Wednesday May 21, 2025
WaterWrights —
For water managers in California, the gap between real-time conditions and the metrics that dictate operations can be a source of real frustration. Just ask Justin Hopkins, General Manager at Stockton East Water District (SEWD).
Earlier this year, as New Melones Reservoir approached capacity and potential flood releases, the San Joaquin River Index (SJRI)- a metric used to classify water year type and determine Central Valley Project (CVP) allocations- still labeled the year as “dry.”
“It just didn’t reflect what was actually happening,” Hopkins said. “That’s incredibly frustrating.”
But instead of waiting for the indices to catch up, Stockton East leveraged long-range forecast tools from Weather Tools.
Working with Weather Tools, the district utilized both the California Annual Precipitation (CAP) forecast and the California Reservoir Annual Forecast Tool (CRAFT) to shape their water year strategy. While each tool has a different focus, together they provided a powerful decision-making edge and Stockton East put to use: CAP for New Melones, and CRAFT for New Hogan.