WaterWired

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

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

By yours truly and the groundwatergeek, Maria T. Gibson - presented by me at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln on 28 March 2019. Wonderful hospitality from water guru Dr. Dan Snow, Director of the Water Sciences Laboratory.

Download Campana_Abstract_UNL_Seminar_v2 

PPT: Download Campana_UNL_28March2019_v3

PDF: Download Campana_UNL_28March2019_v3
(updated 8 April 2019)

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.

Enjoy!

"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do." - Goethe (thanks to Tony Willardson)

Paper: 'Crisis on the High Plains - The Loss of America’s Largest Aquifer – the Ogallala'

It's appropriate to post an article about the Ogallala (aka High Plains) aquifer today. I am in Omaha about to start an AWRA conference (Setting Conditions for the Success of Integrated Water Resources Management) in Nebraska, where the Ogallala is sacred ground to many. It underlies more of Nebraska than any other state and pumps a huge amount of groundwater.

This paper is by Jeremy Frankel from the University of Denver Law School Water Law Review in May 2018: Crisis on the High Plains: The Loss of America’s Largest Aquifer–The Ogallala. You can also find the paper in this issue (Volume 33, Issue 3) of the Renewable Resources Journal.

Introduction
The grain-growing region in the High Plains of America—known as America’s breadbasket—relies entirely on the Ogallala Aquifer. But long term unsustainable use of the aquifer is forcing states in the region to face the prospect of a regional economic disaster. As the High Plains states reach the verge of a major crisis, the states have taken different approaches to conservation with varying results.

The Ogallala Aquifer supports an astounding one-sixth of the world’s grain produce, and it has long been an essential component of American agriculture. The High Plains region—where the aquifer lies—relies on the aquifer for residential and industrial uses, but the aquifer’s water is used primarily for agricultural irrigation. The agricultural demands for Ogallala water in the region are immense, with the aquifer ultimately being responsible for thirty percent of all irrigation in the United States. The Ogallala Aquifer has long been unable to keep up with these agricultural demands, as the aquifer recharges far slower than water is withdrawn.

Aside from the obvious agricultural ramifications from the Ogallala’s depletion, recent studies have shown that groundwater depletion also has a severe effect on freshwater ecosystems in the region. Each state has had to confront the issue in their own way, but the depletion of the aquifer has become severe enough to warrant the attention of the federal government as well. At the state level, the focus has been on maintaining an orderly depletion of the aquifer rather than developing a plan for sustainable use. However, some states have achieved some level of success in slowing down the aquifer’s depletion. Kansas, for example, has recently achieved mild success by adopting a program that put conservation in the hands of the State’s farmers. On the other hand, Nebraska has seen more success than Kansas by being tougher on farmers and exercising its enforcement powers. The federal government has also set up financial and technical assistance for farmers who commit to conservation and is funding large-scale pipeline projects to bring in water to the more desperate areas of the High Plains.

Cutting to the chase...

Conclusion
The Governor of Kansas, after seeing the success of the one and only LEMA group in the state, has recently declared that Kansas has been producing real results towards water conservation and that Kansas’s status as a breadbasket for the nation has been secured. However, it is important to remember to contextualize this success; it is only one group in an area less than one hundred square miles, meaning that the Ogallala is far from saved. And while there is value in allowing farmers to voluntarily take the reins in conserving the Ogallala, it is clear that they are not jumping at the opportunity to do so. The farmers themselves have commented that it is going to take a whole change of culture in the region to see the results that the Kansas legislature envisioned from the LEMA program—an uphill battle that certainly will not happen overnight. Nebraska is at least seeing some more substantial results from their hardline policies, which may be the direction the High Plains states need to take to avoid a major crisis. While the Ogallala may not be able to be completely saved at this point, it is certainly worth preserving for as long as possible, and states should not hold back in using their enforcement powers to do so.

Thanks to Tim Smith for briging this article to my attention. I'll be hearing about this over the next few days.

Enjoy!

