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2013-11-22

... Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): You may access publicly available documents online in the... protection system piping, (d) revisions to the scope and inspection recommendations of the GALL Report AMP XI... NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC-2013-0068] Aging Management of Internal Surfaces, Fire Water...

A policy evaluation tool: Management of a multiaquifer system using controlled stream recharge

USGS Publications Warehouse

Danskin, Wesley R.; Gorelick, Steven M.

1985-01-01

A model for the optimal allocation of water resources was developed for a multiaquifer groundwater and surface water system near Livermore, California. The complex groundwater system was analyzed using a transient, quasi-three-dimensional model that considers the nonlinear behavior of the unconfined aquifer. The surface water system consists of a reservoir that discharges water to three streams which in turn recharge the upper aquifer. Nonlinear streamflow-recharge relationships were developed based upon synoptic field measurements of streamflow. The management model uses constrained optimization to minimize the cost of allocating surface water subject to physical and economic restrictions. Results indicate that a combined hydrologic and economic management model can be used to evaluate management practices of a complex hydrogeologic system. Questions can be posed which either would be impossible or extremely difficult to solve without the management model. We demonstrate the utility of such a model in three areas. First, the efficiency of intra-basin water allocations is evaluated. Second, critical factors that control management decisions of the basin are identified. Third, the influence of economic incentives that can best satisfy the conflicting objectives of various water users is explored.

Potentiometric Surface of the Upper Floridan Aquifer in the St. Johns River Water Management District and Vicinity, Florida, May 2005

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kinnaman, Sandra L.

2006-01-01

INTRODUCTION This map depicts the potentiometric surface of the upper Floridan aquifer in the St. Johns River Water Management District and vicinity for May 2005. Potentiometric contours are based on water level measurements collected at 598 wens during the period May 5 - 31, near the end of the dry season. Some contours are inferred from previous potentiometric-surface maps with larger well networks. The potentiometric surface of the carbonate upper Floridan aquifer responds mainly to rainfall, and more locally, to ground water withdrawals. Potentiometric-surface highs generally correspond to topographic highs where the aquifer is recharged. Springs and areas of diffuse upward leakage naturally discharge water from the aquifer and are most prevalent along the St. Johns River. Areas of discharge are reflected by depressions in the potentiometric surface. Ground water withdrawals locally have lowered the potentiometric surface. Ground water in the upper Floridan aquifer generally flows from potentiometric highs to potentiometric lows in a direction perpendicular to the contours.

Potentiometric Surface of the Upper Floridan Aquifer in the St. Johns River Water Management District and Vicinity, Florida, May 2006

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kinnaman, Sandra L.

2006-01-01

Introduction: This map depicts the potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer in the St. Johns River Water Management District and vicinity for May 2006. Potentiometric contours are based on water-level measurements collected at 599 wells during the period May 14-31, near the end of the dry season. Some contours are inferred from previous potentiometric-surface maps with larger well networks. The potentiometric surface of the carbonate Upper Floridan aquifer responds mainly to rainfall, and more locally, to ground-water withdrawals and springflow. Potentiometric-surface highs generally correspond to topographic highs where the aquifer is recharged. Springs and areas of diffuse upward leakage naturally discharge water from the aquifer and are most prevalent along the St. Johns River. Areas of discharge are reflected by depressions in the potentiometric surface. Ground-water withdrawals locally have lowered the potentiometric surface. Ground water in the Upper Floridan aquifer generally flows from potentiometric highs to potentiometric lows in a direction perpendicular to the contours.

Potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer in the St. Johns River water management district and vicinity, Florida, September 2005

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kinnaman, Sandra L.

2006-01-01

This map depicts the potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer in the St. Johns River Water Management District and vicinity for September 2005. Potentiometric contours are based on water-level measurements collected at 643 wells during the period September 12-28, near the end of the wet season. Some contours are inferred from previous potentiometric-surface maps with larger well networks. The potentiometric surface of the carbonate Upper Floridan aquifer responds mainly to rainfall, and more locally, to ground-water withdrawals and springflow. Potentiometric-surface highs generally correspond to topographic highs where the aquifer is recharged. Springs and areas of diffuse upward leakage naturally discharge water from the aquifer and are most prevalent along the St. Johns River. Areas of discharge are reflected by depressions in the potentiometric surface. Ground-water withdrawals locally have lowered the potentiometric surface. Ground water in the Upper Floridan aquifer generally flows from potentiometric highs to potentiometric lows in a direction perpendicular to the contours.

Potentiometric Surface of the Upper Floridan Aquifer in the St. Johns River Water Management District and Vicinity, Florida, September 2006

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kinnaman, Sandra L.; Dixon, Joann F.

2007-01-01

Introduction This map depicts the potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer in the St. Johns River Water Management District and vicinity for September 2006. Potentiometric contours are based on water-level measurements collected at 571 wells during the period September 11-29, near the end of the wet season. Some contours are inferred from previouspotentiometric-surface maps with larger well networks. The potentiometric surface of the carbonate Upper Floridan aquifer responds mainly to rainfall, and more locally, to ground-water withdrawals and spring flow. Potentiometric-surface highs generally correspond to topographic highs where the aquifer is recharged. Springs and areas of diffuse upward leakage naturally discharge water from the aquifer and are most prevalent along the St. Johns River. Areas of discharge are reflected by depressions in the potentiometric surface. Ground-water withdrawals locally have lowered the potentiometric surface. Ground water in the Upper Floridan aquifer generally flows from potentiometric highs to potentiometric lows in a direction perpendicular to the contours.

Potentiometric Surface of the Upper Floridan Aquifer in the St. Johns River Water Management District and Vicinity, Florida, September 2008

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kinnaman, Sandra L.; Dixon, Joann F.

2009-01-01

This map depicts the potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer in the St. Johns River Water Management District and vicinity for September 2008. Potentiometric contours are based on water-level measurements collected at 589 wells during the period September 15-25, near the end of the wet season. Some contours are inferred from previous potentiometric-surface maps with larger well networks. The potentiometric surface of the carbonate Upper Floridan aquifer responds mainly to rainfall, and more locally, to ground-water withdrawals and spring flow. Potentiometric-surface highs generally correspond to topographic highs where the aquifer is recharged. Springs and areas of diffuse upward leakage naturally discharge water from the aquifer and are most prevalent along the St. Johns River. Areas of discharge are reflected by depressions in the potentiometric surface. Ground-water withdrawals locally have lowered the potentiometric surface. Ground water in the Upper Floridan aquifer generally flows from potentiometric highs to potentiometric lows in a direction perpendicular to the contours.

Potentiometric Surface of the Upper Floridan Aquifer in the St. Johns River Water Management District and Vicinity, Florida, September 2007

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kinnaman, Sandra L.; Dixon, Joann F.

2008-01-01

This map depicts the potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer in the St. Johns River Water Management District and vicinity for September 2007. Potentiometric contours are based on water-level measurements collected at 554 wells during the period September 15-27, near the end of the wet season. Some contours are inferred from previous potentiometric-surface maps with larger well networks. The potentiometric surface of the carbonate Upper Floridan aquifer responds mainly to rainfall, and more locally, to ground-water withdrawals and spring flow. Potentiometric-surface highs generally correspond to topographic highs where the aquifer is recharged. Springs and areas of diffuse upward leakage naturally discharge water from the aquifer and are most prevalent along the St. Johns River. Areas of discharge are reflected by depressions in the potentiometric surface. Ground-water withdrawals locally have lowered the potentiometric surface. Ground water in the Upper Floridan aquifer generally flows from potentiometric highs to potentiometric lows in a direction perpendicular to the contours.

MODFLOW-Based Coupled Surface Water Routing and Groundwater-Flow Simulation.

PubMed

Hughes, J D; Langevin, C D; White, J T

2015-01-01

In this paper, we present a flexible approach for simulating one- and two-dimensional routing of surface water using a numerical surface water routing (SWR) code implicitly coupled to the groundwater-flow process in MODFLOW. Surface water routing in SWR can be simulated using a diffusive-wave approximation of the Saint-Venant equations and/or a simplified level-pool approach. SWR can account for surface water flow controlled by backwater conditions caused by small water-surface gradients or surface water control structures. A number of typical surface water control structures, such as culverts, weirs, and gates, can be represented, and it is possible to implement operational rules to manage surface water stages and streamflow. The nonlinear system of surface water flow equations formulated in SWR is solved by using Newton methods and direct or iterative solvers. SWR was tested by simulating the (1) Lal axisymmetric overland flow, (2) V-catchment, and (3) modified Pinder-Sauer problems. Simulated results for these problems compare well with other published results and indicate that SWR provides accurate results for surface water-only and coupled surface water/groundwater problems. Results for an application of SWR and MODFLOW to the Snapper Creek area of Miami-Dade County, Florida, USA are also presented and demonstrate the value of coupled surface water and groundwater simulation in managed, low-relief coastal settings. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Effective use of surface-water management to control saltwater intrusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hughes, J. D.; White, J.

2012-12-01

The Biscayne aquifer in southeast Florida is susceptible to saltwater intrusion and inundation from rising sea-level as a result of high groundwater withdrawal rates and low topographic relief. Groundwater levels in the Biscayne aquifer are managed by an extensive canal system that is designed to control flooding, supply recharge to municipal well fields, and control saltwater intrusion. We present results from an integrated surface-water/groundwater model of a portion of the Biscayne aquifer to evaluate the ability of the existing managed surface-water control network to control saltwater intrusion. Surface-water stage and flow are simulated using a hydrodynamic model that solves the diffusive-wave approximation of the depth-integrated shallow surface-water equations. Variable-density groundwater flow and fluid density are solved using the Oberbeck--Boussinesq approximation of the three-dimensional variable-density groundwater flow equation and a sharp interface approximation, respectively. The surface-water and variable-density groundwater domains are implicitly coupled during each Picard iteration. The Biscayne aquifer is discretized into a multi-layer model having a 500-m square horizontal grid spacing. All primary and secondary surface-water features in the active model domain are discretized into segments using the 500-m square horizontal grid. A 15-year period of time is simulated and the model includes 66 operable surface-water control structures, 127 municipal production wells, and spatially-distributed daily internal and external hydrologic stresses. Numerical results indicate that the existing surface-water system can be effectively used in many locations to control saltwater intrusion in the Biscayne aquifer resulting from increases in groundwater withdrawals or sea-level rise expected to occur over the next 25 years. In other locations, numerical results indicate surface-water control structures and/or operations may need to be modified to control saltwater intrusion.

The Contribution of Reservoirs to Global Land Surface Water Storage Variations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhou, Tian; Nijssen, Bart; Gao, Huilin

Man-made reservoirs play a key role in the terrestrial water system. They alter water fluxes at the land surface and impact surface water storage through water management regulations for diverse purposes such as irrigation, municipal water supply, hydropower generation, and flood control. Although most developed countries have established sophisticated observing systems for many variables in the land surface water cycle, long-term and consistent records of reservoir storage are much more limited and not always shared. Furthermore, most land surface hydrological models do not represent the effects of water management activities. Here, the contribution of reservoirs to seasonal water storage variationsmore » is investigated using a large-scale water management model to simulate the effects of reservoir management at basin and continental scales. The model was run from 1948 to 2010 at a spatial resolution of 0.258 latitude–longitude. A total of 166 of the largest reservoirs in the world with a total capacity of about 3900 km3 (nearly 60%of the globally integrated reservoir capacity) were simulated. The global reservoir storage time series reflects the massive expansion of global reservoir capacity; over 30 000 reservoirs have been constructed during the past half century, with a mean absolute interannual storage variation of 89 km3. The results indicate that the average reservoir-induced seasonal storage variation is nearly 700 km3 or about 10%of the global reservoir storage. For some river basins, such as the Yellow River, seasonal reservoir storage variations can be as large as 72%of combined snow water equivalent and soil moisture storage.« less

REAL-TIME high-resolution urban surface water flood mapping to support flood emergency management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guan, M.; Yu, D.; Wilby, R.

2016-12-01

Strong evidence has shown that urban flood risks will substantially increase because of urbanisation, economic growth, and more frequent weather extremes. To effectively manage these risks require not only traditional grey engineering solutions, but also a green management solution. Surface water flood risk maps based on return period are useful for planning purposes, but are limited for application in flood emergencies, because of the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of rainfall and complex urban topography. Therefore, a REAL-TIME urban surface water mapping system is highly beneficial to increasing urban resilience to surface water flooding. This study integrated numerical weather forecast and high-resolution urban surface water modelling into a real-time multi-level surface water mapping system for Leicester City in the UK. For rainfall forecast, the 1km composite rain radar from the Met Office was used, and we used the advanced rainfall-runoff model - FloodMap to predict urban surface water at both city-level (10m-20m) and street-level (2m-5m). The system is capable of projecting 3-hour urban surface water flood, driven by rainfall derived from UK Met Office radar. Moreover, this system includes real-time accessibility mapping to assist the decision-making of emergency responders. This will allow accessibility (e.g. time to travel) from individual emergency service stations (e.g. Fire & Rescue; Ambulance) to vulnerable places to be evaluated. The mapping results will support contingency planning by emergency responders ahead of potential flood events.

Satellite irrigation management support with the terrestrial observation and prediction system: A framework for integration of satellite & surface observations to support improvements in agricultural water resource management

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In California and other regions vulnerable to water shortages, satellite-derived estimates of key hydrologic parameters can support agricultural producers and water managers in maximizing the benefits of available water supplies. The Satellite Irrigation Management Support (SIMS) project combines N...

Using the Sacramento soil moisture accounting model to provide short-term forecasts of surface runoff for daily decision making in nutrient management

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Managing the timing of fertilizer and manure application is critical to protecting water quality in agricultural watersheds. When fertilizers and manures are applied at inopportune times (e.g., just prior to a rainfall event that produces surface runoff) the risk of surface water contamination is un...

Potentiometric Surface of the Upper Floridan Aquifer, West-central Florida, May 2010

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ortiz, A.G.

2010-01-01

The Floridan aquifer system consists of the Upper and Lower Floridan aquifers separated by the middle confining unit. The middle confining unit and the Lower Floridan aquifer in west-central Florida generally contain highly mineralized water. The water-bearing units containing fresh water are herein referred to as the Upper Floridan aquifer. The Upper Floridan aquifer is the principal source of water in the Southwest Florida Water Management District and is used for major public supply, domestic use, irrigation, and brackish water desalination in coastal communities (Southwest Florida Water Management District, 2000). This map report shows the potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer measured in May 2010. The potentiometric surface is an imaginary surface connecting points of equal altitude to which water will rise in tightly-cased wells that tap a confined aquifer system (Lohman, 1979). This map represents water-level conditions near the end of the dry season, when groundwater levels usually are at an annual low and withdrawals for agricultural use typically are high. The cumulative average rainfall of 55.21 inches for west-central Florida (from June 2009 through May 2010) was 2.55 inches above the historical cumulative average of 52.66 inches (Southwest Florida Water Management District, 2010). Historical cumulative averages are calculated from regional rainfall summary reports (1915 to most recent complete calendar year) and are updated monthly by the Southwest Florida Water Management District. This report, prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Southwest Florida Water Management District, is part of a semi-annual series of Upper Floridan aquifer potentiometric-surface map reports for west-central Florida. Potentiometric-surface maps have been prepared for January 1964, May 1969, May 1971, May 1973, May 1974, and for each May and September since 1975. Water-level data are collected in May and September each year to show the approximate annual low and high water-level conditions, respectively. Most of the water-level data for this map were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey during the period May 17-21, 2010. Supplemental water-level data were collected by other agencies and companies. Most water-level measurements were made during a 5-day period; therefore, measurements do not represent a 'snapshot' of conditions at a specific time, nor do they necessarily coincide with the seasonal low water-level condition.

Storm water management in an urban catchment: effects of source control and real-time management of sewer systems on receiving water quality.

PubMed

Frehmann, T; Nafo, I; Niemann, A; Geiger, W F

2002-01-01

For the examination of the effects of different storm water management strategies in an urban catchment area on receiving water quality, an integrated simulation of the sewer system, wastewater treatment plant and receiving water is carried out. In the sewer system real-time control measures are implemented. As examples of source control measures the reduction of wastewater and the reduction of the amount of impervious surfaces producing storm water discharges are examined. The surface runoff calculation and the simulation of the sewer system and the WWTP are based on a MATLAB/SIMULINK simulation environment. The impact of the measures on the receiving water is simulated using AQUASIM. It can be shown that the examined storm water management measures, especially the source control measures, can reduce the combined sewer overflow volume and the pollutant discharge load considerably. All examined measures also have positive effects on the receiving water quality. Moreover, the reduction of impervious surfaces avoids combined sewer overflow activities, and in consequence prevents pollutants from discharging into the receiving water after small rainfall events. However, the receiving water quality improvement may not be seen as important enough to avoid acute receiving water effects in general.

Potentiometric surface of the upper Floridan Aquifer in the St. Johns River Water Management District and vicinity, Florida, September, 2004

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kinnaman, Sandra L.

2005-01-01

Introduction: This map depicts the potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer in the St. Johns River Water Management District and vicinity in September 2004. Potentiometric contours are based on water-level measurements collected at 608 wells during the period September 14-October 1, near the end of the wet season. The shapes of some contours have been inferred from previous potentiometric-surface maps with larger well networks. The potentiometric surface of the carbonate Upper Floridan aquifer responds mainly to rainfall, and more locally, to ground-water withdrawals. Potentiometric-surface highs generally correspond to topographic highs where the aquifer is recharged. Springs and areas of diffuse upward leakage naturally discharge water from the aquifer and are most prevalent along the St. Johns River. Areas of discharge are reflected by depressions in the potentiometric surface. Ground-water withdrawals locally have lowered the potentiometric surface. Ground water in the Upper Floridan aquifer generally flows from potentiometric highs to potentiometric lows in a direction perpendicular to the contours.

Potentiometric Surface of the Upper Floridan Aquifer in the St. Johns River Water Management District and Vicinity, Florida, May, 2004

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kinnaman, Sandra L.; Knowles, Leel

2004-01-01

INTRODUCTION This map depicts the potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer in the St. Johns River Water Management District and vicinity in May 2001. Potentiometric contours are based on water-level measurements collected at 684 wells during the period May 2 - 30, near the end of the dry season. The shapes of some contours have been inferred from previous potentiometric-surface maps with larger well networks. The potentiometric surface of the carbonate Upper Floridan aquifer responds mainly to rainfall, and more locally, to ground-water withdrawals. Potentiometric-surface highs generally correspond to topographic highs where the aquifer is recharged. Springs and areas of diffuse upward leakage naturally discharge water from the aquifer and are most prevalent along the St. Johns River. Areas of discharge are reflected by depressions in the potentiometric surface. Ground-water withdrawals locally have lowered the potentiometric surface. Ground water in the Upper Floridan aquifer generally flows from potentiometric highs to potentiometric lows in a direction perpendicular to the contours.

Enhancing drought resilience with conjunctive use and managed aquifer recharge in California and Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Scanlon, Bridget R.; Reedy, Robert C.; Faunt, Claudia; Pool, Donald R.; Uhlman, Kristine;

2016-01-01

Projected longer‐term droughts and intense floods underscore the need to store more water to manage climate extremes. Here we show how depleted aquifers have been used to store water by substituting surface water use for groundwater pumpage (conjunctive use, CU) or recharging groundwater with surface water (Managed Aquifer Recharge, MAR). Unique multi‐decadal monitoring from thousands of wells and regional modeling datasets for the California Central Valley and central Arizona were used to assess CU and MAR. In addition to natural reservoir capacity related to deep water tables, historical groundwater depletion further expanded aquifer storage by ~44 km3 in the Central Valley and by ~100 km3 in Arizona, similar to or exceeding current surface reservoir capacity by up to three times. Local river water and imported surface water, transported through 100s of km of canals, is substituted for groundwater (≤15 km3/yr, CU) or is used to recharge groundwater (MAR, ≤1.5 km3/yr) during wet years shifting to mostly groundwater pumpage during droughts. In the Central Valley, CU and MAR locally reversed historically declining water‐level trends, which contrasts with simulated net regional groundwater depletion. In Arizona, CU and MAR also reversed historically declining groundwater level trends in Active Management Areas. These rising trends contrast with current declining trends in irrigated areas that lack access to surface water to support CU or MAR. Use of depleted aquifers as reservoirs could expand with winter flood irrigation or capturing flood discharges to the Pacific (0 – 1.6 km3/yr, 2000–2014) with additional infrastructure in California. Because flexibility and expanded portfolio options translate to resilience, CU and MAR enhance drought resilience through multi‐year storage, complementing shorter term surface reservoir storage, and facilitating water markets.

Potentiometric surface of the Floridan Aquifer, Southwest Florida Water Management District, May 1981

USGS Publications Warehouse

Yobbi, D.K.; Woodham, W.M.; Schiner, George R.

1981-01-01

A May 1981 potentiometric-surface map of the Southwest Florida Water Management District depicts the annual low water-level period. Potentiometric levels decreased 10 to 45 feet between September 1980 and May 1981 in the citrus and farming sections of southern Hillsborough, northern Hardee, southwestern Polk, northwestern DeSoto, and Manatee Counties. Water levels in these areas are widely affected by pumping for irrigation and have the greatest range in fluctuations. Water-level decreases ranged from 0 to 1 feet in coastal, northern, and southern areas of the Water Management District. Water levels in all of the approximate 700 wells measured in May 1981 are lower than May 1980 because of the virtual absence of rainfall in April and May. (USGS)

Potentiometric surface of the upper Floridan aquifer, west-central Florida, May 2011

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ortiz, Anita G.

2011-01-01

The Floridan aquifer system consists of the Upper and Lower Floridan aquifers separated by the middle confining unit. The middle confining unit and the Lower Floridan aquifer in west-central Florida generally contain highly mineralized water. The water-bearing units containing freshwater are herein referred to as the Upper Floridan aquifer. The Upper Floridan aquifer is the principal source of water in the Southwest Florida Water Management District and is used for major public supply, domestic use, irrigation, and brackish water desalination in coastal communities (Southwest Florida Water Management District, 2000). This map report shows the potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer measured in May 2011. The potentiometric surface is an imaginary surface connecting points of equal altitude to which water will rise in tightly-cased wells that tap a confined aquifer system (Lohman, 1979). This map represents water-level conditions near the end of the dry season, when groundwater levels usually are at an annual low and withdrawals for agricultural use typically are high. The cumulative average rainfall of 45.74 inches for west-central Florida (from June 2010 through May 2011) was 6.85 inches below the historical cumulative average of 52.59 inches (Southwest Florida Water Management District, 2011). Historical cumulative averages are calculated from regional rainfall summary reports (1915 to most recent complete calendar year) and are updated monthly by the Southwest Florida Water Management District. This report, prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Southwest Florida Water Management District, is part of a semi-annual series of Upper Floridan aquifer potentiometric-surface map reports for west-central Florida. Potentiometric-surface maps have been prepared for January 1964, May 1969, May 1971, May 1973, May 1974, and for each May and September from 1975 through 2010. Water-level data are collected in May and September each year to show the approximate annual low and high water-level conditions, respectively. Most of the water-level data for this map were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey during the period May 23-27, 2011. Supplemental water-level data were collected by other agencies and companies. Most water-level measurements were made during a 5-day period; therefore, measurements do not represent a "snapshot" of conditions at a specific time, nor do they necessarily coincide with the seasonal low water-level condition.

Application of a Groundwater Modeling Tool for Managing Hydrologically Connected Area in State of Nebraska, US

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, R.; Flyr, B.; Bradley, J.; Pun, M.; Schneider, J.; Wietjes, J.; Chinta, S.

2014-12-01

Determination of the nature and degree of hydrologically connected groundwater and surface water resources is of paramount importance to integrated water management within the State of Nebraska to understand the impact of water uses on available supplies, such as depletion of streams and aquifers caused by groundwater pumping. The ability to quantify effects of surface water-groundwater hydrologic connection and interactions, is regarded as one of the most important steps towards effectively managing water resources in Nebraska and provides the basis for designating management areas. Designation of management areas allows the state and other management entities to focus various efforts and resources towards those projects that have the greatest impact to water users. Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (NDNR) developed a groundwater modeling tool, Cycle Well Analysis, to determine the areas defined to have a high degree of connectivity between groundwater and surface water (in accordance with the state regulations). This tool features two graphic user interfaces to allow the analysis to be fully compatible with most MODFLOW-based numerical groundwater models currently utilized by NDNR. Case studies showed that the tool, in combination of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), can be used to quantify the degree of stream depletion and delineate the boundary of hydrologically connected areas within different political boundaries and subbasins in Nebraska. This approach may be applied to other regions with similar background and need for integrated water management.

40 CFR 279.54 - Used oil management.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... the soil, groundwater, or surface water. (d) Secondary containment for existing aboveground tanks... containment system from migrating out of the system to the soil, groundwater, or surface water. (e) Secondary... out of the system to the soil, groundwater, or surface water. (f) Labels. (1) Containers and...

40 CFR 279.54 - Used oil management.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... the soil, groundwater, or surface water. (d) Secondary containment for existing aboveground tanks... containment system from migrating out of the system to the soil, groundwater, or surface water. (e) Secondary... out of the system to the soil, groundwater, or surface water. (f) Labels. (1) Containers and...

40 CFR 279.54 - Used oil management.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... the soil, groundwater, or surface water. (d) Secondary containment for existing aboveground tanks... containment system from migrating out of the system to the soil, groundwater, or surface water. (e) Secondary... out of the system to the soil, groundwater, or surface water. (f) Labels. (1) Containers and...

40 CFR 279.54 - Used oil management.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... the soil, groundwater, or surface water. (d) Secondary containment for existing aboveground tanks... containment system from migrating out of the system to the soil, groundwater, or surface water. (e) Secondary... out of the system to the soil, groundwater, or surface water. (f) Labels. (1) Containers and...

Perception of drought by surface and groundwater farmers: a perspective from Júcar river basin, Spain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urquijo, Julia; De Stefano, Lucia

2015-04-01

Irrigation farmers play a key role in water management at all levels and their role becomes even more relevant during droughts, when water systems are under increased pressure. The analysis of farmers' drought perception and of their strategies to reduce vulnerability can contribute to better understand their behavior and concerns, and to better inform decision-making regarding drought management at different scales. This study focuses on the analysis of perception of and response to drought of surface and groundwater irrigation farmers in two areas of the Jucar River Basin (Spain). The results show that the dependence on surface water or groundwater for irrigation highly influences farmers' perception of drought. For surface water farmers, non-climatic factors (e.g. level of reservoirs or impacts on production) are used to describe drought situations more often that precipitation shortfalls, while groundwater irrigators barely feel affected by rainfall variability. Local strategies are highly adapted to local conditions and usually require collective agreements to coordinate individual actions and make them effective. The vulnerability factors differ depending on the source of water used to support irrigation, e.g. being water quality and the cost of water reasons of concern for groundwater farmers while irrigators using surface water are concerned with temporal water shortages and the economic viability of their agricultural activity. The analysis of how farmers relate to and face drought appears also to catch the main water management issues in the River Basin. The results of the study highlight that local knowledge can inform policy makers on the way farmers cope with drought and it can also support decision-making in enhancing drought and water resource management.

Potentiometric Surface of the Upper Floridan Aquifer, West-Central Florida, May 2009

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ortiz, Anita G.

2009-01-01

The Floridan aquifer system consists of the Upper and Lower Floridan aquifers separated by the middle confining unit. The middle confining unit and the Lower Floridan aquifer in west-central Florida generally contain highly mineralized water. The water-bearing units containing fresh water are herein referred to as the Upper Floridan aquifer. The Upper Floridan aquifer is the principal source of water in the Southwest Florida Water Management District and is used for major public supply, domestic use, irrigation, and brackish water desalination in coastal communities (Southwest Florida Water Management District, 2000). This map report shows the potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer measured in May 2009. The potentiometric surface is an imaginary surface connecting points of equal altitude to which water will rise in tightly-cased wells that tap a confined aquifer system (Lohman, 1979). This map represents water-level conditions near the end of the dry season, when ground-water levels usually are at an annual low and withdrawals for agricultural use typically are high. The cumulative average rainfall of 48.53 inches for west-central Florida (from June 2008 through May 2009) was 4.12 inches below the historical cumulative average of 52.65 inches (Southwest Florida Water Management District, 2009). Historical cumulative averages are calculated from regional rainfall summary reports (1915 to most recent complete calendar year) and are updated monthly by the Southwest Florida Water Management District. This report, prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Southwest Florida Water Management District, is part of a semi-annual series of Upper Floridan aquifer potentiometric-surface map reports for west-central Florida. Potentiometric-surface maps have been prepared for January 1964, May 1969, May 1971, May 1973, May 1974, and for each May and September since 1975. Water-level data are collected in May and September each year to show the approximate annual low and high water-level conditions, respectively. Most of the water-level data for this map were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey during the period May 18-22, 2009. Supplemental water-level data were collected by other agencies and companies. A corresponding potentiometric-surface map was prepared for areas east and north of the Southwest Florida Water Management District boundary by the U.S. Geological Survey office in Orlando, Florida (Kinnaman and Dixon, 2009). Most water-level measurements were made during a 5-day period; therefore, measurements do not represent a 'snapshot' of conditions at a specific time, nor do they necessarily coincide with the seasonal low water-level condition. The potentiometric contours are generalized to synoptically portray the head in a dynamic hydrologic system, taking due account of the variations in hydrogeologic conditions, such as differing depths of wells, nonsimultaneous measurements of water levels, variable effects of pumping, and changing climatic influence. The potentiometric contours may not conform exactly with the individual measurements of water levels.

Potentiometric Surface of the Upper Floridan Aquifer in the St. Johns River Water Management District and Vicinity, Florida, May 2007

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kinnaman, Sandra L.; Dixon, Joann F.

2007-01-01

Introduction This map depicts the potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer in the St. Johns River Water Management District and vicinity for May 2007. Potentiometric contours are based on water-level measurements collected at 566 wells during the period May 4-June 11 near the end of the dry season, however most of the water level data for this map were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey during the period May 21-25, 2007. Some contours are inferred from previous potentiometric-surface maps with larger well networks. The potentiometric surface of the carbonate Upper Floridan aquifer responds mainly to rainfall, and more locally, to ground-water withdrawals and spring flow. Potentiometric-surface highs generally correspond to topographic highs where the aquifer is recharged. Springs and areas of diffuse upward leakage naturally discharge water from the aquifer and are most prevalent along the St. Johns River. Areas of discharge are reflected by depressions in the potentiometric surface. Ground-water withdrawals locally have lowered the potentiometric surface. Ground water in the Upper Floridan aquifer generally flows from potentiometric highs to potentiometric lows in a direction perpendicular to the contours.

18 CFR 740.1 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... authorized by the Act and those related programs of other Federal agencies; (2) Integration of water conservation with State water management planning; (3) Integration of water quantity and water quality planning; (4) Integration of ground and surface water planning; (5) Planning for protection and management of...

Potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer, west-central Florida, September 2010

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ortiz, A.G.

2011-01-01

This report, prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Southwest Florida Water Management District, is part of a semi-annual series of Upper Floridan aquifer potentiometric-surface map reports for west-central Florida. Potentiometric surface maps have been prepared for January 1964, May 1969, May 1971, May 1973, May 1974, and for each May and September since 1975. Water-level data are collected in May and September each year to show the approximate annual low and high water-level conditions, respectively. This map report shows the potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer measured in September 2010. The potentiometric surface is an imaginary surface connecting points of equal altitude to which water will rise in tightly-cased wells that tap a confined aquifer system (Lohman, 1979). This map represents water-level conditions near the end of the wet season, when groundwater levels usually are at an annual high and withdrawals for agricultural use typically are low. The cumulative average rainfall of 53.17 inches for west-central Florida (from October 2009 through September 2010) was 0.41 inches above the historical cumulative average of 52.76 inches (Southwest Florida Water Management District, 2010). Historical cumulative averages are calculated from regional rainfall summary reports (1915 to most recent complete calendar year) and are updated monthly by the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

Surface-Water Quality-Assurance Plan for the USGS Wisconsin Water Science Center

USGS Publications Warehouse

Garn, H.S.

2007-01-01

This surface-water quality-assurance plan documents the standards, policies, and procedures used by the Wisconsin Water Science Center of the U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Discipline, for activities related to the collection, processing, storage, analysis, management, and publication of surface-water data. The roles and responsibilities of Water Science Center personnel in following these policies and procedures including those related to safety and training are presented.

Hybrid-optimization algorithm for the management of a conjunctive-use project and well field design

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chiu, Yung-Chia; Nishikawa, Tracy; Martin, Peter

2012-01-01

Hi-Desert Water District (HDWD), the primary water-management agency in the Warren Groundwater Basin, California, plans to construct a waste water treatment plant to reduce future septic-tank effluent from reaching the groundwater system. The treated waste water will be reclaimed by recharging the groundwater basin via recharge ponds as part of a larger conjunctive-use strategy. HDWD wishes to identify the least-cost conjunctiveuse strategies for managing imported surface water, reclaimed water, and local groundwater. As formulated, the mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) groundwater-management problem seeks to minimize water delivery costs subject to constraints including potential locations of the new pumping wells, California State regulations, groundwater-level constraints, water-supply demand, available imported water, and pump/recharge capacities. In this study, a hybrid-optimization algorithm, which couples a genetic algorithm and successive-linear programming, is developed to solve the MINLP problem. The algorithm was tested by comparing results to the enumerative solution for a simplified version of the HDWD groundwater-management problem. The results indicate that the hybrid-optimization algorithm can identify the global optimum. The hybrid-optimization algorithm is then applied to solve a complex groundwater-management problem. Sensitivity analyses were also performed to assess the impact of varying the new recharge pond orientation, varying the mixing ratio of reclaimed water and pumped water, and varying the amount of imported water available. The developed conjunctive management model can provide HDWD water managers with information that will improve their ability to manage their surface water, reclaimed water, and groundwater resources.

Evaluation of Management Practices to Mitigate Pesticide Transport and Ecological Risk of Runoff from Agricultural and Turf Systems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Highly managed biotic systems such as agricultural crops and golf courses often require multiple applications of pesticides that may be transported with runoff to surrounding surface waters. Pesticides have been detected in surface waters of rural and urban watersheds invoking concern of their sour...

Drainage water management

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This article introduces a series of papers that report results of field studies to determine the effectiveness of drainage water management (DWM) on conserving drainage water and reducing losses of nitrogen (N) to surface waters. The series is focused on the performance of the DWM (also called contr...

Environmental Perceptions of Surface Water Quality and Management: a tool to strengthen public participation in the search for solutions to the imbalance of water in nature. A study applied in Chiapas's Río Fogótico Microbasin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benez, M. C.; Kauffer Michel, E. F.

2013-05-01

The study of environmental perceptions can expose interstings aspects involved in imbalance of water in nature. The main objective of this study was to assess the perceptions of quality and management of surface water in the Fogótico River microbasin in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, from the perspective of differents social groups. Secondary objectives consisted in analyzing the differences of perception according to social groups and considering the potential contribution of perception studies for watershed management.; t;

Enhancing drought resilience with conjunctive use and managed aquifer recharge in California and Arizona

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scanlon, Bridget R.; Reedy, Robert C.; Faunt, Claudia C.; Pool, Donald; Uhlman, Kristine

2016-03-01

Projected longer-term droughts and intense floods underscore the need to store more water to manage climate extremes. Here we show how depleted aquifers have been used to store water by substituting surface water use for groundwater pumpage (conjunctive use, CU) or recharging groundwater with surface water (managed aquifer recharge, MAR). Unique multi-decadal monitoring from thousands of wells and regional modeling datasets for the California Central Valley and central Arizona were used to assess CU and MAR. In addition to natural reservoir capacity related to deep water tables, historical groundwater depletion further expanded aquifer storage by ˜44 km3 in the Central Valley and by ˜100 km3 in Arizona, similar to or exceeding current surface reservoir capacity by up to three times. Local river water and imported surface water, transported through 100s of km of canals, is substituted for groundwater (≤15 km3 yr-1, CU) or is used to recharge groundwater (MAR, ≤1.5 km3 yr-1) during wet years shifting to mostly groundwater pumpage during droughts. In the Central Valley, CU and MAR locally reversed historically declining water-level trends, which contrasts with simulated net regional groundwater depletion. In Arizona, CU and MAR also reversed historically declining groundwater level trends in active management areas. These rising trends contrast with current declining trends in irrigated areas that lack access to surface water to support CU or MAR. Use of depleted aquifers as reservoirs could expand with winter flood irrigation or capturing flood discharges to the Pacific (0-1.6 km3 yr-1, 2000-2014) with additional infrastructure in California. Because flexibility and expanded portfolio options translate to resilience, CU and MAR enhance drought resilience through multi-year storage, complementing shorter term surface reservoir storage, and facilitating water markets.

Optimizing the well pumping rate and its distance from a stream

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdel-Hafez, M. H.; Ogden, F. L.

2008-12-01

Both ground water and surface water are very important component of the water resources. Since they are coupled systems in riparian areas, management strategies that neglect interactions between them penalize senior surface water rights to the benefit of junior ground water rights holders in the prior appropriation rights system. Water rights managers face a problem in deciding which wells need to be shut down and when, in the case of depleted stream flow. A simulation model representing a combined hypothetical aquifer and stream has been developed using MODFLOW 2000 to capture parameter sensitivity, test management strategies and guide field data collection campaigns to support modeling. An optimization approach has been applied to optimize both the well distance from the stream and the maximum pumping rate that does not affect the stream discharge downstream the pumping wells. Conjunctive management can be modeled by coupling the numerical simulation model with the optimization techniques using the response matrix technique. The response matrix can be obtained by calculating the response coefficient for each well and stream. The main assumption of the response matrix technique is that the amount of water out of the stream to the aquifer is linearly proportional to the well pumping rate (Barlow et al. 2003). The results are presented in dimensionless form, which can be used by the water managers to solve conflicts between surface water and ground water holders by making the appropriate decision to choose which well need to be shut down first.

Multi-objective analysis of the conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater in a multisource water supply system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vieira, João; da Conceição Cunha, Maria

2017-04-01

A multi-objective decision model has been developed to identify the Pareto-optimal set of management alternatives for the conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater of a multisource urban water supply system. A multi-objective evolutionary algorithm, Borg MOEA, is used to solve the multi-objective decision model. The multiple solutions can be shown to stakeholders allowing them to choose their own solutions depending on their preferences. The multisource urban water supply system studied here is dependent on surface water and groundwater and located in the Algarve region, southernmost province of Portugal, with a typical warm Mediterranean climate. The rainfall is low, intermittent and concentrated in a short winter, followed by a long and dry period. A base population of 450 000 inhabitants and visits by more than 13 million tourists per year, mostly in summertime, turns water management critical and challenging. Previous studies on single objective optimization after aggregating multiple objectives together have already concluded that only an integrated and interannual water resources management perspective can be efficient for water resource allocation in this drought prone region. A simulation model of the multisource urban water supply system using mathematical functions to represent the water balance in the surface reservoirs, the groundwater flow in the aquifers, and the water transport in the distribution network with explicit representation of water quality is coupled with Borg MOEA. The multi-objective problem formulation includes five objectives. Two objective evaluate separately the water quantity and the water quality supplied for the urban use in a finite time horizon, one objective calculates the operating costs, and two objectives appraise the state of the two water sources - the storage in the surface reservoir and the piezometric levels in aquifer - at the end of the time horizon. The decision variables are the volume of withdrawals from each water source in each time step (i.e., reservoir diversion and groundwater pumping). The results provide valuable information for analysing the impacts of the conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater. For example, considering a drought scenario, the results show how the same level of total water supplied can be achieved by different management alternatives with different impact on the water quality, costs, and the state of the water sources at the end of the time horizon. The results allow also the clear understanding of the potential benefits from the conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater thorough the mitigation of the variation in the availability of surface water, improving the water quantity and/or water quality delivered to the users, or the better adaptation of such systems to a changing world.

Summary appraisals of the Nation's ground-water resources; Texas Gulf region

USGS Publications Warehouse

Baker, E.T.; Wall, James Ray

1974-01-01

Because significant amounts of ground water are available, the opportunities for expanded and conjunctive use of ground water and surface water should be considered in regional plans for water development and conservation. The complexities of water management and the difficulties of achieving an integrated system of total water management will require additional technical information.

Summary appraisals of the Nation's ground-water resources; Texas-Gulf region

USGS Publications Warehouse

Baker, E.T.; Wall, J.R.

1976-01-01

Because significant amounts of ground water are available, the opportunities for expanded and conjunctive use of ground water and surface water should be considered in regional plans for water development and conservation. The complexities of water management and the difficulties of achieving an integrated system of total-water management will require additional technical information.

Coupling biophysical processes and water rights to simulate spatially distributed water use in an intensively managed hydrologic system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Bangshuai; Benner, Shawn G.; Bolte, John P.; Vache, Kellie B.; Flores, Alejandro N.

2017-07-01

Humans have significantly altered the redistribution of water in intensively managed hydrologic systems, shifting the spatiotemporal patterns of surface water. Evaluating water availability requires integration of hydrologic processes and associated human influences. In this study, we summarize the development and evaluation of an extensible hydrologic model that explicitly integrates water rights to spatially distribute irrigation waters in a semi-arid agricultural region in the western US, using the Envision integrated modeling platform. The model captures both human and biophysical systems, particularly the diversion of water from the Boise River, which is the main water source that supports irrigated agriculture in this region. In agricultural areas, water demand is estimated as a function of crop type and local environmental conditions. Surface water to meet crop demand is diverted from the stream reaches, constrained by the amount of water available in the stream, the water-rights-appropriated amount, and the priority dates associated with particular places of use. Results, measured by flow rates at gaged stream and canal locations within the study area, suggest that the impacts of irrigation activities on the magnitude and timing of flows through this intensively managed system are well captured. The multi-year averaged diverted water from the Boise River matches observations well, reflecting the appropriation of water according to the water rights database. Because of the spatially explicit implementation of surface water diversion, the model can help diagnose places and times where water resources are likely insufficient to meet agricultural water demands, and inform future water management decisions.

Management of the water balance and quality in mining areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pasanen, Antti; Krogerus, Kirsti; Mroueh, Ulla-Maija; Turunen, Kaisa; Backnäs, Soile; Vento, Tiia; Veijalainen, Noora; Hentinen, Kimmo; Korkealaakso, Juhani

2015-04-01

Although mining companies have long been conscious of water related risks they still face environmental management problems. These problems mainly emerge because mine sites' water balances have not been adequately assessed in the stage of the planning of mines. More consistent approach is required to help mining companies identify risks and opportunities related to the management of water resources in all stages of mining. This approach requires that the water cycle of a mine site is interconnected with the general hydrologic water cycle. In addition to knowledge on hydrological conditions, the control of the water balance in the mining processes require knowledge of mining processes, the ability to adjust process parameters to variable hydrological conditions, adaptation of suitable water management tools and systems, systematic monitoring of amounts and quality of water, adequate capacity in water management infrastructure to handle the variable water flows, best practices to assess the dispersion, mixing and dilution of mine water and pollutant loading to receiving water bodies, and dewatering and separation of water from tailing and precipitates. WaterSmart project aims to improve the awareness of actual quantities of water, and water balances in mine areas to improve the forecasting and the management of the water volumes. The study is executed through hydrogeological and hydrological surveys and online monitoring procedures. One of the aims is to exploit on-line water quantity and quality monitoring for the better management of the water balances. The target is to develop a practical and end-user-specific on-line input and output procedures. The second objective is to develop mathematical models to calculate combined water balances including the surface, ground and process waters. WSFS, the Hydrological Modeling and Forecasting System of SYKE is being modified for mining areas. New modelling tools are developed on spreadsheet and system dynamics platforms to systematically integrate all water balance components (groundwater, surface water, infiltration, precipitation, mine water facilities and operations etc.) into overall dynamic mine site considerations. After coupling the surface and ground water models (e.g. Feflow and WSFS) with each other, they are compared with Goldsim. The third objective is to integrate the monitoring and modelling tools into the mine management system and process control. The modelling and predictive process control can prevent flood situations, ensure water adequacy, and enable the controlled mine water treatment. The project will develop a constantly updated management system for water balance including both natural waters and process waters.

Protecting Surface Water Systems on Forest Sites Through Herbicide Use

Treesearch

J.L. Michael; H.L. Gibbs; J.B. Fischer; E.C. Webber

2000-01-01

Sediment, nutrients, and pesticides are universally accepted as the greatest threats to surface water quality world-wide. Sedimentation in surface waters is a natural phenomenon, but is magnified by human activities. Intensive forest management practices, particularly road building, harvesting and planting site preparation, result in the greatest increases in erosion...

Mapping water availability, cost and projected consumptive use in the eastern United States with comparisons to the west

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tidwell, Vincent C.; Moreland, Barbie D.; Shaneyfelt, Calvin R.; Kobos, Peter

2018-01-01

The availability of freshwater supplies to meet future demand is a growing concern. Water availability metrics are needed to inform future water development decisions. With the help of water managers, water availability was mapped for over 1300 watersheds throughout the 31 contiguous states in the eastern US complimenting a prior study of the west. The compiled set of water availability data is unique in that it considers multiple sources of water (fresh surface and groundwater, wastewater and brackish groundwater); accommodates institutional controls placed on water use; is accompanied by cost estimates to access, treat and convey each unique source of water; and is compared to projected future growth in consumptive water use to 2030. Although few administrative limits have been set on water availability in the east, water managers have identified 315 fresh surface water and 398 fresh groundwater basins (with 151 overlapping basins) as areas of concern (AOCs) where water supply challenges exist due to drought related concerns, environmental flows, groundwater overdraft, or salt water intrusion. This highlights a difference in management where AOCs are identified in the east which simply require additional permitting, while in the west strict administrative limits are established. Although the east is generally considered ‘water rich’ roughly a quarter of the basins were identified as AOCs; however, this is still in strong contrast to the west where 78% of the surface water basins are operating at or near their administrative limit. Little effort was noted on the part of eastern or western water managers to quantify non-fresh water resources.

