A Water Balance and Sediment Yield Analysis Model for the Lopez Lake Reservoir
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A WATER BALANCE AND SEDIMENT YIELD ANALYSIS MODEL FOR THE LOPEZ LAKE RESERVOIR A Thesis presented to the Faculty of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in Civil Engineering by Lee Joon Faraca June 2020 © 2020 Lee Joon Faraca ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP TITLE: A Water Balance and Sediment Yield Analysis Model for the Lopez Lake Reservoir AUTHOR: Lee Joon Faraca DATE SUBMITTED: June 8th 2020 COMMITTEE CHAIR: Misgana Muleta, Ph.D. Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering COMMITTEE MEMBER: Rebekah Oulton, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering COMMITTEE MEMBER: Amr El Badawy, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering iii ABSTRACT A Water Balance and Sediment Yield Analysis Model for the Lopez Lake Reservoir Lee Joon Faraca Lopez Lake Reservoir is the primary source of potable water for the Cities of Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, Pismo Beach, and to the Community Service Districts of Oceano and Avila Beach. In this study, a water balance and sediment yield analysis model was developed for the reservoir’s watershed. The model was used to estimate evaporation from the lake and to examine the effects of a wildfire on the reservoir. Evaporation and wildfire are dependent on variables that change on a spatial and temporal scale, making modeling challenging. The County of San Luis Obispo uses pan coefficients to estimate evapotranspiration losses from the reservoir. In this study, a water balance model was developed using a watershed model known as Soil and Water Assessment Tool, SWAT. Evaporation loss from the lake was calculated using the inflows simulated by the model, and other fluxes (e.g., water released for consumption to Arroyo Grande Creek, precipitation) that were obtained from the County of San Luis Obispo. The evaporation values estimated by the pan coefficient model were significantly higher than the water balance and the Penman-Monteith predictions. The Penman-Monteith method estimates seem more reasonable for the lake. SWAT was also used to simulate effects of a wildfire on sediment inflow and sediment yield into the reservoir for a year after a simulated fire. Results showed that sediment inflow rates increased by a factor of 3 following the simulated wildfire. Lopez Lake Reservoir’s capacity would be significantly affected by a wildfire. To improve the evaporation estimates it is recommended that the County of San Luis Obispo install streamflow gauges to measure the inflow into the reservoir. Using the streamflow gauges the reservoir evaporation could be calculated using the water balance method. Adding climate gauges at the reservoir would increase the accuracy of the Penman-Monteith method. Sediment gauges in the watershed would provide a calibration data source for the model as well as data collection points in the event of an actual wildfire. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my thesis advisor, Dr. Muleta for all the time and effort he has put into helping me. Without his support or direction, I would not have been able to complete this thesis. Dr. Muleta is extremely patient and always willing to help his students out. I would like to thank the members of my committee: Dr. El Badawy and Dr. Oulton. I will forever be indebted to Dr. El Badawy, who helped me get into graduate school at Cal Poly. Without his help I would not be able to continue my studies. I need to thank Dr. Oulton for all the support and advice she has provided. Her role as an academic advisor, writing editor, and student resource, has helped me get to where I am. I also need to thank faculty, staff, and students who have helped me transition and make digital learning possible due to COVID-19. I want to thank my family, my mother, my late father, my extended family, the White’s, Quinby’s, and entire Martha’s Vineyard United Soccer Club, for all the support they have provided over the years. Without them I would certainly not be the person I am or where I am today. Lastly, I would like to thank my CE/ENVE compatriots, especially the CE/ENVE graduate lab regulars. The support, advise, comic relief, and friendships made there will last a lifetime. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................. viii LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................................. ix CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 1 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................................ 4 2.1 Evapotranspiration .................................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Water Balance ........................................................................................................................... 7 2.3 Penman-Monteith Method ...................................................................................................... 8 2.4 Effect of Wildfire on Sediment Yield and Sediment Inflow ............................................... 8 3. DATA AND METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................. 10 3.1 Data and Methodology Overview ........................................................................................ 10 3.2 Overview of SWAT ............................................................................................................... 11 3.3 SWAT Model Creation ......................................................................................................... 11 3.4 Evapotranspiration Loss Comparison Overview ................................................................ 19 3.4.1 Estimating ET Using Water Balance ......................................................................... 19 3.4.2 Estimating ET Using Penman-Monteith Method .................................................... 21 3.5 Modeling Changes due to Wildfire ...................................................................................... 22 4. CALIBRATION ............................................................................................................................. 28 4.1 Calibration Overview ............................................................................................................. 28 4.2 Calibration Data Sources ....................................................................................................... 29 vi 4.3 Calibration Process ................................................................................................................. 31 5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .................................................................................................. 39 5.1 Results Overview .................................................................................................................... 39 5.2 Evapotranspiration .................................................................................................................. 39 5.3 Wildfire Effect on Sediment Yield ....................................................................................... 42 6. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................. 44 6.1 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................. 44 6.2 Recommendations .................................................................................................................. 45 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................... 48 vii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. San Luis Obispo County Lopez Lake Reservoir Pan-Coefficients........................................... 6 2. Rainfall Comparison Table .......................................................................................................... 17 3. Burn Severity Description Table ................................................................................................. 23 4. Composite CN Increase per Subbasin by Type of Fire Severity............................................. 26 5. Subbasin Calibration Table ......................................................................................................... 38 6. Sediment Inflow Table ................................................................................................................. 42 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. ET, Sediment Yield, and Sediment Inflow Methodology and Process Flowchart ............... 10 2. Lopez Lake Reservoir Location Map ......................................................................................... 12 3. Lopez Lake Reservoir Watershed Land Use Land Cover Map .............................................. 14 4. Lopez Lake Reservoir Watershed Soil Map .............................................................................. 15 5. San Luis Obispo 5m DEM Map ................................................................................................. 16 6. Precipitation Station Locations .................................................................................................... 18 7. CAL Fire