Bay Delta Conservation Plan/California WaterFix EIR/EIS

RBI, working with lead consultant ICF International, prepared the water quality chapter for the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP)/California WaterFix Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) for California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance. The BDCP is a comprehensive conservation strategy designed to address critical environmental and water delivery issues of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (Delta). The BDCP describes the proposed actions to improve the condition of habitat for the covered species in the Delta, reduce adverse effects of water diversions, and provide a reliable water supply for the California State Water Project (SWP) and Central Valley Project (CVP) contractors. California WaterFix proposes water conveyance facilities, including new intakes along the Sacramento River, in addition to habitat restoration measures and other environmental commitments necessary to satisfy State and Federal environmental laws.  The water quality chapter assessed potential construction- and operations-related effects of nine BDCP Delta water conveyance facility and conservation measure alternatives, including tidal and floodplain restoration actions, and three alternatives for California WaterFix. RBI led the development of the assessment methodology including the screening of over 190 constituents of potential concern and subsequent identification of a focused set of constituents for detailed evaluation. RBI developed the analytical tools for the water quality assessment consisting of the integrated use of results from the state’s water supply planning model (CALSIM) and hydrodynamic Delta Simulation Model (DSM2), and additional data post-processing tools necessary to assess changes in constituent concentrations, compliance with regulatory objectives, and assimilative capacity in the Delta under existing conditions, future No Action conditions, and project alternative conditions.