MODFLOW-OWHM v2: New Features and Improvements; The Next Generation of MODFLOW Conjunctive Use Simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boyce, S. E.; Hanson, R. T.; Henson, W.; Ferguson, I. M.; Schmid, W.; Reimann, T.; Mehl, S.

2017-12-01

The One-Water Hydrologic Flow Model (One-Water) is a MODFLOW-based integrated hydrologic flow model designed for the analysis of a broad range of conjunctive-use and sustainability issues. It was motivated by the need to merge the multiple variants of MODFLOW-2005 to yield an enhanced unified version capable of simulating conjunctive use and management, sustainability, climate-related issues, and managing the relationships between groundwater, surface water, and land usage. One-Water links the movement and use of groundwater, surface water, and imported water for consumption by agriculture and natural vegetation on the landscape, and for potable and other uses within a supply-and-demand framework. The first version, released in 2014, was selected by The World Bank Water Resource Software Review in 2016 as one of three recommended simulation programs for conjunctive use and management modeling. One-Water is also being used as the primary simulation engine for FREEWAT, a European Union sponsored open-source water management software environment. The next version of One-Water will include a new surface-water operations module that simulates dynamic reservoir operations and a conduit-flow process for karst aquifers and leaky pipe networks. It will also include enhancements to local grid refinement, and additional features to facilitate easier model updates, faster execution, better error messages, and more integration/cross communication between the traditional MODFLOW packages. The new structure also helps facilitate the new integration into a "Self-Updating" structure of data streams, simulation, and analysis needed for modern water resource management. By retaining and tracking the water within the hydrosphere, One-Water accounts for "all of the water everywhere and all of the time." This philosophy provides more confidence in the water accounting to the scientific community and provides the public a foundation needed to address wider classes of problems. Ultimately, more complex questions are being asked about water resources, requiring tools that more completely answer conjunctive-use management questions.

Quantifying Changes in Accessible Water in the Colorado River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castle, S.; Thomas, B.; Reager, J. T.; Swenson, S. C.; Famiglietti, J. S.

2013-12-01

The Colorado River Basin (CRB) in the western United States is heavily managed yet remains one of the most over-allocated rivers in the world providing water across seven US states and Mexico. Future water management strategies in the CRB have employed land surface models to forecast discharges; such approaches have focused on discharge estimates to meet allocation requirements yet ignore groundwater abstractions to meet water demands. In this analysis, we illustrate the impact of changes in accessible water, which we define as the conjunctive use of both surface water reservoir storage and groundwater storage, using remote sensing observations to explore sustainable water management strategies in the CRB. We employ high resolution Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite data to detect changes in reservoir storage in the two largest reservoirs within the CRB, Lakes Mead and Powell, and the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) terrestrial water storage anomalies to isolate changes in basin-wide groundwater storage in the Upper and Lower CRB from October 2003 to December 2012. Our approach quantifies reservoir and groundwater storage within the CRB using remote sensing to provide new information to water managers to sustainably and conjunctively manage accessible water.

The influence of lithology on surface water sources

EPA Science Inventory

Understanding the temporal and spatial variability of surface water sources within a basin is vital to our ability to manage the impacts of climate variability and land cover change. Water stable isotopes can be used as a tool to determine geographic and seasonal sources of water...

Evaluation of nitrogen and phosphorus transport with runoff from fairway turf managed with hollow tine core cultivation and verticutting

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Enrichment of surface waters with excess nutrients is associated with increased algal blooms, euthrophication and hypoxic zones, as reported in the northern Gulf of Mexico. A source of nutrients to surface waters results from fertilizer runoff. Management strategies used to maintain turf on golf cou...

Understanding and managing the effects of groundwater pumping on streamflow

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leake, Stanley A.; Barlow, Paul M.

2013-01-01

Groundwater is a critical resource in the United States because it provides drinking water, irrigates crops, supports industry, and is a source of water for rivers, streams, lakes, and springs. Wells that pump water out of aquifers can reduce the amount of groundwater that flows into rivers and streams, which can have detrimental impacts on aquatic ecosystems and the availability of surface water. Estimation of rates, locations, and timing of streamflow depletion due to groundwater pumping is needed for water-resource managers and users throughout the United States, but the complexity of groundwater and surface-water systems and their interactions presents a major challenge. The understanding of streamflow depletion and evaluation of water-management practices have improved during recent years through the use of computer models that simulate aquifer conditions and the effects of pumping groundwater on streams.

Hybrid-optimization algorithm for the management of a conjunctive-use project and well field design

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chiu, Yung-Chia; Nishikawa, Tracy; Martin, Peter

2012-01-01

Hi‐Desert Water District (HDWD), the primary water‐management agency in the Warren Groundwater Basin, California, plans to construct a waste water treatment plant to reduce future septic‐tank effluent from reaching the groundwater system. The treated waste water will be reclaimed by recharging the groundwater basin via recharge ponds as part of a larger conjunctive‐use strategy. HDWD wishes to identify the least‐cost conjunctive‐use strategies for managing imported surface water, reclaimed water, and local groundwater. As formulated, the mixed‐integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) groundwater‐management problem seeks to minimize water‐delivery costs subject to constraints including potential locations of the new pumping wells, California State regulations, groundwater‐level constraints, water‐supply demand, available imported water, and pump/recharge capacities. In this study, a hybrid‐optimization algorithm, which couples a genetic algorithm and successive‐linear programming, is developed to solve the MINLP problem. The algorithm was tested by comparing results to the enumerative solution for a simplified version of the HDWD groundwater‐management problem. The results indicate that the hybrid‐optimization algorithm can identify the global optimum. The hybrid‐optimization algorithm is then applied to solve a complex groundwater‐management problem. Sensitivity analyses were also performed to assess the impact of varying the new recharge pond orientation, varying the mixing ratio of reclaimed water and pumped water, and varying the amount of imported water available. The developed conjunctive management model can provide HDWD water managers with information that will improve their ability to manage their surface water, reclaimed water, and groundwater resources.

A Review of Surface Water Quality Models

PubMed Central

Li, Shibei; Jia, Peng; Qi, Changjun; Ding, Feng

2013-01-01

Surface water quality models can be useful tools to simulate and predict the levels, distributions, and risks of chemical pollutants in a given water body. The modeling results from these models under different pollution scenarios are very important components of environmental impact assessment and can provide a basis and technique support for environmental management agencies to make right decisions. Whether the model results are right or not can impact the reasonability and scientificity of the authorized construct projects and the availability of pollution control measures. We reviewed the development of surface water quality models at three stages and analyzed the suitability, precisions, and methods among different models. Standardization of water quality models can help environmental management agencies guarantee the consistency in application of water quality models for regulatory purposes. We concluded the status of standardization of these models in developed countries and put forward available measures for the standardization of these surface water quality models, especially in developing countries. PMID:23853533

High-resolution Continental Scale Land Surface Model incorporating Land-water Management in United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shin, S.; Pokhrel, Y. N.

2016-12-01

Land surface models have been used to assess water resources sustainability under changing Earth environment and increasing human water needs. Overwhelming observational records indicate that human activities have ubiquitous and pertinent effects on the hydrologic cycle; however, they have been crudely represented in large scale land surface models. In this study, we enhance an integrated continental-scale land hydrology model named Leaf-Hydro-Flood to better represent land-water management. The model is implemented at high resolution (5km grids) over the continental US. Surface water and groundwater are withdrawn based on actual practices. Newly added irrigation, water diversion, and dam operation schemes allow better simulations of stream flows, evapotranspiration, and infiltration. Results of various hydrologic fluxes and stores from two sets of simulation (one with and the other without human activities) are compared over a range of river basin and aquifer scales. The improved simulations of land hydrology have potential to build consistent modeling framework for human-water-climate interactions.

Potentiometric Surface of the Upper Floridan Aquifer in the St. Johns River Water Management District and Vicinity, Florida, May 2009

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kinnaman, Sandra L.; Dixon, Joann F.

2009-01-01

This map depicts the potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer in the St. Johns River Water Management District and vicinity for May 2009. Potentiometric contours are based on water-level measurements collected at 625 wells during the period May 14 - May 29, near the end of the dry season. Some contours are inferred from previous potentiometric-surface maps with larger well networks. The potentiometric surface of the carbonate Upper Floridan aquifer responds mainly to rainfall, and more locally, to groundwater withdrawals and spring flow. Potentiometric-surface highs generally correspond to topographic highs where the aquifer is recharged. Springs and areas of diffuse upward leakage naturally discharge water from the aquifer and are most prevalent along the St. Johns River. Areas of discharge are reflected by depressions in the potentiometric surface. Groundwater withdrawals locally have lowered the potentiometric surface. Groundwater in the Upper Floridan aquifer generally flows from potentiometric highs to potentiometric lows in a direction perpendicular to the contours.

E. coli transport from bottom sediments to the stream water column in base flow conditions

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

E. coli as an indicator bacterium is commonly used to characterize microbiological water quality, to evaluate surface water sources for microbiological impairment, and to assess management practices that lead to the decrease of pathogens and indicator influx in surface water sources for recreation a...

Identifying the regional-scale groundwater-surface water interaction on the Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China.

PubMed

Wang, Xihua; Zhang, Guangxin; Xu, Y Jun; Sun, Guangzhi

2015-11-01

Assessment on the interaction between groundwater and surface water (GW-SW) can generate information that is critical to regional water resource management, especially for regions that are highly dependent on groundwater resources for irrigation. This study investigated such interaction on China's Sanjiang Plain (10.9 × 10(4) km(2)) and produced results to assist sustainable regional water management for intensive agricultural activities. Methods of hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), principal component analysis (PCA), and statistical analysis were used in this study. One hundred two water samplings (60 from shallow groundwater, 7 from deep groundwater, and 35 from surface water) were collected and grouped into three clusters and seven sub-clusters during the analyses. The PCA analysis identified four principal components of the interaction, which explained 85.9% variance of total database, attributed to the dissolution and evolution of gypsum, feldspar, and other natural minerals in the region that was affected by anthropic and geological (sedimentary rock mineral) activities. The analyses showed that surface water in the upper region of the Sanjiang Plain gained water from local shallow groundwater, indicating that the surface water in the upper region was relatively more resilient to withdrawal for usage, whereas in the middle region, there was only a weak interaction between shallow groundwater and surface water. In the lower region of the Sanjiang Plain, surface water lost water to shallow groundwater, indicating that the groundwater was vulnerable to pollution by pesticides and fertilizers from terrestrial sources.

Results of soil, ground-water, surface-water, and streambed-sediment sampling at Air Force Plane 85, Columbus, Ohio, 1996

USGS Publications Warehouse

Parnell, J.M.

1997-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with Aeronautical Systems Center, Environmental Management Directorate, Restoration Division, prepared the Surface- and Ground- Water Monitoring Work Plan for Air Force Plant 85 (AFP 85 or Plant), Columbus, Ohio, under the Air Force Installation Restoration Program to characterize any ground-water, surface-water, and soil contamination that may exist at AFP 85. The USGS began the study in November 1996. The Plant was divided into nine sampling areas, which included some previously investi gated study sites. The investigation activities included the collection and presentation of data taken during drilling and water-quality sampling. Data collection focused on the saturated and unsatur ated zones and surface water. Twenty-three soil borings were completed. Ten monitoring wells (six existing wells and four newly constructed monitoring wells) were selected for water-quality sam pling. Surface-water and streambed-sediment sampling locations were chosen to monitor flow onto and off of the Plant. Seven sites were sampled for both surface-water and streambed-sediment quality. This report presents data on the selected inorganic and organic constituents in soil, ground water, surface water, and streambed sediments at AFP 85. The methods of data collection and anal ysis also are included. Knowledge of the geologic and hydrologic setting could aid Aeronautical Systems Center, Environmental Management Directorate, Restoration Division, and its governing regulatory agencies in future remediation studies.

Surface-water quality-assurance plan for the Wisconsin district of the U. S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division

USGS Publications Warehouse

Garn, H.S.

2002-01-01

This surface-water quality-assurance plan documents the standards, policies, and procedures used by the Wisconsin District of the U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division, for activities related to the collection, processing, storage, analysis, management, and publication of surface-water data. The roles and responsibilities of District personnel in following these policies and procedures including those related to safety and training are presented.

Effective water surface mapping in macrophyte-covered reservoirs in NE Brazil based on TerraSAR-X time series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Shuping; Foerster, Saskia; Medeiros, Pedro; de Araújo, José Carlos; Waske, Bjoern

2018-07-01

Water supplies in northeastern Brazil strongly depend on the numerous surface water reservoirs of various sizes there. However, the seasonal and long-term water surface dynamics of these reservoirs, particularly the large number of small ones, remain inadequately known. Remote sensing techniques have shown great potentials in water bodies mapping. Yet, the widespread presence of macrophytes in most of the reservoirs often impedes the delineation of the effective water surfaces. Knowledge of the dynamics of the effective water surfaces in the reservoirs is essential for understanding, managing, and modelling the local and regional water resources. In this study, a two-year time series of TerraSAR-X (TSX) satellite data was used to monitor the effective water surface areas in nine reservoirs in NE Brazil. Calm open water surfaces were obtained by segmenting the backscattering coefficients of TSX images with minimum error thresholding. Linear unmixing was implemented on the distributions of gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) variance in the reservoirs to quantify the proportions of sub-populations dominated by different types of scattering along the TSX time series. By referring to the statistics and the seasonal proportions of the GLCM variance sub-populations the GLCM variance was segmented to map the vegetated water surfaces. The effective water surface areas that include the vegetation-covered waters as well as calm open water in the reservoirs were mapped with accuracies >77%. The temporal and spatial change patterns of water surfaces in the nine reservoirs over a period of two consecutive dry and wet seasons were derived. Precipitation-related soil moisture changes, topography and the dense macrophyte canopies are the main sources of errors in the such-derived effective water surfaces. Independent from in-situ data, the approach employed in this study shows great potential in monitoring water surfaces of different complexity and macrophyte coverage. The effective water surface areas obtained for the reservoirs can provide valuable input for efficient water management and improve the hydrological modelling in this region.

Potentiometric surface of the upper Floridan Aquifer in the St. Johns Water Management District and vicinity, Florida, May 1984

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schiner, George R.; Hayes, Eugene C.

1984-01-01

This map shows the potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer in the St. Johns River Water Management District and vicinity for May 1984. The Upper Floridan aquifer is the principal source of potable water in the area. Water-level measurements were made on approximately 1,000 wells and on several springs. The potentiometric surface is shown mostly by 5-foot contour intervals. In the Fernandina Beach area a 40-foot interval is used to show a deep cone of depression. The potentiometric surface ranged from 126 feet above sea level in Polk County to 84 feet below sea level in Nassau County. Water levels in key wells were mostly above, or less frequently, slightly below averages for May in response to diverse area rainfall patterns. Most levels in the district were about the same, or more commonly, 1 to 2 feet lower than May 1983 levels. (USGS)

Potentiometric surface of the Floridan Aquifer, St. Johns River Water Management District and vicinity, Florida, May 1981

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schiner, George R.; Hayes, Eugene C.

1981-01-01

This map presents the potentiometric surface of the Floridan aquifer in the St. Johns River Water Management District and vicinity for May 1981. The Floridan aquifer is the principal source of potable water in the area. Water-level measurements were made in approximately 1,000 wells and at several springs. The potentiometric surface is shown mostly by 5-foot contour intervals. In the Fernandina Beach area 20 and 40-foot intervals are used to show a deep cone of depression. The potentiometric surface ranged from 122 feet above NGVD (National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929) in Polk County to 125 feet below NGVD in Nassau County. Water levels were at record lows in many counties due to lack of rainfall. Declines were as much as 10 feet and commonly 5 feet from the May 1980 levels. (USGS)

Estrogenicity and Nutrient Concentration of Surface Waters Surrounding a Large Confinement Dairy Operation Using Best Management Practices for Land Application of Animal Wastes

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The impact of a confinement dairy operation (> 2,000 head) using best management practices for land application of animal wastes, on estrogenic activity (E-Screen), estrogens, and nutrients of associated surface waters and tile drain runoff were evaluated. Farm tile drain and creek samples were col...

Towards an Improved Represenation of Reservoirs and Water Management in a Land Surface-Hydrology Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yassin, F.; Anis, M. R.; Razavi, S.; Wheater, H. S.

2017-12-01

Water management through reservoirs, diversions, and irrigation have significantly changed river flow regimes and basin-wide energy and water balance cycles. Failure to represent these effects limits the performance of land surface-hydrology models not only for streamflow prediction but also for the estimation of soil moisture, evapotranspiration, and feedbacks to the atmosphere. Despite recent research to improve the representation of water management in land surface models, there remains a need to develop improved modeling approaches that work in complex and highly regulated basins such as the 406,000 km2 Saskatchewan River Basin (SaskRB). A particular challenge for regional and global application is a lack of local information on reservoir operational management. To this end, we implemented a reservoir operation, water abstraction, and irrigation algorithm in the MESH land surface-hydrology model and tested it over the SaskRB. MESH is Environment Canada's Land Surface-hydrology modeling system that couples Canadian Land Surface Scheme (CLASS) with hydrological routing model. The implemented reservoir algorithm uses an inflow-outflow relationship that accounts for the physical characteristics of reservoirs (e.g., storage-area-elevation relationships) and includes simplified operational characteristics based on local information (e.g., monthly target volume and release under limited, normal, and flood storage zone). The irrigation algorithm uses the difference between actual and potential evapotranspiration to estimate irrigation water demand. This irrigation demand is supplied from the neighboring reservoirs/diversion in the river system. We calibrated the model enabled with the new reservoir and irrigation modules in a multi-objective optimization setting. Results showed that the reservoir and irrigation modules significantly improved the MESH model performance in generating streamflow and evapotranspiration across the SaskRB and that this our approach provides a basis for improved large scale hydrological modelling.

Applications of space technology to water resources management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Salomonson, V. V.

1977-01-01

Space technology transfer is discussed in terms of applying visible and infrared remote sensing measurement to water resources management. Mapping and monitoring of snowcovered areas, hydrologic land use, and surface water areas are discussed, using information acquired from LANDSAT and NOAA satellite systems.

Water shortage risk assessment considering large-scale regional transfers: a copula-based uncertainty case study in Lunan, China.

PubMed

Gao, Xueping; Liu, Yinzhu; Sun, Bowen

2018-06-05

The risk of water shortage caused by uncertainties, such as frequent drought, varied precipitation, multiple water resources, and different water demands, brings new challenges to the water transfer projects. Uncertainties exist for transferring water and local surface water; therefore, the relationship between them should be thoroughly studied to prevent water shortage. For more effective water management, an uncertainty-based water shortage risk assessment model (UWSRAM) is developed to study the combined effect of multiple water resources and analyze the shortage degree under uncertainty. The UWSRAM combines copula-based Monte Carlo stochastic simulation and the chance-constrained programming-stochastic multiobjective optimization model, using the Lunan water-receiving area in China as an example. Statistical copula functions are employed to estimate the joint probability of available transferring water and local surface water and sampling from the multivariate probability distribution, which are used as inputs for the optimization model. The approach reveals the distribution of water shortage and is able to emphasize the importance of improving and updating transferring water and local surface water management, and examine their combined influence on water shortage risk assessment. The possible available water and shortages can be calculated applying the UWSRAM, also with the corresponding allocation measures under different water availability levels and violating probabilities. The UWSRAM is valuable for mastering the overall multi-water resource and water shortage degree, adapting to the uncertainty surrounding water resources, establishing effective water resource planning policies for managers and achieving sustainable development.

A simulation-optimization model for effective water resources management in the coastal zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spanoudaki, Katerina; Kampanis, Nikolaos

2015-04-01

Coastal areas are the most densely-populated areas in the world. Consequently water demand is high, posing great pressure on fresh water resources. Climatic change and its direct impacts on meteorological variables (e.g. precipitation) and indirect impact on sea level rise, as well as anthropogenic pressures (e.g. groundwater abstraction), are strong drivers causing groundwater salinisation and subsequently affecting coastal wetlands salinity with adverse effects on the corresponding ecosystems. Coastal zones are a difficult hydrologic environment to represent with a mathematical model due to the large number of contributing hydrologic processes and variable-density flow conditions. Simulation of sea level rise and tidal effects on aquifer salinisation and accurate prediction of interactions between coastal waters, groundwater and neighbouring wetlands requires the use of integrated surface water-groundwater mathematical models. In the past few decades several computer codes have been developed to simulate coupled surface and groundwater flow. However, most integrated surface water-groundwater models are based on the assumption of constant fluid density and therefore their applicability to coastal regions is questionable. Thus, most of the existing codes are not well-suited to represent surface water-groundwater interactions in coastal areas. To this end, the 3D integrated surface water-groundwater model IRENE (Spanoudaki et al., 2009; Spanoudaki, 2010) has been modified in order to simulate surface water-groundwater flow and salinity interactions in the coastal zone. IRENE, in its original form, couples the 3D shallow water equations to the equations describing 3D saturated groundwater flow of constant density. A semi-implicit finite difference scheme is used to solve the surface water flow equations, while a fully implicit finite difference scheme is used for the groundwater equations. Pollution interactions are simulated by coupling the advection-diffusion equation describing the fate and transport of contaminants introduced in a 3D turbulent flow field to the partial differential equation describing the fate and transport of contaminants in 3D transient groundwater flow systems. The model has been further developed to include the effects of density variations on surface water and groundwater flow, while the already built-in solute transport capabilities are used to simulate salinity interactions. The refined model is based on the finite volume method using a cell-centred structured grid, providing thus flexibility and accuracy in simulating irregular boundary geometries. For addressing water resources management problems, simulation models are usually externally coupled with optimisation-based management models. However this usually requires a very large number of iterations between the optimisation and simulation models in order to obtain the optimal management solution. As an alternative approach, for improved computational efficiency, an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is trained as an approximate simulator of IRENE. The trained ANN is then linked to a Genetic Algorithm (GA) based optimisation model for managing salinisation problems in the coastal zone. The linked simulation-optimisation model is applied to a hypothetical study area for performance evaluation. Acknowledgement The work presented in this paper has been funded by the Greek State Scholarships Foundation (IKY), Fellowships of Excellence for Postdoctoral Studies (Siemens Program), 'A simulation-optimization model for assessing the best practices for the protection of surface water and groundwater in the coastal zone', (2013 - 2015). References Spanoudaki, K., Stamou, A.I. and Nanou-Giannarou, A. (2009). Development and verification of a 3-D integrated surface water-groundwater model. Journal of Hydrology, 375 (3-4), 410-427. Spanoudaki, K. (2010). Integrated numerical modelling of surface water groundwater systems (in Greek). Ph.D. Thesis, National Technical University of Athens, Greece.

Mapping water availability, cost and projected consumptive use in the Eastern United States with comparisons to the West

DOE PAGES

Tidwell, Vincent; Moreland, Barbara D.; Shaneyfelt, Calvin; ...

2017-11-08

The availability of freshwater supplies to meet future demand is a growing concern. Water availability metrics are needed to inform future water development decisions. Furthermore, with the help of water managers, water availability was mapped for over 1300 watersheds throughout the 31-contiguous states in the eastern U.S. complimenting a prior study of the west. The compiled set of water availability data is unique in that it considers multiple sources of water (fresh surface and groundwater, wastewater and brackish groundwater); accommodates institutional controls placed on water use; is accompanied by cost estimates to access, treat and convey each unique source ofmore » water, and; is compared to projected future growth in consumptive water use to 2030. Although few administrative limits have been set on water availability in the east, water managers have identified 315 fresh surface water and 398 fresh groundwater basins (with 151 overlapping basins) as Areas of Concern (AOCs) where water supply challenges exist due to drought related concerns, environmental flows, groundwater overdraft, or salt water intrusion. This highlights a difference in management where AOCs are identified in the east which simply require additional permitting, while in the west strict administrative limits are established. Although the east is generally considered "water rich" roughly a quarter of the basins were identified as AOCs; however, this is still in strong contrast to the west where 78% of the surface water basins are operating at or near their administrative limit. There was little effort noted on the part of eastern or western water managers to quantify non-fresh water resources.« less

Mapping water availability, cost and projected consumptive use in the Eastern United States with comparisons to the West

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tidwell, Vincent; Moreland, Barbara D.; Shaneyfelt, Calvin

The availability of freshwater supplies to meet future demand is a growing concern. Water availability metrics are needed to inform future water development decisions. Furthermore, with the help of water managers, water availability was mapped for over 1300 watersheds throughout the 31-contiguous states in the eastern U.S. complimenting a prior study of the west. The compiled set of water availability data is unique in that it considers multiple sources of water (fresh surface and groundwater, wastewater and brackish groundwater); accommodates institutional controls placed on water use; is accompanied by cost estimates to access, treat and convey each unique source ofmore » water, and; is compared to projected future growth in consumptive water use to 2030. Although few administrative limits have been set on water availability in the east, water managers have identified 315 fresh surface water and 398 fresh groundwater basins (with 151 overlapping basins) as Areas of Concern (AOCs) where water supply challenges exist due to drought related concerns, environmental flows, groundwater overdraft, or salt water intrusion. This highlights a difference in management where AOCs are identified in the east which simply require additional permitting, while in the west strict administrative limits are established. Although the east is generally considered "water rich" roughly a quarter of the basins were identified as AOCs; however, this is still in strong contrast to the west where 78% of the surface water basins are operating at or near their administrative limit. There was little effort noted on the part of eastern or western water managers to quantify non-fresh water resources.« less

High resolution land surface geophysical parameters estimation from ALOS PALSAR data

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

High resolution land surface geophysical products, such as soil moisture, surface roughness and vegetation water content, are essential for a variety of applications ranging from water management to regional climate predictions. In India high resolution geophysical products, in particular soil moist...

Evaluation of nitrogen and phosphorus transport with runoff from fairway turf managed with hollow tine core cultivation and verticutting.

PubMed

Rice, Pamela J; Horgan, Brian P

2013-07-01

Enrichment of surface waters with excess nutrients is associated with increased algal blooms, euthrophication and hypoxic zones, as reported in the northern Gulf of Mexico. A source of nutrients to surface waters results from fertilizer runoff. Management strategies used to maintain turf on golf courses and recreational fields often include aerification and application of fertilizer. Although research exists on benefits of core cultivation and verticutting (VC) to reduce thatch and the transport of applied chemicals with runoff, there are no studies reporting the effect of coupling these management practices with the goal of further reduction of off-site transport of fertilizer with runoff. We hypothesized that the addition of VC to hollow tine core cultivation (HTCC) would enhance infiltration of precipitation, reduce runoff and nutrient transport with runoff and therefore influence concentrations of nutrients in surface waters receiving runoff from turf managed as a golf course fairway. Greater runoff and mass of soluble phosphorus and ammonium nitrogen transported with runoff were measured from plots managed with HTCC+VC than HTCC; however, the reverse was noted for nitrate nitrogen. Only a portion of the observed trends proved to be statistically significant. Our research showed no reduction or enhancement of risk associated with surface water concentrations of phosphorus or nitrogen, resulting from runoff from creeping bentgrass turf that was managed with HTCC+VC compared to HTCC. Data obtained in this research will be useful to grounds superintendents when selecting best management practices and to scientists seeking data relating runoff to land management for watershed-scale modeling. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The Shoreline Management Tool - an ArcMap tool for analyzing water depth, inundated area, volume, and selected habitats, with an example for the lower Wood River Valley, Oregon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Snyder, Daniel T.; Haluska, Tana L.; Respini-Irwin, Darius

2013-01-01

The Shoreline Management Tool is a geographic information system (GIS) based program developed to assist water- and land-resource managers in assessing the benefits and effects of changes in surface-water stage on water depth, inundated area, and water volume. Additionally, the Shoreline Management Tool can be used to identify aquatic or terrestrial habitat areas where conditions may be suitable for specific plants or animals as defined by user-specified criteria including water depth, land-surface slope, and land-surface aspect. The tool can also be used to delineate areas for use in determining a variety of hydrologic budget components such as surface-water storage, precipitation, runoff, or evapotranspiration. The Shoreline Management Tool consists of two parts, a graphical user interface for use with Esri™ ArcMap™ GIS software to interact with the user to define scenarios and map results, and a spreadsheet in Microsoft® Excel® developed to display tables and graphs of the results. The graphical user interface allows the user to define a scenario consisting of an inundation level (stage), land areas (parcels), and habitats (areas meeting user-specified conditions) based on water depth, slope, and aspect criteria. The tool uses data consisting of land-surface elevation, tables of stage/volume and stage/area, and delineated parcel boundaries to produce maps (data layers) of inundated areas and areas that meet the habitat criteria. The tool can be run in a Single-Time Scenario mode or in a Time-Series Scenario mode, which uses an input file of dates and associated stages. The spreadsheet part of the tool uses a macro to process the results from the graphical user interface to create tables and graphs of inundated water volume, inundated area, dry area, and mean water depth for each land parcel based on the user-specified stage. The macro also creates tables and graphs of the area, perimeter, and number of polygons comprising the user-specified habitat areas within each parcel. The Shoreline Management Tool is highly transferable, using easily generated or readily available data. The capabilities of the tool are demonstrated using data from the lower Wood River Valley adjacent to Upper Klamath and Agency Lakes in southern Oregon.

Final Environmental Assessment for the Disposal of the Former Lynn Haven Fuel Depot, Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-12-01

groundwater), infrastructure/utilities (i.e., sanitary sewer, potable water, solid waste management, drainage, transportation systems, electricity and...on water resources (i.e., surface water and groundwater), infrastructure/utilities (i.e., sanitary sewer, potable water, solid waste management...3-8 3.3.6.4 Sanitary Sewer

Tribal water utility management

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1993-03-01

Contents: primacy program (what is primacy, advantages and disadvantages, treatment as a state, grant applications and funding); safe drinking water act (sampling requirements, coliform standard, public notification, surface water treatment rule impacts, uic and wellhead protection programs, lead/copper rule); water utility management (how is the utility program evaluated, who's responsible, what is the board and tribal council role).

Modeling urban storm rainfall runoff from diverse underlying surfaces and application for control design in Beijing.

PubMed

Ouyang, Wei; Guo, Bobo; Hao, Fanghua; Huang, Haobo; Li, Junqi; Gong, Yongwei

2012-12-30

Managing storm rainfall runoff is paramount in semi-arid regions with urban development. In Beijing, pollution prevention in urban storm runoff and storm water utilization has been identified as the primary strategy for urban water management. In this paper, we sampled runoff during storm rainfall events and analyzed the concentration of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS) and total phosphorus (TP) in the runoff. Furthermore, the first flush effect of storm rainfall from diverse underlying surfaces was also analyzed. With the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM), the different impervious rates of underlying surfaces during the storm runoff process were expressed. The removal rates of three typical pollutants and their interactions with precipitation and underlying surfaces were identified. From these rates, the scenarios regarding the urban storm runoff pollution loading from different designs of underlying previous rates were assessed with the SWMM. First flush effect analysis showed that the first 20% of the storm runoff should be discarded, which can help in utilizing the storm water resource. The results of this study suggest that the SWMM can express in detail the storm water pollution patterns from diverse underlying surfaces in Beijing, which significantly affected water quality. The scenario analysis demonstrated that impervious rate adjustment has the potential to reduce runoff peak and decrease pollution loading. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A review of the bioretention system for sustainable storm water management in urban areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shafique, Muhammad

2016-10-01

Bioretention basins/rain garden is a very suitable low-impact development (LID) practice for storm water management around the globe. By using this practice in urban areas, flash flooding problems can be decreased and the environment of an area can be improved. The concept of bioretention was introduced a few decades ago and has been proven to be the best management practice (BMP) for storm water in urban areas. Due to urbanisation, natural surface areas are converted into hard surfaces such as roads, through which water cannot infiltrate into the ground. Due to this, infiltration decreases and surface run-off increases, which causes depletion of ground water continuously. In this study, we mainly explain the bioretention concept and its function as derived from different studies. This review includes different scientists' results for the performance of the bioretention system at different locations. A summary of the research findings by different scientists on the performance of bioretention systems is also provided, including the hydrologic and water quality performances. Finally, future work necessary to enhance the performance and widespread use of bioretention systems is also explained.

Hydrologic and geochemical characterization of the Santa Rosa Plain watershed, Sonoma County, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nishikawa, Tracy

2013-01-01

The Santa Rosa Plain is home to approximately half of the population of Sonoma County, California, and faces growth in population and demand for water. Water managers are confronted with the challenge of meeting the increasing water demand with a combination of water sources, including local groundwater, whose future availability could be uncertain. To meet this challenge, water managers are seeking to acquire the knowledge and tools needed to understand the likely effects of future groundwater development in the Santa Rosa Plain and to identify efficient strategies for surface- and groundwater management that will ensure the long-term viability of the water supply. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Sonoma County Water Agency and other stakeholders in the area (cities of Cotati, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, and Sebastopol, town of Windsor, Cal-American Water Company, and the County of Sonoma), undertook this study to characterize the hydrology of the Santa Rosa Plain and to develop tools to better understand and manage the groundwater system. The objectives of the study are: (1) to develop an updated assessment of the hydrogeology and geochemistry of the Santa Rosa Plain; (2) to develop a fully coupled surface-water and groundwater-flow model for the Santa Rosa Plain watershed; and (3) to evaluate the potential hydrologic effects of alternative groundwater-management strategies for the basin. The purpose of this report is to describe the surface-water and groundwater hydrology, hydrogeology, and water-quality characteristics of the Santa Rosa Plain watershed and to develop a conceptual model of the hydrologic system in support of the first objective. The results from completing the second and third objectives will be described in a separate report.

Urban infrastructure and water management—Science capabilities of the U.S. Geological Survey

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fisher, Shawn C.; Fanelli, Rosemary M.; Selbig, William R.

2016-04-29

Managing the urban-water cycle has increasingly become a challenge for water-resources planners and regulators faced with the problem of providing clean drinking water to urban residents. Sanitary and combined sanitary and storm sewer networks convey wastewater to centralized treatment plants. Impervious surfaces, which include roads, parking lots, and buildings, increase stormwater runoff and the efficiency by which runoff is conveyed to nearby stream channels; therefore, impervious surfaces increase the risk of urban flooding and alteration of natural ecosystems. These challenges will increase with the expansion of urban centers and the probable effects of climate change on precipitation patterns. Understanding the urban-water cycle is critical to effectively manage water resources and to protect people, infrastructure, and urban-stream ecosystems. As a leader in water-supply, wastewater, and stormwater assessments, the U.S. Geological Survey has the expertise and resources needed to monitor, model, and interpret data related to the urban-water cycle and thereby enable water-resources managers to make informed decisions.

PAHs behavior in surface water and groundwater of the Yellow River estuary: Evidence from isotopes and hydrochemistry.

PubMed

Li, Jing; Li, Fadong; Liu, Qiang

2017-07-01

Large-scale irrigation projects have impacted the regional surface-groundwater interactions in the North China Plain (NCP). Given this concern, the aim of this study is to evaluate levels of PAH pollution, identify the sources of the PAHs, analyze the influence of surface-groundwater interactions on PAH distribution, and propose urgent management strategies for PAHs in China's agricultural areas. PAH concentrations, hydrochemical indicators and stable isotopic compositions (δ 18 O and δ 2 H) were determined for surface water (SW) and groundwater (GW) samples. PAHs concentrations in surface water and groundwater varied from 11.84 to 393.12 ng/L and 8.51-402.84 ng/L, respectively, indicating mild pollution. The seasonal variations showed the following trend: PAHs in surface water at the low-water phase > PAHs in groundwater at the low-water phase > PAHs in surface water at the high-water phase > PAHs in groundwater at the high-water phase. Hydrochemical and δ 18 O value of most groundwater samples distributed between the Yellow River and seawater. The mean value of mixture ratio of the Yellow River water recharge to the groundwater was 65%, few anomalous sites can reach to 90%. Surface-groundwater interactions influence the spatial distribution of PAHs in the study area. In light of the ongoing serious pollution, management practices for source control, improved control technologies, and the construction of a monitoring network to warn of increased risk are urgently needed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The contribution of space observations to water resources management; Proceedings of the Symposium, Bangalore, India, May 29-June 9, 1979

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Salomonson, V. V. (Editor); Bhavsar, P. D.

1980-01-01

The symposium focused on hydrology, soil moisture estimation and ground water exploration, wetlands monitoring and water quality estimation, hydrometeorology, snow and ice monitoring, and evapotranspiration estimation. Other problems discussed include surface water and flood mapping, watershed runoff estimation and prediction, and new space systems contributing to water resources management.

USEPA Safe and Sustainable Water Resources Program: Green Infrastructure for Stormwater Management

EPA Science Inventory

The water research portfolio of the USEPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) includes a significant focus on stormwater management as a major cause of contaminants in and degradation to surface waters. The importance of maintaining and restoring natural hydrology via green...

Enhancing participatory approach in water resources management: development of a survey to evaluate stakeholders needs and priorities related to software capabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foglia, L.; Rossetto, R.; Borsi, I.; Josef, S.; Boukalova, Z.; Triana, F.; Ghetta, M.; Sabbatini, T.; Bonari, E.; Cannata, M.; De Filippis, G.

2016-12-01

The EU H2020 FREEWAT project (FREE and open source software tools for WATer resource management) aims at simplifying the application of EU-water related Directives, by developing an open source and public domain, GIS-integrated platform for planning and management of ground- and surface-water resources. The FREEWAT platform is conceived as a canvas, where several distributed and physically-based simulation codes are virtually integrated. The choice of such codes was supported by the result of a survey performed by means of questionnaires distributed to 14 case study FREEWAT project partners and several stakeholders. This was performed in the first phase of the project within the WP 6 (Enhanced science and participatory approach evidence-based decision making), Task 6.1 (Definition of a "needs/tools" evaluation grid). About 30% among all the invited entities and institutions from several EU and non-EU Countries expressed their interest in contributing to the survey. Most of them were research institutions, government and geoenvironmental companies and river basin authorities.The result of the questionnaire provided a spectrum of needs and priorities of partners/stakeholders, which were addressed during the development phase of the FREEWAT platform. The main needs identified were related to ground- and surface-water quality, sustainable water management, interaction between groundwater/surface-water bodies, and design and management of Managed Aquifer Recharge schemes. Needs and priorities were then connected to the specific EU Directives and Regulations to be addressed.One of the main goals of the questionnaires was to collect information and suggestions regarding the use of existing commercial/open-source software tools to address needs and priorities, and regarding the needs to address specific water-related processes/problems.

Surface irrigation management for guayule rubber production in the US desert southwest

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Agricultural production of the desert shrub, guayule (Parthenium argentatum G.), requires judicious management of irrigation water for achieving economic yields and high water productivity. This study expands existing, but limited and dated knowledge on irrigation management of guayule. A 29-month g...

Potentiometric Surface of the Upper Floridan Aquifer, West-Central Florida, May 2006

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ortiz, A.G.

2007-01-01

Introduction Hydrologic Conditions in West-Central Florida The Floridan aquifer system consists of the Upper and Lower Floridan aquifers separated by the middle confining unit. The middle confining unit and the Lower Floridan aquifer in west-central Florida generally contain highly mineralized water. The water-bearing units containing fresh water are herein referred to as the Upper Floridan aquifer. The Upper Floridan aquifer is the principal source of water in the Southwest Florida Water Management District and is used for major public supply, domestic use, irrigation, and brackish water desalination in coastal communities (Southwest Florida Water Management District, 2000). This map report shows the potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer measured in May 2006. The potentiometric surface is an imaginary surface connecting points of equal altitude to which water will rise in tightly-cased wells that tap a confined aquifer system (Lohman, 1979). This map represents water-level conditions near the end of the dry season, when ground-water levels usually are at an annual low and withdrawals for agricultural use typically are high. The cumulative average rainfall of 50.23 inches for west-central Florida (from June 2005 through May 2006) was 2.82 inches below the historical cumulative average of 53.05 inches (Southwest Florida Water Management District, 2006). Historical cumulative averages are calculated from regional rainfall summary reports (1915 to most recent complete calendar year) and are updated monthly by the Southwest Florida Water Management District. This report, prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Southwest Florida Water Management District, is part of a semi-annual series of Upper Floridan aquifer potentiometric-surface map reports for west-central Florida. Potentiometric-surface maps have been prepared for January 1964, May 1969, May 1971, May 1973, May 1974, and for each May and September since 1975. Water-level data are collected in May and September each year to show the approximate annual low and high water-level conditions, respectively. Most of the water-level data for this map were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey during the period May 15-19, 2006. Supplemental water-level data were collected by other agencies and companies. A corresponding potentiometric-surface map was prepared for areas east and north of the Southwest Florida Water Management District boundary by the U.S. Geological Survey office in Altamonte Springs, Florida (Kinnaman, 2006). Most water-level measurements were made during a 5-day period; therefore, measurements do not represent a 'snapshot' of conditions at a specific time, nor do they necessarily coincide with the seasonal low water-level condition. Water-Level Changes Water levels in about 95 percent of the wells measured in May 2006 were lower than the May 2005 water levels (Ortiz and Blanchard, 2006). May 2006 water levels in 403 wells ranged from about 26 feet below to about 6 feet above May 2005 water levels (fig. 1). Significant water level declines occurred in eastern Manatee County, southwestern Polk County, southeastern Hillsborough County, and in all of Hardee County. The largest water level declines occurred in southwestern Hardee County. The largest water level rises occurred in south-central Pasco County, northeastern Levy County, northwestern Marion County, and along the gulf coast from Pasco County to Citrus County (fig. 1). Water levels in about 96 percent of the wells measured in May 2006 were lower than the September 2005 water levels (Ortiz, 2006). May 2006 water levels in 397 wells ranged from about 31 feet below to 3 feet above the September 2005 water levels. The largest water level decline was in west-central Hardee County and the largest rise in water levels was in south-central Pasco County.

Forecasting in an integrated surface water-ground water system: The Big Cypress Basin, South Florida

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Butts, M. B.; Feng, K.; Klinting, A.; Stewart, K.; Nath, A.; Manning, P.; Hazlett, T.; Jacobsen, T.

2009-04-01

The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) manages and protects the state's water resources on behalf of 7.5 million South Floridians and is the lead agency in restoring America's Everglades - the largest environmental restoration project in US history. Many of the projects to restore and protect the Everglades ecosystem are part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). The region has a unique hydrological regime, with close connection between surface water and groundwater, and a complex managed drainage network with many structures. Added to the physical complexity are the conflicting needs of the ecosystem for protection and restoration, versus the substantial urban development with the accompanying water supply, water quality and flood control issues. In this paper a novel forecasting and real-time modelling system is presented for the Big Cypress Basin. The Big Cypress Basin includes 272 km of primary canals and 46 water control structures throughout the area that provide limited levels of flood protection, as well as water supply and environmental quality management. This system is linked to the South Florida Water Management District's extensive real-time (SCADA) data monitoring and collection system. Novel aspects of this system include the use of a fully distributed and integrated modeling approach and a new filter-based updating approach for accurately forecasting river levels. Because of the interaction between surface- and groundwater a fully integrated forecast modeling approach is required. Indeed, results for the Tropical Storm Fay in 2008, the groundwater levels show an extremely rapid response to heavy rainfall. Analysis of this storm also shows that updating levels in the river system can have a direct impact on groundwater levels.

Water security and its challenges for Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malek, M. A.; Nor, M. A. M.; P, Leong Y.

2013-06-01

Water Security in Malaysia is a national issue. The Malaysian water services industry faces issues which need to be tackled immediately for it to be viable and sustainable. Among them are the decentralized water services sector, ineffective governance structure, unsustainable tariffs, huge investments required to develop the water supply and sewerage infrastructure, inefficient operation by the operators and high non-revenue water (NRW) losses. In Malaysia, the "Sectorial" approach embedded in the present water management system and its transformation towards "Integrated Water Resources Management" (IWRM), is still in a state of inertia. This paper presents the need to transform, from a "Supply" Management mode (a characteristic of a developing country) to a "Water Demand" Management mode (a characteristic of a developed country). Issues on "Water Demand" Management for the Environment which can be a threat to the need for sustainable development for biodiversity are highlighted here. Reliable water accounting systems are found still lacking in this country, especially in the Agriculture and Environmental Sectors, where figures are still highly based on "traditional" assumptions. Water Quality deterioration remains an issue especially for the Water Supply and Environment Sectors. Available surface water resource is depleting in many regions and states in the Peninsular. Apart from the Reduce, Reuse and Recycle (3R) option for surface water, another option would be to begin a concerted effort for groundwater exploitation. However there are still grey areas of knowledge in the groundwater resources in this country for affirmative decisions and development of appropriate policies. It is also found that, there are no concerted plans to prepare the public for the change from "Supply" Management to "Demand" Management. In a developed nation, this change is through stakeholder platforms and supported by appropriate policies, rules and regulations that are based on validated Sciences, Technologies and Innovations (STI). Transforming from "Supply" Management to "Demand" Management is a formidable task. This requires the wisdom and knowledge of all experts in the Water Resources Sector.

Nutrient loss with runoff from fairway turf: an evaluation of core cultivation practices and their environmental impact.

