Geology 446
Lecture Notes III.
Lec 21. Water Resources Management.
Water Resources
Management:
Combines hydrology with planning, law, economics, aquatic biology,
chemistry, engineering and often forestry.
Seeks to minimize flooding, insure water supply, maintain or improve
water quality, etc.
Competing
demands:
There are increasing demands on a finite supply of clean water for
agriculture, industrial and municipal uses, to sustain natural environments, provide
recreation, generate electricity and disperse wastes.
Many of these uses are incompatible.
The best laid
plans of mice and men
Man rarely affects the global or continental hydrologic environment:
Examples may include global warming and some proposed water management
schemes such as NAWAPA and similar Russian schemes.
These would move water from the arctic
to temperate and sub-tropical areas.
NAWAPA:
North American Water &
Power Alliance: Idea move Canadian surplus water to South-west U.S. &
Mexico.
Regional scale
projects:
Some water resource management projects have altered the whole water
balance of regions by inter-basin transfers.
Water is transferred from Colorado to Mississippi, From Great lakes to
Mississippi and from all over CA. to LA.
Regional Use of
Water.
Water use in highest per capita in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana (Higher %
of farmers).
Total water use highest in California.
Surface Water use highest in California, and Texas.
Groundwater use highest in Kansas,
Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas.
Level of Water
Resources Development:
Varies from region to region. California, Arizona and Nevada have most
development.
In New England only 6% of water is consumed.
In California 42% consumed.
In Colorado River Basin of Southwest 98% or more consumed.
Dams
There are three main types of dams:
1. Arch Dams, 2. Embankment (gravity) dams, & 3. Buttress
Dams
Dams can be made of: Reinforced concrete, earth-fill (Clay/rock), Masonry (rare).
Most dams hold water for irrigation, power generation, flood control or
recreation.
It wont hold
water (on purpose).
Some dams divert streams into irrigation channels (these are termed diversion
structures).
Some dams store debris from floods but let water out gradually (these
are debris basins).
Some dams are intended to replenish groundwater (these are recharge
basins).
It wont hold
water (oops!)
Dam failures are rare but can happen.
Factors are:
Geologic setting (St. Francis).
Poor design (Malpassent, France)
Earthquakes or landslides (Santa Barbara & Italian dams).
Poor construction. (Teton Dam)
Poor maintenance: Folsom Dam, CA.
Other ways of increasing
water supply:
Building dams can be an answer, but not always. Is water flowing into
ocean wasted? If all water in a basin is used adding a dam reduces available
supply: example: Lake Mead & Powell.
Alternatives include: Infiltration basins, injection wells, wastewater
reuse and desalinization.
Examples: Las Vegas. NV. Saudi Arabia.
Development of
surface water:
Can bring electricity, irrigation water and recreation to arid lands.
But overuse of this resource causes:
Increasing salinity of water.
Loss of fisheries and habitat.
Loss of power production and navigation.
Examples: Colorado River, Owens Valley.
Colorado River
Example
Most over-used river in N. America; 98% consumed!
Major river of the South-west.
Drains 7 states, flows into Sea of Cortez in Mexico.
Water supply for 16 million people, 4 million acres of irrigated
agriculture.
Lec. 22.
Water Resources:
Economics & Law.
Water
Economics:
Low, Low Cost
Subsidized development
Common property resource
Subject to externalities
Lack of incentives for conservation
Low, Low Cost
Water is not dirt cheap; it is far cheaper than dirt.
For municipal customers the costs can range from a high of 10 cents per
gallon to typical costs of 1 cent per gallon to a hundredth of a cent per
gallon.
Down on the
farm
Agricultural customers for water pay from a high .03 cents per gallon
(or 2851 gallons per dollar) to a typical cost of 10,000 gallons per dollar to
low costs of 100,000 gallons per dollar or less. At 100,000 gallons per dollar
almost a million pounds of water will be delivered to a farmers fields for a
payment of a dollar to the irrigation district.
Why so cheap?
Water is so inexpensive because it is fairly abundant and it is
relatively easy to handle. It is however very expensive to pump uphill. Also
water development projects usually are massive and therefore are beyond the
ability of a single town or farmer to afford.
Role of
Government:
As a result subsidized development has been the rule around the
world.
This usually takes the form of multi-purpose projects that claim
to provide water for agriculture, industry and municipal uses, flood control
and generation of hydroelectric power and recreational opportunities.
Pork Barrel
Projects:
Many very questionable projects have been built in the U.S. using tax
monies. So now by law all water projects must show that benefits exceed
costs.
However, it is easy to make assumptions that can justify any project.
Common
property resource
Water is often a resource held in common but owned by no one
user. Therefore if one user doesnt take his or her share other users will.
Therefore, not using as much water as possible as early as possible is
not rewarded. In fact water law may penalize someone who fails to use the water
even if they do not need it.
Also there is little incentive to conserve water or use it wisely.
Subject to externalities:
An externality is an action that causes impacts that affect other
people besides the person that took the action.
