WaterWired

AWRA Annual Conference: A Dilly in Philly

Major shill alert! I am now in Philadelphia for the AWRA annual conference. It'll be another great show, and there is still time to get here.

Here are links to the final program and proceedings (click on the presentation title to access the abstract).

Download AWRA_Proof_2010Philadelphia_FP

I am on the 3oth floor of the Loews Philadelphia Hotel with an impressive view of the Delaware River (mean freshwater discharge into the estuary: 11,550 cfs or 330 cubic meters per second or 8.5 MAF per year).

 The Port of Philadelphia is the 23rd busiest in the USA in terms of container volume and 24th in terms of total tonnage. And it claims to be the number 1 perishables port in the USA. In terms of tonnage it is the 12oth busiest port in the world.

The combined ports along the Delaware River, which include Philadelphia and Wilmington, together rank number 3 in the USA  for steel imports, and are among the nation’s key entry points for forest products and cocoa.

The city is also home to the Fairmount Water Works, the USA's first municipal waterworks. It was built on the banks of the Schuylkill River and opened in 1822. It was removed from service in 1909 and is now a tourist site. We will visit it this Wdnesday night. Read this report, The History of Philadelphia's Water Supply and Sanitation System.

Here is a picture I took from the top floor of my hotel, looking towards downtown. The Fairmount is way in the background, right in the center of the picture, on the banks of the river behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art -  light-colored building with the columns in the center (with the famous 'Rocky steps').

 

I was hoping to be seeing a World Series between the Phillies and the Yankees, but alas, it was not to be. Not that I would have been able to get tockets, however. The last time I was here I saw a Philadelphia Flyers hockey game in the soon-to-be-dismantled Spectrum. At the time, the Flyers were in their 'Broad Street Bullies' phase. As a New York Rangers fan I was lucky to escape with my life. I was so shaken by the experience that it has taken me almost forty years to return. 

But I am glad to be back. It's a neat city.

"All things considered, I’d rather be in Philadelphia.” - often cited as W.C. Fields' epitaph, although this is myth.

Out of Bounds: New Mexico Appeals Court Upholds Domestic Well Law

Note added on 26 July 2013: On 25 July 2013 the New Mexico Supreme Court upheld the New Mexico Appeals Court decision, ruling that the state's domestic (exempt) well statute is constitutional. Read more here, where you will find a link to the opinion. 

I've posted twice on the Bounds case (18 July 2008; and 18 February 2010). The case involves a claim against the State Engineer for allowing domestic (aka 'exempt') wells without considering the possible impairment of senior water rights in a fully appropriated basin.

Here is what I wrote last February:

In July 2008 I posted about the Bounds decision in which a state judge in New Mexico struck down that state's law allowing the drilling of domestic wells without a permit or water right - so-called 'exempt' wells. The ruling applied only to Luna, Hidalgo, and Grant counties in the southwest portion of the state.

 Although it applied only to three counties, it was quite a stunning decision, not just in New Mexico, but throughout the West.

 

The case is finally coming before the New Mexico Court of Appeals, which will hear an oral argument on 22 February 2010.

 

Well, the Court of Appeals reached a decision yesterday and it has upheld the state's domestic well statute, so the State Engineer can continue to allow domestic wells without requiring a water right and without considering possible impairment effects.

 

Here is a PDF of the decision: Download Bounds v San Lorenzo FO

 

For those concerned with the effects and proliferation of exempt wells, this is not good news, even though the original decision applied only to three rural counties. It'll be interesting to see if the decision is appealed to the New Mexico Supreme Court. I'd like to see an appeal.

 

Some might argue that this decision is appropriate, as it comes right before Halloween.  

 

Trick or treat, anyone?

 

Things may have changed since I left New Mexico in mid-2006, but I recall that the State Engineer wanted the legislature to give him the authority to regulate domestic wells. He wanted the statutory authority to do so, but the legislature never could muster the inclination to do so. Maybe the legislators will get the message now.

 

 Thanks to Conci Bokum for sending this my way.

 

Although I've used it before, there is only quote that is apropos:

 

"Every calculation, based on experience elsewhere, fails in New Mexico." -- Gen. Lew Wallace, New Mexico Territorial Governor, in a letter to his wife, 1878.   

Another New IWA Publication: Journal of Water and Climate Change

The International Water Association (IWA) has recently unveiled a new journal, Journal of Water and Climate Change. The inaugural issue is available now.

This goes along with IWA's  Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development  that will debut in 2011 and is said to be the only peer-reviwed journal devoted to WaSH in developing regions. Its Editor-in-Chief is Jamie Bartram, formerly of WHO, who directs the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Water Institute.

I learned of these new journals from IWA's North American Director, Kristina Kohler, who participated in a workshop hosted by our Universities WaSH Initiative at the UNC-Chapel Hill's Networking Weekend on 23-24 October 2010, held in conjunction with UNC's conference.

My wife Mary Frances, a librarian, was unimpressed, uttering something like, 'Just what we need - more journals.'

