U.S. patent application number 15/224467 was filed with the patent office on 2017-09-21 for water agency management platform for sustainably managing water resources including groundwater extraction rights within a water management area.
The applicant listed for this patent is Waterfind USA, Inc.. Invention is credited to Thomas Henry Rooney.
Application Number | 20170270622 15/224467 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 59855726 |
Filed Date | 2017-09-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170270622 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Rooney; Thomas Henry |
September 21, 2017 |
Water Agency Management Platform for Sustainably Managing Water
Resources Including Groundwater Extraction Rights within a Water
Management Area
Abstract
A Water Agency Management Platform (WAMP) sustainably manages
water resources including groundwater extraction rights. The WAMP
includes a Water Rights Registry Facilitator (WRRF), a Transfer
& Market Facilitator, and a Groundwater Management Agency
Formation Facilitator. The WRRF can form a virtual groundwater
management agency by combining and/or fragmenting at least one of
data, functions and responsibilities of a subset of water
management agencies within a groundwater management area.
Inventors: |
Rooney; Thomas Henry;
(Sacramento, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Waterfind USA, Inc. |
Sacramento |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
59855726 |
Appl. No.: |
15/224467 |
Filed: |
July 29, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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62308781 |
Mar 15, 2016 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/06315 20130101;
G06Q 10/10 20130101; G06Q 50/163 20130101; G06Q 50/02 20130101;
G06Q 40/04 20130101; E21B 41/00 20130101; G06Q 50/06 20130101; G06Q
10/06375 20130101; G06Q 30/018 20130101; G01V 11/00 20130101; G06Q
20/14 20130101; G06Q 40/12 20131203 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 50/06 20060101
G06Q050/06; G06Q 20/14 20060101 G06Q020/14; G06Q 40/00 20060101
G06Q040/00 |
Claims
1. A computerized sustainable Water Agency Management system
configured to manage groundwater and surface-water resources
including groundwater extraction within a water management area,
the system comprising: a Water Rights Registry Facilitator (WRRF);
a Relationship Management Facilitator (RMF); a Transfer &
Market Facilitator (TMF); a Basin/Sub-Basin Billing Facilitator
(BBF), a Basin/Sub-Basin Reporting Facilitator (BRF), and a
Groundwater Management Agency Formation Facilitator (GMAFF).
2. The system of claim 1 wherein the Water Rights Registry
Facilitator (WRRF) is configured to manage auditable Groundwater
Extraction Rights.
3. The system of claim 2 wherein the Water Rights Registry
Facilitator (WRRF) is further configured to enable the Groundwater
Management Agency Formation Facilitator GMAFF to authorize access
control privileges of at least one user including write only,
read-write, read-write-edit, approve and overwrite capability.
4. The system of claim 1 wherein the Relationship Management
Facilitator (RMF) is configured to manage at least one of contact
details, written, electronic and verbal communication,
electronically store files and information for at least one
stakeholder.
5. The system of claim 4 wherein the at least one stakeholder
includes at least one of a sustainability manager, a property
manager, a water rights holder, anon-agricultural water consumer, a
water management agency, a water broker, a watershed management
agency, a regional water storage and distribution agency, an
environmental agency and an elected official.
6. The system of claim 1 wherein the Transfer & Market
Facilitator (TMF) is configured to enable the Groundwater
Management Agency Formation Facilitator (GMAFF) to record transfers
or changes to ownership of a water extraction right.
7. The system of claim 1 wherein the Basin/Sub-Basin Billing &
Reporting Facilitator (BRF) is configured to support a Groundwater
Management Agency Formation Facilitator (GMAFF) by generating a
Sustainability Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) compliant report
in accordance with a selectable reporting interval.
8. The system of claim 7 wherein the Basin/Sub-Basin Billing &
Reporting Facilitator (BRF) is further configured to collect fees,
send invoices and track payments.
9. The system of claim 7 wherein the Basin/Sub-Basin Billing &
Reporting Facilitator (BRF) is further configured to export data to
a variety of accounting software packages.
10. The system of claim 1 wherein the Groundwater Management Agency
Formation Facilitator (GMAFF) is configured to form a virtual
groundwater management agency (VGMA) by combining or fragmenting at
least one of data, functions and responsibilities of a subset of
water management agencies within a groundwater management area.
11. In a water agency management platform (WAMP), a method for
managing groundwater and surface-water resources including
groundwater extraction within a water management area, the method
comprising: managing groundwater and surface-water resources within
a water management area; and generating a Sustainability
Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) compliant report in accordance
with a selectable reporting interval.
12. The method of claim 11 wherein the water management area
includes a groundwater management area.
13. The method of claim 11 further comprising collecting fees,
sending invoices and tracking payments.
14. The method of claim 11 further comprising exporting data to a
variety of accounting software packages.
15. In a water agency management platform (WAMP), a method for
managing groundwater and surface-water resources including
groundwater extraction within a water management area, the method
comprising: managing groundwater and surface-water resources within
a water management area; and combining or fragmenting at least one
of data, functions and responsibilities of a subset of water
management agencies within the water management area.
16. The method of claim 15 wherein the water management area
includes a groundwater management area.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to provisional application
No. 62/308,781 filed Mar. 15, 2016, entitled "Systems and Methods
for Sustainable Management of Renewable Water Resources", which is
incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.
[0002] This application also is related to co-pending application
Ser. No. 15/224,436, (Attorney Docket No, WFD-1601-US) filed Jul.
29 2016, entitled "Systems and Methods for Imputing Groundwater
Usage in a Groundwater Basin", which is incorporated by reference
herein for all purposes.
[0003] Additionally, this application is related to co-pending
application Ser. No. 15/224,448, (Attorney Docket No, WFD-1602-US)
filed Jul. 29 2016, entitled "Systems and Methods for Optimization
of Groundwater Resource Usage in a Groundwater Basin", which is
incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.
[0004] Lastly, this application is related to co-pending
application Ser. No. 15/224,462, (Attorney Docket No, WFD-1603-US)
filed Jul. 29 2016, entitled "Systems and Methods for Administering
an Extraction Rights Market in a Groundwater Basin", which is
incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.
BACKGROUND
[0005] The present invention relates to systems and methods for
responsible sustainable management of renewable water resources,
including groundwater.
[0006] Given the need to conserve water resources to sustain both
increasing human consumption and agriculture indefinitely, when
combined with unpredictability of climate conditions and a growing
need for food, sustainable groundwater management has become a
critical and essential component of a long term solution to the
water resource management.
[0007] The management of water resources is often further
complicated by a complex mapping of jurisdictional boundaries
corresponding to multiple surface water management agencies that
haphazardly cross over the boundaries of the naturally occurring
groundwater basins, which commonly contain one or more aquifers. In
some geographical areas, intensive groundwater pumping, often
dramatically increasing during extended periods of drought, have
resulted in the water table dropping substantially--sometimes
causing permanent loss of aquifer capacity, which further
exacerbates the critical urgency of attaining sustainable water
resource management. In some areas of California's central valley,
surface subsidence due to aquifer collapse has been
reported--nearly 2 inches per month in some locations according to
NASA.
[0008] Groundwater is essentially distributed by the aquifer, which
often is accessed on a patchwork basis due to the large cost of
drilling wells. In contrast, surface water may be distributed using
natural and manmade water courses that may provide a much more
uniform, widespread and measurable distribution of water. Private
access to and depletion of groundwater goes largely unmeasured,
unmetered and unregulated. Such an inequitable and unsustainable
free-for-all situation is often referred to as "the tragedy of the
commons". Hence, delaying implementation of comprehensive water
resource management is not an option, if long-term sustainability
is to be accomplished.
[0009] A typical water agency has a specific geographic district
over which it has authority. The boundaries of an agency's district
may correspond to the boundaries of a surface water basin or can be
more arbitrarily based on political boundaries such as municipal,
county, state, provincial or international borders. Water agencies
seldom have boundaries fully encompassing an underlying aquifer or
aquifers. More often, multiple water agencies overlie different
portions of a single aquifer. Additionally, one or more water
consumers within an agency's district may have water rights that
are senior to or separate from the agency's. In many instances, a
water agency combines pumped groundwater with surface water
supplies. Additionally, a water agency may have customers that are
pumping groundwater from private unmetered wells and using it in
conjunction with water supplied from the water agency. In addition
to water consumers--agricultural and municipal--a groundwater basin
may have many additional stakeholders such as, politicians,
government officials, lobbyists, community organizations,
scientists, water brokers, and right of way holders. All of these
complexities make coherent sustainable management of a groundwater
basin extremely difficult.
[0010] Consequently, in order to effectively sustainably manage a
groundwater basin, either a single agency needs to have authority
over the entire basin; or multiple agencies overlying parts of that
basin need to cooperate to provide coordinated management that in
combination results in combined authority over the entire basin.
Problematically, many basins have private (and often unmetered)
groundwater users with senior or otherwise independent water
rights. Perhaps the most direct solution to such a "Gordian Knot"
problem is legislation that modifies and subsumes such prior
private rights under the authority of a water agency (or
cooperating water agencies) with the mandate to locate, monitor,
measure, charge fees for, and/or otherwise regulate and limit
private extraction of groundwater. But such a legal mandate is not
sufficient. Outreach to and cooperation from stakeholders is also
needed--a very high hurdle for a new agency.
[0011] Regardless of the solution--multiple agencies operating
independently but cooperatively, multiple agencies cooperating in
concert as a virtual basin-wide agency, or a single basin-wide
agency replacing multiple agencies--a system for operating a single
basin-wide management capability is necessary. Nowadays, complex
combinations of computerized database systems have become the
functional heart of most businesses including water agencies. Such
systems--typically commercially sourced--are often highly
proprietary and difficult to interoperate with competitive
commercial solutions. Replacing multiple such complex computerized
systems with an equally capable replacement computerized system may
be nightmarishly difficult--witness the bring-up of the Federal
"Obamacare" Health Care Insurance Exchange.
[0012] It is therefore apparent that an urgent need exists for a
sustainable water agency management platform (WAMP). This improved
WAMP must enable primary stakeholders--property manager(s) (e.g.,
farmers) and water agency sustainability manager(s)--to
cooperatively, efficiently and cost-effectively manage the
consumption of groundwater resources in a sustainable manner over a
long term. Additionally, a WAMP must make it practical for multiple
agencies combined or working cooperatively within a groundwater
basin to operate utilizing a single common WAMP that provides a
practical upgrade path from legacy operations systems. Such a WAMP
must replace or integrate the capabilities of legacy operations
systems, but also provide essential new capabilities such as
regulating unmetered groundwater extraction.
SUMMARY
[0013] To achieve the foregoing and in accordance with the present
invention, systems and methods for sustainable management of
renewable water resources is provided. In particular, these systems
and methods responsibly manage groundwater resources in a
sustainable manner so as to ensure the long term health of
aquifers.
[0014] In one embodiment, a computerized sustainable Water Agency
Management Platform (WAMP) manages groundwater and surface-water
resources including groundwater extraction rights within a water
management area. The WAMP includes a Water Rights Registry
Facilitator (WRRF), a Relationship Management Facilitator (RMF), a
Transfer & Market Facilitator (TMF), a Basin/Sub-Basin Billing
Facilitator (BBF), a Basin/Sub-Basin Reporting Facilitator (BRF),
and a Groundwater Management Agency Formation Facilitator
(GMAFF).
[0015] In some embodiments, the WRRF manages auditable Groundwater
Extraction Rights, and the TMF enable the GMAFF to record transfers
or changes to ownership of a water extraction right. The WAMP can
form a virtual groundwater management agency (VGMA) by combining
and/or fragmenting at least one of data, functions and
responsibilities of a subset of water management agencies within a
groundwater management area.
[0016] Note that the various features of the present invention
described above may be practiced alone or in combination. These and
other features of the present invention will be described in more
detail below in the detailed description of the invention and in
conjunction with the following figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] In order that the present invention may be more clearly
ascertained, some embodiments will now be described, by way of
example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0018] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary operating environment for
one embodiment of a Water Agency Management Platform (WAMP), in
accordance with the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram further illustrating
the WAMP of FIG. 1;
[0020] FIG. 3 is an exemplary screen image illustrating the
sustainability manager experience of a WAMP Login display page for
the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0021] FIG. 4 is an exemplary screen image illustrating the
sustainability manager experience wherein a generic WAMP display
page layout is depicted for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0022] FIG. 5 is an exemplary screen image illustrating the
sustainability manager experience of a WAMP Goto display page for
the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0023] FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C are portions of an exemplary screen
image illustrating the sustainability manager experience of a WAMP
Water Use by Members display page for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0024] FIGS. 7A and 7B are upper and lower portions (respectively)
of an exemplary screen image illustrating the sustainability
manager experience of a WAMP Water Use by Crops display page for
the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0025] FIGS. 8A and 8B are upper and lower portions (respectively)
of an exemplary screen image illustrating the sustainability
manager experience of a WAMP Water Use by APNs (Assessor Parcel
Numbers) display page for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0026] FIGS. 9A and 9B are upper and lower portions (respectively)
of an exemplary screen image illustrating the sustainability
manager experience of a WAMP Water Use by Property Groups display
page for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0027] FIG. 10 is an exemplary screen image illustrating the
sustainability manager experience of a WAMP property group
associating subpage for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0028] FIGS. 11A and 11B are two views of an exemplary screen image
illustrating the sustainability manager experience of a WAMP Water
Use by Wells display page for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0029] FIG. 12 is an exemplary screen image illustrating the
sustainability manager experience of a WAMP Water Use by Turnouts
display page for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0030] FIGS. 13A and 13B are two views of an exemplary screen image
illustrating the sustainability manager experience of a WAMP Import
Data display page for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0031] FIG. 14 is an exemplary screen image illustrating the
sustainability manager experience of a WAMP Advanced Reports
display page for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0032] FIG. 15 is an exemplary screen image illustrating the
sustainability manager experience of a WAMP Reports display page
for generation and/or scheduled publishing from lists of reports
for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0033] FIG. 16 is an exemplary screen image illustrating the
sustainability manager experience of a WAMP Member Search display
page for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0034] FIGS. 17A and 17B are upper and lower portions
(respectively) of an exemplary screen image illustrating the
sustainability manager experience of a WAMP Member Contact display
page for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0035] FIG. 18 is an exemplary screen image illustrating the
sustainability manager experience of a WAMP Overview display page
for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0036] FIG. 19 is an exemplary screen image illustrating the
property manager experience of a WAMP Market Platform display page
for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0037] FIGS. 20A and 20B are two views of an exemplary screen image
illustrating the sustainability manager experience of a WAMP Lease
Order display page for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0038] FIG. 21 is an exemplary screen image illustrating the
sustainability manager experience of a WAMP Transfer Zone
Management display page for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0039] FIGS. 22A and 22B are upper and lower portions
(respectively) of an exemplary screen image illustrating the
sustainability manager experience of a WAMP Registry Overview
display page for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0040] FIGS. 23A and 23B are upper and lower portions
(respectively) of an exemplary screen image illustrating the
sustainability manager experience of a WAMP groundwater rights
(GWR) List display for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0041] FIG. 24 is an exemplary screen image illustrating the
sustainability manager experience of a WAMP Members GWR display
page for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0042] FIG. 25 is an exemplary screen image illustrating the
sustainability manager experience of a WAMP Virtual Meter display
subpage for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0043] FIGS. 26A, 26B and 26C are portions of an exemplary screen
image illustrating the sustainability manager experience of a WAMP
GWR display page for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0044] FIG. 27 is an exemplary screen image illustrating the
sustainability manager experience of a WAMP Add CRM Comment display
subpage for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0045] FIGS. 28A and 28B are upper and lower portions
(respectively) of an exemplary screen image illustrating the
sustainability manager experience of a WAMP Interests display page
for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0046] FIGS. 29A and 29B are upper and lower portions
(respectively) of an exemplary screen image illustrating the
sustainability manager experience of a WAMP Registry Action display
page for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0047] FIG. 30 is an exemplary screen image illustrating the
sustainability manager experience of a WAMP Registry Documents
Repository display page for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0048] FIGS. 31A and 31B are upper and lower portions
(respectively) of an exemplary screen image illustrating the
sustainability manager experience of a WAMP Dashboard display page
for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0049] FIGS. 32A and 32B are upper and lower portions
(respectively) of an exemplary screen image illustrating the
sustainability manager experience of a WAMP Invoices display page
for the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0050] FIGS. 33A and 33B are upper and lower portions
(respectively) of an exemplary screen image illustrating the
sustainability manager experience of a WAMP Local Weather display
page for the embodiment of FIG. 1; and
[0051] FIG. 34 is a Logic Flow Diagram illustrating an embodiment
of a shared data access control engine for the embodiment of FIG.
1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0052] The present invention will now be described in detail with
reference to several embodiments thereof as illustrated in the
accompanying drawings. In the following description, numerous
specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough
understanding of embodiments of the present invention. It will be
apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that embodiments may
be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In
other instances, well known process steps and/or structures have
not been described in detail in order to not unnecessarily obscure
the present invention. The features and advantages of embodiments
may be better understood with reference to the drawings and
discussions that follow.
[0053] Aspects, features and advantages of exemplary embodiments of
the present invention will become better understood with regard to
the following description in connection with the accompanying
drawing(s). It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that
the described embodiments of the present invention provided herein
are illustrative only and not limiting, having been presented by
way of example only. All features disclosed in this description may
be replaced by alternative features serving the same or similar
purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Therefore, numerous
other embodiments of the modifications thereof are contemplated as
falling within the scope of the present invention as defined herein
and equivalents thereto. Hence, use of absolute and/or sequential
terms, such as, for example, "always," "will," "will not," "shall,"
"shall not," "must," "must not," "first," "initially," "next,"
"subsequently," "before," "after," "lastly," and "finally," are not
meant to limit the scope of the present invention as the
embodiments disclosed herein are merely exemplary.
[0054] Embodiments of the present invention are intended to operate
with all manner of consumer electronic network terminal devices
including smart phones, computers, tablet computer systems,
e-reader devices, and virtually any electronic device which
includes WAN access and a user interface. These embodiments are
also capable of operating with a wide range of interface types,
including any combination of a visual display, tactile and audio
output and a visual, tactile or acoustic user interface.
[0055] To facilitate discussion, FIGS. 1 through 34 illustrate the
operation of a Water Agency Management Platform (WAMP) 150 in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
[0056] In some embodiments a WAMP 150 may facilitate the operation
of a water agency and may facilitate such a water agency's
regulatory compliance and implementation of a water resource
regulatory body pursuant to corresponding regulation, compacts and
law, such as a Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. The State of
California for instance has legislated such a Sustainable
Groundwater Management Act.
[0057] The Groundwater Foundation defines `groundwater`
(alternatively spelled `ground water`) as "the water found
underground in the cracks and spaces in soil, sand and rock. It is
stored in and moves slowly through geologic formations of soil,
sand and rocks called aquifers." The United States Geological
Survey (USGS) website says "Groundwater is a valuable resource both
in the United States and throughout the world. Where surface water,
such as lakes and rivers, are scarce or inaccessible, groundwater
supplies many of the hydrologic needs of people everywhere. In the
United States, it is the source of drinking water for about half
the total population and nearly all of the rural population, and it
provides over 50 billion gallons per day for agricultural needs."
It continues by defining and describing `ground water depletion`:
"Groundwater depletion, a term often defined as long-term
water-level declines caused by sustained groundwater pumping, is a
key issue associated with groundwater use. Many areas of the United
States are experiencing groundwater depletion."
[0058] The Mojave Water Agency located in San Bernardino County
California states on its website: "A groundwater basin is defined
as an area underlain by permeable materials capable of furnishing a
significant supply of groundwater to wells or storing a significant
amount of water. A groundwater basin is three-dimensional and
includes both the surface extent and all of the subsurface fresh
water yielding material. For more information on groundwater basins
and subbasins, please visit the California Department of Water
Resources Bulletin 118 website." Furthermore, the California State
Department of Water Resources Bulletin 118--California's
Groundwater (Update 2003) Chapter 6 states: "A groundwater basin is
defined as an alluvial aquifer or a stacked series of alluvial
aquifers with reasonably well-defined boundaries in a lateral
direction and a definable bottom. Lateral boundaries are features
that significantly impede groundwater flow such as rock or
sediments with very low permeability or a geologic structure such
as a fault. Bottom boundaries would include rock or sediments of
very low permeability if no aquifers occur below those sediments
within the basin. In some cases, such as in the San Joaquin and
Sacramento Valleys, the base of fresh water is considered the
bottom of the groundwater basin."
[0059] In contrast to groundwater, surface water is defined by the
web-site version of Duhaime's Legal Dictionary as: "Waters falling
on the land by precipitation or rising from springs." For the
purposes of the discussion that follows, surface water may be
further understood to be: precipitated water or spring water that
is directly open to the atmosphere or is conveyed from such a water
source that is directly open to the atmosphere (e.g., water from a
reservoir conveyed in an aqueduct pipe).
[0060] In the USGS Circular 1186 dated 1999 and titled
"Sustainability of Groundwater Resources", `groundwater
sustainability` is defined as "development and use of groundwater
in a manner that can be maintained for an indefinite time without
causing unacceptable environmental, economic, or social
consequences." Such unacceptable consequences clearly include
groundwater depletion and aquifer collapse.
[0061] The California Sustainable Groundwater Management Act,
according to University of California Davis: "consists of three
legislative bills, Senate Bill SB 1168 (Pavley), Assembly Bill AB
1739 (Dickinson), and Senate Bill SB 1319 (Pavley). The legislation
provides a framework for long-term sustainable groundwater
management across California. Under the roadmap laid out by the
legislation, local and regional authorities in medium and high
priority groundwater basins will form Groundwater Sustainability
Agencies (GSAs) that oversee the preparation and implementation of
a local Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP). Local stakeholders
have until 2017 to organize themselves in Groundwater
Sustainability Agencies. Groundwater Sustainability Plans will have
to be in place and implementation begun sometime between 2020 and
2022. GSAs will have until 2040 to achieve groundwater
sustainability." Furthermore the State of California groundwater
website states: "In September 2015, Governor Brown signed SB13, by
Senator Fran Pavley. The Bill makes various technical, clarifying
changes to SGMA including requirements for groundwater
sustainability agency formation, the process for State Water Board
intervention if no responsible agency is specified for a basin,
guidelines for high- and medium-priority basins, and participation
of mutual water companies in a groundwater sustainability
agency."