PubMed

Rice, Pamela J; Horgan, Brian P

2011-11-01

The presence of excess nutrients in surface waters can result in undesirable environmental and economic consequences, including nuisance algal blooms and eutrophication. Fertilizer use in highly managed turf systems has raised questions concerning the contribution of nutrients to surrounding surface waters. Experiments were designed to quantify phosphorus and nitrogen transport with runoff from turf plots maintained as a golf course fairway to identify which cultural practice, solid tine (ST) or hollow tine (HT) core cultivation, maximized phosphorus and nitrogen retention at the site of fertilizer application. Simulated precipitation and collection of resulting runoff were completed 26 ± 13 h following granular fertilizer application (18-3-18: N-P₂O₅-K₂O) and 63 d and 2 d following core cultivation. Runoff volumes were reduced in fairway turf plots aerated with HT relative to ST (63 d: 10%, 2 d: 55% reduction). Analysis of the runoff revealed a reduction in soluble phosphorus, ammonium nitrogen, and nitrate nitrogen losses with runoff from plots managed with HT; a 5 to 27% reduction after 63 d; and a 39 to 77% reduction at 2 d. Golf course runoff-to-surface water scenarios were used to calculate estimated environmental concentrations (EECs) of nitrogen and phosphorus in surface water receiving runoff from turf managed with ST or HT core cultivation. Surface water concentrations of phosphorus remained above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's water quality criteria to limit eutrophication, with the exception of concentrations associated with HT core cultivation at 2 d. Regardless of management practice (ST or HT) and time between core cultivation and runoff (63 d or 2 d), all EECs of nitrogen were below levels associated with increased algal growth. Understanding nutrient transport with runoff and identifying strategies that reduce off-site transport will increase their effectiveness at intended sites of application and minimize undesirable effects to surrounding surface water resources. Copyright © 2011 SETAC.

Looking at groundwater research landscape of Jakarta Basin for better water management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Irawan, Dasapta Erwin; Priyambodho, Adhi; Novianti Rachmi, Cut; Maulana Wibowo, Dimas

2017-07-01

Based on our experience, defining the gap between what we know and what we don’t know is the hardest part in proposing water management strategy. Many techniques have been introduced to make this stage easier, and one of them is bibliometric analysis. The following paper is the second part of our bibliometric project in the search for a gap in the water resources research in Jakarta. This paper starts to analyse the visualisations that had been extracted from the previous paper based on our database. Using the keyword “groundwater Jakarta”, we managed to get 70 relevant papers. Several visualisations have been built using open source applications. Word cloud analysis shows that the trend to discuss groundwater in scientific sense had only been started in the early 2000’s. This is presumably due to the emerging regional autonomy in which forcing regions to understand their groundwater setting before creating a management strategy. More papers in the later time has been induced by more geo-hazards (land subsidence and floods) resulted in the vast groundwater pumping. More and more resources have been utilized to get more groundwater data. Water scientists by then understood that these hazards had been started long before the 2000’s. This had become the starting point of data era later on. The next era will be the era of water management. Hydrologists had been proposing integrated water management Jakarta and its nearby groundwater basins. Most of them have been strongly suggested to manage all water bodies, rainfall, surface water, and groundwater as one system. In the 2010’s we identify more papers are discussing in water quality following the vast discussion in water quantity in the previous era. People have been more aware the importance of quality in providing water system for the citizen. Then five years later, we believe that water researchers have also put their mind in the interactions between surface water and groundwater, especially in the riverbank, where most of the slums are located. Based on the results, we believe that more researches to understand interactions between groundwater and surface water would fill the gap to come up with better water management system in Jakarta.

A study of the effect of controlled drainage on surface runoff

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

There is uncertainty about the impact of drainage water management (DWM) on surface runoff, and concern that DWM may increase runoff. To examine this concern, water was applied by sprinkler irrigation to 8 plots which were individually equipped with instrumentation to measure both surface and subsur...

Innovative Approaches to Collaborative Groundwater Governance in the United States: Case Studies from Three High-Growth Regions in the Sun Belt.

PubMed

Megdal, Sharon B; Gerlak, Andrea K; Huang, Ling-Yee; Delano, Nathaniel; Varady, Robert G; Petersen-Perlman, Jacob D

2017-05-01

Groundwater is an increasingly important source of freshwater, especially where surface water resources are fully or over-allocated or becoming less reliable due to climate change. Groundwater reliance has created new challenges for sustainable management. This article examines how regional groundwater users coordinate and collaborate to manage shared groundwater resources, including attention to what drives collaboration. To identify and illustrate these facets, this article examines three geographically diverse cases of groundwater governance and management from the United States Sun Belt: Orange County Water District in southern California; Prescott Active Management Area in north-central Arizona; and the Central Florida Water Initiative in central Florida. These regions have different surface water laws, groundwater allocation and management laws and regulations, demographics, economics, topographies, and climate. These cases were selected because the Sun Belt faces similar pressures on groundwater due to historical and projected population growth and limited availability of usable surface water supplies. Collectively, they demonstrate groundwater governance trends in the United States, and illustrate distinctive features of regional groundwater management strategies. Our research shows how geophysical realities and state-level legislation have enabled and/or stimulated regions to develop groundwater management plans and strategies to address the specific issues associated with their groundwater resources. We find that litigation involvement and avoidance, along with the need to finance projects, are additional drivers of regional collaboration to manage groundwater. This case study underscores the importance of regionally coordinated and sustained efforts to address serious groundwater utilization challenges faced by the regions studied and around the world.

Innovative Approaches to Collaborative Groundwater Governance in the United States: Case Studies from Three High-Growth Regions in the Sun Belt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Megdal, Sharon B.; Gerlak, Andrea K.; Huang, Ling-Yee; Delano, Nathaniel; Varady, Robert G.; Petersen-Perlman, Jacob D.

2017-05-01

Groundwater is an increasingly important source of freshwater, especially where surface water resources are fully or over-allocated or becoming less reliable due to climate change. Groundwater reliance has created new challenges for sustainable management. This article examines how regional groundwater users coordinate and collaborate to manage shared groundwater resources, including attention to what drives collaboration. To identify and illustrate these facets, this article examines three geographically diverse cases of groundwater governance and management from the United States Sun Belt: Orange County Water District in southern California; Prescott Active Management Area in north-central Arizona; and the Central Florida Water Initiative in central Florida. These regions have different surface water laws, groundwater allocation and management laws and regulations, demographics, economics, topographies, and climate. These cases were selected because the Sun Belt faces similar pressures on groundwater due to historical and projected population growth and limited availability of usable surface water supplies. Collectively, they demonstrate groundwater governance trends in the United States, and illustrate distinctive features of regional groundwater management strategies. Our research shows how geophysical realities and state-level legislation have enabled and/or stimulated regions to develop groundwater management plans and strategies to address the specific issues associated with their groundwater resources. We find that litigation involvement and avoidance, along with the need to finance projects, are additional drivers of regional collaboration to manage groundwater. This case study underscores the importance of regionally coordinated and sustained efforts to address serious groundwater utilization challenges faced by the regions studied and around the world.

Potentiometric surface of the upper Floridan Aquifer in the St. Johns River Water Management District and vicinity, Florida, May 1994

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schiffer, D.M.; O'Reilly, A. M.; Phelps, G.G.; Bradner, L.A.; Halford, K.J.; Spechler, R.M.

1994-01-01

This map depicts the potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer in the St. Johns River Water Management District and vicinity for May 1994. The map is based on water-level measurements made at approximately 1,000 wells and several springs. Data on the map were contoured using 5-foot contour intervals in most areas. The potentiometric surface of this karstic aquifer generally reflects land surface topography. Potentiometric surface highs often correspond to topographic highs, which are areas of surficial recharge to the Upper Floridan aquifer. Springs within topographic lows along with areas of more diffuse upward leakage are natural zones of discharge. Municipal, agricultural, and industrial withdrawals have lowered the potentiometric surface in some areas. The potentiometric surface ranged from 125 feet above sea level in Polk County to 32 feet below sea level in Nassau County. Water levels in May 1994 generally were 0 to 3 feet lower than those measured in May 1993. Water levels in May 1994 in northeast Florida generally were 0 to 3 feet higher than in September 1993, except in the lower St. Johns River basin, where water levels were 0 to 4 feet lower than in September 1993. In the rest of the mapped area, water levels in May 1994 generally were 0 to 4 feet lower than those measured in September 1993.

Estimation of water surface elevations for the Everglades, Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Palaseanu, Monica; Pearlstine, Leonard

2008-01-01

The Everglades Depth Estimation Network (EDEN) is an integrated network of real-time water-level monitoring gages and modeling methods that provides scientists and managers with current (2000–present) online water surface and water depth information for the freshwater domain of the Greater Everglades. This integrated system presents data on a 400-m square grid to assist in (1) large-scale field operations; (2) integration of hydrologic and ecologic responses; (3) supporting biological and ecological assessment of the implementation of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP); and (4) assessing trophic-level responses to hydrodynamic changes in the Everglades.This paper investigates the radial basis function multiquadric method of interpolation to obtain a continuous freshwater surface across the entire Everglades using radio-transmitted data from a network of water-level gages managed by the US Geological Survey (USGS), the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), and the Everglades National Park (ENP). Since the hydrological connection is interrupted by canals and levees across the study area, boundary conditions were simulated by linearly interpolating along those features and integrating the results together with the data from marsh stations to obtain a continuous water surface through multiquadric interpolation. The absolute cross-validation errors greater than 5 cm correlate well with the local outliers and the minimum distance between the closest stations within 2000-m radius, but seem to be independent of vegetation or season.

Linking land cover and water quality in New York City's water supply watersheds.

PubMed

Mehaffey, M H; Nash, M S; Wade, T G; Ebert, D W; Jones, K B; Rager, A

2005-08-01

The Catskill/Delaware reservoirs supply 90% of New York City's drinking water. The City has implemented a series of watershed protection measures, including land acquisition, aimed at preserving water quality in the Catskill/Delaware watersheds. The objective of this study was to examine how relationships between landscape and surface water measurements change between years. Thirty-two drainage areas delineated from surface water sample points (total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and fecal coliform bacteria concentrations) were used in step-wise regression analyses to test landscape and surface-water quality relationships. Two measurements of land use, percent agriculture and percent urban development, were positively related to water quality and consistently present in all regression models. Together these two land uses explained 25 to 75% of the regression model variation. However, the contribution of agriculture to water quality condition showed a decreasing trend with time as overall agricultural land cover decreased. Results from this study demonstrate that relationships between land cover and surface water concentrations of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and fecal coliform bacteria counts over a large area can be evaluated using a relatively simple geographic information system method. Land managers may find this method useful for targeting resources in relation to a particular water quality concern, focusing best management efforts, and maximizing benefits to water quality with minimal costs.

Maggie Creek Water Quality Data

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

These data are standard water quality parameters collected for surface water condition analysis (for example pH, conductivity, DO, TSS).This dataset is associated with the following publication:Kozlowski, D., R. Hall , S. Swanson, and D. Heggem. Linking Management and Riparian Physical Functions to Water Quality and Aquatic Habitat. JOURNAL OF WATER RESOURCES PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Reston, VA, USA, 8(8): 797-815, (2016).

Hydrological Drought in the Anthropocene: Impacts of Local Water Extraction and Reservoir Regulation in the U.S.: Hydrological Drought in the Anthropocene

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wan, Wenhua; Zhao, Jianshi; Li, Hong-Yi

Hydrological drought is a substantial negative deviation from normal hydrologic conditions and is influenced by climate and human activities such as water management. By perturbing the streamflow regime, climate change and water management may significantly alter drought characteristics in the future. Here we utilize a high-resolution integrated modeling framework that represents water management in terms of both local surface water extraction and reservoir regulation, and use the Standardized Streamflow Index (SSI) to quantify hydrological drought. We explore the impacts of water management on hydrological drought over the contiguous US in a warming climate with and without emissions mitigation. Despite themore » uncertainty of climate change impacts, local surface water extraction consistently intensifies drought that dominates at the regional to national scale. However, reservoir regulation alleviates drought by enhancing summer flow downstream of reservoirs. The relative dominance of drought intensification or relief is largely determined by the water demand, with drought intensification dominating in regions with intense water demand such as the Great Plains and California, while drought relief dominates in regions with low water demand. At the national level, water management increases the spatial extent of extreme drought despite some alleviations of moderate to severe drought. In an emissions mitigation scenario with increased irrigation demand for bioenergy production, water management intensifies drought more than the business-as-usual scenario at the national level, so the impacts of emissions mitigation must be evaluated by considering its benefit in reducing warming and evapotranspiration against its effects on increasing water demand and intensifying drought.« less

Hydrological Drought in the Anthropocene: Impacts of Local Water Extraction and Reservoir Regulation in the U.S.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Wenhua; Zhao, Jianshi; Li, Hong-Yi; Mishra, Ashok; Ruby Leung, L.; Hejazi, Mohamad; Wang, Wei; Lu, Hui; Deng, Zhiqun; Demissisie, Yonas; Wang, Hao

2017-11-01

Hydrological drought is a substantial negative deviation from normal hydrologic conditions and is influenced by climate and human activities such as water management. By perturbing the streamflow regime, climate change and water management may significantly alter drought characteristics in the future. Here we utilize a high-resolution integrated modeling framework that represents water management in terms of both local surface water extraction and reservoir regulation and use the Standardized Streamflow Index to quantify hydrological drought. We explore the impacts of water management on hydrological drought over the contiguous U.S. in a warming climate with and without emissions mitigation. Despite the uncertainty of climate change impacts, local surface water extraction consistently intensifies drought that dominates at the regional to national scale. However, reservoir regulation alleviates drought by enhancing summer flow downstream of reservoirs. The relative dominance of drought intensification or relief is largely determined by the water demand, with drought intensification dominating in regions with intense water demand such as the Great Plains and California, while drought relief dominates in regions with low water demand. At the national level, water management increases the spatial extent of extreme drought despite some alleviations of moderate to severe drought. In an emissions mitigation scenario with increased irrigation demand for bioenergy production, water management intensifies drought more than the business-as-usual scenario at the national level, so the impacts of emissions mitigation must be evaluated by considering its benefit in reducing warming and evapotranspiration against its effects on increasing water demand and intensifying drought.

Review of Ghana's water resources: the quality and management with particular focus on freshwater resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yeleliere, E.; Cobbina, S. J.; Duwiejuah, A. B.

2018-06-01

Freshwater resources are continually decreasing in quality and quantity. Approximately, 1% of this freshwater is accessible in lakes, river channels and underground for domestic use. The study reviewed literature on water resources with focus on freshwater, the quality of our freshwater in terms of physical, chemical and biological variables, the main mechanisms of management, and the challenges associated with these mechanisms as well as blending integrated water management with the indigenous or traditional management of water resources for sustainable development and peaceful co-existence. Also the review offered potent recommendations for policy makers to consider sustainable management of freshwater resources. A total of 95 articles were downloaded from Google scholar in water-related issues. The search took place from June to September 2017, and research articles from 1998 to 2018 were reviewed. Basically Ghana is made up of three discharge or outlet systems, namely the Coastal River Systems which is the least and Volta constituting the largest and with the South-Western been the intermediate. Also, freshwater resources usage can be put into two main categories, namely ex situ (withdrawal use) and in situ or in-stream use, and could also be referred to as the consumptive and non-consumptive use, respectively. With the exception of localised pollution engineered by illegal mining and other nuisance perpetuated by indigenes, the quality of water (surface and groundwater) in Ghana is generally better. The review outlined high microbial contamination of water as almost all surface waters are contaminated with either E. coli, faecal coliforms or total coliforms or all. However, these contaminations were more prevalent in surface water than groundwater.

Simulated hydrologic effects of possible ground-water and surface-water management alternatives in and near the Platte River, south-central Nebraska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Burns, Alan W.

1981-01-01

Digital computer models were developed and used to simulate the hydrologic effects of hypothetical water-management alternatives on the wetland habitat area near Grand Island, Nebr. Areally distributed recharge to and discharge from the aquifer system adjacent to the Platte River between Overton and Grand Island were computed for four hypothetical water-management alternatives. Using stream-aquifer response functions, the stream depletions resulting from the different alternatives ranged from 53,000 acre-feet per year for increased surface-water irrigation to 177,000 acre-feet per year for increased ground-water pumpage. Current conditions would result in stream depletions of 125,000 acre-feet per year. Using the relationship between discharge and river stage, frequency curves of the stage in the river near the wildlife habitat area were computed using a 50-year sequence of historical streamflow at Overton, minus the stream depletions resulting from various management practices. For the management alternatives previously discussed, differences in the stage-frequency curves were minimal. For comparative purposes, three additional water-management alternatives whose application would change the incoming streamflow at Overton were simulated. Although in these alternatives the amounts of water that were diverted or imported were similar to the amounts in the previous alternatives, their effects on the stage-frequency curves were much more dramatic. (USGS)

TRIBAL WATER QUALITY STANDARDS WORKSHOP

EPA Science Inventory

Water quality standards are the foundation for water management actions. They provide the basis for regulating discharges of pollutants to surface waters, and provide a target for restoration of degraded waters. Water quality standards identify and protect uses of the water bod...

A conceptual cross-scale approach for linking empirical discharge measurements and regional groundwater models with application to legacy nitrogen transport and coastal nitrogen management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barclay, J. R.; Helton, A. M.; Starn, J. J.; Briggs, M. A.

2016-12-01

Despite years of management, seasonal hypoxia from excess nitrogen (N) is a pervasive problem in many coastal waters. Current approaches to managing coastal eutrophication in the United States (USA) focus on surface runoff and river transport of nutrients, and often assume that groundwater N is at steady state. This is not necessarily the case, as terrestrial N inputs are affected by changing land use and nutrient management practices. Furthermore, approximately 70% of surface water in the USA is derived from groundwater and there is widespread N contamination in many of our nation's aquifers. Nitrogen export via groundwater discharge to streams during baseflow may be the reason many impaired coastal systems show little improvement. There is a critical need to develop approaches that consider the effects of groundwater transport on N loading to surface waters. Aquifer transport times, which can be decades or even centuries longer than surface water transport times, introduce lags between changes in terrestrial management and reductions in coastal loads. Ignoring these lags can lead to overly ambitious and unrealistic load reduction goals, or incorrect conclusions regarding the effectiveness of management strategies. Additionally, regional groundwater models typically have a coarse resolution that makes it difficult to incorporate fine-scale processes that drive N transformations, such as groundwater-surface water exchange across steep redox gradients at stream bed interfaces. Despite this challenge, representing these important fine-scale processes well is essential to modeling groundwater transport of N across regional scales and to making informed management decisions. We present 1) a conceptual approach to linking regional models and fine-scale empirical measurements, and 2) preliminary groundwater flow and transport model results for the Housatonic and Farmington Rivers in Connecticut, USA. Our cross-scale approach utilizes thermal infrared imaging and vertical temperature profiling to calculate groundwater discharge and to iteratively refine and downscale the groundwater flow model. Model results may improve management of N loading from groundwater to sensitive coastal systems, such as the Long Island Sound.

Management of surface water and groundwater withdrawals to maintain environmental stream flows in Michigan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Reeves, Howard W.; Seelbach, Paul W.; Nicholas, James R.; Hamilton, David A.; Potter, Kenneth W.; Frevert, Donald K.

2010-01-01

In 2008, the State of Michigan enacted legislation requiring that new or increased high-capacity withdrawals (greater than 100,000 gallons per day) from either surface water or groundwater be reviewed to prevent Adverse Resource Impacts (ARI). Science- based guidance was sought in defining how groundwater or surface-water withdrawals affect streamflow and in quantifying the relation between reduced streamflow and changes in stream ecology. The implementation of the legislation led to a risk-based system based on a gradient of risk, ecological response curves, and estimation of groundwater-surface water interaction. All Michigan streams are included in the legislation, and, accordingly, all Michigan streams were classified into management types defined by size of watershed, stream-water temperature, and predicted fish assemblages. Different streamflow removal percentages define risk-based thresholds allowed for each type. These removal percentages were informed by ecological response curves of characteristic fish populations and finalized through a legislative workgroup process. The assessment process includes an on-line screening tool that may be used to evaluate new or increased withdrawals against the risk-based zones and allows withdrawals that are not likely to cause an ARI to proceed to water-use registration. The system is designed to consider cumulative impacts of high-capacity withdrawals and to promote user involvement in water resource management by the establishment of water-user committees as cumulative withdrawals indicate greater potential for ARI in the watershed.

Quantifying green water flows for improved Integrated Land and Water Resource Management under the National Water Act of South Africa: A review on hydrological research in South Africa.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jarmain, C.; Everson, C. S.; Gush, M. B.; Clulow, A. D.

2009-09-01

The contribution of hydrological research in South Africa in quantifying green water flows for improved Integrated Land and Water Resources Management is reviewed. Green water refers to water losses from land surfaces through transpiration (seen as a productive use) and evaporation from bare soil (seen as a non-productive use). In contrast, blue water flows refer to streamflow (surface water) and groundwater / aquifer recharge. Over the past 20 years, a number of methods have been used to quantify the green water and blue water flows. These include micrometeorological techniques (e.g. Bowen ratio energy balance, eddy covariance, surface renewal, scintillometry, lysimetry), field scale models (e.g. SWB, SWAP), catchment scale hydrological models (e.g. ACRU, SWAT) and more recently remote sensing based models (e.g. SEBAL, SEBS). The National Water Act of South Africa of 1998 requires that water resources are managed, protected and used (developed, conserved and controlled) in an equitable way which is beneficial to the public. The quantification of green water flows in catchments under different land uses has been pivotal in (a) regulating streamflow reduction activities (e.g. forestry) and the management of alien invasive plants, (b) protecting riparian and wetland areas through the provision of an ecological reserve, (c) assessing and improving the water use efficiency of irrigated pastures, fruit tree orchards and vineyards, (d) quantifying the potential impact of future land uses like bio-fuels (e.g. Jatropha) on water resources, (e) quantifying water losses from open water bodies, and (f) investigating "biological” mitigation measures to reduce the impact of polluted water resources as a result of various industries (e.g. mining). This paper therefore captures the evolution of measurement techniques applied across South Africa, the impact these results have had on water use and water use efficiency and the extent to which it supported the National Water Act of South Africa.

Human Impacts on the Hydrologic Cycle: Comparing Global Climate Change and Local Water Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferguson, I. M.; Maxwell, R. M.

2010-12-01

Anthropogenic climate change is significantly altering the hydrologic cycle at global and regional scales, with potentially devastating impacts on water resources. Recent studies demonstrate that hydrologic response to climate change will depend on local-scale feedbacks between groundwater, surface water, and land surface processes. These studies suggest that local water management practices that alter the quantity and distribution of water in the terrestrial system—e.g., groundwater pumping and irrigation—may also feed back across the hydrologic cycle, with impacts on land-atmosphere fluxes and thus weather and climate. Here we use an integrated hydrologic model to compare the impacts of large-scale climate change and local water management practices on water and energy budgets at local and watershed scales. We consider three climate scenarios (hot, hot+wet, and hot+dry) and three management scenarios (pumping only, irrigation only, and pumping+irrigation). Results demonstrate that impacts of local water management on basin-integrated groundwater storage, evapotranspiration, and stream discharge are comparable to those of changing climate conditions. However, impacts of climate change are shown to have a smaller magnitude and greater spatial extent, while impacts of pumping and irrigation are shown to have a greater magnitude but are local to areas where pumping and irrigation occur. These results have important implications regarding the scales of human impacts on both water resources and climate and the sustainability of water resources.

Water resources of St. Mary Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Prakken, Lawrence B.; White, Vincent E.; Lovelace, John K.

2014-01-01

Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for management of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is presented. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis) are the primary sources of the information presented here.

Hydrology of C-3 watershed, Seney National Wildlife Refuge, Michigan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sweat, Michael J.

2001-01-01

Proposed changes to watershed management practices near C-3 Pool at Seney National Wildlife Refuge will affect surface-water flow patterns, ground-water levels, and possibly local plant communities. Data were collected between fall 1998 and spring 2000 to document existing conditions and to assess potential changes in hydrology that might occur as a consequence of modifications to water management practices in C-3 watershed.Minimum and maximum measured inflows and outflows for the study period are presented in light of proposed management changes to C-3 watershed. Streamflows ranged from 0 to 8.61 cubic meters per second. Low or zero flow was generally measured in late summer and early fall, and highest flows were measured during spring runoff and winter rain events. Ground-water levels varied by about a half meter, with levels closest to or above the land surface during spring runoff into the early summer, and with levels generally below land surface during late fall into early winter.A series of optional management practices that could conserve and restore habitat of the C-3 watershed is described. Modifications to the existing system of a drainage ditch and control structures are examined, as are the possibilities of reconnecting streams to their historical channels and the construction of additional or larger control structures to further manage the distribution of water in the watershed. The options considered could reduce erosion, restore presettlement streamflow conditions, and modify the ground-water gradient.

Factors Affecting P Loads to Surface Waters: Comparing the Roles of Precipitation and Land Management Practices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Motew, M.; Booth, E.; Carpenter, S. R.; Kucharik, C. J.

2014-12-01

Surface water quality is a major concern in the Yahara watershed (YW) of southern Wisconsin, home to a thriving dairy industry, the city of Madison, and five highly valued lakes that are eutrophic. Despite management interventions to mitigate runoff, there has been no significant trend in P loading to the lakes since 1975. Increases in manure production and heavy rainfall events over this time period may have offset any effects of management. We developed a comprehensive, integrated modeling framework that can simulate the effects of multiple drivers on ecosystem services, including surface water quality. The framework includes process-based representation of terrestrial ecosystems (Agro-IBIS) and groundwater flow (MODFLOW), hydrologic routing of water and nutrients across the landscape (THMB), and assessment of lake water quality (YWQM). Biogeochemical cycling and hydrologic transport of P have been added to the framework to enable detailed simulation of P dynamics within the watershed, including interactions with climate and management. The P module features in-soil cycling of organic, inorganic, and labile forms of P; manure application, decomposition, and subsequent loss of dissolved P in runoff; loss of particulate-bound P with erosion; and transport of dissolved and particulate P within waterways. Model results will compare the effects of increased heavy rainfall events, increased manure production, and implementation of best management practices on P loads to the Yahara lakes.

Modifying WEPP to improve streamflow simulation in a Pacific Northwest watershed

Treesearch

A. Srivastava; M. Dobre; J. Q. Wu; W. J. Elliot; E. A. Bruner; S. Dun; E. S. Brooks; I. S. Miller

2013-01-01

The assessment of water yield from hillslopes into streams is critical in managing water supply and aquatic habitat. Streamflow is typically composed of surface runoff, subsurface lateral flow, and groundwater baseflow; baseflow sustains the stream during the dry season. The Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model simulates surface runoff, subsurface lateral flow...

Estimated water use in the Southwest Florida Water Management District and adjacent areas, 1980

USGS Publications Warehouse

Duerr, A.D.; Trommer, J.T.

1981-01-01

Water-use data for 1980 are summarized in this report for 16 counties in the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Data include total use of ground water and surface water for each of five water-use categories. The 1980 withdrawals for each category were as follows: 290 million gallons per day for public supply, 63 million gallons per day for rural, 325 million gallons per day for industry, 416 million gallons per day for irrigation, and 6,605 million gallons per day for thermoelectric power generation. Withdrawals totaled 7,699 million gallons per day and included 983 million gallons per day of ground water and 6,716 million gallons per day of surface water. Excluding thermoelectric power generation, all water withdrawn was freshwater except 38 million gallons per day of saline ground water withdrawn for industrial use in Hillsborough County. (USGS)

The Heartland Region P-Index Conservation Innovation Grant: protecting water quality through improved phosphorus management

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Reducing phosphorus loss from agricultural land is important for improvement and protection of surface water quality. Agricultural models can be used to determine management impacts on P loss and therefore serve as a guide for recommending best management practices. However, the models must be comp...

Evolving water management institutions in Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hearne, Robert R.

2004-12-01

Mexico's water management institutions are undergoing a gradual but dramatic change that corresponds to other changes in Mexican society. Implementing these changes has led to the creation of new institutions, including river basin councils, state water commissions, aquifer management committees, and water user associations. Established institutions such as the National Water Commission have accepted new roles. Some of these changes can be considered to be superficial, but this institutional change is impressive. Successful practices can be identified. These include the transfer of the management of large irrigation districts to the users, the periodic practice of establishing a national water plan, the cautious approach to private sector participation in water supply and sanitation, and the national registry of water use. Remaining challenges include weak river basin and aquifer management organizations, overexploitation of key aquifers, polluted surface water, and the inability of water markets to facilitate intersectoral water transfers.

Chlorothalonil and 2,4-D Losses in Surface Water Discharge From a Managed Turf Watershed

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Managed turf sites (golf courses) are the most intensively managed landscapes in the urban environment. Yet, long-term watershed scale studies documenting the environmental transport of agrichemicals applied to these systems are rare. The objective of this study was to quantify the surface runoff lo...

Hydroeconomic optimization of integrated water management and transfers under stochastic surface water supply

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Tingju; Marques, Guilherme Fernandes; Lund, Jay R.

2015-05-01

Efficient reallocation and conjunctive operation of existing water supplies is gaining importance as demands grow, competitions among users intensify, and new supplies become more costly. This paper analyzes the roles and benefits of conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater and market-based water transfers in an integrated regional water system where agricultural and urban water users coordinate supply and demand management based on supply reliability and economic values of water. Agricultural users optimize land and water use for annual and perennial crops to maximize farm income, while urban users choose short-term and long-term water conservation actions to maintain reliability and minimize costs. The temporal order of these decisions is represented in a two-stage optimization that maximizes the net expected benefits of crop production, urban conservation and water management including conjunctive use and water transfers. Long-term decisions are in the first stage and short-term decisions are in a second stage based on probabilities of water availability events. Analytical and numerical analyses are made. Results show that conjunctive use and water transfers can substantially stabilize farmer's income and reduce system costs by reducing expensive urban water conservation or construction. Water transfers can equalize marginal values of water across users, while conjunctive use minimizes water marginal value differences in time. Model results are useful for exploring the integration of different water demands and supplies through water transfers, conjunctive use, and conservation, providing valuable insights for improving system management.

Water-use data by category, county, and water management district in Florida, 1950-90

USGS Publications Warehouse

Marella, R.L.

1995-01-01

The population for Florida in 1990 was estimated at 12.94 million, an increase of nearly 10.17 million (370 percent) from the population of 2.77 million in 1950. Consequently, water use (fresh and saline) in Florida increased nearly 510 percent (15,175 million gallons per day) between 1950 and 1990. The resident population of the State is projected to surpass 20 million by the year 2020. Through the cooperation of the Florida Department of Environ- mental Protection and the U.S. Geologial Survey, water-use data for the period between 1950 and 1990 has been consolidated into one publication. This report aggregates and summarizes the quantities of water withdrawn annually for all water-use categories (public supply, self-supplied domestic, self-supplied commercial-industrial, agriculture, and thermoelectric power generation), by counties, and water management districts in Florida from 1950 through 1990. Total water withdrawn in Florida increased from 2,923 million gallons per day in 1950 to 17,898 million gallons per day in 1990. Surface- water withdrawals during 1950 totaled 2,333 million gallons per day but were not differentiated between fresh and saline, therefore, comparisons between fresh and saline water were made beginning with 1955 data. Freshwater withdrawals increased 245 percent between 1955 and 1990. Saline water withdrawals increased more than 1,500 percent between 1955 and 1990. In 1955, more than 47 percent of the fresh- water used was withdrawn from ground-water sources and 53 percent was withdrawn from surface-water sources. In 1990, nearly 62 percent of the fresh- water withdrawn was from ground-water sources, while 38 percent was withdrawn from surface-water sources. The steady increase in ground-water withdrawals since the 1950's primarily is a result of the ability to drill and pump water more economically from large, deep wells and the reliability of both the quality and quantity of water from these wells. Water withdrawn for public supply in Florida increased 1,030 percent between 1950 and 1990. The population served by public supply increased from 1.66 million in 1950 to 11.23 million in 1990, and the percentage of the population served by public supply increased from 60 percent in 1950 to nearly 88 percent in 1990. Freshwater withdrawn for self- supplied domestic use in Florida increased 1,010 percent, self-supplied commercial-industrial uses increased 170 percent, and agriculture increased 915 percent between 1950 and 1990. Freshwater with- drawals for thermoelectric power generation decreased 8 percent between 1955 and 1990, while saline water withdrawals increased nearly 1,540 percent between 1955 and 1990. Between 1965 and 1990, total freshwater withdrawals increased in 58 of the 67 counties in Florida. Fresh ground-water was withdrawn in all 67 counties in 1965 through 1990, and increased in 65 counties between 1965 and 1990. Fresh surface-water was withdrawn in 60 counties from 1965 to 1990, and increased in 42 counties between 1965 and 1990. The change in total freshwater withdrawals within the water management districts between 1975 and 1990 were as follows: Northwest Florida Water Management District increased 3 percent, St. Johns River Water Management District decreased 6 percent, South Florida Water Management District increased 37 percent, Southwest Florida Water Management District decreased 1 percent, and Suwannee River Water Management District increased 8 percent.(USGS)

A fully integrated SWAT-MODFLOW hydrologic model

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and MODFLOW models are being used worldwide for managing surface and groundwater water resources. The SWAT models hydrological processes occurring at the surface including shallow aquifers, while MODFLOW simulate groundwater processes. However, neither SWAT ...

Using Automatic Control Approach In Detention Storages For Storm Water Management In An Urban Watershed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goyal, A.; Yadav, H.; Tyagi, H.; Gosain, A. K.; Khosa, R.

2017-12-01

Increased imperviousness due to rapid urbanization have changed the urban hydrological cycle. As watersheds are urbanized, infiltration and groundwater recharge have decreased, surface runoff hydrograph shows higher peak indicating large volumes of surface runoff in lesser time durations. The ultimate panacea is to reduce the peak of hydrograph or increase the retention time of surface flow. SWMM is widely used hydrologic and hydraulic software which helps to simulate the urban storm water management with the provision to apply different techniques to prevent flooding. A model was setup to simulate the surface runoff and channel flow in a small urban catchment. It provides the temporal and spatial information of flooding in a catchment. Incorporating the detention storages in the drainage network helps achieve reduced flooding. Detention storages provided with predefined algorithms were for controlling the pluvial flooding in urban watersheds. The algorithm based on control theory, automated the functioning of detention storages ensuring that the storages become active on occurrence of flood in the storm water drains and shuts down when flooding is over. Detention storages can be implemented either at source or at several downstream control points. The proposed piece of work helps to mitigate the wastage of rainfall water, achieve desirable groundwater and attain a controlled urban storm water management system.

Contamination risk and drinking water protection for a large-scale managed aquifer recharge site in a semi-arid karst region, Jordan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xanke, Julian; Liesch, Tanja; Goeppert, Nadine; Klinger, Jochen; Gassen, Niklas; Goldscheider, Nico

2017-09-01

Karst aquifers in semi-arid regions are particularly threatened by surface contamination, especially during winter seasons when extremely variable rainfall of high intensities prevails. An additional challenge is posed when managed recharge of storm water is applied, since karst aquifers display a high spatial variability of hydraulic properties. In these cases, adapted protection concepts are required to address the interaction of surface water and groundwater. In this study a combined protection approach for the surface catchment of the managed aquifer recharge site at the Wala reservoir in Jordan and the downstream Hidan wellfield, which are both subject to frequent bacteriological contamination, is developed. The variability of groundwater quality was evaluated by correlating contamination events to rainfall, and to recharge from the reservoir. Both trigger increased wadi flow downstream of the reservoir by surface runoff generation and groundwater seepage, respectively. A tracer test verified the major pathway of the surface flow into the underground by infiltrating from pools along Wadi Wala. An intrinsic karst vulnerability and risk map was adapted to the regional characteristics and developed to account for the catchment separation by the Wala Dam and the interaction of surface water and groundwater. Implementation of the proposed protection zones for the wellfield and the reservoir is highly recommended, since the results suggest an extreme contamination risk resulting from livestock farming, arable agriculture and human occupation along the wadi. The applied methods can be transferred to other managed aquifer recharge sites in similar karstic environments of semi-arid regions.

Water management practices in rural and urban homes: a case study from Bangladesh on ingestion of polluted water.

PubMed

Ahmed, S A; Hoque, B A; Mahmud, A

1998-09-01

Although Bangladesh has achieved remarkable success in extending the availability of hand pumped and piped water, unsafe water is still ingested. This brief study attempted to assess water management practices in rural and urban homes in Bangladesh so as to establish the routes by which unsafe water is ingested, to examine methods of collection and storage, and determine why unsafe water sources are used when unsafe supplies are available. Forty-eight rural and forty-five urban slum households were studied. Observations, interviews and water quality investigations were conducted. The results show that the respondents were aware that hand pump/tap water is safe and took care to use these safe sources for drinking purposes. However, they continued to use surface water for non-drinking activities such as bathing, washing and rinsing their mouths. Reasons were given that it was a traditional practice to bathe in surface water and was more enjoyable. One of the reasons given for not using hand pumped water to wash clothing and food was that such groundwater caused staining. Bacteriological results from such ingested water showed the quality, especially in rural areas, to be poor. Results also showed the internal surfaces of the base of storage containers to be heavily contaminated with bacteria. This showed that water that was safe when it was first drawn would became contaminated during storage. This study had a limited scope; much further research is needed to find what determines and how water becomes contaminated in containers. These factors include how to reduce contamination of water, in particular the relationship between growth of bacteria in stored water and the material from which the container is made and how to improve the overall quality of water. On the management side, studies could be conducted as to how to improve people's understanding of the use of water for domestic purposes and its safe management.

Online decision support system for surface irrigation management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Wenchao; Cui, Yuanlai

2017-04-01

Irrigation has played an important role in agricultural production. Irrigation decision support system is developed for irrigation water management, which can raise irrigation efficiency with few added engineering services. An online irrigation decision support system (OIDSS), in consist of in-field sensors and central computer system, is designed for surface irrigation management in large irrigation district. Many functions have acquired in OIDSS, such as data acquisition and detection, real-time irrigation forecast, water allocation decision and irrigation information management. The OIDSS contains four parts: Data acquisition terminals, Web server, Client browser and Communication system. Data acquisition terminals are designed to measure paddy water level, soil water content in dry land, ponds water level, underground water level, and canals water level. A web server is responsible for collecting meteorological data, weather forecast data, the real-time field data, and manager's feedback data. Water allocation decisions are made in the web server. Client browser is responsible for friendly displaying, interacting with managers, and collecting managers' irrigation intention. Communication system includes internet and the GPRS network used by monitoring stations. The OIDSS's model is based on water balance approach for both lowland paddy and upland crops. Considering basic database of different crops water demands in the whole growth stages and irrigation system engineering information, the OIDSS can make efficient decision of water allocation with the help of real-time field water detection and weather forecast. This system uses technical methods to reduce requirements of user's specialized knowledge and can also take user's managerial experience into account. As the system is developed by the Browser/Server model, it is possible to make full use of the internet resources, to facilitate users at any place where internet exists. The OIDSS has been applied in Zhanghe Irrigation District (Center China) to manage the required irrigation deliveries. Two years' application indicates that the proposed OIDSS can achieve promising performance for surface irrigation. Historical data of rice growing period in 2014 has been applied to test the OIDSS: it gives out 3 irrigation decisions, which is consistent with actual irrigation times and the forecast irrigation dates are well fit with the actual situations; the corresponding amount of total irrigation decreases by 15.13% compared to those without using the OIDSS.

Looking for Water in the Woods: Quantifying the Potential for Forest Management to Increase Regional Water Yield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Acharya, S.; Kaplan, D. A.; Mclaughlin, D. L.; Cohen, M. J.

2014-12-01

Water scarcity presents a crucial challenge for water resource managers charged with maintaining hydrologic resources for domestic, industrial, and agricultural use while protecting natural systems. Forest lands are critical to the functioning of the hydrologic cycle in many watersheds, affecting the quantity, quality, and timing of water delivered to surface and groundwater systems. While the hydrologic impacts of forest growth and removal have been shown to be substantial in watersheds around the globe, data and models connecting forest management to water use and regional hydrology are generally lacking. We propose that water-focused forest management has the potential to deliver a "new" source of water to surface and groundwater resources. To test this hypothesis, we developed a statistical model of water yield in southeastern US pine stands as a function of forest stand structure and ecosystem water use. Model results suggest a potential increase in water yield of up to 64% for pine stands managed at lower basal areas relative to those managed according to standard silvicultural practices. At the watershed scale, the magnitude of this potential water yield enhancement is driven by existing land use and forest management; evaluated for a large watershed in NE Florida, this potential increase is in excess of 200 million gallons per day (equivalent to 20% of the anthropogenic water use in the watershed). While useful for exploration, our statistical model also highlighted critical sources of uncertainty, including the effects of climatic variation, between-site variability, water use in young pine stands, and prescribed fire. Thus, in ongoing work we are comparing the effects of specific land management actions (e.g., thinning, clearcutting, and fire) on water yield across a gradient of environmental conditions (soil type, aquifer confinement, and climate) using a novel combination of in-situ soil moisture and groundwater monitoring. These data are being used to derive management-water yield relationships to guide watershed-scale strategies for sustaining regional water resources in the southeastern US, which is facing projections of greater water scarcity driven both by a growing population and a warming climate.

Water-resources optimization model for Santa Barbara, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nishikawa, Tracy

1998-01-01

A simulation-optimization model has been developed for the optimal management of the city of Santa Barbara's water resources during a drought. The model, which links groundwater simulation with linear programming, has a planning horizon of 5 years. The objective is to minimize the cost of water supply subject to: water demand constraints, hydraulic head constraints to control seawater intrusion, and water capacity constraints. The decision variables are montly water deliveries from surface water and groundwater. The state variables are hydraulic heads. The drought of 1947-51 is the city's worst drought on record, and simulated surface-water supplies for this period were used as a basis for testing optimal management of current water resources under drought conditions. The simulation-optimization model was applied using three reservoir operation rules. In addition, the model's sensitivity to demand, carry over [the storage of water in one year for use in the later year(s)], head constraints, and capacity constraints was tested.

Evaluating Impacts of Land Use/Land Cover Change on Water Resources in Semiarid Regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scanlon, B. R.; Faunt, C. C.; Pool, D. R.; Reedy, R. C.

2017-12-01

Land use/land cover (LU/LC) changes play an integral role in water resources by controlling the partitioning of water at the land surface. Here we evaluate impacts of changing LU/LC on water resources in response to climate variation and change and land use change related to agriculture using data from semiarid regions in the southwestern U.S. Land cover changes in response to climate can amplify or dampen climate impacts on water resources. Changes from wet Pleistocene to much drier Holocene climate resulted in expansion of perennial vegetation, amplifying climate change impacts on water resources by reducing groundwater recharge as shown in soil profiles in the southwestern U.S.. In contrast, vegetation response to climate extremes, including droughts and floods, dampen impacts of these extremes on water resources, as shown by water budget monitoring in the Mojave Desert. Agriculture often involves changes from native perennial vegetation to annual crops increasing groundwater recharge in many semiarid regions. Irrigation based on conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater increases water resource availability, as shown in the Central Valley of California and in southern Arizona. Surface water irrigation in these regions is enhanced by water transported from more humid settings through extensive pipelines. These projects have reversed long-term declining groundwater trends in some regions. While irrigation design has often focused on increased efficiency, "more crop per drop", optimal water resource management may benefit more from inefficient (e.g. flood irrigation) surface-water irrigation combined with efficient (e.g. subsurface drip) irrigation to maximize groundwater recharge, as seen in parts of the Central Valley. Flood irrigation of perennial crops, such as almonds and vineyards, during winter is being considered in the Central Valley to enhance groundwater recharge. Managed aquifer recharge can be considered a special case of conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater use where spreading basins focus recharge in southern California and Arizona. This overview highlights the importance of changes in LU/LC in controlling water budgets in semiarid regions. Understanding these controls should allow us to better manage water resources.

Development of an Interactive Shoreline Management Tool for the Lower Wood River Valley, Oregon - Phase I: Stage-Volume and Stage-Area Relations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Haluska, Tana L.; Snyder, Daniel T.

2007-01-01

This report presents the parcel and inundation area geographic information system (GIS) layers for various surface-water stages. It also presents data tables containing the water stage, inundation area, and water volume relations developed from analysis of detailed land surface elevation derived from Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data recently collected for the Wood River Valley at the northern margin of Agency Lake in Klamath County, Oregon. Former shoreline wetlands that have been cut off from Upper Klamath and Agency Lakes by dikes might in the future be reconnected to Upper Klamath and Agency Lakes by breaching the dikes. Issues of interest associated with restoring wetlands in this way include the area that will be inundated, the volume of water that may be stored, the change in wetland habitat, and the variation in these characteristics as surface-water stage is changed. Products from this analysis can assist water managers in assessing the effect of breaching dikes and changing surface-water stage. The study area is in the approximate former northern margins of Upper Klamath and Agency Lakes in the Wood River Valley.

Water resources of Assumption Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Prakken, Lawrence B.; Lovelace, John K.

2013-01-01

Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Assumption Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for management of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is presented. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis) are the primary sources of the information presented here. In 2010, about 21.4 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of water were withdrawn in Assumption Parish, including about 12.4 Mgal/d from surface-water sources and 9.03 Mgal/d from groundwater sources. Withdrawals for industrial use accounted for about 16.4 Mgal/d or 76 percent of the total water withdrawn. Other categories of use included public supply, rural domestic, livestock, general irrigation, and aquaculture.Water-use data collected at 5-year intervals from 1960 to 2010 indicated that water withdrawals peaked in 2000 at about 29.7 Mgal/d.

Water Resources Data: New Jersey, Water Year 1998, Volume 1, Surface-Water Data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Reed, T.J.; Centinaro, G.L.; Dudek, J.F.; Corcino, V.; Stekroadt, G.C.; McTigure, R.C.

