This 2016 report by the Renewable Natural Resources Foundation (RNRF) is based upon a meeting that was held in Washington, DC, in December 2015. Lots of people well-versed in Western Water attended, gave presentations, and wrote articles.
I have posted the Introduction below. The entire document is 35 pages.
It might be a bit dated, but then again, a little repetition might be helpful for perspective on today's issues.
Congress on Sustaining Western Water
Introduction
The past four years have seen extreme drought in the western United States with no relief in sight. While precipitation patterns in this region are highly variable, the National Climate Assessment predicts that drought trends will likely intensify over this century and beyond, with longer-term droughts anticipated. Nevertheless, population in the western states has increased rapidly, and the region continues to support significant agricultural production. Strategies for coping with drought have a long history in the region, but it will be a challenge to adapt and apply these strategies to severe projected droughts.
This report is a summary of the presentations, findings and recommendations of expert speakers and delegates present at the Renewable Natural Re- sources Foundation’s 2015 Congress on Sustaining Western Water. Profession- als from RNRF member organizations, and leaders from government, industry, academia and nonprofit organizations attended the meeting.
Summary of Presentations
Drought and Water Use in the Western United States
(The Western Water Landscape)Doug Parker, director of the Califor- nia Institute for Water Resources, provided an overview of historical water management and development in the West. Limited water availability de- fined settlement of the West, with re- gional growth reliant on the develop- ment of water infrastructure. Imbalances between water allocations deter- mined by a system of historic rights and actual water availability are managed with storage and conveyance systems. Drought and increasing water demands inhibit the ability of this highly engi- neered system to meet the needs of water rights holders and ecosystem needs. Projected climate change impacts will diminish water supplies throughout the region and undermine the ameliorative potential of storage reservoirs.
Legal Issues and Constraints on Western Water Resilience
Barton H. “Buzz” Thompson, Jr., Robert E. Paradise Professor of Natural Resources Law and Perry L. McCarthy Director of the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University, presented legal influences and con- straints on western water supplies and implications for resilience. Central tenets of water law are the doctrines of prior appropriation and beneficial use, which lend both security and inefficien- cy to the management of scarce water resources. While water law is ultimately state law, its regulation in the West is complicated by the proliferation of in- terstate rivers and the ensuing need to resolve interstate water disputes. Thompson argues that although there are many problems and inefficiencies in western water law, as applied, it has proven to be surprisingly flexible, adap- tive to new problems, and frequently ef- fective in facilitating solutions to water challenges. Statutory adjustments and negotiated agreements will continue to provide the paths forward in this evolving environment.
Pathways to Sustaining Western Water
Sustainable Water Use in the Arid Southwest
Sharon Megdal, director of the Wa- ter Resources Research Center at the University of Arizona, discussed the le- gal, institutional, and governance con- text of assessing potential solutions to water issues in the Southwest. The ex- tent of monitoring, data and regulatory mechanisms needed for sustainable wa- ter management and governance is vari- able and uncertain. Legal recognition of the connection between surface water and groundwater is necessary to manage water in a holistic and sustainable manner. Many challenges are technical, such as the failure or inability to mea- sure or monitor groundwater storage and use. Financing, research and dia- logue among water stakeholders are es- sential for continued progress toward sustainable water use. This region is a leader in the adoption of technological and management solutions, such as wa- ter reclamation, restrictions on water use, state-financed water infrastructure, and conditioning the approval of new development on the availability of water.
Sustainable Water Use in the Rocky Mountains
Reagan Waskom, director of the Colorado Water Institute at Colorado State University, discussed pathways to ensuring a sustainable water supply for people and the environment in the Rocky Mountain region. Rocky Mountain hydrology is highly dependent on snowmelt. Decreasing snowpack and shifts in melt season have implications for how the Colorado River Basin states manage water, particularly for meeting late-summer demand. Looking forward, storage will be an important part of how western states cope with climate change and precipitation changes.
The constrained hydrologic system of the Rocky Mountain states is further challenged by rapid population growth. States will face increasing pressure to shift water away from agriculture and/or increase supply with new diversions from nearby water sources.
Policy and institutional changes at all levels are necessary to promote the re- silience of water systems in the Rocky Mountains. Waskom highlighted sever- al key elements of an integrated re- sponse including water management practices, regulatory protections, data and information needs, planning and in- frastructure. Managing expectations is important, as sustainability is out of reach in many areas. For example, al- though there are efforts to construct and implement institutional mechanisms to prolong the life of the Ogallala Aquifer, a sustainable solution to overdraft remains out of grasp. As long at it remains profitable to pump groundwater, there is no economic incentive to transition back to dry-land farming in the High Plains.