[0062] Further describing the role of GSAs under California's SGMA,
the Association of California Water Agencies website states: "The
act requires the formation of local groundwater sustainability
agencies (GSAs) that must assess conditions in their local water
basins and adopt locally-based management plans." The University of
California Berkeley website says: "A successful path to groundwater
sustainability will require governance that is both fair and
effective. GSAs will need to carefully consider the criteria shown
here in their institutional design, each of which is necessary to
achieve both fairness and efficacy in groundwater management."
Additionally it proposes nine criteria to evaluate newly forming
GSAs: "scale, human capacity, funding, authority, independence,
participation, representation, accountability, and
transparency."
[0063] For the purposes of the discussion that follows, the term
`groundwater management agency` (GMA) may connote: an agency that
may include but not necessarily be limited to the functions and
responsibilities of a groundwater sustainability agency as defined
by a given Sustainable Groundwater Management Act or equivalent
legal mandate.
[0064] For the purposes of the definition of GMA above and of the
discussion that follows, the term SGMA' may connote: a Sustainable
Groundwater Management Act or other legislation, regulation, legal
finding, compact or other legal basis that may mandate or otherwise
legally authorize and provide jurisdiction to a GSA or GSAs
relative to groundwater sustainability.
[0065] The CA.gov website defines a number of terms used in
California's SGMA including `sustainable yield`, which is defined
as: "The maximum quantity of water, calculated over a base period
representative of long-term conditions in the basin and including
any temporary surplus, that can be withdrawn annually from a
groundwater supply without causing an undesirable result." Where
`undesirable result` is defined: "One or more of the following
effects caused by groundwater conditions occurring throughout the
basin: [0066] 1. Chronic lowering of groundwater levels indicating
a significant and unreasonable depletion of supply if continued
over the planning and implementation horizon. Overdraft during a
period of drought is not sufficient to establish a chronic lowering
of groundwater levels if extractions and recharge are managed as
necessary to ensure that reductions in groundwater levels or
storage during a period of drought are offset by increases in
groundwater levels or storage during other periods. [0067] 2.
Significant and unreasonable reduction of groundwater storage.
[0068] 3. Significant and unreasonable seawater intrusion. [0069]
4. Significant and unreasonable degraded water quality, including
the migration of contaminant plumes that impair water supplies.
[0070] 5. Significant and unreasonable land subsidence that
substantially interferes with surface land uses. [0071] 6.
Depletions of interconnected surface water that have significant
and unreasonable adverse impacts on beneficial uses of the surface
water."
[0072] In contrast to a GMA, a surface water agency may be
concerned with the management of surface water supplies including
the accumulation, conservation, distribution of such surface water.
So, per the Louisiana Department of Water Resources website, a
surface water management agency may: "coordinate the management,
preservation, conservation and protection of the state's water
resources and has given authority for the agency to enter into
cooperative agreements with water users for the withdrawal of
surface water from the state's water bodies". So as an example of a
surface water management agency in California's southern central
valley: "In 1909, the South San Joaquin Irrigation District was
established to provide a reliable and economical source of
irrigation water for agricultural use in, and surrounding rural
areas of Escalon, Manteca and Ripon. SSJID's historic water rights
allow for several hydroelectric power plants on a series of dams
and reservoirs on the Stanislaus River. SSJID and Oakdale
Irrigation District completed the original Melones Reservoir in
1926, and have co-owned the Tri-Dam Project, consisting of
Donnells, Beardsley and Tulloch reservoirs and powerhouses since
1957." And as a further example of a surface water management
agency, in northern California, the San Francisco Public Utilities
Commission: "We manage a complex water supply system stretching
from the Sierra to the City and featuring a complex series of
reservoirs, tunnels, pipelines, and treatment systems. We are the
third largest municipal utility in California, serving 2.6 million
residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the Bay Area.
Approximately one-third of our delivered water goes to retail
customers in San Francisco, while wholesale deliveries to 26
suburban agencies in Alameda, Santa Clara, and San Mateo counties
comprise the other two-thirds." Additionally, in contrast to
groundwater, surface water is commonly delivered to surface water
customers--particularly irrigators--through a known connection to
the distribution system commonly termed a `turnout`.
[0073] As a practical matter, in order to sustainably manage a
groundwater basin, nearly all groundwater extraction (as well as
injection) needs to be regulated. Unfortunately, most existing
water agencies are surface water agencies rather than GMAs.
Additionally, the jurisdictions of most water agencies correspond
to surface boundaries rather than the underlying groundwater basin
boundaries. In fact many water agencies have boundaries that are
politically rather than physically determined--e.g., confined
within a politically defined area such as a state, county or city.
Therefore, in many instances a given groundwater basin is overlain
by a quiltwork of two or more existing water agencies.
[0074] One solution to overcome such fragmented management of a
groundwater basin is to consolidate all the water agencies
overlying that basin into a single GMA that supersedes such
consolidated water agencies. For example, the Pajaro Valley Water
Management Agency, a water agency in coastal central California is
described: "The purpose of the Agency has remained essentially
unchanged since its creation in 1984. In 1980, the State Department
of Water Resources issued Bulletin 118-80, which identified 447
separate groundwater basins, sub-basins and areas of potential
groundwater storage throughout the State. More importantly, the
Bulletin identified the Pajaro Valley basin as one of just eleven
basins with critical conditions of overdraft. Community leaders in
the area recognized that local management of the basin was needed
to halt seawater intrusion, which was impacting the groundwater
supply for large areas of coastal farmland as well as domestic
water supply wells. They also recognized that no single agency had
the jurisdictional authority to manage the entire groundwater basin
which overlaps four major jurisdictions: the City of Watsonville,
and Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties. The Agency's
boundaries were drawn as closely as possible to match the same
basin boundaries described in Bulletin 118-80. See Agency Boundary
Map. An ad hoc group of local stakeholders formed and began meeting
weekly over a period of several months to develop the new agency's
goals and draft the state legislation necessary to form a new water
management entity. State Senator Henry Mello spearheaded the
required legislation in Sacramento. A local ballot measure to
establish the Agency was approved by the local voters in the
November 1984 election, which officially established the PVWMA as a
new state-chartered water management agency."
[0075] Such voluntary combining of water agencies into a single new
consolidating and superseding water agency is an extremely
difficult task due to the many competing interests of numerous
stakeholders. Thirty years ago agencies such as the Pajaro Valley
Water Management Agency were managed primarily with manual
paper-based file systems augmented with some computerization. In
the 21.sup.st century, complex combinations of networked database
systems have become essential to the operation of most
organizations including water agencies. Replacing multiple such
complex computerized systems with a equally capable replacement
computerized system may be a hugely daunting task. Additionally,
increasingly severe political polarization--often pitting urban
areas against rural constituencies--has made the sort of political
compromise needed to charter new consolidated water agencies such
as Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency nearly impossible.
Clearly, another solution other than consolidation is needed.
[0076] An alternative approach to consolidation into a single
basin-wide GMA is for a plurality of water management agencies
(with jurisdictions that when considered together encompass an
entire groundwater basin) to operate cooperatively so as to
virtually synthesize key elements of the operation of a single
consolidated basin-wide agency, but with fewer technical and
political hurdles. For the purposes of the discussion that follows,
such a cooperative basin-wide virtual agency may be referred to as
a `virtual groundwater management agency` (VGMA).
[0077] As opposed to a consolidation into a single basin-wide water
agency, a VGMA may facilitate but not supercede or preempt multiple
water agencies cooperating within a shared groundwater basin. A
VGMA may facilitate such GMAs to cooperatively manage that basin's
water resources and further may facilitate each of the cooperating
GMAs to meet their respective sustainability reporting obligations
under the governing SGMA. Furthermore, such reporting obligations
may rest exclusively upon the individual cooperating GMAs and not
the VGMA. A VGMA may not replace or explicitly limit or assume the
governance powers or obligations of each individual GMA.
[0078] For the purposes of this discussion, the term `district` may
refer to: a specific geographic territory over which a given GMA
may have authority, and that may include one or more water
consumers under the jurisdiction of that GMA. Such water consumers
may include groundwater extractors who directly consume such
extracted groundwater or provide it to others to consume. Further,
for the purposes of this discussion the terms `member` or `members`
may refer to: property owners (as well as legal assignees and
interest holders) under the jurisdiction of a given GMA. One or
more such members within a GMA's district may be property owners
with historical, deeded, optioned, leased, purchased or otherwise
granted, awarded, claimed or otherwise acquired groundwater rights
(GWRs). Being a member of a given GMA may be voluntary or mandated
or a mix of both. A member may for example be a natural person or a
legal entity such as a corporation, LLC, holding company or trust.
A GMA may maintain information (e.g., owner(s), address, assessor's
parcel number, size, etc.) pertaining to a given property within
the GMA's district--i.e., a `property account`. A GMA member may
own (or otherwise control interests in) more than one properties in
the GMA's district and therefore be associated with more than one
property account.
[0079] In some embodiments, a VGMA may be thought of as a type of a
GMA composed of participating constituent water agencies. For the
purposes of the discussion that follows, when the term `GMA` is
used, it may be assumed unless stated otherwise that the discussion
applies equivalently to a VGMA. Furthermore, the term `GMA` may be
assumed to apply equivalently to a surface water management agency
(unless stated otherwise) should such a surface water management
agency manage or utilize groundwater resources or anticipate doing
so.
[0080] Additionally, for the purposes of the discussion that
follows, the combined districts of the constituent water agencies
of a given VGMA comprise the `district` of that VGMA although such
VGMA district may be virtual. Furthermore, the members of such
constituent water agencies of a given VGMA may be termed `VGMA
members` (or similar) although such membership in the VGMA may be
virtual. And unless stated otherwise, all discussions applying to a
GMA's district and/or member(s) of GMA may apply equivalently to
the district and/or member(s) of a VGMA. Furthermore, unless stated
otherwise, all discussions applying to users of GMA's WAMP 150 may
apply equivalently to users of a VGMA's WAMP 150.
[0081] For the purposes of the discussion that follows, the terms
`sustainability manager` or `sustainability managers` may refer to:
employee(s), contractor(s) and other worker(s) for a given GMA who
may utilize the WAMP 150 to manage the resources of the GMA.
Furthermore, for the purposes of the discussion that follows, the
terms `property manager` and `property managers` may refer to: GMA
member user(s) of the WAMP 150. For example, a property manager may
be a property owner within the GMA district or may be an individual
or commercial entity that works for such a property owner. In some
instances, such an individual or commercial entity may be a
property manager for more than one property within the GMA
district.
[0082] A WAMP 150 may facilitate the operation of a GMA and
facilitate the GMA's regulatory compliance and implementation of
governmental and industry standards--such as the Californian,
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). A given GMA's
sustainability manager(s) may utilize a WAMP 150 to innovatively
and reliably service properties and property managers within their
district(s) including providing reasonable controls necessary for
the GMA to manage their groundwater sustaining service and the
system that provides that service. In addition to facilitating GMA
sustainability managers to ensure the sustainable management of
groundwater, a WAMP 150 may be utilized by property managers to
manage their groundwater production and consumption and to monitor
the overall state of the groundwater basin they draw from.
[0083] In some embodiments, a WAMP 150 may facilitate multiple GMAs
with authority or commercial interests within a given basin to
cooperatively and cost-effectively manage--to their mutual
benefit--the groundwater sustainability of that basin and operate
as a seemingly single integrated commercial entity while
maintaining and protecting their separate commercial interests and
carrying out their respective responsibilities. A WAMP 150 may for
example facilitate a VGMA to configure and utilize common forms,
letterhead, water utilization fee and regulatory policies, and
regulatory agency(s) interface. Additionally, a WAMP 150 may
facilitate generating reports that taken together may provide a
comprehensive overview of the water usage and transfers within the
VGMA's basin.
[0084] A VGMA may be facilitated by a WAMP 150 in some embodiments
so as to assist two or more GMAs (or other water management
agencies) within a basin district cooperatively manage their
respective jurisdictions, protect the privacy of individual members
within an individual GMA's specific district while enabling
de-identified aggregated data to be reported to and utilized by the
VGMA to assist the cooperating GMAs to administer the basin on a
coordinated basis. In turn, such data aggregation by a WAMP 150 may
support the VGMA to create and provide reports to, for example, a
supervisory government authority in fulfillment of the requirements
of a SGMA. Additionally, such reporting utilizing aggregated
basin-wide data may in turn help the constituent GMAs make
decisions about the management of groundwater resources within
their basin segments and assist each GMA with auditing and
regulatory reporting requirements.
[0085] A WAMP 150 may facilitate the constituent GMAs of a VGMA to
maintain their relationships with their members while complying and
contributing to the implementation of their region's groundwater
sustainable management regulations by cooperating as a VGMA. In
some embodiments, for a groundwater basin within a given VGMA's
district and jurisdiction, a WAMP 150 may: [0086] provide exclusive
and relatively coherent regulatory mandated administration of the
basin's groundwater resources, [0087] organize and service members
of the participating agencies as members of the VGMA, [0088]
provide a single uniform source of basin-wide accounting and
reporting.
[0089] In order for a VGMA to function effectively (e.g., not
injure the interests of the participating agencies) and yet
sustainably manage shared groundwater resources, a
VGMA-facilitating WAMP 150 in some embodiments may segment and
group the authorities, functionalities and responsibilities (i.e.,
"powers") of each of the thusly participating agencies so as to
group subset(s) of such powers that may be essential to groundwater
sustainability while keeping segregated subset(s) of other powers
that may be non-essential to groundwater sustainability (but may be
of critical proprietary interest to each of the individual
participating agencies within the VGMA). In some embodiments of a
WAMP 150, such aggregated subset(s) and segregated subset(s) may be
configurable such that the composition of such subsets may vary
from VGMA to VGMA depending, for example, on the degree of
cooperation or competition between the participating agencies
within a given VGMA.
[0090] In many areas, GMAs (let alone VGMAs) don't yet exist and
surface water management agencies seem a natural fit to be adapted
to the role of GMA or VGMA constituent because they have existing:
[0091] Trained staff, [0092] Political and community connections,
[0093] Long term relationships with property owners and managers,
[0094] Property account data including water use history, [0095]
Distribution systems to move water between sellers and
buyers--including between basins, [0096] Revenue flows and access
to capital, [0097] Relationships with neighboring agencies, [0098]
Extensive surface water utilization data (very useful in instances
where a property uses both surface water and groundwater), and
[0099] Deep institutional and historical knowledge of drainage and
basin conditions.
[0100] Also, in some instances existing surface water agencies may
already be extracting groundwater and combining it with surface
water supplies. Or a surface water agency may have customers that
are pumping groundwater from private wells and using it in
conjunction with water supplied from the surface water management
agency. Clearly, a surface water management agency is a natural
stakeholder in any groundwater basin that is drawn on by that
agency or by its customers.
[0101] In some instances, a GMA may be a standalone entity whose
governance structure consists of representatives from water
agencies, local government and water users. The day to day
activities of the GMA may be sub-contracted to existing water
agencies or other third parties.
[0102] Unfortunately GMAs (as well as water management agencies in
general) may have financial and commercial disincentives to share
data or relationships--particularly when they overlap in watersheds
and or groundwater basins. However, a WAMP 150 may facilitate
creation of a VGMA combining, but appropriately firewalling data
from multiple water management agencies cooperating as a seemingly
single VGMA.
[0103] In some embodiments, a WAMP 150 may include facilities
specific to the management of surface water resources. This for
instance may allow a surface water agency to transform to a GMA
(either immediately, or in a phased process, or sometime in the
future) and manage both surface water and groundwater in an
integrated fashion. Although a WAMP 150 may be utilized by a GMA to
facilitate its operations, in some embodiments, a WAMP 150 may be
configured to be utilized by a surface water management agency to
facilitate its operations with or without configuring facilities
for groundwater management. Such an adopting surface water
management agency may thusly benefit from the state-of-the-art
integrated water management facilities of a WAMP 150 and
additionally benefit from a built-in WAMP 150 configurable path to
groundwater management--perhaps as a GMA and/or as a constituent
water management agency in a VGMA.
[0104] The two principal stakeholders of a given GMA--the GMA
itself and the members--may be the primary users of a WAMP 150
utilized by the GMA. In addition to a given GMA's principal
stakeholders, i.e., the GMA itself and the members of that GMA, a
given GMA may have various additional direct or indirect
stakeholders within the district. Such in-district GMA stakeholders
may include, but not be limited to: [0105] Surface water rights
holders, [0106] Surface water management agencies, [0107]
Non-agricultural water consumers and their water agencies, [0108]
Groundwater recharge area property owners, [0109] Local politicians
and/or government officials, and [0110] Sovereign entities such as
Native American reservations.
[0111] In addition to sustainability managers and property
managers, other GMA stakeholders (some out of district) may be
users of a GMA's WAMP 150. For example, water brokers might utilize
services of the WAMP 150 on behalf of water consumers and possibly
investors.
[0112] FIG. 1 provides a structural block diagram for an example of
a Water Agency Management Platform (WAMP) 150 operating environment
in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In some
embodiments a WAMP 150 may be a multi-layered secure cloud based
software solution that may facilitate the operation of a
groundwater management agency (GMA), and may furthermore facilitate
regulatory compliance and implementation of a water resource
regulatory body pursuant to corresponding regulation, compacts and
law, such as a Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Such
a WAMP 150 may be accessed from any location--critical for example
in the irrigation industry where the system needs to be accessed by
a property manager at work out in the field--perhaps out in a feed
lot or an almond orchard.
[0113] A WAMP 150 may be accessed using a mobile communication
device or any other electronic network terminal device with a user
interface. For brevity, an electronic network terminal device may
be referred to as a `terminal`, which can either be a dedicated
purpose-built device or a suitable general purpose device. FIG. 1
represents a variety of such potential terminals--110 to 119 for
sustainability managers, and 190 to 199 for property managers.
[0114] Sustainability manager terminal choices, 110 through 119,
represent the multiplicity of devices that may support access to
WAMP 150. Often such terminals are mobile communication
devices--i.e., devices that can be carried easily from place to
place by the sustainability manager--typically with Wi-Fi or
cellular data or other wireless connectivity and in numerous
instances with built-in mobile telephone capability. However, less
portable or fixed installation terminals may also support access to
the WAMP 150.
[0115] Property manager terminal choices, 190 through 199, mirror
the choices available to a sustainability manager. They differ
specifically in the role of the WAMP 150 user, i.e., property
manager rather than sustainability manager, and the specific device
chosen by each individual user.
[0116] In some embodiments, a user's access to a WAMP 150 may not
be bound to a specific terminal device. So for example, during the
day, a sustainability manager may utilize a laptop 112 at their
desk, while a property manager may utilize a smart phone 190 out in
a farm field. Further by example, in the evening, a sustainability
manager may utilize a home PC 119, while a property manager gets
caught up on work from home utilizing a tablet computer 191.
[0117] When describing use of the WAMP 150 that is equivalent
whether by a sustainability manager or a property manager, the term
`User` may be used in the discussion that follows to mean either of
these two types of users.
[0118] At the level of network connectivity, a sustainability
manager's terminal and a property manager's terminal may operate in
equivalent ways, therefore for simplicity: the terms `User's
device` or `User's terminal` may be used in the discussion that
follows when operation of a WAMP 150 feature applies in the same or
similar fashion to either a sustainability manager's terminal or a
property manager's terminal.
[0119] Inter-communication between a User's terminal device and the
WAMP 150 may use a wide area network (WAN) 140 such as the
Internet. Communication between a User and the WAMP 150 may involve
traversing more than one WAN (not shown). In some embodiments,
WAMP-facilitated communication between a sustainability manager and
a property manager may also involve a WAN or WANs such as the PSTN
and/or the Internet.
[0120] Depending on the embodiment, the WAMP 150 may use one or
several models of connectivity including, but not limited to:
client/server and peer-to-peer. In some embodiments, a WAMP 150 may
utilize a client-server system model where the client may execute
on the User's device--perhaps as a web app or a native app.
Client/server connectivity may use a WAN 140 such as the Internet
for access between the User's terminal device and a WAMP Server
155. Peer-to-peer connectivity, such as a WAMP-facilitated
telephone call or a text message interaction between a
sustainability manager and a property manager, may typically also
use a WAN 140 such as the PSTN or the Internet.
[0121] In some embodiments, services of a WAMP 150 may be utilized
via telephony--for example, using keypad menuing and/or automated
natural language recognition as is easily apparent to one skilled
in the art. In some embodiments, a live or automated operator
(e.g., a chat bot) may provide WAMP service assistance or proxying.
Furthermore, in some instances, a User's terminal device that is
dedicated to providing data access, e.g., a desktop computer,
119/199, may be augmented for telephone communication by a separate
telephony device (not shown) and/or third party telephony software
(not shown) running on the terminal device. Such separate telephony
devices may include, but not be limited to: a mobile cellular phone
or a landline telephone, or a headset paired with third party
telephony software running on the terminal device, e.g., Skype.
[0122] In some embodiments, communication between a sustainability
manager and a property manager may be intermediated by a WAMP 150.
In such intermediation--sometimes referred to as `proxying`--a WAMP
150 may source, receive, reroute, multicast, broadcast or otherwise
initiate or respond to and/or terminate communication: from a
sustainability manager (or on a sustainability manager's behalf)
intended for a property manager, and/or; from a property manager
(or on a property manager's behalf) intended for a sustainability
manager. In addition, a WAMP 150, may translate, clarify, expand,
simplify, repeat, and/or generally modify or enhance the content
communicated between Users in such a way as to improve or enhance
comprehension or to increase the likelihood of successful
completion of the communication. Such intermediation services may
have varying mixes of automation and/or direct human participation
depending on the embodiment.
[0123] Additionally, a WAMP 150 may translate, clarify, expand,
simplify and otherwise modify or enhance what is communicated. At a
signal content level, a WAMP 150 may amplify, filter, encode,
decode, transcode, compress, expand, error correct and generally
process the signal corresponding to the communication in ways well
understood to one well versed in the art.
