Workgroup for San Diego flow ecology study begins meeting

SCCWRP in November facilitated the inaugural meeting of a San Diego-area workgroup that will be working to ascertain the minimum flow requirements necessary to sustain the ecological health of streams across the San Diego River Watershed.

The San Diego River Watershed Flow Ecology Demonstration Project will apply a series of SCCWRP-developed modeling tools to determine relationships between key flow metrics and in-stream biological indicators.

The San Diego River Watershed presents an ideal opportunity to learn how to apply flow-ecology relationships to optimally balance the often-conflicting goals of maintaining water supply, improving water quality, and supporting in-stream health.

The project workgroup, which is meeting monthly, is made up of representatives from local municipalities, land conservancies, water districts, NGOs, and the San Diego State University Watershed Science Institute. The San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board also is actively involved.

Project participants hope to learn from this study how they can incorporate flow-ecology relationships into management decisions at the watershed scale. The study’s findings are expected to be released in summer 2016.