Cooperative Extension
California Water Virtual Tour Hydrology and Climate Change 101 Water Conservation Robert M. Hagan Endowed Chair
Drought Materials: Water and Drought Online Seminar Series
As a cooperative specialist, my mission is to design science-based and practical policies to balance competing water uses and interest in California’s water resource systems; provide the best scientific knowledge to our society.
How We Work
- I conduct problem-solving research in water resources management using the shared vision approach; meaning we talk to people and bring knowledge to understand issues from different perspectives, a more conciliatory approach to water problem solving.
- I provide technical and scientific support to planning and decision making processes as a neutral party, I collaborate with UC Davis experts and research centers.
- I work with public and private agencies to address their needs regarding how to improve the water management of their system. This scientific support can vary from water budgets, optimization and simulation models, water use efficiency, urban water management, reservoir re-operations, risk analysis, to climate change analysis in a particular basin or region.
- If you have an issue or question regarding how to better manage water in your basin/region, please send me an email (Samuel Sandoval).
Water Resources Management
Provide support to basin management plans and decision making process. Our research group specializes in decision support systems (DSS), such as water planning, optimization and hydrologic models. These tools help to test different water management alternatives, usually called “scenarios”, to quantify the potential benefits and drawbacks that each policy offers. These models are built conjunctively with stakeholders, water operators and all the people involved in the water management of a basin.
There is no other state where water and economic development is so tight than in California; since the gold rush, water has been the engine that have promoted economic and social development in the state. Water is still a precious resource in California. The main goal of the California Water Virtual Tour (CWVT) is to provide the fundamental knowledge of water in California. A series presentations (called Virtual Tour) recorded in a workshop will be available from experts (called tour-guides) of a several regions in California (called Stops).
Water Conservation in Agriculture
We conduct water budget analysis to estimate consumptive water use, applied water, water use efficiency and potential water savings. This analysis helps to identify potential water savings in a basin. A successful project of water use efficiency have been done in Pajaro Valley located in the central coast of California, this project was partnered with the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency and the local UC Cooperative Extension offices in Santa Cruz county.
Hydrology and Climate Change
I conduct talks about hydrology, groundwater hydrology and climate change, known as: “Hydrology and Climate Change 101.” These talks may range from 20 to 50 minutes and include a wide variety of audiences: teachers, local and state agency personnel, farmers, citizens, planners, water/irrigation district managers and personnel, local politicians, people in the water supply industry, among others. If you have an educational program for farmworkers in either English or Spanish, please contact us (samsandoval@ucdavis.edu), we will be delighted to provide these talks to your audience. In March 2012, a successful talk was performed for 140 Spanish speaker farmworkers in collaboration with the Napa Valley Grapegrowers Association; please contact us to collaborate.
Robert M Hagan Endowed Chair
My overall mission as the current Robert M. Hagan endowed chair is to conduct significant policy-oriented research and outreach, I will serve in part as a public interface between water policy and university research programs. My vision as the recipient of the Robert Hagan Endowed Chair is to empower experts in two-way community conversations to address water challenges and leverage water outreach programs. Both of these objectives will be accomplished with a keen focus on minority groups and transdisciplinary research. I would like to contribute my time and this endowment to the service of our water community at LAWR, CAES and UC ANR. I will lead by serving our greater water community.
More details about the specific activities that will be supported by this endowed chair can be find here. In addition, please take a look at the biography and interview to Robert M. Hagan.
