Musings on a Model: CalSim II in California's Water Community

• Main Authors: Ines C. Ferreira, Stacy K. Tanaka, Sarah P. Hollinshead, Jay R. Lund
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: eScholarship Publishing, University of California 2005-03-01
• Series: San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science
• Subjects: CalSim II; water resources planning; water management; regional water planning; model development; Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay-Delta
• Online Access: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/2mx392x6

<p>Computer model results are becoming more prominent in water policy deliberations in California. CalSim II is the most prominent water management model in California, and has become central to a variety of water management and policy issues and controversies. This paper reports on the results of an extensive set of loosely-structured interviews with members of California’s technical and policy-oriented water management community regarding the use and development of CalSim II in California. The interviewers reflect on the thoughts of interviewees and how such interview activities can further policy-effective modeling and technical activities for water management. CalSim II is a complex model of a complex part of California’s changing multi-purpose water system. As such, analytical controversies and misunderstandings are inevitable. Ideally, a model and its associated data would perform an additional service as a forum to resolve technical controversies and continually improve quantitative understanding of the system. While CalSim II is generally seen as a significant improvement over previous models, a wide variety of ideas are suggested for improvements.</p>