Modeling approach developed for study seeking to enhance statewide framework for establishing stream flow targets

SCCWRP and its partners have reached consensus on a conceptual approach for designing modeling tools that predict how changes in stream flow patterns will influence stream temperature across space and time – the first milestone in an ongoing three-year study seeking to expand the management utility of the California Environmental Flows Framework (CEFF).

The conceptual approach, which the California Water Quality Monitoring Council’s Environmental Flows Workgroup agreed to in November, will enable researchers to develop regional-scale models that address more integrated management questions about how changes in stream flow patterns can influence ecosystem health.

CEFF, which was co-developed by SCCWRP and unveiled in 2021, offers a rigorous, standardized approach for determining how to allocate limited surface flows that balance both human and ecosystem needs for flowing water. The existing modeling tools that support CEFF, however, do not adequately consider the relationships between flows and other parameters, including water temperature.

The new “From Framework to Flows (F2F)” models will consider flow patterns – as well as elevation, canopy cover and groundwater (which can interact with surface-level flows) – to predict stream temperatures for different sites and different seasons.