ABSTRACT
Water resources worldwide are faced with increasing stresses due to climate variability, population growth, and competing growth – more so in the western United States (e.g. Piechota et al., 2001; Hamlet et al., 2002). Careful planning is necessary to meet demands on water quality, volume, timing, and flow rates. This is particularly true in the western United States, where it is estimated that 44% of renewable water supplies are consumed annually, as compared with 4% in the rest of the country (el-Ashry and Gibbons, 1988). Consequently, the forecast for the upcoming water year is crucial to the water management planning process involving system outputs such as crop production and the monetary value of hydropower production (e.g. Hamlet et al., 2002) as well as the sustenance of aquatic species.