[0124] In some embodiments, data communication may be intermediated
by a WAMP 150 in such a way that logical network addresses--e.g.,
web site URLs and email addresses--nominally routed directly to a
User are actually routed to and/or sourced from and/or redirected
by a WAMP 150. For example, the WAMP 150 may provide additional
services to a GMA or on a GMA's behalf including, but not limited
to: Web site, email, blog, on-line forum/social network posts,
electronic newsletters, and push notifications to GMA members.
[0125] In some embodiments, text messaging communication may be
intermediated by the WAMP 150 in such a way that logical texting
addresses--e.g., Universal Resource Identifiers--nominally routed
directly to a User are actually routed to and/or sourced by and/or
redirected by and/or translated by the WAMP 150. For example, the
WAMP 150 may provide additional services to a sustainability
manager or on a sustainability manager's behalf including, but not
limited to: text-email translation, text-voice translation,
system-to-system gateway (e.g., between SMS and IM) and push text
messaging notifications to members.
[0126] The services of the WAMP 150 may be provided by a WAMP
Server 155, which may utilize one or more WAMP Database(s) 158
containing information regarding GMA members (and perhaps other
users) who may utilize the WAMP 150. The primary users of a WAMP
150 may be sustainability managers and property managers. In some
embodiments, WAMP data may be encrypted and/or physically secured
in data centers complying with standards such as: FISMA, SSAE16
Type II and PCI DSS 2.0 standards.
[0127] Property-descriptive and member-descriptive data may be
entered into the WAMP Database(s) 158 automatically by importing
from one of more sources including: a legacy operations system, or
manually by GMA staff, or in some instances voluntarily by property
managers themselves. In some embodiments, this data may be
augmented with data from third parties, which may be copied or
simply utilized on a one-time basis. Such descriptive data for a
given property, member or property manager may be referred to as a
`profile` or for multiple members/properties or in
aggregate--`profiles`. Profiles may be stored in WAMP Database(s)
158 and may be organized, portioned, sorted, encrypted, firewalled,
access-restricted, backed-up, transaction logged and otherwise
managed, maintained and protected using techniques familiar to one
skilled in the art.
[0128] The WAMP Database(s) 158 used by the WAMP 150 may be
centralized or distributed. Generally, the WAMP Database(s) 158
utilized by a WAMP 150 may be remote from the User's terminal;
however in some embodiments, portions of database(s) utilized by a
WAMP 150 may reside on the User's electronic terminal device (not
shown). For example, web browser cookies may be stored on a User's
device. In some embodiments, the WAMP 150 may be coupled to one or
more External Database(s) 170 via WAN 140.
[0129] In some embodiments, External Database(s) 170 may be queried
by WAMP 150 to extract useful information. Such External
Database(s) 170 may belong to various different government and
private entities and may be distributed globally, and may for
example include news sources such as Weather Channel, CNN, CBS
& PBS and/or Federal and State governmental agencies such as
FEMA. A given External Database 170 may contain publically
available government data, such as NOAA climate data and GOES
satellite images, or may contain MDA Information Systems EarthSAT
images or other data available on a commercial basis. In some
instances, a WAMP 150 may import data from a given External
Database 170 such as a county government tax assessor's property
roll. In some instances, a WAMP 150 may export data to a given
External Database 170--for example providing a given GMA's
basin-specific water sustainability reporting to an SGMA mandated
regulatory authority.
[0130] A number of third party organizations, such as USGS, NOAA,
Army Corp of Engineers, US Bureau of Reclamation as well as
regional water authorities and universities maintain large
databases containing water resource data, satellite terrestrial
surface and subsurface images and/or climate and weather
data--observed and/or modeled. The WAMP 150 may import and utilize
data from such third party External Database(s) 170. Hence, a given
GMA may have access to a very rich dataset distributed across a
virtual aggregate database or virtual composite database comprised
of WAMP Database(s) 158 plus data accessed and/or acquired from
third party's External Database(s) 170. For simplicity in the
following discussion, when referring to representative WAMP
Database(s) 158, such a larger virtual aggregate or composite
database including External Database(s) 170 may be taken to be
referenced as well--as is apparent to one skilled in the art.
[0131] In some embodiments, Sensor(s) 130 may provide data to a
WAMP 150. Sensor(s) 130 data such as well bore water level
measurements or well water meter readings that may for example be
utilized to quantify groundwater extraction. In some embodiments,
Sensor(s) 130 may include meteorological instruments and weather
equipment, such as barometers, humidity detectors, precipitation
gauges, anemometers, thermometers and solar cells. Sensor(s) 130
may also include test wells located within aquifer(s) to monitor
aquifer characteristics including current level and rate of water
table change. In some instances, Sensor(s) 130 may be of many
functional types distributed on a wide geographic basis within a
GMA's jurisdiction. Wireless communication may provide a typical
means for communications with Sensor(s) 130, but other means such
as wired connectivity may be utilized as well. Most Sensor(s) 130
may be relatively small, simple and inexpensive devices owned by
the GMA, or by vendors to the GMA, or perhaps by GMA members. In
some instances, Sensor(s) 130 may be large, complex and expensive,
e.g., an earth imaging satellite with ground-penetrating radar
owned perhaps by the US government. Many Sensor(s) 130 may be
statically located on a specific property. However, other Sensor(s)
130 may be moved about--perhaps my motor vehicle, or airplane,
helicopter, balloon or aerial drone. Autonomous terrestrial and
aerial drones may increasingly provide dynamic Sensor(s) coverage
as technology evolves. Additionally, nano-technology may be
expected to provide for a very low-cost means to blanket a GMA's
jurisdiction with thousands, millions or perhaps billions of
Sensors 130. In anticipation of nano-technology, Sensor(s) 130 may
use marker chemicals or dyes to map out basin boundaries and
measure aquifer flows.
[0132] In general, industry best practices may be applied so as to
comply with any legal mandates, regulatory requirements, or
industry consensus on the protection of private, sensitive and
proprietary information or otherwise privileged information.
Encryption may be applied to protect information in WAMP
Database(s) 158 and also protect information communicated between
Users and a WAMP 150, between other WAMP 150 users (such as third
parties) and a WAMP 150, and between Sensor(s) 130 and a WAMP 150.
In many embodiments, encryption may occur as appropriate using
technologies familiar to one skilled in the art, such as Secure
Sockets Layer (SSL), Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Virtual
Private Network (VPN).
[0133] In some embodiments, a WAMP 150 may facilitate a GMA's
operations with secure, auditable process(es) for managing and
maintaining records of "Groundwater Extraction Rights" such as
those rights created, mandated and/or recognized as a result of
California's SGMA. Such systematic, verifiable and traceable
process(es) may provide a GMA with a strong level of substantiation
and therefore protection from potential conflict with GMA
members--such as lawsuits due to asserted accounting errors on a
given property's water extraction balance or ownership or other
property or water rights interests. Furthermore, in some
embodiments, a WAMP 150 may facilitate configuring, populating and
maintaining a `water extraction rights registry` (WER registry),
which may be stored in a WAMP Database(s) 158. Such a WAMP 150 WER
registry (not shown) may potentially be utilized as a single source
of truth of groundwater extraction rights within a GMA's
jurisdiction--thereby assisting in both comprehensive management
and conflict resolution.
[0134] A WAMP 150 WER registry may for example combine extensive
data for the properties within a given basin with mapping, Global
Imaging Satellite (GIS) information and perhaps other measurements
to provide a comprehensive overview of groundwater use within that
basin including land ownership and acreage, crop-cycle information,
water use requirements, actual and/or estimated water use and
changes to water extraction rights (i.e., leased or purchased).
Some such data collection and/or aggregation may be automated such
that corresponding data in a WER registry may be updated on an
on-going basis so as to keep it current--perhaps updating in real
time. Such extensive water resource data may include but not be
limited to location of extraction, volume of water use, and
historical water use as well as: property location, boundary, and
ownership information perhaps acquired from appropriate sources
such as a county recorder's database. WER registry data (perhaps
along with other measured, reported and imported data) may be
aggregated, de-identified and analyzed by a WAMP 150 to provide an
up-to-date basin-wide (or sub-basin-wide) comprehensive view of
water use and groundwater extraction, including data from water
meters and from participation in fallowing programs.
[0135] Litigation, financial audit or other time period specific
inquiry may require a copy of a GMA's WAMP 150 WER registry as it
existed at some prior date and time. In some embodiments a WAMP 150
may log changes to a GMA's WER registry or otherwise record
incremental changes to such a registry such that a date/time
instant-specific instance of that registry may be displayed or
otherwise produced.
[0136] A WAMP 150 may be highly scalable: allowing multiple
sustainability managers to simultaneously input, store, access,
edit, update, and otherwise process and share (as appropriate) data
for a multiplicity of GMA members. Furthermore, an WAMP 150 may
provide service-configurating facilities to activate/de-activate
one/some/all member services provided by WAMP 150, e.g.,
newsletter, reporting, WER registry, trading access and other WAMP
services--perhaps district-wide or on a member or property account
specific basis.
[0137] Utilizing contact information entered in WAMP 150 property
accounts, a WAMP 150 may be utilized by a GMA as a powerful
communications facility to interact with property managers. For
example, SMS, email and or voice communications may be sent
automatically or "at the click of a button", removing the
requirement for integrating multiple third party systems and
reducing overall costs. In some embodiments, a WAMP 150 may include
facilities enabling: [0138] every sustainability manager to provide
the highest possible standards of property manager engagement,
[0139] per-property scheduling of billing, invoicing and notices,
[0140] scheduling of automated contact reminders for property
managers--such as emailed newsletters, event notifications and
scheduled phone call cycles, [0141] logging and maintaining full
per-property-account contact history--including recorded (and
therefore reproducible evidence of) phone, voicemail, email and
scanned.
[0142] In some embodiments, WAMP 150 may facilitate a GMA to record
and subsequently access contact details as well as written,
electronic and voice communications with property managers and/or
third parties. By providing a historical record of all such
communications, a WAMP 150 may save time and money while
facilitating a comprehensive professional support and outreach
service from a GMA to their served members and stakeholders as well
as third parties such as a governmental regulatory department.
[0143] In some embodiments, A WAMP 150 may facilitate a
sustainability manager to configure a set of one or more secure
WAMP 150 facilities that a property manager (or an appropriately
authorized third party) may utilize. In some embodiments, such a
set of WAMP 150 facilities may be instantiated as a system default
of a WAMP 150. Such a set of WAMP 150 facilities may for example
facilitate a property manager to access, edit and update their
profile and/or other information managed within a property account
by a WAMP 150--for instance updating contact or billing
information. For a given property account, a member may be a
groundwater provider, a groundwater consumer, or both. Furthermore,
a property manager may perhaps manage more than one separately
owned property--each with separate property accounts. Consequently,
a given property manager may be associated by a WAMP 150 with one
or more property accounts where the given property manager may
perhaps have differing management roles for each.
[0144] A WAMP 150 may have major advantages over third party
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems in that a WAMP 150
may seamlessly integrate with the WER registry and therefore
support complex property account changes such as transferring water
rights interests. Nonetheless, in some embodiments, a WAMP 150 may
configured to interoperate with a given third party CRM system
utilized by a GMA. Such an incumbent CRM system may be strongly
integrated into the business operations of such a GMA--with
multiple staff trained on and loyal to the incumbent third party
and perhaps resistant to change. A WAMP 150 may for example import
and perhaps augment member-specific information managed by such a
incumbent CRM system perhaps on a repeated basis to remain current
with changes to a GMA's membership. In other embodiments, a WAMP
150 may overlay a user interface onto a third party CRM. By
utilizing such an incumbent CRM analogous to an external data base
for the WAMP 150, a WAMP 150 may import and export property account
records between the WAMP 150 and the GMA's incumbent CRM.
Furthermore, the data base record definitions of such an incumbent
CRM may be augmented so as to support the operation of the WAMP 150
as a GMA migrates from away from a legacy CRM system.
[0145] In some embodiments, a WAMP 150 may facilitate a GMA to
configure and produce custom-tailored reports. For example, a WAMP
150 may import surface water utilization data for a given property
account in order to calculate and report how much of overall water
utilization is supplied to that property by surface water as
opposed to groundwater. A WAMP 150 may facilitate configuring
reporting intervals for a given report and the method in which a
given report is to be initiated (manually by a Sustainability
Manager or automatically by a WAMP 150). A WAMP 150 may provide a
range of sophisticated reporting facilities--allowing the
generation of charts, diagrams, maps and various downloads to give
sustainability managers instant access to and analysis of
aggregated data pertaining water utilization in their groundwater
basin.
[0146] In some embodiments, a WAMP 150 may facilitate producing
unique district-specific or basin-specific groundwater analytics
reports with access to and distribution of such reports controlled
securely by the WAMP 150 as configured by the GMA. For example, a
WAMP 150 may facilitate a given GMA to produce customized
SGMA-compliant physical or electronic reports with WAMP system
software updates supporting new SGMA-compliant report requirements
as they become known. So for example in California, a WAMP 150 may
facilitate the current and future needs of individual GMAs to
provide reports to the state government authority to fulfill the
requirements of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
Furthermore, all reporting requirements under California's
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act may be automated through a
WAMP 150. For example, a WAMP 150 may facilitate configuring
reporting intervals as well as the method in which a given report
is to be undertaken (physical or electronic). Such reports may be
scheduled periodically for automatic production in addition to
being produced on an as-needed basis. A WAMP 150 may be configured
to distribute a given report internal to the GMA as well as
potentially to a configured set of property accounts and/or third
parties such as government agencies. Therefore, such reports
including the groundwater analytics they may contain may assist GMA
sustainability managers and/or their property managers counterparts
with future business planning.
[0147] Reporting facilities in some embodiments of a WAMP 150 may
be configured to meet the specific needs of a given GMA as dictated
in part by its groundwater resources, commercial interests, its
property account and property managers needs, and governmental
edicts. Such a reporting facility thusly configured may provide
precisely the required information as and when it is needed.
Furthermore, reporting facilities may be configured to distribute
for a limited time or to a proscribed list of distributees so as to
support one-off circumstances such as experimental projects.
[0148] Reporting facilities provided by WAMP 150 may for example be
configured to include, but not be limited to: [0149] Generation of
automated emailed reports to GMA staff, property accounts and
property managers or third parties on a regular (or demand)
basis--ensuring everyone may stay informed and up-to-date, [0150]
Automated distribution of reports to managers on financial
management and expected expense outcomes. These may be individually
configured such that variations from expected results are
immediately picked up and reported to appropriate GMA staff or
appropriate third parties, and [0151] Automated SMS and email of
selected report notifications and/or reports, so for example a
report may be successfully distributed even if the receiving
property manager is in the field on a tractor.
[0152] In some embodiments, a WAMP 150 may facilitate a GMA to
collect fees--i.e., calculate the amount of fees, distribute
invoices, track payments and export fee data to external systems
and applications such as a variety of accounting software packages.
A GMA may configure a WAMP 150 to calculate and charge: a fixed
fee, fee per acre foot, tiered fee, (or a mix of) based on an
individual property or perhaps on a basin/sub-basin wide level.
[0153] In some embodiments, WAMP 150 billing analytic facilities
may facilitate a GMA to obtain reports on overdue accounts,
best/quickest payers and/or top payers. Furthermore, such billing
analytics may compare current billing against prior bill runs and
member payment performance to aid a GMA in revenue and water demand
forecasting.
[0154] Additionally, a WAMP 150 in some embodiments may be custom
configured by a GMA to accommodate the local circumstances of the
irrigation industry so as to most effectively integrate into the
GMA's business operations. Furthermore, a WAMP 150 may have major
advantages over other more generic billing systems in that it may
seamlessly integrate with the WAMP 150 WER registry. Therefore,
once billing criteria may be configured by the GMA, a WAMP 150 may
automatically apply all such criteria to every property account in
the GMA's business domain as determined by factors such as:
landholdings, water use, water rights or whatever other basis that
may deemed appropriate by the GMA and/or regulators for determining
fees billed.
[0155] In some embodiments, such fees may be configured for a
subset of the complete set of property accounts served by the GMA
thus allowing a given fee configuration to apply to an individual
property account, an explicit list of property accounts, or a group
of property accounts determined for example by a factor or factors
such as sub-basin location, groundwater use efficiency, or perhaps
alternative water sources. In some embodiments, a WAMP 150 may
facilitate a financial incentive program, such as rebates or
credits, that may incentivize groundwater sustainability or other
desired behaviors by GMA members and/or by third parties.
[0156] It may be difficult for potentially competing water
management agencies in a groundwater basin to cooperate to form a
VGMA. To help overcome such difficulty, in some embodiments, a WAMP
150 may facilitate operating parallel secure billing facilities
with a given such facility separately configurable and operable by
one of the constituent water management agencies within the VGMA.
In this way, the proprietary commercial information of each of the
constituent water management agencies may be kept secure and
private, but still allow for possible anonymization and aggregation
of data to provide basin-wide analytics.
[0157] In some embodiments, a WAMP 150 may facilitate a GMA to
configure and operate an `electronic water rights exchange`--i.e.,
comprehensive water transfer/marketing, planning, management,
analytics, monitoring and reporting facilities which may enable
more efficient and sustainable management of groundwater resources
within a given stressed groundwater basin. Such WAMP 150 facilities
may for example enable and facilitate the transfer and/or
settlement of water rights between willing buyers and sellers
within such a groundwater basin. Access to such an efficient WAMP
150-facilitated electronic water rights exchange may benefit
property accounts and property managers with without compromising
the sustainability of the basin. Furthermore, such a configurable
WAMP 150-facilitated electronic water rights exchange may
facilitate a GMA to balance and/or benefit from water efficiency
measures within the GMA's managed basin(s)/sub-basin(s). Therefore,
a WAMP 150 may facilitate both sustainability managers and property
managers in their respective WAMP-user roles to sustainably manage
valuable finite groundwater supplies. Dynamic data collection and
powerful report generation capabilities integrated with such a WAMP
150 water transfer/marketing facility may additionally enable
sustainability managers to make intelligent and informed decisions
about short- and long-term water usage within their basins. This
may allow sustainability managers and property managers to maximize
agricultural output while reducing costs and waste and ensuring the
most efficient management and use of scarce groundwater
resources.
[0158] In some embodiments, a WAMP 150-facilitated electronic water
rights exchange may facilitate trading surface water rights in
addition to groundwater rights. By facilitating trading of surface
water rights and groundwater rights in the same exchange, a WAMP
150 may help lessen depletion of a given groundwater basin by
increasing cost-efficient access to alternative water sources and
distribution. In addition to a GMA's members benefiting from
standardized, trusted and efficient processes for conducting water
right transfers, a WAMP 150-facilitated electronic water rights
exchange may facilitate a GMA to earn revenue--for example from
market transaction fees. Additionally, a WAMP 150-facilitated
electronic water rights exchange may enable partnerships with third
party financial institutions such that water rights trades may
perhaps be financed and/or insured.
[0159] In some embodiments, a WAMP 150 may facilitate a GMA to
create or facilitate a market for trading water rights including
but not limited to: extraction, distribution, storage and/or usage,
thereby perhaps promoting more efficient (and perhaps more
equitable and sustainable) water utilization. A WAMP 150 may for
example provide an electronic water rights exchange facility where
water extraction, distribution, storage, usage and/or derivative
rights may be optioned, leased, sold or otherwise traded,
securitized, capitalized or monetized. Such a WAMP 150-facilitated
electronic water rights exchange may facilitate a GMA to configure
sustainable trading rules and thereby, for example in California,
allow for the activation of the water extraction rights trading
powers of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. A WAMP
150-facilitated electronic water rights exchange may be configured
so as to utilize trading rules that promote groundwater
sustainability--for example, limiting the quantities of water that
may be traded by a given property account utilizing the exchange.
Furthermore, a WAMP 150 may facilitate the GMA to update and
uniformly implement changes in policy and sustainable trading
rules--for example suspending new groundwater transfers for a
sub-basin that may be falling behind against GMA sustainability
goals.
[0160] A WAMP 150 in some embodiments may be shared by two or more
GMAs cooperating as a VGMA. Such a shared WAMP 150 may facilitate a
virtual integrated electronic water rights exchange that may in
turn facilitate the transfer of water rights within a multi-GMA
groundwater basin.
[0161] In some embodiments, a WAMP 150 may be configured to
facilitate parties outside a GMA's district to utilize the
facilities of the GMA's WAMP-150 facilitated electronic water
rights exchange. By facilitating the transfer of groundwater not
needed within the GMA's district, willing buyers and sellers of
water have access to an efficient, cost-effective and impartial
marketplace that may permit water to be re-distributed to its
highest value end use without compromising the sustainability of
the GMA's basin. Such groundwater transfer may be actualized by
utilizing existing groundwater distribution systems that may
otherwise be fallowed due to regional water shortages.
[0162] In some embodiments, a WAMP 150 may facilitate a water
trading news (and perhaps more general news) portal. A WAMP 150 may
facilitate sustainability managers to access aggregated and perhaps
curated information feeds including but not limited to: news,
social media, research, and regulatory actions. Additionally, such
news and information may be distributed by a WAMP 150 to members,
property managers and other interested third parties. Such
WAMP-accessed information may therefore assist a GMA and its
members to better manage its water resources.
[0163] As stated previously, for the purposes of the discussion
that follows, when the term `GMA` is used, it may be assumed unless
stated otherwise that the discussion applies equivalently to a
VGMA; also the term `GMA` may be assumed to apply equivalently to a
surface water management agency (unless stated otherwise) should
such a surface water management agency manage or utilize
groundwater resources, or anticipate doing so or cooperating in a
VGMA, or for any other reason utilize a WAMP 150.
[0164] In some embodiments, a WAMP 150 may facilitate a GMA to
configure, operate, and in general in a systematic fashion adopt
utilization of that WAMP 150 so as to migrate the GMA away from its
current legacy operations system(s) and replace them with the
thusly configured facilities of the WAMP 150. A WAMP 150 may
facilitate different types of water agencies, including but not
limited to: [0165] a surface water management agency, [0166] a
groundwater management agency (GMA), and [0167] two or more GMAs
(or other water agencies) cooperating in a VGMA.