Satisfying the full combination of hu- man demands, historic levels of agricul- tural water use, and requirements for healthy ecosystems into the future is probably impossible. Although society requires a robust and resilient food sys- tem, agriculture will not be able to compete with energy, industry, and municipalities for water in this region
California: Managing Groundwater for Drought, Clean Water, Food Security and Ecosystems
Thomas Harter, Robert M. Hagan Endowed Chair in Water Management and Policy and Cooperative Extension Specialist (Professor) in Groundwater Hydrology in the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources at the University of California, Davis, discussed pathways to sustaining water in California. Harter’s presentation focused on groundwater depletion and management issues in the state, where over 2,000 wells have run dry.
During the past four years of drought, massive amounts of groundwater have been pumped from California’s aquifers (particularly in the Central V alley) to make up for lack of surface water. Aquifer water levels are significantly lower than they have ever been during the 20th Century. Unsustainable pumping has permitted California farmers to sustain production without large price spikes. Consequences of this groundwater overdraft include saltwater intrusion, increased cost of obtaining water, land subsidence, water quality degradation, and ecosystem impacts. Approximately eight miles of saltwater intrusion has oc- curred in the Salinas V alley aquifer north of Monterey, California. Land subsidence has in many instances per- manently impaired future aquifer capacity.
In response to these and other impacts, California enacted the Sustain- able Groundwater Management Act in 2014 to promote local and long-term sustainable management of groundwater resources. This legislation is com- prehensive and aims to achieve sustain- able groundwater management by the 2040s—relatively quickly from an ad- ministrative perspective. Future groundwater management in agricultural regions presents a unique opportunity to advance creative solutions that simultaneously address groundwater supply management, groundwater quality improvement, drinking water protection, and the economic viability of agriculture.
Water Transfers
Adam Schempp, senior attorney and director of the Western Water Program at the Environmental Law Institute, discussed how water transfer mechanisms can be made more effective and useful for maximizing the utility of water re- sources. In determining how to facilitate water transfers in a given region, it is essential to tailor the process to best suit the circumstances in which they will be administered. Recognizing the role of influential factors such as law, administrative capacity, social and political dynamics, economics, infrastructure, and the proximity of buyers and sellers is essential. State-to-state variability in water law and the influence of prior appropriation make transfers extremely complex.
Land-Use Policy and Water in the West
Ellen Hanak, senior fellow and center director of the Public Policy Institute of California, discussed the importance of linking water and land use, and their connection to water quality and quantity. The integration of water and land-use planning, if applied more frequently, can minimize damage to investments from water scarcity, protect people and infrastructure from water deluges, and sustain healthy watersheds.
Conditioning new development on the adequacy of water supply limits the pressures of population growth on wors- ening water supply issues. State policies can help shift development from unin- corporated areas to municipal areas, al- leviating concerns about unmanaged development and use of groundwater. However, domestic well loopholes that encourage some development off the water grid limit success in these state policies.
Forward-thinking planning in agri- cultural areas that integrates tools such as water conservation, resilience of permanent crops, and land retirement can improve long-term land use. Hanak also highlighted the importance of land-use policies for environmental purposes, including the provision of pop-up wet- lands for migratory bird habitat. Additionally, regions of high permeability soils that provide significant groundwater recharge should be preserved.
Forested Watersheds in a Hotter, Drier West: Meeting Adaptation Challenges
David Cleaves, former climate change advisor for the U.S. Forest Ser- vice, described the status and future of forested watersheds in the context of challenges posed by a hotter and drier West. His presentation included the ma- jor challenges for adaptation to climate- driven, compound risks; examples of initiatives to address those challenges; and next steps for program delivery and policy support.
Drought and high temperatures are pushing forest systems beyond their mortality threshold—the point at which trees die and the ability of the ecosystem to regenerate diminishes. Under a cli- mate change regime, these impacts are intensified. Climate change will con- tribute to insect infestation, disease and large-scale die-offs. Wildfires are be- coming an increasingly prevalent fea- ture of the western landscape; climate change impacts will increase the length of the fire season, size of individual fires, and their intensity.
The primary goal for watershed restoration is to restore functionality for the watershed, thereby building resilience. This can be achieved by pro- tecting headwaters, managing disturbance patterns, connecting fragmented parcels, discouraging development in floodplains, directing grazing away from riparian areas, limiting urban and agricultural pollution, and keeping rivers shaded by trees. Public-private partnerships, adequate financing, and science-based management are central to this objective.
Managing Western Fish, Wildlife and Plants in an Era of Changing Climate and Increasing Drought
Kurt Johnson, national climate change scientist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Science Application Program, discussed the impacts of the current drought on western fish and wildlife resources, and how managers are addressing those impacts.
As a result of prolonged drought, fish and wildlife resources face a survival emergency in the West. Current drought and temperature forecasts portend a fu- ture that falls outside of the experience of natural and human systems in the western United States. These conditions will present substantial challenges to the adaptive capacity of the region and to the resources and ingenuity of natural resources agencies and partners.
Short-term interventions adopted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and partners to protect fish and wildlife resources include: increased groundwater pumping; strategic drying; strategic prioritization and provision of high-value habitats (e.g. wetlands); and capture, translocation and captive maintenance of fish species.
