The colorado river climate and hydrology work group (work group) and colorado basin river forecast center (cbrfc) have identified the systemic analysis and vetting of newly available snow water…

This Cooperative Agreement award from the Bureau of Reclamation under the SECURE Water Act - Research Agreements program (CFDA 15.560) provides $460,000 to Boise State University to develop an evaluation framework and integration guide for incorporating third-party snow water equivalent (SWE) datasets into the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center's (CBRFC) hydrologic modeling.

The goal is to leverage newly available SWE data sources beyond the SNOTEL network to enhance the CBRFC's operational forecasting capabilities across the Colorado River Basin. A research hydrologist at Boise State will work closely with CBRFC personnel to systematically vet and integrate approved third-party SWE datasets into the CBRFC's modeling paradigm. This effort aims to improve the accuracy and coverage of water supply forecasts for the region. The award has a period of performance from January 9, 2024 to December 31, 2027.

The colorado river climate and hydrology work group (work group) and colorado basin river forecast center (cbrfc) have identified the systemic analysis and vetting of newly available snow water equivalent (SWE) datasets for use in operational forecasting as a high priority. Currently, the cbrfc develops estimates of mean areal SWE through the use of precipitation information developed from the natural resources conservation services (nrcs) snowpack telemetry (snotel) network. The snotel network is a tested and proven data source for the forecasts but have limited spatial distribution to supply data for larger basins. With the shortcoming in mind, many research groups and agencies have begun to develop their own SWE datasets which tend to be spatially uniform and incorporate more data sources outside of snotel, such as gage, aerial observations, and model data. These newly available SWE datasets have the potential to supply additional information to the cbrfcs hydrologic model. The cbrfc is requesting, through the use of this funding, a research hydrologist who would be able to leverage the expertise and experience of operational hydrologists at the cbrfc to develop a landing strip for third-party SWE datasets. This landing strip will be an evaluation framework and integration guide for systemically incorporating third-party SWE datasets into the cbrfcs hydrologic modeling paradigm to enhance operational forecasts over the colorado river basin (or a subset of the basin). Further, the research hydrologist will work closely with cbrfc personnel to develop pathways to incorporate those datasets which improve cbrfc forecasts and related products operationally.