1999-01-01

This volume of the annual hydrologic data report of New Jersey is one of a series of annual reports that document hydrologic data gathered from the U.S. Geological Survey's surface- and ground-water data-collection networks in each State, Puerto Rico, and the Trust Territories. These records of streamflow, ground-water levels, and water quality provide the hydrologic information needed by state, local and federal agencies, and the private sector for developing and managing our Nation's land and water resources.

Acidification of lake water due to drought

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mosley, L. M.; Zammit, B.; Jolley, A. M.; Barnett, L.

2014-04-01

Droughts are predicted to increase in many river systems due to increased demand on water resources and climate variability. A severe drought in the Murray-Darling Basin of Australia from 2007 to 2009 resulted in unprecedented declines in water levels in the Lower Lakes (Ramsar-listed ecosystem of international importance) at the end of the river system. The receding water exposed large areas (>200 km2) of sediments on the lake margins. The pyrite (FeS2) in these sediments oxidised and generated high concentrations of acidity. Upon rewetting of the exposed sediments, by rainfall or lake refill, surface water acidification (pH 2-3) occurred in several locations (total area of 21.7 km2). High concentrations of dissolved metals (Al, As, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Zn), which greatly exceeded aquatic ecosystem protection guidelines, were mobilised in the acidic conditions. In many areas neutralisation of the surface water acidity occurred naturally during lake refill, but aerial limestone dosing was required in two areas to assist in restoring alkalinity. However acidity persists in the submerged lake sediment and groundwater several years after surface water neutralisation. The surface water acidification proved costly to manage and improved water management in the Murray-Darling Basin is required to prevent similar events occurring in the future.

Interaction of surface water and groundwater in the Nile River basin: isotopic and piezometric evidence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kebede, Seifu; Abdalla, Osman; Sefelnasr, Ahmed; Tindimugaya, Callist; Mustafa, Osman

2017-05-01

Past discussions around water-resources management and development in the River Nile basin disregard groundwater resources from the equation. There is an increasing interest around factoring the groundwater resources as an integral part of the Nile Basin water resources. This is hampered by knowledge gap regarding the groundwater resources dynamics (recharge, storage, flow, quality, surface-water/groundwater interaction) at basin scale. This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the state of surface-water/groundwater interaction from the headwater to the Nile Delta region. Piezometric and isotopic (δ18O, δ2H) evidence reveal that the Nile changes from a gaining stream in the headwater regions to mostly a loosing stream in the arid lowlands of Sudan and Egypt. Specific zones of Nile water leakage to the adjacent aquifers is mapped using the two sources of evidence. Up to 50% of the surface-water flow in the equatorial region of the Nile comes from groundwater as base flow. The evidence also shows that the natural direction and rate of surface-water/groundwater interaction is largely perturbed by human activities (diversion, dam construction) particularly downstream of the Aswan High Dam in Egypt. The decrease in discharge of the Nile River along its course is attributed to leakage to the aquifers as well as to evaporative water loss from the river channel. The surface-water/groundwater interaction occurring along the Nile River and its sensitivity to infrastructure development calls for management strategies that account groundwater as an integral part of the Nile Basin resources.

Application of Method of Variation to Analyze and Predict Human Induced Modifications of Water Resource Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dessu, S. B.; Melesse, A. M.; Mahadev, B.; McClain, M.

2010-12-01

Water resource systems have often used gravitational surface and subsurface flows because of their practicality in hydrological modeling and prediction. Activities such as inter/intra-basin water transfer, the use of small pumps and the construction of micro-ponds challenge the tradition of natural rivers as water resource management unit. On the contrary, precipitation is barely affected by topography and plot harvesting in wet regions can be more manageable than diverting from rivers. Therefore, it is indicative to attend to systems where precipitation drives the dynamics while the internal mechanics constitutes spectrum of human activity and decision in a network of plots. The trade-in volume and path of harvested precipitation depends on water balance, energy balance and the kinematics of supply and demand. Method of variation can be used to understand and predict the implication of local excess precipitation harvest and exchange on the natural water system. A system model was developed using the variational form of Euler-Bernoulli’s equation for the Kenyan Mara River basin. Satellite derived digital elevation models, precipitation estimates, and surface properties such as fractional impervious surface area, are used to estimate the available water resource. Four management conditions are imposed in the model: gravitational flow, open water extraction and high water use investment at upstream and downstream respectively. According to the model, the first management maintains the basin status quo while the open source management could induce externality. The high water market at the upstream in the third management offers more than 50% of the basin-wide total revenue to the upper third section of the basin thus may promote more harvesting. The open source and upstream exploitation suggest potential drop of water availability to downstream. The model exposed the latent potential of economic gradient to reconfigure the flow network along the direction where the marginal benefit is maximized. Therefore, the variation model can help to predict the possible human induced modification of natural water system in order to gain the maximum productivity and benefit.

Observation-well network for collection of ground-water level data in Massachusetts

USGS Publications Warehouse

Socolow, Roy S.

1994-01-01

Aquifers--water-bearing deposits of sand and gravel, glacial till, and fractured bedrock--provide an extensive and readily accessible ground-water supply in Massachusetts. Ground water affects our everyday lives, not just in terms of how much water is available, but also in terms of the position of ground-water levels in relation to land surface. Knowledge of ground-water levels is needed by Federal, State, and local agencies to help plan, manage, and protect ground-water supplies, and by private construction companies for site planning and evaluation. A primary part of the mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Water Resources Division, is the systematic collection of ground-water, surface-water, and water-quality data. These data are needed to manage and protect the nation's water resources. The Massachusetts-Rhode Island District of the USGS, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management (DEM), Office of Water Resources, and county and town environmental agencies, has maintained a network of observation wells throughout the Commonwealth since the mid 1930's. The purpose of this network is to monitor seasonal and long-term changes in groundwater storage in different lithologic, topographic, and geographic settings. These data are analyzed to provide a monthly index of ground-water conditions to aid in water-resources management and planning, and to define long-term changes in water levels resulting from manmade stresses (such as pumping and construction-site drainage) and natural stresses (such as floods and droughts).

Planetary-scale surface water detection from space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Donchyts, G.; Baart, F.; Winsemius, H.; Gorelick, N.

2017-12-01

Accurate, efficient and high-resolution methods of surface water detection are needed for a better water management. Datasets on surface water extent and dynamics are crucial for a better understanding of natural and human-made processes, and as an input data for hydrological and hydraulic models. In spite of considerable progress in the harmonization of freely available satellite data, producing accurate and efficient higher-level surface water data products remains very challenging. This presentation will provide an overview of existing methods for surface water extent and change detection from multitemporal and multi-sensor satellite imagery. An algorithm to detect surface water changes from multi-temporal satellite imagery will be demonstrated as well as its open-source implementation (http://aqua-monitor.deltares.nl). This algorithm was used to estimate global surface water changes at high spatial resolution. These changes include climate change, land reclamation, reservoir construction/decommissioning, erosion/accretion, and many other. This presentation will demonstrate how open satellite data and open platforms such as Google Earth Engine have helped with this research.

Using satellite-based estimates of evapotranspiration and groundwater changes to determine anthropogenic water fluxes in land surface models

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Irrigation is a widely used water management practice that is often poorly parameterized in land surface and climate models. Previous studies have addressed this issue via use of irrigation area, applied water inventory data, or soil moisture content. These approaches have a variety of drawbacks i...

Back-Up Generator Facility and Associated Project Environmental Assessment Dyess Air Force Base, Texas

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-07-01

waste, or solid waste management would be expected with implementation of the no-action alternative. Soils and Water. Impacts to soils and water...resources would be negligible. Construction would disturb about 2.5 acres, but best management practices such as silt fencing and soil surface watering...Intergovernmental Coordination for Environmental Planning tpy U.S. tons per year United States IWMP Integrated Waste Management Plan USACE United States

[Effects of intensive management on soil C and N pools and soil enzyme activities in Moso bamboo plantations.

PubMed

Yang, Meng; Li, Yong Fu; Li, Yong Chun; Xiao, Yong Heng; Yue, Tian; Jiang, Pei Kun; Zhou, Guo Mo; Liu, Juan

2016-11-18

In order to elucidate the effects of intensive management on soil carbon pool, nitrogen pool, enzyme activities in Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens) plantations, we collected soil samples from the soil surface (0-20 cm) and subsurface (20-40 cm) layers in the adjacent Moso bamboo plantations with extensive and intensive managements in Sankou Township, Lin'an City, Zhejiang Province. We determined different forms of C, N and soil invertase, urease, catalase and acid phosphatase activities. The results showed that long-term intensive management of Moso bamboo plantations significantly decreased the content and storage of soil organic carbon (SOC), with the SOC storage in the soil surface and subsurface layers decreased by 13.2% and 18.0%, respectively. After 15 years' intensive management of Masoo bamboo plantations, the contents of soil water soluble carbon (WSOC), hot water soluble carbon (HWSOC), microbial carbon (MBC) and readily oxidizable carbon (ROC) were significantly decreased in the soil surface and subsurface layers. The soil N storage in the soil surface and subsurface layers in intensively managed Moso bamboo plantations increased by 50.8% and 36.6%, respectively. Intensive management significantly increased the contents of nitrate-N (NO 3 - -N) and ammonium-N (NH 4 + -N), but decreased the contents of water-soluble nitrogen (WSON) and microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN). After 15 years' intensive management of Masoo bamboo plantations, the soil invertase, urease, catalase and acid phosphatase activities in the soil surface layer were significantly decreased, the soil acid phosphatase activity in the soil subsurface layer were significantly decreased, and other enzyme activities in the soil subsurface layer did not change. In conclusion, long-term intensive management led to a significant decline of soil organic carbon storage, soil labile carbon and microbial activity in Moso bamboo plantations. Therefore, we should consider the use of organic fertilizer in the intensive mana-gement process for the sustainable management of Moso bamboo plantations in the future.

Statistical robustness of machine-learning estimates for characterizing a groundwater-surface water system, Southland, New Zealand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Friedel, M. J.; Daughney, C.

2016-12-01

The development of a successful surface-groundwater management strategy depends on the quality of data provided for analysis. This study evaluates the statistical robustness when using a modified self-organizing map (MSOM) technique to estimate missing values for three hypersurface models: synoptic groundwater-surface water hydrochemistry, time-series of groundwater-surface water hydrochemistry, and mixed-survey (combination of groundwater-surface water hydrochemistry and lithologies) hydrostratigraphic unit data. These models of increasing complexity are developed and validated based on observations from the Southland region of New Zealand. In each case, the estimation method is sufficiently robust to cope with groundwater-surface water hydrochemistry vagaries due to sample size and extreme data insufficiency, even when >80% of the data are missing. The estimation of surface water hydrochemistry time series values enabled the evaluation of seasonal variation, and the imputation of lithologies facilitated the evaluation of hydrostratigraphic controls on groundwater-surface water interaction. The robust statistical results for groundwater-surface water models of increasing data complexity provide justification to apply the MSOM technique in other regions of New Zealand and abroad.

Summary appraisals of the Nation's ground-water resources; Pacific Northwest region

USGS Publications Warehouse

Foxworthy, Bruce L.

1979-01-01

Management opportunities in the region include: (1) Development of new supplies and additional uses of ground water; (2) protection and enhancement of water quality; (3) reduction of waterlogging; (4) energy development from some ground-water reservoirs; (5) improving access to the ground water; (6) increased use of underground space for storage and disposal; and (7) greater use of advanced management and conservation techniques. Conjunctive use of surface and ground water to provide greater available supplies probably is the most promising water-management opportunity. However, if the full potential of the ground-water resources is to be realized, important constraints, including present water-right structures and serious deficiencies in information, must be overcome.

Imagined Communities, Contested Watersheds: Challenges to Integrated Water Resources Management in Agricultural Areas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferreyra, Cecilia; de Loe, Rob C.; Kreutzwiser, Reid D.

2008-01-01

Integrated water resources management is one of the major bottom-up alternatives that emerged during the 1980s in North America as part of the trend towards more holistic and participatory styles of environmental governance. It aims to protect surface and groundwater resources by focusing on the integrated and collaborative management of land and…

Water resource use and management by the United States forest products industry.

PubMed

Wiegand, P S; Flinders, C A; Ice, G G; Malmberg, B J; Fisher, R P

2009-01-01

The connections between forest products operations and water resources in the United States is considered and, where possible, quantified. Manufacture of wood, pulp, and paper products and the influences of forest management and forest products manufacture on water quality are discussed. Most fresh water in the US originates in forested areas. Responsible harvesting strategies, best management practices, and forest re-growth combine to minimize or eliminate changes in water availability and degradation of water quality due to harvesting. Relative to alternative land uses and large-scale disturbance events, forested areas produce the highest quality of fresh water. Water inputs for the manufacture of forest products total about 5.8 billion m(3) per year, an amount equal about 0.4% of the surface and groundwater yield from timberland. Approximately 88% of water used in manufacturing is treated and returned directly to surface waters, about 11% is converted to water vapor and released during the manufacturing process, and 1% is imparted to products or solid residuals. Extensive study and continued monitoring of treated effluents suggest few or no concerns regarding the compatibility of current effluents with healthy aquatic systems.

Dual permeability modeling of tile drain management influences on hydrologic and nutrient transport characteristics in macroporous soil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frey, Steven K.; Hwang, Hyoun-Tae; Park, Young-Jin; Hussain, Syed I.; Gottschall, Natalie; Edwards, Mark; Lapen, David R.

2016-04-01

Tile drainage management is considered a beneficial management practice (BMP) for reducing nutrient loads in surface water. In this study, 2-dimensional dual permeability models were developed to simulate flow and transport following liquid swine manure and rhodamine WT (strongly sorbing) tracer application on macroporous clay loam soils under controlled (CD) and free drainage (FD) tile management. Dominant flow and transport characteristics were successfully replicated, including higher and more continuous tile discharge and lower peak rhodamine WT concentrations in FD tile effluent; in relation to CD, where discharge was intermittent, peak rhodamine concentrations higher, and mass exchange from macropores into the soil matrix greater. Explicit representation of preferential flow was essential, as macropores transmitted >98% of surface infiltration, tile flow, and tile solute loads for both FD and CD. Incorporating an active 3rd type lower boundary condition that facilitated groundwater interaction was imperative for simulating CD, as the higher (relative to FD) water table enhanced water and soluble nutrient movement from the soil profile into deeper groundwater. Scenario analysis revealed that in conditions where slight upwards hydraulic gradients exist beneath tiles, groundwater upwelling can influence the concentration of surface derived solutes in tile effluent under FD conditions; whereas the higher and flatter CD water table can restrict groundwater upwelling. Results show that while CD can reduce tile discharge, it can also lead to an increase in surface-application derived nutrient concentrations in tile effluent and hence surface water receptors, and it can promote NO3 loading into groundwater. This study demonstrates dual permeability modeling as a tool for increasing the conceptual understanding of tile drainage BMPs.

Challenges of agricultural monitoring: integration of the Open Farm Management Information System into GEOSS and Digital Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Řezník, T.; Kepka, M.; Charvát, K.; Charvát, K., Jr.; Horáková, S.; Lukas, V.

2016-04-01

From a global perspective, agriculture is the single largest user of freshwater resources, each country using an average of 70% of all its surface water supplies. An essential proportion of agricultural water is recycled back to surface water and/or groundwater. Agriculture and water pollution is therefore the subject of (inter)national legislation, such as the Clean Water Act in the United States of America, the European Water Framework Directive, and the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution. Regular monitoring by means of sensor networks is needed in order to provide evidence of water pollution in agriculture. This paper describes the benefits of, and open issues stemming from, regular sensor monitoring provided by an Open Farm Management Information System. Emphasis is placed on descriptions of the processes and functionalities available to users, the underlying open data model, and definitions of open and lightweight application programming interfaces for the efficient management of collected (spatial) data. The presented Open Farm Management Information System has already been successfully registered under Phase 8 of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) Architecture Implementation Pilot in order to support the wide variety of demands that are primarily aimed at agriculture pollution monitoring. The final part of the paper deals with the integration of the Open Farm Management Information System into the Digital Earth framework.

Impact of war, precipitation, and water management on quantity of water resources in the Tigris/Euphrates area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hasan, Mejs; Moody, Aaron

2017-04-01

The fast-paced conflicts in the Middle East have the potential to disrupt management and supply of water resources in the region. In this research, we use the normalized difference water index (NDWI) in order to monitor changes in the extent of various water bodies over the time span of the Landsat 4, 5, 7, and 8 satellites (1984-present). We focused on Mosul and Haditha dam lakes, located on the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, respectively, each of which has experienced changes in sovereignty over the last few years of conflict. We established two areas, one land and one water, on each image, plotted the distributions of all NDWI values for each area, and used the number of standard deviations between the two distributions in order to set a dynamic NDWI threshold for each image. Using this threshold, we determined water pixels and lake surface area, and computed daily percent change in lake extent between images. Furthermore, we took account of explanatory water resource variables, such as upstream dam management (via surface extent of upstream Turkish dams), precipitation (via globally-compiled databases), evaporation (based on surface area decreases during non-rainy months), and irrigation withdrawals (based on MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Indices). We used these explanatory variables in order to build a general model of expected dam lake surface extent, and we looked to see if anomalies from expected surface area corresponded with periods of conflict. We found that the recent years of conflict do not appear to have had as much impact on the Mosul and Haditha dam lakes as did the conflicts related to the earlier Gulf Wars. The dam lakes have recorded an overall decrease in surface area simultaneous to increases of upstream dams. A strong seasonal signal driven by springtime Turkish snowmelt and summer evaporation is also evident.

Applications of Satellite Data to Support Improvements in Irrigation and Groundwater Management in California

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Melton, Forrest S.

2017-01-01

In agricultural regions around the world, threats to water supplies from drought and groundwater depletion are driving increased demand for tools to advance agricultural water use efficiency and support sustainable groundwater management. Satellite mapping of evapotranspiration (ET) from irrigated agricultural lands can provide agricultural producers and water resource managers with information that can be used to both optimize ag water use and improve estimates of groundwater withdrawals for irrigation. We describe the development of two remote sensing-based tools for ET mapping in California, including important lessons in terms of system design, partnership development, and transition to operations. For irrigation management, the integration of satellite data and surface sensor networks to provide timely delivery of information on crop water requirements can make irrigation scheduling more practical, convenient, and accurate.Developed through a partnership between NASA and the CA Department of Water Resources, the Satellite Irrigation Management Support (SIMS) framework integrates satellite data with information from agricultural weather networks to map crop canopy development and crop water requirements at the scale of individual fields. Information is distributed to agricultural producers and water managers via a web-based interface and web data services. SIMS also provides an API that facilitates integration with other irrigation decision support tools, such as CropManage and IrriQuest. Field trials using these integrated tools have shown that they can be used to sustain yields while improving water use efficiency and nutrient management. For sustainable groundwater management, the combination of satellite-derived estimates of ET and data on surface water deliveries for irrigation can increase the accuracy of estimates of groundwater pumping. We are developing an OpenET platform to facilitate access to ET data from multiple models and accelerate operational use of ET data in support of a range of water management applications, including implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in CA. By providing a shared basis for decision making, we anticipate that the OpenET platform will accelerate implementation of solutions for sustainable groundwater management.

Applications of Satellite Data to Support Improvements in Irrigation and Groundwater Management in California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melton, F. S.; Huntington, J. L.; Johnson, L.; Guzman, A.; Morton, C.; Zaragoza, I.; Dexter, J.; Rosevelt, C.; Michaelis, A.; Nemani, R. R.; Cahn, M.; Temesgen, B.; Trezza, R.; Frame, K.; Eching, S.; Grimm, R.; Hall, M.

2017-12-01

In agricultural regions around the world, threats to water supplies from drought and groundwater depletion are driving increased demand for tools to advance agricultural water use efficiency and support sustainable groundwater management. Satellite mapping of evapotranspiration (ET) from irrigated agricultural lands can provide agricultural producers and water resource managers with information that can be used to both optimize ag water use and improve estimates of groundwater withdrawals for irrigation. We describe the development of two remote sensing-based tools for ET mapping in California, including important lessons in terms of system design, partnership development, and transition to operations. For irrigation management, the integration of satellite data and surface sensor networks to provide timely delivery of information on crop water requirements can make irrigation scheduling more practical, convenient, and accurate. Developed through a partnership between NASA and the CA Department of Water Resources, the Satellite Irrigation Management Support (SIMS) framework integrates satellite data with information from agricultural weather networks to map crop canopy development and crop water requirements at the scale of individual fields. Information is distributed to agricultural producers and water managers via a web-based interface and web data services. SIMS also provides an API that facilitates integration with other irrigation decision support tools, such as CropManage and IrriQuest. Field trials using these integrated tools have shown that they can be used to sustain yields while improving water use efficiency and nutrient management. For sustainable groundwater management, the combination of satellite-derived estimates of ET and data on surface water deliveries for irrigation can increase the accuracy of estimates of groundwater pumping. We are developing an OpenET platform to facilitate access to ET data from multiple models and accelerate operational use of ET data in support of a range of water management applications, including implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in CA. By providing a shared basis for decision making, we anticipate that the OpenET platform will accelerate implementation of solutions for sustainable groundwater management.

CONTROLLING STORM WATER RUNOFF WITH TRADABLE CREDITS FOR IMPERVIOUS SURFACES

EPA Science Inventory

Storm water flow off impervious surface in a watershed can lead to stream degradation, habitat alteration, low base flows and toxic leading. We show that a properly designed tradable runoff credit (TRC) system creates economic incentives for landowners to employ best management p...

Fish Mercury and Surface Water Sulfate Relationships in the Everglades Protection Area

EPA Science Inventory

Few published studies present data on relationships between fish mercury and surface or pore water sulfate concentrations, particularly on an ecosystem-wide basis. Resource managers can use these relationships to identify the sulfate conditions that contain fish with health-conce...

Whole Watershed Management to Maximize Total Water Storage: Case Study of the American-Cosumnes River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goharian, E.; Gailey, R.; Medellin-Azuara, J.; Maples, S.; Adams, L. E.; Sandoval Solis, S.; Fogg, G. E.; Dahlke, H. E.; Harter, T.; Lund, J. R.

2016-12-01

Drought and unrelenting water demands by urban, agricultural and ecological entities present a need to manage and perhaps maximize all the major stores of water, including mountain snowpack and soil moisture, surface reservoirs, and groundwater reservoirs for the future. During drought, the over-exploitations of groundwater, which supplies up to 60% of California's agricultural water demand, has caused serious overdraft in many areas. Moreover, owing to climate change, faster and earlier snowmelt in Mediterranean climate systems such as California dictates that less water can be stored in reservoirs. If we are to substantially compensate for this loss of stored water without drastically cutting back water supply, a new era of radically increased groundwater recharge will be needed. Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) has become a common and fast-growing management option, especially in areas with high water availability variation intra- and inter-annually. Enhancing the recharge by the use of peak runoff requires integrated river basin management to improve prospects to downstream users and ecology. This study implements a quantitative approach to assess the physical and economic feasibility of MAR for American-Cosumnes River basin, CA. For this purpose, two scenarios are considered, the pre-development condition which is represented by unimpaired flows, and the other one in which available peak flow releases from Folsom reservoir derived from the CalSim II hydrologic simulation model will be employed to estimated available water for recharge. Preliminary results show peak flows during winter (Dec-Feb) and extended winter (Nov-Mar) from the American River flow can be captured within a range of 64,000 to 198,000 af/month through the Folsom South Canal for recharge. Changes in groundwater storage are estimated by using California Central Valley Groundwater-Surface Water Simulation Model (C2VSim). Results show increasing groundwater recharge benefits not only the regional groundwater storage, but also increases the groundwater storage in adjacent areas. Finally, results confirm that replenishing excess surface water during wet seasons can reduce the overdraft and help manage the groundwater in a more sustainable fashion. In addition, economic and policy implications of MAR are discussed.

Groundwater Discharge of Legacy Nitrogen to River Networks: Linking Regional Groundwater Models to Streambed Groundwater-Surface Water Exchange and Nitrogen Processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barclay, J. R.; Helton, A. M.; Briggs, M. A.; Starn, J. J.; Hunt, A.

2017-12-01

Despite years of management, excess nitrogen (N) is a pervasive problem in many aquatic ecosystems. More than half of surface water in the United States is derived from groundwater, and widespread N contamination in aquifers from decades of watershed N inputs suggest legacy N discharging from groundwater may contribute to contemporary N pollution problems in surface waters. Legacy N loads to streams and rivers are controlled by both regional scale flow paths and fine-scale processes that drive N transformations, such as groundwater-surface water exchange across steep redox gradients that occur at stream bed interfaces. Adequately incorporating these disparate scales is a challenge, but it is essential to understanding legacy N transport and making informed management decisions. We developed a regional groundwater flow model for the Farmington River, a HUC-8 basin that drains to the Long Island Sound, a coastal estuary that suffers from elevated N loads despite decades of management, to understand broad patterns of regional transport. To evaluate and refine the regional model, we used thermal infrared imagery paired with vertical temperature profiling to estimate groundwater discharge at the streambed interface. We also analyzed discharging groundwater for multiple N species to quantify fine scale patterns of N loading and transformation via denitrification at the streambed interface. Integrating regional and local estimates of groundwater discharge of legacy N to river networks should improve our ability to predict spatiotemporal patterns of legacy N loading to and transformation within surface waters.

Understanding surface-water availability in the Central Valley as a means to projecting future groundwater storage with climate variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodrich, J. P.; Cayan, D. R.

2017-12-01

California's Central Valley (CV) relies heavily on diverted surface water and groundwater pumping to supply irrigated agriculture. However, understanding the spatiotemporal character of water availability in the CV is difficult because of the number of individual farms and local, state, and federal agencies involved in using and managing water. Here we use the Central Valley Hydrologic Model (CVHM), developed by the USGS, to understand the relationships between climatic variability, surface water inputs, and resulting groundwater use over the historical period 1970-2013. We analyzed monthly surface water diversion data from >500 CV locations. Principle components analyses were applied to drivers constructed from meteorological data, surface reservoir storage, ET, land use cover, and upstream inflows, to feed multiple regressions and identify factors most important in predicting surface water diversions. Two thirds of the diversion locations ( 80% of total diverted water) can be predicted to within 15%. Along with monthly inputs, representations of cumulative precipitation over the previous 3 to 36 months can explain an additional 10% of variance, depending on location, compared to results that excluded this information. Diversions in the southern CV are highly sensitive to inter-annual variability in precipitation (R2 = 0.8), whereby more surface water is used during wet years. Until recently, this was not the case in the northern and mid-CV, where diversions were relatively constant annually, suggesting relative insensitivity to drought. In contrast, this has important implications for drought response in southern regions (eg. Tulare Basin) where extended dry conditions can severely limit surface water supplies and lead to excess groundwater pumping, storage loss, and subsidence. In addition to fueling our understanding of spatiotemporal variability in diversions, our ability to predict these water balance components allows us to update CVHM predictions before surface water data are compiled. We can then develop groundwater pumping and storage predictions in real time, and make them available to water managers. In addition, we are working toward future projections by coupling the regional CVHM to downscaled GCM output to assess future scenarios of water availability in this critical region.

The Influence of Climate Change on Irrigated Water Demands and Surface Water Availability of the Yellow River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Troy, T. J.; Zhang, J.

2017-12-01

Balancing irrigated water demands and surface water availability is critical for sustainable water resources management. In China, irrigation is the largest water user, and there is concern that irrigated water demands will be affected by climate change. If the relationship between climate change, irrigated water demands and surface water availability is quantified, then effective measures can be developed to maintain food production while ensuring water sustainability. This research focuses on the Yellow River, the second longest in China, and analyzes the impact of historical and projected climate change on agricultural water demands and surface water availability. Corn and wheat are selected as representative crops to estimate the effect of temperature and precipitin changes on irrigated water demands. The VIC model is used to simulate daily streamflow throughout the Yellow River, providing estimates of surface water availability. Overall, results indicate the irrigated water need and surface water availability are impacted by climate change, with spatially varying impacts depending on spatial patterns of climate trends and river network position. This research provides insight into water security in the Yellow River basin, indicating where water efficiency measures are needed and where they are not.

Simulation of groundwater and surface-water resources of the Santa Rosa Plain watershed, Sonoma County, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Woolfenden, Linda R.; Nishikawa, Tracy

2014-01-01

Water managers in the Santa Rosa Plain face the challenge of meeting increasing water demand with a combination of Russian River water, which has uncertainties in its future availability; local groundwater resources; and ongoing and expanding recycled water and water from other conservation programs. To address this challenge, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Sonoma County Water Agency, the cities of Cotati, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, and Sebastopol, the town of Windsor, the California American Water Company, and the County of Sonoma, undertook development of a fully coupled groundwater and surface-water model to better understand and to help manage the hydrologic resources in the Santa Rosa Plain watershed. The purpose of this report is to (1) describe the construction and calibration of the fully coupled groundwater and surface-water flow model for the Santa Rosa Plain watershed, referred to as the Santa Rosa Plain hydrologic model; (2) present results from simulation of the Santa Rosa Plain hydrologic model, including water budgets, recharge distributions, streamflow, and the effect of pumping on water-budget components; and (3) present the results from using the model to evaluate the potential hydrologic effects of climate change and variability without pumpage for water years 2011-99 and with projected pumpage for water years 2011-40.

Agricultural Groundwater Demands in the Conterminous United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ho, M. W.; Parthasarathy, V.; Etienne, E.; Russo, T. A.; Devineni, N.; Lall, U.

2016-12-01

In the conterminous United States (CONUS), over 40% of water consumed for irrigation, livestock and domestic water is sourced from groundwater. The late 20th century and 21st century saw an expansion in irrigated agriculture across the CONUS that was accompanied by increased pumping of groundwater. Groundwater is typically used to mitigate impacts of drought on surface water supplies enabling water demands to be met as well as to augment sparse surface water resources in arid regions or where surface water availability is highly variable temporally and/or spatially. A Demand Sensitive Drought Index (DSDI) is used to examine the impacts of agricultural water needs on groundwater in the CONUS. The DSDI accounts for agricultural water deficits driven by low precipitation, high agricultural water demand, or a combination of both. Changes in groundwater levels relative to agricultural water deficits are characterized relative to precipitation during the growing season and winter precipitation. In several key irrigated agricultural regions in the CONUS, long-term trends in groundwater levels appear to reflect prolonged periods of surface water deficits resulting from land use and associated unsustainable water demands. These areas are subsequent unable to recover from persistent states of agricultural drought. Conversely, reductions in agricultural water demands for crops do not necessarily lead to immediate recovery of groundwater levels due to the demand for groundwater in other sectors. Calls to establish or reform groundwater policies have recently been made in an effort to achieve holistic groundwater management strategies that consider the human demands on both surface water and groundwater. There is a need for relevant groundwater policies to ensure that water demands are adequately managed across sectors without unsustainably depleting groundwater resources and to ensure efficient economic activity.

Groundwater-fed irrigation impacts spatially distributed temporal scaling behavior of the natural system: a spatio-temporal framework for understanding water management impacts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Condon, Laura E.; Maxwell, Reed M.

2014-03-01

Regional scale water management analysis increasingly relies on integrated modeling tools. Much recent work has focused on groundwater-surface water interactions and feedbacks. However, to our knowledge, no study has explicitly considered impacts of management operations on the temporal dynamics of the natural system. Here, we simulate twenty years of hourly moisture dependent, groundwater-fed irrigation using a three-dimensional, fully integrated, hydrologic model (ParFlow-CLM). Results highlight interconnections between irrigation demand, groundwater oscillation frequency and latent heat flux variability not previously demonstrated. Additionally, the three-dimensional model used allows for novel consideration of spatial patterns in temporal dynamics. Latent heat flux and water table depth both display spatial organization in temporal scaling, an important finding given the spatial homogeneity and weak scaling observed in atmospheric forcings. Pumping and irrigation amplify high frequency (sub-annual) variability while attenuating low frequency (inter-annual) variability. Irrigation also intensifies scaling within irrigated areas, essentially increasing temporal memory in both the surface and the subsurface. These findings demonstrate management impacts that extend beyond traditional water balance considerations to the fundamental behavior of the system itself. This is an important step to better understanding groundwater’s role as a buffer for natural variability and the impact that water management has on this capacity.

Micropollutants in urban watersheds : substance flow analysis as management tool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rossi, L.; Copin, P. J.; Barry, A. D.; Bader, H.-P.; Scheidegger, R.; Chèvre, N.

2009-04-01

Micropollutants released by cities into water are of increasing concern as they are suspected of inducing long-term effects on both aquatic organisms and humans (eg., hormonally active substances). Substances found in the urban water cycle have different sources in the urban area and different fates in this cycle. For example, the pollutants emitted from traffic, like copper or PAHs get to surface water during rain events often without any treatment. Pharmaceuticals resulting from human medical treatments get to surface water mainly through wastewater treatment plants, where they are only partly treated and eliminated. One other source of contamination in urban areas for these compounds are combined sewer overflows (CSOs). Once in the receiving waters (lakes, rivers, groundwater), these substances may re-enter the cycle through drinking water. It is therefore crucial to study the behaviour of micropollutants in the urban water cycle and to get flexible tools for urban water management. Substance flow analysis (SFA) has recently been proposed as instrument for water pollution management in urban water systems. This kind of analysis is an extension of material flow analysis (MFA) originally developed in the economic sector and later adapted to regional investigations. In this study, we propose to test the application of SFA for a large number of classes of micropollutants to evaluate its use for urban water management. We chose the city of Lausanne as case study since the receiving water of this city (Lake Geneva) is an important source of drinking water for the surrounding population. Moreover a profound system-knowledge and many data were available, both on the sewer system and the water quality. We focus our study on one heavy metal (copper) and four pharmaceuticals (diclofenac, ibuprofen, carbamazepine and naproxen). Results conducted on copper reveals that around 1500 kg of copper enter the aquatic compartment yearly. This amount contributes to sediment enrichment, which may pose a long-term risk for the benthic organisms. The major sources (total of 73%) of copper in receiving surface water are roofs and contact lines of trolleybuses. Thus technical solutions have to be found to manage this specific source of contamination. Application of SFA approach to four pharmaceuticals reveals that CSOs represent an important source of contamination: Between 14% (carbamazepine) and 61% (ibuprofen) of the total annual loads of Lausanne city to the Lake are due to CSOs. These results will help in defining the best management strategy to limit Lake Geneva contamination. SFA is thus a promising tool for integrated urban water management.

Instream flow and water regime of selected riparian habitats in west-central Montana

Treesearch

Stephanie K. Mulica; Donald F. Potts; Robert D. Pfister

2002-01-01

Groundwater and surface water extraction and diversion for agricultural and human use has become common practice in the arid and semi-arid western United States. Surface water and groundwater are often not effectively managed during these processes, and few laws exist to protect riparian vegetation in the case of depletion of in-stream flows. "Instream flow"...

Design and routing of storm flows in an urbanized watershed without surface streams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schaad, David E.; Farley, Jon; Haynes, Criss

2009-09-01

SummaryIn the karst geologic setting of Greenbrier County, West Virginia, USA, the drainage network in the watersheds do not support surface streams, but depend entirely on sinkholes, solution cavities, or injection wells as discharge points for accumulated storm water. By providing a systematic framework for designing and routing storms in this geologic setting, functioning retention and attenuation structures have been developed which are protective of water quality while still safely discharging storm water in a controlled manner to the subsurface. This article provides a rationale for the design methodology and then examines the successful implementation of an attenuation and storm water retention design to manage the surface discharges for an entire watershed. By examining the pre-development flows and evaluating future land use patterns (i.e., installation of impermeable surfaces over large areas), as well as sinkhole conveyance capabilities, it was necessary to examine alternative disposal options for collected storm water as well as devise a basin-wide management strategy to coordinate future development of the watershed. Additionally, innovative water quality measures were implemented to help prevent contamination from preferentially infiltrating into the subsurface as a result of these land development activities.

Soil management and conservation: Irrigation: Methods

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Irrigation applies water to soil to improve crop production. The three main methods of irrigation are surface, sprinkler and micro. Surface irrigation is used on 85% of the irrigated land in the world. It generally requires lower capital investment because the soil conveys water within the field, ra...

Remote Sensing for Hydrology: Surface Water Dynamics from Three Decades of Landsat Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tulbure, M. G.; Broich, M.; Kingsford, R.; Lucas, R.; Keith, D.

2014-12-01

Surface water is a vital resource affected by changes in climate and anthropogenic factors. Knowledge of surface water dynamics provides critical information for flood and drought management. Here we focused on the on the entire Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) of Australia, a large semi-arid region with scarce water resources, high hydroclimatic variability and competing water demands, impacted by climate change, altered flow regimes and land use changes. The MDB is also an area where substantial investment in environmental water allocation of large volumes of environmental flow was made. We used Landsat TM and ETM+ time series to synoptically map the dynamic of surface water extent with an internally consistent algorithm (Tulbure and Broich, 2013) over decades (1986-2011). We used a subset of Landsat path/rows for image training in both wet and dry years. Results show high interannual variability in number and size of flooded areas, with flooded areas during the Millennium Drought (until 2009) being substantially smaller than during the excessive 2010-2011 La Nina flooding. Flooding frequency in 2006, a very dry year was lower than in 2010, the La Nina year when extensive floods occurred. More developed areas of the basin showed different inter-annual patterns from natural areas of the basin. At Barmah-Millewa, the largest river red gum forest in the world, we also mapped flooded forest and tracked changes in NDVI. Higher NDVI values were found in areas more frequently flooded. Knowledge of the spatial and temporal dynamics of flooding and the response of riparian vegetation communities to flooding is important for management of floodplain wetlands and vegetation communities and for investigating effectiveness of environmental flows and flow regimes in the MDB. Existing maps of inundated areas are linked with river flow to quantify the relationship between river flow and inundated area in the MDB. Historic flood inundation extent mapped via remote sensing can be used to quantify spatially explicit changes in surface water dynamics and vegetation communities as outcomes of management scenarios in response to water management decisions. This methodology is globally applicable and relevant to areas prone to flooding with competing water demands and can be used for mapping water availability in data scarce regions.

Utilization of satellite data for inventorying prairie ponds and lakes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Work, E.A.; Gilmer, D.S.

1976-01-01

By using data acquired by LANDSAT-1 (formerly ERTS- 1), studies were conducted in extracting information necessary for formulating management decisions relating to migratory waterfowl. Management decisions are based in part on an assessment ofhabitat characteristics, specifically numbers, distribution, and quality of ponds and lakes in the prime breeding range. This paper reports on a study concerned with mapping open surface water features in the glaciated prairies. Emphasis was placed on the recognition of these features based upon water's uniquely low radiance in a single nearinfrared waveband. The results of this recognition were thematic maps and statistics relating to open surface water. In a related effort, the added information content of multiple spectral wavebands was used for discriminating surface water at a level of detail finer than the virtual resolution of the data. The basic theory of this technique and some preliminary results are described.

Substance flow analysis as a tool for urban water management.

PubMed

Chèvre, N; Guignard, C; Rossi, L; Pfeifer, H-R; Bader, H-P; Scheidegger, R

2011-01-01

Human activity results in the production of a wide range of pollutants that can enter the water cycle through stormwater or wastewater. Among others, heavy metals are still detected in high concentrations around urban areas and their impact on aquatic organisms is of major concern. In this study, we propose to use a substance flow analysis as a tool for heavy metals management in urban areas. We illustrate the approach with the case of copper in Lausanne, Switzerland. The results show that around 1,500 kg of copper enter the aquatic compartment yearly. This amount contributes to sediment enrichment, which may pose a long-term risk for benthic organisms. The major sources of copper in receiving surface water are roofs and catenaries of trolleybuses. They represent 75% of the total input of copper into the urban water system. Actions to reduce copper pollution should therefore focus on these sources. Substance flow analysis also highlights that copper enters surface water mainly during rain events, i.e., without passing through any treatment procedure. A reduction in pollution could also be achieved by improving stormwater management. In conclusion, the study showed that substance flow analysis is a very effective tool for sustainable urban water management.

Water Quality Response to Changes in Agricultural Land Use Practices at Headwater Streams in Georgia

EPA Science Inventory

Poorly managed agricultural watersheds may be one of the most important contributors to high levels of bacterial and sediment loadings in surface waters. We investigated two cattle farms with differing management schemes to compare how physicochemical and meteorological parameter...

Rice rhizosphere soil and root surface bacterial community response to water management changes

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Different water management practices could affect microbial populations in the rice rhizosphere. A field-scale study was conducted to evaluate microbial populations in the root plaque and rhizosphere of rice in response to continuous and intermittent flooding conditions. Microbial populations in rhi...

Hydrology and Water Quality from Managed Turf

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Quantification of nutrient and pesticide losses from managed turf systems (golf courses) is scant. A study was initiated at Northland Country Club in Duluth, MN, in 2003 to quantify nutrient and pesticide losses in surface and subsurface discharge waters. Based on the four years of data collected at...

Evaluation of agricultural best-management practices in the Conestoga River headwaters, Pennsylvania; effects of nutrient management on water quality in the Little Conestoga Creek headwaters, 1983-89

USGS Publications Warehouse

Koerkle, E.H.; Fishel, D.K.; Brown, M.J.; Kostelnik, K.M.

1996-01-01

Water quality in the headwaters of the Little Conestoga Creek, Lancaster County, Pa., was investigated from April 1986 through September 1989 to determine possible effects of agricultural nutrient management on water quality. Nutrient management, an agricultural Best-Management Practice, was promoted in the 5.8-square-mile watershed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Clean Water Program. Nonpoint-source- agricultural contamination was evident in surface water and ground water in the watershed; the greatest contamination was in areas underlain by carbonate rock and with intensive row-crop and animal production. Initial implementation of nutrient management covered about 30 percent of applicable land and was concentrated in the Nutrient-Management Subbasin. By 1989, nutrient management covered about 45 percent of the entire Small Watershed, about 85 percent of the Nutrient- Management Subbasin, and less than 10 percent of the Nonnutrient-Management Subbasin. The number of farms implementing nutrient management increased from 14 in 1986 to 25 by 1989. Nutrient applications to cropland in the Nutrient- Management Subbasin decreased by an average of 35 percent after implementation. Comparison of base- flow surface-water quality from before and after implementation suggests that nutrient management was effective in slowing or reversing increases in concentrations of dissolved nitrate plus nitrite in the Nutrient-Management Subbasin. Although not statistically significant, the Mann-Whitney step-trend coefficient for the Nutrient-Management Subbasin was 0.8 milligram per liter, whereas trend coefficients for the Nonnutrient-Management Subbasin and the Small Watershed were 0.4 and 1.4 milligrams per liter, respectively, for the period of study. Analysis of covariance comparison of concurrent concentrations from the two sub- basins showed a significant decrease in concen- trations from the Nutrient-Management Subbasin compared to the Nonnutrient-Management Subbasin. The small, positive effect of nutrient management on base-flow water quality should be interpreted with caution. Lack of statistical significance for most tests, short-term variation in climate and agricultural activities, unknown ground-water flow rates, and insufficient agricultural-activity data for farms outside of the Nutrient-Management Subbasin were potential problems. A regression model relating nutrient applications to concen- trations of dissolved nitrate plus nitrite showed no significant explanatory relation.

Sensors and OBIA synergy for operational monitoring of surface water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masson, Eric; Thenard, Lucas

2010-05-01

This contribution will focus on combining Object Based Image Analysis (i.e. OBIA with e-Cognition 8) and recent sensors (i.e. Spot 5 XS, Pan and ALOS Prism, Avnir2, Palsar) to address the technical feasibility for an operational monitoring of surface water. Three cases of river meandering (India), flood mapping (Nepal) and dam's seasonal water level monitoring (Morocco) using recent sensors will present various application of surface water monitoring. The operational aspect will be demonstrated either by sensor properties (i.e. spatial resolution and bandwidth), data acquisition properties (i.e. multi sensor, return period and near real-time acquisition) but also with OBIA algorithms (i.e. fusion of multi sensors / multi resolution data and batch processes). In the first case of river meandering (India) we will address multi sensor and multi date satellite acquisition to monitor the river bed mobility within a floodplain using an ALOS dataset. It will demonstrate the possibility of an operational monitoring system that helps the geomorphologist in the analysis of fluvial dynamic and sediment budget for high energy rivers. In the second case of flood mapping (Nepal) we will address near real time Palsar data acquisition at high spatial resolution to monitor and to map a flood extension. This ALOS sensor takes benefit both from SAR and L band properties (i.e. atmospheric transparency, day/night acquisition, low sensibility to surface wind). It's a real achievement compared to optical imagery or even other high resolution SAR properties (i.e. acquisition swath, bandwidth and data price). These advantages meet the operational needs set by crisis management of hydrological disasters but also for the implementation of flood risk management plans. The last case of dam surface water monitoring (Morocco) will address an important issue of water resource management in countries affected by water scarcity. In such countries water users have to cope with over exploitation, frequent drought period and now with foreseen climate change impacts. This third case will demonstrate the efficiency of SPOT 5 programming in synergy with OBIA methodology to assess the evolution of dam surface water within a complete water cycle (i.e. 2008-09). In all those three cases image segmentation and classification algorithms developed with e-Cognition 8 software allow an easy to use implementation of simple to highly sophisticate OBIA rulsets fully operational in batch processes. Finally this contribution foresees the new opportunity of integration of Worldview 2 multispectral imagery (i.e. 8 bands) including its "coastal" band that will also find an application in continental surface water bathymetry. Worldview 2 is a recently launch satellite (e.g. October 2009) that starts to collect earth observation data since January 2010. It is therefore a promising new remote sensing tool to develop operational hydrology in combination high resolution SAR imagery and OBIA methodology. This contribution will conclude on the strong potential for operationalisation in hydrology and water resources management that recent and future sensors and image analysis methodologies are offering to water management and decision makers.

