Dynamic Duo Deux: The Brenda & Alyssa Show - Oregon's Integrated Water Resources Strategy

On 16 December 2009, we had the inaugural meeting of the Oregon Section
of the AWRA. At that meeting the 'dynamic duo', Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) Director Phil Ward and his counterpart at the Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ), Dick Pedersen, gave an excellent tag-team presentation on Oregon's Integrated Water Resources Strategy (IWRS):

Download 2009-12-16-iwrs

Earlier this evening we had about 35 people listen to the 'dyanamic duo deux', Brenda O. Bateman and Alyssa Mucken, update the IWRS:

Download 2012_02_29 OR-AWRA v2

Here's the draft IWRS Framework:

Download 2011_December_Framework_updated_2_13_12

They made an excellent presentation, and emphasized that the IWRS is still in draft stage. If you'd like to make comments, join the email list, or see the suite of documents, visit the IWRS home.

Development of the IWRS is in excellent hands with these two. Brenda is a friend who is one of the sharpest knives in the drawer. I know her best for her tireless efforts as chair (since 2005) of AWRA's Policy Technical Committee, by far the most active among AWRA's committees. And Alyssa, whom I just met at the meeting, looks like she's cut from the same cloth.

Enjoy!

"Leaders establish the vision for the future and set the strategy for getting there." - John P. Kotter

Comments

[John DeVoe]

One of the early slides in this presentation uses a volumetric pie chart that claims to depict how much water is or is not diverted in Oregon. The slide ought not be part of this presentation for several reasons.

First, the numbers can't be accurate. Our stream gauge system is already woefully inadequate - and the people who manage it are being cut right this minute by the Oregon Legislature. Second, we fail to measure a good deal more than half of the water diverted in this state. Until Oregon implements a comprehensive stream gauging system and comprehensive measurement of water diversions, we really don't know how much water is or is not diverted in this state.

Third, these sorts of volumetric statements are pretty much meaningless to actual, real time conditions on a stream - in the dry season or otherwise.

Volumetric averages - as depicted in this slide - are generally used to suggest that there's plenty of water to store or divert, regardless of dry season conditions on streams or the importance of often unstudied and currently unprotected elevated flows.

The department ought to be more balanced and transparent and stick to data that matters in its presentations on the Strategy.