[0168] Specific to the operation of a VGMA, a WAMP 150 may
facilitate organizing, assembling and/or operating a VGMA. Such
VGMA facilitation may include combining or keeping securely
separate (as appropriate) the data, functions and responsibilities
of the constituent water management agencies cooperating to form
the VGMA so as to eliminate redundant operation while protecting
constituent agencies' proprietary/commercial interests and
facilitating de-identified aggregated data to be utilized by the
VGMA. In turn, this may enable the respective GMAs to provide
reports to a government authority to fulfill the requirements of a
SGMA. Hence, the thusly WAMP 150-facilitated VGMA may facilitate
existing GMAs to maintain their relationships with their members
while complying and contributing to the implementation of the
SGMA.
[0169] In some embodiments, a GMA may utilize its own staff to
perform the migration process from the GMA's legacy operations
systems to a WAMP 150. Or a GMA may utilize third parties to assist
in or to totally perform such a migration process.
[0170] In some embodiments, a WAMP 150 may facilitate a systematic
phased migration from a legacy operations system to a WAMP 150. In
particular, a WAMP 150 may provide a GMA with facilities that
educate, prepare and guide the GMA in a step-by-step fashion
through such a phased process. For example, a WAMP 150 may provide
facilities to import the data inputs and outputs of the legacy
operations system (either automatically or if necessary manually)
such that those same inputs may be processed by the WAMP 150 and
the resulting WAMP 150 outputs may be compared by the WAMP 150 and
by the GMA against the outputs of the legacy operations system.
[0171] The process of migrating two or more GMAs cooperating in a
VGMA from their individual legacy operations systems to a WAMP 150
may be similar to the phased migration process for a single
GMA--but typically more complex. A WAMP 150 may facilitate each of
the GMAs to migrate their respective operations individually and
separately to the WAMP 150 as was described above. As each GMA's
migration to the WAMP 150 may be completed, the WAMP 150 may
further facilitate that GMA to migrate to a VGMA configuration and
operation of that WAMP 150.
[0172] Referring to FIG. 2, a WAMP 150 may support a GMA's capacity
to innovatively and reliably service members within the GMA's
district while installing the reasonable controls necessary for a
GMA to manage its operations. The GMA users of a WAMP 150 may be
facilitated by the WAMP 150 to cost effectively and efficiently
implement groundwater management requirements--for instance those
mandated by California's Sustainable Groundwater Management
Act.
[0173] In some embodiments, a WAMP 150 may include one or more
`facilitators` that may be utilized via user interface(s) to
configure, monitor, test, control, manipulate and otherwise operate
the user-apparent facilities of a WAMP 150. Such facilitators may
integrate, interwork and seamlessly share data with each other and
among WAMP 150 facilities. In some embodiments, data created,
updated by, or otherwise associated with a given WAMP 150 facility
may be accessed, utilized, replicated, modified, aggregated,
associated, or otherwise utilized by one or more additional
facilitators of a WAMP 150. Furthermore, a given screen display by
a WAMP 150 facilitator may include data from one or more facilities
of a WAMP 150 or information derived from such data from one or
more such facilities. WAMP facilitators may include, but not
limited to: [0174] Water Rights Registry Facilitator (WRRF) 241,
[0175] Relationship Management Facilitator (RMF) 242, [0176]
Basin/sub-basin Reporting Facilitator (BRF) 243, [0177]
Basin/sub-basin Billing Facilitator (BBF) 244, [0178] Transfer
& Market Facilitator (TMF) 245, and [0179] Groundwater
Management Agency Formation Facilitator (GMAFF) 246.
[0180] For example, in some embodiments a Water Rights Registry
Facilitator (WRRF) 241 may facilitate recording and updating
information pertaining to members' and stakeholders' water rights
and related property interests within or related to the
jurisdiction of a GMA; a Relationship Management Facilitator (RMF)
242 may facilitate a GMA staying in contact with and providing
services to its members; a Basin/sub-basin Reporting Facilitator
(BRF) 243 may facilitate regulatory-compliant reporting by a GMA to
governing or interested regulatory bodies; a Basin/sub-basin
Billing Facilitator (BBF) 244 may facilitate billing for fees such
as groundwater usage fees from members or appropriate third
parties; a Transfer & Market Facilitator (TMF) 245 may
facilitate a GMA providing a WAMP 150-facilitated water rights
exchange market where for example options or rights for quantities
of water might be offered for sale, negotiated, purchased, and
recorded; and a Groundwater Management Agency Formation Facilitator
(GMAFF) 246 may facilitate configuring a WAMP 150 and entering,
importing and otherwise acquiring data utilized by such a WAMP 150
to facilitate the operation of a water agency such as a GMA, or
facilitate the operation of two or more GMAs and/or other water
agencies cooperating as a VGMA).
[0181] Water Rights Registry Facilitator (WRRF) 241.
[0182] In some embodiments, a WRRF 241 may be utilized for secure
cloud based `water extraction rights registry` (WER registry)
services that may facilitate a GMA to log, monitor, regulate and
otherwise manage water use rights. A WRRF 241 may facilitate
accumulating, storing, updating and otherwise managing a
comprehensive WER registry. Additionally, a WRRF 241 may facilitate
a GMA's utilization of secure, auditable process(es) for managing
and maintaining records of a WER registry. A GMA (as well as
appropriately authorized third parties) may utilize such a WAMP WER
registry facilitated by a WRRF 241 as a reliable source of
groundwater extraction rights information within the GMA's
jurisdiction.
[0183] In some embodiments, a sustainability manager may utilize a
WRRF 241 to import property location, boundary, and ownership
information from appropriate sources such as a county recorder's
database. A WRRF 241 may additionally be configured so as to
interface and obtain data from third party water-use reporting
systems. Imported data along with other WER registry data and data
managed by other WAMP 150 facilitators may be aggregated and
analyzed to provide an easily comprehensible basin-wide overview of
groundwater and/or surface water use.
[0184] In some embodiments, a WRRF 241 may facilitate a
sustainability manager to retrieve data from an earlier date's WER
registry that may have been logged or otherwise recorded by a WAMP
150. Additionally, a WRRF 241 may facilitate a sustainability
manager to configure WER registry record access controls for one or
more property managers. Such WER registry access controls may for
example be configured to include, write only, read and write, read
write and edit, approve and overwrite authorization for specific
elements of WER registry data including read only access to prior
date's WER registries.
[0185] Relationship Management Facilitator (RMF) 242.
[0186] In some embodiments, an RMF 242 may be utilized for secure
cloud based member relationship management services that may
facilitate a GMA's (or other agency's) sustainability manager to:
input, store, access, edit, update, and otherwise process and share
(as appropriate) member profile, contact and interaction details
including written, electronic and verbal communication with
property managers and/or third parties. In some embodiments, a RMF
242 may assign, perhaps automatically, a unique member ID number to
each member. Such a member ID number may be then be utilized by a
WAMP 150 to search WAMP Database(s) 158 for information pertaining
to the member assigned that unique member ID number.
[0187] An RMF 242 may facilitate multiple sustainability managers
to simultaneously input, store, access, edit, update, and otherwise
process and share (as appropriate) a multiplicity of GMA member's
water service accounts.
[0188] In some embodiments, an RMF 242 may facilitate configuring a
WAMP 150 so as to activate or de-activate WAMP 150 services to a
given member. Furthermore, a sustainability manager may utilize an
RMF 242 to configure a set of secure WAMP 150 facilities that a
property manager (or an appropriate third party) may utilize.
[0189] An RMF 242 in some embodiments may facilitate a
sustainability manager to communicate (e.g., via SMS, email and or
voice) with property managers utilizing the member contact
facilities of a WAMP 150. Such member contact facilities may
include a member-accessible web page and/or a mobile App made
available for member's mobile devices.
[0190] An RMF 242, in some embodiments, may be utilized by a
sustainability manager to add a contact note (or notes) to a member
account record--for example preserving details of a conversation.
In some embodiments, a RMF 242 may facilitate a sustainability
manager to logically "attach" a contact note or other annotation to
virtually any type of WAMP Database(s) 158 record. Such a flexible
annotation facility may be thought of as the digital equivalent of
a post-it note.
[0191] In some embodiments of a WAMP 150, an RMF 242 may integrate
with corresponding WRRF 241 to provide an integrated interface to
facilitate a sustainability manager to access and update a property
account's personal and business information including their
property water and land assets. Additionally, a sustainability
manager may access and update a property manager's personal and
business information including their per-property managed water and
land assets Such an integrated interface may provide: [0192]
Personal and business data for every water consumer, water
provider, and irrigation stakeholder within a basin, and [0193] A
streamlined summary page for the WER registry data for every
property account and every property manager.
[0194] Basin/Sub-Basin Reporting Facilitator (BRF) 243.
[0195] In some embodiments, a BRF 243 may be utilized for secure
cloud based report generation and publishing services that may
facilitate a GMA to configure and produce custom-tailored reports
as well as configuring reporting intervals for a given report and
the method in which a given report is to be undertaken (manual or
electronic). A BRF 243 may provide a range of sophisticated
reporting facilities--allowing the generation of charts, maps and
downloads to give sustainability managers instant access to high
level aggregated data pertaining to irrigation per property account
in their groundwater basin.
[0196] In some embodiments, a BRF 243 may facilitate a GMA to
create and report upon a groundwater sustainability plan (GSP) that
may be specific to that GMA's jurisdiction. Furthermore, a BRF 243
may facilitate a GMA to cooperate with one or more additional GMAs
to produce a single basin-wide GSP. A WAMP 150-facilitated VGMA may
simplify and speed such GMA cooperation to produce and report out
such a GSP. Additionally, a BRF 243 may facilitate a GMA or
cooperating GMAs or VGMA to report a GSP and subsequent changes
thereto to the appropriate overseeing government regulatory
agency(s). In states such as California, such a reported GSP may be
basin-wide reflecting the cooperation of GMAs within that
basin.
[0197] In some embodiments, a GSP may be created and/or revised
external to the WAMP 150. Any sustainability requirements derived
from such an external GSP may be imported to the WAMP 150.
[0198] In some embodiments, a BRF 243 may facilitate a GMA to
accumulate all data relevant to monitoring the GMA's performance
relative to the GSP. Furthermore, a BRF 243 may be configured to
generate corresponding sustainability reports and communicate such
reports to the appropriate government regulatory
authorities--thusly showing them how the GMA (or cooperating GMAs)
are performing against their GSP.
[0199] In some embodiments, a BRF 243 may facilitate a
sustainability manager to produce unique district-specific or
basin-specific groundwater analytics reports. A sustainability
manager may be further facilitated by numerous display options of a
BRF 243 including: charts, diagrams and annotated maps--thus
providing instant access to aggregated and analyzed data with
granularity options ranging from basin-wide down to per property
account. Additionally, a BRF 243 may facilitate a sustainability
manager to configure reporting intervals as well as the method in
which a given report is to be undertaken (physical or electronic).
BRF 243 reporting facilities may also be configured to distribute
reports for a limited time or to a proscribed list of
distributees.
[0200] In some embodiments, BRF 243 groundwater analytics reports
may assist GMA sustainability managers and/or their property
managers counterparts with future business planning. For example, a
BRF 243 may interwork with a TMF 245 to facilitate reporting on
water market trends within the GMA's basin, but also potentially
regionally, nationally and/or world-wide.
[0201] In some embodiments, a sustainability manager may utilize a
BRF 243 hundreds of times a day to generate reports. Some such
reports might be as simple as a table with one or a few entries.
Other BRF 243-facilitated reports may be much longer and more
complex and in some embodiments may even include active display
elements such as XML. Additionally, a sustainability manager may
utilize the facilities of a BRF 243 to save a record of a BRF
243-facilitated report and make it accessible so it may be shared
with others--i.e., to publish the report. In some instances, a
report may be published in a relatively passive fashion. For
example, it may be posted on a GMA members web site or provided to
a government agency. Or it may simply be archived perhaps with a
quick added annotation by the sustainability manager.
[0202] In some embodiments, a BRF 243 may archive some or all
reports generated by the BRF 243. So for example, a sustainability
manager may browse through the archive for the previous day to find
an interesting crop distribution pie chart he glimpsed. Finding the
report with that pie chart, the sustainability manager may then
publish the report containing that pie chart or perhaps publish
just the pie chart as a mini-report in order to share it with
colleagues or with third parties as appropriate. In this fashion, a
BRF 243 may augment a sustainability manager's memory and knowledge
and perhaps provide an ex-post facto means to publish a report that
would otherwise be lost or need to be regenerated or recreated
based on the sustainability manager's recollection.
[0203] Basin/Sub-Basin Billing Facilitator (BBF) 244.
[0204] In some embodiments, a BBF 244 may be utilized for secure
cloud based member (and appropriate third parties) bill generation,
distribution, analysis, accounting and payment services that may
facilitate a sustainability manager to configure and operate the
billing facilities of a GMA's WAMP 150 (e.g., calculate fees, send
invoices, track and facilitate payments and export data to external
systems and applications such as a variety of accounting software
packages.) A BBF 244 may facilitate a sustainability manager to
configure a WAMP 150 to calculate and charge: a fixed fee, fee per
acre foot, tiered fee, (or a mix of) on an individual member or on
a basin/sub-basin wide level. A BBF 244 may for example facilitate
configuring the billing criteria utilized for fee determination
including but not limited to: landholdings, water use and water
rights. A sustainability manager may also be facilitated in custom
configuring the application of fees--for instance: to an individual
property account, an explicit list of property accounts, or a group
of property accounts. Additionally, a BBF 244 may facilitate a
sustainability manager to obtain reports on account status and
performance as well as other billing analytics that may for
instance facilitate forecasting water demand and revenue based
perhaps in part on historical trends.
[0205] Furthermore, in some embodiments, a BBF 244 may be utilized
by a GMA to assemble payment information, distribute invoices and
collect payments, as well as notify and track the entire billing
process (e.g., accounts receivable aging, cash received, etc.). The
sustainability manager may also configure invoices to be sent out
by a WAMP 150 either electronically or via paper mail or perhaps
both.
[0206] In some instances, different areas within a GMA's district
may utilize water from differing sources and perhaps with differing
costs to the GMA or differing impacts on groundwater
sustainability. Therefore, in some embodiments, Water Accounter 266
may facilitate a GMA to configure a `billing area` such that a
groundwater extractor and/or water consumer in a given billing area
may be invoiced utilizing different billing rates and/or fees than
in another such billing area. Furthermore, the WAMP 150 `boundary
mapping tool` may be utilized to configure the geographical
boundaries of a given billing area. Such a boundary mapping tool
may facilitate a sustainability manager to place virtual pins on a
map image of the district or a portion of the district, where
straight virtual lines between virtual pins represent segments of
the area boundary. Should a more jagged boundary need to be drawn,
an additional virtual pin may be placed along an existing virtual
line and then that virtual pin may be "dragged and dropped" to a
new map location, stretching and redrawing the straight line
segments on each side of the newly added and moved virtual pin. The
process may be repeated with additional virtual pins for numerous
zigs and zags. Such a technique for placing and modifying "rubber
band lines" to create a complex outline may be familiar to one
skilled in the art. In some embodiments, a WAMP 150 may integrate
and utilize third party-sourced boundary drawing facilities.
[0207] Additionally, subsequent to configuring the boundaries of a
billing area, in some embodiments, a sustainability manager may
utilize a BBF 244 to create a new billing line, enter in the
appropriate billing rate(s) and/or fee(s) and attached the billing
line to the billing area.
[0208] Transfer & Market Facilitator (TMF) 245.
[0209] In some embodiments, a TMF 245 may be utilized for secure
cloud based water rights exchange management services that may
facilitate a GMA to configure, monitor, and operate a WAMP
150-facilitated electronic water rights exchange. Utilizing a TMF
245, a sustainability manager may for example configure the trade
offering categories and classes of such a WAMP 150-facilitated
water rights exchange. Configurable trading categories may include,
but not be limited to: extraction, distribution, storage, usage,
securitized and/or derivative rights. Configurable trading classes
may include but not be limited to: options, leases, conservation
credits, sales and swaps.
[0210] In some embodiments, a TMF 245 may facilitate a
sustainability manager to configure a WAMP 150-facilitated water
rights exchange to automatically update the GMA's WER registry to
reflect trades made via the exchange. Additionally, a TMF 245 may
facilitate a GMA configurable external user interface (perhaps
web-based and/or mobile app based) for property managers and
possibly other third parties such as water brokers to access and
utilize the exchange.
[0211] In some embodiments, a TMF 245 may facilitate a
sustainability manager to monitor the operation of a WAMP
150-facilitated electronic water rights exchange. Additionally a
TMF 245 may be configured to monitor external markets. In addition
to configuring market analytics and reports, a sustainability
manager may configure a TMF 245 to provide notifications and alerts
when a monitored event or events occur.
[0212] Additionally, in some embodiments a TMF 245 may facilitate a
sustainability manager to manually manage the operation of the WAMP
150-facilitated electronic water rights exchange. For example, a
sustainability manager may utilize facilities of the TMF 245 to
shut down the exchange due to an emergency, tragedy or
disaster--e.g., an earthquake resulting in an aqueduct breach.
[0213] Furthermore, in some embodiments, a TMF 245 may be
configured to facilitate interworking of a GMA's WAMP
150-facilitated electronic water rights exchange with other GMA's
WAMP 150 water rights exchanges. Additionally, a sustainability
manager may configure a TMF 245 to facilitate interoperation with
third party water/commodity exchanges.
[0214] Groundwater Management Agency Formation Facilitator (GMAFF)
246.
[0215] In some embodiments, a GMAFF 246 may be utilized for secure
cloud based WAMP 150-bring-up and management services that may
facilitate a GMA to plan for, configure, operate, evaluate,
upgrade, and in general adopt utilization of a WAMP 150 so as to
migrate that GMA away from its current legacy operations systems
and replace them with the thusly configured, data populated and
tested facilities of a WAMP 150. A GMAFF 246 may for example
facilitate phased planning, configuration, operation and testing of
a GMA's migration to a WAMP 150 by facilitating a comprehensive
checklist and progress reporting system to allow tracking of and
enhanced confidence in the migration process facilitated by the
WAMP 150. A GMAFF 246 may support different types of water
agencies, including but not limited to: [0216] a surface water
management agency, [0217] a groundwater management agency (GMA),
and [0218] two or more GMAs (or other water management agencies)
cooperating in a VGMA.
[0219] A GMAFF 246 in some embodiments may facilitate a GMA and its
sustainability manager(s) to study, plan for, prepare for, and
undertake migration from the GMA's legacy operations systems to a
WAMP 150. A GMAFF 246 may for example facilitate migration planning
by providing on-line training, visualization aids, printing of
manuals, pamphlets, quick guides, check lists and other
documentation. Such planning facilitation and documentation may
help to prepare both GMA staff and GMA members for the migration to
a WAMP 150.
[0220] Additionally, in some embodiments, a GMAFF 246 may
facilitate a GMA to configure a GMA user account individually for
each sustainability manager--with privileges and access controls
controlling which WAMP 150 facilities a given sustainability
manager may access and utilize. Similarly, a GMAFF 246 may
facilitate a GMA to configure data access controls for WAMP
Database(s) 158 records on a per-sustainability-manager basis. So
for example, a GMA may configure WER registry record access
controls to various privileges to include: no access, write only
(i.e., new records only), read and write, read write and edit,
approve and overwrite authorization for specific elements of WER
registry data as well as controlling read only access to prior
date's WER registries.
[0221] In some embodiments, a sustainability manager of a GMA may
utilize a GMAFF 246 to configure facilities of a WAMP 150 that the
GMA may be in the process of migrating to. The process of initially
configuring such facilities may result in a GMAFF 246 generating
checklist(s) and documentation that the sustainability manager may
utilize to guide and monitor the migration process. As the
sustainability manager further utilizes the GMAFF 246 to configure
facilities of a WAMP 150, additional checklist(s) and documentation
may be generated by the GMAFF 246. So for example, such a GMAFF 246
may be utilized to guide the sustainability manager step-wise
through a phased process of planning, configuring, inputting data
to, operating, testing and evaluating operation of the WAMP 150.
Additionally, a GMAFF 246 may facilitate a GMA to generate
migration plans, and subsequently back-annotate those plans to
provide a record of the decision making and process outcomes and
insights.
[0222] A GMAFF 246 may facilitate the constituent water agencies of
a VGMA to migrate from their legacy operations systems to a WAMP
150. For example, each GMA may separately migrate its own
operations to the WAMP 150 and having successfully done so may
utilize a GMAFF 246 to cooperatively integrate each GMA's
operations with the operations of the other constituent GMAs so as
to effectively and successfully assemble and migrate the operations
of the constituent GMAs to VGMA facilitated by the WAMP 150.
[0223] In some instances, one or more WAMP 150 facilitators 241-246
may be embodied as a web application(s) or native application(s)
that may execute on a WMAP 150 user's terminal device.
[0224] Referring further to FIG. 2, in some embodiments, WAMP
database(s) 158 may include, but not be limited to: [0225]
Jurisdiction and Rights Database 291, [0226] User Database 292,
[0227] Resource and Physical Plant Database 293, [0228] Weather and
Climate Database 294, and [0229] Workflow Database 295.
[0230] In some embodiments, Jurisdiction and Rights Database 291
may function as a reliable depository for information pertaining to
a GMA district and properties within that GMA district, e.g.,
property accounts including historical, deeded, optioned, leased,
purchased or otherwise granted, awarded, claimed or otherwise
acquired groundwater and/or surface water rights and interests.
[0231] In some embodiments, User Database 292 may function as a
reliable depository for information pertaining to a GMA district
and members and non-member users within the GMA district, e.g.,
property owners, property managers, the GMA's sustainability
managers, third party data providers and consumers.
[0232] In some embodiments, Resource and Physical Plant Database
293 may function as a reliable depository for inventory records of
water resources and physical plant utilized for the pumping,
storage, measurement (including Sensor(s) 130) and distribution of
water resources. Additionally, Resource and Physical Plant Database
293 may store measurements and other data related to water
resources and physical plant, e.g., 3-D maps, satellite images,
well sample results and other water resource measurements,
including estimated volume, flow rates, utilization, accessibility,
and recharge and depletion rates.