Water-quality, water-level, and discharge data associated with the Mississippi embayment agricultural chemical-transport study, 2006-2008

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dalton, Melinda S.; Rose, Claire E.; Coupe, Richard H.

2010-01-01

In 2006, the Agricultural Chemicals: Sources, Transport and Fate study team (Agricultural Chemicals Team, ACT) of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program began a study in northwestern Mississippi to evaluate the influence of surface-water recharge on the occurrence of agriculturally related nutrients and pesticides in the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer. The ACT study was composed in the Bogue Phalia Basin, an indicator watershed within the National Water-Quality Assessment Program Mississippi Embayment Study Unit and utilized several small, subbasins within the Bogue Phalia to evaluate surface and groundwater interaction and chemical transport in the Basin. Data collected as part of this ACT study include water-quality data from routine and incident-driven water samples evaluated for major ions, nutrients, organic carbon, physical properties, and commonly used pesticides in the area; discharge, gage height and water-level data for surface-water sites, the shallow alluvial aquifer, and hyporheic zone; additionally, agricultural data and detailed management activities were reported by land managers for farms within two subbasins of the Bogue Phalia Basin—Tommie Bayou at Pace, MS, and an unnamed tributary to Clear Creek near Napanee, MS.

Identification and management of microbial contaminations in a surface drinking water source.

PubMed

Aström, J; Pettersson, T J R; Stenström, T A

2007-01-01

Microbial contamination of surface waters constitutes a health risk for drinking water consumers which may be lowered by closing the raw water intake. We have evaluated microbial discharge events reported in the river Göta älv, which is used for raw water supply to the city of Göteborg. Elevated levels of faecal indicator bacteria were observed during periods of closed raw water intake. High bacteria levels were, however, also occasionally detected during periods of open intake, probably as a result of microbial discharge far upstream in the river which may be difficult to predict and manage by closing the intake. Accumulated upstream precipitations, resulting in surface runoff and wastewater contaminations in the catchment, correlated positively with the levels of total coliforms, E. coli, intestinal enterococci and sulfite-reducing clostridia. Levels of faecal indicator organisms were negatively correlated to the water temperature due to enhanced survival at lower temperatures. Wastewater discharges from a municipality located just upstream of the water intake resulted in elevated E. coli concentrations downstream at the raw water intake for Göteborg. To improve the prediction of microbial contaminations within the river Göta älv, monitoring data on turbidity and upstream precipitation are of particular importance.

Hydromentor: An integrated water resources monitoring and management system at modified semi-arid watersheds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vasiliades, Lampros; Sidiropoulos, Pantelis; Tzabiras, John; Kokkinos, Konstantinos; Spiliotopoulos, Marios; Papaioannou, George; Fafoutis, Chrysostomos; Michailidou, Kalliopi; Tziatzios, George; Loukas, Athanasios; Mylopoulos, Nikitas

2015-04-01

Natural and engineered water systems interact throughout watersheds and while there is clearly a link between watershed activities and the quantity and quality of water entering the engineered environment, these systems are considered distinct operational systems. As a result, the strategic approach to data management and modeling within the two systems is very different, leading to significant difficulties in integrating the two systems in order to make comprehensive watershed decisions. In this paper, we describe the "HYDROMENTOR" research project, a highly-structured data storage and exchange system that integrates multiple tools and models describing both natural and modified environments, to provide an integrated tool for management of water resources. Our underlying objective in presenting our conceptual design for this water information system is to develop an integrated and automated system that will achieve monitoring and management of the water quantity and quality at watershed level for both surface water (rivers and lakes) and ground water resources (aquifers). The uniqueness of the system is the integrated treatment of the water resources management issue in terms of water quantity and quality in current climate conditions and in future conditions of climatic change. On an operational level, the system provides automated warnings when the availability, use and pollution levels exceed allowable limits pre-set by the management authorities. Decision making with respect to the apportionment of water use by surface and ground water resources are aided through this system, while the relationship between the polluting activity of a source to total incoming pollution by sources are determined; this way, the best management practices for dealing with a crisis are proposed. The computational system allows the development and application of actions, interventions and policies (alternative management scenarios) so that the impacts of climate change in quantity, quality and use of water resources could be evaluated and managed. Acknowledgements: This study has been supported by the research project "Hydromentor" funded by the Greek General Secretariat of Research and Technology in the framework of the E.U. co-funded National Action "Cooperation".

Socioeconomic Drought in a Changing Climate: Modeling and Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

AghaKouchak, Amir; Mehran, Ali; Mazdiyasni, Omid

2016-04-01

Drought is typically defined based on meteorological, hydrological and land surface conditions. However, in many parts of the world, anthropogenic changes and water management practices have significantly altered local water availability. Socioeconomic drought refers to conditions whereby the available water supply cannot satisfy the human and environmental water needs. Surface water reservoirs provide resilience against local climate variability (e.g., droughts), and play a major role in regional water management. This presentation focuses on a framework for describing socioeconomic drought based on both water supply and demand information. We present a multivariate approach as a measure of socioeconomic drought, termed Multivariate Standardized Reliability and Resilience Index (MSRRI; Mehran et al., 2015). This model links the information on inflow and surface reservoir storage to water demand. MSRRI integrates a "top-down" and a "bottom-up" approach for describing socioeconomic drought. The "top-down" component describes processes that cannot be simply controlled or altered by local decision-makers and managers (e.g., precipitation, climate variability, climate change), whereas the "bottom-up" component focuses on the local resilience, and societal capacity to respond to droughts. The two components (termed, Inflow-Demand Reliability (IDR) indicator and Water Storage Resilience (WSR) indicator) are integrated using a nonparametric multivariate approach. We use this framework to assess the socioeconomic drought during the Australian Millennium Drought (1998-2010) and the 2011-2014 California Droughts. MSRRI provides additional information on socioeconomic drought onset, development and termination based on local resilience and human demand that cannot be obtained from the commonly used drought indicators. We show that MSRRI can be used for water management scenario analysis (e.g., local water availability based on different human water demands scenarios). Finally, we provide examples of using the proposed modeling framework for analyzing water availability in a changing climate considering local conditions. Reference: Mehran A., Mazdiyasni O., AghaKouchak A., 2015, A Hybrid Framework for Assessing Socioeconomic Drought: Linking Climate Variability, Local Resilience, and Demand, Journal of Geophysical Research, 120 (15), 7520-7533, doi: 10.1002/2015JD023147

Everglades Depth Estimation Network (EDEN) Applications: Tools to View, Extract, Plot, and Manipulate EDEN Data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Telis, Pamela A.; Henkel, Heather

2009-01-01

The Everglades Depth Estimation Network (EDEN) is an integrated system of real-time water-level monitoring, ground-elevation data, and water-surface elevation modeling to provide scientists and water managers with current on-line water-depth information for the entire freshwater part of the greater Everglades. To assist users in applying the EDEN data to their particular needs, a series of five EDEN tools, or applications (EDENapps), were developed. Using EDEN's tools, scientists can view the EDEN datasets of daily water-level and ground elevations, compute and view daily water depth and hydroperiod surfaces, extract data for user-specified locations, plot transects of water level, and animate water-level transects over time. Also, users can retrieve data from the EDEN datasets for analysis and display in other analysis software programs. As scientists and managers attempt to restore the natural volume, timing, and distribution of sheetflow in the wetlands, such information is invaluable. Information analyzed and presented with these tools is used to advise policy makers, planners, and decision makers of the potential effects of water management and restoration scenarios on the natural resources of the Everglades.

Estimated Water Flows in 2005: United States

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Smith, C A; Belles, R D; Simon, A J

2011-03-16

Flow charts depicting water use in the United States have been constructed from publicly available data and estimates of water use patterns. Approximately 410,500 million gallons per day of water are managed throughout the United States for use in farming, power production, residential, commercial, and industrial applications. Water is obtained from four major resource classes: fresh surface-water, saline (ocean) surface-water, fresh groundwater and saline (brackish) groundwater. Water that is not consumed or evaporated during its use is returned to surface bodies of water. The flow patterns are represented in a compact 'visual atlas' of 52 state-level (all 50 states inmore » addition to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands) and one national water flow chart representing a comprehensive systems view of national water resources, use, and disposition.« less

Recovery of energetically overexploited urban aquifers using surface water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

García-Gil, Alejandro; Vázquez-Suñé, Enric; Sánchez-Navarro, José Ángel; Mateo Lázaro, Jesús

2015-12-01

Shallow aquifers have an important role in reducing greenhouse gases through helping manage the temperature of urban environments. Nevertheless, the uncontrolled rapid use of shallow groundwater resources to heat or cool urban environments can cause thermal pollution that will limit the long term sustainability of the resource. Therefore, there is a need for appropriate mitigation/remediation strategies capable of recovering energetically overexploited aquifers. In this work, a novel remediation strategy based on surface water recharge into aquifers is presented. To evaluate the capabilities of such measures for effective remediation, this strategy is optimized for a management problem raised in the overheated "Urban Alluvial Aquifer of Zaragoza" (Spain). The application of a transient groundwater flow and heat transport model under 512 different mitigation scenarios has enabled to quantify and discuss the magnitude of the remediation effect as a respond to injection rates of surface water, seasonal schedule of the injection and location of injection. The quantification of the relationship between these variables together with the evaluation of the amount of surface water injected per year in each scenario proposed have provided a better understanding of the system processes and an optimal management alternative. This work also makes awareness of the magnitude of the remediation procedure which is in an order of magnitude of tenths of years.

Comparison of SWAT Model Water Balance Calibration Using NEXRAD and Surface Rain Gauge Data

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The value of watershed-scale, water quality models to ecosystem management is increasingly evident as more programs adopt these tools to help assess the effectiveness of different management scenarios on the environment. The USDA-Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) is one such program whi...

Surface-Water and Ground-Water Interactions in the Central Everglades, Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Harvey, Judson W.; Newlin, Jessica T.; Krest, James M.; Choi, Jungyill; Nemeth, Eric A.; Krupa, Steven L.

2004-01-01

Recharge and discharge are hydrological processes that cause Everglades surface water to be exchanged for subsurface water in the peat soil and the underlying sand and limestone aquifer. These interactions are thought to be important to water budgets, water quality, and ecology in the Everglades. Nonetheless, relatively few studies of surface water and ground water interactions have been conducted in the Everglades, especially in its vast interior areas. This report is a product of a cooperative investigation conducted by the USGS and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) aimed at developing and testing techniques that would provide reliable estimates of recharge and discharge in interior areas of WCA-2A (Water Conservation Area 2A) and several other sites in the central Everglades. The new techniques quantified flow from surface water to the subsurface (recharge) and the opposite (discharge) using (1) Darcy-flux calculations based on measured vertical gradients in hydraulic head and hydraulic conductivity of peat; (2) modeling transport through peat and decay of the naturally occurring isotopes 224Ra and 223Ra (with half-lives of 4 and 11 days, respectively); and (3) modeling transport and decay of naturally occurring and 'bomb-pulse' tritium (half-life of 12.4 years) in ground water. Advantages and disadvantages of each method for quantifying recharge and discharge were compared. In addition, spatial and temporal variability of recharge and discharge were evaluated and controlling factors identified. A final goal was to develop appropriately simplified (that is, time averaged) expressions of the results that will be useful in addressing a broad range of hydrological and ecological problems in the Everglades. Results were compared with existing information about water budgets from the South Florida Water Management Model (SFWMM), a principal tool used by the South Florida Water Management District to plan many of the hydrological aspects of the Everglades restoration. A century of water management for flood control and water storage in the Everglades resulted in the creation of the Water Conservation Areas (WCAs). Construction of the major canals began in the 1910s and the systems of levees that enclose the basins and structures that move water between basins were largely completed by the 1950s. The abandoned wetlands that remained outside of the Water Conservation areas tended to dry out and subside by 10 feet or more, which created abrupt transitions in land-surface elevations and water levels across the levees. The increases in topographic and hydraulic gradients near the margins of the WCAs, along with rapid pumping of water between basins to achieve management objectives, have together altered the patterns of recharge and discharge in the Everglades. The most evident change is the increase in the magnitude of recharge (on the upgradient side) and discharge (on the downgradient side) of levees separating WCA-2A from other basins or areas outside. Recharge and discharge in the vast interior of WCA-2A also likely have increased, but fluxes in the interior wetlands are more subtle and more difficult to quantify compared with areas close to the levees. Surface-water and ground-water interactions differ in fundamental ways between wetlands near WCA-2A's boundaries and wetlands in the basin's interior. The levees that form the WCA's boundaries have introduced step functions in the topographic and hydraulic gradients that are important as a force to drive water flow across the wetland ground surface. The resulting recharge and discharge fluxes tend to be unidirectional (connecting points of recharge on the upgradient side of the levee with points of discharge on the downgradient side), and fluxes are also relatively steady in magnitude compared with fluxes in the interior. Recharge flow paths are also relatively deep in their extent near levees, with fluxes passing entirely through the 1-m peat layer and inte

Trends in Streamflow Characteristics in Hawaii, 1913-2002

USGS Publications Warehouse

Oki, Delwyn S.

2004-01-01

The surface-water resources of Hawaii have significant cultural, aesthetic, ecologic, and economic importance. In Hawaii, surface-water resources are developed for both offstream uses (for example, drinking water, agriculture, and industrial uses) and instream uses (for example, maintenance of habitat and ecosystems, recreational activities, aesthetic values, maintenance of water quality, conveyance of irrigation and domestic water supplies, and protection of traditional and customary Hawaiian rights). Possible long-term trends in streamflow characteristics have important implications for water users, water suppliers, resource managers, and citizens in the State. Proper management of Hawaii's streams requires an understanding of long-term trends in streamflow characteristics and their potential implications. Effects of long-term downward trends in low flows in streams include potential loss of habitat for native stream fauna and reduced water availability for offstream and instream water uses. Effects of long-term upward trends in high flows in streams include construction of bridges and water-conveyance structures that are potentially unsafe if they are not designed with proper consideration of trends in high flows.

A comprehensive surface-groundwater flow model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnold, Jeffrey G.; Allen, Peter M.; Bernhardt, Gilbert

1993-02-01

In this study, a simple groundwater flow and height model was added to an existing basin-scale surface water model. The linked model is: (1) watershed scale, allowing the basin to be subdivided; (2) designed to accept readily available inputs to allow general use over large regions; (3) continuous in time to allow simulation of land management, including such factors as climate and vegetation changes, pond and reservoir management, groundwater withdrawals, and stream and reservoir withdrawals. The model is described, and is validated on a 471 km 2 watershed near Waco, Texas. This linked model should provide a comprehensive tool for water resource managers in development and planning.

Global Operational Remotely Sensed Evapotranspiration System for Water Resources Management: Case Study for the State of New Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halverson, G. H.; Fisher, J.; Magnuson, M.; John, L.

2017-12-01

An operational system to produce and disseminate remotely sensed evapotranspiration using the PT-JPL model and support its analysis and use in water resources decision making is being integrated into the New Mexico state government. A partnership between the NASA Western Water Applications Office (WWAO), the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer (NMOSE) has enabled collaboration with a variety of state agencies to inform decision making processes for agriculture, rangeland, and forest management. This system improves drought understanding and mobilization, litigation support, and economic, municipal, and ground-water planning through interactive mapping of daily rates of evapotranspiration at 1 km spatial resolution with near real-time latency. This is facilitated by daily remote sensing acquisitions of land-surface temperature and near-surface air temperature and humidity from the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on the Terra satellite as well as the short-term composites of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and albedo provided by MODIS. Incorporating evapotranspiration data into agricultural water management better characterizes imbalances between water requirements and supplies. Monitoring evapotranspiration over rangeland areas improves remediation and prevention of aridification. Monitoring forest evapotranspiration improves wildlife management and response to wildfire risk. Continued implementation of this decision support system should enhance water and food security.

Implementation of MAR within the Rio Grande Basin of Central New Mexico, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marley, Robert; Blandford, T. Neil; Ewing, Amy; Webb, Larry; Yuhas, Katherine

2014-05-01

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has identified the Rio Grande basin within Central New Mexico as one of several regions where water supplies are over-allocated and future conflicts over the inadequate resource are highly likely. Local water providers have consistently identified managed aquifer recharge (MAR) as an important tool to provide conjunctive management of surface-water, groundwater, and reclaimed water sources in order to extend the useful life of existing water sources. However, MAR projects have been slow to take root partly due to rigorous demonstration requirements, groundwater quality protection concerns, and ongoing water right uncertainties. At first glance the several thousand meters of unconsolidated basin-fill sediments hosting the regional aquifer appear to provide an ideal environment for the subsurface storage of surplus water. However, the basin has a complex structural and depositional history that impacts the siting and overall effectiveness of MAR systems. Several recharge projects are now in various stages of implementation and are overcoming site specific challenges including source water and ambient groundwater compatibility, low-permeability sediments and compartmentalization of the aquifer by extensive faulting, well clogging, and overall water quality management. This presentation will highlight ongoing efforts of these water providers to develop full-scale recharge facilities. The performance of natural in-channel infiltration, engineered infiltration galleries, and direct injection systems designed to introduce from 500 to 5,000 mega-liters per annum to target intervals present from 150 to 600 meters below ground surface will be described. Source waters for recharge operations include inter-basin transferred surface water and highly treated reclaimed water sources requiring from minor to extensive treatment pre-recharge and post-recovery. Operational complexities have raised concerns related to long-term operation and maintenance and overall economic sustainability of these projects. Further, potential reduction in surface water return flows as a result of recharge operations and impacts to other water users during recovery of the stored water must be considered. Proposed rules for long-term storage, estimating water losses, and eventual water recovery as they relate to water rights administration within stream-connected aquifer systems will also be outlined during the presentation.

Summary appraisals of the Nation's ground-water resources; Missouri Basin region

USGS Publications Warehouse

Taylor, O. James

1978-01-01

Comprehensive water-management planning in the Missouri Basin Region will require periodic or continuing inventory of precipitation, streamflow, surface-water storage, and ground water. Water demands for irrigation, industrial, public supply, and rural use are increasing rapidly. Reliance on ground-water supplies is increasing even though in many areas the ground water is still mostly undeveloped. Optimal use of water supplies will require the establishment of realistic goals and carefully conceived water-management plans, each of which will necessarily be based on an adequate baseline of hydrologic data and knowledge of the highly variable hydrologic systems in the region.

Water resources vulnerability assessment in the Adriatic Sea region: the case of Corfu Island.

PubMed

Kanakoudis, Vasilis; Tsitsifli, Stavroula; Papadopoulou, Anastasia; Cencur Curk, Barbara; Karleusa, Barbara

2017-09-01

Cross-border water resources management and protection is a complicated task to achieve, lacking a common methodological framework. Especially in the Adriatic region, water used for drinking water supply purposes pass from many different countries, turning its management into a hard task to achieve. During the DRINKADRIA project, a common methodological framework has been developed, for efficient and effective cross-border water supply and resources management, taking into consideration different resources types (surface and groundwater) emphasizing in drinking water supply intake. The common methodology for water resources management is based on four pillars: climate characteristics and climate change, water resources availability, quality, and security. The present paper assesses both present and future vulnerability of water resources in the Adriatic region, with special focus on Corfu Island, Greece. The results showed that climate change is expected to impact negatively on water resources availability while at the same time, water demand is expected to increase. Water quality problems will be intensified especially due to land use changes and salt water intrusion. The analysis identified areas where water resources are more vulnerable, allowing decision makers develop management strategies.

Upper Illinois River basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Friedel, Michael J.

1998-01-01

During the past 25 years, industry and government made large financial investments that resulted in better water quality across the Nation; however, many water-quality concerns remain. Following a 1986 pilot project, the U.S. Geological Survey began implementation of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program in 1991. This program differs from other national water-quality assessment studies in that the NAWQA integrates monitoring of surface- and ground-water quality with the study of aquatic ecosystems. The goals of the NAWQA Program are to (1) describe current water-quality conditions for a large part of the Nation's freshwater streams and aquifers (water-bearing sediments and rocks), (2) describe how water quality is changing over time, and (3) improve our understanding of the primary natural and human factors affecting water quality.The Upper Illinois River Basin National Water- Quality Assessment (NAWQA) study will increase the scientific understanding of surface- and ground-water quality and the factors that affect water quality in the basin. The study also will provide information needed by water-resource managers to implement effective water-quality management actions and evaluate long-term changes in water quality.

Quality-control design for surface-water sampling in the National Water-Quality Network

USGS Publications Warehouse

Riskin, Melissa L.; Reutter, David C.; Martin, Jeffrey D.; Mueller, David K.

2018-04-10

The data-quality objectives for samples collected at surface-water sites in the National Water-Quality Network include estimating the extent to which contamination, matrix effects, and measurement variability affect interpretation of environmental conditions. Quality-control samples provide insight into how well the samples collected at surface-water sites represent the true environmental conditions. Quality-control samples used in this program include field blanks, replicates, and field matrix spikes. This report describes the design for collection of these quality-control samples and the data management needed to properly identify these samples in the U.S. Geological Survey’s national database.

Potentiometric Surface of the Upper Floridan Aquifer in the St. Johns River Water Management District and Vicinity, May 2008

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kinnaman, Sandra L.; Dixon, Joann F.

2008-01-01

This map depicts the potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer in the St. Johns River Water Management District and vicinity for May 2008. Potentiometric contours are based on water-level measurements collected at 567 wells during the period May 6-May 27, near the end of the dry season. Some contours are inferred from previous potentiometric-surface maps with larger well networks. The potentiometric surface of the carbonate Upper Floridan aquifer responds mainly to rainfall, and more locally, to ground-water withdrawals and spring flow. Potentiometric-surface highs generally correspond to topographic highs where the aquifer is recharged. Springs and areas of diffuse upward leakage naturally discharge water from the aquifer and are most prevalent along the St. Johns River. Areas of discharge are reflected by depressions in the potentiometric surface. Ground-water withdrawals locally have lowered the potentiometric surface. Ground water in the Upper Floridan aquifer generally flows from potentiometric highs to potentiometric lows in a direction perpendicular to the contours. Measured values of the potentiometric surface ranged from 7 feet below NGVD29 near Fernandina Beach, Florida, to 124 feet above NGVD29 in Polk County, Florida. The average water level of the network in May 2008 was about 1 foot lower than the average in September 2007 following below-average rainfall during the dry season of 2007-08. Seasonal differences in network average water levels generally range from 4 to 6 feet. For 457 wells with previous measurements, May 2008 levels ranged from about 19 feet below to about 11 feet above September 2007 water levels. The average water level of the network in May 2008 was about 1 foot higher than the average in May 2007. For 544 wells with previous measurements, May 2008 levels ranged from about 8 feet below to about 13 feet above May 2007 water levels. Long-term hydrographs of ground-water levels for continuous and periodic wells are available at internet site: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/fl/nwis/gw

Drivers and Effects of Groundwater-Surface Water Interaction in the Karstic Lower Flint River Basin, Southwestern Georgia, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rugel, K.; Golladay, S. W.; Jackson, C. R.; Rasmussen, T. C.; Dowd, J. F.; Mcdowell, R. J.

2017-12-01

Groundwater provides the majority of global water resources for domestic and agricultural usage while contributing vital surface water baseflows which support healthy aquatic ecosystems. Understanding the extent and magnitude of hydrologic connectivity between groundwater and surface water components in karst watersheds is essential to the prudent management of these hydraulically-interactive systems. We examined groundwater and surface water connectivity between the Upper Floridan Aquifer (UFA) and streams in the Lower Flint River Basin (LFRB) in southwestern Georgia where development of agricultural irrigation intensified over the past 30 years. An analysis of USGS streamflow data for the pre- and post-irrigation period showed summer baseflows in some Lower Flint River tributaries were reduced by an order of magnitude in the post-irrigation period, reiterating the strong hydraulic connection between these streams and the underlying aquifer. Large and fine-scale monitoring of calcium, nitrate, specific conductance and stable isotopes (δ18O and δD) on 50 km of Ichawaynochaway Creek, a major tributary of the Lower Flint, detected discrete groundwater-surface water flow paths which accounted for 42% of total groundwater contributions in the 50 km study reach. This presentation will highlight a new analysis using the metadata EPA Reach File (1) and comparing stream reach and instream bedrock joint azimuths with stream geochemical results from previous field study. Our findings suggested that reaches with NNW bearing may be more likely to display enhanced groundwater-surface water connectivity. Our results show that local heterogeneity can significantly affect water budgets and quality within these watersheds, making the use of geomorphological stream attributes a valuable tool to water resource management for the prediction and protection of vulnerable regions of hydrologic connectivity in karst catchments.

Climate influences thermal balance and water use in African and Asian elephants: physiology can predict drivers of elephant distribution.

PubMed

Dunkin, Robin C; Wilson, Dinah; Way, Nicolas; Johnson, Kari; Williams, Terrie M

2013-08-01

Elephant movement patterns in relation to surface water demonstrate that they are a water-dependent species. Thus, there has been interest in using surface water management to mitigate problems associated with localized elephant overabundance. However, the physiological mechanisms underlying the elephant's water dependence remain unclear. Although thermoregulation is likely an important driver, the relationship between thermoregulation, water use and climate has not been quantified. We measured skin surface temperature of and cutaneous water loss from 13 elephants (seven African, 3768±642 kg; six Asian, 3834±498 kg) and determined the contribution of evaporative cooling to their thermal and water budgets across a range of air temperatures (8-33°C). We also measured respiratory evaporative water loss and resting metabolic heat production on a subset of elephants (N=7). The rate of cutaneous evaporative water loss ranged between 0.31 and 8.9 g min(-1) m(-2) for Asian elephants and 0.26 and 6.5 g min(-1) m(-2) for African elephants. Simulated thermal and water budgets using climate data from Port Elizabeth, South Africa, and Okaukuejo, Namibia, suggested that the 24-h evaporative cooling water debt incurred in warm climates can be more than 4.5 times that incurred in mesic climates. This study confirms elephants are obligate evaporative coolers but suggests that classification of elephants as water dependent is insufficient given the importance of climate in determining the magnitude of this dependence. These data highlight the potential for a physiological modeling approach to predicting the utility of surface water management for specific populations.

Variable exchange between a stream and an aquifer in the Rio Grande Project Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheng, Z.; Abudu, S.; Michelsen, A.; King, P.

2016-12-01

Both surface water and groundwater in the Rio Grande Project area in southern New Mexico and Far West Texas have been stressed by natural conditions such as droughts and human activities, including urban development and agricultural irrigation. In some area pumping stress in the aquifer becomes so great that it depletes the river flow especially during the irrigation season, typically from March through October. Therefore understanding such relationship between surface water and groundwater becomes more important in regional water resources planning and management. In this area, stream flows are highly regulated by the upstream reservoirs during the irrigation season and greatly influenced by return flows during non-irrigation season. During a drought additional groundwater pumping to supplement surface water shortage further complicates the surface water and groundwater interaction. In this paper the authors will use observation data and results of numerical models (MODFLOW) to characterize and quantify hydrological exchange fluxes between groundwater in the aquifers and surface water as well as impacts of groundwater pumping. The interaction shows a very interesting seasonal variation (irrigation vs. non-irrigation) as well as impact of a drought. Groundwater has been pumped for both municipal supplies and agricultural irrigation, which has imposed stresses toward both stream flows and aquifer storage. The results clearly show that historic groundwater pumping has caused some reaches of the river change from gaining stream to losing stream. Beyond the exchange between surface water and groundwater in the shallow aquifer, groundwater pumping in a deep aquifer could also enhance the exchanges between different aquifers through leaky confining layers. In the earlier history of pumping, pumping from the shallow aquifer is compensated by simple depletion of surface water, while deep aquifer tends to use the aquifer storage. With continued pumping, the cumulative stresses from deeper aquifers migrate upward, resulting in additional depletion of surface water. Eventually such impacts turn some reaches of a gaining river into a losing stream. The research finding provides information needed for future regional water planning and conjunctive management of surface water and groundwater resources.

Assessing surface water flood risk and management strategies under future climate change: Insights from an Agent-Based Model.

PubMed

Jenkins, K; Surminski, S; Hall, J; Crick, F

2017-10-01

Climate change and increasing urbanization are projected to result in an increase in surface water flooding and consequential damages in the future. In this paper, we present insights from a novel Agent Based Model (ABM), applied to a London case study of surface water flood risk, designed to assess the interplay between different adaptation options; how risk reduction could be achieved by homeowners and government; and the role of flood insurance and the new flood insurance pool, Flood Re, in the context of climate change. The analysis highlights that while combined investment in property-level flood protection and sustainable urban drainage systems reduce surface water flood risk, the benefits can be outweighed by continued development in high risk areas and the effects of climate change. In our simulations, Flood Re is beneficial in its function to provide affordable insurance, even under climate change. However, the scheme does face increasing financial pressure due to rising surface water flood damages. If the intended transition to risk-based pricing is to take place then a determined and coordinated strategy will be needed to manage flood risk, which utilises insurance incentives, limits new development, and supports resilience measures. Our modelling approach and findings are highly relevant for the ongoing regulatory and political approval process for Flood Re as well as for wider discussions on the potential of insurance schemes to incentivise flood risk management and climate adaptation in the UK and internationally. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Economic resilience through "One-Water" management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hanson, Randall T.; Schmid, Wolfgang

2013-01-01

Disruption of water availability leads to food scarcity and loss of economic opportunity. Development of effective water-resource policies and management strategies could provide resiliance to local economies in the face of water disruptions such as drought, flood, and climate change. To accomplish this, a detailed understanding of human water use and natural water resource availability is needed. A hydrologic model is a computer software system that simulates the movement and use of water in a geographic area. It takes into account all components of the water cycle--“One Water”--and helps estimate water budgets for groundwater, surface water, and landscape features. The U.S. Geological Survey MODFLOW One-Water Integrated Hydrologic Model (MODFLOWOWHM) software and scientific methods can provide water managers and political leaders with hydrologic information they need to help ensure water security and economic resilience.

Release of cadmium in contaminated paddy soil amended with NPK fertilizer and lime under water management.

PubMed

Han, Xiao-Qing; Xiao, Xi-Yuan; Guo, Zhao-Hui; Xie, Ye-Hua; Zhu, Hui-Wen; Peng, Chi; Liang, Yu-Qin

2018-05-03

Agricultural soils contaminated with cadmium (Cd) pose a risk to receiving surface water via drainage or runoff. A 90-day laboratory incubation experiment was conducted to investigate the release characteristics and transformation of Cd from contaminated paddy soil amended with agrochemical (NPK fertilizer) and lime (L) under water management regimes of continuous flooding (F) and drying-wetting cycles (DW). The result showed that the dissolved Cd concentrations in overlying water of the fertilizer treatment under flooding (NPK+F) and drying-wetting (NPK+DW) reached up to 81.0 μg/L and 276 μg/L, and were much higher than that from the corresponding controls without NPK fertilizer addition at the end of experiment. The Cd concentration showed significantly negative correlation with overlying water pH, but positive correlation with soil redox potential and concentrations of dissolved total nitrogen, sulfate and manganese in overlying water (P < 0.05), indicating that drying-wetting cycles and N fertilizer addition may enhance soil Cd release. The Cd concentrations in overlying water from all treatments except NPK+L+F treatment exceeded the Cd threshold limit of Chinese Environmental Quality Standards for Surface Water (10 μg/L Grade V) and poses potential risk to surface water quality. Meanwhile, the proportion of Cd in the acid-soluble fraction from all incubated soil except NPK+L+F treatment increased compared to before incubation. The results indicated that continuous flooding was a reasonable water management candidate coupled with lime addition for immobilizing soil Cd. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Environmental surveillance master sampling schedule

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bisping, L.E.

This document contains the planned 1994 schedules for routine collection of samples for the Surface Environmental Surveillance Project (SESP), Drinking Water Project, and Ground-Water Surveillance Project. Samples are routinely collected for the SESP and analyzed to determine the quality of air, surface water, soil, sediment, wildlife, vegetation, foodstuffs, and farm products at Hanford Site and surrounding communities. The responsibility for monitoring the onsite drinking water falls outside the scope of the SESP. The Hanford Environmental Health Foundation is responsible for monitoring the nonradiological parameters as defined in the National Drinking Water Standards while PNL conducts the radiological monitoring of themore » onsite drinking water. PNL conducts the drinking water monitoring project concurrent with the SESP to promote efficiency and consistency, utilize the expertise developed over the years, and reduce costs associated with management, procedure development, data management, quality control and reporting. The ground-water sampling schedule identifies ground-water sampling events used by PNL for environmental surveillance of the Hanford Site.« less

Landsat Evapotranspiration for Historical Field-scale Water Use (1984-2015) in the Upper Rio Grande River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Senay, G. B.; Schauer, M.; Singh, R. K.; Friedrichs, M.

2017-12-01

Field-scale water use maps derived from evapotranspiration (ET) can characterize water use patterns and the impacts of water management decisions. This project generated historical (1984-2015) Landsat-based ET maps for the entire Upper Rio Grande basin which makes this one of the largest regions in the United States with remotely sensed historical ET at Landsat resolution. More than 10,000 Landsat images spanning 32 years were processed using the Operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEBop) model which integrates weather data and remotely sensed images to estimate monthly and annual ET. Time-series analysis focused on three water-intensive study areas within the basin: the San Luis Valley in Colorado, irrigated fields along the Rio Grande River near Albuquerque, NM, and irrigated fields near Las Cruces, NM. Preliminary analysis suggests land use changes result in declining water use in irrigated areas of the basin which corresponds with increases in land surface temperatures. Time-series analysis of water use patterns at multiple temporal and spatial scales demonstrates the impact of water management decisions on the availability of water in the basin. Comparisons with cropland data from the USDA (NASS CDL) demonstrate how water use for particular crop types changes over time in response to land use changes and shifts in water management. This study illustrates a useful application of "Big Data" earth observation science for quantifying impacts of climate and land use changes on water availability within the United States as well as applications in planning water resource allocation, managing water rights, and sustaining agricultural production in the Upper Rio Grande basin.

Making the case for OWTS management: lessons from case studies and research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahm, B.; Woods, F.; Hwang, S.; Walter, M. T.; Grantham, D. G.; Riha, S. J.

2016-12-01

On-site wastewater treatment systems (OWTS) are used in 20-25% of homes in the United States and can be an efficient and cost-effective alternative to conventional centralized systems. However, OWTS also represent a source of non-point nutrient, pathogen, and micro-contaminant pollution to surface and groundwater if they are poorly designed, sited and/or maintained. Despite their ubiquity and potential to negatively impact water resources, the contribution of OWTS to local and regional water contamination issues is poorly understood. There are no federal regulations or uniform standards for the operation, maintenance, and management of these systems. The effectiveness of educational programs and best management practices developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency, along with local and regional governments, remains uncertain. Here we describe attempts to increase our knowledge of the state of OWTS in relation to water resources and their management. Specifically, we summarize 1) efforts to modernize a NY State-wide inventory of residential OWTS using GIS-based tools; 2) research aimed at better understanding the impact of OWTS on surface and ground water in 5 upstate NY counties across a gradient of land uses; 3) lessons learned from 13 case studies of municipal OWTS management programs across the US; and 4) observations on the roles of data, education and policy in creating and evaluating successful municipal OWTS management programs. Initial results show that total numbers of OWTS in NY State continue to grow, particularly in areas associated with ex-urban migration. Research into the relationship between OWTS and nutrient and pathogen contamination in ground and surface waters, respectively, suggests location-specific variation. This has implications for management approaches: preventing failure of any individual OWTS may be just as effective as programs attempting to bring all OWTS up to a high level of performance. Case studies of management programs, which we assess using a set of policy-related criteria, suggest that approaches differ according to local regulations, stakeholder values, and other environmental, economic, and social factors.

The impact of changing climate on surface and ground water quality in southeast of Ireland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tribak, Kamal

2015-04-01

In the current changing climate globally, Ireland have been experiencing a yearly recurrent extreme heavy rainfall events in the last decade, with damaging visible effects socially, economically and on the environment. Ireland intensive agriculture production is a major treat to the aquatic environment, Nitrogen and phosphorus losses to the water courses are major causes to eutrophication. The European Water Frame Directive (WFD 2000/60/EC) and Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) sets a number of measures to better protect and improve water status. Five years of high temporal resolution river water quality data measurement from two contrasting catchment in the southeast of Ireland were correlated with rain fall and nutrients losses to the ground and surface water, additional to the integrated Southeast River District Basin ground and surface water quality to establish spatiotemporal connection to the agriculture activities, the first well-drained soil catchment had high coefficient correlation with rain fall with higher losses to groundwater, on the other hand higher nutrients losses to surface water were higher with less influence from groundwater recharge of N and P transfer, the poorly clay base soil contributed to higher increased losses to surface water during excessive rain fall. Agriculture activities, hydrology, geology and human interaction can interact according to their site specific setting and the effects will fluctuate dependent on the conditions influencing the impact on water quality, there is a requirement to better distinguish those effects together and identify areas and land uses control and nutrients management to improve the water quality, stakeholders co-operation along with effective polices, long term monitoring, nutrients pathways management and better understanding of the environmental factors interaction on national, regional and catchment scale to enable planning policies and enforcement measures to be more focused on areas of high risk than others.

Development of a risk-based index for source water protection planning, which supports the reduction of pathogens from agricultural activity entering water resources.

PubMed

Goss, Michael; Richards, Charlene

2008-06-01

Source water protection planning (SWPP) is an approach to prevent contamination of ground and surface water in watersheds where these resources may be abstracted for drinking or used for recreation. For SWPP the hazards within a watershed that could contribute to water contamination are identified together with the pathways that link them to the water resource. In rural areas, farms are significant potential sources of pathogens. A risk-based index can be used to support the assessment of the potential for contamination following guidelines on safety and operational efficacy of processes and practices developed as beneficial approaches to agricultural land management. Evaluation of the health risk for a target population requires knowledge of the strength of the hazard with respect to the pathogen load (massxconcentration). Manure handling and on-site wastewater treatment systems form the most important hazards, and both can comprise confined and unconfined source elements. There is also a need to understand the modification of pathogen numbers (attenuation) together with characteristics of the established pathways (surface or subsurface), which allow the movement of the contaminant species from a source to a receptor (water source). Many practices for manure management have not been fully evaluated for their impact on pathogen survival and transport in the environment. A key component is the identification of potential pathways of contaminant transport. This requires the development of a suitable digital elevation model of the watershed for surface movement and information on local groundwater aquifer systems for subsurface flows. Both require detailed soils and geological information. The pathways to surface and groundwater resources can then be identified. Details of land management, farm management practices (including animal and manure management) and agronomic practices have to be obtained, possibly from questionnaires completed by each producer within the watershed. To confirm that potential pathways are active requires some microbial source tracking. One possibility is to identify the molecular types of Escherichia coli present in each hazard on a farm. An essential part of any such index is the identification of mitigation strategies and practices that can reduce the magnitude of the hazard or block open pathways.

Water resources of Iberia Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

White, Vincent E.; Prakken, Lawrence B.

2017-02-24

IntroductionInformation concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-resource management. This fact sheet summarizes the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish for water managers, parish residents, and others to assist in stewardship of this vital resource. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System are the primary sources of the information presented here.In 2010, about 31.24 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of water were withdrawn in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, including about 23.13 Mgal/d from groundwater sources and 8.11 Mgal/d from surface-water sources. Withdrawals for public supply and industrial use each accounted for about 32 percent of the total water withdrawn. Other water-use categories included rural domestic, livestock, rice irrigation, general irrigation, and aquaculture. Water-use data collected at 5-year intervals from 1960 to 2010 indicated that water withdrawals in Iberia Parish peaked at about 58.57 Mgal/d in 1975.

Providing Data and Modeling to Help Manage Water Supplies

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nickles, James

2008-01-01

The Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA) and other local water purveyors have partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to assess hydrologic conditions and to quan-tify the county-wide interconnections between surface water and ground water. Through this partnership, USGS scientists have completed assessments of the geohydrology and geochemistry of the Sonoma and Alexander Valley ground-water basins. Now, the USGS is constructing a detailed ground-water flow model of the Santa Rosa Plain. It will be used to help identify strategies for surface-water/ground-water management and help to ensure long-term viability of the water supply. The USGS is also working with the SCWA to help meet future demand in the face of possible new restrictions on its main source of water, the Russian River. SCWA draws water from the alluvial aquifer underlying and adjacent to the Russian River and may want to extend riverbank filtration facilities to new areas. USGS scientists are conducting research to charac-terize riverbank filtration processes and changes in water quality during reduced river flows.

Summary of data from onsite and laboratory analyses of surface water and marsh porewater from South Florida Water Management District Water Conservation Areas, the Everglades, South Florida, March 1995

USGS Publications Warehouse

Reddy, Michael M.; Gunther, Charmaine D.

2012-01-01

This report presents results of chemical analysis for samples collected during March, 1995, as part of a study to quantify the interaction of aquatic organic material (referred to here as dissolved organic carbon with dissolved metal ions). The work was done in conjunction with the South Florida Water Management District, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Geological Survey South Florida Ecosystems Initiative, and the South Florida National Water Quality Assessment Study Unit. Samples were collected from surface canals and from marsh sites. Results are based on onsite and laboratory measurements for 27 samples collected at 10 locations. The data file contains sample description, dissolved organic carbon concentration and specific ultraviolet absorbance, and additional analytical data for samples collected at several sites in the Water Conservation Areas, the Everglades, south Florida.

USGS California Water Science Center water programs in California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Shulters, Michael V.

2005-01-01

California is threatened by many natural hazards—fire, floods, landslides, earthquakes. The State is also threatened by longer-term problems, such as hydrologic effects of climate change, and human-induced problems, such as overuse of ground water and degradation of water quality. The threats and problems are intensified by increases in population, which has risen to nearly 36.8 million. For the USGS California Water Science Center, providing scientific information to help address hazards, threats, and hydrologic issues is a top priority. To meet the demands of a growing California, USGS scientific investigations are helping State and local governments improve emergency management, optimize resources, collect contaminant-source and -mobility information, and improve surface- and ground-water quality. USGS hydrologic studies and data collection throughout the State give water managers quantifiable and detailed scientific information that can be used to plan for development and to protect and more efficiently manage resources. The USGS, in cooperation with state, local, and tribal agencies, operates more than 500 instrument stations, which monitor streamflow, ground-water levels, and surface- and ground-water constituents to help protect water supplies and predict the threats of natural hazards. The following are some of the programs implemented by the USGS, in cooperation with other agencies, to obtain and analyze information needed to preserve California's environment and resources.

CONCENTRATIONS AND ESTIMATED LOADS OF NITROGEN CONTRIBUTED BY TWO ADJACENT WETLAND STREAMS WITH DIFFERENT FLOW-SOURCE TERMS IN WATKINSVILLE, GA

EPA Science Inventory

Inorganic, fixed nitrogen from agricultural settings often is introduced to first-order streams via surface runoff and shallow ground-water flow. Best management practices for limiting the flux of fixed N to surface waters often include buffers such as wetlands. However, the eff...

Surface Water and Groundwater Nitrogen Dynamics in a Well Drained Riparian Forest within a Poorly Drained Agricultural Landscape

EPA Science Inventory

The effectiveness of riparian zones in mitigating nutrients in ground and surface water depends on the climate, management and hydrogeomorphology of a site. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of a well-drained, mixed-deciduous riparian forest to buffer a ri...

CONCENTRATIONS AND ESTIMATED LOADS OF NITROGEN CONTRIBUTED BY TWO ADJACENT WETLAND STREAMS WITH DIFFERENT FLOW-SOURCE TERMS IN WATKINSVILLE, GEORGIA

EPA Science Inventory

Inorganic, fixed nitrogen from agricultural settings often is introduced to first-order streams via surface runoff and shallow ground-water flow. Best management practices for limiting the flux of fixed N to surface waters often include buffers such as wetlands. However, the eff...

Biophysical response of young pomegranate trees to surface and sub-surface drip irrigation and deficit irrigation

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Due to recurring agricultural water shortages, many farmers are looking for crops that have both some degree of drought resistance and a higher economic value. Pomegranate has been identified as a crop with potential drought tolerance, and high economic values. To manage limited water effectively, i...

Integrated groundwater management: An overview of concepts and challenges

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jakeman, Anthony J.; Barreteau, Olivier; Hunt, Randall J.; Rinaudo, Jean-Daniel; Ross, Andrew; Jakeman, Anthony J.; Barreteau, Olivier; Hunt, Randall J.; Rinaudo, Jean-Daniel; Ross, Andrew

2016-01-01

Managing water is a grand challenge problem and has become one of humanity’s foremost priorities. Surface water resources are typically societally managed and relatively well understood; groundwater resources, however, are often hidden and more difficult to conceptualize. Replenishment rates of groundwater cannot match past and current rates of depletion in many parts of the world. In addition, declining quality of the remaining groundwater commonly cannot support all agricultural, industrial and urban demands and ecosystem functioning, especially in the developed world. In the developing world, it can fail to even meet essential human needs. The issue is: how do we manage this crucial resource in an acceptable way, one that considers the sustainability of the resource for future generations and the socioeconomic and environmental impacts? In many cases this means restoring aquifers of concern to some sustainable equilibrium over a negotiated period of time, and seeking opportunities for better managing groundwater conjunctively with surface water and other resource uses. However, there are many, often-interrelated, dimensions to managing groundwater effectively. Effective groundwater management is underpinned by sound science (biophysical and social) that actively engages the wider community and relevant stakeholders in the decision making process. Generally, an integrated approach will mean “thinking beyond the aquifer”, a view which considers the wider context of surface water links, catchment management and cross-sectoral issues with economics, energy, climate, agriculture and the environment. The aim of the book is to document for the first time the dimensions and requirements of sound integrated groundwater management (IGM). The primary focus is on groundwater management within its system, but integrates linkages beyond the aquifer. The book provides an encompassing synthesis for researchers, practitioners and water resource managers on the concepts and tools required for defensible IGM, including how IGM can be applied to achieve more sustainable socioeconomic and environmental outcomes, and key challenges of IGM. The book is divided into five parts: integration overview and problem settings; governance; socioeconomics; biophysical aspects; and modelling and decision support. However, IGM is integrated by definition, thus these divisions should be considered a convenience for presenting the topics rather than hard and fast demarcations of the topic area.