Johnson stressed that the need to ad- dress significant impacts in the short term must be balanced with planning for long-term solutions to climate change. Longer-term solutions take the form of collaboration between federal and state natural resources agencies and non- governmental organizations to safeguard fish, wildlife, and plants, as well as the natural systems on which they depend. Such initiatives include water supply and demand studies, drought response and planning activities, and review of land and water management practices.
Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) are self-directed partnerships created to define science needs and jointly address broadscale conservation issues. LCCs addressing drought conditions in the West seek to increase the predictability of water supplies for decision-makers, conduct vulnerability assessments and scenario planning, predict habitat changes and their impacts on species migrations and survival, foster collaboration to design future land- scapes, and increase capacity for general drought and climate management.
An Approach to Scenario Planning in the Colorado River Basin: The Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study
Carly Jerla, Lower Colorado region operations research analyst at the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, discussed how scenario planning can be used as a tool for promoting the sustainable use of freshwater resources. In this context, Jerla examined the 2010-2012 Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study.
For the Colorado River Basin, sce- nario planning provided a medium for broad thinking about the future of water resources and set the stage for robust de- cision-making about the future of the basin. The integration of tens of thousands of supply and demand scenarios enabled a comprehensive assessment of resource vulnerability, the evaluation of different options and strategies to respond to those vulnerabilities, and a method of assessing their relative effectiveness and trade-offs.
Median supply-demand imbalances of approximately 3.2 million acre-feet of water by 2060 necessitate a range of adaptation and management responses. Depending on the severity of these imbalances and the response strategy pursued, the study estimated an annual implementation cost of approximately $2 billion to as much as $7 billion annually.
Conclusion
The presence of water, or lack thereof, has shaped the development of the West in profound ways and will continue to do so in the years ahead. The resilience of historical development and water law will be put to the test over the next centu- ry and beyond as the region faces more intense and longer-term droughts.
Water scarcity and changing precipitation patterns, along with environmental needs and water quality issues, pose new challenges to the adaptive capacity of an already constrained and overallocated water system. RNRF congress speakers and delegates highlighted an array of technological, policy and management responses available to promote short-term solutions to drought and long-term resilience to climate change impacts on the region’s water system. These responses are discussed throughout this report. Highlights include:
• Recognizing connected surface and groundwater hydrology. Surface water and groundwater are historically managed under separate bodies of law despite their connected hydrology. Recognition of their interconnected hydrology is essential for sustainable and holistic management of the hydrologic system.
• Water storage. The western states rely on storage in reservoirs, snowpack, and underground aquifers to balance water supply and demand, as well as seasonal variation in precipitation. As snowpack storage de- clines, increased reliance on aquifer storage requires a regulatory frame- work for ownership and a scientific and engineering assessment of the water’s fate once pumped underground. Aquifer recharge introduces water quality challenges, which must be addressed as well.
• Conservation and efficiency. Water conservation and efficiency improvements can enable consumptive water users to maximize benefits from a given water allocation. However, these initiatives can affect the distribution and availability of water in the system by limiting return flow.
• Water transfers and marketing. Water transfer and marketing mech- anisms have been successfully implemented throughout the West to move water from low- to high-value uses. Long-term success of these mechanisms is dependent on the sustained goodwill of involved par- ties. Individual water transfer regimes and markets must be tailored to best suit the regulatory cir- cumstances of a given region.
• Land-use planning. Development must be conditioned on water avail- ability in the West. Coupling decisions about land use with water planning can prevent damage to investments from water scarcity, protect people and infrastructure, and sustain healthy watersheds.
• Watershed restoration. Restoring functionality to degraded and stressed watersheds promotes re- silience via enhanced water quality and ecosystem function. Successful watershed restoration efforts re- quire partnerships and the involve- ment of all water stakeholders. The best available science should be ap- plied to solve problems on a watershed-by-watershed basis.
• Long-term collaborative solutions. Water users and decision-makers must work collaboratively to enhance the predictability of water supplies and increase the capacity for drought and climate resilience in the years ahead.
• Scenario planning. The integration of many possible supply and demand scenarios in the long-term planning process of a watershed enables a comprehensive assessment of resource vulnerability, preparing the state for robust decision-making about future management options.
These and other technological and management responses must be consid- ered and applied within the context of existing water law. Despite its chal- lenges, water law will continue to offer the flexibility needed to facilitate solu- tions to the water challenges faced by western states in the years ahead.
The need for interstate cooperation and compromise regarding water resources will increase as water supply and demand imbalances become greater. Collaboration is critical for establishing pathways to sustainable water use, as is the recognition that all water users are water stakeholders.
Ultimately, forward-thinking invest- ments in resilience will enable contin- ued economic prosperity in the western states, but many water users—particu- larly agriculture and ecosystems—will face extreme and daunting obstacles.
Appendices
Delegates to the congress are listed in Appendix A.
A copy of the congress program is included in Appendix C.
Enjoy!
"It's not that we need new ideas, but we need to stop having old ideas." - Edwin Land (tnx @LifelongAttempt)
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