Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E)

Recognizing the importance of Atmospheric Rivers (ARs) in a changing climate, Yuba Water and the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) are working with Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E) at UC San Diego, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the National Weather Service, and other members of the Yuba-Feather Steering Committee to implement Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO) at New Bullards Bar (NBB) and Lake Oroville (ORO) in the Yuba and Feather River watersheds. FIRO is a flexible water management strategy that uses improved weather and runoff forecasts to help water managers retain or release water from reservoirs to increase resilience to droughts and floods. The primary objective of this FIRO project is to reduce flood risk; a secondary objective is to achieve water supply benefits where possible, while supporting environmental needs. This FIRO Preliminary Viability Assessment (PVA) indicates strong potential for FIRO to be a viable water management strategy for reducing flood risk in the Yuba and Feather River watersheds.