Case Study: Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) secures reliable water supply and optimizes interruptible contracts with Palisade's @RISK

LCRA - Customer Case Study

The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) manages water supplies for municipalities, farms and industries across Central Texas and must guarantee firm municipal and industrial deliveries while allocating lower‑priority, interruptible agricultural contracts amid uncertain inflows, rainfall and evaporation. To address this challenge, LCRA partnered with Cornell University students and used Palisade’s @RISK software to model the uncertainties affecting water availability.

Using Palisade’s @RISK for Excel, the Cornell team fitted probability distributions to historical inflow, rainfall and consumption data and ran Monte Carlo simulations to predict annual supply outcomes. The Palisade-driven model produces quantified probabilities of available water, enables optimal interruptible contract volumes while protecting firm supplies and reservoir reserves, and gives LCRA clear, measurable guidance for contracting and drought planning.

LCRA

Mark Jordan

Manager of River Management