Hydrogeological Conceptual Model and Water Budget for the Tule Subbasin

Lower Tule River Irrigation District/Tule Subbasin MOU Group (2014 – 2017)

Project Approach
TH&Co has been providing technical support to assess the hydrogeological condition, water balance, and sustainable yield of the Tule Subbasin. A comprehensive water budget was estimated for the time period between 1987 and 2013 through:

1. Analysis of changes in groundwater storage based on spatially distributed groundwater level changes and aquifer specific yield estimates; and
2. Development of a detailed groundwater budget for the entire subbasin that described and estimated the sources of groundwater recharge and discharge.

Both methods required a detailed analysis of the geology, hydrology and hydrogeology of the Tule Subbasin as a whole. For the groundwater budget, TH&Co conducted an extensive analysis of historical surface flow and infiltration losses along the Tule River from Tule River Association and agency reports.

Project Results
TH&Co has prepared a preliminary groundwater flow model of the Tule Subbasin for use in verifying the subsurface inflow and outflow for the water budget. TH&Co is currently outlining a process to further develop the numerical groundwater flow model of the basin for use in refining the groundwater budget and providing groundwater management guidance for SGMA compliance.