Examples: air pollution, loud parties.
If a company or city dumps pollution into a stream or dries up the
water in a creek or overdrafts a groundwater aquifer it will likely affect
other people (as well as the natural environment).
Controlling
externalities:
Many of the costs of water pollution or waste are felt by other people
besides the ones causing the problem and therefore other sanctions like
fines or rules are need to promote reasonability.
Water Law:
Public versus private ownership
Riparian Water rights
Appropriative water rights
Groundwater rights
Other water rights
Public versus
private ownership:
In many places water was owned by the city, the state or by the King:
Arab lands, Rome, Spain and Mexico.
This made sense in arid areas: fights were avoided and water shared and
developed (Kanats, aqueducts built).
In contrast, in England and northern Europe there was plenty of water
so water became a private property right like a house or an agricultural field.
Riparian Water rights.
The English concept of ownership of water in a stream depended on
ownership of the land through which the stream flowed.
Since stream often formed property boundaries ownership of the stream
bank on one side was all that was required to use water in the stream for any
use.
Rip what?
Since the area adjacent to a stream is called the riparian area this
type of right to use water was and is called a riparian water right.
Riparian
Doctrine in the U.S.
When settlers came to the original 13 colonies there was plenty of
water, so the English set of laws (called a doctrine) of riparian water
rights was adopted.
This type of law worked well throughout the well-watered east.
Particularly before modern engineering allowed the construction of large dams.
To this day the riparian doctrine holds in many states.
Where Riparian
Doctrine holds:
All states east of the Mississippi River use it except Florida, Iowa
and Mississippi.
Limitations: one must own land adjacent to a stream from which water is taken and that the right is requires
sharing with other users not an entitlement to a fixed amount. Hence in drought
all users may have to cut back.
Also in some states water may not be removed from the watershed in
which it originated.
Advantages
& Disadvantages:
Good: It has the advantage of being simple to enforce and reflecting
the value of water in the price of land.
Bad: It does not foster cooperation in developing water resources or
moving water from areas of abundance to areas of scarcity where its value may
be higher.
Therefore only works well in uniformly well-watered areas.
Appropriative
water
rights.
When the arid west was settled, people initially used riparian
doctrine. This worked until large-scale development of mining required water.
Miners diverted streams with aqueducts (flumes) to move water to pay
dirt. Most land was public; no one wanted to buy it merely move water over it.
However, miners with various claims might all want to use water from
the same stream.
Solution
Appropriative doctrine:
Thus conflicts arose. Such as the Starr County Wyoming range war of
1870.
State legislatures in the west invented a new doctrine first used in
California and Colorado called prior appropriation.
Prior
Appropriation:
In appropriation, the first person to build a dam or diversion
structure on a stream was entitled to take (or appropriate) as much water as he
wanted and theyre no requirement to own the land where the dam and/or aqueduct
was located.
Limitations:
The appropriative doctrine
requires that the appropriator actually take and use the water and the use has
to be of some benefit to him. If the appropriators ever fails to use the water
or uses less of it, then they may be limited or may actually lose their right
in the future.
There's
propriation in them thar hills:
States that use the appropriative doctrine include Texas and every
other state west of the Mississippi except California and Washington.
Its my water
cause of my grand-pappy back in 49
In the appropriative system a user could totally dry up a stream. So
there are limits set.
If there is not enough water to provide for the water rights of every
appropriator, then the date when the first appropriator took water out for the
first time (back in 49) will be used to determine the priority of water rights
This senior or prior appropriator will get all the water he
wants, then the next most senior appropriator will and so on.
Who calls the
shots:
A state agency determines how much water can be taken based on the
typical flow in the stream and needs of other users. Often this organization is
called the State Engineers Office. In Texas it is the Texas Water Rights
Board.
Example: South Platte River.
Other Water
Rights Systems:
California, Washington, have both appropriative and riparian water
rights systems in some cases and locations. This inconsistency makes lost of
work for Lawyers.
Why do these two states have two systems??
Florida, Iowa and Mississippi require State permits for all water
rights.
Also, some states recognize that cities have a stronger right than
agriculture.
Indian &
Pueblo Water rights:
The Wright decision. 1901: Federal Gov. has obligation to
provide tribes water adequate to irrigate all arable lands.
Pueblo Rights: In New Mexico and California existing rights of
Mexican towns (pueblos) under 1846 treaty have been transferred to the cities
of today (For example right of LA to water of the LA river and groundwater
basin).
Other legal
technicalities:
Federal laws such as the Endangered Species Act takes precedence over
state law.
Some states allow sale of contracts for water, but most actually
require ownership of land or construction of a dam or aqueduct and use of the
diverted water to establish ownership.
Now such Wheeling is a very hot topic.
Examples: Robertson County, Texas, Parachute Colorado.
Limitations on
Water Rights.
Endangered Species Act. Prohibits harm to a listed species.
Over 450 listed species.
Many are aquatic or riparian.
