Water Resources

Our expertise in surface water is complemented by our broad capabilities in groundwater management. Understanding, developing, and safeguarding groundwater resources is essential to meeting diverse water demands. This process requires a comprehensive analysis of geologic formations and aquifer systems to assess production potential and water quality. Trihydro’s groundwater services include:

• Planning and execution of well design, permitting, and construction
• Extraction and dewatering to support construction projects
• Injection for disposal or remediation
• Aquifer protection planning
• Aquifer recharge
• Aquifer storage and recovery
• Regional and local groundwater quantity and quality modeling support
• Groundwater quality monitoring
• Groundwater source water assessment and wellhead protection studies
• Geochemical modeling support

Sustainable groundwater management is essential for reducing negative impacts caused by development. This often involves assessing groundwater-surface water interactions and aquifer vulnerability, such as using a Source Water Assessment and Wellhead Protection program, to protect long-term water availability. Regulatory policies guide responsible development, and our work frequently includes groundwater contaminant monitoring, remediation, and sustainability initiatives to maintain water quality and environmental integrity.

Proper water resource planning and management are critical foundations for our shared future. Whether a project involves identifying regional water supplies, inventorying aging infrastructure, managing floodwaters, navigating permits, or restoring watersheds, Trihydro helps our clients achieve their water resource goals.

Our team of engineers, geologists, hydrogeologists, and watershed scientists excel in water resource exploration, feasibility studies, and development programs. We plan, evaluate, and design water systems to reliably supply and deliver water where needed.

We offer comprehensive mapping, watershed modeling, and regional studies to deliver reliable data for planning, forecasting risks, and justifying water supply requirements. Our expertise includes water rights assessments, studies on water allocation and consumptive use, and master plans that guide the development, supply, storage, and distribution of water resources. We also incorporate water quality, permitting, and funding opportunities to provide a complete, actionable perspective. Recognizing the public dimension of these projects, Trihydro also serves as an effective liaison, facilitating communication between clients, stakeholders, and the public through outreach materials, presentations, and meetings.

Successful water resource planning often transitions into navigating complex regulatory landscapes. Water resource projects frequently involve a web of federal, state, and local regulatory requirements. Proactive communication and coordination with overseeing agencies are key to efficient project planning and success. Trihydro provides permitting support for a range of public and private clients. We have helped our clients navigate requirements associated with agencies such as:

• State Water Resources: Assisting with water right research, new rights, changes in point of diversion, points of use, and beneficial use. We assist with inventory, evaluations, and modifications, surveying, agency coordination, and development of strategic plans for surface, spring, and groundwater rights management.
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE): Addressing Section 404 Clean Water Act permits for activities impacting ‘waters of the United States,’ including nationwide/individual permit support, USACE coordination, Stream Quantification Tool (SQT) implementation, and stream/wetland mitigation.
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and State Programs: Assisting clients with Clean Water Act Section 404/401 certifications for discharge compliance with state and federal requirements. Also assisting with state/tribal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) programs by securing permits and developing strategies to protect water quality. We have also assisted clients with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) processes to assess environmental impacts of proposed projects and similar State-mandated environmental assessments (e.g., the California Environmental Quality Act [CEQA]).
• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): Conducting flood hazard analyses, assessing development impacts, mapping hazards, and securing FEMA No-Rise Certifications, Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR), Letter of Map Revision (LOMR), & Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA).

As a national firm, we navigate diverse state, county, and municipality-specific permitting requirements for stormwater discharge, floodplain, and groundwater and surface water uses.

Accurate modeling is fundamental to understanding, predicting, and managing complex water systems. As experts in hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, we use a wide array of industry-standard and advanced modeling packages. Our experience includes developing and applying surface water hydrologic models (e.g., HEC-HMS, HSPF, SWMM), hydraulic models (1-D/2-D HEC-RAS, FLO-2D, SRH-2D), reservoir operations models (HEC-ResSim), water allocation models (StateMod, MODSIM-DSS), and models simulating groundwater-surface water interaction (GSFLOW, MODFLOW).

We follow a rigorous process:

1. Defining objectives with our clients
2. Collecting data
3. Formulating conceptual models
4. Selecting appropriate platforms, including customized applications developed by our software team
5. Developing, calibrating, and verifying models
6. Applying models to deliver actionable results

We integrate these models into customized decision support frameworks (HEC-CWMS, HEC-RTS, Delft FEWS) to empower clients with real-time data and predictive insights for flood warning, water supply forecasting, climate change impact analysis, and meeting environmental objectives.

Addressing water resource challenges culminates in our overarching goal: enhancing long-term water sustainability and resilience. Water resources around the world are increasingly under pressure from a variety of sources. Events like devastating floods, drought conditions, and the gradual encroachment of sea level rise are becoming more frequent and intense, threatening communities and infrastructure. Concurrently, land subsidence, often linked to groundwater extraction, alters landscapes and damages property. Furthermore, water quality is often compromised by pollution and environmental changes, while the demand for freshwater continues to surge due to population growth and development, leading to significant shortages in many regions. These combined stresses highlight the vulnerability of our water systems and underscore the urgent need for proactive management and sustainable solutions.

To combat these growing challenges and bolster water resource resiliency, Trihydro’s extensive suite of services offers tailored solutions. Our approach integrates strategic planning to anticipate future needs, sophisticated modeling to understand complex systems, detailed design for effective infrastructure, expert permitting assistance to navigate regulations, grant funding support to enable projects, and diligent project implementation. By applying our expertise across planning, permitting, hydrology, groundwater, and surface water management, we work to address the multifaceted nature of water stress, aiming to safeguard this vital resource and support its availability and quality for future generations.