Advancing a collaboratory for equitable stewardship of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta watershed

PROJECT HIGHLIGHT:

This project aims to develop an integrated approach to understanding and managing the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed by combining community knowledge with scientific modeling. Through collaborative research with local communities, Native American Tribes and other stakeholders, the project will create a publicly accessible knowledge platform that links water management decisions to ecosystem health and community values, helping inform a more sustainable stewardship of the Delta's waterways and floodplains.

PROJECT SUMMARY:

The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is a critical hub of California's water system, where the needs of cities and farms must be balanced with environmental protection and community values. Currently, decisions about water management in the Delta often rely on limited technical data and do not adequately consider the perspectives of local communities, particularly Native American Tribes and other historically marginalized groups. As water management challenges grow more complex, there is an urgent need for approaches that can integrate different forms of knowledge to guide more sustainable solutions.

This project brings together scientific modeling with Tribal and local knowledge to understand how various water management operations impact river flows, floodplain habitats and eco-cultural values within the Delta watershed. Through collaborative research and co-production of knowledge, the project will develop models informed by long-standing stewardship practices and lived relationships with the Delta. 

The project will create an online knowledge platform that makes information about Delta water management more accessible and available to everyone. This platform will integrate scientific data with community perspectives, including stories and cultural knowledge that are not typically captured in technical analyses. The research team will also evaluate how well their collaborative approach works in building trust and enhancing public engagement in Delta management decisions. By bringing together different types of knowledge and making information more accessible, this project aims to support water management decisions that better serve both the environment and Delta communities.

Associated Project Personnel and Partners:

Wietske Medema (University of California, Berkeley)

UC Berkeley Geospatial Innovation Facility

Restore the Delta

River Partners

Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians 

This project is funded by the Delta Stewardship Council Delta Science Program under Agreement No. DSC23000, and is administered by California Sea Grant.