Background
The Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency (YSGA) is responsible for implementing California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) across Yolo County’s diverse agricultural and rural landscape — from rice and row crops to orchards, vineyards, and rangeland. Groundwater sustainability here is fundamentally a watershed challenge, requiring integrated understanding of land use, surface water, recharge, and agricultural and municipal demand.
Vishal Mehta has supported technical planning, modeling and grant development for the subbasin since 2010, working closely with YSGA, the Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, and more than 20 partner agencies across the full arc of SGMA implementation. As of 2024, Leafbird Consulting LLC plays a leading role in this engagement, continuing model development, annual reporting, and implementation support.
Leafbird’s Approach
Leafbird connects the full path from scientific analysis to practical implementation. We integrate surface and groundwater modeling, open-source GIS and remote sensing, and satellite-derived crop and water-use analysis to produce decision-ready outputs for YSGA staff and board members. This technical core is paired with annual SGMA reporting, grant development, and stakeholder coordination — ensuring that improved data and model outputs translate directly into on-the-ground management action.
A defining feature of our work is the use of generative AI throughout the project lifecycle — from MODFLOW model calibration and GIS analysis to automated reporting workflows, interactive diagnostic visualizations, and grant writing — improving efficiency while keeping specialist time focused on professional judgment and stakeholder engagement.
Key Deliverables
- Annual GSP Reporting & SGMA Compliance — Automated workflows for Annual Reports, Periodic Evaluations, and Amendments; co-development of the 2032 GSP Periodic Evaluation.
- YSGA Model Development & Calibration — Ongoing refinement of the basin-scale MODFLOW groundwater model: grid design, calibration against observed heads, water-budget automation, and hydrogeologic characterization.
- Groundwater Accounting Platform — Development of the initial recharge accounting and pumping-allocation framework for the YSGA Groundwater Accounting Platform pilot.
- Satellite Crop & Water-Use Analysis — NDVI and OpenET-based inference of crop type, fallowing patterns, and agricultural water demand, closing critical data gaps for water-budget analysis.
- Interactive Groundwater Visualizations — AI-built Leaflet tools for model performance diagnostics (observed vs. simulated heads, RMSE/NSE mapping) and basin-wide animated groundwater viewer with per-pixel time-series extraction.
- Grant Development & Water Supply Resilience — Grant strategy and acquisition; water-management plans for undistricted areas; recharge and conjunctive-use planning.
Scope of Engagement
| Scope Area | Leafbird’s Focus |
|---|---|
| A — GSP Administration | GSP Annual Updates & 2028 Periodic Evaluations; co-develop 2032 GSP Periodic Evaluation |
| B — Groundwater Accounting | Recharge accounting & pumping-allocation framework for the Accounting Platform pilot |
| C — WEAP-MODFLOW & Model | WCR database; updating hydrogeologic data; refined YSGA Model calibration & water-budget automation; GIS support |
| D — Water Supply Resilience | Water-management plans; recharge & conjunctive-use planning |
| E — GSP Implementation | Recharge projects; wetlands water budgets; integrated surface-groundwater connections; land-subsidence monitoring; grant acquisition |
Client
Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency (YSGA)
Woodland, CA
Project period
2024–2027 (Leafbird Consulting)
Vishal’s work in the basin: 2010–Ongoing
Status
Active
Leafbird role
Project Manager
YSGA Model Lead
GIS, Remote Sensing & AI Lead
Technical Advisory Committee
Grant Development
Project Partners
Chuck Young
Stockholm Environment Institute-US
YSGA Model & WEAP Lead
Client Reference
Kristin Sicke, Executive Officer
Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency
ksicke@yolosga.org
(530) 662-0265
Interactive Tools
Leafbird Services
YSGA Model development (WEAP-MODFLOW)
GIS & Remote Sensing
Data Science & AI Workflows
GSP Annual Reporting
Groundwater Accounting
Grant Writing & Acquisition
Stakeholder Facilitation