Public Trust
Doctrine:
Iowa, California and Colorado; the State may prohibit projects that
require state permits, if project would wipe out in-stream flows needed
for fish and wildlife.
Example: Diversion of streams feeding Mono Lake.
Reclamation
Law:
Federally chartered irrigation districts get water sufficient for their
needs.
Only cost they pay is for operation and maintenance and paying off
construction loans at 0% interest over 50 years.
Groundwater
rights:
Since judges and legislatures did not understand the behavior of
groundwater, groundwater law is really complex and weird in many states.
The three doctrines that are
common are: Absolute Ownership, Reasonable Use, and State
Issued Permit.
Absolute
ownership
All the water that can be pumped out from any number of wells on your
land.
Texas is one of the very few states that have this approach.
Others are West Virginia, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Louisiana.
Why these states?
Reasonable
use:
Take as much as you can use
without wasting the water. California, Washington, Tennessee
South Carolina and Ohio and Missouri use this approach.
Part of reasonable use doctrine is correlative rights: that is
take as much as you can use without wasting it and without hurting other
neighboring users of the same groundwater aquifer. If you hurt them they can
sue you.
State permit
systems:
Get a permit from the State
Engineer based on safe yield of aquifer and reasonable use and future
estimates of demand.
Most other States Including Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Arkansas,
Oregon, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Florida use this method.
Special Case:
Utah is somewhat unique in that most water was divided up by the Mormon
(LDS) Church prior to statehood in 1890.
So water rights law suites are rare.
Interstate
Rights & Conflicts.
All water laws (except inter-state compacts) in the US are made by
state legislatures.
What happens when a river flows through several states?
If the states can agree a compact (an agreement) dividing up
the water that has the force of law is negotiated. Usually the U.S. Congress
passes the compact as a federal law and the Federal courts interpret disputes.
A compact list
of compacts:
Examples of Rivers with compacts: Red, Sabine, Rio Grande, Colorado.
This can still cause problems:
Example: Colorado River compact and Arizona Vs. California.
International
disputes:
There is no real means short of war or treaties based on horse-trading
of resolving international water disputes.
Examples of disputes: Danube River Dam, Rhine River Pollution.
U.S. Mexico Disputes: Colorado River, Alamo River and Rio Grande.
Biggest future headache: the Middle East.
Lec 23. Floods!
Floods through
history:
Most civilizations have traditions of great floods.
Noah, Legend of Gilgamish
This is because most early civilizations were located on flood plains.
The Indus Valley, Mesopotamia and Yellow River (Chinese) civilizations were
very flood prone. The Egyptian civilization less so.
Why?
From the Epic
of Gilgamesh Circa 2500 B.C.
Once the Gods destroyed Shuruppah in a great flood
six days and nights
a south storm swept the land
on the seventh day the city was gone.
More Recent
history:
California (Central Valley) 1867, 1996.
Johnstown, PA 1880's, 1920.
Ohio and Mississippi 1903, 1916, 1928.
China: Yellow R. 1930's, Yangtze 1998.
Florence, Italy 1962.
Bangladesh 1970's.
Hurricane Agnes 1973.
Mississippi (middle portion) 1993 (largest).
Types of
floods:
Regional Floods Versus Local.
Flash floods versus longer duration floods.
Dam collapse.
Storm surge from hurricanes.
Flash Floods
Usually in arid or semi-arid areas
Mountainous areas
Small basins
Thunderstorms usual source.
Examples: Nelson Wash flood 1969.
Rapid City South Dakota Flood 1973.
Regional Flood
Examples:
Spring floods rainfall + snowmelt (1928 all along the Mississippi),
1962 flood in California,
Snowmelt: Reno Nevada, Salt Lake City Utah 1984, and Midwest 1995.
Wet summer (monsoon) Arizona 1992, Middle Mississippi River 1993.
Flood due to inland hurricane: Hurricane Agnes.
Coastal Flood from hurricane storm surge Galveston, Camille, Cyclones
in Bangladesh.
Dam Collapse
Johnstown PA 1887
San Francisquito Canyon 1927
Buffalo Creek 1973
Teton Dam Wyoming 1990.
Italian Alps (landslide into lake) 1990.
Local Floods:
Local floods involve a single area or river:
Flash flood/ debris flow: Montrose CA, 1928, Cartago Costa Rica,
1950.
Flash flood in River Gorge: Big Thompson River Colorado.
Flood due to dam collapse: Johnstown, Buffalo Creek.
Locally heavy rainfall: Flood at Lake Livingston, Rapid City, South
Dakota.
Global
examples:
Flooding in South-east Asia Now.
Cyclonic storms in Bay of Bengal 1970
Mozambique flooding 2000
Chinese Floods of 1999.
Italian Flooding of 1962
Impact of
floods:
Water exerts tremendous force: Force increases exponentially with
velocity.
Examples: Collapse of San Francisquito Dam, Buffalo Creek.
Low water crossings: Drive fast or slow?
