Using Climate Forecast Information in Water Resource Planning: Opportunities and Challenges in the Yakima River Basin, Washington, USA
Abstract
Drought is a costly natural hazard, particularly in the Yakima River basin, whose irrigated crops represent the largest agricultural value in the state of Washington. Like many basins throughout the West, the Yakima has experienced an increasing demand for water for irrigation, environmental flows, and hydropower production. These demands, coupled with shifts in hydrologic timing and variations in water supply, including droughts in 2001 and 2005, have resulted in a narrowing margin within which the Yakima's multi-reservoir system must be managed. Because the region is vulnerable to variations in seasonal water supplies, it has the potential to benefit from information on current and future hydroclimatic conditions, especially information to help prepare for and mitigate drought impacts. To better connect climate forecast information with water management decisions, the University of Washington is working directly with individual stakeholders and public agencies within the Yakima water-user community to understand current and potential uses of medium- and long-lead climate forecast information, and to assess its economic value. Through this case study, we provide concrete examples of the opportunities and challenges in working towards the adoption of decision-focused, understandable forecast information. We emphasize (1) the scope and diversity of decisions water managers make throughout the year, (2) the accuracy and usefulness of forecast products, (3) the limitations of forecast information, (4) the potential for new decision-focused products, and (5) generalizable guidelines on how to effectively communicate and facilitate the adoption of climate forecast information. An ultimate goal is to find ways to develop interactions that provide decision makers with relevant science-based indicators they can use to promote sustainable water resource planning.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2007
- Bibcode:
- 2007AGUFM.H24A..05V
- Keywords:
-
- 1812 Drought;
- 1816 Estimation and forecasting;
- 1880 Water management (6334);
- 6309 Decision making under uncertainty;
- 6339 System design