WaterWired

J. Cobbing & B. Hiller Paper: 'Waking a Sleeping Giant: Realizing the Potential of Groundwater in Sub-Saharan Africa'

Jude Cobbing was kind enough to send me this paper he authored with Bradley Hiller: Waking a Sleeping Giant: Realizing the Potential of Groundwater in Sub-Saharan Africa, World Development, Volume 122, October 2019, Pages 597-613. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.06.024 

This is an excellent piece of work that flies in the face of the belief that SSA has little groundwater. I won't go into the reasons for that. Glad to see that it was not published in a groundwater or hydrologic journal but in one that might reach non-believers.

Click on the title above to read the online version with all its hot links.

Click on the graphics to enlarge them.

Download Cobbing_Sleeping Giant_main

Abstract

Unlike many global regions, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has yet to undergo a groundwater revolution. In this paper we confirm that for most SSA countries current groundwater use remains under 5% of national sustainable yield. This is likely to be a constraint on wider economic development and on addressing vulnerabilities to climate change and other shocks. Groundwater use has supported the process of economic structural change in other global regions; hence we derive an empirical model for groundwater use to support economic development, comprising trigger, boom and maturation phases. We identify that the trigger phase depends on political and economic (‘secondary’) factors, in addition to resource characteristics. The boom phase is described as ‘semi anarchic’, while the maturation phase is characterized by slowing abstractions but continued economic benefits. In SSA, we posit that the predominance of limiting secondary factors, coupled with a discourse of caution and focus on the maturation phase (more appropriate for other regions), is constraining the use of groundwater for economic development. We suggest that groundwater has the potential to be a foundational resource to support irrigated agriculture, urban and rural water security, and drought resilience across the region, as it has in many other global regions. We argue that overcoming the current barriers and costs to groundwater development can be offset by the benefits of regional socioeconomic development and increased resilience. In the context of enduring poverty and recurrent humanitarian crises in SSA, this new synthesis of information suggests that such an underutilization of sustainable groundwater is unjustifiable. Stakeholders active in the region should prioritize groundwater development to help facilitate a transition to higher value-added activities and greater regional prosperity and resilience, and ensure that measures are put in place for this to be done sustainably. We conclude with some ideas to help trigger such development in SSA.

 

Highights

•Low renewable groundwater use in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) constrains development.

•Poverty, demographic changes and shock events make groundwater development urgent.

•An empirical model shows political economy factors trigger groundwater development.

•A global discourse of caution inadvertently hinders groundwater development in SSA.

•A groundwater boom is key to irrigation, water security and drought resilience.

 

Cutting to the chase...

Conclusions and Recommendations

We confirm, at regional scale, that SSA hosts significant groundwater resources, often in areas where it could be most impactful, and which have the capacity to contribute significantly as a baseline resource for regional development. Despite the wealth of regional resources, groundwater use is thought to remain under 5% of sustainable yield for most countries in SSA, meaning that significant renewable resources are currently dormant.

We substantiate that ‘secondary’ or political-economy factors are the primary impediments to further groundwater development in SSA. There is further work to be conducted to understand political economy factors, their complex interactions, and how to trigger them. This work will allow appropriate policy to be developed, to remove bottlenecks.

We identify a predominance of limiting, rather than enabling conditions in groundwater development, which have discouraged investment at scale. Based on the development cycle of groundwater in other parts of the world which have already experienced trigger-boom-maturation phases, the international discourse on groundwater has shifted towards conservation and remediation, which may inadvertently be denying SSA its opportunity to experience social and economic benefits derived from groundwater development.

We also argue that attention and funding for groundwater projects should be of similar scale to that afforded to surface water projects in SSA. Groundwater has the potential to act as the foundational resource to underpin regional development in sectors such as irrigated agriculture, urban and rural water security, and drought resilience, just as it has in other global regions. We argue that it is now unconscionable and unjustifiable not to develop SSA’s groundwater resources.

Finally, while the primary intentions of this paper are to inform readers about SSA’s renewable groundwater potential and encourage discussion on future groundwater development actions for economic and humanitarian purposes, we draw on our empirical model to offer some non-prescriptive elements of a roadmap to help support this process:

•Dissemination of study findings to decision-makers and policy-makers in SSA countries, highlighting the significant latent renewable groundwater potential and the importance of secondary (political economy) factors in triggering wider groundwater development.

•Encourage improved resolution and coverage of hydrogeological data, including exploration of proxy indicators, as appropriate.

•Provide financial and technical resourcing for adequate groundwater-specific investigations to be included in national water resource assessments in all SSA countries.

•Educate and encourage international institutions to prioritize groundwater development support in SSA, including bolstering internal technical capacities.

•Establish a taskforce (comprising relevant stakeholders such as the UN agencies, multilateral development banks, disaster relief organizations, local community representatives, etc.) to explore the potential benefits of a strategic network of deep groundwater boreholes in recurrent (and predicted future) drought hotspots.