Water can reshape the landscape:
Examples: Missoula flood, debris flows.
Floods strip topsoil, cause siltation and undermine roads, wash away
bridges and otherwise damage human property.
Why I like
floods
Floods have a mixed ecological impact.
Existence of rich soils is usually associated with flooding in past.
Floods that are not channelized inundate swamps and create beaches
& backwaters where fish spawn.
Example: Grand Canyon.
Most animals can adapt to floods.
Structural
flood control measures include:
Levees & Channelization.
Dredging.
Debris basins &
Retention basins
Dams & Weirs.
Gabions & Rip-rap.
Sills & Terraces.
Non-structural
solutions:
Controls on land use.
Changes in disaster and flood insurance.
Contour plowing and conservation tillage.
Promotion of riparian vegetation.
Creation of wetlands and backwaters.
Creation of green-belts/floodway parks.
But pressure for human use grows:
Example: LA River Freeway.
Flood
Parameters:
Design of flood control structures depends on estimation of
rain-fall/run-off relationships, response time of basins and recurrence
interval of storms events exceeding a given size.
For entire basins it is complex since these parameters must be used along
with estimates of spring (or other seasonal) run-off. Also hydrographs for
various flows and inputs from various parts of the system must be included.
Example: TRA & Lake Livingston.
Flood
Prediction:
Rainfall gages.
Snow course surveys.
Radar.
Rainfall-run-off models.
Hydraulic Models.
GIS.
You aint seen
nuthin yet
Are floods worsening?
Given only 50-100 years of data it is hard to say, but it appears that
frequency of peak flows exceeding a given level is becoming more common.
Especially, the decade of the 1990's has seen many record-breaking
floods.
Possible reasons: Oscillations in climate, change in climate, and
change in landuse.
CONCLUSION:
Certainly for any given flood magnitude, the impacts are likely to be
worse as more and more people occupy land particularly in flood plains.
Therefore, the need to balance development with finding a place for floodwaters
to go and controlling land use in flood plains is more important than ever.
Lec. 24.
Droughts.
What is a
drought?
A Flood can be clearly defined by reference of water level in a river,
called the stage. Flood stage is a measure of stage above the banks.
In contrast, a drought is less quantified. A definition could be:
Definition:
A prolonged period of below average precipitation.
Specific definitions for given river basins exist: average flow for
months of Jan-June at point x on Sacramento River is less than 75% of average
for all recorded flows.
How dry is dry:
Regional & Climatic Factors and water management methods can influence
occurrence of droughts.
Examples: California, is drought prone and susceptible to prolonged
droughts Nevada, is less susceptible since so arid. West Texas is more drought
prone but may be less susceptible to impacts than Central Texas or East Texas.
2 months of low precipitation in England or east coast can cause
emergency.
Historic
Droughts:
West 1870's Rain follows the plow Not!
Dust bowl 1930's.
Sahel 1970's-1980's.
California: 1870's, 1901-05, 51-57, 85-91.
Texas 52-57 (the time in never rained)
Massachusetts, summer 1993.
Texas, South-west 1995-1996,
1999-2000.
Impacts of
droughts:
Crop failure.
Grazing problems.
City water supplies.
Loss of stream flow & decline in quality.
Wildlife impacts.
Erosion of soils (dust storms).
Case I: Or How
I Survived the Great California Drought:
South Coast area of California 1985-1992:
Statistics: Precipitation: average 19 inches rainfall/yr, up to 45 in.
in watershed of Lake Cachuma.
Rainfall 1985: 12 inches, 1986: 14 inches, 1987: 11 inches, 1988, 9
inches, 1989: 7 inches, 1990: 11 inches, 1991: 14 inches,
1992: 27 inches.
Sources of
Water:
Water supply total use 120,000 acre-feet per year for area with 250,000
people, some agriculture.
Sources: groundwater supplies 40,000 AF, Lake Gibraltar capacity 22,000
AF, Lake Cachuma capacity 300,000 AF. No other sources.
Hydrologic
Impact:
All streams and rivers ceased flowing including Santa Ynez (typical
flow 500 CFS). By 1989 Lake Gibraltar dry, by 1991 Lake Cachuma at 10% of
capacity. Arson fire in 1991 destroys 580 homes, numerous trees die.
Societal
Impact:
Plants began to die.
Cafιs quit serving water.
People began to steel water from each other.
Car washes, laundro-mats raise prices then quit business.
My wife rented a room (for $250/mo) her landlord insisted: 1 load of
laundry per week, no showers (bath water reused) dont you dare flush the
toilet
Policy
Responses.
Drought emergency regulations: in 1985 stage 1 no lawn
watering before dark.
1987 Stage 2. No sprinklers, low flow showerheads, toilets, no new
water meters.
1989 Stage 3 No watering with hose (only bucket), Water rates doubled
for consumption above 50% of pre-drought level, car washes Laundromats closed,
apartments install water meters in each unit.
