Urban Conjunctive Use: A Proof of Concept and Case study

Water agencies with mixed surface and groundwater assets must determine how to best implement conjunctive use, balancing cost minimization with supply reliability. After a sustainable yield of a basin has been selected, a conjunctive use strategy is developed to meet it. This process requires managers to weigh alternatives to achieve objectives within system constraints. Optimization modeling can suggest promising conjunctive use strategies for the current system. Adjustments in system constraints and parameters can be used to better understand options, performance, and trade-offs. As a result, the value of infrastructure, contracts, and conservation can be examined and operational plans can be assessed. This method is applied to the Sacramento Suburban Water District in California as a proof of concept.