•Explore linkages between groundwater development and emerging climate (financing and convening) mechanisms to promote adaptation and resilience building.

Simultaneously, we encourage countries to help themselves whilst also calling upon international and regional institutions to provide financial and technical support to help realize SSA’s pending groundwater revolution.

Disabuse yourself of the notion that there is no groundwater of consequence in SSA...now!

Enjoy!

"All monkeys cannot hang on the same branch." ~ Kenyan proverb

Jason King AWRA Presentation: 'Groundwater Management in Nevada - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly'

Jason King, P.E., former Nevada State Engineer, was yesterday's luncheon speaker at the AWRA Summer Specialty Conference. His excellent presentation (PPT and PDF) - Groundwater Management in Nevada - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly' is provided below:

PPT: Download AWRA_GW_Management_Nevada

PDF: Download AWRA_GW_Management_Nevada

Description
Jason King, P.E.,  will be speaking about the development of
groundwater in the driest state in the Nation. Like most
western states, Nevada’s water law was developed during a
different era; Nevada’s water law provided a comprehensive
process for appropriating water in the state but was not
always harmonized with science. He will be highlighting its
strengths and weaknesses.

Biography
Jason King retired from the Nevada Division of Water Resources in January of 2019 after working for the Division for more than 27 years and served as State Engineer for his final 9 years.   As State Engineer, he oversaw the appropriation, management and regulation of both groundwater and surface water in the driest state in the Nation.  King has negotiated on Nevada’s behalf on numerous interstate water disputes, was a member of the State Environmental Commission, the Colorado Salinity Control Council and served on Governor Sandoval’s Drought Forum.

Diamond Valley
Jason was asked about the 'unbundling' of water rights in Diamond Valley and I told him I would post information on this interesting experiment. Click here. He extended this program for five more years on his last day on the job.

Enjoy!

"Civilization has been a permanent dialogue between human beings and water." - Paolo Lugari

Presentation: 'Harvesting Glacial Meltwater and Early Snowmelt with Managed Aquifer Recharge'

Presented with Maria Gibson at the AWRA Summer Specialty Conference.

PPT: Download Campana_AWRA_19June2019_Long

PDF: Download Campana_AWRA_19June2019_Long

Harvesting Glacial Meltwater and Early Snowmelt with
Managed Aquifer Recharge

Michael E. Campana and Maria T. Gibson
Oregon State University

Abstract

In response to global warming, some mountain glaciers are melting at accelerated rates. This is not unique to exotic locales such as the Andes and Himalayas; some permanent glaciers in North America are shrinking and are en routeto extinction. In the USA the best example of this phenomenon is Glacier National Park in Montana, which could be glacier-free by the middle of this century. In western Oregon and Washington some of the highest elevations in the Cascade Range are losing permanent glaciers. In addition, early snowmelt in the Cascades and elsewhere has the potential for harvesting.

         Glaciers and snowpack provide humanity and natural ecosystems with 'free storage' of freshwater and parcel out water to maintain and replenish freshwater supplies. During the warm season, glacial meltwater nourishes lower elevation ecosystems and human settlements and recharges aquifers. Replenishment of the glacier normally occurs during the cooler seasons; the cycle then repeats itself. Ideally, one would like a balance: the glacial ice melting in the summer would be replaced by cold weather precipitation. When the melting exceeds the replenishment, the equilibrium is destroyed. The volume of the glacier shrinks, and if the disequilibrium continues, the glacier will disappear entirely.

         Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) could capture 'excess' meltwater – the amount coming out of storage that is available – before the glacier disappears altogether. Early snowmelt could also be captured. Such groundwater storage would not be a permanent, sustainable solution to freshwater shortages, but might provide time to permit the development of alternatives to ensure survival of ecosystems and humans.

         The presentation will: 1) explore some of the advantages and disadvantages of subsurface storage to salvage glacial meltwater and early snowmelt; 2) speculate where such schemes might work and would be needed; and 3) discuss a recent MAR project in the Yakima River basin in Washington, USA.

Word: Download Harvesting Glacial Meltwater and Early Snowmelt with Managed Aquifer Recharge

PDF: Download Harvesting Glacial Meltwater and Early Snowmelt with Managed Aquifer Recharge

Enjoy!

"This is not a novel to be taken lightly. It should be thrown with great force." -- Dorothy Parker

G. Tracy Mehan III's AWWA Letter to EPA: Direct Hydrologic Connection Notice, NPDES, CWA

G. Tracy Mehan III, the executive director of government affairs at the American Water Works Association sent me a letter he sent (representing AWWA) to Scott Wilson of EPA. Tracy was an EPA official - Assistant Administrator for Water, 2001-2003.

Surface water - groundwater (or 'ground water' as EPA spells it - for legal reasons) interaction rears its ugly head!

It should be noted that allowing polluted surface water to flow through a groundwater reservoir before entering a stream or other surface water body can be employed as a remediation technique. But care must be taken not to degrade the quality of the groundwater to the degree that it becomes useless to the environment and humans alike. No free lunch. 