Engineering
Responses I:
Grey water project $8 million to pipe treated sewage water to golf
course, problem that TDS level is high tends to kill grass, requires extra
water to wash accumulate salts from soil also conservation increases the solids
content of sewage making plant operations very difficult.1987-1991,
Engineering
Responses II:
Desalination plant 1992. Designed to yield 10,000 acre-feet per year
capital cost of $30 million operating costs of $10 million. Compare with
Cachuma water sold to city for $33 per acre-foot.
Only operated for 2 months since costs high quality low and reservoirs
full when brought on line.
Only in
California?
Crackpot solutions: Icebergs, super-water tankers.
Pave it and paint it green: Some lawns spray-painted.
Some developers waste water to change zoning.
Millionaires fight billionaires over water usage or King Simon vs. the
little people
Lawyers have a busy time or you are taking more than your 17/256th
share, so we sue.
Indirect
effects:
Drought devastated wildlife.
By June 28 1992 drought had set stage for worst wildfire in Santa
Barbara History (the Painted Cave Fire)
Case II: Drying
up Mono Lake 1940-1982.
Large Saline lake in closed basin east of Yosemite.
High Altitude. Had fish in Ice age and as recently as 1860's, but lake
levels have fallen several hundred feet since then.
Have brine shrimp and brine flies. Huge sea gull population and other
migrating water fowl.
Wizard Island.
Man at
mono-lake:
In 1940 L.A. diverted
4 of 5 feeder streams (75,000 acre feet per year out of 90,000).
Lake level down is
now 75 feet.
Wizard Island
connected to mainland in 1977.
Anger over Murder of
Mono Lake leads to bombings other eco-terrorism in 1977-1978 drought.
Catastrophic event
predicted by scientists when TDS exceeds 65,000 PPM.
Successful lawsuit
due to release of trout into Rush Creek in 1982.
Now lake level is
recovering, diversions reduced by 50%.
Saving
Mono-lake:
Save Mono lake campaign with committee bumper stickers etc.
Forest service protects watershed as a natural area
Lawsuit forces LADWP to cut diversions by 50%. Due to reestablishment
of interpretation of Calif. Fish and Game Act.
Case III: Edgewood, Texas 1995-1996:
History. Small town (1,500) entirely dependent on small municipal
reservoir with 500 acre foot capacity. No wells due to salinity of water. SRA
warns city of peril as early as 1970's, reservoir very low in mid 80's.
Drought responses.
Drought begun in winter 1995 lasts until Aug 1996, total deficit in
rainfall about 12 inches out of 24. Reservoir dries by late July. TWDB spends
$25 million of state funds to build emergency pipeline to Lake Tawokani
Impacts. Water rationing begun June, Tanker trucks needed in July as
quality deteriorates.
Same thing happened in Throckmorton, Texas in 2000.
Lessons?
Santa Barbara had warnings of water shortage by USGS in 1892, built
Gibraltar reservoir 1922, by 1950's running low, built Cachuma 1957's. By
1970's running low, choose not to build aqueduct to limit growth.
Drought produces conservation measures and poor engineering projects.
Inaction is not
a solution.
Edgewood (Throckmorton, less
so) avoided building needed pipeline due to weak, incompetent local government.
Wanted growth, but did not want to burden taxpayers with related costs.
Prayed for rain but made no conservation efforts. Last minute pipeline, State
paid more than for a permanent one not built at last moment.
How many other Edgewoods are there?
Drought control
methods:
Rainmakers.
Cloud seeding.
Conjunctive water management.
Multiple sources.
Conservation.
Wastewater/ greywater reuse.
Desalinization.
Are Droughts
becoming more common?
Probably, yes. Vulnerability certainly is.
Darwin: The jungles came before man, the deserts after
Climate change.
Desertification.
Increasing urban and agricultural water demand not matched by supply.
Lec. 25.
Hydrology & GIS.
What is a GIS?
A group of computer programs to store, analyze and out-put maps and
reports about geographic features linked to descriptive attribute data.
Stored in co-registered layers.
Supports many types of modeling and spatial analysis.
Water Resources Applications:
Infrastructure management (piping, pressure, service areas, billing,
etc).
Environmental impact assessment.
Watershed study & protection
Water quality analysis
Groundwater management & modeling.
Allocation & administration of water rights.
Infrastructure
management
Map & manage piping (where are your underground assets)
Determine pressures and losses within system
Establish service areas
Track billing, etc.
Environmental
impact assessment.
Look at impact of water resources development projects.
Study pipeline corridor alignment & routes
Determine environmental impacts of groundwater withdrawals
See area to be inundated by reservoirs.
Watershed study
& protection.
Use GIS to delineate watershed boundaries
Use data on soils, slopes, rainfall/run-off, and land-use to predict
water quality impacts from non-point source pollution and manage erosion.
Flood mapping.
FEMA program.
Other projects.
Issues: contour interval.
Accumulation of floodwaters.
Use of remotely sensed imagery.
Water quality
analysis.