"Climate is all about water." -- Anonymous US government science official

The Oregon Water Conference 2011: Evaluating and Managing Water Resources in a Climate of Uncertainty

Come to sunny Oregon next May!

 Download Call_for_Abstracts_OR_Water_Conf_2011                                          

       The Oregon Water Conference 2011
           Evaluating and Managing Water Resources   in a Climate of Uncertainty

May 24-25, 2011
CH2M Hill Alumni Center
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 

 Convened by:

Oregon Section, American Water Resources Association
Oregon Section, American Institute of Hydrology

Introduction
Oregon and the rest of the Pacific Northwest face an uncertain water future. Not only will the  climate itself be uncertain, but also the political, social, legal, economic and regulatory climates. What will climate change produce in the way of hydroecological changes? How much will population change, perhaps fueled by climate refugees, stress our water resources? What will the regulatory climate embody? Will a revised Columbia River Treaty with Canada encompass more than power generation and flood control? Do we need a Columbia Basin Compact to cope with future shortages? Will the area see more in the way of regional water management agencies, perhaps straddling state lines? Can the prior appropriation doctrine adapt to the future? Will exempt wells remain ‘exempt’? Do we know how much water will be available?

Topics
We welcome abstracts for oral or poster presentations that address the aforementioned and other issues dealing with the uncertain future climate of water resources in Oregon and the PNW. Abstracts are sought for, but not limited to, the following topics:

• Columbia River Treaty
• Water Quality
• Hydrologic Modeling
• Groundwater
• Surface Water
• Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)
• Urban Hydrology
• Ecosystem Services and Marketing
• Dam Removal
• Water Storage Options
• Climate Change Effects
• Oregon’s Integrated Water Resources Strategy
• Data Needs
• Intergovernmental Relations
• Ecohydrology
• Emerging Issues and Contaminants
• Ecosystem Restoration
• Water Resource Economics
• Legal and Institutional Issues
• Agricultural Issues
• Water Availability
• Water and Wastewater Treatment
• Recycling, Reuse, and Conservation
• Aquatic Invasive Species 

Papers will not be required. All presenters must pay the conference registration fee. Abstract submission instructions will follow shortly. 

 Abstract due date: 15 January 2011

 Students: There will be awards for best student oral and poster presentations.

 Want to Convene a Special Session or Panel Discussion? Contact Technical Co-Chair Jim Ruff ([email protected])

 Questions? Contact Michael E. Campana ([email protected]) or Jim Ruff ([email protected])

 Sponsorship Opportunities are available: breaks, receptions, keynote speakers, lunches, etc. Contact Michael E. Campana ([email protected]; 1 541 602 4085).

Conference WWW site is forthcoming!

See You at the Oregon Water Event of the Year!

 Download Call_for_Abstracts_OR_Water_Conf_2011

Hirsch on: Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, Season (WRTDS) - Application to Chesapeake Bay River Inputs

I am wrapping up a two-day DC meeting of the NRC's NAWQA Committee and ran into USGS hydrologist extraordinaire Bob Hirsch at breakfast this norning. Bob has  often been mentioned in these pages and when it comes to hydrology he's one of the smartest persons in the room. [Shill alert!]

Bob alerted me to a paper in the current issue (October 2010) of the AWRA's flagship journal, JAWRA that deals with a new approach to surface-water quality data.Given that Bob has long been looking at water quality time series, he joked that the current paper was 'Hirsch criticizing Hirsch's previous work.'

Here is a pdf: Download Hirsch_JAWRA
(Note: this paper is open source so I am not engaging in copyright infringement,)

Here are the citation and abstract:

Hirsch, Robert M., Douglas L. Moyer, and Stacey A. Archfield, 2010. Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS), With an Application to Chesapeake Bay River Inputs. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(5):857-880. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00482.x

Abstract: A new approach to the analysis of long-term surface water-quality data is proposed and implemented. The goal of this approach is to increase the amount of information that is extracted from the types of rich water-quality datasets that now exist. The method is formulated to allow for maximum flexibility in representations of the long-term trend, seasonal components, and discharge-related components of the behavior of the water-quality variable of interest. It is designed to provide internally consistent estimates of the actual history of concentrations and fluxes as well as histories that eliminate the influence of year-to-year variations in streamflow. The method employs the use of weighted regressions of concentrations on time, discharge, and season. Finally, the method is designed to be useful as a diagnostic tool regarding the kinds of changes that are taking place in the watershed related to point sources, groundwater sources, and surface-water nonpoint sources. The method is applied to datasets for the nine large tributaries of Chesapeake Bay from 1978 to 2008. The results show a wide range of patterns of change in total phosphorus and in dissolved nitrate plus nitrite. These results should prove useful in further examination of the causes of changes, or lack of changes, and may help inform decisions about future actions to reduce nutrient enrichment in the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed.

I believe Bob was here to discuss the application of this technique to Mississippi River water quality data.

Good stuff!

"[Chesapeake Bay is] an immense outdoor protein factory." -- H.L. Mencken