North Bay-Delta WAF Project
Who
Lead:NapaCounty
Team:NapaCounty, Napa RCD, SonomaEcologyCenter, UC Davis, Oregon State Univ. & Private Consultants
Partners:Calaveras County Water District, USGS
What
Application, testing and reporting of the Watershed Assessment Framework based on an analysis of the socio-economic and environmental conditions of the North Bay-Delta region, and pilot application in theNapaRiver watershed.
The project will test the application of the Watershed Assessment Framework (WAF) in a stakeholder setting as a way to report watershed conditions (social, economic, and environmental) within the North Bay and Delta, using the NapaRiver as the focus/pilot watershed. The project will describe how to develop a multi-metric watershed index based on categorized metrics and indicators and how to link that multi-metric index to land-use and economic models (e.g., UPLAN, PECAS and IMPLAN). The project team includes local government entities, academic researchers, a watershed NGO, and private consultants.
How
Basic Steps
The project proposes the following:
(Items 4, 5, 6 and 7 speak directly and indirectly to statewide relevance and coordination)
1)Involvement and education of local and regional watershed stakeholders – Educate stakeholders on watershed function and management and use of indices through the refinement of “local” community (and suitable regional/sub-regional) watershed goals through a local-regional technical advisory committee and established stakeholder processes, with particular inclusion of environmental justice groups. Initial stakeholder groups include locally focused watershed stewardship groups, the Watershed Information Center & Conservancy (WICC) Board of Napa County, the North Bay Watershed Network, the North Bay Watershed Association Watershed Council, and the Lower Mokelumne River Forum (to effectively comprise a localized, county-wide, sub-regional and regional involvement stakeholder context).
2)Linkage of refined goals from stakeholder involvement (1) to watershed indicators to inform each of the seven WAF attributes. Linkages will be based on a consideration of indicator effectiveness (how well representative indicators are of watershed systems), data availability, cost of data collection and maintenance, and sensitivity to environmental and management-induced change.
3)Statistically analyze the stakeholder-vetted indicators and aggregate them within the WAF for the NapaRiverwatershed (pilot watershed analysis), in order to develop and test multi-metric watershed indices using effective contemporary methods recognizedpractitioner literature.
4)Investigate theoretical issues associated with indicator/index system development and aggregation, including, but are not limited to challenges relating to scaling from a watershed level to that of a broad region, error propagation, and re-scaling of disparate data to a common understandable scale for ease of communication and general use.
5)Development of a preliminary, easily-understood and communicated “score-card” of overall watershed health relative to identified community/regional watershed goals. This score-card will be based on the previously established scientific and stakeholder foundation and will use communicative devices that are readily understood to the public and policy/decision-makers (e.g., scores range, color slider bars, clocks, dials, etc.).
6)Reporting of findings on the application of the WAF at a focused/local level in the NapaRiver watershed and obtain feedback on the application and scaling from regional stakeholder perspective. This will include documenting the “up-scaling” of the application across the North Bay and Delta region in collaboration and coordination with the San Francisco Estuary Project, who propose to focus their analysis at an elevated “super” regional level across the San Francisco Estuary area of influence. This process is intended to help toinform and refine the scaling of watershed indicator information and processes to a statewide scale.
7)Coordinate closely with other regional WAF applications through participation in a proposed Statewide Coordination Council to share and leverage scientific and technical understanding, expertise and challenges, and to frame and report findings on the WAF in a broader statewide perspective.
Desired Outcome
A scientifically-based watershed condition reporting system and evaluation of the NapaRiver watershed as an example for the Bay-Delta region and the state.
When
Estimated Timeline
Milestones / Due DateStakeholder involvement & education and refinement of watershed goals / Ongoing,
Goals by January 2009
Linking of goals to watershed indicators to inform attributes of the WAF, finalization of indicator plan / June 2009
Scientific analysis of indicators & aggregation into multi-metric watershed indices / October 2009
Investigation of theoretical issues associated with indicator/index system / October 2009
Development of a preliminary, easily-understood & communicated “score-card” method / January 2009
Stakeholder communication in other watersheds within North Bay-Delta to gain feedback on applicability on approach & findings / Ongoing,
Through March 2010
Reporting of findings on application of the WAF at a focused/pilot level & potential application across the North Bay-Delta region / March 2010
Coordination with nearby WAF projects (SFEI/SFEP/SRWP & others) & participation in proposed Statewide Coordination Council / Ongoing,
Through June 2010
Technical report & executive summary to CALFED/DWR & other stakeholders on approach, lessons learned, & applicability of findings to North Bay-Delta region / June 2010
Project Map
Project Contacts
Jeff SharpFraser Shilling
Principal PlannerResearch Scientist
NapaCounty Conservation, Development Dept. of Environmental Science and Policy
& Planning DepartmentUniversity of California, Davis
1195 Third St., Suite 210One Shields Ave
NapaCA94559DavisCA95616
707-259-5936530-752-7859