Take data on soils, landuse locations and types of pollution
Develop model of water quality impacts from both point & non-point
sources.
Adjust land-use and treatment
plant locations and hydrologic parameters to decide how best to manage
receiving body water quality.
Allocation &
administration of water rights.
Input Hydrography, flow
information, with drawl points existing water rights and criteria such as
in-stream flow requirements
Use network models and spatial optimization
Allocate water among competing users.
Groundwater
management & modeling.
Put in data about soils geology, recharge discharge, wells and aquifers
Establish a model of an aquifer
(using modflow)
Determine impact of pumping on water levels in aquifer over many years
and simulate various scenarios such as artificial recharge or reduced
agricultural pumping.
Examples:
Las Vegas Water District Infrastructure management
Southern Nevada Water Authority Cooperative Water Project
Other examples:
Big Darby Creek Watershed Study
Central Valley of California Water Resources Decision Support System.
Albuquerque NM groundwater study.
HYDROLOGY
LECTURE 26: THE ROLE OF WATER IN ECOSYSTEMS:
Waters Role in
the Environment.
Water plays a key role is sustaining all organisms. But human
activities can drastically affect rivers and lakes.
Water provides habitats.
Some impacts of human use and development are beneficial, some are
detrimental.
WATER IS LIFE!
All known life depends on the presence of liquid water.
In the
beginning
Life evolved in a warm liquid and mildly saline environment is still
needed to provide an environment for cell growth. Our blood is such an
environment.
This environment can be external or for terrestrial animals has been
created inside their bodies.
Muy seco is muy
murte!
Absence of liquid water implies an absence of life:
Examples:
Dry Valleys in Antarctica,
Devils golf course.
Habitat types:
Life can survive in the thin film of water absorbed on soil particles:
Deep microorganisms.
In the greatest depths of the sea: Deep-sea vents.
In near-boiling hot springs: Iceland
In the driest deserts: Kalahari.
Mucho Agua
mucho viva.
But where water and warmth are abundant life is prolific
Examples:
Tropical rain forests
Estuaries
Coral Reefs.
Aquatic
Ecology:
Food chains or web?
Productivity.
Human Impacts
of Aquatic Ecosystems
Loss of flow.
Pollution
Acid Rain
Dams
Forestry
Fishing
Man is an
integral part of nature and natural ecosystems.
Humans and their activities are a part of the complex web of aquatic
life
Man can have a beneficial or detrimental impact.
Loss of Flow:
Examples:
Bruneau River,
Owens River,
Pecos River.
Aquatic
pollution & life.
Water pollution can affect aquatic life in a number of ways.
Biological oxygen demand BOD is a measure of the ability of an organic waste
to use up dissolved oxygen (DO). Raw sewage has a high BOD. High BOD
will mean low DO and hence death of higher organisms likes fish.
Forestry &
siltation:
Timber harvesting can clog streams with sediment interfering with
spawning.
Dam dams
Water resource
projects can impact
Wildlife and
ecosystems both positively and
Negatively.
Are blamed for
destruction of salmon runs
In Pacific Northwest.
Not all bad:
Not all impacts are negative: Creation of lakes has greatly increased
Bald Eagle habitat.
Which do you prefer, Gar or Striped Bass, White bass or paddlefish?
Spawn no more:
Dams can cut off spawning runs:
Examples:
-
Colombia/Snake River Salmon run.
Dammed Beavers
Humans are not only beings that construct dams.
So do large rodents called beavers
Beaver dams can have a major impact on ecosystems.
They create ponds and ultimately meadows.
Riparian Zones
In arid areas Riparian Zones are critical habitat.
Loss of surface water flows due to groundwater overdraft and/or
diversion can shrink or eliminate these zones.
Wetlands
Wetlands provide: detention storage of flood waters thus reducing flood
damage,
Recharge of groundwater aquifers,
Input of nutrients into aquatic environments,
Break-down of harmful water pollutants
Habitat for development of fish and aquatic species.
Status:
About 50% of all wetlands in U.S. have been drained mostly lost to
farmland and now urbanization.
Loss rate has declined and some
wetlands have been restored or even created.
Protection:
Wetlands are recognized as a resource not something to be dreaded or
drained.
Protected by section 404 of Clean Water Act also somewhat by NEPA.
National Wetlands Inventory program in National Biological Survey to
map wetlands.
Requirement for COE permit and possible mitigation and/or banking.
Source of controversy.
Case studies of
aquatic life:
Ash Meadows,
Boulder Creek,
Lake Eire,
Galveston Bay.
Ash Meadows, Nevada.
Area of springs and pools on edge of Death Valley in Western Nevada,
home of 22 species found no where else.
Including 3 Fish, a toad and a beetle.
Devils hole is nearby, Karstic
Fossil water
Agricultural development and sun city death valley
Now part of National Park.
Habitat restored: a home for the riffle beetle...
Boulder
Creek/Green River.
Large stream in Wind Rivers Mountains of Wyoming.
Starts at 12,000 feet with snow melt flows into Green River at 7,000
feet.
