distributed climate estimates from the U.S. Geological Survey. Land cover data and vegetation properties were based on detailed mapping of vegetation communities provided by Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District in combination with LiDAR-derived Leaf Area Index data and literature-based rooting depth estimates. Soil properties were based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO) and adjusted during model calibration. Hydrogeologic inputs were based primarily on new analyses performed for this study which included interpretation of the distribution and thickness of geologic materials from more than Figure E1: Map of the study area showing major roads and streams. Mark West Creek - Flow Availability Analysis for Restoration Prioritization 3 150 subsurface geologic logs obtained from Well Completion Reports and estimation of aquifer properties from analysis of pump tests completed for Sonoma County Well Yield Certifications at 23 wells. Estimates of the volumes, rates, and sources of water use were based on data from a variety of sources including the State Water Resources Control Board Emergency Order (Order WR 2015-0026-DWR) and Water Rights Database, available Well Completion Reports, spatial mapping of water uses (including vineyards, cannabis farms, wineries, and residences), literature values and other official estimates of water use for various purposes including data from the Town of Windsor and the City of Healdsburg. Existing Hydrology and Streamflow Annual precipitation varied widely over the 10-yr study period from 19.5 inches in 2014 to 61.2 inches in 2017, a pattern typical of streams in the California Coast Range (Table E1). Annual streamflow also varied widely from 8.3 to 32.8 inches, largely in response to precipitation patterns. Simulated Actual Evapotranspiration (AET), representing water use by vegetation plus evaporation, accounted for the largest outflow from the watershed over the long-term, ranging from 14.1 to 24.1 inches per year largely in proportion