[0233] In some embodiments, Weather and Climate Database 294 may
function as a reliable depository for information pertaining to
weather and climate--both current year and longer term, e.g.,
measurements, statistics, history, projections and models.
[0234] In some embodiments, Workflow Database 295 may function as a
reliable depository for information pertaining to day-to-day
operation of a GMA--particularly the work tasks of sustainability
managers--including schedules of future activities, records of
ongoing activities and contacts, and archival logs of completed
activities and contacts.
[0235] In some embodiments, a WAMP 150 may include one or more WAMP
facilities. Such WAMP 150 facilities may integrate, interwork and
seamlessly share data with each other and also with WAMP 150
facilitators 241-246. A WAMP 150 facilitator 241-246 may utilize
and perhaps display data from one or more facilities of a WAMP 150.
WAMP 150 facilities may include facility logic and/or control
data/metadata related for example to configuring, maintaining and
utilizing the WAMP database(s) 158. WAMP 150 facilities may
include, but not limited to: [0236] Stakeholder Associator 262,
[0237] Resource Monitor 264, [0238] Water Accounter 266, [0239]
Water Marketer 268, and [0240] Activity Manager 269.
[0241] In some embodiments, Stakeholder Associator 262 may function
as associative and analytic nexus for data relating to a GMA's
stakeholders. Stakeholder Associator 262 may utilize one or more of
WAMP Database(s) 158. Stakeholder Associator 262 may facilitate
services provided to or otherwise related to the stakeholders of a
GMA where such services may be made apparent to a WAMP 150 user via
WAMP 150 facilitator(s) 241-246. As discussed previously, a GMA's
stakeholders may include, but not be limited to: [0242] The GMA
including sustainability managers, [0243] GMA district
members--e.g., property owners and property managers, [0244]
Surface water rights holders, [0245] Surface water management
agencies, [0246] Non-agricultural water consumers and their water
agencies, [0247] Groundwater recharge area property owners, [0248]
Local politicians and/or government officials, [0249] Sovereign
entities such as Native American reservations, [0250] Neighboring
GMAs, [0251] State/provincial and national agriculture, water and
environmental agencies, [0252] Regional watershed management
agencies, [0253] Regional water storage and distribution agencies
(e.g., Bureau of Reclamation, California Department of Water
Resources), [0254] Water brokers, [0255] Non-agricultural large
scale water consumers, [0256] Non-local non-agricultural water
consumers (e.g., large city dwellers), [0257] Geothermal power
producers, [0258] Politicians, government officials, lobbyists,
scientists, cartographers, [0259] Non-governmental organizations,
[0260] Irrigation industry service and equipment vendors, [0261]
Water and beverage bottling companies, [0262] Right of way holders,
and [0263] Neighboring geo-political entities (e.g., cities,
states, provinces and countries).
[0264] Clearly, a GMA may have many more stakeholders than just the
GMA district members, property owners and property managers. It is
important to a GMA that a WAMP 150 offer appropriate facilities
reflecting, managing, and as utilized, catering to the interests of
a multiplicity of stakeholder types. In some embodiments,
Stakeholder Associator 262 may be utilized by a WAMP 150 to
determine a given user's stakeholder type and therefore what
facilities (as may be further constrained by configuration) may be
appropriate for utilization by that given user. Stakeholder
Associator 262 may facilitate a sustainability manager to record in
the WAMP 150 database(s) 158 relevant contact information for
members, and to associate selected subsets of members so as to
facilitate external communication or internal reporting, and track
all communication (internal and external) with or about a member
(via e-mail, phone calls or in person). Additionally, Stakeholder
Associator 262 may utilize User Database 254, Workflow Database
295, Jurisdiction and Rights Database 251 (and perhaps to a lesser
extent Resource and Physical Plant Database 252 and Weather and
Climate Database 253) to determine stakeholders, their stakeholder
type and various other sorts of stakeholder characteristics and
service requirements.
[0265] In some embodiments, facilitating communication and good
working relations with a GMA's many stakeholders may be further
facilitated by Stakeholder Associator 262. A GMA may for example
utilize a WAMP 150 to provide numerous reports and notifications to
GMA stakeholders. However, whether or not a given stakeholder may
be provided a specific report or notification may be determined by
the type of stakeholder. For example, a notice of a water fee rate
increase may be sent to GMA members, but not to neighboring GMAs.
Stakeholder Associator 262 may for example facilitate such
automated determinations based on stakeholder type.
[0266] Stakeholder Associator 262 in some embodiments may be
utilized to configure and subsequently determine--based on a given
stakeholder's characteristics--what WAMP facilities and/or data
that given stakeholder's network access account may utilize. Such a
determination may perhaps facilitate safeguard(s) against
accidental mis-granting of access to sensitive WAMP 150 facilities
and/or data.
[0267] A property account within a GMA's district may have more
than one property manager user--for instance, the owner of the
property in addition to an individual or firm hired by the property
owner. In some embodiments, Stakeholder Associator 262 may
facilitate a GMA to configure shared network access for such `joint
property managers`. Stakeholder Associator 262 may for example
facilitate each such joint property manager user to have their own
WAMP 150 log-in credentials--e.g., unique user name and
password--and yet associate them with the same property account. Or
perhaps a given property account's network access may have a single
user name for that property, but separate passwords for each joint
property manager user for that property.
[0268] Furthermore, a GMA member may own (or co-own) more than one
property within the jurisdiction of the GMA. In some embodiments,
Stakeholder Associator 262 may facilitate a GMA member to have a
`property manager master account` such that that GMA member may
manage one or more `property manager auxiliary account(s)` for use
for example by an individual or firm authorized by the GMA member
to manage aspects--perhaps configurable--of the GMA member's
business dealings with the GMA relative to a given property.
Additionally, in some embodiments, a GMA member owning (or
co-owning) more than one property within the jurisdiction of the
GMA may be facilitated by Stakeholder Associator 262 to have their
own GMA-configured property manager auxiliary account for each
property within the jurisdiction of the GMA. In some instances,
such a multi-property owner might `switch` from one property
manager auxiliary account to another via a Stakeholder Associator
262-facilitated WAMP 150 menu. Perhaps an account specific log-in
may be required for such a property manager auxiliary account
switch or perhaps more conveniently such a property manager master
account user may make such a switch without an additional log-in to
the WAMP 150.
[0269] Furthermore, an individual or firm may act as property
manager for two or more properties where the ownership of two or
more of those properties may be separate or disjoint. So for
example, ABC Property Management may work for both Aiello Family
Vineyards and Fujimoto Kobe Beef. Accordingly, in some embodiments
ABC Property Management may have separate WAMP 150 user names and
passwords for Aiello and for Fujimoto--facilitated by Stakeholder
Associator 262. Alternatively perhaps, ABC Property may have a
single Stakeholder Associator 262-facilitated user name and
password and then a WAMP 150 menu of authorized properties where
each such authority has been pre-ok'd (again facilitated by
Stakeholder Associator 262) from the master account for the
corresponding property.
[0270] In some embodiments, Stakeholder Associator 262 may
facilitate a GMA to associate one or more persons and/or legal
entities--utilizing a WAMP 150 grouping abstraction for those
persons/legal entities. Typically, such a grouping abstraction may
be utilized because those persons/legal entities have something in
common--perhaps they all grow crops adjacent to an irrigation
canal. Or that something in common may for instance be a legally
recognized relationship such as marriage or a business contract. A
WAMP 150 may utilize a grouping abstraction as if it were an
individual, such that facilities of a WAMP 150 utilized for an
individual may be similarly utilized for those grouped together by
a grouping abstraction.
[0271] So for example in some embodiments, Stakeholder Associator
262 may facilitate a sustainability manager to group several
property owners into a so called `property group` and assign that
property group a unique group name and perhaps also a unique
nickname (i.e., a name that is typically short, easy to remember
and/or easy to spell.) Such a property group may then be utilized
by a WAMP 150, as appropriate, as if it were an individual property
owner. So for example, a sustainability manager may group twenty
property owners that have a grape growing co-op. She may group name
the group "Sheldon Valley Grape Co-op" and nickname it "SV grapes".
Further by example, the sustainability manager may utilize a WAMP
150 to generate a water utilization forecast report entering in the
name Sheldon Valley Grape Co-op rather than each of the individual
property owners' names. A WAMP 150 may correspondingly generate a
forecast report for the grouped properties as if they were a single
property. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the WAMP 150 may
additionally generate a forecast report individually for each of
the constituent properties in the property group. The way(s) in
which a property group or other grouping abstraction may be
utilized by a WAMP 150 may vary based on configuration of that WAMP
150.
[0272] In some embodiments, Stakeholder Associator 262 may
facilitate operations of a GMA with thousands of data records
pertaining to members, their properties, their water extraction
rights and numerous other member (and/or third party) related
things. Selecting a specific WAMP Database(s) 158 record may be a
daunting task for a sustainability manager (or other WAMP 150
user), therefore Stakeholder Associator 262 may provide a "quick
search" facility to assist in easing such selection. So for
example, Stakeholder Associator 262 may facilitate a sustainability
manager to search for a record by typing in one or more entry
fields in a search input array, where each input field may be
utilized by a WAMP 150 as a search key--either independently and/or
in concert. Stakeholder Associator 262 may facilitate quick search
wherein a list of multiple search results may be presented to a
sustainability manager--each as a clickable link--and the
sustainability manager may select one by clicking on it. Such a
list may have ranked ordering based on the quality of the match and
other considerations. In some instances, a WAMP 150 may be utilized
to attempt a perfect search match and should no match occur and
therefore no corresponding data record be retrieved, a WAMP 150 may
facilitate a sustainability manager to create a new data record. In
some embodiments, a WAMP 150 may integrate and utilize third
party-sourced search facilities.
[0273] In some embodiments, Stakeholder Associator 262 may
facilitate utilizing geographic subdivisions to configure a
district into one or more `zone(s)`. Such zone-based subdivision of
a GMA's district may for example simplify and speed record searches
by narrowing them to a smaller geographic area. Sustainability
managers--just as the average person--may have an easier time
remembering the region that a property is located in rather than
the street name or exact address. Therefore, Stakeholder Associator
262 may be utilized to subdivide a district into geographic zones
with each such zone uniquely named. Such subdivision may be
facilitated for example by utilizing hydrological features such as
sub-basins or by utilizing existing third party subdivisions such
as political zoning. In some instances, Stakeholder Associator 262
may import political zone boundary description data from a third
party organization such as a county government.
[0274] In some embodiments, Stakeholder Associator 262 may
facilitate a sustainability manager to create new zones utilizing a
WAMP 150 boundary mapping tool--for example outlining a geographic
area for such a new zone on a district map. In addition to creating
named zones within a GMA, such a WAMP 150 boundary mapping tool in
some embodiments may be utilized by a sustainability manager as a
visual search tool. So for example, the boundary mapping tool may
be utilized to identify a property or properties outlined in whole
or in part by the sustainability manager. Additionally, in such a
map assisted search mode, a WAMP 150 boundary mapping tool may
cause a boundary outline to "snap" to the boundary of enclosed the
property (or enclosed adjacent properties). Furthermore, such a
WAMP 150 boundary mapping tool facility for selecting a property or
properties may utilized by a sustainability manager to designate a
property group. Additionally, where appropriate, a WAMP 150
boundary mapping facility may be utilized to redraw a property
parcel boundary on WAMP 150 parcel maps of the GMA's district.
[0275] In some embodiments, Stakeholder Associator 262 may
facilitate a sustainability manager to record in and make updates
to WAMP Database(s) 158 capturing the potentially complex and
manifold legal relationships impacting ownership of, control of,
and/or interest in property and/or water extraction rights. In
perhaps the simplest instance a property owner in a GMA's district
may also own the ground water extraction rights associated with
that property. However, ownership and/or control of the two
different rights may be split between parties. For example, a home
owner may have title to the property his house is situated on, but
a corporation may hold extractive rights including ground water
extraction rights. As well as a split in ownership between property
rights and groundwater extraction rights, Stakeholder Associator
262 may be configured to capture and track shared rights. A simple
case is joint ownership. For example, a married couple may share
rights as tenants in common. Or, partners in a business--say
siblings--may share rights as tenants in common. Additionally,
non-owner third parties may have effective control over property
rights and/or groundwater extraction rights. For example, the
executor or a trustee may control such rights while the ownership
is held in trust or passes between owners. Or a court may enjoin
control of such rights, say in a divorce, bankruptcy or perhaps a
criminal case. Additionally, a property owner who may also hold the
groundwater extraction rights may lease the property to a farmer
who may pump groundwater to irrigate crops. Technically that farmer
may not hold either the property or the groundwater extraction
rights, but the farmer may have a clear cut interest in those
rights and in management of groundwater extraction by a GMA.
Stakeholder Associator 262 may facilitate a GMA to capture, record
and revise any and all of the above described variations on rights
ownership and interests.
[0276] Consequently, in some embodiments, Stakeholder Associator
262 may be configured to record in and make updates to WAMP
Database(s) 158 capturing the relationships between rights owners
and other potential interest holders so that all may be served
fairly, and as may be required by legal statutes and mandates in
force in the GMA's district. Changes in ownership rights and or
interests may require corresponding changes in WAMP Database(s) 158
including both Jurisdictions and Rights Database 291 (e.g., WER
registry) and User Database 292.
[0277] More specifically to VGMAs, many constituent GMAs (as well
as surface water management agencies joining in VGMAs) may have
financial and commercial disincentives to share data or
relationships--particularly when they overlap in watersheds and or
groundwater basins. However, Stakeholder Associator 262 may
facilitate formation and operation of a VGMA--combining, but
appropriately firewalling data from multiple water management
agencies cooperating as a seemingly single VGMA.
[0278] In some embodiments, Stakeholder Associator 262 may utilize
a `shared data access control engine` capability with configurable
rules to enforce how GMAs' shared data is accessed, copied,
anonymized, aggregated, communicated and secured. Such rules may
for example be configured and managed by a third party consultant
employed by the GMAs under the auspices of the VGMA. Such a shared
data access control engine capability may enable multiple GMAs to
share the facilities of a WAMP 150, while protecting the privacy of
individual property accounts within a given GMA's specific district
and still enabling anonymized aggregated data to be appropriately
utilized by the VGMA. So for example, for a WAMP 150 shared by two
or more GMAs cooperating as a VGMA, Stakeholder Associator 262 may
utilize the shared data access control engine capability to
synthesize a virtual VGMA-wide WER registry by appropriately
accessing the WER registries of each of the constituent GMAs; or
perhaps to assemble a VGMA WER registry by appropriately
anonymizing, filtering and combining data from those GMA WER
registries.
[0279] Referring to FIG. 34, logic flow diagram 3400 illustrates an
embodiment of a WAMP 150 shared data access control engine.
Referring to step 3401, the WAMP 150 may facilitate a GMA to
configure rules for automatically determining if a given data
record element is public or private. A given data record may
contain one or more data record elements. A data record element is
indivisible into smaller components such that one component may be
public and one private.
[0280] Referring to step 3403, the WAMP 150 may facilitate the GMA
to configure rules for determining whether a data record element
may be published. Typically, the minimum requirement for publishing
a data record element may be that that data record element is
determined to be public. Such a data record element once published
may be utilized as deemed appropriate by the GMA. For example, a
published data record element may be shared--without being
anonymized--between GMAs within a VGMA.
[0281] Referring to step 3405, the WAMP 150 may facilitate the GMA
to acquire a new data record to be analyzed by the WAMP 150. Such a
data record may for example be so analyzed at the time such a data
record is newly acquired as well as each time such a data record is
updated.
[0282] Referring to step 3407, the WAMP 150 may facilitate the GMA
to distinguish a newly acquired data record from an update to an
existing data record previously acquired by the GMA and stored for
instance in the WAMP database(s) 158. Typically a given data record
may contain one or more data record elements which when examined
together may uniquely identify a data record--i.e., commonly
referred to as a record identifier. For example, such a record
identifier may be a unique numeric value such as a member ID
number. Furthermore, typically such a record identifier may be
read-only--i.e., protected from being over-written with a new value
(other than perhaps to delete the entire data record).
[0283] Referring to step 3409, for a data record that is determined
to be newly acquired, the WAMP 150 may facilitate the GMA to create
a WAMP 150 access control log corresponding to that data record.
Such an access control log may contain fields for information
corresponding to each data record element within that data record,
in which may be recorded, for example, when the data record element
was most recently updated (e.g., a time/date stamp) and whether it
was determined by the WAMP 150 to be public or to be private.
[0284] Referring to step 3411, for each data record--whether an
update to an existing data record or newly acquired--the WAMP 150
may facilitate the GMA to add a fresh log entry for that data
record and for each record element found in it. (Consequently, each
time an update to the data record is acquired an additional log
entry may be added such that the log may grow larger with more
entries over time).
[0285] So for example, the fresh log entry may record the source of
the data record (e.g., country recorder's database), a time/date
stamp for the update, whether or not the source was a public source
(i.e., making the entire data record potentially public).
Furthermore, a WAMP 150 may optionally be configured by the GMA to
place a copy of a given data record in the corresponding entry in
the access control log.
[0286] Referring to step 3413, the WAMP 150 may facilitate the GMA
to utilize "public or private" decision rules to log each data
record element in the data record as public or private. So for
example, one such rule may be that a data record element that is
unchanged and previously public shall remain public even if the
source of the data record update may be a private one. In this way,
each of the data record elements may have its own record of
determinations of being public or private. Therefore, a data record
may contain both public and private data record elements; and a
given data record element may change from private to public and/or
public to private over time with successive updates to the data
record containing that data record element.
[0287] Referring to step 3415, the WAMP 150 may facilitate the GMA
utilize rules for determining whether to publish a data record
element. So for example, one such rule may be that a data record
element even if public may not be published if the data record
contains one or more private data record elements.
[0288] Referring to step 3417, the WAMP 150 may facilitate the GMA
to distinguish a data record determined to contain a newly
publishable data record element from a data record determined not
to contain a newly publishable data record element.
[0289] Referring to step 3419, for a data record that is determined
to contain a newly publishable data record element, the WAMP 150
may facilitate the GMA to publish--at the GMA' discretion--each
data record element newly determined to be publishable.
[0290] Whether or not a data record that is determined to contain a
newly publishable data record element, the process may continue at
step 3405.
[0291] In some embodiments, for a given data record element stored
in WAMP Database(s) 158 or otherwise stored within a WAMP 150, such
a data record element may be secured utilizing encryption and/or
other means of security regardless of whether that data record
element may be determined to be public, to be publishable, or to be
published.
[0292] Referring back again to FIG. 2, in some embodiments,
Resource Monitor 264 may function as associative and analytic nexus
for data relating to a GMA's water resources--i.e., groundwater in
particular, but also possibly surface water--and relating to
Sensor(s) 130. Resource Monitor 264 may utilize one or more of WAMP
Database(s) 158. Resource Monitor 264 may facilitate services
related to water utilization within a GMA's district where such
services may be made apparent to a WAMP 150 user via WAMP 150
facilitator(s) 241-246.
[0293] Resource Monitor 264 may utilize Resource and Physical Plant
Database 252, Jurisdiction and Rights Database 251, User Database
254 and Weather and Climate Database 253 to determine water
availability, distribution, utilization, loss, quality and other
water-resource related characteristics for a given GMA district
property or member.
[0294] As indicated previously, private access to and depletion of
groundwater goes largely unmeasured, unmetered and unregulated.
This clearly presents a key challenge to a GMA's sustainability
mandate. Resource Monitor 264 may facilitate a GMA to locate,
monitor, measure, charge fees for, and/or otherwise regulate and
limit extraction of groundwater--both private and public.
[0295] In order to locate groundwater extraction, in some
embodiments a WAMP 150 may utilize Resource Monitor 264. In
addition to utilizing WAMP Database(s) 158 such as Resource and
Physical Plant Database 292, Resource Monitor 264 may access
External Database(s) 170 including but not limited to: local
government records of permits for drilling wells, private well
drilling and service company records, as well as insurance, loan,
title, credit bureau and other "big data" sources as pertain to
water wells, well equipment, well services and power run well
pumps. Additionally, Resource Monitor 264 may utilize state and
national governmental databases--i.e., data identifying wells
derived from image analysis of satellite and aerial imagery or from
sources similar to those listed above. Furthermore, as Resource
Monitor 264 acquires and analyzes such External Database(s)
170-sourced data, it may update the GMA's Resource and Physical
Plant Database 292 to record the location of groundwater wells in
the GMA's district.
[0296] Furthermore, for a given well, additional well-related
information may be acquired, correlated and recorded by Resource
Monitor 264 in the Resource and Physical Plant Database 292 and/or
other WAMP Database(s) 158. Such additional well-related
information may include: ownership, well permit status, well
drilling company, property water rights, well age, well depth, well
bore size, well continuous-pumping capacity, well water level
history, pump location (submerged or groundlevel), pump horsepower
rating, source of pump power (e.g., generator, solar or line
power), associated storage of extracted groundwater (e.g., water
storage ponds or tanks), sharing or distribution of extracted
groundwater (e.g., water cooperative) and property or properties
served by the extracted groundwater. A GMA's Resource and Physical
Plant Database 292 may contain such data for planned, active and
decommissioned wells.
[0297] Additionally, in some embodiments a WAMP 150 may utilize
Resource Monitor 264 to monitor groundwater extraction and
utilization. So for example Resource Monitor 264 may access
External Database(s) 170 such as those of public water extractors.
For example, a state college may operate a well or wells and make
available recorded measures of such groundwater extraction. Large
private institutions may also provide similar groundwater
extraction measurement data. Such public and large private
institutions may in many instances have the largest number of wells
per property with the largest diameter, deepest bores and highest
capacity pumps. Such data may provide a GMA an accurate measure of
groundwater extraction for that fraction (i.e., public and large
private) of overall groundwater basin utilization. Additionally, by
acquiring, analyzing and recording historical groundwater data,
Resource Monitor 264 may derive a model of prior groundwater
capacity and extraction and similarly synthesize a model(s) that
may be utilized to estimate and forecast future groundwater
capacity and extraction.