"IT indicates they've backed up all our emails into a group of slaved and networked old Commodore 64s. Attached are your instructions for using ELM." - @ass_deans

Video, Publication and More from CAST: 'Aquifer Depletion and Potential Impacts on Long-Term Irrigated Agricultural Productivity'

Friend and colleague John C. Tracy, head of the Texas Water Resources Institute at Texas A&M University, is shown here giving a brief introduction to the CAST (Council for Agricultural Science and Technology) paper, Aquifer Depletion and Potential Impacts on Long-term Irrigated Agricultural Productivity. Authors were Tracy and: 

Jennifer Johnson, Bureau of Reclamation, Boise, Idaho
Leonard Konikow, U.S. Geological Survey
Gretchen Miller, Texas A&M University
Dana Osborne Porter, Texas A&M University
Zhuping Sheng, Texas A&M University
Steve Sibray, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

After his introduction there will be a panel discussion with Panelists: Dr. Doug Parker, Director of the California Institute for Water Resources; Dr. Brian Haggard, Director of the Arkansas Water Resources Center; Dr. Kevin Wagner, Director of the Oklahoma Water Resources Center.

Download CAST_IP63_Aquifer_Depletion_C4FAE917A6979

Summary: Download Ag_quickCAST_Aquifer_Depletion_IP63_419DFADC4A21E

Here is a link to the video.

Here is the blurb from the video's website:

Groundwater is the Earth’s most extracted raw material, with almost 1,000 cubic kilometers per year (800 million acre-feet per year) of groundwater pumped from aquifers around the world. Approximately 70% of groundwater withdrawals worldwide are used to support agricultural production systems. This percentage is even higher in arid and semi-arid areas, where the only consistent source of irrigation water is groundwater. In these regions, however, the use of groundwater typically far exceeds the rate at which it is naturally replenished, indicating that these critical groundwater resources are being slowly depleted. Within the United States, groundwater depletion has occurred in many important agricultural production regions, including the Great Plains Region, the Central Valley of California, the Mississippi Embayment Aquifer, aquifers in southern Arizona, and smaller aquifers in many western states. This issue paper reviews the causes and consequences of groundwater depletion, with a focus on impacts to agriculture as the largest sector of groundwater use. This understanding can aid in developing effective policies and practices for groundwater development, use, and management.

Reviewers were Jay Lund, Carolyn Olson, and yours truly.

Enjoy!

"The key to successful strategic planning is to have a plan, a process, and strategy to change positions before anyone can evaluate success or assign blame." - @ass_deans

New Mexico Groundwater: Moving Right Ahead with The Water Data Act

On 16 November 2017 I posted about a nifty program in New Mexico: the Collaborative Groundwater Monitoring Network (CGMN) of the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources (NMBGMR) Aquifer Mapping Program (AMP). He post included the glowing comments of one stakeholder.

I now have some information about a another groundwater program of the Bureau.  Hydrogeologist Stacy Timmons (OSU Geology MS, 2002), the AMP manager, told me of some 'cool legislation' - the Water Data Act - they are working on.

This bill was modeled similar to Californa's Open and Transparent Water Data Act of 2016, but catered to New Mexico. Some of the major points of this legislation are that it:

• Seeks to coordinate and integrate all relevant water data for the state.
• Establishes a multi-agency council to develop common water data standards and improve data openness, accessibility, and interoperability--co-chaired by the Bureau of Geology (as the state agency charged with maintaining data) and ISC (the primary body charged with state water planning). 
• All major resource management agencies and academic institutions would participate in the Council, along with an advisory group of stakeholders that could include federal, tribal, irrigation district and acequias, NGOs etc. 
• Establishes a fund to accept state and outside monies to support improvements to water data statewide.  

Here is a PDF of the bill:

Download NM_HB0651+2019

Stacy concluded her email:

I believe it would make New Mexico the 2nd state in the country to move water data into the wide open, and require it to be interoperable! As a desert state facing warmer times, we could actually be proactive on water issues!

She promised to send me more information - fact sheets and the like - if I wanted them. I will post them when I receive them.

This is really something - a model for other states. Once again, New Mexico fools everyone with its foresight when it comes to groundwater.

Enjoy!

"Until I came to New Mexico, I never realized how much beauty water adds to a river." - Mark Twain