Has hundreds of alpine lakes in drainage also fills large terminal
moraine lake (Boulder Lake) at 8,000-foot level.
Life in Boulder
Creek:
Golden Trout above
9,000 feet.
Cold, high velocity has Cutthroat Trout (Native).
Small side streams
have Brook Trout.
Many Rainbow Trout
(very adaptable).
Slow areas: Brown
Trout.
Lake has Kokanee
Salmon and Lake Trout (to 40 lbs).
Grayling in Scab
Creek drainage.
Most food is aquatic,
some terrestrial insects. Many high lakes can freeze-out are a harsh
environment.
Lower portion has
been degraded due to overgrazing and bank erosion and water withdrawals
for ranches.
Lake Erie:
Large Fresh Water Lake.
Cuyahoga river (the one that caught fire in 1968) and many rivers in
the rust belt empty into smallest of the Great Lakes.
The death of Lake Erie was predicted.
Also Lampreys were introduced.
Toxic levels of DDT, PCBs and mercury on many fish.
Saving Lake
Erie:
Clean water act of 1970 and ban on some toxins began recovery.
Coho Salmon were introduced.
Program to block spawning of lamprey with electroshocking and rotenone
has succeeded.
However, other threats remain High levels of toxins in some bottom fish
and the Zebra Mussel.
Galveston Bay.
Trinity, & San
Jacinto Rivers empty into the commercial shipping hub of Texas.
Mixing of nutrients
and salt with fresh water leads to high productivity.
Problems: Lower
inflows of fresh water.
Pollution from
channel industries, (MOTCO), oil spills.
Too much or too
little sediment.
Oyster beds and
shrimp harvest down, drum and bottom fish contaminated.
Dredging is a mixed
blessing but disposal of dredge spoils is a problem.
Lec 28. Water
Resources Issues & Opportunities.
Two paths: Wise
use or exploitation.
Exploitation: Take all the resource with little or no concern for
impact on environment: Example Owens Valley, California.
Wise use balance needs against long tern impact, use many methods
including development, conservation and preservation.
Exploitation: Owens
Valley
Mountain rimed deepest valley in America. 250 miles northeast of L.A.
Tapped in 1900s for LA municipal water.
Water rights acquired surreptitiously.
Ignited a water war, which LA won.
2nd aqueduct in 70s to tap groundwater.
Now 95% of Valley is a water colony.
Wise use of
water
Is needed since lack of planning can lead to crisis. Example: Edgewood,
Texas.
But it is difficult since costs are high and interests are entrenched,
but planning for future is essential or.
Ben Franklins observation
that We only learn the true value water when the well runs dry
will be
proved right once again.
Conservation:
In agriculture switch to drip irrigation or low water use crops,
In industry recycle water,
In domestic supply switch to xerascape plants, low flow toilets
and shower hears, reuse grey water.
Wastewater recycling is increasing. Example: Phoenix, AZ.
AGRICULTURAL
WATER CONSERVATION.
Many conservation methods available:
- Drip irrigation,
- irrigation scheduling,
- replacement crops,
- abandonment of land to
native plants.
Magnitude of
Potential Agricultural Conservation:
Agriculture can probably same 10% at no net cost and 30% without
reduction in production. Since agriculture uses 50%-90% of the water in each
state this saving is huge. Unfortunately no incentives exist in most cases.
Example: All American Canal project.
Domestic
Conservation
Residential water use can be cut 30% painlessly: Low flow toilets (1.6
vs. 5 gal) fix leaks, mist shower heads, replace grass with rock, etc.
Low flow toilets and showerheads,
Xerascape, Reuse of greywater.
Changes in behavior:
Bumper stickers: Do
Not Wash! Scientific Dirt Test in Progress & Conserve Water: or
Take a shower with a
Friend!
Industrial
conservation.
Pollution control rules have caused industry to discharge less/recycle
more
Some areas like ship channel have switched sources from groundwater to
surface water.
Some industries have sold water rights.
Some industries have reengineered
Example: Miller Brewing Co.
Water
Conservation Examples.
Example Mirage hotel uses only 300 acre-feet per year. Less than a
mid-sized farm.
Recycles greywater, pumps perched groundwater and treats it with
reverse osmosis. Uses xerascaping in some areas drip irrigation in others.
Wheeling
Water
Wheeling is transferring a water right.
Usually this involves transfer from agriculture to urban users in the
same state.
However, sometimes urban users have paid for conservation measures and
taken the water that was saved.
Example Imperial Irrigation District/MWD.
Why is water
conservation not more common?
Conservation methods cost $.
Water is cheaper than dirt, so conservation is economically
unattractive.
Some uses are more economically rewarding than others.
Example: irrigated pasture.
Drainage problems:
Avoid salinazation with drains.
Tile drains or extra water causes problems: Example: Kesterton.
Irrigation strips nutrients and toxic compounds from soil so water
conservation helps to preserve soil & reduce water pollution.