Modeling the Dynamic Water Resource Needs of California's Coastal Watersheds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alford, C.

2009-12-01

Many watersheds face formidable water supply challenges when it comes to managing water availability to meet diverse water supply and ecosystem management objectives. California’s central coast watersheds are no exception, and both the scarcity of water resources during drier water years and mandates to establish minimum instream flows for salmon habitat have prompted interests in reassessing water management strategies for several of these watersheds. Conventional supply-oriented hydrologic models, however, are not adequate to fully investigate and describe the reciprocal implications of surface water demands for human use and the maintenance of instream flows for salmon habitat that vary both temporally and spatially within a watershed. In an effort to address this issue I developed a coastal watershed management model based on the San Gregorio watershed utilizing the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) system, which permits demand-side prioritization at a time step interval and spatial resolution that captures functional supply and demand relationships. Physiographic input data such as soil type, land cover, elevation, habitat, and water demand sites were extrapolated at a sub-basin level in a GIS. Time-series climate data were collected and processed utilizing the Berkeley Water Center Data Cube at daily time steps for the period 1952 through September 2009. Recent synoptic flow measurements taken at seven tributary sites during the 2009 water year, water depth measured by pressure transducers at six sites within the watershed from September 2005 through September 2009, and daily gauge records from temporary gauges installed in 1981 were used to assess the hydrologic patterns of sub-basins and supplement historic USGS gauge flow records. Empirical functions were used to describe evapotranspiration, surface runoff, sub-surface runoff, and deep percolation. Initial model simulations carried out under both dry and wet water year scenarios were able to capture representative hydrological conditions in both the sample watershed case and an initial test case that utilized base data from a watershed with minimal land disturbance. Results from this study provide valuable insight into the effects of water use through a variety of climactic conditions and provide potential strategies for policy makers, regulators, and stakeholders to strengthen adaptive capacity to achieve sustainable water use within coastal watersheds.

Conjunctive management of surface and groundwater resources under projected future climate change scenarios

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mani, Amir; Tsai, Frank T. -C.; Kao, Shih-Chieh

Our study introduces a mixed integer linear fractional programming (MILFP) method to optimize conjunctive use of future surface water and groundwater resources under projected climate change scenarios. The conjunctive management model maximizes the ratio of groundwater usage to reservoir water usage. Future inflows to the reservoirs were estimated from the future runoffs projected through hydroclimate modeling considering the Variable Infiltration Capacity model, and 11 sets of downscaled Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 global climate model projections. Bayesian model averaging was adopted to quantify uncertainty in future runoff projections and reservoir inflow projections due to uncertain future climate projections. Optimizedmore » conjunctive management solutions were investigated for a water supply network in northern Louisiana which includes the Sparta aquifer. Runoff projections under climate change scenarios indicate that runoff will likely decrease in winter and increase in other seasons. Ultimately, results from the developed conjunctive management model with MILFP indicate that the future reservoir water, even at 2.5% low inflow cumulative probability level, could counterbalance groundwater pumping reduction to satisfy demands while improving the Sparta aquifer through conditional groundwater head constraint.« less

Conjunctive management of surface and groundwater resources under projected future climate change scenarios

DOE PAGES

Mani, Amir; Tsai, Frank T. -C.; Kao, Shih-Chieh; ...

2016-06-16

Our study introduces a mixed integer linear fractional programming (MILFP) method to optimize conjunctive use of future surface water and groundwater resources under projected climate change scenarios. The conjunctive management model maximizes the ratio of groundwater usage to reservoir water usage. Future inflows to the reservoirs were estimated from the future runoffs projected through hydroclimate modeling considering the Variable Infiltration Capacity model, and 11 sets of downscaled Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 global climate model projections. Bayesian model averaging was adopted to quantify uncertainty in future runoff projections and reservoir inflow projections due to uncertain future climate projections. Optimizedmore » conjunctive management solutions were investigated for a water supply network in northern Louisiana which includes the Sparta aquifer. Runoff projections under climate change scenarios indicate that runoff will likely decrease in winter and increase in other seasons. Ultimately, results from the developed conjunctive management model with MILFP indicate that the future reservoir water, even at 2.5% low inflow cumulative probability level, could counterbalance groundwater pumping reduction to satisfy demands while improving the Sparta aquifer through conditional groundwater head constraint.« less

Toward A Science of Sustainable Water Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, C.

2016-12-01

Societal need for improved water management and concerns for the long-term sustainability of water resources systems are prominent around the world. The continued susceptibility of society to the harmful effects of hydrologic variability, pervasive concerns related to climate change and the emergent awareness of devastating effects of current practice on aquatic ecosystems all illustrate our limited understanding of how water ought to be managed in a dynamic world. The related challenges of resolving the competition for freshwater among competing uses (so called "nexus" issues) and adapting water resources systems to climate change are prominent examples of the of sustainable water management challenges. In addition, largely untested concepts such as "integrated water resources management" have surfaced as Sustainable Development Goals. In this presentation, we argue that for research to improve water management, and for practice to inspire better research, a new focus is required, one that bridges disciplinary barriers between the water resources research focus on infrastructure planning and management, and the role of human actors, and geophysical sciences community focus on physical processes in the absence of dynamical human response. Examples drawn from climate change adaptation for water resource systems and groundwater management policy provide evidence of initial progress towards a science of sustainable water management that links improved physical understanding of the hydrological cycle with the socioeconomic and ecological understanding of water and societal interactions.

Water quality in the Cambridge, Massachusetts, drinking-water source area, 2005-8

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, Kirk P.; Waldron, Marcus C.

2015-01-01

During 2005-8, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Cambridge, Massachusetts, Water Department, measured concentrations of sodium and chloride, plant nutrients, commonly used pesticides, and caffeine in base-flow and stormwater samples collected from 11 tributaries in the Cambridge drinking-water source area. These data were used to characterize current water-quality conditions, to establish a baseline for future comparisons, and to describe trends in surface-water quality. The data also were used to assess the effects of watershed characteristics on surface-water quality and to inform future watershed management.

Water resources of Concordia Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

White, Vincent E.

2017-02-24

IntroductionInformation concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is presented. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System are the primary sources of the information presented here.In 2010, over 50 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of water were withdrawn in Concordia Parish, including about 28.7 Mgal/d from groundwater sources and 22.3 Mgal/d from surface-water sources. Withdrawals for agricultural use, composed of livestock, rice irrigation, general irrigation, and aquaculture accounted for about 77 percent (39.2 Mgal/d) of the total water withdrawn. Other categories of use included public supply, power generation, and rural domestic. Water-use data collected at 5-year intervals from 1960 to 2010 indicated that water withdrawals peaked in 2010.

Accumulation of radium in sediments from continued disposal of produced water and hydraulic fracturing flowback water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Warner, N. R.; Menio, E. C.; Landis, J. D.; Vengosh, A.; Lauer, N.; Harkness, J.; Kondash, A.

2014-12-01

Recent public interest in high volume slickwater hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) has drawn increased interest in wastewater management practices by the public, researchers, industry, and regulators. The management of wastes, including both fluids and solids, poses many engineering challenges, including elevated total dissolved solids and elevated activities of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM). One management option for wastewater in particular, which is used in western Pennsylvania, USA, is treatment at centralized waste treatment facilities [1]. Previous studies conducted from 2010-2012 indicated that one centralized facility, the Josephine Brine Treatment facility, removed the majority of radium from produced water and hydraulic fracturing flowback fluid (HFFF) during treatment, but low activities of radium remained in treated effluent and were discharged to surface water [2]. Despite the treatment process and radium reduction, high activities (200 times higher than upstream/background) accumulated in stream sediments at the point of effluent discharge. Here we present new results from sampling conducted at two additional centralized waste treatment facilities (Franklin Brine Treatment and Hart Brine Treatment facilities) and Josephine Brine Treatment facility conducted in June 2014. Preliminary results indicate radium is released to surface water at very low (<50 pCi/L) to non-detectable activities, however; radium continues to accumulate in sediments surrounding the area of effluent release. Combined, the data indicate that 1) radium continues to be released to surface water streams in western Pennsylvania despite oil and gas operators voluntary ban on treatment and disposal of HFFF in centralized waste treatment facilities, 2) radium accumulation in sediments occurred at multiple brine treatment facilities and is not isolated to a single accidental release of contaminants or a single facility. [1] Wilson, J. M. and J. M. VanBriesen (2012). "Oil and Gas Produced Water Management and Surface Drinking Water Sources in Pennsylvania." Environmental Practice 14(04): 288-300. [2] Warner, N. R., C. A. Christie, R. B. Jackson and A. Vengosh (2013). "Impacts of Shale Gas Wastewater Disposal on Water Quality in Western Pennsylvania." ES&T 47(20): 11849-11857.

Y-12 Groundwater Protection Program Groundwater and Surface Water Sampling and Analysis Plan for Calendar Year 2004

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Elvado Environmental LLC for the Environmental Compliance Department ES&H Division, Y-12 National Security Complex Oak Ridge, Tennessee

2003-09-30

This plan provides a description of the groundwater and surface water quality monitoring activities planned for calendar year (CY) 2004 at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Y-12 National Security Complex that will be managed by the Y-12 Groundwater Protection Program (GWPP). Groundwater and surface water monitoring performed by the GWPP during CY 2004 will be in accordance with the following requirements of DOE Order 5400.1: (1) to maintain surveillance of existing and potential groundwater contamination sources; (2) to provide for the early detection of groundwater contamination and determine the quality of groundwater and surface water where contaminants are mostmore » likely to migrate beyond the Oak Ridge Reservation property line; (3) to identify and characterize long-term trends in groundwater quality at Y-12; and (4) to provide data to support decisions concerning the management and protection of groundwater resources. Groundwater and surface water monitoring during CY 2004 will be performed primarily in three hydrogeologic regimes at Y-12: the Bear Creek Hydrogeologic Regime (Bear Creek Regime), the Upper East Fork Poplar Creek Hydrogeologic Regime (East Fork Regime), and the Chestnut Ridge Hydrogeologic Regime (Chestnut Ridge Regime). The Bear Creek and East Fork regimes are located in Bear Creek Valley, and the Chestnut Ridge Regime is located south of Y-12 (Figure A.1). Additional surface water monitoring will be performed north of Pine Ridge, along the boundary of the Oak Ridge Reservation (Figure A.1). Modifications to the CY 2004 monitoring program may be necessary during implementation. Changes in programmatic requirements may alter the analytes specified for selected monitoring wells, or wells could be added or removed from the planned monitoring network. All modifications to the monitoring program will be approved by the Y-12 GWPP manager and documented as addenda to this sampling and analysis plan.« less

Y-12 Groundwater Protection Program Groundwater and Surface Water Sampling and Analysis Plan for Calendar Year 2005

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2004-09-30

This plan provides a description of the groundwater and surface water quality monitoring activities planned for calendar year (CY) 2005 at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12) that will be managed by the Y-12 Groundwater Protection Program (GWPP). Groundwater and surface water monitoring performed by the GWPP during CY 2005 will be in accordance with DOE Order 540.1 requirements and the following goals: (1) to maintain surveillance of existing and potential groundwater contamination sources; (2) to provide for the early detection of groundwater contamination and determine the quality of groundwater and surface water where contaminantsmore » are most likely to migrate beyond the Oak Ridge Reservation property line; (3) to identify and characterize long-term trends in groundwater quality at Y-12; and (4) to provide data to support decisions concerning the management and protection of groundwater resources. Groundwater and surface water monitoring during CY 2005 will be performed primarily in three hydrogeologic regimes at Y-12: the Bear Creek Hydrogeologic Regime (Bear Creek Regime), the Upper East Fork Poplar Creek Hydrogeologic Regime (East Fork Regime), and the Chestnut Ridge Hydrogeologic Regime (Chestnut Ridge Regime). The Bear Creek and East Fork regimes are located in Bear Creek Valley, and the Chestnut Ridge Regime is located south of Y-12 (Figure A.1). Additional surface water monitoring will be performed north of Pine Ridge, along the boundary of the Oak Ridge Reservation (Figure A.1). Modifications to the CY 2005 monitoring program may be necessary during implementation. Changes in programmatic requirements may alter the analytes specified for selected monitoring wells or may add or remove wells from the planned monitoring network. All modifications to the monitoring program will be approved by the Y-12 GWPP manager and documented as addenda to this sampling and analysis plan.« less

Tile Drainage Management Influences on Surface-Water and Groundwater Quality following Liquid Manure Application.

PubMed

Frey, Steven K; Topp, Ed; Ball, Bonnie R; Edwards, Mark; Gottschall, Natalie; Sunohara, Mark; Zoski, Erin; Lapen, David R

2013-01-01

This study investigated the potential for controlled tile drainage (CD) to reduce bacteria and nutrient loading to surface water and groundwater from fall-season liquid manure application (LMA) on four macroporous clay loam plots, of which two had CD and two had free-draining (FD) tiles. Rhodamine WT (RWT) was mixed into the manure and monitored in the tile water and groundwater following LMA. Tile water and groundwater quality were influenced by drainage management. Following LMA on the FD plots, RWT, nutrients, and bacteria moved rapidly via tiles to surface water; at the CD plots, tiles did not flow until the first post-LMA rainfall, so the immediate risk of LMA-induced contamination of surface water was abated. During the 36-d monitoring period, flow-weighted average specific conductance, redox potential, and turbidity, as well as total Kjeldahl N (TKN), total P (TP), NH-N, reactive P, and RWT concentrations, were higher in the CD tile effluent; however, because of lower tile discharge from the CD plots, there was no significant ( ≤ 0.05) difference in surface water nutrient and RWT loading between the CD and FD plots when all tiles were flowing. The TKN, TP, and RWT concentrations in groundwater also tended to be higher at the CD plots. Bacteria behaved differently than nutrients and RWT, with no significant difference in total coliform, , fecal coliform, fecal streptococcus, and concentrations between the CD and FD tile effluent; however, for all but , hourly loading was higher from the FD plots. Results indicate that CD has potential for mitigating bacteria movement to surface water. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

An Overview of SASSCAL Activities Supporting Interdisciplinary Water Research in Southern Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Helmschrot, J.; Jürgens, N.

2013-12-01

Climate change will affect current water resources in sub-Saharan Africa. Considering projected climate scenarios, the overall challenge in the southern African region is to secure water at sufficient quality and quantity for both, the stability of ecosystems with their functions and services as well as for human well-being (potable water, irrigation water, and water for industrial use). Thus, improved understanding of the linkages between hydrological (including hydro-geological) components of ecosystems and society is needed as a precondition to develop sustainable management strategies for integrated water resources management in this data scarce region. Funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), 87 research projects of the SASSCAL Initiative (Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management) focus on providing information and services allowing for a better understanding and assessment of the impact of climate and land management changes in five thematic areas, namely climate, water, agriculture, forestry and biodiversity. Water-related research activities in SASSCAL aim to improve our knowledge on the complex interactions and feedbacks between surface and groundwater dynamics and resources as well as land surface processes in selected regions of the participating countries (Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia). The main objective of this joint and integrated research effort is to develop reliable hydrological and hydro-geological baseline data along with a set of analytical methods to strengthen the research capacity of the water sector of the Southern African region. Thereby, SASSCAL contributes to the implemention of integrated water resources management strategies for improved trans-boundary river management and resources usage in the perspective of global climate and land management changes. Here, we present an overview and first results of ongoing studies conducted by various SASSCAL research teams. Specifically addressed is the installation of 30 Automatic Weather Stations in Angola, Botswana and Zambia which will notably improve regional data availability. We further introduce case studies on flood monitoring using remote sensing products, hydrological risks assessments and early warning systems for floods, integrated hydrological modeling efforts, groundwater-surface water interactions and various hydrological process studies in different ecosystems, all at various spatial (local, regional, national and international) and temporal (short-term, long-term, climate projection) scales. With this variety of examples we demonstrate our interdisciplinary research approach as the prerequisite to address the complexity of interacting drivers and processes affecting our land and water resources. The integration of these joint research efforts with findings from other thematic areas, e.g. in the field of optimized land management, deforestation and restoration, ecosystem stability and resilience, climate projections, food production and security, will allow for a better understanding and assessment of global change related environmental threats and resulting societal challenges in the Southern African region.

Water resources of Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

White, Vincent E.; Prakken, Lawrence B.

2016-07-25

Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-resource management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is presented. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis) are the primary sources of the information presented here.

Water resources of St. Helena Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

White, Vincent E.; Prakken, Lawrence B.

2016-07-27

Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in St. Helena Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-resource management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is presented. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis) are the primary sources of the information presented here.

Water resources of Livingston Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

White, Vincent E.; Prakken, Lawrence B.

2016-07-27

Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Livingston Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-resource management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is presented. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis) are the primary sources of the information presented here.

Water resources of East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

White, Vincent E.; Prakken, Lawrence B.

2017-01-12

Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-resource management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information is presented on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis) are the primary sources of the information presented here.

Water resources of Orleans Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Prakken, Lawrence B.; White, Vincent E.; Lovelace, John K.

2014-01-01

Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is presented. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis) are the primary sources of the information presented here.

Water resources of Caldwell Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Prakken, Lawrence B.; White, Vincent E.

2014-01-01

Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Caldwell Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is presented. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis) are the primary sources of the information presented here.

Water resources of St. James Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

White, Vincent E.; Prakken, Lawrence B.

2015-01-01

Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in St. James Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is presented. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis) are the primary sources of the information presented here.

Water resources of Vermilion Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Prakken, Lawrence B.; White, Vincent E.

2014-01-01

Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is presented. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis) are the primary sources of the information presented here.

Water resources of De Soto Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Prakken, Lawrence B.; White, Vincent E.

2014-01-01

Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in De Soto Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is presented. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System (http://waterdata. usgs.gov/nwis) are the primary sources of the information presented here.

Water resources of Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

White, Vincent E.; Prakken, Lawrence B.

2014-01-01

Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is presented. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis) are the primary sources of the information presented here.

Water resources of St. Charles Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

White, Vincent E.; Prakken, Lawrence B.

2015-01-01

Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is presented. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis) are the primary sources of the information presented here.

Water resources of Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Prakken, Lawrence B.; Lovelace, John K.; White, Vincent E.

2014-01-01

Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends,and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is presented. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis are the primary sources of the information presented here.

Water resources of Acadia Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Prakken, Larry B.; White, Vincent E.

2014-01-01

Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Acadia Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is presented. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis) are the primary sources of the information presented here.

Water resources of La Salle Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

White, Vincent E.; Prakken, Lawrence B.

2015-01-01

Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in La Salle Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is presented. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis) are the primary sources of the information presented here.

Water resources of Sabine Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Prakken, Lawrence B.; White, Vincent E.; Lovelace, John K.

2014-01-01

Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Sabine Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is presented. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) National Water Information System (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis) are the primary sources of the information presented here.

Water resources of West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Prakken, Lawrence B.; Lovelace, John K.; Tomaszewski, Dan J.; Griffith, Jason M.

2014-01-01

Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is discussed. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis) are the primary sources of the information presented here.

A robust Multi-Band Water Index (MBWI) for automated extraction of surface water from Landsat 8 OLI imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xiaobiao; Xie, Shunping; Zhang, Xueliang; Chen, Cheng; Guo, Hao; Du, Jinkang; Duan, Zheng

2018-06-01

Surface water is vital resources for terrestrial life, while the rapid development of urbanization results in diverse changes in sizes, amounts, and quality of surface water. To accurately extract surface water from remote sensing imagery is very important for water environment conservations and water resource management. In this study, a new Multi-Band Water Index (MBWI) for Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) images is proposed by maximizing the spectral difference between water and non-water surfaces using pure pixels. Based on the MBWI map, the K-means cluster method is applied to automatically extract surface water. The performance of MBWI is validated and compared with six widely used water indices in 29 sites of China. Results show that our proposed MBWI performs best with the highest accuracy in 26 out of the 29 test sites. Compared with other water indices, the MBWI results in lower mean water total errors by a range of 9.31%-25.99%, and higher mean overall accuracies and kappa coefficients by 0.87%-3.73% and 0.06-0.18, respectively. It is also demonstrated for MBWI in terms of robustly discriminating surface water from confused backgrounds that are usually sources of surface water extraction errors, e.g., mountainous shadows and dark built-up areas. In addition, the new index is validated to be able to mitigate the seasonal and daily influences resulting from the variations of the solar condition. MBWI holds the potential to be a useful surface water extraction technology for water resource studies and applications.

Managing vegetation in surface-flow wastewater-treatment wetlands for optimal treatment performance

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thullen, J.S.; Sartoris, J.J.; Nelson, S.M.

2005-01-01

Constructed wetlands that mimic natural marshes have been used as low-cost alternatives to conventional secondary or tertiary wastewater treatment in the U.S. for at least 30 years. However, the general level of understanding of internal treatment processes and their relation to vegetation and habitat quality has not grown in proportion to the popularity of these systems. We have studied internal processes in surface-flow constructed wastewater-treatment wetlands throughout the southwestern U.S. since 1990. At any given time, the water quality, hydraulics, water temperature, soil chemistry, available oxygen, microbial communities, macroinvertebrates, and vegetation each greatly affect the treatment capabilities of the wetland. Inside the wetland, each of these components plays a functional role and the treatment outcome depends upon how the various components interact. Vegetation plays a uniquely important role in water treatment due to the large number of functions it supports, particularly with regard to nitrogen transformations. However, it has been our experience that vegetation management is critical for achieving and sustaining optimal treatment function. Effective water treatment function and good wildlife quality within a surface-flow constructed wetland depend upon the health and sustainability of the vegetation. We suggest that an effective tool to manage and sustain healthy vegetation is the use of hummocks, which are shallow emergent plant beds within the wetland, positioned perpendicular to the water flow path and surrounded by water sufficiently deep to limit further emergent vegetation expansion. In this paper, we describe the use of a hummock configuration, in conjunction with seasonal water level fluctuations, to manage the vegetation and maintain the treatment function of wastewater-treatment wetlands on a sustainable basis.

Identification of temporal patterns of long-term hydrological signals in Lower Mississippi River Basin using wavelet analysis

Treesearch

Ying Ouyang

2016-01-01

Estimates of surface hydrological characteristics in watershed ecosystems are essential to climate change assessment, water supply planning, water quality protection, ecological restoration, and water resources management.

77 FR 67665 - Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Notice of Scoping Meeting for the Proposed 20-Year...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-13

... the amount of water for farming activities but would continue to replace water allocated for other... management practices, impacts to environmental resources such as surface water, groundwater levels, land...

Ground-water/surface-water responses to global climate simulations, Santa Clara-Calleguas basin, Ventura County, California, 1950-93

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hanson, Randall T.; Dettinger, Michael D.

2005-01-01

Climate variations can play an important, if not always crucial, role in successful conjunctive management of ground water and surface water resources. This will require accurate accounting of the links between variations in climate, recharge, and withdrawal from the resource systems, accurate projection or predictions of the climate variations, and accurate simulation of the responses of the resource systems. To assess linkages and predictability of climate influences on conjunctive management, global climate model (GCM) simulated precipitation rates were used to estimate inflows and outflows from a regional ground water model (RGWM) of the coastal aquifers of the Santa Clara-Calleguas Basin at Ventura, California, for 1950 to 1993. Interannual to interdecadal time scales of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) climate variations are imparted to simulated precipitation variations in the Southern California area and are realistically imparted to the simulated ground water level variations through the climate-driven recharge (and discharge) variations. For example, the simulated average ground water level response at a key observation well in the basin to ENSO variations of tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures is 1.2 m/°C, compared to 0.9 m/°C in observations. This close agreement shows that the GCM-RGWM combination can translate global scale climate variations into realistic local ground water responses. Probability distributions of simulated ground water level excursions above a local water level threshold for potential seawater intrusion compare well to the corresponding distributions from observations and historical RGWM simulations, demonstrating the combination's potential usefulness for water management and planning. Thus the GCM-RGWM combination could be used for planning purposes and — when the GCM forecast skills are adequate — for near term predictions.

Ground water/surface water responses to global climate simulations, Santa Clara-Calleguas Basin, Ventura, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hanson, R.T.; Dettinger, M.D.

2005-01-01

Climate variations can play an important, if not always crucial, role in successful conjunctive management of ground water and surface water resources. This will require accurate accounting of the links between variations in climate, recharge, and withdrawal from the resource systems, accurate projection or predictions of the climate variations, and accurate simulation of the responses of the resource systems. To assess linkages and predictability of climate influences on conjunctive management, global climate model (GCM) simulated precipitation rates were used to estimate inflows and outflows from a regional ground water model (RGWM) of the coastal aquifers of the Santa ClaraCalleguas Basin at Ventura, California, for 1950 to 1993. Interannual to interdecadal time scales of the El Nin??o Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) climate variations are imparted to simulated precipitation variations in the Southern California area and are realistically imparted to the simulated ground water level variations through the climate-driven recharge (and discharge) variations. For example, the simulated average ground water level response at a key observation well in the basin to ENSO variations of tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures is 1.2 m/??C, compared to 0.9 m/??C in observations. This close agreement shows that the GCM-RGWM combination can translate global scale climate variations into realistic local ground water responses. Probability distributions of simulated ground water level excursions above a local water level threshold for potential seawater intrusion compare well to the corresponding distributions from observations and historical RGWM simulations, demonstrating the combination's potential usefulness for water management and planning. Thus the GCM-RGWM combination could be used for planning purposes and - when the GCM forecast skills are adequate - for near term predictions.

Effective use of integrated hydrological models in basin-scale water resources management: surrogate modeling approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Y.; Wu, B.; Wu, X.

2015-12-01

Integrated hydrological models (IHMs) consider surface water and subsurface water as a unified system, and have been widely adopted in basin-scale water resources studies. However, due to IHMs' mathematical complexity and high computational cost, it is difficult to implement them in an iterative model evaluation process (e.g., Monte Carlo Simulation, simulation-optimization analysis, etc.), which diminishes their applicability for supporting decision-making in real-world situations. Our studies investigated how to effectively use complex IHMs to address real-world water issues via surrogate modeling. Three surrogate modeling approaches were considered, including 1) DYCORS (DYnamic COordinate search using Response Surface models), a well-established response surface-based optimization algorithm; 2) SOIM (Surrogate-based Optimization for Integrated surface water-groundwater Modeling), a response surface-based optimization algorithm that we developed specifically for IHMs; and 3) Probabilistic Collocation Method (PCM), a stochastic response surface approach. Our investigation was based on a modeling case study in the Heihe River Basin (HRB), China's second largest endorheic river basin. The GSFLOW (Coupled Ground-Water and Surface-Water Flow Model) model was employed. Two decision problems were discussed. One is to optimize, both in time and in space, the conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater for agricultural irrigation in the middle HRB region; and the other is to cost-effectively collect hydrological data based on a data-worth evaluation. Overall, our study results highlight the value of incorporating an IHM in making decisions of water resources management and hydrological data collection. An IHM like GSFLOW can provide great flexibility to formulating proper objective functions and constraints for various optimization problems. On the other hand, it has been demonstrated that surrogate modeling approaches can pave the path for such incorporation in real-world situations, since they can dramatically reduce the computational cost of using IHMs in an iterative model evaluation process. In addition, our studies generated insights into the human-nature water conflicts in the specific study area and suggested potential solutions to address them.

Potentiometric surface in the Central Oklahoma (Garber-Wellington) aquifer, Oklahoma, 2009

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mashburn, Shana L.; Magers, Jessica

2011-01-01

A study of the hydrogeology of the Central Oklahoma aquifer was started in 2008 to provide the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) hydrogeologic data and a groundwater flow model that can be used as a tool to help manage the aquifer. The 1973 Oklahoma water law requires the OWRB to do hydrologic investigations of Oklahoma's aquifers (termed 'groundwater basins') and to determine amounts of water that may be withdrawn by permitted water users. 'Maximum annual yield' is a term used by OWRB to describe the total amount of water that can be withdrawn from a specific aquifer in any year while allowing a minimum 20-year life of the basin (Oklahoma Water Resources Board, 2010). Currently (2010), the maximum annual yield has not been determined for the Central Oklahoma aquifer. Until the maximum annual yield determination is made, water users are issued a temporary permit by the OWRB for 2 acre-feet/acre per year. The objective of the study, in cooperation with the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, was to study the hydrogeology of the Central Oklahoma aquifer to provide information that will enable the OWRB to determine the maximum annual yield of the aquifer based on different proposed management plans. Groundwater flow models are typically used by the OWRB as a tool to help determine the maximum annual yield. This report presents the potentiometric surface of the Central Oklahoma aquifer based on water-level data collected in 2009 as part of the current (2010) hydrologic study. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Hydrologic Investigations Atlas HA-724 by Christenson and others (1992) presents the 1986-87 potentiometric-surface map. This 1986-87 potentiometric-surface map was made as part of the USGS National Water-Quality Assessment pilot project for the Central Oklahoma aquifer that examined the geochemical and hydrogeological processes operating in the aquifer. An attempt was made to obtain water-level measurements for the 2009 potentiometric-surface map from the wells used for the 1986-87 potentiometric-surface map. Well symbols with circles on the 2009 potentiometric-surface map (fig. 1) indicate wells that were used for the 1986-87 potentiometric-surface map.

Water resources development in Santa Clara Valley, California: insights into the human-hydrologic relationship

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Reynolds, Jesse L.

2000-06-01

Groundwater irrigation is critical to food production and, in turn, to humankind's relationship with its environment. The development of groundwater in Santa Clara Valley, California during the early twentieth century is instructive because (1) responses to unsustainable resource use were largely successful; (2) the proposals for the physical management of the water, although not entirely novel, incorporated new approaches which reveal an evolving relationship between humans and the hydrologic cycle; and (3) the valley serves as a natural laboratory where natural (groundwater basin, surface watershed) and human (county, water district) boundaries generally coincide. Here, I investigate how water resources developmentmore » and management in Santa Clara Valley was influenced by, and reflective of, a broad understanding of water as a natural resource, including scientific and technological innovations, new management approaches, and changing perceptions of the hydrologic cycle. Market demands and technological advances engendered reliance on groundwater. This, coupled with a series of dry years and laissez faire government policies, led to overdraft. Faith in centralized management and objective engineering offered a solution to concerns over resource depletion, and a group dominated by orchardists soon organized, fought for a water conservation district, and funded an investigation to halt the decline of well levels. Engineer Fred Tibbetts authored an elaborate water salvage and recharge plan that optimized the local water resources by integrating multiple components of the hydrologic cycle. Informed by government investigations, groundwater development in Southern California, and local water law cases, it recognized the limited surface storage possibilities, the spatial and temporal variability, the relatively closed local hydrology, the interconnection of surface and subsurface waters, and the value of the groundwater basin for its storage, transportation, and treatment abilities. The proposal was typically described as complementing an already generous nature, not simply subduing it. Its implementation was limited by political tensions, and fifteen years later, a scaled-down version was constructed. Well levels recovered, but within a decade were declining due to increasing withdrawals. I assert that the approach in Santa Clara Valley was a forerunner to more recent innovations in natural resource management in California and beyond.« less

Assessing metaldehyde concentrations in surface water catchments and implications for drinking water abstraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asfaw, Alemayehu; Shucksmith, James; Smith, Andrea; Cherry, Katherine

2015-04-01

Metaldehyde is an active ingredient in agricultural pesticides such as slug pellets, which are heavily applied to UK farmland during the autumn application season. There is current concern that existing drinking water treatment processes may be inadequate in reducing potentially high levels of metaldehyde in surface waters to below the UK drinking water quality regulation limit of 0.1 µg/l. In addition, current water quality monitoring methods can miss short term fluctuations in metaldehyde concentration caused by rainfall driven runoff, hampering prediction of the potential risk of exposure. Datasets describing levels, fate and transport of metaldehyde in river catchments are currently very scarce. This work presents results from an ongoing study to quantify the presence of metaldehyde in surface waters within a UK catchment used for drinking water abstraction. High resolution water quality data from auto-samplers installed in rivers are coupled with radar rainfall, catchment characteristics and land use data to i) understand which hydro-meteorological characteristics of the catchment trigger the peak migration of metaldehyde to surface waters; ii) assess the relationship between measured metaldehyde levels and catchment characteristics such as land use, topographic index, proximity to water bodies and runoff generation area; iii) describe the current risks to drinking water supply and discuss mitigation options based on modelling and real-time control of water abstraction. Identifying the correlation between catchment attributes and metaldehyde generation will help in the development of effective catchment management strategies, which can help to significantly reduce the amount of metaldehyde finding its way into river water. Furthermore, the effectiveness of current water quality monitoring strategy in accurately quantifying the generation of metaldehyde from the catchment and its ability to benefit the development of effective catchment management practices has also been investigated.

Application of receptor models on water quality data in source apportionment in Kuantan River Basin

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Recent techniques in the management of surface river water have been expanding the demand on the method that can provide more representative of multivariate data set. A proper technique of the architecture of artificial neural network (ANN) model and multiple linear regression (MLR) provides an advance tool for surface water modeling and forecasting. The development of receptor model was applied in order to determine the major sources of pollutants at Kuantan River Basin, Malaysia. Thirteen water quality parameters were used in principal component analysis (PCA) and new variables of fertilizer waste, surface runoff, anthropogenic input, chemical and mineral changes and erosion are successfully developed for modeling purposes. Two models were compared in terms of efficiency and goodness-of-fit for water quality index (WQI) prediction. The results show that APCS-ANN model gives better performance with high R2 value (0.9680) and small root mean square error (RMSE) value (2.6409) compared to APCS-MLR model. Meanwhile from the sensitivity analysis, fertilizer waste acts as the dominant pollutant contributor (59.82%) to the basin studied followed by anthropogenic input (22.48%), surface runoff (13.42%), erosion (2.33%) and lastly chemical and mineral changes (1.95%). Thus, this study concluded that receptor modeling of APCS-ANN can be used to solve various constraints in environmental problem that exist between water distribution variables toward appropriate water quality management. PMID:23369363

Waiweras Warmwasserreservoir - Welche Aussagekraft haben Modelle?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kühn, Michael; Altmannsberger, Charlotte; Hens, Carmen

2016-06-01

The warm water geothermal reservoir below the village of Waiwera in New Zealand has been known by the native Maori for centuries. Development by the European immigrants began in 1863. Until the year 1969, the warm water flowing from all drilled wells was artesian. Due to overproduction, water up to 50 °C now needs to be pumped to surface. Further, between 1975 and 1976, all warm water seeps on the beach of Waiwera ran dry. Within the context of sustainable water management, hydrogeological models must be developed as part of a management plan. Approaches of varying complexity have been set-up and applied since the 1980s. However, none of the models directly provide all results required for optimal water management. Answers are given simply to parts of the questions, nonetheless improving resource management of the geothermal reservoir.

Hydrologic and Water Quality Assessment from Managed Turf

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The potential for nutrients and pesticides to be transported to surface water from turf systems (especially golf courses) is often debated because of limited information on water quality exiting these systems. This four year study quantified the amount and quality of water draining from part of Nort...

Documentation of programs used to determine a wetlands hydroperiod from model-simulated water-surface elevations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sonenshein, R.S.

1996-01-01

A technique has been developed to determine a wetlands hydroperiod by comparing simulated water levels from a ground-water flow model and land- surface elevation data through a geographic information system. The simulated water levels are compared with the land-surface elevation data to determine the height of the water surface above or below land surface for the area of interest. Finally, the hydroperiod is determined for established time periods using criteria specified by the user. The program application requires the use of geographic information system software (ARC/INFO), including the TIN and GRID subsystems of the software. The application consists of an ANSI compatible C program to translate ground- water data output from the U.S. Geological Survey modular three-dimensional, finite-difference, ground-water flow model (MODFLOW) into a format that can be used as input for the geographic information system programs (AML's). The application uses ARC/INFO AML programs and ARC/INFO menu interface programs to create digital spatial data layers of the land surface and water surface and to determine the hydroperiod. The technique can be used to evaluate and manage wetlands hydrology.

The influence of regional hydrology on nesting behavior and nest fate of the American alligator

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ugarte, Cristina A.; Bass, Oron L.; Nuttle, William; Mazzotti, Frank J.; Rice, Kenneth G.; Fujisaki, Ikuko; Whelan, Kevin R.T.

2013-01-01

Hydrologic conditions are critical to the nesting behavior and reproductive success of crocodilians. In South Florida, USA, growing human settlement has led to extensive surface water management and modification of historical water flows in the wetlands, which have affected regional nesting of the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). Although both natural and anthropogenic factors are considered to determine hydrologic conditions, the aspects of hydrological patterns that affect alligator nest effort, flooding (partial and complete), and failure (no hatchling) are unclear. We deconstructed annual hydrological patterns using harmonic models that estimated hydrological matrices including mean, amplitude, timing of peak, and periodicity of surface water depth and discharge and examined their effects on alligator nesting using survey data from Shark Slough, Everglades National Park, from 1985 to 2005. Nest effort increased in years with higher mean and lesser periodicity of water depth. A greater proportion of nests were flooded and failed when peak discharge occurred earlier in the year. Also, nest flooding rates were greater in years with greater periodicity of water depth, and nest failure rate was greater when mean discharge was higher. This study guides future water management decisions to mitigate negative impacts on reproduction of alligators and provides wildlife managers with a tool for assessing and modifying annual water management plans to conserve crocodilians and other wetland species.

Urban water - a new frontier in isotope hydrology.

PubMed

Ehleringer, James R; Barnette, Janet E; Jameel, Yusuf; Tipple, Brett J; Bowen, Gabriel J

2016-01-01

Isotope hydrology has focused largely on landscapes away from densely inhabited regions. In coming decades, it will become increasingly more important to focus on water supplies and dynamics within urban systems. Stable isotope analyses provide important information to water managers within large cities, particularly in arid regions where evaporative histories of water sources, vulnerabilities, and reliabilities of the water supplies can be major issues. Here the spatial and vertical understanding of water supporting urban systems that comes from stable isotope analyses can serve as a useful management tool. We explore this research frontier using the coupled natural-human landscape of the Salt Lake Valley, USA, with its greater than one million inhabitants. We first provide data on the stable isotope ratios of the hydrologic system's primary components: precipitation, incoming surface waters, and terminus waters in this closed basin. We then explore the spatial and temporal patterns of drinking waters within the urban landscape and the new opportunities to better link isotope ratio data with short- and long-term management interests of water managers.

Insights on the energy-water nexus through modeling of the integrated water cycle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leung, L. R.; Li, H. Y.; Zhang, X.; Wan, W.; Voisin, N.; Leng, G.

2016-12-01

For sustainable energy planning, understanding the impacts of climate change, land use change, and water management is essential as they all exert notable controls on streamflow and stream temperature that influence energy production. An integrated water model representing river processes, irrigation water use and water management has been developed and coupled to a land surface model to investigate the energy-water nexus. Simulations driven by two climate change projections with the RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 emissions scenarios, with and without water management, are analyzed to evaluate the individual and combined effects of climate change and water management on streamflow and stream temperature. The simulations revealed important impacts of climate change and water management on both floods and droughts. The simulations also revealed the dynamics of competition between changes in water demand and water availability in the climate mitigation (RCP 4.5) and business as usual (RCP 8.5) scenarios that influence streamflow and stream temperature, with important consequences to energy production. The integrated water model is being implemented to the Accelerated Climate Modeling for Energy (ACME) to enable investigation of the energy-water nexus in the fully coupled Earth system.

Mapping water availability, projected use and cost in the western United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tidwell, Vincent C.; Moreland, Barbara D.; Zemlick, Katie M.; Roberts, Barry L.; Passell, Howard D.; Jensen, Daniel; Forsgren, Christopher; Sehlke, Gerald; Cook, Margaret A.; King, Carey W.; Larsen, Sara

2014-05-01

New demands for water can be satisfied through a variety of source options. In some basins surface and/or groundwater may be available through permitting with the state water management agency (termed unappropriated water), alternatively water might be purchased and transferred out of its current use to another (termed appropriated water), or non-traditional water sources can be captured and treated (e.g., wastewater). The relative availability and cost of each source are key factors in the development decision. Unfortunately, these measures are location dependent with no consistent or comparable set of data available for evaluating competing water sources. With the help of western water managers, water availability was mapped for over 1200 watersheds throughout the western US. Five water sources were individually examined, including unappropriated surface water, unappropriated groundwater, appropriated water, municipal wastewater and brackish groundwater. Also mapped was projected change in consumptive water use from 2010 to 2030. Associated costs to acquire, convey and treat the water, as necessary, for each of the five sources were estimated. These metrics were developed to support regional water planning and policy analysis with initial application to electric transmission planning in the western US.

A science plan for a comprehensive assessment of water supply in the region underlain by fractured rock in Maryland

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fleming, Brandon J.; Hammond, Patrick A.; Stranko, Scott A.; Duigon, Mark T.; Kasraei, Saeid

2012-01-01

The fractured rock region of Maryland, which includes land areas north and west of the Interstate 95 corridor, is the source of water supply for approximately 4.4 million Marylanders, or approximately 76 percent of the State's population. Whereas hundreds of thousands of residents rely on wells (both domestic and community), millions rely on surface-water sources. In this region, land use, geology, topography, water withdrawals, impoundments, and other factors affect water-flow characteristics. The unconfined groundwater systems are closely interconnected with rivers and streams, and are affected by seasonal and climatic variations. During droughts, groundwater levels drop, thereby decreasing well yields, and in some cases, wells have gone dry. Low ground-water levels contribute to reduced streamflows, which in turn, can lead to reduced habitat for aquatic life. Increased demand, over-allocation, population growth, and climate change can affect the future sustainability of water supplies in the region of Maryland underlain by fractured rock. In response to recommendations of the 2008 Advisory Committee on the Management and Protection of the State's Water Resources report, the Maryland Department of the Environment's Water Supply Program, the Maryland Geological Survey, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Monitoring and Non-Tidal Assessment (MANTA) Division, and the U.S. Geological Survey have developed a science plan for a comprehensive assessment that will provide new scientific information, new data analysis, and new tools for the State to better manage water resources in the fractured rock region of Maryland. The science plan lays out five goals for the comprehensive assessment: (1) develop tools for the improved management and investigation of groundwater and surface-water resources; (2) characterize factors affecting reliable yields of individual groundwater and surface-water supplies; (3) investigate impacts on nearby water withdrawal users caused by groundwater and surface-water withdrawals; (4) assess the role of streamflow and water withdrawals on the ecological integrity of streams; and (5) improve understanding of the distribution of water-quality conditions in fractured rock aquifers. To accomplish these goals, accurate data collection, review, and analysis are needed, including the study of "Research Watersheds" that can provide detailed information about the potential effects that climate change and water withdrawals may have on groundwater, streamflow, and aquatic life. The assessment planning started in 2009 and is being conducted with close interagency coordination. A Fractured Rock Aquifer Information System is currently (2012) undergoing initial development. Other major tasks that will be performed include the development of work plans for each science goal, the estimation of daily streamflow at ungaged streams, and the design and implementation of Research Watersheds. Finally, scenarios will be modeled to evaluate current water allocation permitting methodologies, investigate effects on nearby water withdrawal users caused by groundwater and surface-water withdrawals, and assess the potential impacts of climate change on water resources. Desktop and Web-based tools will be developed in order to meet the diverse research needs of the assessment. These tools, including the Fractured Rock Aquifer Information System will be continuously improved during the assessment to store relevant groundwater and surface-water data in spatially referenced databases, estimate streamflows, locate higher-yielding wells, estimate the impacts of withdrawals on nearby users, and assess the cumulative impacts of withdrawals on the aquatic resource. Tools will be developed to serve the needs of many audiences, including water resource managers, water suppliers, planners, policymakers, and other scientific investigators.

Incorporating agricultural management into an earth system model for the Pacific Northwest region: Interactions between climate, hydrology, agriculture, and economics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chinnayakanahalli, K.; Adam, J. C.; Stockle, C.; Nelson, R.; Brady, M.; Rajagopalan, K.; Barber, M. E.; Dinesh, S.; Malek, K.; Yorgey, G.; Kruger, C.; Marsh, T.; Yoder, J.

2011-12-01

For better management and decision making in the face of climate change, earth system models must explicitly account for natural resource and agricultural management activities. Including crop system, water management, and economic models into an earth system modeling framework can help in answering questions related to the impacts of climate change on irrigation water and crop productivity, how agricultural producers can adapt to anticipated climate change, and how agricultural practices can mitigate climate change. Herein we describe the coupling of the Variability Infiltration Capacity (VIC) land surface model, which solves the water and energy balances of the hydrologic cycle at regional scales, with a crop-growth model, CropSyst. This new model, VIC-CropSyst, is the land surface model that will be used in a new regional-scale model development project focused on the Pacific Northwest, termed BioEarth. Here we describe the VIC-CropSyst coupling process and its application over the Columbia River basin (CRB) using agricultural-specific land cover information. The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) and U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) cropland data layers were used to identify agricultural land use patterns, in which both irrigated and dry land crops were simulated. The VIC-CropSyst model was applied over the CRB for the historical period of 1976 - 2006 to establish a baseline for surface water availability, irrigation demand, and crop production. The model was then applied under future (2030s) climate change scenarios derived from statistically-downscaled Global Circulation Models output under two emission scenarios (A1B and B1). Differences between simulated future and historical irrigation demand, irrigation water availability, and crop production were used in an economics model to identify the most economically-viable future cropping pattern. The economics model was run under varying scenarios of regional growth, trade, water pricing, and water capacity providing a spectrum of possible future cropping patterns. The resulting cropping patterns were then used in VIC-CropSyst to quantify the impacts of climate change, economic, and water management scenarios on crop production, and water resources availability. This modeling framework provides opportunities to study the interactions between human activities and complex natural processes and is a valuable tool for inclusion in an earth system model with the goal of informing land use and water management.