[0298] In some embodiments, Resource Monitor 264 may utilize
telemetry facilities to communicate with Sensor(s) 130 so as to
configure, control and acquire data from such Sensor(s) 130 with
which to further populate WAMP Database(s) 158. Utilizing
increasingly common geo-location facilities incorporated in sensor
devices, a WAMP 150 may integrate sensor sourced data with map
displays indicating the geographic location of the corresponding
Sensor(s) 130. Such Sensor(s) 130 may be mobile such that their
position changes over time. Resource Monitor 264 may facilitate
moving such mobile Sensor(s) 130--e.g., a miniature drone
aircraft--from location to location. In some embodiments, mobile
Sensor(s) 130 may be semi- or fully autonomous. Time stamping and
geo-location information may perhaps be acquired, maybe mixed with
sensor data, by Resource Monitor 264. In some embodiments, Resource
Monitor 264 may correlate acquired data from a plurality of
Sensor(s) 130 so as to synthesize a "virtual sensor" of larger
scope (and perhaps capability) than any one individual Sensor
130.
[0299] In some instances, WAMP 150-acquired measurement data may be
statistically sufficient to support modeling by Resource Monitor
264 that is credibly indicative of overall groundwater capacity and
amounts of extraction. However, in GMA districts with a
preponderance of private wells--e.g., in rural/agricultural areas,
such WAMP 150-acquired measurement data may not be statistically
sufficient--perhaps because the statistical sample size is just too
small. Therefore, in such GMA districts, a WAMP 150 may utilize
Resource Monitor 264 to derive measures of private well groundwater
extraction. In some instances, physical meters (i.e., Sensor(s)
130) may be attached to private wells and the corresponding usage
data imported to the GMA's WAMP Database(s) 158. However, adding
meters to wells may be a slow process--hampered by political
resistance as well as practical issues of complexity and cost. One
need only consider attempts to meter water use of previously
unmetered residential water users to get an idea of how difficult
and time consuming such a meter retro-fit may be. Consequently,
Resource Monitor 264 may utilize an `imputation engine` capability
(not shown) to derive (rather than physically meter) a measure of
water extraction by an unmetered well (or group of unmetered
wells). Such an imputation engine capability may be utilized by a
GMA to either augment or to totally replace the requirement and
cost of installing, maintaining and reading physical meters.
[0300] A WAMP 150 imputation engine may utilize numerous
`imputation factors` (e.g., computational variables or constants)
to derive measurements of a groundwater extraction and/or
consumption related to a specific well (or group of wells). Such
imputation factors may in part be sourced as data from Sensor(s)
130, External Database(s) 170 and WAMP Database(s) 158. In some
embodiments, a WAMP 150 may calibrate and otherwise verify the
reliability of imputation engine derived measurements by measuring
one or more `imputation verification wells` with both physical
meters and the derived measurement of the WAMP 150 imputation
engine. By utilizing imputation verification wells in
hydrologically differing areas throughout a GMA's district, a WAMP
150 may be utilized to judge and tune the weighting of a given
imputation factor and thereby improve the accuracy of an imputation
engine and refine its derived measurements to best suit that
particular GMA district. The results of comparisons of imputation
verification wells meter readings and imputation engine derived
measurements may be recorded in WAMP Database(s) 150 and shared as
appropriate with regulators, GMA members and other district
stakeholders and thereby build community experience and trust with
the GMA and the WAMP 150.
[0301] In some embodiments, a imputational factors utilized by a
WAMP 150 imputation engine may include but not be limited to:
[0302] Evapotranspiration: [0303] Evapotranspiration data for
specific crops in different geographical areas. Note that
evapotranspiration data are published and readily accessible by one
skilled in the art of agriculture and/or climatology, [0304] Crops
(type) planted at each property, [0305] Density of plantings per
acre (estimated, measured or member reported) for each property,
[0306] Total area of plantings of a given density, [0307] Area of
bare or fallow land (which generally may have a very different
evapotranspiration rate) [0308] Age of trees and plantings (younger
growing trees may have different evapotranspiration rates relative
to mature trees) [0309] Weather including: [0310] Precipitation,
[0311] Humidity, [0312] Wind, [0313] Temperature, [0314] Sunshine
hours, [0315] Evaporation (often measured in mm/inches, calculated
as the drop in level of standing water in sunshine due to
evaporation) [0316] Any evaporation/evapotranspiration mitigation,
including greenhouses, indoor hydroponics, and plastic covers
(e.g., for ground crops such as strawberries) [0317] Irrigation
type: [0318] Above ground drip, [0319] Sprinkler, [0320] Flood,
[0321] Hydroponic, [0322] Underground drip. [0323] Soil type:
[0324] Clay [0325] Sandy [0326] Loam [0327] Combination of the
above types. [0328] Soil moisture/salinity (monitoring devices may
measure the water in the soil and also the salinity.) Generally, if
the soil is salty, then plants typically need to absorb and
transpirate more water) [0329] Surface water delivered (e.g.,
rivers, canals and pipelines) [0330] As needed, farm channel water
loss (more applicable when the channels are not adjacent to the
crops, since water from adjacent channels tend to seep through the
canal walls into the crops, thereby watering them) [0331] Size of
property, e.g., total acreage, and [0332] Percentage of property
cultivated (planted).
[0333] In some instances, a given well may be metered but may lack
a telemetry link to a WAMP 150. In some embodiments, such a meter
lacking a telemetry link may be read manually and that meter
reading data may be uploaded to the WAMP 150. For example, such
manually acquired meter reading data may be entered into a template
such as a spreadsheet and then uploaded to the WAMP 150--perhaps in
comma separated value (CSV) file format.
[0334] In some embodiments, a WAMP 150 utilizing Resource Monitor
264 may facilitate a GMA to determine, analyze, manage, regulate,
record and report the state of water resources within the GMA's
district--particularly groundwater, but also possibly surface
water. A GMA may for example report details of its water resources
to district members and stakeholders, government regulatory
agencies, and interested organizations such as universities and
government research organizations.
[0335] A WAMP 150 may for instance utilize Resource Monitor 264 to
synthesize model(s) of the complex subsurface conditions of a GMA
district's groundwater basin. So for example, Resource Monitor 264
may analyze measurements of a groundwater basin to generate one or
more three-dimensional aquifer system model(s). Such
three-dimensional models may then be utilized by Resource Monitor
264 to simulate and measure complex sub-surface conditions within
the basin. So for example, utilizing hydrological assessments made
within the basin, Resource Monitor 264 may facilitate a
sustainability manager to adjust the basin model to incorporate
various macro-level variables (such as maximum sustainable yield,
inputs and outputs etc.) so as to determine more widespread
effective and efficient sustainable management practices for the
basin.
[0336] In some embodiments a WAMP 150 may utilize Resource Monitor
264 to maintain sustainable groundwater yields facilitated by WAMP
150 `water balance modeling`. Water balance modeling may analyze
and extrapolate groundwater extraction and use data--imputed as
well as measured--to analytically project water consumers needs
(e.g., the volume of water an irrigator needs to keep his crop
alive) and forecast potential future changes in groundwater
sustainability. Such modeling is not static, but rather a highly
dynamic set of facilities, whereby a sustainability manager may
revise models and/or update and filter data sets. Furthermore.
Resource Monitor 264 may enable a sustainability manager to compare
prior water balance modeling forecasts to the corresponding
realized real world outcomes. Such comparison combined with
re-running of the water balance modeling with alterations to the
modeling algorithm and or dataset, may facilitate a sustainability
manager to evaluate, refine and calibrate WAMP 150 water balance
modeling over time so as to get improved forecasts.
[0337] In some embodiments, WAMP 150 water balance modeling may be
highly scalable--from the entire district down to an individual
property or even an individual crop on a portion of one property.
In fact, utilizing shared data from additional GMAs or third
parties, water balance modeling can be scaled up to a regional,
statewide or even global scope. Water balance modeling may be
scalable in other ways--a model may span a week, a month, a season,
a year or multiple years. For example, data from drought years may
be utilized while skipping intervening wetter years. Additionally,
datasets utilized for modeling can be set to reflect expected
future conditions--perhaps reflecting worst-case climate change
scenarios. Multiple incremental changes may be modeled yielding a
spectrum of forecasts.
[0338] Consider for example a sustainability manager who wants to
estimate the change in groundwater extraction resulting from a
change in the mix of crops a farmer grows. She can vary the
hypothetical crop mix, maturity of trees in orchards, disease
conditions, rainfall and climatic conditions and numerous other
variables.
[0339] In some embodiments, Resource Monitor 264 may integrate
economic factors (e.g., crop yields and commodity pricing) into
water balance modeling so as to forecast economic consequences of
various groundwater extraction and utilization scenarios. For
instance, decreasing irrigation per acre of filbert nuts might
decrease yields--however a smaller harvest in a tight market might
boost prices more than enough to compensate. In addition to
experience-based scenario adjustments by a sustainability manager,
a WAMP 150 may automatically generate and model millions of
scenarios and rank those with exceptional outcomes for review by a
sustainability manager.
[0340] Resource Monitor 264 may integrate with numerous report
generation facilities of a WAMP 150 such that the predictive
results of groundwater basin modeling, water balance modeling
and/or economic modeling may be quantified in tables of selected
data sets and visualized with powerful easy to comprehend graphics.
Such an ability to translate results data to information
comprehensible by lay-people may be critical to aid GMA
stakeholders such as the filbert farmer, the farmer's neighbors,
local politicians and community leaders to grasp the scope and
urgency of adjusting to changes in groundwater sustainability.
[0341] In some embodiments, a sustainability manager may configure
Resource Monitor 264 so as to set an action notification or
notifications based on comparison of real world measurements to
water balance modeling forecasts, such that congruency between the
two may be brought to the manager's attention. (See Activity
Manager 269 description further below for a discussion of action
notifications.)
[0342] In some embodiments, Water Accounter 266 may function as
associative and analytic nexus for data relating to a GMA's water
resource management (e.g., consumption, conservation, regulation
and revenue generation)--particularly as relates to groundwater,
but possibly as relates to surface water as well. Water Accounter
266 may utilize one or more of WAMP Database(s) 158. Water
Accounter 266 may facilitate services related to water consumption,
billing and reporting within a GMA's district where such services
may be made apparent to a WAMP 150 user via WAMP 150 facilitator(s)
241-246.
[0343] Water Accounter 266 may utilize Resource and Physical Plant
Database 252, Jurisdiction and Rights Database 251, User Database
254 and Weather and Climate Database 253 to determine water
consumption, conservation, water use patterns, availability,
distribution, utilization, loss, quality and other water-resource
related characteristics for a given GMA district property or
member, which may for example be utilized as a source of data for
water balance modeling and/or for determining billing rates and/or
fees.
[0344] Similar to Resource Monitor 264, Water Accounter 266 may in
some embodiments of a WAMP 150 utilize an imputation engine
capability to measure groundwater consumption from unmetered wells.
To conceptually distinguish the two WAMP 150 facilities, Resource
Monitor 264 may for example be thought of as relating to the water
resources of a GMA's district (e.g., how much water may be there
and where, how much may be extracted and what it may be utilized
for); whereas Water Accounter 266 may for example be thought of as
relating to the water consumption within a GMA's district (e.g.,
how much water may be being extracted and consumed and who may be
consuming it). In some embodiments of a WAMP 150 Resource Monitor
264 and Water Accounter 266 facilities may be logically combined.
In fact, grouping and naming facilities of a WAMP 150 as described
herein may be intended to aid in understanding of the utility of
such facilities as opposed to any specific embodiment.
[0345] In some embodiments, a WAMP 150 utilizing Water Accounter
266 may facilitate a GMA to determine, analyze, manage, regulate,
derive revenue from, record and report water
consumption--particularly of groundwater, but also possibly surface
water--on a property-by-property granularity within the GMA's
district--but which may additionally be aggregated to give a
broader perspective up to and including district-wide.
[0346] In addition to utilizing imputation engine capability, Water
Accounter 266 may utilize a WAMP 150 shared data access control
engine capability. For example for a WAMP 150 utilized by a VGMA,
the shared data access control engine may facilitate parallel
secure billing facilities with a given such facility--separately
configurable and operable by each one of the constituent water
management agencies within the VGMA such that they may protect
proprietary financial information.
[0347] A WAMP 150 Water Accounter 266 may in some embodiments
utilize an `external system interworking engine` capability that
may facilitate interoperation with third party systems such as a
CRM system and/or a business financials system. So for example,
such an external system interworking engine may be utilized by a
WAMP 150 to export property-specific fee information to an
incumbent business financials system utilized by a GMA. Such a
business financials system may for example utilize such
property-specific fee information to prepare unified utility bills
(e.g., water and electricity) or to calculate taxes or perhaps a
revenue split. Similar to an incumbent CRM system, a business
financials system may be deeply integrated into the operation of a
GMA and GMA staff may be trained on and loyal to such an incumbent
business financials system. However, a WAMP 150 may provide unique
facilities--for example groundwater extraction fee
calculation--that may not be practically performed by such a
business financials system. In some instances, Water Accounter 266
may utilize an external system interworking engine to import data
from a legacy operation system perhaps on a repetitive basis, for
example, to remain current on the status of GMA members' accounts.
For example, a WAMP 150 may perhaps utilize an external system
interworking engine to overlay a user interface onto a business
financials system so as to make it easier for a sustainability
manager to navigate back and forth between the VGMA 150 and the
legacy business financials system. Or perhaps the data base record
definitions of a business financials system may be augmented so as
to support the operation of the WAMP 150 and minimize the
utilization of a WAMP 150 to manage the production and distribution
of bills to a GMA's members. Water Accounter 266 may perhaps
utilize data base record definitions compliant with such a business
financials system such that member records from such a business
financials system may be more easily imported and exported between
a WAMP 150 and a business financials system.
[0348] In some embodiments, Water Marketer 268 may function as
associative and analytic nexus for data relating to a GMA's
WAMP-150 facilitated electronic water rights exchange. Water
Marketer 268 may utilize one or more of WAMP Database(s) 158
including but not limited to Jurisdictions and Rights Database 291,
User Database 294 as well as Resource and Physical Plant Database
292. Additionally, Water Marketer 268 may utilize Weather and
Climate Database 293--for example to analyze and predict water
demand.
[0349] In some embodiments, Water Marketer 268 may facilitate a GMA
to create or facilitate a WAMP 150-facilitated water rights
exchange for GMA members (and possibly third parties) to utilize to
trade water rights on a temporary (i.e., lease) or permanent (i.e.,
sale) basis. Furthermore, Water Marketer 268 may utilize a WAMP 150
WER registry to pre-validate and record such water rights
transfers. Additionally, Water Marketer 268 may automatically
enforce water rights trading rules configured by a GMA--for example
to encourage groundwater sustainability.
[0350] A WAMP 150 in some embodiments may utilize Water Marketer
268 to facilitate a GMA to plan, monitor, analyze, manage and
report upon operations of a WAMP 150-facilitated electronic water
rights exchange. Water Marketer 268 for example provide GMA
configured notifications and alerts when for example an important
indicator threshold has been crossed.
[0351] In some embodiments of a WAMP 150, Water Marketer 268 may
utilize an external system interworking engine capability to
facilitate a portal service to external markets. Water Marketer 268
may provide a GMA access to and perhaps share appropriate water
rights data with one or more third party water rights market
facility (or perhaps commodity exchange(s)). Water Marketer 268 may
perhaps facilitate a GMA itself to trade in water rights market(s)
or to raise capital based on GMA-owned or regulated water rights
assets. Additionally, Water Marketer 268 may provide a GMA
visibility into local, regional and/or global markets and may
therefore provide support for a GMA's pricing, fee and/or
sustainability policies for in-basin water extraction and/or
usage.
[0352] In some embodiments, a WAMP 150 may utilize a combination of
synergistically interworking WAMP 150 facilities to provide
easy-to-use powerful services to users of a GMA's WAMP 150. For
example, a WAMP 150 may utilize Resource Monitor 264 to model and
analyze the GMA's groundwater basin and then utilize Water Marketer
268 to derive trading rules for utilization in a WAMP
150-facilitated electronic water rights exchange--perhaps managing
transfers of water extraction rights between properties in
different zones. Further by example, 3-D modeling of sub-surface
conditions by Resource Monitor 264 may be utilized by Water
Marketer 268 to facilitate a sustainability manager to configure
various trading regions within the GMA's jurisdiction (and possibly
outside that jurisdiction as well) and define corresponding rules
which may govern water transfers within and/or between such trading
regions.
[0353] In some embodiments, Activity Manager 269 may function as
associative and analytic nexus for data relating to a GMA's
WAMP-150 facilitated operational activities and workflow. Activity
Manager 269 may utilize one or more of WAMP Database(s) 158
including but not limited to Workflow Database 295, Jurisdictions
and Rights Database 291, User Database 294 and Resource and
Physical Plant Database 292. Additionally, Activity Manager 269 may
utilize Weather and Climate Database 293--for example to anticipate
changes in workflow due to weather and climactic impact on water
demand.
[0354] In some embodiments, a sustainability manager may utilize
WAMP 150 notification facilities, whereby a WAMP 150 may notify a
sustainability manager of a requirement for an action. Such an
`action notification` may be scheduled by a sustainability manager,
by a WAMP 150 or may perhaps be triggered by an unscheduled event
as determined by a WAMP 150. Furthermore, a WAMP 150 may facilitate
a sustainability manager to manage action notifications. For
example, a sustainability manager may utilize WAMP 150 generated
list(s) of pending action notifications as well as action
notifications that may have been delivered but perhaps have not yet
acted upon.
[0355] In some instances, a sustainability manager and/or a WAMP
150 may determine a requirement to take an action or a series of
related actions where such a requirement may not be immediate and
where in some instances it may be inappropriate to take such action
immediately. For example, a farmer may pull a permit to drill a new
well, but the action to start monitoring (and perhaps billing for)
groundwater extraction by that well may not be taken until the well
is completed and placed in service. It is perhaps likely that many
action notifications may cause a sustainability manager to
communicate and work with GMA members so as to accomplish GMA
goals.
[0356] In some embodiments, a WAMP 150 may facilitate a
sustainability manager to annotate a given action notification to
reflect completion of the corresponding action, or other action
taken (or perhaps canceled or deferred). Furthermore, a WAMP 150
may facilitate a sustainability manager to inspect, visualize or
otherwise comprehend the quantity and nature of pending action
notifications. So for example, a sustainability manager may utilize
a WAMP 150 calendar displaying date and time and descriptions of
scheduled action notifications. In some instances, individual
action notifications displayed in such a calendar may be color
coded or otherwise marked for importance and/or urgency such that a
sustainability manager may anticipate peaks and valleys in his or
her pending workload. A WAMP 150 may perhaps set or update the
urgency or the importance attributed to a pending action
notification; and/or a WAMP 150 facilitate a sustainability manager
to do so.
[0357] Furthermore, in some embodiments, a WAMP 150 may facilitate
a log of delivered action notifications (and any corresponding
annotations) that may perhaps be organized to be displayed as a
calendar as well. Additionally, a WAMP 150 may facilitate a
sustainability managers management of daily tasks by providing a
list (or lists) of active action notifications (i.e., action
notifications delivered by the WAMP 150, but not yet designated as
completed or otherwise deferred or cleared). In this way, a
sustainability manager may be facilitated by a WAMP 150 to keep an
eye on pending work load, organize day-to-day activity, and also be
able to research past activity and determinations by the WAMP 150
and by that sustainability manager and perhaps other GMA staff. In
some instances, an action notification may be utilized by a
sustainability manager to signal an occurrence that perhaps does
not actually require an action by the sustainability manager, e.g.,
an FYI.
[0358] WAMP 150 action notifications may prove to be essential in
the operation of a large and/or busy GMA such that staff workload
can be visualized and allocated effectively and in a timely
fashion. In some embodiments, a WAMP 150 may facilitate a given GMA
sustainability manager or other decision maker to direct WAMP 150
assignment and subsequent delivery of an action notification to a
sustainability manager or other GMA staff member. In this way for
example, a sustainability manager may distribute tasks to
subordinates and subsequently utilize the WAMP 150 to monitor the
status of those tasks.
[0359] In many work organizations, the overall effectiveness of the
organization depends on the individual initiative and productivity
of workers. Increasingly, organizations expect and facilitate their
workers to be self-enabling with the assistance of automated tools
such as a WAMP 150. Therefore, in some embodiments a WAMP 150 may
be provide facilities that may be custom configured by an
individual sustainability manager to best suit his or her work
style. A key WAMP 150 facility for managing the day-to-day work of
a sustainability manager may be a WAMP 150 dashboard.
[0360] In some embodiments, a WAMP 150 may facilitate copying by a
sustainability manager of display elements from a given WAMP 150
display page onto that sustainability manager's WAMP 150 dashboard.
Furthermore, such a copied display element may be an active display
object--perhaps including XML or other active components--such that
the copied display may change over time as changes occur to the
data displayed by the active display object--as may be understood
by one skilled in the art.
[0361] In some embodiments, the facilities of a WAMP 150 may be
utilized as Software as a Service (SAAS) where the WAMP Server 155
may be owned and operated by a third party providing the "WAMP
Service" to GMAs--i.e., as a "cloud service". So for example, the
WAMP 150 may be hosted on a fault tolerant WAMP Server 155 in a
secure data center in North Dakota, while the GMA customers for the
WAMP service may be located in another state--say California.
Multiple GMAs may thusly share the same WAMP Server 155. Each GMA's
WAMP service may effectively run independently on the shared WAMP
Server 155 as if it were a dedicated server. Although utilizing the
same server hardware, each GMA's data may be securely protected
from accidental or intentional access by another GMA, or by another
GMA's property managers and other users, or by a third party.
However, for instances of a VGMA, the data for multiple GMAs
participating in that VGMA may be accessed and aggregated as
appropriate for the purposes of that VGMA with safeguards and
restrictions on data access and data utilization by a WAMP 150
shared data access control engine as described previously.
Additionally, data may be exported from a given GMA's WAMP
Database(s) 158 and imported to another GMA's WAMP Database(s)
158--perhaps both on the same WAMP Server 155--in instances when
both such GMAs have appropriately configured such an exchange of
data.
[0362] The following discussions and references to figures are
provided to illustrate a set of exemplary scenarios for some
embodiments of a WAMP 150. The examples may include particular
limitations which are unique to the given example and are not
intended to extend to the invention as a whole. Likewise, some
examples may have been simplified in order to aid in clarity. It is
understood that while the foregoing examples aid in explanation and
clarification of the present invention, these examples do not limit
the scope or function of the present invention.