New sources of
water:
Good quality surface water sources are generally already used to a high
degree. Only by taking away water from one group can additional surface water
supplies be developed in most local areas (particularly in the arid areas of
the country)
Groundwater to
the rescue?
Groundwater resources are accounting for an increasing proportion of
water supply and there are largely untapped aquifers in many areas, but
contamination and overdraft remain a threat.
However, conservation is the cheapest new source of water.
Not out of
my basin
Inter-basin transfers are possible, but very controversial. Examples of
proposals include:
San Luis Valley, Peripheral Canal, Trans-Texas Project, NAWAPA.
Will Lake Superior make Minnesota the richest state in the country? Not
likely.
Other new
sources:
Seawater desalinization not economically practical at present. Saline
water treatment is marginal. Example: Clay Thorne and his Tar.
Competing
users:
For many years the agricultural (usually up-stream) water users and the
urban (usually down-stream water users) were able to reach agreement to have
the Federal Government pay for massive water development projects.
This alliance has ended for several reasons:
Why consensus
on building water projects is over:
Environmental activism and laws have restricted and delayed projects.
The Federal Government is cutting back on special interest pork
barrel projects.
The best projects have been done.
There is no extra water in many areas.
This means that as in the cases of the Colorado Rivers in both Texas
and the Southwest urban areas are fighting with farmers over the same limited
resource.
Avoiding a
zero-sum game
Creative ways to avoid a zero sum game where peter steals from
Paul to pay Peggy must be found.
Outdated laws will have to change.
Water laws were designed in a time when there was plenty of water and
limited technology to capture and transport water.
Also, the behavior of water, particularly groundwater was poorly
understood.
Let
hydrologists not lawyers make laws and regulations:
Things like absolute rights to percolating water in some
states and legal creations with no relationship to reality like the bright
Line doctrine in Arizona.
Now more states are instituting comprehensive state permitting for all
water rights, that prioritizes uses based on highest and best use and
guarantees things like in-stream flows and municipal water supply.
Unfortunately, cooperation between states and across large diverse
states like Texas and California is still largely absent.
Incentives
work
Incentives to conserve water must be developed so water rights are not
a use it or loose it proposition.
International
conflicts:
Conflicts over water in the Middle East, in developed countries and
arid areas will grow.
Rivers often form borders.
Example Danube Dam and Jordan Rivers.
Also, pollution originating in one nation may impact downstream
countries.
Dams may require relocation of many people.
United Nations writes many reports but has almost no power.
Global Climate
change.
The climate is changing; it always has changed, sometimes very
gradually, sometimes dramatically.
If the green-house effect is real, then the principal early
effect of warming of the atmosphere will be a change in weather patterns, only
later will massive melting of ice caps and much hotter weather is obvious.
Is global
warming inevitable?
Unfortunately, slowing the release of CO2 and methane requires a
drastic change in reliance on fossil fuels. This implies a slowing of economic
growth particularly in the developing countries now discovering the joys of air
conditioning, cars, etc.
Who can force this to happen? - Effectively nobody.
So if the greenhouse effect is happening it will get far worse before
it can be reversed.
OPPORTUNITIES:
Opportunities for further study in water related areas are limited at
SHSU. There is a water quality course in ES.
The best hydrology courses in Texas are in the civil engineering
department at UT, A& M and geology
at Baylor.
Graduate programs in hydrology specifically exist at The University of
Arizona, University of Colorado, University of Washington, University of
California campuses at Davis and Santa Barbara.
Careers.
Most people working in surface water hydrology are civil engineers or
have no actual training in the area but gravitated to those jobs.
Most people working in the area of groundwater hydrology are
geologists.
In aquatic ecosystem management, wetlands work, etc most professionals
are biologists.
Usually, these people have never actually had a course on hydrology. So
they get OJT.
Other
opportunities:
There are entry-level opportunities with the river authorities, with
water conservation districts and with environmental consulting firms. Much of
this is either fieldwork or writing and assembling environmental impact reports
(EIRs) and other reports required by the Government.
What you can
do:
Examples of conservation measures include:
Low flow toilets (1.5-2.5 not 5 gal per flush), low flow showerheads,
detecting and fixing leaks, sprinkler timers, drip irrigation, xerascape.
40% domestic conservation can be achieved with no real changes in
lifestyle.
Texas watch
& Urban Watch Programs
These are water quality monitoring programs sponsored by Texas natural
resources conservation commission (TNRCC or train wreck) and the river
authorities.
The Trinity River authority TRA can give you more info.
Citizen volunteers are giver a testing kit and training and the intent
is to detect water pollution at alert regulatory agencies.
Recreation.
Water is a wonderful resource. We are blessed with abundant
opportunities to get out and enjoy it whether tubing, rafting, boating, fishing
or just enjoying the local river or lake.
Final thought:
Wise use and a scientific understanding of water resources can protect
and promote not only recreation related water resources but provide the basis
for a healthy natural environment and a harvest of benefits for man.