Download 20190607_AWWA_HydrologicConnectionNotice

Here is an excerpt from Tracy's letter:

June 7, 2019 

Scott Wilson
Office of Wastewater Management 
Water Permits Division (MC4203M) 
Environmental Protection Agency 
1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW 
Washington, DC 20460 

Re: Comments on “Interpretive statement on application of the Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Program to Releases of Pollutants from a Point Source to Ground Water” (EPA-HQ-OW-2019-0166).  

Dear Mr. Wilson: 

The American Water Works Association (AWWA) appreciates the opportunity to comment on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s notice of availability titled “Interpretive statement on application of the Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Program to Releases of Pollutants from a Point Source to Ground Water.” AWWA’s comments expand on our May 21, 2018 comments to the previous Federal Register notice on this issue (EPA-HQ-OW-2018-0063), and are meant to assist EPA develop a path forward on this matter. 

Summary of Comments 

AWWA continues to hold the concerns expressed previously. EPA is not appropriately balancing environmental protection with regulatory certainty. Given the “One Water” nature of all water resources, an important balance must be reached to help protect all water resources. This proposed interpretative statement inappropriately eliminates a potentially beneficial tool that could be used to protect sources of drinking water without consideration for the impacts of this decision. Moreover, this action contravenes the basic science of hydrology and the interaction between surface waters and groundwater. AWWA recommends that EPA not finalize this interpretive statement and instead proceed to rulemaking to clarify these issues in a balanced manner informed by science and state regulatory needs. Should EPA proceed with this interpretative statement, it should take a more balanced approach that weighs the benefits of source water protection against the benefits of eased permitting and regulatory certainty. 

Retain current practice 

EPA should retain the current practice of allowing NPDES authorities (EPA or delegated states and tribes) to regulate discharges from point sources with a direct hydrologic connection to Waters of the United states when it is appropriate and necessary to protect source waters used to create drinking water. EPA should not eliminate this regulatory tool. 

EPA could reduce regulatory burden while protecting sources of drinking water, through minor clarifications rather than substantially altering current practice. 

Continued need for NPDES permitting with direct hydrologic connections 

There is an important role for NPDES permitting under the direct hydrologic connection theory, as has been practiced in some states for decades. Current practice has received considerable support from EPA and a number of states under several administrations, in the federal courts, and across a number of stakeholders. The 2018 Federal Register notice included a discussion of permitting when there’s a direct hydrologic connection back to at least 1991. In recent Congressional testimony, at least 26 instances of precedent in relevant courts supporting the direct hydrologic connection methodology have been identified. Eliminating this permitting authority could allow added pollution of surface waters from which drinking water systems draw the majority of the nation’s potable water supply. Under this proposed interpretive statement, some discharges that would otherwise be regulated under NPDES could avoid permitting requirements by discharging instead into an adjacent groundwater system. In one pivotal case, the Northern District of California said: 

“[I]t would hardly make sense for the CWA to encompass a polluter who discharges pollutants via a pipe running from the factory directly to the riverbank, but not a polluter who dumps the same pollutants into a man-made settling basin some distance short of the river and then allows the pollutants to seep into the river via the groundwater.” 

Okay that's all from me - download the above PDF to read the entire letter.

By the way, here is another interesting tidbit involving WOTUS from @BCWaterNews:

In @EENewsUpdates: Streams could 'come in and out' of WOTUS with climate change. Click here. 

Enjoy!

"A person is smart. People are dumb." - Unknown (heard on@NPR)

Gerald Sehlke AWRA IWRM Conference Presentation: 'A Conceptual Model for Developing and Implementing IWRM'

IWRM guru Dr. Gerald (Jerry) Sehlke presented this innovative approach to Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). You can read Jerry's abstract here (bottom right of page 1 and top left of page 2). I have also pasted it below.

Abstract

The most broadly accepted definition of IWRM is:

“A process, which promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources in order to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems.”

In order to develop such processes, we must design, develop and implement holistic approaches that integrate and harmonize water resources governance (policy and laws), socioeconomic policies and goals, and the physical and environmental aspects of water resources management.  IWRM programs need to develop the governance, institutional, scientific, and operational capacities necessary for implementing these activities. In addition, IWRM programs need to inventory, develop, and manage all hydrologically interconnected water resources as a unitary source from a hydrologic cycle perspective, at the appropriate basin, sub-basin or “catchment” (watershed) scale. This includes developing water policies and laws that are scientifically-based such that they comport with the physical laws that govern the movement and storage of water.  It also includes developing physically-base conceptual models for identifying, delineating, and linking hydrologically interconnected water resources in a consistent and scalable manner.  

This discussion provides a conceptual model that demonstrates the links between such policies and laws, and physically-base conceptual models of a “competent hydrologic unit.”

Download Conceptual Model Presentation_Sehlke_032419

Enjoy!

"I am so excited about this year’s course evaluations! Students will evaluate how biased their professors are in presenting their course materials!" - @ass_deans