Nitrogen losses and greenhouse gas emissions under different N and water management in a subtropical double-season rice cropping system.

PubMed

Liang, Kaiming; Zhong, Xuhua; Huang, Nongrong; Lampayan, Rubenito M; Liu, Yanzhuo; Pan, Junfeng; Peng, Bilin; Hu, Xiangyu; Fu, Youqiang

2017-12-31

Nitrogen non-point pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission are major challenges in rice production. This study examined options for both economic and environmental sustainability through optimizing water and N management. Field experiments were conducted to examine the crop yields, N use efficiency (NUE), greenhouse gas emissions, N losses under different N and water management. There were four treatments: zero N input with farmer's water management (N0), farmer's N and water management (FP), optimized N management with farmer's water management (OPT N ) and optimized N management with alternate wetting and drying irrigation (OPT N +AWD). Grain yields in OPT N and OPT N +AWD treatments increased by 13.0-17.3% compared with FP. Ammonia volatilization (AV) was the primary pathway for N loss for all treatments and accounted for over 50% of the total losses. N losses mainly occurred before mid-tillering. N losses through AV, leaching and surface runoff in OPT N were reduced by 18.9-51.6% compared with FP. OPT N +AWD further reduced N losses from surface runoff and leaching by 39.1% and 6.2% in early rice season, and by 46.7% and 23.5% in late rice season, respectively, compared with OPT N . The CH 4 emissions in OPT N +AWD were 20.4-45.4% lower than in OPT N and FP. Total global warming potential of CH 4 and N 2 O was the lowest in OPT N +AWD. On-farm comparison confirmed that N loss through runoff in OPT N +AWD was reduced by over 40% as compared with FP. OPT N and OPT N +AWD significantly increased grain yield by 6.7-13.9%. These results indicated that optimizing water and N management can be a simple and effective approach for enhancing yield with reduced environmental footprints. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

SCREENING TO IDENTIFY AND PREVENT URBAN STORM WATER PROBLEMS: ESTIMATING IMPERVIOUS AREA ACCURATELY AND INEXPENSIVELY

EPA Science Inventory

Complete identification and eventual prevention of urban water quality problems pose significant monitoring, "smart growth" and water quality management challenges. Uncontrolled increase of impervious surface area (roads, buildings, and parking lots) causes detrimental hydrologi...

Groundwater availability of the Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Vaccaro, J.J.; Kahle, S.C.; Ely, D.M.; Burns, E.R.; Snyder, D.T.; Haynes, J.V.; Olsen, T.D.; Welch, W.B.; Morgan, D.S.

2015-09-22

Changes in the system from predevelopment times. The model also is a useful tool for investigating water supply, water demand, management strategies, groundwater-surface water exchanges, and potential effects of changing climate on the hydrologic system.

Management and modeling: Tools to improve water quality

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Agricultural, urban and suburban sources contribute to the contamination of surface waters, which has been observed by the detection of pesticides, excess nutrients, industrial pollutants, antibiotics, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products in both natural waters and treated wastewaters. The us...

Hydromodification and Habitat Alteration: National Management Measures

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This guidance document provides technical assistance to states, territories, tribes, and the public for managing hydromodification activities and reducing associated NPS pollution of surface and ground water. The document describes

International borders, ground water flow, and hydroschizophrenia.

PubMed

Jarvis, Todd; Giordano, Mark; Puri, Shammy; Matsumoto, Kyoko; Wolf, Aaron

2005-01-01

A substantial body of research has been conducted on transboundary water, transboundary water law, and the mitigation of transboundary water conflict. However, most of this work has focused primarily on surface water supplies. While it is well understood that aquifers cross international boundaries and that the base flow of international river systems is often derived in part from ground water, transboundary ground water and surface water systems are usually managed under different regimes, resulting in what has been described as "hydroschizophrenia." Adding to the problem, the hydrologic relationships between surface and ground water supplies are only known at a reconnaissance level in even the most studied international basins, and thus even basic questions regarding the territorial sovereignty of ground water resources often remain unaddressed or even unasked. Despite the tensions inherent in the international setting, riparian nations have shown tremendous creativity in approaching regional development, often through preventive diplomacy, and the creation of "baskets of benefits," which allow for positive-sum, integrative allocations of joint gains. In contrast to the notion of imminent water wars, the history of hydropolitical relations worldwide has been overwhelmingly cooperative. Limited ground water management in the international arena, coupled with the fact that few states or countries regulate the use of ground water, begs the question: will international borders serve as boundaries for increased "flows" of hydrologic information and communication to maintain strategic aquifers, or will increased competition for shared ground water resources lead to the potential loss of strategic aquifers and "no flows" for both ground water users?

Surface-water data and statistics from U.S. Geological Survey data-collection networks in New Jersey on the World Wide Web

USGS Publications Warehouse

Reiser, Robert G.; Watson, Kara M.; Chang, Ming; Nieswand, Steven P.

2002-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with other Federal, State, and local agencies, operates and maintains a variety of surface-water data-collection networks throughout the State of New Jersey. The networks include streamflow-gaging stations, low-flow sites, crest-stage gages, tide gages, tidal creststage gages, and water-quality sampling sites. Both real-time and historical surface-water data for many of the sites in these networks are available at the USGS, New Jersey District, web site (http://nj.usgs.gov/), and water-quality data are available at the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS) web site (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/). These data are an important source of information for water managers, engineers, environmentalists, and private citizens.

Quality-assurance and data-management plan for water-quality activities in the Kansas Water Science Center, 2014

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rasmussen, Teresa J.; Bennett, Trudy J.; Foster, Guy M.; Graham, Jennifer L.; Putnam, James E.

2014-01-01

As the Nation’s largest water, earth, and biological science and civilian mapping information agency, the U.S. Geological Survey is relied on to collect high-quality data, and produce factual and impartial interpretive reports. This quality-assurance and data-management plan provides guidance for water-quality activities conducted by the Kansas Water Science Center. Policies and procedures are documented for activities related to planning, collecting, storing, documenting, tracking, verifying, approving, archiving, and disseminating water-quality data. The policies and procedures described in this plan complement quality-assurance plans for continuous water-quality monitoring, surface-water, and groundwater activities in Kansas.

Ecosystem Services Mapping for Sustainable Agricultural Water Management in California's Central Valley.

PubMed

Matios, Edward; Burney, Jennifer

2017-03-07

Accurate information on agricultural water needs and withdrawals at appropriate spatial and temporal scales remains a key limitation to joint water and land management decision-making. We use InVEST ecosystem service mapping to estimate water yield and water consumption as functions of land use in Fresno County, a key farming region in California's Central Valley. Our calculations show that in recent years (2010-2015), the total annual water yield for the county has varied dramatically from ∼0.97 to 5.37 km 3 (all ±17%; 1 MAF ≈ 1.233 km 3 ), while total annual water consumption has changed over a smaller range, from ∼3.37 to ∼3.98 km 3 (±20%). Almost all of the county's water consumption (∼96% of total use) takes place in Fresno's croplands, with discrepancy between local annual surface water yields and crop needs met by surface water allocations from outside the county and, to a much greater extent, private groundwater irrigation. Our estimates thus bound the amount of groundwater needed to supplement consumption each year (∼1.76 km 3 on average). These results, combined with trends away from field crops and toward orchards and vineyards, suggest that Fresno's land and water management have become increasingly disconnected in recent years, with the harvested area being less available as an adaptive margin to hydrological stress.

Fire-induced water repellency: An erosional factor in wildland environments

Treesearch

Leonard F. DeBano

2000-01-01

Watershed managers and scientists throughout the world have been aware of fire-induced water-repellent soils for over three decades. Water repellency affects many hydrologic processes, including infiltration, overland flow, and surface erosion (rill and sheet erosion). This paper describes; the formation of fire-induced water-repellent soils, the effect of soil water...

HYDROLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS OF A MANAGED WETLAND AND A NATURAL RIVERINE WETLAND ALONG THE KANKAKEE RIVER IN NORTHWESTERN INDIANA. SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS REPORT 2006-5222.

EPA Science Inventory

Characteristics of ground-water/surface-water interactions were identified at a managed wetland (Hog Marsh) and a natural riverine wetland (LaSalle) located on the north and south sides, respectively, of the Kankakee River in northwestern Indiana. Hog Marsh covers about 390 hecta...

Quantifying human impact on hydrological drought using an Earth System Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Huijgevoort, Marjolein; Chaney, Nathaniel; Malyshev, Sergey; Shevliakova, Elena; Milly, Chris

2017-04-01

Predicting the human impact on the present and future hydrological cycle remains a significant scientific challenge. Anthropogenic impact includes water management practices like diverting water for irrigation, abstraction of groundwater, and reservoirs. Hydrological extremes, in particular, are heavily affected by water management practices, due to the existing stress on the system during droughts and floods. Therefore, to prepare adaptation plans for hydrological extremes in the future, it is essential to account for water management and other human influences in Earth System Models. In this study we have implemented water management practices in the state-of-the-art GFDL land model, which includes terrestrial water, energy, and carbon balances. Both irrigation practices and reservoirs have been added in the land surface model component of the model. Irrigation amounts are determined from the soil water balance, the evaporative demand of the vegetation and fractional coverage of croplands. The resulting water demand is fulfilled by abstractions from surface water and groundwater. Reservoir outflow is dynamically coupled to the downstream water demand and available reservoir storage. Retrospective model simulations over the contiguous United States indicate a strong human influence on hydrological drought. A water management attribution analysis shows a significant impact on the water availability, mostly in the Midwest of the United States and California. Implementation of reservoirs alters the flow regime, thereby decreasing the short-term drought impact, however, in the case of multi-year drought, impacts are delayed due to the dependency on the reservoir outflow. Irrigation, on the other hand, decreases the water availability in rivers due to increased evapotranspiration leading to a higher drought impact. The average increase in evapotranspiration amounted up to 2 mm/day for cropland areas in California and Texas. Overall, the results show the importance of including water management in global scale models. This new modelling framework can be used to understand how humans will impact future water availability, water scarcity, and drought. Next steps will include coupled model simulations to investigate the human impact on feedbacks in land-atmosphere interactions.

Simulation of groundwater and surface-water resources and evaluation of water-management alternatives for the Chamokane Creek basin, Stevens County, Washington

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ely, D. Matthew; Kahle, Sue C.

2012-01-01

A three-dimensional, transient numerical model of groundwater and surface-water flow was constructed for Chamokane Creek basin to better understand the groundwater-flow system and its relation to surface-water resources. The model described in this report can be used as a tool by water-management agencies and other stakeholders to quantitatively evaluate the effects of potential increases in groundwater pumping on groundwater and surface-water resources in the basin. The Chamokane Creek model was constructed using the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) integrated model, GSFLOW. GSFLOW was developed to simulate coupled groundwater and surface-water resources. The model uses 1,000-foot grid cells that subdivide the model domain by 102 rows and 106 columns. Six hydrogeologic units in the model are represented using eight model layers. Daily precipitation and temperature were spatially distributed and subsequent groundwater recharge was computed within GSFLOW. Streamflows in Chamokane Creek and its major tributaries are simulated in the model by routing streamflow within a stream network that is coupled to the groundwater-flow system. Groundwater pumpage and surface-water diversions and returns specified in the model were derived from monthly and annual pumpage values previously estimated from another component of this study and new data reported by study partners. The model simulation period is water years 1980-2010 (October 1, 1979, to September 30, 2010), but the model was calibrated to the transient conditions for water years 1999-2010 (October 1, 1998, to September 30, 2010). Calibration was completed by using traditional trial-and-error methods and automated parameter-estimation techniques. The model adequately reproduces the measured time-series groundwater levels and daily streamflows. At well observation points, the mean difference between simulated and measured hydraulic heads is 7 feet with a root-mean-square error divided by the total difference in water levels of 4.7 percent. Simulated streamflow was compared to measured streamflow at the USGS streamflow-gaging station-Chamokane Creek below Falls, near Long Lake (12433200). Annual differences between measured and simulated streamflow for the site ranged from -63 to 22 percent. Calibrated model output includes a 31-year estimate of monthly water budget components for the hydrologic system. Five model applications (scenarios) were completed to obtain a better understanding of the relation between groundwater pumping and surface-water resources. The calibrated transient model was used to evaluate: (1) the connection between the upper- and middle-basin groundwater systems, (2) the effect of surface-water and groundwater uses in the middle basin, (3) the cumulative impacts of claims registry use and permit-exempt wells on Chamokane Creek streamflow, (4) the frequency of regulation due to impacted streamflow, and (5) the levels of domestic and stockwater use that can be regulated. The simulation results indicated that streamflow is affected by existing groundwater pumping in the upper and middle basins. Simulated water-management scenarios show streamflow increased relative to historical conditions as groundwater and surface-water withdrawals decreased.

Water Withdrawals, Use, and Trends in Florida, 2005

USGS Publications Warehouse

Marella, Richard L.

2009-01-01

In 2005, the total amount of water withdrawals in Florida was estimated at 18,359 million gallons per day (Mgal/d). Saline water accounted for 11,486 Mgal/d (63 percent), and freshwater accounted for 6,873 Mgal/d (37 percent). Groundwater accounted for 4,247 Mgal/d (62 percent) of freshwater withdrawals, and surface water accounted for the remaining 2,626 Mgal/d (38 percent). Surface water accounted for nearly all (99.9 percent) saline-water withdrawals. An additional 660 Mgal/d of reclaimed wastewater was used in Florida during 2005. The largest amount of freshwater was withdrawn from Palm Beach County, and the largest amount of saline water was withdrawn from Pasco County. Fresh groundwater provided drinking water (public supplied and self-supplied) for 16.19 million people (90 percent of Florida's population), and fresh surface water provided drinking water for 1.73 million people (10 percent). The majority of groundwater withdrawals (nearly 60 percent) in 2005 was obtained from the Floridan aquifer system which is present throughout the entire State. The majority of fresh surface-water withdrawals (59 percent) came from the southern Florida hydrologic unit subregion and is associated with Lake Okeechobee and the canals in the Everglades Agricultural Area of Glades, Hendry, and Palm Beach Counties, as well as the Caloosahatchee River and its tributaries in the agricultural areas of Collier, Glades, Hendry, and Lee Counties. Overall, agricultural irrigation accounted for 40 percent of the total freshwater withdrawals (ground and surface), followed by public supply with 37 percent. Public supply accounted for 52 percent of groundwater withdrawals, followed by agricultural self-supplied (31 percent), ommercial-industrial-mining self-supplied (8.5 percent), recreational irrigation and domestic self-supplied (4 percent each), and power generation (0.5 percent). Agricultural self-supplied accounted for 56 percent of fresh surface-water withdrawals, followed by power generation (20.5 percent), public supply (13 percent), recreational irrigation (6 percent), and commercial-industrial self-supplied (4.5 percent). Power generation accounted for nearly all (99.9 percent) saline-water withdrawals. Of the 17.92 million people who resided in Florida during 2005, 41 percent (7.36 million people) resided in the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), followed by the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) and the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) with 25 percent each (4.46 and 4.44 million people, respectively), the Northwest Florida Water Management District (NWFWMD) with 7.5 percent (1.34 million people), and the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) with 1.5 percent (0.32 million people). The largest amount of freshwater withdrawals was from the SFWMD, which was one-half (50 percent) of the State's total freshwater withdrawals, followed by the SJRWMD (19 percent), SWFWMD (16 percent), NWFWMD (10 percent), and SRWMD (5 percent). Between 1950 and 2005, the population of Florida increased by 15.15 million (550 percent), and the total water withdrawals (fresh and saline) increased 15,700 Mgal/d (600 percent). More recently, total withdrawals decreased 1,790 Mgal/d (9 percent) between 2000 and 2005, but the total population increased by 1.94 million (12 percent). Between 1990 and 2005, saline-water withdrawals increased 1,120 Mgal/d (11 percent), whereas between 2000 and 2005, saline-water withdrawals decreased 470 Mgal/d (4 percent). Between 1990 and 2005, freshwater withdrawals decreased 710 Mgal/d (9 percent), whereas between 2000 and 2005, freshwater withdrawals decreased 1,320 Mgal/d (16 percent). The use of highly mineralized groundwater as a source of supply, primarily for public supply, also has increased in Florida. This water, referred as nonpotable water, increased from just less than 2 Mgal/d in 1970, to 142 Mgal/d in 2005. Nonpotable water is treated to meet drin

The use of dynamic modeling in assessing tritium phytoremediation

Treesearch

Karin T. Rebel; Susan J. Riha; John C. Seaman; Clinton d. Barton

2005-01-01

To minimize movement of tritium into surface waters at the Mixed Waste Management Facility at the Savannah River Site, tritiumcontaminated groundwater released to the surface along seeps in the hillside is being retained in a constructed pond and used to irrigate forest acreage that lies over the contaminated groundwater. Management of the application of tritium-...

Using an implicitly-coupled hydrologic and river-operations models to investigate the trade-offs of artificial recharge in agricultural areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morway, E. D.; Niswonger, R. G.; Triana, E.

2016-12-01

In irrigated agricultural regions supplied by both surface-water and groundwater, increased reliance on groundwater during sustained drought leads to long-term water table drawdown and subsequent surface-water losses. This, in turn, may threaten the sustainability of the irrigation project. To help offset groundwater resource losses and restore water supply reliability, an alternative management strategy commonly referred to as managed aquifer recharge (MAR) in agricultural regions helps mitigate long-term aquifer drawdown and provides additional water for subsequent withdraw. Sources of MAR in this investigation are limited to late winter runoff in years with above average precipitation (i.e., above average snowpack). However, where winter MAR results in an elevated water table, non-beneficial consumptive use may increase from evapotranspiration in adjacent and down-gradient fallow and naturally vegetated lands. To rigorously explore this trade-off, the recently published MODSIM-MODFLOW model was applied to quantify both the benefits and unintended consequences of MAR. MODSIM-MODFLOW is a generalized modeling tool capable of exploring the effects of altered river operations within an integrated groundwater and surface-water (GW-SW) model. Thus, the MODSIM-MODFLOW model provides a modeling platform capable of simulating MAR in amounts and duration consistent with other senior water rights in the river system (e.g., minimum in-stream flow requirements). Increases in non-beneficial consumptive use resulting from winter MAR are evaluated for a hypothetical model patterned after alluvial aquifers common in arid and semi-arid areas of the western United States. Study results highlight (1) the benefit of an implicitly-coupled river operations and hydrologic modeling tool, (2) the balance between winter MAR and the potential increase in non-beneficial consumptive use, and (3) conditions where MAR may or may not be an appropriate management option, such as the availability of surface-water storage.

76 FR 71560 - Notice of a Public Meeting on Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule: Initiate...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-18

... Management Division, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water (MC 4607M), Environmental Protection Agency... drinking water. The 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) require EPA to review its existing drinking water regulations every six years. SDWA specifies that any revision to a national primary...

Indigenous knowledge on development and management of shallow dug wells of Dodoma Municipality in Tanzania

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shemsanga, C.; Muzuka, A. N. N.; Martz, L.; Komakech, H.; Mcharo, E.

2018-05-01

Dodoma city, central Tanzania, seats in a semi-arid region of East Africa with limited rains and surface water resources. Consequently, the area largely depends on shallow and deep aquifers for its freshwater needs. Owing to harsh climatic conditions, chronic lack of year-round surface water bodies and, limited development of water distribution infrastructures, over year's local people have nurtured, developed and, passed on important indigenous knowledge (IK) on exploiting and managing shallow aquifers (SAs). However, there is no clear documented administrative plans for the SAs and the roles of IK, which is widely practised in developing SDWs and managing SAs, are not properly documented. This study intended to assess the extent of shallow dug wells (SDWs) utilization and contribution of IK on management of SAs of indigenous people of Dodoma Municipality. The methods followed include critical field observations, measurements and, focus group discussions done during both the dry season (Sep.-Oct. 2013) and wet season (Dec. 2013-Feb. 2014). The results show that SDWs occur widely in the city, particularly in the suburbs, where they often serve as the only sources of freshwater and heavily dependent by the populace. It is clear that there is rich IK on management of SAs including on groundwater exploration, digging, water allocation, pricing, and even on water quality and, water treatment skills. The aforementioned IK clearly contribute to water sufficiency to the populace and general management of groundwater such as enhancing recharge mechanisms where about 1% of local rainfall is recharged through a network of SDWs compared to 5-10% that is naturally being recharged by rainfall through the vadose zone. Thus, as much as the current policy framework and groundwater managers do not recognize the roles of IK and contributions of SDWs as key water sources, it is clear that IK contributes to the groundwater management and SDWs already support large part of the society. While it is globally appreciated that vital skills on SDWs management are vanishing, local people in Dodoma still retain them and should, therefore, be preserved. It is further recommended that IK are strengthened, improved and most importantly, incorporated in the local water resources management plans that already advocate on integrated approaches but which clearly ignores the IK and the local people's efforts to explore and manage water resource, particularly SAs.

Developing the greatest Blue Economy: Water productivity, fresh water depletion, and virtual water trade in the Great Lakes basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayer, A. S.; Ruddell, B. L.; Mubako, S. T.

2016-12-01

The Great Lakes basin hosts the world's most abundant surface fresh water reserve. Historically an industrial and natural resource powerhouse, the region has suffered economic stagnation in recent decades. Meanwhile, growing water resource scarcity around the world is creating pressure on water-intensive human activities. This situation creates the potential for the Great Lakes region to sustainably utilize its relative water wealth for economic benefit. We combine economic production and trade datasets with water consumption data and models of surface water depletion in the region. We find that, on average, the current economy does not create significant impacts on surface waters, but there is some risk that unregulated large water uses can create environmental flow impacts if they are developed in the wrong locations. Water uses drawing on deep groundwater or the Great Lakes themselves are unlikely to create a significant depletion, and discharge of groundwater withdrawals to surface waters offsets most surface water depletion. This relative abundance of surface water means that science-based management of large water uses to avoid accidentally creating "hotspots" is likely to be successful in avoiding future impacts, even if water use is significantly increased. Commercial water uses are the most productive, with thermoelectric, mining, and agricultural water uses in the lowest tier of water productivity. Surprisingly for such a water-abundant economy, the region is a net importer of water-derived goods and services. This, combined with the abundance of surface water, suggests that the region's water-based economy has room to grow in the 21st century.

Use of GIS Technology in Surface Water Monitoring fro Targeted Policy Intervention in a Mountainous Catchment in Romania

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giali, Gabriela; Schneider, Petra

2015-04-01

USE OF GIS TECHNOLOGY IN SURFACE WATER MONITORING FOR TARGETED POLICY INTERVENTION IN A MOUNTAINOUS CATCHMENT IN ROMANIA The collection of information on surface water quality is a specific activity that takes place systematically and regularly at regional and national scale, and it is important for the assessment of the water quality as well as for water management policy-making. A data base information management using a Geographical Information System (GIS) forms an important aspect of environmental management, which provides the frame for processing and visualisation of water monitoring data and information as well as for the optimisation of monitoring concepts. This paper presents an architecture performed by a GIS which provides a grafic database and attributes the nesessary measurements of the water quality to different sections of the mountainous catchment of the Suceava river in the north of Romania. With this approach the location of the water sampling points can be optimised in terms of the selection and setting of the river sections. To facilitate the setting of the sampling locations in the various sections of water sampling in the river, the presented GIS system provides to the user different information layers with combined or isolated data according to the objectives. In the frame of the research were created 5 layers of information in the basin under study, underlying the determination of a new information layer, namely the "Hydrografic Network Graded to Hydrographic Sections". Practically, in the studied basin were established 8 sections for water sampling locations, and the water quality characterization was done by the consideration of 15 quality indicators. The GIS system presented in this research is a valuable, useful and adaptable to land use changes data base that can be exploited by any number of combinations, its capabilities justify it's role as "tool to support decision making." With this characteristics it supports the policy-making of the competent bodies to fulfil the requirements of EC Water Framework Directive on catchment scale and it serves as planning tool for hydroengineering and water resources management.

Solute Response To Arid-Climate Managed-River Flow During Storm Events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McLean, B.; Shock, E.

2006-12-01

Storm pulses are widely used in unmanaged, temperate and subtropical river systems to resolve in-stream surface and subsurface flow components. Resulting catchment-scale hydrochemical mixing models yield insight into mechanisms of solute transport. Managed systems are far more complicated due to the human need for high quality water resources, which drives processes that are superimposed on most, if not all, of the unmanaged components. As an example, an increasingly large portion of the water supply for the Phoenix metropolitan area is derived from multiple surface water sources that are impounded, diverted and otherwise managed upstream from the urban core that consumes the water and produces anthropogenic impacts. During large storm events this managed system is perturbed towards natural behavior as it receives inputs from natural hydrologic pathways in addition to impervious surfaces and storm water drainage channels. Our goals in studying managed river systems during this critical transition state are to determine how the well- characterized behavior of natural systems break down as the system responds then returns to its managed state. Using storm events as perturbations we can contrast an arid managed system with the unmanaged system it approaches during the storm event. In the process, we can extract geochemical consequences specifically related to unknown urban components in the form of chemical fingerprints. The effects of river management on solute behavior were assessed by taking advantage of several anomalously heavy winter storm events in late 2004 and early 2005 using a rigorous sampling routine. Several hundred samples collected between January and October 2005 were analyzed for major ion, isotopic, and trace metal concentrations with 78 individual measurements for each sample. The data are used to resolve managed watershed processes, mechanisms of solute transport and river mixing from anthropogenic inputs. Our results show that concentrations of major solutes change slowly and are independent of discharge downstream from the dams on two major tributaries. This is indicative of reservoir release water. In addition, a third input is derived from the Colorado River via the Central Arizona Project canal system. Cross plots including concentrations of solutes such as nitrate and sulfate from downstream of the confluence indicate at least three end-member sources, as do Piper diagrams using major anion and cation data. Dynamic contributions from natural event water and urban inputs can be resolved from the slowly changing release water, and may dictate the short-term transport of pollutants during the storm-induced transition state.

Alternative technologies for water quality management

Treesearch

Mandla A. Tshabalala

2002-01-01

Cranberry growers are concerned about the quality of water discharged from cranberry bogs into receiving surface waters. These water discharges may contain traces of pesticides arising from herbicide, insecticide or fungicide applications. They may also contain excess phosphorus from fertilizer application. Some cranberry farms have holding ponds to reduce the amount...

Several problems in regard to national land management

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dong Wenlang

1983-09-21

This article examines several problems with regard to land management in China. National land management is defined as development of the territorial land (including the earth's surface and underground), territorial waters and territorial air space under the jurisdiction of a sovereign country. The Chinese State Council established the Bureau of National Land Management in 1981. Areas of concern include natural resources, or land resources (including continental land, rivers and lakes, territorial waters and what is beneath the waters and the airspace above the waters, also the continental shelves), mineral resources and biological resources; social resources, which include human resources, intellectualmore » resources, social and cultural traditions, and the material and technical foundations of a society. Untapped resources of land, waters, forests, grasslands and minerals are to be developed through reclamation, mining, and engineering projects. Geography and national land economics are the theoretical and applied sciences directly related to national land management.« less

Integrated modelling of nitrate loads to coastal waters and land rent applied to catchment-scale water management.

PubMed

Refsgaard, A; Jacobsen, T; Jacobsen, B; Ørum, J-E

2007-01-01

The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires an integrated approach to river basin management in order to meet environmental and ecological objectives. This paper presents concepts and full-scale application of an integrated modelling framework. The Ringkoebing Fjord basin is characterized by intensive agricultural production and leakage of nitrate constitute a major pollution problem with respect groundwater aquifers (drinking water), fresh surface water systems (water quality of lakes) and coastal receiving waters (eutrophication). The case study presented illustrates an advanced modelling approach applied in river basin management. Point sources (e.g. sewage treatment plant discharges) and distributed diffuse sources (nitrate leakage) are included to provide a modelling tool capable of simulating pollution transport from source to recipient to analyse the effects of specific, localized basin water management plans. The paper also includes a land rent modelling approach which can be used to choose the most cost-effective measures and the location of these measures. As a forerunner to the use of basin-scale models in WFD basin water management plans this project demonstrates the potential and limitations of comprehensive, integrated modelling tools.

Mapping and modeling the biogeochemical cycling of turf grasses in the United States.

PubMed

Milesi, Cristina; Running, Steven W; Elvidge, Christopher D; Dietz, John B; Tuttle, Benjamin T; Nemani, Ramakrishna R

2005-09-01

Turf grasses are ubiquitous in the urban landscape of the United States and are often associated with various types of environmental impacts, especially on water resources, yet there have been limited efforts to quantify their total surface and ecosystem functioning, such as their total impact on the continental water budget and potential net ecosystem exchange (NEE). In this study, relating turf grass area to an estimate of fractional impervious surface area, it was calculated that potentially 163,800 km2 (+/- 35,850 km2) of land are cultivated with turf grasses in the continental United States, an area three times larger than that of any irrigated crop. Using the Biome-BGC ecosystem process model, the growth of warm-season and cool-season turf grasses was modeled at a number of sites across the 48 conterminous states under different management scenarios, simulating potential carbon and water fluxes as if the entire turf surface was to be managed like a well-maintained lawn. The results indicate that well-watered and fertilized turf grasses act as a carbon sink. The potential NEE that could derive from the total surface potentially under turf (up to 17 Tg C/yr with the simulated scenarios) would require up to 695 to 900 liters of water per person per day, depending on the modeled water irrigation practices, suggesting that outdoor water conservation practices such as xeriscaping and irrigation with recycled waste-water may need to be extended as many municipalities continue to face increasing pressures on freshwater.

Fish Mercury and Surface Water Sulfate Relationships in the Everglades Protection Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gabriel, Mark C.; Howard, Nicole; Osborne, Todd Z.

2014-03-01

Few published studies present data on relationships between fish mercury and surface or pore water sulfate concentrations, particularly on an ecosystem-wide basis. Resource managers can use these relationships to identify the sulfate conditions that contain fish with health-concerning total mercury (THg) levels and to evaluate the role of sulfate in methyl-mercury (MeHg) production. In this study, we derived relationships between THg in three fish trophic levels (mosquitofish, sunfish, and age-1 largemouth bass) and surface water sulfate from 1998 to 2009 for multiple stations across the Everglades Protection Area (EPA). Results show the relationship between sulfate and fish THg in each fish type is nonlinear and largely skewed, similar to the relationship between MeHg production and sulfate concentration in peatland sediment pore water identified by other researchers. Peak fish THg levels occurred in ~1 to 12 mg/L sulfate conditions. There was significant variability in the fish THg data, and there were several instances of high-fish THg levels in high-sulfate conditions (>30 mg/L). Health-concerning fish THg levels were present in all surface water sulfate conditions; however, most of these levels occurred in 1-20 mg/L sulfate. The data in this study, including recent studies, show consistent and identifiable areas of high- and low-fish THg across the spectrum of surface water sulfate concentration, therefore, applying an ecosystem-wide sulfur strategy may be an effective management approach as it would significantly reduce MeHg risk in the EPA.

Fish mercury and surface water sulfate relationships in the Everglades Protection Area.

PubMed

Gabriel, Mark C; Howard, Nicole; Osborne, Todd Z

2014-03-01

Few published studies present data on relationships between fish mercury and surface or pore water sulfate concentrations, particularly on an ecosystem-wide basis. Resource managers can use these relationships to identify the sulfate conditions that contain fish with health-concerning total mercury (THg) levels and to evaluate the role of sulfate in methyl-mercury (MeHg) production. In this study, we derived relationships between THg in three fish trophic levels (mosquitofish, sunfish, and age-1 largemouth bass) and surface water sulfate from 1998 to 2009 for multiple stations across the Everglades Protection Area (EPA). Results show the relationship between sulfate and fish THg in each fish type is nonlinear and largely skewed, similar to the relationship between MeHg production and sulfate concentration in peatland sediment pore water identified by other researchers. Peak fish THg levels occurred in ~1 to 12 mg/L sulfate conditions. There was significant variability in the fish THg data, and there were several instances of high-fish THg levels in high-sulfate conditions (>30 mg/L). Health-concerning fish THg levels were present in all surface water sulfate conditions; however, most of these levels occurred in 1-20 mg/L sulfate. The data in this study, including recent studies, show consistent and identifiable areas of high- and low-fish THg across the spectrum of surface water sulfate concentration, therefore, applying an ecosystem-wide sulfur strategy may be an effective management approach as it would significantly reduce MeHg risk in the EPA.

Water availability and land subsidence in the Central Valley, California, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faunt, Claudia C.; Sneed, Michelle; Traum, Jon; Brandt, Justin T.

2016-05-01

The Central Valley in California (USA) covers about 52,000 km2 and is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. This agriculture relies heavily on surface-water diversions and groundwater pumpage to meet irrigation water demand. Because the valley is semi-arid and surface-water availability varies substantially, agriculture relies heavily on local groundwater. In the southern two thirds of the valley, the San Joaquin Valley, historic and recent groundwater pumpage has caused significant and extensive drawdowns, aquifer-system compaction and subsidence. During recent drought periods (2007-2009 and 2012-present), groundwater pumping has increased owing to a combination of decreased surface-water availability and land-use changes. Declining groundwater levels, approaching or surpassing historical low levels, have caused accelerated and renewed compaction and subsidence that likely is mostly permanent. The subsidence has caused operational, maintenance, and construction-design problems for water-delivery and flood-control canals in the San Joaquin Valley. Planning for the effects of continued subsidence in the area is important for water agencies. As land use, managed aquifer recharge, and surface-water availability continue to vary, long-term groundwater-level and subsidence monitoring and modelling are critical to understanding the dynamics of historical and continued groundwater use resulting in additional water-level and groundwater storage declines, and associated subsidence. Modeling tools such as the Central Valley Hydrologic Model, can be used in the evaluation of management strategies to mitigate adverse impacts due to subsidence while also optimizing water availability. This knowledge will be critical for successful implementation of recent legislation aimed toward sustainable groundwater use.

Water availability and land subsidence in the Central Valley, California, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Faunt, Claudia; Sneed, Michelle; Traum, Jonathan A.; Brandt, Justin

2016-01-01

The Central Valley in California (USA) covers about 52,000 km2 and is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. This agriculture relies heavily on surface-water diversions and groundwater pumpage to meet irrigation water demand. Because the valley is semi-arid and surface-water availability varies substantially, agriculture relies heavily on local groundwater. In the southern two thirds of the valley, the San Joaquin Valley, historic and recent groundwater pumpage has caused significant and extensive drawdowns, aquifer-system compaction and subsidence. During recent drought periods (2007–2009 and 2012-present), groundwater pumping has increased owing to a combination of decreased surface-water availability and land-use changes. Declining groundwater levels, approaching or surpassing historical low levels, have caused accelerated and renewed compaction and subsidence that likely is mostly permanent. The subsidence has caused operational, maintenance, and construction-design problems for water-delivery and flood-control canals in the San Joaquin Valley. Planning for the effects of continued subsidence in the area is important for water agencies. As land use, managed aquifer recharge, and surface-water availability continue to vary, long-term groundwater-level and subsidence monitoring and modelling are critical to understanding the dynamics of historical and continued groundwater use resulting in additional water-level and groundwater storage declines, and associated subsidence. Modeling tools such as the Central Valley Hydrologic Model, can be used in the evaluation of management strategies to mitigate adverse impacts due to subsidence while also optimizing water availability. This knowledge will be critical for successful implementation of recent legislation aimed toward sustainable groundwater use.

Roles of surface water areas for water and solute cycle in Hanoi city, Viet Nam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayashi, Takeshi; Kuroda, Keisuke; Do Thuan, An; Tran Thi Viet, Nga; Takizawa, Satoshi

2013-04-01

Hanoi city, the capital of Viet Nam, has developed beside the Red river. Recent rapid urbanization of this city has reduced a large number of natural water areas such as lakes, ponds and canals not only in the central area but the suburban area. Contrary, the urbanization has increased artificial water areas such as pond for fish cultivation and landscaping. On the other hand, the urbanization has induced the inflow of waste water from households and various kinds of factories to these water areas because of delay of sewerage system development. Inflow of the waste water has induced eutrophication and pollution of these water areas. Also, there is a possibility of groundwater pollution by infiltration of polluted surface water. However, the role of these water areas for water cycle and solute transport is not clarified. Therefore, this study focuses on the interaction between surface water areas and groundwater in Hanoi city to evaluate appropriate land development and groundwater resource management. We are carrying out three approaches: a) understanding of geochemical characteristics of surface water and groundwater, b) monitoring of water levels of pond and groundwater, c) sampling of soil and pond sediment. Correlation between d18O and dD of precipitation (after GNIP), the Red River (after GNIR) and the water samples of this study showed that the groundwater is composed of precipitation, the Red River and surface water that has evaporation process. Contribution of the surface water with evaporation process was widely found in the study area. As for groundwater monitoring, the Holocene aquifers at two sites were in unconfined condition in dry season and the groundwater levels in the aquifer continued to increase through rainy season. The results of isotopic analysis and groundwater level monitoring showed that the surface water areas are one of the major groundwater sources. On the other hand, concentrations of dissolved Arsenic (filtered by 0.45um) in the pore water of the pond sediments were much higher than the pond water and closed to that of groundwater. Also, other metal elements showed the same trend. This result suggested that Arsenic and other metal elements recharged to these ponds is probably adsorbed and removed by sediments (including organic matters). That is, pond sediment plays an important role for solute transport as a filter of Arsenic and metal elements. The results of this study strongly suggest that the natural and artificial surface water areas have important roles for water cycle and solute transport in Hanoi city. Although the number of the natural water areas is decreasing, dredging of artificial water areas increases the infiltration from the surface to aquifers. Therefore, qualitative and quantitative preservation of the surface water areas is important for conservation of groundwater environment and contribute to sustainable groundwater management in Hanoi city.

Evaluation of agricultural best-management practices in the Conestoga River headwaters, Pennsylvania : characterization of surface-runoff and ground-water quantity and quality in a small carbonate basin near Churchtown, Pennsylvania, prior to terracing and implementation of nutrient management : water-quality study of the Conestoga River headwaters, Pennsylvania

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leitman, Patricia L.; Hall, D.W.; Langland, M.J.; Chichester, D.C.; Ward, J.R.

1996-01-01

Surface-runoff and ground-water quantity and quality of a 22.1-acre field site were characterized from January 1983 through September 1984, before implementation of terracing and nutrient-management practices. The site, underlain by carbonate rock, was cropland used primarily for the production of corn and alfalfa. Average annual application of nutrients to the 14.4 acres of cornfields was 410 pounds of nitrogen and 110 pounds of phosphorus. About three times more nutrients were applied during the 1984 water year than during the 1983 water year. During the investigation, 714,000 cubic feet of runoff transported 244 tons of suspended sediment, 300 pounds of nitrogen, and 170 pounds of phosphorus during the 1984 water year. Runoff from storms on frozen ground produced the highest loads of nitrogen. Regression analyses indicate that runoff rates and quantities were controlled by precipitation intensities of quantities and the amount of crop cover, and that mean concentrations of nitrogen for runoff events increased with increased surface-nitrogen applications made prior to runoff. Ground-water levels responded quickly to recharge, with peaks occurring several hours to a day after precipitation. Median concentrations of dissolved nitrate in ground water ranged from 9.2 to 13 milligrams per liter as nitrogen. A lag time of 1 to 3 months was observed between the time that nitrogen was applied to the land surface and local maximums in nitrate concentrations were detected in ground water unaffected by recharge events. About 3 million cubic feet of ground water and an associated 2,200 pounds of nitrate-nitrogen discharged from the site during the study period. For the study period, 42 percent of the precipitation recharged to ground water, 10 percent became runoff, and 48 percent evapotranspired. Inputs of nitrogen to the study area were estimated to be 93 percent from manure, 5 percent from commercial fertilizer, and 2 percent from precipitation. Nitrogen outputs from the system were estimated to be 38 percent to crop uptake, 39 percent to volatilization, 20 percent to ground- water discharge, and 3 percent to surface runoff.

Water resources management strategies and its implications on hydrodynamic and hydrochemical changes of costal groundwater: Case of Grombalia shallow aquifer, NE Tunisia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lachaal, Fethi; Chekirbane, Anis; Chargui, Sameh; Sellami, Haykel; Tsujimura, Maki; Hezzi, Hmida; Faycel, Jelassi; Mlayah, Ammar

2016-12-01

Information on groundwater quantity as well as quality is required by water managers and decision-makers for defining a sustainable management strategy. This requires a comprehensive assessment of the surface water and groundwater resources. This paper provides an assessment of water resources management strategy in the Grombalia region (Northeast Tunisia) and its impact on quantity and quality evolution of groundwater resources based on an approach that combines (i) hydro-climatic data, (ii) field monitoring, (iii) historic piezometric records, and (iv) geochemical and stable isotopes (δ18O and δ2H) analyses. We apply this approach to identify the origin of the various water resources and outline how the actual water management impact the quantity and quality of the groundwater in the region. As consequence of poor water resources management, the shallow groundwater levels have been disrupted: a groundwater rise is observed in the centre and a piezometric drawdown is observed in the upstream regions. Groundwater quality degradation was registered especially in the centre and downstream zones.

Human impacts on terrestrial hydrology: climate change versus pumping and irrigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferguson, Ian M.; Maxwell, Reed M.

2012-12-01

Global climate change is altering terrestrial water and energy budgets, with subsequent impacts on surface and groundwater resources; recent studies have shown that local water management practices such as groundwater pumping and irrigation similarly alter terrestrial water and energy budgets over many agricultural regions, with potential feedbacks on weather and climate. Here we use a fully-integrated hydrologic model to directly compare effects of climate change and water management on terrestrial water and energy budgets of a representative agricultural watershed in the semi-arid Southern Great Plains, USA. At local scales, we find that the impacts of pumping and irrigation on latent heat flux, potential recharge and water table depth are similar in magnitude to the impacts of changing temperature and precipitation; however, the spatial distributions of climate and management impacts are substantially different. At the basin scale, the impacts on stream discharge and groundwater storage are remarkably similar. Notably, for the watershed and scenarios studied here, the changes in groundwater storage and stream discharge in response to a 2.5 °C temperature increase are nearly equivalent to those from groundwater-fed irrigation. Our results imply that many semi-arid basins worldwide that practice groundwater pumping and irrigation may already be experiencing similar impacts on surface water and groundwater resources to a warming climate. These results demonstrate that accurate assessment of climate change impacts and development of effective adaptation and mitigation strategies must account for local water management practices.

Agricultural land use and N losses to water: the case study of a fluvial park in northern Italy.

PubMed

Morari, F; Lugato, E; Borin, M

2003-01-01

An integrated water resource management programme has been under way since 1999 to reduce agricultural water pollution in the River Mincio fluvial park. The experimental part of the programme consisted of: a) a monitoring phase to evaluate the impact of conventional and environmentally sound techniques (Best Management Practices, BMPs) on water quality; this was done on four representative landscape units, where twelve fields were instrumented to monitor the soil, surface and subsurface water quality; b) a modelling phase to extend the results obtained at field scale to the whole territory of the Mincio watershed. For this purpose a GIS developed in the Arc/Info environment was integrated into the CropSyst model. The model had previously been calibrated to test its ability to describe the complexity of the agricultural systems. The first results showed a variable efficiency of the BMPs depending on the interaction between management and pedo-climatic conditions. In general though, the BMPs had positive effects in improving the surface and subsurface water quality. The CropSyst model was able to describe the agricultural systems monitored and its linking with the GIS represented a valuable tool for identifying the vulnerable areas within the watershed.

Spatial-temporal variability in groundwater abstraction across Uganda: Implications to sustainable water resources management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nanteza, J.; Thomas, B. F.; Mukwaya, P. I.

2017-12-01

The general lack of knowledge about the current rates of water abstraction/use is a challenge to sustainable water resources management in many countries, including Uganda. Estimates of water abstraction/use rates over Uganda, currently available from the FAO are not disaggregated according to source, making it difficult to understand how much is taken out of individual water stores, limiting effective management. Modelling efforts have disaggregated water use rates according to source (i.e. groundwater and surface water). However, over Sub-Saharan Africa countries, these model use estimates are highly uncertain given the scale limitations in applying water use (i.e. point versus regional), thus influencing model calibration/validation. In this study, we utilize data from the water supply atlas project over Uganda to estimate current rates of groundwater abstraction across the country based on location, well type and other relevant information. GIS techniques are employed to demarcate areas served by each water source. These areas are combined with past population distributions and average daily water needed per person to estimate water abstraction/use through time. The results indicate an increase in groundwater use, and isolate regions prone to groundwater depletion where improved management is required to sustainably management groundwater use.

NASA Earth Resources Survey Symposium. Volume 1-D: Water resources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

Conference papers on water resources and management are summarized. Summaries cover land use, flood control and prediction, watersheds and the effects of snow melt, soil moisture content, and the usefulness of satellite remote sensors in detecting ground and surface water.