[0363] In some instances, graphic representations with the
appearance of screenshots from a personal computer terminal screen
may be provided by way of example to aid in the illustration of
some embodiments. This is not intended to imply that personal
computer terminals are preferred to the exclusion of other terminal
device types. The exemplary display screen narrative that follows
may exemplify the experience of a sustainability manager user.
Other user types may access displays appropriate to their use and
to their terminal devices; and therefore such displays may
potentially differ in appearance and facilities from those
displayed to a sustainability manager.
[0364] So, to provide an exemplary utilization of a
cloud-accessible WAMP 150, let us consider a hypothetical
sustainability manager--Wally Watermaster--who works for the Water
Agency of Rogers Meadow (WARM), a California GMA.
[0365] Referring to FIG. 3, Wally sits at a laptop computer (i.e.,
a WAMP terminal 112) and navigates to a log-in page of a WAMP 150.
Wally logs into the WAMP 150 using his username 310 and login
password 320. Upon logging in, the WAMP 150 validates Wally's
username and login password, which has been correctly entered.
[0366] Referring to FIG. 4, this generic WAMP 150 display page 400
provides an example of the design template for most display pages
of a WAMP 150. Such a WAMP 150 display page design template may be
custom configured for a given GMA--e.g., for Water Agency of Rogers
Meadow--and may even have the GMA's logo 415 at the top corner of
the display pages.
[0367] Along the top of the generic display page 400 may be a
navigation menu tray 445 with a set of navigation menu tabs
420-440--the first in a set of hierarchically navigated menus. Each
such navigation menu tab may be `clicked` (i.e., selected) to
navigate to a corresponding family of related display screens. The
Home tab 420 may be used to navigate to a WAMP 150 display page in
the Home page family (see FIG. 5 below). Other navigation menu tabs
may navigate to families of display pages corresponding to
facilitator(s) of an embodiment of a WAMP 150 (as shown in square
brackets below). The additional navigation menu tabs may include
[and navigate to]: [0368] Water Use tab 425->[Water Rights
Registry Facilitator (WRRF) 241 and Transfer and Market Facilitator
(TMF) 245], [0369] Members tab 430->[Relationship Management
Facilitator (RMF) 242], [0370] Reports tab 435->[Basin/sub-basin
Reporting Facilitator (BRF) 243], and [0371] Billing tab
440->[Basin/sub-basin Billing Facilitator (BBF) 244].
[0372] A Groundwater Management Agency Formation Facilitator
(GMAFF) 246 may perhaps lack a navigation menu tab on such a screen
top navigation menu tray. A GMAFF 246 may be utilized for
configuration and bring-up of a WAMP 150 and may be inappropriate
for day-to-day utilization. Furthermore, a GMAFF 246 may
potentially re-configure operation of a WAMP 150 and/or WAMP
Database(s) 158 and therefore access to a GMAFF 246 may need to be
carefully controlled and limited. So for example, a GMAFF 246 may
be accessed utilizing a privileged log-in as may be well understood
by one skilled in the art.
[0373] Below the navigation menu tray 445 may appear a submenu tray
410 that may facilitate additional granularity in navigation
selection (i.e., the next level down in the hierarchically
navigated menus). Submenu tabs (not shown) populating a submenu
tray 410 may vary depending on the navigation menu tab selected
above. Additionally, within some display pages, a sub-submenu tray
(not shown) may appear below a submenu tray (i.e., providing a
third level in the hierarchically navigated menus). Sub-submenu
tabs (not shown) populating a sub-submenu tray (not shown)
similarly may vary depending on the navigation menu tab and submenu
tab selected above. Furthermore, submenu tabs (not shown) and/or
sub-submenu tabs (not shown) populating a given tray may vary
corresponding to the set of display functions of the given WAMP 150
display pages to which they facilitate navigation.
[0374] In some embodiments, a sustainability manager clicking on a
given navigation menu tab (i.e., 420-440) may automatically cause
the WAMP 150 to display the WAMP 150 display page previously
selected by the sustainability manager utilizing that navigation
menu tab. So for instance, a sustainability manager may be able to
"bounce" back and forth between WAMP 150 display pages simply by
clicking on the corresponding navigation menu tab.
[0375] Furthermore, in some embodiments, a sustainability manager
may "double-click" (i.e., click twice quickly in succession) on a
given tab (e.g., navigation menu tab, submenu tab or sub-submenu
tab) which may automatically cause the WAMP 150 to display a
pre-selected WAMP 150 display page where such a pre-selection may
be a WAMP 150 default or may perhaps be user-configured by the
sustainability manager.
[0376] Referring to FIG. 5, WAMP 150 displays Goto display page
500. In addition to the Goto submenu tab 510 which selects for Goto
display page 500, additional submenu tabs arrayed along the submenu
tray may navigate when clicked to WAMP 150 display pages with the
following functions in square brackets: [0377] Dashboard submenu
tab 512->[selects WAMP 150 user-configurable display page which
may include news and information about groundwater in California,
individual member data, water supply data, weather information as
well as relevant water agency information (meeting schedules,
gatherings, teach-ins, etc).], [0378] Zones submenu tab
514->[selects WAMP 150 display page for managing portions of the
GMA district by zones], [0379] Action logs submenu tab
516->[selects WAMP 150 display page for tracking and updating
statuses of actions created by and/or assigned to sustainability
managers], [0380] Weather submenu tab 518->[selects WAMP 150
display page for obtaining weather information and related impacts
on water supplies], and [0381] Account submenu tab 519->[selects
WAMP 150 display page for managing a sustainability manger's
account including customizing WAMP 150 display pages].
[0382] A WAMP 150 Goto display page 500 may display `quick
navigation icons` representing clickable links that a
sustainability manager user may click to navigate directly (and
therefore quickly) to a specific display page. In some embodiments,
a WAMP 150 may facilitate a sustainability manager user to create a
customized Goto display page 500 with quick navigation icons
configured by that user. In other embodiments, a WAMP 150 may
facilitate configuration of a Goto display page 500 that may appear
the same for all sustainability manager users. In some embodiments
of a WAMP 150, a Goto display page 500 may have a default
configuration of quick navigation icons.
[0383] In some embodiments, in instances where the number of quick
navigation icons is too many to easily display on a screen
(particularly a small mobile device screen), a Goto display page
500 may provide a scroll bar (not shown) to access extended
portions of the display page that may not be immediately visible on
the users display device screen as may be familiar to one skilled
in the art.
[0384] In this exemplary FIG. 5, Wally's Goto display page 500
displays six quick navigation icons: [0385] SGMA Reporting icon
560, [0386] Search Members icon 565, [0387] Upload Data icon 570,
[0388] Track Water Use icon 575, [0389] Manage Billing icon 580,
and [0390] Download Data icon 585.
[0391] Wally has been contacted by one of his members, Grace Naito.
Grace told Wally that she and her brother Tom intend to plant
several hundred acres of new alfalfa on previously fallowed land.
Wally is concerned about the impact these new plantings will have
on water demand relative to supply. He decides to investigate. The
WAMP 150 so Wally clicks the Track Water Use quick navigation icon
575.
[0392] Referring to FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C, WAMP 150 displays Water
Use by Members display page 600A/600B/600C. FIG. 6A shows the upper
portion of the page 600A (FIG. 6B shows an alternative upper
portion 600B and FIG. 6C shows the lower portion 600C). Utilizing
sub-submenu tray 605a in FIG. 6A, Wally may select from a number of
different types of water use including: Members 610a (currently
selected), Turnouts, Wells, Crops, APNs (i.e., assessor's parcel
numbers), Groups or Import Data--each resulting in a different
display page displaying WAMP 150 measurement and modeling of water
use. Each water use type may utilize a different filter(s) to
examine segments of water use determining the district's water
balance as scalably modeled for the GMA's district by the WAMP
150.
[0393] So, for example, a sustainability manager can scale (not
shown) water balance modeling to a scope larger than the GMA's
district--i.e., multi-district, regionally or even potentially
globally. On the Goto page 500, the Upload Data 570 and Download
Data 585 quick navigation icons select facilities to exchange WAMP
150 data with other water agencies' WAMP 150s and/or External
Database(s) 170 so as to facilitate such larger water balance
modeling scalability.
[0394] Referring further to FIG. 6A, in this example, the Member
sub-submenu tab 610a has been selected. The Water Use by Members
display page 600A/600C that Wally is viewing provides several
display options selectable by display option tab. In this example,
the Water Required Table 615a has been selected. Other display
option tabs are visible which include: Crop Water Use (i.e., by
crop) 625a and Long Term Water (use) 630a. The Water Required table
615a has two columns: Immediate Estimates 617a and Forecast
Estimates 640a. The Water Required table 615a has labeled rows 619a
that include: Estimated Water Requirement, Estimated Evaporation,
Forecast Rainfall, Minimum Temperature and Maximum Temperature. The
Forecast Estimates column 640a has sub-columns for the months May
through October. The Irrigation Requirement Estimate graph 645a
displays a visual representation of the estimated water requirement
(in acre feet) for the months May through October corresponding to
sub-row 642a.
[0395] Referring to FIG. 6B, an exemplary alternative upper portion
of the Water Use By Members page is displayed. Alternative upper
portion 600B displays Long Term Water table 630b, which shows
historical and forecasted groundwater vs. surface water use by
member. Long Term Water table 630b has three columns: Estimated
parcel water use 2015 (i.e., for prior year) 620b, Estimated parcel
water use 2016 (i.e., for current year) 640b and Projected water
use for 2017 (i.e., the coming year) 650b.
[0396] Referring to FIG. 6C, the lower portion of the Water Use By
Members page is displayed. Lower portion 600C displays a table of
GMA members 650c with water use quantified corresponding to several
different characteristics: APNs, Crops and Wells. Other than in a
trivial application, the GMA members table may be windowed so as to
display a subset of members wherein the window can be adjusted to
different areas of the GMA members table in a fashion that allows
any given portion of the table to be visibly displayed. Several
mechanisms are provided for positioning the table window including
a member search 652c/680c, a slider 685c and a paging control panel
690c. Such windowing of a large table (or other large display) is a
technique well understood by one skilled in the art.
[0397] Scanning through the displayed portion of the GMA members
table 650c, Wally takes a closer look at the entry for GMA member
Tom & Grace Naito LLC 675c, which like each such entry has
several table fields. The APNs field 655c shows that the LLC owns 3
properties in the GMA's jurisdiction (i.e., 3 APNs). The Wells
field 665c shows that the LLC has 2 wells. Wally surmises that two
of the properties may be adjacent and share a well. But what
catches Wally's eye and makes him curious is the number of
crops--10--shown in the Crops field 660c. Wally wonders what the
crops are and how they affect water use. Wally is also interested
in knowing more about Tom & Grace Naito LLC and is tempted to
click the Goto CRM field button 670c to look at the LLC's member
data, but he decides instead to click the View 10. Crops button in
field 660c and look at their water use by crop.
[0398] Referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B, WAMP 150 displays Water Use by
Crops display page 700A/700B. FIG. 7A shows the upper portion of
the page 700A (and FIG. 7B shows the lower portion 700B). The Water
Use by Crops page 700A/700B offers several display options
selectable by display option tab. In this example, the Crop Water
Use Table 705a has been selected. Other display options tabs are
visible that include: Map, Water Required and Long Term Water
(use). The Crop Water Use Table 705a has three major columns: Crop
715a, Immediate Estimates 730a and Forecast Estimates 740a. Under
Crop 715a, the table indicates the type is Alfalfa 717a and the
area (of alfalfa) is 1234.5 (acres) 718a. Under Immediate Estimates
730a, the table shows estimated water use for This Week is 173.3
(acre-feet) 719a and under Forecast Estimates 740a the estimate for
the month of May is 717.6 (acre-feet) 745a. Below Crop Water Use
Table 705a, a corresponding graph 725a visually represents
estimated water use for the week and the month--corresponding to
water use estimates 719a and 745a respectively. These real-life
water use numbers for alfalfa can be used to estimate the water use
of the Naito's new alfalfa. Even if the Naitos were not already
growing alfalfa, water use figures for a neighbor's alfalfa might
be used instead.
[0399] Referring to FIG. 7B, the lower portion of the Water Use By
Crops display page is displayed. Lower portion 700B displays a
table 750b of GMA members producing the same crop as quantified in
the Crop Water Use Table 705a in upper portion of the Water Use By
Crops display page 700A--i.e., Alfalfa in this example. Each table
entry includes information about a member producing that crop
including: Member, APN, Crop, Acres, Plant (date) and Pull (date).
The first entry 755b in the table 750b is for Tom & Grace Naito
LLC. The number of entries 760b in table 750b is 311. Therefore the
display size of table 750b is not large enough to display all the
entries at once. A slide control 780b is provided to window the
table 750b. A paging control panel 790b is provided as well.
[0400] Referring again to FIG. 7A, Wally clicks on the APNs
sub-submenu tab 720a to have a look at Water Use by APNs for Tom
& Grace Naito LLC.
[0401] In this example, Wally does not need to type in the APN
because WAMP 150, in some embodiments, automatically determines the
APN for Tom & Grace Naito LLC (based on prior View 10. Crops
selection 660c) and displays the corresponding data.
[0402] Referring to FIGS. 8A and 8B, WAMP 150 displays Water Use by
APNs display page 800A/800B. FIG. 8A shows the upper portion of the
page 800A (and FIG. 8B shows the lower portion 800B). The Water Use
by APNs display page 800A/800B offers several display options
selectable by display option tab. In this example, the Crop Water
Use Table 810a has been selected. Other display options tabs are
visible that include: Map, Water Required and Long Term Water
(use). The Crop Water Use Table 810a has the same organization as
the Crop Water Use Table 705a in FIG. 7a--however, instead of
displaying data for one selected crop, the table 810a contains
entries for each of the crops grown on the property corresponding
to the selected APN (not shown)--in this example, APN 023-230-004
for Tom & Grace Naito LLC. The display size of the Crop Water
Use Table 810a is not large enough to display all the table entries
at once. Therefore, a slide control 845a is provided to window the
table 810a (as described previously for table 650b in FIG. 6B).
Just below the Crop Water Use Table 810a is a corresponding bar
graph 820a that visually represents estimated water use--both for
the week and for the month--corresponding to each crop entry in the
Crop Water Use Table 810a--in this example, 10 crops. This graph
gives Wally a good overview of the crops Tom & Grace Naito LLC
have selected and how much water use may be associated by the WAMP
150 with each of those crops.
[0403] Referring to FIG. 8B, the lower portion of the Water Use By
APNs display page is displayed. Lower portion 800B displays a table
850b of GMA members producing the same crops as quantified in the
Crop Water Use Table 815a in upper portion of the Water Use By APNs
display page 800A--i.e., 10 crops in this example. Each table entry
includes information about a member producing one of those crops
including: Member, APN, Crop, Acres, Plant (date) and Pull (date).
The first entry 855b in the table 850b is for Tom & Grace Naito
LLC. The number of entries 860b in table 850b is 947--more than can
be displayed practically at once. A paging control 890b and/or a
slide control 880b provide display windowing controls for the table
850b.
[0404] Referring again to FIG. 8A, Wally clicks on the Groups
sub-submenu tab 825a to navigate to the Water Use by Property
Groups page 900A/900B shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B. Wally knows that
the Naitos share use of their wells with two other farmers and he
is thinking about creating a property group including Tom &
Grace Naito LLC's properties and those two other farmer's
properties. The group--perhaps named "Naito's well users"--may
allow Wally to conveniently pull water use reports for all the
properties using the Naito's wells.
[0405] Referring to FIGS. 9A and 9B, WAMP 150 displays Water Use by
Property Groups display page 900A/900B, which shows data for a
given property group created by a sustainability manager. Such a
property group may include any set of property accounts a
sustainability manager chooses. In essence property groups provide
a sustainability manager a highly adaptable and convenient
mechanism to associate properties. FIG. 9A shows the upper portion
of the Water Use by Property Groups display page 900A (and FIG. 9B
shows the lower portion 900B). The Water Use by Groups display page
900A/900B is organized very similar to the preceding water use
pages. As with those pages, the Water Use by Groups display page
900A/900B offers several display options selectable by display
option tab. In this example, the Crop Water Use Table 920a has been
selected. Other display options tabs are visible that include: Map,
Water Required and Long Term Water (use). The Crop Water Use Table
920a is organized with the same columns as the Crop Water Use Table
615a utilized in the Water Use by Members display page 600a.
However, the entries in the table 920a in this instance are for the
crops grown on the properties in the selected property group. And
again, similar to Water Use by Members Page 600a, a graph 935a is
displayed below the Crop Water Use Table 920a that visually
presents the weekly and monthly water use estimates displayed in
table 920a. In this instance the Crop Water Use Table 920a and the
corresponding graph 935a are not populated because Wally has not
yet selected a property group to display.
[0406] Referring to FIG. 9B, the lower portion of the Water Use By
Property Groups page is displayed. Lower portion 900B displays a
table 970b of GMA members. Wally can display information for the
set of properties in a given property group by entering the
property groups' nickname in the search window 975b and then
searching for it by clicking Search button 979b. Other search
options are supported for table 970b including: by (Group) Name, by
Member (name) and by APN. In some instances, a Property Group may
correspond to a single member, for example a farmer who
incorporates a portion of his farm for liability protection might
be Property Group: "Fred Smith Farms Corporation".
[0407] Referring to FIG. 10, Wally decides to create a new property
group for the Naitos and their neighbors sharing water from the
Naitos' wells. The boundary mapping tool 1000A provides Wally a
convenient way to select the properties to include in the new
property group. Wally starts by bringing the Naito's property up in
the tool's map image. A mover 1020 and magnifier 1025 may be used
to position and zoom respectively. Additionally, once the
additional properties are selected, Wally may click on, view and
edit (not shown) property information for any property in the
property group. So using the tool 1000A, Wally locates and outlines
the Naitos' and the well sharing neighbors' properties 1030. He
then types the new nickname--"Naito Share"--into the Nickname box
1010 and the new group name--"Naito's well users" into the Group
name box 1015. He saves the new property group by clicking the Save
button 1040. The WAMP 150 automatically associates the information
for the included property accounts with the new property group. So
next time, Wally can now check out the water use for all the
properties at once using Water Use by Property Groups page
900A/900B and the property group nickname: Naito Share.
[0408] Wally is curious about some of the other wells on properties
bordering the Naitos. Referring again to FIG. 9, Wally clicks Wells
sub-submenu tab 925a.
[0409] Referring to FIGS. 11A and 11B, WAMP 150 displays the Water
Use by Wells display page 1100A/1100B, which displays a
user-scalable aerial map of district wells 1120a/b. As shown in
FIG. 11A, the map 1120a is scaled to show a district-wide view.
Wally can use the WAMP 150 to narrow the view to show just the
properties immediately adjacent to the Naitos or to just one
property (not shown). Each "Well Balloon" on the map 1120a/b
indicates the location of a well--for example Well Balloon 1140a/b.
Each Well Balloon is a clickable link. Referring to FIG. 11B,
clicking on Well Balloon 1140a/b causes the WAMP 150 to display
information about that well 1160b as well as property account
(and/or property group) information corresponding to that well and
in some embodiments provides navigation links (not shown) to water
use pages such as the Water Use By Members Page 600A/600B.
[0410] Referring to FIG. 12, WAMP 150 displays the Water Use by
Turnouts display page 1200, which displays a user-scalable aerial
map of district water turnouts 1230 that is equivalent to Water Use
by Wells Page 1100 except that surface water turnouts are displayed
rather than wells. Each Turnout Balloon on the map 1230 indicates
the location of a turnout--for example Turnout Balloon 1250.
Clicking on a Turnout Balloon causes the WAMP 150 to display
information (not shown) about that turnout as well as to display
property account (and or property group) information (not shown)
corresponding to that turnout and in some embodiments provides
navigation links (not shown) to water use pages such as the Water
Use By Members Page 600A/600B.
[0411] Wally's GMA district--WARM--overlaps an area historically
supplied with surface water by the US Bureau of Reclamation (USBR).
From time to time, new turnouts are added to the USBR's
distribution system and reflected in their database. Wally decides
to update the WAMP Database(s) 158 to match the latest turnout data
from the USBR in WARM's district. Wally clicks the Import Data
sub-submenu tab 1270.
[0412] Referring to FIGS. 13A and 13B, WAMP 150 displays Import
Data display page 1300A/1300B, which facilitates a sustainability
manager to import data from third parties. Additionally, in some
embodiments, a WAMP 150 may support (not shown) numerous data
formats (including but not limited to CSV files) either by explicit
configuration or auto-detecting the format type. For instance, a
sustainability manager can download a template (not shown), with
the header names indicating what data to include, and then upload
the same file once the remote data source has populated the
template with their data (not shown). Referring to FIG. 13A, Wally
has to select a upload type utilizing the Upload Type drop down
menu 1310a. Wally clicks on drop down menu 1310a. Referring to FIG.
13B, Wally chooses the Turnout upload type 1315b. Referring again
to FIG. 13A, Wally clicks on the Choose File button 1325a in the
Select File to Upload input box 1320a. Wally then selects the
turnout connections data file (not shown) to import from the USBR
database, which may then be uploaded to the WAMP 150 once Wally
clicks the Upload File button 1330a.
[0413] Having utilized the WAMP 150 to thoroughly research the
Naitos' and other members historical and current water
use--particularly as applies to Alfalfa, Wally utilizes the WAMP
150 to determine how much additional water the Naitos will need to
extract from the groundwater basin (not shown). Based upon the WAMP
150 analysis of the Naito's sources of water supply (i.e., wells
and turnouts) and assuming this new Alfalfa crop is added and
everything else remains the same, the WAMP 150 provides Wally the
information he needs--i.e., if the new plantings are made and no
water rights are transferred, projected extractions will be above
sustainability caps (not shown).
[0414] Now that Wally realizes that the Naitos will have to
purchase water from other members in order to plant their new
alfalfa, he wonders what impact this repurposed groundwater use
will have on the economic production of the district.
