Modeling Reservoir Storage Scenarios by Consensus

Computer modeling is a powerful scientific tool used to simulate the behavior of systems under a variety of possible future scenarios. Many scientists are involved in simulating the Rio Grande in various conditions, both natural and manmade. This article describes a collaborative process for developing simulations that can be used to understand the probable effects of changed operations of the system of Rio Grande reservoirs. Participants learned that even developing hypothetical model runs can be controversial. It was difficult to achieve consensus among a diverse group of interested parties on how to model future scenarios for management of the reservoirs