Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Met Water Balance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Metropolitan Water District begins sensor installations on Delta islands; meters and maintenance carry notable costs
Summary
Metropolitan Water District reported initial deployment of low-density sensors on Bridal/Bolden Island, plans to install meters on pump-discharge pipes this summer, and preliminary cost estimates: 25 meters staged, about 88 meters planned, maintenance roughly $170,000–$200,000 per year and capital meter costs ranging widely by size.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California told the DMEC that its water-balance pilot is entering an installation phase and will combine low-density sensors with modeled elements to estimate net channel depletion and consumptive use.
Russ Ryan, a program manager with Metropolitan Water District, said the pilot includes five low-density sensor locations on Bridal Island and an instrumented steady site at Bolden. "We have purchased and had all the instrumentation delivered to our consultants," Ryan said, adding that MBK will install meters on pump-station discharge pipes tied to upcoming pump-station replacement work.
Ryan provided operational numbers attendees can use to plan: MBWD has 25 meters currently staged for installation, expects to install roughly 88 meters (the number he cited for the islands), and will track maintenance costs. "Our consultant made an estimate before roughly about $170,000 to $200,000 a year to maintain the four islands," Ryan said. On capital, he said per-meter purchase-and-installation costs "range from $10,000 to $2,025,000 per meter depending on the size," with 24-inch diameter meters driving the highest costs.
Why it matters: MBWD's instrumentation rollout will provide calibrated discharge and power-based lines of evidence for tailwater and siphon flows in the pilot areas. Those data are intended to inform models and future measurement strategies for larger diverters.
Next steps: Ryan said instrumentation installation will proceed in coming months (timing subject to winter weather) and that MBWD will hold monthly modeling meetings and update stakeholders via a project website. He invited DMEC participants to engage as the dataset grows.