[0415] Referring to FIG. 14, Wally selects a commodity production
report to view (see 1440) utilizing the Advanced Reports display
page 1400 of the WAMP 150. This report (not shown) takes the area
under production for each crop and the prevailing commodity prices
to estimate the gross value of irrigated product. The water balance
modeling tool has an economic forecasting facility (not shown).
Utilizing the economic forecasting facility of WAMP 150 water
balance modeling, Wally can repeatedly model move water from one
crop type to some other crop type and for each change the WAMP 150
water balance modeling automatically determines the economic
optimal change in water resources for the remaining crop types (not
shown).
[0416] Wally generates a forecasting report showing the result of
the WAMP 150 water balance modeling (not shown). The forecasting
report demonstrates that the new alfalfa plantings can increase the
overall economic production of the GMA district if the water is
purchased from pistachio and tomato growers. Wally knows that the
pistachio and tomato growers are cutting back on production due to
highly competitive imports; and he hopes the water sales will help
their bottom lines as they switch to new crops. The forecasting
report also tells Wally that the Naitos' new alfalfa plantings may
put the district's economy further at risk to a fall in the alfalfa
price due to concentration of alfalfa as a percentage of overall
production. Utilizing the WAMP 150, Wally publishes the report for
GMA-internal distribution (not shown).
[0417] While dwelling on the GMA's new sustainability concern
regarding the Naitos, Wally decides to review how his district is
performing overall against its sustainability goals in its
Groundwater Sustainability Plan for the Sustainability Groundwater
Management Act ("SGMA"). Wally knows the annual report to the DWR
has been scheduled to be sent out. He decides to have a look at the
report.
[0418] Referring to FIG. 15, WAMP 150 displays Reports display page
1500. In the left hand column, Wally may choose to generate a new
SGMA report utilizing the SGMA reports menu 1520--where a WAMP 150
generating a given SGMA report may utilize a pre-configured SGMA
report form template, wherein the template may be filled in
correctly by WAMP 150 with data generated by WAMP 150 analytics
such that the SGMA report is ready to view and/or to file with the
California Department of Water Resources (DWR). Or lower in the
left hand column, he may choose to view or reschedule a given SGMA
report utilizing the Report Schedule menu 1525. In the right hand
column, Wally may choose to generate a WAMP 150 report utilizing
the WAMP Reports menu 1540--such a report may for instance show the
water balance as modeled, groundwater use by member, crop and
property, etc. Lower in the right hand column, he may choose
generate a groundwater report utilizing the Generate GW Report menu
1545.
[0419] Visually scanning the Report Schedule menu 1525, Wally
locates the Annual Report to DWR 1570. Wally confirms the report is
scheduled to meet the due date--April 1--and knows that the WAMP
150 will generate the report to the DWR automatically. To do so,
the WAMP 150 may utilize a report template provided by the
California DWR and automatically populate fields within that
template utilizing the WAMP Database(s) 158 data and WAMP 150 water
balance modeling results.
[0420] Periodically Wally utilizes the WAMP 150 to generate a total
water diversion and extraction report for the GMA (not shown). Such
a report may provide a macro view of all the groundwater use in the
district. Furthermore, Wally may have the option to display how
individual usage data for certain members compares to the average,
median, mode, percentile, etc. for the district as a whole (not
shown). Scanning the Generate GW Report Menu 1545, Wally clicks on
the Total water diversion and extraction report link 1590. Studying
the charts and tables of the latest WAMP 150 water balance modeling
shown in the report, Wally sees that the total extractions for the
district are within the targets set by the Groundwater
Sustainability Plan (not shown). Wally wants to share this around
the office so he utilizes the WAMP 150 to save the version of the
report he just generated and publish it within the GMA (not shown),
This makes the new water diversion and extraction report available
to other sustainability managers. They may access it utilizing the
Reports display page 1500 where it can be selected and viewed along
with other published reports utilizing the Select Report drop-down
menu 1580 in the WAMP Reports menu 1540.
[0421] Wally also wants to share the new water diversion and
extraction report with his Board of Directors. Based on their
contact information in the WAMP Database(s) 158, Wally utilizes the
member contact facilities of the WAMP 150 to email the report to
each of the Directors (not shown). He does the same with the Annual
Report to DWR and the report forecasting the Naitos' new water
needs. He knows the Naito issue will likely come to their attention
and he wants them to be prepared.
[0422] Earlier in the morning Wally had spoken with a new Director,
Tom Courtney. Tom has just moved into the district and might not
yet be in the WAMP Database(s) 158. So Wally decides to check.
Referring to FIG. 16, Wally navigates to the Member Search display
page 1600. He searches for Tom in the members contacts by typing
"Tom Courtney" in the Member Search name entry box 1630. In some
embodiments, the WAMP 150 looks for direct match(es) to "Tom" or
"Courtney" or alternative spellings (e.g., Thomas) or possible
misspellings (e.g., Tim). "Tom Courtney" does not come up in the
WAMP 150 member search, but by coincidence another Tom--Tom
Naito--does 1640. With no exact matches, the WAMP 150 automatically
alters the submenu tray 1610 by adding an Add New Member submenu
tab 1620. By waiting to display the Add New Member submenu tab 1620
until after a member search has been attempted, the WAMP 150
significantly reduces the number of duplicate member entries. Wally
clicks submenu tab 1620 to create a new WAMP 150 member contact
record for Tom.
[0423] Referring to FIGS. 17A and 17B WAMP 150 displays Member
Contact display page 1700A/1700B. FIG. 17A shows the upper portion
of the page 1700A (FIG. 17B shows the lower portion 1700B).
Referring to FIG. 17A, Wally adds Tom Courtney as a new member by
typing in his contact details into the Contact Details entry
subscreen 1720a. Referring to FIG. 17B, Wally adds a note in entry
subscreen 1780b so other sustainability managers will know Tom is
on the GMA's board of directors.
[0424] Next Wally wants to check to see if the Naitos have already
acquired additional water rights utilizing the WAMP 150-facilitated
electronic water rights exchange.
[0425] Referring to FIG. 18, WAMP 150 displays the Overview display
page 1800 for the WAMP 150-facilitated electronic water rights
exchange. In the right hand column, Wally scans the Recent
Transfers display list 1810. He sees that there are two water
rights lease purchases 1835 and 1845 by the Naitos that have been
entered into WAMP 150 processing.
[0426] Referring to FIG. 19, in order to acquire additional water
rights, GMA member Tom Naito utilized the WAMP 150-facilitated
electronic water rights exchange from his tablet computer (see FIG.
1, 191). Tom navigated to the Market Platform display page 1900 of
the WAMP 150 members web site. (In some embodiments, a mobile App
may be utilized). Tom found two water rights lease offers that met
his requirements and purchased them both--one for 284 acre feet
1950 and one for 845 acre feet 1970. Had he not found an offer that
was acceptable, Tom could have placed a lease order on the market
with a set price and volume and received a notification from the
WAMP 150 when a matching offer to lease was found or when a GWR
seller chose to accept Tom's offer on the WAMP 150-facilitated
electronic water rights exchange and to lease GWRs at Tom's
offering price (not shown).
[0427] Wally earlier used the WAMP 150 to set up water market
trading rules so that whenever someone made a trade between zones
it would need Wally's approval to be processed by the WAMP 150.
Wally had set it up this way to make sure that there was never a
case where more water was transferred out of a zone than the
aquifers could sustainably support.
[0428] Referring back to FIG. 18, the sellers of the water leases
that Tom Naito purchased each were in different zones 1830 and 1840
within the GMA's jurisdiction than the zone for the Naito's
properties and therefore the leases need Wally's approval.
[0429] Referring to FIGS. 20A and 20B, WAMP 150 displays the Market
Platform display page 2000A/B for the WAMP 150-facilitated
electronic water rights exchange. Referring to FIG. 20A, Wally is
confident that the trades meet sustainability requirements and
therefore clicks the Transfer button 2080a on each of the trade
records to approve the trades. Upon Wally's approval of the trades,
electronic notifications are automatically sent to the Naitos and
also to each of the sellers to let them know the leased transfer of
water rights has been approved and made. Additionally, appropriate
third parties are notified. And of course the WER registry is
updated automatically for both the Naitos and the sellers to
reflect the transfers of water rights. Referring to FIG. 20B, in
some embodiments a sustainability manager may utilize the WAMP 150
to place a water extraction rights trade on the WAMP
150-facilitated electronic water rights exchange--perhaps to assist
a member who lacks computer access at the time of such a trade.
[0430] Referring to FIG. 21, Wally can double check the transfer
rules by navigating to the WAMP 150 Transfer Zone Management
display page 2100. In some embodiments, Wally can configure the
WAMP 150 to automatically enforce the transfer rules--perhaps when
the trade volume goes way up, or when Wally is on vacation. Wally
can change individual transfer rules utilizing the Transfer Rules
table 2130. For example, he can click on the transfer rule toggle
button 2150 for transfers from the South zone to the Yolo zone with
each click toggling the setting for the rule. So for example, a
single click may change the rule from "Closed" to "Open".
[0431] Referring to FIGS. 22A and 22B, WAMP 150 displays the
Overview display page 2200A/2200B for the WAMP 150 WER registry.
FIG. 22A shows the page's upper portion 2200A (FIG. 22B shows the
lower portion 2200B). Referring to FIG. 22A, Wally looks for the
updates to the WER Registry that he just approved. Since they just
happened, he simply picks Dealings in the Last 30 Days 2220a in the
Registry search array. Referring to FIG. 22B, Wally immediately
spots the two approved WER Registry updates 2270b and 2280b at the
top of the Recent Registry actions list.
[0432] Referring to FIGS. 23A and 23B, Referring to FIG. 23A, Wally
navigates to the GWR List display page 2300A where entries 2310a
and 2320a for the Naito's newly approved trades appear. Wally
clicks the corresponding Goto CRM button 2340a. Referring to FIG.
23B, in some embodiments, a GWR List display page 2300B may
facilitate a boundary mapping tool 2345b for utilization by a
sustainability manager in a GWR search.
[0433] Referring to FIG. 24, Wally navigates to the Members GWR
display page 2400 where he checks the Naitos' groundwater rights to
verify that the new GWRs just acquired by the Naitos are listed. He
sees the GWRs: 2470 and 2480 on their account. He then clicks on
the Well Balloon button 2490 to bring up the WAMP 150 forecast for
the Naito's water use. Depending on the well, WAMP 150 may utilize
measured water use if the well is metered, or WAMP 150-imputed
water use if it is unmetered. A sustainability manager may compare
actual water use data with the forecasted results from WAMP 150
water balance modeling (not shown).
[0434] Referring to FIG. 25, Wally navigates to the WAMP 150
Virtual Meter display subpage 2500 where he may view an estimate
2560 of the Naito's water use for the remainder of the year. Wally
may also adjust this estimate for different rainfall and climatic
conditions (not shown). Through this estimate 2560, the WAMP 150
shows that the Naitos should now have enough water rights for the
rest of the water year.
[0435] Next, Wally navigates from the Naitos' membership account to
the registry system and downloads an official statement of the
Naitos' current water right volume.
[0436] Referring to FIGS. 26A, 26B and 26C, WAMP 150 displays a GWR
display page 2600A/2600B/2600C. FIG. 26A shows the page's upper
portion 2600A (FIG. 26B shows an alternative upper portion 2600B
and FIG. 26C shows the lower portion 2600C). Referring to FIG. 26A,
WAMP 150 displays a GWR No. 547841 display page 2600A for the WAMP
150-facilitated electronic water rights exchange by the Naitos.
Wally views the Naitos' current water right allocation 2620a. Wally
attaches this information to an email and sends it to the Naitos
letting them know that they now likely have enough water rights to
see them through the rest of the year (not shown). Referring to
FIG. 26B, in some embodiments a sustainability manager may utilize
the WAMP 150 to display property account details corresponding to
the transferee or to the transferor of GWRs.
[0437] Referring to FIG. 27, Wally makes a note in the Add CRM
Comment display subpage 2700 on the Naitos' member account in the
contact notes section (not shown). The text 2750 of the note says
that Wally checked out the account and everything should be fine
this water year. Although he does not use it for this note, Wally
has the option to share his note with other sustainability managers
and/or to create an action notification for himself utilizing
respectively: the Share selector button 2760 and the Add Action
selector button 2770. Wally then clicks the Submit button 2790 to
add the note to Naitos' member account.
[0438] Sometime ago, the Naitos legally transferred interest in
their properties, including water extraction rights to a limited
liability company (LLC). Many farming families who have property
(and/or other valuable assets) are taking similar legal actions to
protect their estates from exposure to law suits or simply from
probate. Some families have transferred their interest into a trust
or trusts, others have adopted various forms of joint ownership
such as joint tenancy. Others utilize corporations. In some
instances, the original family manages the fictitious legal entity
that holds their property. In other instances, third parties such
as trustees are the managers. In some instances, property interests
are legally seized or enjoined. The WAMP 150 facilitates creating
or updating a GMA's WAMP 150 records (e.g., property accounts, WER
registry, etc.) to reflect ownership or control of interests by
groups of persons or legal entities.
[0439] Referring to FIGS. 28A and 28B WAMP 150 displays the
Interests display page 2800A/2800B for the WAMP 150. FIG. 28A shows
the page's upper portion 2800A (FIG. 28B shows the lower portion
2800B). Referring to FIG. 28A, a Select Record subpage 2810a
facilitates selecting a WAMP 150 record to create or update to
reflect the interests being added. A record type selection bar
2820a displays radio buttons corresponding to WAMP 150 record
types. For this exemplary Interests display page 2800A, property
record type 2828a is shown selected. Alternative selections include
Member record type 2824a and GWR record type 2826a.
[0440] Based on the record type selected, Interests display page
2800A may display a Search box 2830a that facilitates finding a
specific record of the selected type to apply interest updates to.
In this exemplary Interests display page 2800A, a Search box 2830a
organized and formatted specifically for a property record search
is displayed. Should the sustainability manager select a different
type of record type to apply interest to, the Search box 2830a may
be replaced by a corresponding alternatively organized and
formatted search box.
[0441] To illustrate use of this exemplary Interests display page
2800A/2800B, let us assume that GMA member Albert Tesla is leasing
his farm to Judith Jedson. Wally selects the property record type
radio button 2828a to select the record type to apply interest to.
The corresponding Search box 2830a for property account records is
displayed. Wally may fill in one or more fields in the Search Box
2830a before clicking the Search button 2839a to initiate the
record search by the WAMP 150. For example, Wally may type the
appraiser's parcel number (APN#) of Albert's farm into the APN box
2835a and click the Search button 2839a to locate and access the
WAMP 150 property account record corresponding to Albert's
farm.
[0442] After Wally clicks the Search button 2839a, the WAMP 150 may
display a corresponding search result entry (or entries) in the
Results table 2840a. In some embodiments, each Results table entry
may be a clickable link to a corresponding search-matched record as
may be apparent to one skilled in the art. In this instance, there
may be only one Results table entry (not shown) corresponding to
the APN#, but in other instances multiple Results table entries may
be displayed by a WAMP 150. A sustainability manager may click on a
Results table entry that is recognizable as correct (or failing
that, choose arbitrarily and click on a Results table entry in a
relatively quick process of trial and error). In some embodiments,
if the WAMP 150 search results in no match, a "Create a new record"
result/link (not shown) may be displayed in the Results table
2820a.
[0443] Referring to FIG. 2800B, with a selection of a record type
to apply interest to and the selection of such a record, Apply
Interests subpage 2850b may be displayed.
[0444] Within Apply Interests subpage 2850b, a interest type
selection bar 2860a displays radio buttons corresponding to WAMP
150 property interest types. For this exemplary Interests page
2800B, interest type Lease 2865b is shown selected.
[0445] The format and organization of the Apply Interests subpage
2850b may vary with the record type to apply interest to that was
selected in record type selection bar 2810a. In exemplary Interests
display page 2800B, the Apply Interests subpage 2850b shown is
therefore correspondingly organized and formatted for applying an
interest to a WAMP 150 property account record. Furthermore,
portions of the Apply Interests subpage 2850b may vary additionally
based on the property interest type selected in interest type
selection bar 2860b.
[0446] In exemplary Interests display page 2800B, three entry
subpages are displayed based on selection of the Lease interest
type 2865b: Property Details subpage 2870b, Details of Lessor 2880b
and Details of Lessee 2890b. In some embodiments, the WAMP 150 may
automatically populate the displayed fields of Property Details
subpage 2870b based on the Result entry selected from Results table
2840a. Additionally, search entry boxes 2885b and 2895b facilitate
auto-population of Details of Lessor 2880b and Details of Lessee
2890b subpages respectively. Upon filling in fields of Property
Details 2870b, Details of Lessor 2880b and Details of Lessee 2890b
subpages, clicking the Start Action button 2899b may cause the
thusly described property interest to be applied to the property
account record (not shown) selected from the Results table 2840a
and a "registration of lease" action notification added for the
required change to the WER registry.
[0447] Referring to FIGS. 29A and 29B WAMP 150 displays the
Registry Action display page 2900A/2900B for the WAMP 150. FIG. 29A
shows the page's upper portion 2900A (FIG. 29B shows the lower
portion 2900B). Referring to FIG. 29A, WAMP 150 displays a
Registration of Lease 2910a for the Naitos' just completed water
extraction right lease 2920a. Referring to FIG. 29B, WAMP 150
displays a Documents table 2960b containing links to supporting
documents for the Naitos' water extraction right lease 2920a.
[0448] Referring to FIG. 30, a Registry Documents Repository
display page 3000 is shown. A sustainability manager may upload new
documents by clicking on Upload Document button 3020 and entering a
file name (not shown). The WAMP 150 supports numerous document and
image formats including, but not limited to: .TXT, .RTF, .DOCX,
.PDF, and JPEG. A sustainability manager may locate a document
stored in the WER registry by clicking on Quick Search button 3030
and entering a search term in a search entry box (not shown). A
document listed as an entry in the Documents table 3040 may be
opened by clicking on the entry link in the table 3050 for that
document.
[0449] Having wrapped up his tasks related to the Naitos, Wally
wants to take a look at the overall activity and performance of his
GMA. Rather than navigate through several individual WAMP 150
display pages, Wally utilizes his WAMP 150 custom configurable
dashboard where he has accumulated and arranged key WAMP 150
indicators of the operation of his GMA so he can get a quick
overview of the GMA's business with a quick visual scan.
[0450] Referring to FIGS. 31A and 31B WAMP 150 displays the
Dashboard display page 3100A/3100B for the WAMP 150. FIG. 31A shows
the Dashboard page's upper portion 3100A (FIG. 31B shows the lower
portion 3100B). Referring to FIG. 31A, Wally quickly scans the
display elements that he currently has assembled on his dashboard.
First he checks the GW Extraction graph 3105a that represents the
ongoing results of the WAMP 150 water balance modeling. Wally is
particularly interested and concerned about the right hand side of
the graph 3110a where projected future water use is quantified. The
warmer and more sunny growing season is approaching and he knows
meeting sustainability goals will become more of a challenge as
rainfall decreases and evapotranspiration increases.
[0451] Next Wally looks at the Communications Actions table 3115a,
which serves effectively as a to-do list for member outreach. He
sees his action notification to himself 3117a to call Grace Naito,
which in some embodiments may be a clickable link that may navigate
for example to a WAMP 150 display page for the Naito's member
account. Wally gazes next at the SGMA Report Schedule table 3125a,
the upcoming annual report to the DWR 3128a is a constant reminder
to Wally that his efforts have real consequences.
[0452] The Billing Summary 3120a also is a to-do list of sorts.
Wally sees that the 14 days overdue numbers 3124a are creeping up.
Many farmers are stressed by rising water costs and increased
competition.
[0453] Referring to FIG. 31B, Wally takes a quick moment of
satisfaction as he notes that the Naitos' water lease no longer
appears in the Pending Registry Actions list 3160b (a filtered list
of action notifications specific to WER registry changes), because
he cleared it personally. Finally, Wally ponders the Recently Saved
Reports table 3170a with both relief and some trepidation. He has
several of the most pressing reports done, but he knows he also has
three more reports to review and publish.
[0454] Referring again to FIG. 31A, Wally glances at the Customize
Dashboard button 3108a. He knows that he wants to reconfigure his
dashboard to give him quicker visibility into overdue accounts, but
decides he'll work on that from home after dinner tonight. Instead,
Wally clicks the Goto Billing button 3122a and proceeds to look
into billing.
[0455] Referring to FIGS. 32A and 32B WAMP 150 displays the
Invoices display page 3200A/3200B for WAMP 150 Billing. FIG. 32A
shows the Invoices display page's upper portion 3200A (FIG. 32B
shows the lower portion 3200B). Referring to FIG. 32A, Wally takes
a quick look at Current Invoices total 3220a--i.e., the total
amount that will be billed in the billing run. Furthermore, Wally
knows that he may utilize the WAMP 150 to view the exact billing
lines that may be included in that billing run (not shown). He sees
that it is slightly higher than last month, which is what he
expected. He knows that it will go up substantially as the summer
approaches. Next, he looks at the Overdue Invoices total 3230a. It
is up again for the fourth month running. He knows he'll be calling
several of his members this afternoon to see how the GMA may help.
Before that though, he'll run some WAMP 150 water balance models
for each farmer to see how they might conserve on water use. He'll
do that right after his coffee break.
[0456] Referring to FIGS. 33A and 33B WAMP 150 displays the Local
Weather display page 3300A/3300B. FIG. 33A shows the Local Weather
display page's upper portion 3300A (FIG. 33B shows the lower
portion 3300B). Referring to FIG. 33A, Wally looks over the weather
for the next few days. Then he grabs his jacket and heads for the
door.
[0457] Many modifications and additions to the above embodiments
are possible. For example, groundwater imputation factor of
Resource Monitor 264 may also take into consideration groundwater
recharging by the property.
[0458] While this invention has been described in terms of several
embodiments, there are alterations, modifications, permutations,
and substitute equivalents, which fall within the scope of this
invention. Although sub-section titles have been provided to aid in
the description of the invention, these titles are merely
illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the present
invention.
[0459] It should also be noted that there are many alternative ways
of implementing the methods and apparatuses of the present
invention. It is therefore intended that the following appended
claims be interpreted as including all such alterations,
modifications, permutations, and substitute equivalents as fall
within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.
* * * * *