WaterWired

Two More Award-Winning Water Resources IMPACT Articles: 1) 'Endangered by Injustice: The Human Right to Water in the US'; 2) 'Integrating Law, Science and a Path Forward - Opportunities for Collective Action in a Time of Change'

A few days ago I posted John H. Matthews' article, Climate Change: Resilient Infrastructure or Infrastructure for Resilience? that won the Water Resources IMPACT2018 Article of the Year Award. It was published in the November 2018 issue.

Here is what a reviewer said:

Matthews’ engaging writing style draws in the reader, asks critical questions, and promotes multidisciplinary approaches.

His first paragraph:

Recently I was invited to an informal dinner in Europe withnvestors and groups that interact with investors. I’m a freshwater scientist, working on climate change and water management issues for about 15 years. I had been seated across from a smartly dressed woman from southern Africa, affiliated with a group funded by British foreign aid to support resilient infrastructure in the region.

Download MatthewsArticleOfYearNov2018IMPACT

I was remiss in failing to mention the two runners-up that were close seconds.

1) Endangered by Injustice: The Human Right to Water in the United States, by Susan Lea Smith (March 2018)

One reviewer commented:

Utilizing well-researched statistics and many familiar examples of the current crisis, Susan clearly identifies the problematic lack of access to safe drinking water, and concludes her article with well-rationed and realistic starting points for a solution-based approach to cure America's water injustice.

Susan's first paragraph:

The internationally recognized human right to water
requires that every nation provide safe, affordable water for household uses. While most Americans enjoy safe drinking water from their household tap, the human right to water in the United States is endangered by multi-faceted
social injustice that pervades modern America—injustices born of racial and wealth disparities, the unwillingness of the rich to invest in public water infrastructure, and corporate willingness to pollute in unconscionable ways in pursuit othe almighty force of quarterly profits.

Download SmithArticleMar2018IMPACT

2) Integrating Law, Science and a Path Forward: Opportunities for Collective Action in a Time of Change, by Lara B. Fowler and Robert T. Caccese (November 2018)

A reviewer commented:

[T]his article [Fowler, Caccese] has a broad appeal, is concise yet informative, and challenges us to think differently about the way we approach water management.

Their first paragraph:

On January 8, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court heard two interstate water cases, including a long-awaited hearing between Georgia and Florida. In reviewing the oral arguments, we were struck by how the justices found the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ modeling “incomprehensible,” with much argument about whether water saved in Georgia would actually flow to Florida (Florida v. Georgia 2018; https://bit.ly/2CDuODk). Given improvements in science—for both surface water and groundwater—over the past 150 years, this discussion was dishearteningly similar to the Ohio Supreme Court’s 1861 decision which noted that groundwater was “occult” and therefore could not be easily regulated (Frazier v. Brown 1861).

Download FowlerCacceseArticleNov2018IMPACT

Three short but very important reads. 

Enjoy!

"The physicists do well in the academy because they understand all my promises have both a half-life and a rapid decay rate." - @ass_deans

CRS In Focus Report: Reclamation Water Storage Projects - Section 4007 of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act

Brief two-page CRS In Focus report from Charles V. Stern: Reclamation Water Storage Projects: Section 4007 of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (updated 2 April 2019). 

Download CRS_InFocus_USBR_3April2019

Introduction
Section 4007 of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN Act; P.L. 114-322), enacted in December 2016, created a new authority for the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation, part of the Department of the Interior) to build water storage projects in the western United States. Reclamation has used this authority to further progress on a number of water storage projects. From FY2017 to FY2019, Congress appropriated the full $335 million in available budget authority for these projects. A portion of these funds has been allocated at the project level by Reclamation.

Some federal and state decisionmakers, local stakeholders, and advocacy groups are interested in extending the authority to make additional headway on water storage projects in the West. Others oppose federal funding for new water storage projects, in particular those to be located in environmentally sensitive areas. This In Focus discusses the Section 4007 authority and its status.

Background
In the early and mid-20th century, Reclamation built hundreds of large dams and water diversion structures throughout the West. Traditionally, Reclamation’s role inwater project development has been limited to geographically specific projects authorized in federal statute. Typically, the federal government, through discretionary appropriations to Reclamation, has provided full, up-front funding for the construction costs of these facilities. Project beneficiaries, which are irrigators, municipal water suppliers, and hydropower contractors, repay their portion of project construction or development costs over a 40-50 year term. The amount recouped by the federal government typically depends on several factors, including the portion of project benefits that are nonreimbursable because they are considered federal in nature (e.g., fish and wildlife enhancements, flood control, recreation), as well as adjustments for irrigation contractors’ ability to pay. Additionally, irrigation beneficiaries are not charged interest on their repayment obligations. As a result, the total amount repaid to the federal government for these projects is typically less than the full cost of construction.

I

Wonder how much Reclamation is invested in managed aquifer recharge as a means to store water? Not much.

Enjoy!

"If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe." - Carl Sagan (quoted in @sunjournal via @TheWeek)

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

Pubs from the National Judicial College: 1) 'Hydrologic Modeling Bench Book' 2) 'Water Science in the Courtroom'

The following publications are from the National Judicial College's Dividing the Waters (DTW) program. There are more publications but these two are freely available and caught my eye because of their science/engineering focus. Adjudicating Groundwater is another useful topic but it is not freely downloadable from the NJC website (unless you are a judge).

Thanks to Lara B. Fowler for informing me of these pubs.  When I worked in Reno I must have woalked pat the NJC building on the UNR campus a thousand times without ever checking it out.  

The blurbs are from the NJC website.

1) Hydrologic Modeling Bench Book

The bench book describes the kinds of water cases in which hydrologic models often appear, explains why the use of these models is often essential and how the models are constructed (including their data requirements), and reviews various means, both technical and legal, of assessing the models’ quality. The benchbook also reviews some of the literature on model building and testing, describes proposed guidelines on a number of the features of model construction and testing, and presents techniques for case management in the context of handling complex models. Finally, by way of illustration it recaps four cases in which models played a central role: the Arkansas River Compact altercation (Kansas v. Colorado); the Republican River Compact dispute (Kansas v. Nebraska and Colorado); a case from South Platte (In the Matter of the Ap­plication for Water rights of Park County Sportsmen’s Ranch, et al. v. Colorado State Engineer); and a case from the Rio Grande (Rules Governing New Withdrawals of Ground Water in Water Division 3).

Download DTW_Hydrologic_Modeling_Benchbook

2) Water Science in the Courtroom

This publication reflects the new Dividing the Waters Board of Advisors’ first project to advise the Program. The Board of Advisors includes leading water law attorneys from across the country who advocate for Dividing the Waters within the water law community and advise the Program on issues identified by the Conveners. After a spirited discussion at its first meeting, the Board developed this set of recommendations on judicial management of water case science, use of scientific tools, and application of scientific uncertainty in judgments. It also recommended that Dividing the Waters continue its programs on science, focused on the fundamentals, judicial practice, and the questions judges need to ask scientists.

Download DTW-Water-Science-in-the-Courtroom-2013

Enjoy!

"Do you want to make a point or do you want to make a difference?" - @tomfriedman on @smerconish