Comparing spatial and temporal patterns of river water isotopes across networks

EPA Science Inventory

A detailed understanding of the spatial and temporal dynamics of water sources across river networks is central to managing the impacts of climate change. Because the stable isotope composition of precipitation varies geographically, variation in surface-water isotope signatures ...

Reduction of spatial distribution of risk factors for transportation of contaminants released by coal mining activities.

PubMed

Karan, Shivesh Kishore; Samadder, Sukha Ranjan

2016-09-15

It is reported that water-energy nexus composes two of the biggest development and human health challenges. In the present study we presented a Risk Potential Index (RPI) model which encapsulates Source, Vector (Transport), and Target risks for forecasting surface water contamination. The main aim of the model is to identify critical surface water risk zones for an open cast mining environment, taking Jharia Coalfield, India as the study area. The model also helps in feasible sampling design. Based on spatial analysis various risk zones were successfully delineated. Monthly RPI distribution revealed that the risk of surface water contamination was highest during the monsoon months. Surface water samples were analysed to validate the model. A GIS based alternative management option was proposed to reduce surface water contamination risk and observed 96% and 86% decrease in the spatial distribution of very high risk areas for the months June and July respectively. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Water resources of West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

White, Vincent E.; Prakken, Lawrence B.

2016-11-23

Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-resource management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is presented. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis) are the primary sources of the information presented here.

Water resources of Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

White, Vincent E.; Prakken, Lawrence B.

2017-01-12

Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-resource management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is presented. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System (http://dx.doi.org/10.5066/F7P55KJN) are the primary sources of the information presented here.

Water resources of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

White, Vincent E.; Prakken, Lawrence B.

2015-01-01

Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is presented. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis) are the primary sources of the information presented here.

Water resources of St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

White, Vincent E.; Prakken, Lawrence B.; Fendick, Robert B.

2015-01-01

Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is presented. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis) are the primary sources of the information presented here.

Controllability of Surface Water Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riasi, M. Sadegh; Yeghiazarian, Lilit

2017-12-01

To sustainably manage water resources, we must understand how to control complex networked systems. In this paper, we study surface water networks from the perspective of structural controllability, a concept that integrates classical control theory with graph-theoretic formalism. We present structural controllability theory and compute four metrics: full and target controllability, control centrality and control profile (FTCP) that collectively determine the structural boundaries of the system's control space. We use these metrics to answer the following questions: How does the structure of a surface water network affect its controllability? How to efficiently control a preselected subset of the network? Which nodes have the highest control power? What types of topological structures dominate controllability? Finally, we demonstrate the structural controllability theory in the analysis of a wide range of surface water networks, such as tributary, deltaic, and braided river systems.

Effects of spatially distributed sectoral water management on the redistribution of water resources in an integrated water model: SECTORAL WATER MANAGEMENT IN IA-ESM

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Voisin, Nathalie; Hejazi, Mohamad I.; Leung, L. Ruby

To advance understanding of the interactions between human activities and the water cycle, an integrated terrestrial water cycle component has been developed for Earth system models. This includes a land surface model fully coupled to a river routing model and a generic water management model to simulate natural and regulated flows. A global integrated assessment model and its regionalized version for the U.S. are used to simulate water demand consistent with the energy technology and socio-economics scenarios. Human influence on the hydrologic cycle includes regulation and storage from reservoirs, consumptive use and withdrawal from multiple sectors ( irrigation and non-irrigation)more » and overall redistribution of water resources in space and time. As groundwater provides an important source of water supply for irrigation and other uses, the integrated modeling framework has been extended with a simplified representation of groundwater as an additional supply source, and return flow generated from differences between withdrawals and consumptive uses from both groundwater and surface water systems. The groundwater supply and return flow modules are evaluated by analyzing the simulated regulated flow, reservoir storage and supply deficit for irrigation and non-irrigation sectors over major hydrologic regions of the conterminous U.S. The modeling framework is then used to provide insights on the reliability of water resources by isolating the reliability due to return flow and/or groundwater sources of water. Our results show that high sectoral ratio of withdrawals over consumptive demand adds significant stress on the water resources management that can be alleviated by reservoir storage capacity. The return flow representation therefore exhibits a clear east-west contrast in its hydrologic signature, as well as in its ability to help meet water demand. Groundwater use has a limited hydrologic signature but the most pronounced signature is in terms of decreasing water supply deficit. The combined return flow and groundwater use signature conserves the east-west constrast with overall uncertainties due to the groundwater-return flow representation, varying ratios combined with different hydroclimate conditions, storage infrastructures, sectoral water uses and dependence on groundwater. The redistribution of surface and groundwater by human activities, and the uncertainties in their representation have important implications to the water and energy balances in the Earth system and land-atmosphere interactions.« less

Spatial and temporal assessment of surface water quality in the Arka River, Akkar, Lebanon.

PubMed

Daou, Claude; Nabbout, Rony; Kassouf, Amine

2016-12-01

Surface water quality monitoring constitutes a crucial and important step in any water quality management system. Twenty-three physicochemical and microbiological parameters were assessed in surface water samples collected from the Arka River located in the Akkar District, north of Lebanon. Eight sampling locations were considered along the river and seven sampling campaigns were performed in order to evaluate spatial and temporal influences. The extraction of relevant information from this relatively large data set was done using principal component analysis (PCA), being a very well established chemometric tool in this field. In a first step, extracted PCA loadings revealed the implication of several physicochemical parameters in the discriminations and trends highlighted by PCA scores, mainly due to soil leaching and seawater intrusion. However, further investigations showed the implication of organic and bacterial parameters in the discrimination of stations in the Akkar flatland. These discriminations probably refer to anthropogenic pollution coming from the agricultural area and the surrounding villages. Specific ultraviolet absorption (SUVA) indices confirmed these findings since values decreased for samples collected across the villages and the flatland, indicating an increase in anthropogenic dissolved organic matter. This study will hopefully help the national and local authorities to ameliorate the surface water quality management, enabling its proper use for irrigation purposes.

Embodied energy comparison of surface water and groundwater supply options.

PubMed

Mo, Weiwei; Zhang, Qiong; Mihelcic, James R; Hokanson, David R

2011-11-01

The embodied energy associated with water provision comprises an important part of water management, and is important when considering sustainability. In this study, an input-output based hybrid analysis integrated with structural path analysis was used to develop an embodied energy model. The model was applied to a groundwater supply system (Kalamazoo, Michigan) and a surface water supply system (Tampa, Florida). The two systems evaluated have comparable total energy embodiments based on unit water production. However, the onsite energy use of the groundwater supply system is approximately 27% greater than the surface water supply system. This was primarily due to more extensive pumping requirements. On the other hand, the groundwater system uses approximately 31% less indirect energy than the surface water system, mainly because of fewer chemicals used for treatment. The results from this and other studies were also compiled to provide a relative comparison of embodied energy for major water supply options. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nitrate Leaching Management

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Nitrate (NO3) leaching is a significant nitrogen (N) loss process for agriculture that must be managed to minimize NO3 enrichment of groundwater and surface waters. Managing NO3 leaching should involve the application of basic principles of understanding the site’s hydrologic cycle, avoiding excess ...

Wetland Classification for Black Duck Habitat Management Using Combined Polarimetric RADARSAT 2 and SPOT Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, W.; Hu, B.; Brown, G.

2018-04-01

The black duck population has decreased significantly due to loss of its breeding habitat. Wetlands are an important feature that relates to habitat management and requires monitoring. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems are helpful to map the wetland as the microwave signals are sensitive to water content and can be used to map surface water extent, saturated soils, and flooded vegetation. In this study, RadarSat 2 Polarimetric data is employed to map surface water and track changes in extent over the years through image thresholding and reviewed different approaches of Polarimetric decompositions for detecting flooded vegetation. Also, object-based analysis associated with beaver activity is conducted with combined multispectral SPOT satellite imagery. Results show SAR data has proven ability to improve mapping open water areas and locate flooded vegetation areas.

An Assessment of Regional Water Resources and Agricultural Sustainability in the Mississippi River Alluvial Aquifer System of Mississippi and Arkansas Under Current and Future Climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rigby, J.; Reba, M.

2011-12-01

The Lower Mississippi River Alluvial Plain is a highly productive agricultural region for rice, soy beans, and cotton that depends heavily on irrigation. Development of the Mississippi River Alluvial Aquifer (MRAA), one of the more prolific agricultural aquifers in the country, has traditionally been the primary source for irrigation in the region yielding over 1,100 Mgal/day to irrigation wells. Increasingly, the realities of changing climate and rapidly declining water tables have highlighted the necessity for new water management practices. Tail-water recovery and reuse is a rapidly expanding practice due in part to the efforts and cost-sharing of the NRCS, but regional studies of the potential for such practices to alleviate groundwater mining under current and future climate are lacking. While regional studies of aquifer geology have long been available, including assessments of regional groundwater flow, much about the aquifer is still not well understood including controls on recharge rates, a crucial component of water management design. We review the trends in regional availability of surface and groundwater resources, their current status, and the effects of recent changes in management practices on groundwater decline in Mississippi and Arkansas. Global and regional climate projections are used to assess scenarios of sustainable aquifer use under current land use and management along with the potential for more widely practiced surface water capture and reuse to alleviate groundwater decline. Finally, we highlight crucial knowledge gaps and challenges associated with the development of water management practices for sustainable agricultural use in the region.

Coupled SWAT-MODFLOW Model Development for Large Basins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aliyari, F.; Bailey, R. T.; Tasdighi, A.

2017-12-01

Water management in semi-arid river basins requires allocating water resources between urban, industrial, energy, and agricultural sectors, with the latter competing for necessary irrigation water to sustain crop yield. Competition between these sectors will intensify due to changes in climate and population growth. In this study, the recently developed SWAT-MODFLOW coupled hydrologic model is modified for application in a large managed river basin that provides both surface water and groundwater resources for urban and agricultural areas. Specific modifications include the linkage of groundwater pumping and irrigation practices and code changes to allow for the large number of SWAT hydrologic response units (HRU) required for a large river basin. The model is applied to the South Platte River Basin (SPRB), a 56,980 km2 basin in northeastern Colorado dominated by large urban areas along the front range of the Rocky Mountains and agriculture regions to the east. Irregular seasonal and annual precipitation and 150 years of urban and agricultural water management history in the basin provide an ideal test case for the SWAT-MODFLOW model. SWAT handles land surface and soil zone processes whereas MODFLOW handles groundwater flow and all sources and sinks (pumping, injection, bedrock inflow, canal seepage, recharge areas, groundwater/surface water interaction), with recharge and stream stage provided by SWAT. The model is tested against groundwater levels, deep percolation estimates, and stream discharge. The model will be used to quantify spatial groundwater vulnerability in the basin under scenarios of climate change and population growth.

Soil and solid poultry waste nutrient management and water quality.

PubMed

Chapman, S L

1996-07-01

Concerns about the impacts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and pathogens on surface and ground water quality has forced the poultry industry to implement voluntary waste management guidelines for use by growers. In some states, animal waste guidelines are being enforced by regulatory agencies. Strategies that growers may use to properly dispose of poultry waste include: 1) local land application as a fertilizer; 2) offsite marketing for use as a fertilizer or soil amendment, feed additive, or energy source; and 3) chemical additives that will immobilize nitrogen and phosphorus in the manure or litter. If properly followed, these and other innovative strategies should be adequate to protect surface and ground water quality without adversely affecting the economics of poultry production.

Framing scenarios of binational water policy with a tool to visualize, quantify and valuate changes in ecosystem services

USGS Publications Warehouse

Norman, Laura M.; Villarreal, Miguel L.; Niraula, Rewati; Meixner, Thomas; Frisvold, George; Labiosa, William

2013-01-01

In the Santa Cruz Watershed, located on the Arizona-Sonora portion of the U.S.-Mexico border, an international wastewater treatment plant treats wastewater from cities on both sides of the border, before discharging it into the river in Arizona. These artificial flows often subsidize important perennial surface water ecosystems in the region. An explicit understanding of the benefits of maintaining instream flow for present and future generations requires the ability to assess and understand the important trade-offs implicit in water-resource management decisions. In this paper, we outline an approach for modeling and visualizing impacts of management decisions in terms of rare terrestrial and aquatic wildlife, vegetation, surface water, groundwater recharge, real-estate values and socio-environmental vulnerable communities. We identify and quantify ecosystem services and model the potential reduction in effluent discharge to the U.S. that is under scrutiny by binational water policy makers and of concern to stakeholders. Results of service provisioning are presented, and implications for policy makers and resource managers are discussed. This paper presents a robust ecosystem services assessment of multiple scenarios of watershed management as a means to discern eco-hydrological responses and consider their potential values for future generations living in the borderlands.

Evaluation of agricultural best-management practices in the Conestoga River headwaters, Pennsylvania; effects of nutrient management on quality of surface runoff at a small carbonate-rock site near Ephrate, Pennsylvania, 1984-90

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hall, D.W.; Lietman, P.L.; Koerkle, E.J.

1997-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection conducted a study from 1984 to 1990 to determine theeffects of the implementation and practice of nutrient management [an agricultural best-management practice (BMP)] on the quality of surface runoff and ground water at a 55-acre crop and livestock farm in carbonate terrain nearEphrata, Pa. Implementation of nutrient management at Field-Site 2 resulted in application decreases of 33 percent for nitrogen and 29 percent for phosphorus. There wereno significant changes in nitrogen or phosphorusloads for a given amount of runoff from the pre-BMP to the post-BMP periods. However, less than 2 percent of the applied nutrients weredischarged with runoff throughout the study period.After the implementation of nutrient management, statistically significant decreases in concentrations of nitrate in ground-water samples occurred at threeof the four wells monitored throughout the pre- and post-BMP periods. The largest decreases in nitrate concentrations occurred at wells where samples hadthe largest nitrate concentrations prior to nutrient management. Changes in nitrogen applications to the contributing areas of five wells were correlated with nitrate concentrations of the well water. The correlations between the timing and amount of applied nitrogen and changes in ground-water quality met the four conditions that are characteristic of a cause-effect relation: an association, consistency, responsiveness, and a mechanism. Changes in ground-water nitrate concentrations lagged behind changes in loading of nitrogen fertilizers (primarily manure) by approximately 4 to 19 months.

Possible effects of groundwater pumping on surface water in the Verde Valley, Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leake, Stanley A.; Haney, Jeanmarie

2010-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy, has applied a groundwater model to simulate effects of groundwater pumping and artificial recharge on surface water in the Verde Valley sub-basin of Arizona. Results are in two sets of maps that show effects of locations of pumping or recharge on streamflow. These maps will help managers make decisions that will meet water needs and minimize environmental impacts.

Linking Domain-Specific Models to Describe the Complex Dynamics and Management Options of a Saline Floodplain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woods, J.; Laattoe, T.

2016-12-01

Complex hydrological environments present management challenges where surface water-groundwater interactions involve interlinked processes at multiple scales. One example is Australia's River Murray, which flows through a semi-arid landscape with highly saline groundwater. In this region, the floodplain ecology depends on freshwater provided from the main river channel, anabranches, and floodwaters. However, in the past century access to freshwater has been further limited due to river regulation, land clearance, and irrigation. A programme to improve ecosystem health at Pike Floodplain, South Australia, is evaluating management options such as environmental watering and groundwater pumping. Due to the complicated interdependencies between processes moving water and salt within the floodplain, a series of inter-linked models were developed to assist with management decisions. The models differ by hydrological domain, scale, and dimensionality. Together they simulate surface water, the unsaturated zone, and groundwater on regional, floodplain, and local scales. Outputs from regional models provide boundary conditions for floodplain models, which in turn provide inputs for the local scale models. The results are interpreted based on (i) ecohydrological requirements for key species of tree and fish, and (ii) impacts on river salinity for downstream users. When combined, the models provide an integrated and interdiscplinary understanding of the hydrology and management of saline floodplains.

Development and application of a comprehensive simulation model to evaluate impacts of watershed structures and irrigation water use on streamflow and groundwater: The case of Wet Walnut Creek Watershed, Kansas, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ramireddygari, S.R.; Sophocleous, M.A.; Koelliker, J.K.; Perkins, S.P.; Govindaraju, R.S.

2000-01-01

This paper presents the results of a comprehensive modeling study of surface and groundwater systems, including stream-aquifer interactions, for the Wet Walnut Creek Watershed in west-central Kansas. The main objective of this study was to assess the impacts of watershed structures and irrigation water use on streamflow and groundwater levels, which in turn affect availability of water for the Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Refuge Management area. The surface-water flow model, POTYLDR, and the groundwater flow model, MODFLOW, were combined into an integrated, watershed-scale, continuous simulation model. Major revisions and enhancements were made to the POTYLDR and MODFLOW models for simulating the detailed hydrologic budget for the Wet Walnut Creek Watershed. The computer simulation model was calibrated and verified using historical streamflow records (at Albert and Nekoma gaging stations), reported irrigation water use, observed water-level elevations in watershed structure pools, and groundwater levels in the alluvial aquifer system. To assess the impact of watershed structures and irrigation water use on streamflow and groundwater levels, a number of hypothetical management scenarios were simulated under various operational criteria for watershed structures and different annual limits on water use for irrigation. A standard 'base case' was defined to allow comparative analysis of the results of different scenarios. The simulated streamflows showed that watershed structures decrease both streamflows and groundwater levels in the watershed. The amount of water used for irrigation has a substantial effect on the total simulated streamflow and groundwater levels, indicating that irrigation is a major budget item for managing water resources in the watershed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V.This paper presents the results of a comprehensive modeling study of surface and groundwater systems, including stream-aquifer interactions, for the Wet Walnut Creek Watershed in west-central Kansas. The main objective of this study was to assess the impacts of watershed structures and irrigation water use on streamflow and groundwater levels, which in turn affect availability of water for the Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Refuge Management area. The surface-water flow model, POTYLDR, and the groundwater flow model, MODFLOW, were combined into an integrated, watershed-scale, continuous simulation model. Major revisions and enhancements were made to the POTYLDR and MODFLOW models for simulating the detailed hydrologic budget for the Wet Walnut Creek Watershed. The computer simulation model was calibrated and verified using historical streamflow records (at Albert and Nekoma gaging stations), reported irrigation water use, observed water-level elevations in watershed structure pools, and groundwater levels in the alluvial aquifer system. To assess the impact of watershed structures and irrigation water use on streamflow and groundwater levels, a number of hypothetical management scenarios were simulated under various operational criteria for watershed structures and different annual limits on water use for irrigation. A standard `base case' was defined to allow comparative analysis of the results of different scenarios. The simulated streamflows showed that watershed structures decrease both streamflows and groundwater levels in the watershed. The amount of water used for irrigation has a substantial effect on the total simulated streamflow and groundwater levels, indicating that irrigation is a major budget item for managing water resources in the watershed.A comprehensive simulation model that combines the surface water flow model POTYLDR and the groundwater flow model MODFLOW was used to study the impacts of watershed structures (e.g., dams) and irrigation water use (including stream-aquifer interactions) on streamflow and groundwater. The model was revised, enhanced, calibrated, and verified, then applied to evaluate the hydrologic budget for Wet Wal

The effect of vegetation and soil texture on the nature of organics in runoff from a catchment supplying water for domestic consumption.

PubMed

Awad, John; van Leeuwen, John; Abate, Dawit; Pichler, Markus; Bestland, Erick; Chittleborough, David J; Fleming, Nigel; Cohen, Jonathan; Liffner, Joel; Drikas, Mary

2015-10-01

The influence of vegetation and soil texture on the concentration and character of dissolved organic matter (DOM) present in runoff from the surface and sub-surface of zero order catchments of the Myponga Reservoir-catchment (South Australia) was investigated to determine the impacts of catchment characteristics and land management practices on the quality of waters used for domestic supply. Catchments selected have distinct vegetative cover (grass, native vegetation or pine) and contrasting texture of the surface soil horizon (sand or clay loam/clay). Water samples were collected from three slope positions (upper, middle, and lower) at soil depths of ~30 cm and ~60 cm in addition to overland flows. Filtered (0.45 μm) water samples were analyzed for dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and UV-visible absorbance and by F-EEM and HPSEC with UV and fluorescence detection to characterize the DOM. Surface and sub-surface runoff from catchments with clay soils and native vegetation or grass had lower DOC concentrations and lower relative abundances of aromatic, humic-like and high molecular weight organics than runoff from sandy soils with these vegetative types. Sub-surface flows from two catchments with Pinus radiata had similar DOC concentrations and DOM character, regardless of marked variation in surface soil texture. Runoff from catchments under native vegetation and grass on clay soils resulted in lower DOC concentrations and hence would be expected to have lower coagulant demand in conventional treatment for potable water supply than runoff from corresponding sandy soil catchments. However, organics in runoff from clay catchments would be more difficult to remove by coagulation. Surface waters from the native vegetation and grass catchments were generally found to have higher relative abundance of organic compounds amenable to removal by coagulation compared with sub-surface waters. Biophysical and land management practices combine to have a marked influence on the quality of source water used for domestic supply. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Water resources of the Marquette Iron Range area, Michigan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wiitala, Sulo Werner; Newport, Thomas Gwyn; Skinner, Earl L.

1967-01-01

Large quantities of water are needed in the beneficiation and pelletizing processes by which the ore mined from low-grade iron-formations is upgraded into an excellent raw material for the iron and steel industry. Extensive reserves of low-grade iron-formation available for development herald an intensification of the demands upon the area's water supplies. This study was designed to provide water facts for public and private agencies in planning orderly development and in guiding the management of the water resources to meet existing and new requirements. Inland lakes and streams are the best potential sources of water for immediate development. The natural flow available for 90 percent of the time in the Middle and East Branches of the Escanaba River, the Carp River, and the Michigamme River is about 190 cubic feet per second. Potential storage sites are identified, and their complete development could increase the available supply from the above streams to about 450 cubic feet per second. Outwash deposits are the best potential sources of ground water. Large supplies could be developed from extensive outwash deposits in the eastern part of the area adjacent to Goose Lake Outlet and the East Branch Escanaba River. Other areas of outwash occur in the vicinity of Humboldt, West Branch Creek, and along the stream valleys. Streamflow data were used to make rough approximations of the ground-water potential in some areas. In general, however, the available data were not sufficient to permit quantitative evaluation of the potential ground-water supplies. Chemical quality of the surface and ground waters of the area is generally acceptable for most uses. Suspended sediment in the form of mineral tailings in effluents from ore-processing plants is a potential problem. Existing plants use settling basins to effectively remove most of the suspended material. Available records indicate that suspended-sediment concentrations and loads in the receiving waters have not been significantly increased by these operations. Present water use is about 60 cubic feet per second in the area. Thus, available water supplies are believed to be adequate for existing and foreseeable new uses. Water management, rather than water availability, is of prime consideration in this area. Time distribution of available water supplies, distribution of water to points of use, effect of surface-water development upon ground water and vice versa, and possible conflicts with competing uses are some of the management problems that are discussed. The presence of many inland lakes, favorable storage sites on streams, and several promising acquifers provide flexibility in possible water-management operations. A discussion of the interrelationships between surface and ground water and a ground-water budget are presented to render a better understanding of the hydrologic system with which water management will be concerned.

An Integrated Risk Management Model for Source Water Protection Areas

PubMed Central

Chiueh, Pei-Te; Shang, Wei-Ting; Lo, Shang-Lien

2012-01-01

Watersheds are recognized as the most effective management unit for the protection of water resources. For surface water supplies that use water from upstream watersheds, evaluating threats to water quality and implementing a watershed management plan are crucial for the maintenance of drinking water safe for humans. The aim of this article is to establish a risk assessment model that provides basic information for identifying critical pollutants and areas at high risk for degraded water quality. In this study, a quantitative risk model that uses hazard quotients for each water quality parameter was combined with a qualitative risk model that uses the relative risk level of potential pollution events in order to characterize the current condition and potential risk of watersheds providing drinking water. In a case study of Taipei Source Water Area in northern Taiwan, total coliforms and total phosphorus were the top two pollutants of concern. Intensive tea-growing and recreational activities around the riparian zone may contribute the greatest pollution to the watershed. Our risk assessment tool may be enhanced by developing, recording, and updating information on pollution sources in the water supply watersheds. Moreover, management authorities could use the resultant information to create watershed risk management plans. PMID:23202770

A Web Application for Validating and Disseminating Surface Energy Balance Evapotranspiration Estimates for Hydrologic Modeling Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, C. A.; Aggett, G. R.; Nevo, A.; Babel, N. C.; Hattendorf, M. J.

2008-12-01

The western United States face an increasing threat from drought - and the social, economic, and environmental impacts that come with it. The combination of diminished water supplies along with increasing demand for urban and other uses is rapidly depleting surface and ground water reserves traditionally allocated for agricultural use. Quantification of water consumptive use is increasingly important as water resources are placed under growing tension by increased users and interests. Scarce water supplies can be managed more efficiently through use of information and prediction tools accessible via the internet. METRIC (Mapping ET at high Resolution with Internalized Calibration) represents a maturing technology for deriving a remote sensing-based surface energy balance for estimating ET from the earth's surface. This technology has the potential to become widely adopted and used by water resources communities providing critical support to a host of water decision support tools. ET images created using METRIC or similar remote- sensing based processing systems could be routinely used as input to operational and planning models for water demand forecasting, reservoir operations, ground-water management, irrigation water supply planning, water rights regulation, and for the improvement, validation, and use of hydrological models. The ET modeling and subsequent validation and distribution of results via the web presented here provides a vehicle through which METRIC ET parameters can be made more accessible to hydrologic modelers. It will enable users of the data to assess the results of the spatially distributed ET modeling and compare with results from conventional ET estimation methods prior to assimilation in surface and ground water models. In addition, this ET-Server application will provide rapid and transparent access to the data enabling quantification of uncertainties due to errors in temporal sampling and METRIC modeling, while the GIS-based analytical tools will facilitate quality assessments associated with the selected spatio-temporal scale of interest.

Actual evapotranspiration (water use) assessment of the Colorado River Basin at the Landsat resolution using the operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance Model

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Accurately estimating consumptive water use in the Colorado River Basin (CRB) is important for assessing and managing limited water resources in the basin. Increasing water demand from various sectors may threaten long-term sustainability of the water supply in the arid southwestern United States. L...

Hydrologic connections between environmental and societal change at the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowen, B. B.; Harman, C. J.; Kipnis, E. L.; Liu, T.; Bernau, J. A.; Horel, J.

2017-12-01

The Bonneville Salt Flats (BSF) is an ephemeral and valued salt pan in northwestern Utah where a century of land speed racing and potash mining have created a complex and intertwined social and hydrologic system. The character of BSF changes on daily, weekly, monthly, annual, and geologic time scales in response to fluctuations in water balance, solute flux, and groundwater flow which is impacted by both local meteorology and water management associated with potash mining. In addition, the texture of the salt surface is changed by land use including racing activities, which impacts water fluxes through the crust. Ongoing research is focused on characterizing physical changes in the BSF environment and attributing observed changes in the landscape to specific processes and drivers. Five years of field observations and sampling, analyses of satellite imagery dating back the 1980s, and geochemical analysis of surface brines have shown that spatiotemporal changes in surface water and fluctuations in the surface salt footprint are linked to both climate and land use. Climate data over the last 30 years are examined to identify annual patterns in surface water balance at BSF to identify annual and seasonal climate constraints on flooding, evaporation, and desiccation cycles. A new weather station installed in the Fall of 2016 in the middle of BSF allows for unprecedented analyses of halite surface dynamics. Spatiotemporally dispersed stable isotope analyses of BSF surface brine samples constrain brine sources and evolution. An understanding of the processes that change the surface composition and texture through time inform interpretation of subsurface saline deposits at BSF. The wide range of temporal and spatial scales of observation help to guide to best management practices of this iconic natural resource.

Water resources of Catahoula Parish, Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

White, Vincent E.

2017-02-24

IntroductionInformation concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability, past and current use, use trends, and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is presented. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System are the primary sources of the information presented here.In 2010, 30.01 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of water were withdrawn in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, including about 22.63 Mgal/d from groundwater sources and 7.38 Mgal/d from surface-water sources. Withdrawals for agricultural use, composed of aquaculture, general irrigation, livestock, and rice irrigation, accounted for about 93 percent (28.05 Mgal/d) of the total water withdrawn. Other categories of use included public supply and rural domestic. Water-use data collected at 5-year intervals from 1960 to 2010 indicated that water withdrawals peaked in 2000 at 30.99 Mgal/d.

Long-Term Hydrologic Impacts of Controlled Drainage Using DRAINMOD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saadat, S.; Bowling, L. C.; Frankenberger, J.

2017-12-01

Controlled drainage is a management strategy designed to mitigate water quality issues caused by subsurface drainage but it may increase surface ponding and runoff. To improve controlled drainage system management, a long-term and broader study is needed that goes beyond the experimental studies. Therefore, the goal of this study was to parametrize the DRAINMOD field-scale, hydrologic model for the Davis Purdue Agricultural Center located in Eastern Indiana and to predict the subsurface drain flow and surface runoff and ponding at this research site. The Green-Ampt equation was used to characterize the infiltration, and digital elevation models (DEMs) were used to estimate the maximum depressional storage as the surface ponding parameter inputs to DRAINMOD. Hydraulic conductivity was estimated using the Hooghoudt equation and the measured drain flow and water table depths. Other model inputs were either estimated or taken from the measurements. The DRAINMOD model was calibrated and validated by comparing model predictions of subsurface drainage and water table depths with field observations from 2012 to 2016. Simulations based on the DRAINMOD model can increase understanding of the environmental and hydrological effects over a broader temporal and spatial scale than is possible using field-scale data and this is useful for developing management recommendations for water resources at field and watershed scales.

Modeling falling groundwater tables in major cities of the world

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sutanudjaja, E.; Erkens, G.

2015-12-01

Groundwater use and its over-consumption are one of the major drivers in the hydrology of many major cities in the world, particularly in delta regions. Yet, a global assessment to identify cities with declining groundwater table problems has not been done yet. In this study we used the global hydrological model PCR-GLOBWB (10 km resolution, for 1960-2010). Using this model, we globally calculated groundwater recharge and river discharge/surface water levels, as well as global water demand and abstraction from ground- and surface water resources. The output of PCR-GLOBWB model was then used to force a groundwater MODFLOW-based model simulating spatio-temporal groundwater head dynamics, including groundwater head declines in all major cities - mainly in delta regions - due to escalation in abstraction of groundwater to meet increasing water demand. Using these coupled models, we managed to identify a number of critical cities having groundwater table falling rates above 50 cm/year (average in 2000-2010), such as Barcelona, Houston, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York, Rome and many large cities in China, Libya, India and Pakistan, as well as in Middle East and Central Asia regions. However, our simulation results overestimate the depletion rates in San Jose, Tokyo, Venice, and other cities where groundwater usages have been aggressively managed and replaced by importing surface water from other places. Moreover, our simulation might underestimate the declining groundwater head trends in some familiar cases, such as Bangkok (12 cm/year), Ho Chi Minh City (34 cm/year), and Jakarta (26 cm/year). The underestimation was due to an over-optimistic model assumption in allocating surface water for satisfying urban water needs. In reality, many big cities, although they are located in wet regions and have abundant surface water availability, still strongly rely on groundwater sources due to inadequate facilities to treat and distribute surface water resources.

Modeling falling groundwater tables in major cities of the world

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sutanudjaja, Edwin; Erkens, Gilles

2016-04-01

Groundwater use and its over-consumption are one of the major drivers in the hydrology of many major cities in the world, particularly in delta regions. Yet, a global assessment to identify cities with declining groundwater table problems has not been done yet. In this study we used the global hydrological model PCR-GLOBWB (10 km resolution, for 1960-2010). Using this model, we globally calculated groundwater recharge and river discharge/surface water levels, as well as global water demand and abstraction from ground- and surface water resources. The output of PCR-GLOBWB model was then used to force a groundwater MODFLOW-based model simulating spatio-temporal groundwater head dynamics, including groundwater head declines in all major cities - mainly in delta regions - due to escalation in abstraction of groundwater to meet increasing water demand. Using these coupled models, we managed to identify a number of critical cities having groundwater table falling rates above 50 cm/year (average in 2000-2010), such as Barcelona, Houston, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York, Rome and many large cities in China, Libya, India and Pakistan, as well as in Middle East and Central Asia regions. However, our simulation results overestimate the depletion rates in San Jose, Tokyo, Venice, and other cities where groundwater usages have been aggressively managed and replaced by importing surface water from other places. Moreover, our simulation might underestimate the declining groundwater head trends in some familiar cases, such as Bangkok (12 cm/year), Ho Chi Minh City (34 cm/year), and Jakarta (26 cm/year). The underestimation was due to an over-optimistic model assumption in allocating surface water for satisfying urban water needs. In reality, many big cities, although they are located in wet regions and have abundant surface water availability, still strongly rely on groundwater sources due to inadequate facilities to treat and distribute surface water resources.

Forest Management Effects on Surface Soil Carbon and Nitrogen

Treesearch

Jennifer D. Knoepp; Wayne T. Swank

1997-01-01

Changes in surface soil C and N can result from forest management practices and may provide an index of impacts on long-term site productivity. Soil C and N were measured over time for five water- sheds in the southern Appalachians: two aggrading hardwood forests, one south- and one north-facing, undisturbed since the 1920s;a white pine (PinussfrobusL.) plantation...

Data on surface-water, streambed-interstitial water, and bed-sediment quality for selected locations in the small arms impact area of central Fort Gordon, Georgia, September 4-6, 2001

USGS Publications Warehouse

Priest, Sheryln; Stamey, Timothy C.; Lawrence, Stephen J.

2002-01-01

In September 2001, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Environmental and Natural Resources Management Office of the U.S. Army Signal Center and Fort Gordon (U.S. Department of the Army), conducted a chemical assessment of surface water, streambed-interstitial water, and bed sediments within the small arms impact area of Fort Gordon Military Installation. The study was conducted in support of the development of an Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan (INRMP) for Fort Gordon, Georgia. An effective INRMP ensures that natural resources conservation measures and U.S. Army activities on the military base are integrated and consistent with Federal requirements to manage military installations on an ecosystem basis. Filtered water samples were collected from five sites along South Prong Creek and three sites along Marcum Branch Creek for chemical analyses of major ions, nutrients, and selected trace elements. On-site measurements of pH, temperature, specific conductance, and dissolved oxygen were made at the eight sites. Filtered water collected showed varying concentrations in both surface- and streambed-interstitial water. Bed-sediment samples collected from South Prong Creek contain elevated levels of arsenic, barium, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, manganese, nickel, selenium, vanadium, and total organic carbon relative to previous concentrations (McConnell and others, 2000). Bed-sediment samples collected from Marcum Branch Creek contain elevated levels of beryllium, copper, lead, manganese, mercury, selenium, and total organic carbon relative to previous concentrations (McConnell and others, 2000).

Calendar Year 2011 Groundwater Monitoring Report, U.S. Department of Energy Y-12 National Security Complex, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Elvado Environmental LLC,

2012-12-01

This report contains the groundwater and surface water monitoring data that were obtained during calendar year (CY) 2011 at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12) on the DOE Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The CY 2011 monitoring data were obtained from wells, springs, and surface water sampling locations in three hydrogeologic regimes at Y-12. The Bear Creek Hydrogeologic Regime (Bear Creek Regime) encompasses a section of Bear Creek Valley (BCV) between the west end of Y-12 and the west end of the Bear Creek Watershed (directions are in reference to the Y-12more » grid system). The Upper East Fork Poplar Creek Hydrogeologic Regime (East Fork Regime) encompasses the Y-12 industrial facilities and support structures in BCV. The Chestnut Ridge Hydrogeologic Regime (Chestnut Ridge Regime) encompasses a section of Chestnut Ridge directly south of Y-12. This report provides background information pertinent to groundwater and surface water quality monitoring in each hydrogeologic regime, including the topography and bedrock geology, surface water drainage, groundwater system, and known extent of groundwater contamination. The CY 2011 groundwater and surface water monitoring data in this report were obtained from sampling and analysis activities implemented under the Y-12 Groundwater Protection Program (GWPP) managed by Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services Y-12, LLC (B&W Y-12) and from sampling and analysis activities implemented under several monitoring programs managed by the DOE Environmental Management (EM) contractor responsible for environmental cleanup on the ORR. In August 2011, URS | CH2M Oak Ridge LLC (UCOR) replaced Bechtel Jacobs Company LLC (BJC) as the DOE EM contractor. For this report, BJC/UCOR will be referenced as the managing contractor for CY 2011. Cooperative implementation of the monitoring programs directed by the Y-12 GWPP and BJC/UCOR (i.e., coordinating sample collection and sharing data) ensures that the CY 2011 monitoring results fulfill requirements of all the applicable monitoring drivers with no duplication of sampling and analysis efforts. This report contains a summary of information regarding the groundwater and surface water sampling and analysis activities implemented under the Y-12 GWPP including sampling locations and frequency; quality assurance (QA)/quality control (QC) sampling; sample collection and handling; field measurements and laboratory analytes; data management and data quality objective (DQO) evaluation; and groundwater elevation monitoring. However, this report does not include equivalent QA/QC or DQO evaluation information regarding the groundwater and surface water sampling and analysis activities associated with the monitoring programs implemented by BJC/UCOR. Such details are deferred to the respective programmatic plans and reports issued by BJC. Collectively, the groundwater and surface water monitoring data obtained during CY 2011 by the Y-12 GWPP and BJC/UCOR address DOE Order 436.1 and DOE Order 458.1 requirements for monitoring groundwater and surface water quality in areas (1) which are, or could be, affected by operations at Y-12 (surveillance monitoring) and (2) where contaminants from Y-12 are most likely to migrate beyond the boundaries of the ORR (exit pathway/perimeter monitoring). This report presents a summary evaluation of the monitoring data with regard to the respective objectives of surveillance monitoring and exit pathway/perimeter monitoring, based on the analytical results for the principal groundwater contaminants at Y-12: nitrate, uranium, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), gross alpha activity, and gross beta activity. This report summarizes the most pertinent findings regarding the principal contaminants, along with recommendations proposed for ongoing groundwater and surface water quality monitoring performed under the Y-12 GWPP.« less

Recent Progresses in Incorporating Human Land-Water Management into Global Land Surface Models Toward Their Integration into Earth System Models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pokhrel, Yadu N.; Hanasaki, Naota; Wada, Yoshihide; Kim, Hyungjun

2016-01-01

The global water cycle has been profoundly affected by human land-water management. As the changes in the water cycle on land can affect the functioning of a wide range of biophysical and biogeochemical processes of the Earth system, it is essential to represent human land-water management in Earth system models (ESMs). During the recent past, noteworthy progress has been made in large-scale modeling of human impacts on the water cycle but sufficient advancements have not yet been made in integrating the newly developed schemes into ESMs. This study reviews the progresses made in incorporating human factors in large-scale hydrological models and their integration into ESMs. The study focuses primarily on the recent advancements and existing challenges in incorporating human impacts in global land surface models (LSMs) as a way forward to the development of ESMs with humans as integral components, but a brief review of global hydrological models (GHMs) is also provided. The study begins with the general overview of human impacts on the water cycle. Then, the algorithms currently employed to represent irrigation, reservoir operation, and groundwater pumping are discussed. Next, methodological deficiencies in current modeling approaches and existing challenges are identified. Furthermore, light is shed on the sources of uncertainties associated with model parameterizations, grid resolution, and datasets used for forcing and validation. Finally, representing human land-water management in LSMs is highlighted as an important research direction toward developing integrated models using ESM frameworks for the holistic study of human-water interactions within the Earths system.

Space-based detection of wetlands' surface water level changes from L-band SAR interferometry

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wdowinski, S.; Kim, S.-W.; Amelung, F.; Dixon, T.H.; Miralles-Wilhelm, F.; Sonenshein, R.

2008-01-01

Interferometric processing of JERS-1 L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data acquired over south Florida during 1993-1996 reveals detectable surface changes in the Everglades wetlands. Although our study is limited to south Florida it has implication for other large-scale wetlands, because south Florida wetlands have diverse vegetation types and both managed and natural flow environments. Our analysis reveals that interferometric coherence level is sensitive to wetland vegetation type and to the interferogram time span. Interferograms with time spans less than six months maintain phase observations for all wetland types, allowing characterization of water level changes in different wetland environments. The most noticeable changes occur between the managed and the natural flow wetlands. In the managed wetlands, fringes are organized, follow patterns related to some of the managed water control structures and have high fringe-rate. In the natural flow areas, fringes are irregular and have a low fringe-rate. The high fringe rate in managed areas reflects dynamic water topography caused by high flow rate due to gate operation. Although this organized fringe pattern is not characteristic of most large-scale wetlands, the high level of water level change enables accurate estimation of the wetland InSAR technique, which lies in the range of 5-10??cm. The irregular and low rate fringe pattern in the natural flow area reflects uninterrupted flow that diffuses water efficiently and evenly. Most of the interferograms in the natural flow area show an elongated fringe located along the transitional zone between salt- and fresh-water wetlands, reflecting water level changes due to ocean tides. ?? 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Large-Scale Operations Management Test of Use of the White Amur for Control of Problem Aquatic Plants. Selected Life History Information of Animal Species on Lake Conway, Florida.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-08-01

Name Management Information 2 Loplsostus i. Inhabits warm, sluggish waters. (Continued) platyrhincus Can live in very stagnant waters 3 Amia calva a...water with abundant vegetation. Amia calva can survive very stagnant water due to its ability to surface and ’breathe’ the air. Active at twilight and...Name Scientific Name FishSpecies 1 Longnose gar Loplsosteus osseus 2 Florida gar Lepisosteus platjrhincus 3 Bowf in Aula calva 4 American eel Anguilla

Science to Help Understand and Manage Important Ground-Water Resources

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nickles, James

2008-01-01

Throughout California, as pressure on water resources continues to grow, water-supply agencies are looking to the state?s biggest ?reservoir? ? its ground-water basins ? for supply and storage. To better utilize that resource, the Sweetwater Authority and other local partners, including the city of San Diego and Otay Water Districts, are working with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to develop the first comprehensive study of the coastal ground-water resources of southern San Diego County. USGS research is providing the integrated geologic and hydrologic knowledge necessary to help effectively utilize this resource on a coordinated, regional basis. USGS scientists are building a real-time well-monitoring network and gathering information about how the aquifers respond to different pumping and recharge-management strategies. Real-time ground-water levels are recorded every hour and are viewable on a project web site (http://ca.water.usgs.gov/sandiego/index.html). Data from the wells are helping to define the geology and hydrogeology of the area, define ground-water quality, and assess ground-water levels. The wells also are strategi-cally placed and designed to be usable by the local agencies for decades to come to help manage surface-water and ground-water operations. Additionally, the knowledge gained from the USGS study will help local, state, and federal agencies; water purveyors; and USGS scientists to understand the effects of urbanization on the local surface-water, ground-water, and biological resources, and to better critique ideas and opportuni-ties for additional ground-water development in the San Diego area.

Hydrological Modeling of Rainfall-Watershed-Bioretention System with EPA SWMM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

gülbaz, sezar; melek kazezyılmaz-alhan, cevza

2016-04-01

Water resources should be protected for the sustainability of water supply and water quality. Human activities such as high urbanization with lack of infrastructure system and uncontrolled agricultural facilities adversely affect the water resources. Therefore, recent techniques should be investigated in detail to avoid present and future problems like flood, drought and water pollution. Low Impact Development-Best Management Practice (LID-BMP) is such a technique to manage storm water runoff and quality. There are several LID storm water BMPs such as bioretention facilities, rain gardens, storm water wetlands, vegetated rooftops, rain barrels, vegetative swales and permeable pavements. Bioretention is a type of Low Impact Developments (LIDs) implemented to diminish adverse effects of urbanization by reducing peak flows over the surface and improving surface water quality simultaneously. Different soil types in different ratios are considered in bioretention design which affects the performance of bioretention systems. Therefore, in this study, a hydrologic model for bioretention is developed by using Environmental Protection Agency Storm Water Management Model (EPA SWMM). Part of the input data is supplied to the hydrologic model by experimental setup called Rainfall-Watershed-Bioretention (RWB). RWB System is developed to investigate the relation among rainfall, watershed and bioretention. This setup consists of three main parts which are artificial rainfall system, drainage area and four bioretention columns with different soil mixture. EPA SWMM is a dynamic simulation model for the surface runoff which develops on a watershed during a rainfall event. The model is commonly used to plan, analyze, and control storm water runoff, to design drainage system components and to evaluate watershed management of both urban and rural areas. Furthermore, EPA SWMM is a well-known program to model LID-Bioretention in the literature. Therefore, EPA SWMM is employed in drainage and bioretention modeling. Calibration of hydrologic model is made using part of the measured data in RWB System for drainage area and for each bioretention column separately. Finally, performance of the model is evaluated by comparing the model results with the experimental data collected in RWB system.

Estimated water use in Mississippi, 1980

USGS Publications Warehouse

Callahan, J.A.

1980-01-01

Large quantities of good quality ground and surface water are readily available in nearly all parts of Mississippi, and there is also an abundant supply of saline water in the estuaries along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The total estimated water use in the State in 1980 from groundwater and surface water was 3532 million gallons/day (mgd), including 662 mgd of saline water. Freshwater used from all sources in Mississippi during the period 1975 through 1980 increased from 2510 mgd to > 2870 mgd, a 14% increase. Although modest increases of freshwater use may be expected in public, self-supplied industrial, and thermoelectric supplies, large future increases in the use of freshwater may be expected primarily as a result of growth in irrigation and aquaculture. Management and protection of the quantity and quality of the available freshwater supply are often problems associated with increased use. Water use data, both temporal and spatial, are needed by the State of Mississippi to provide for intelligent, long-term management of the resources; one table gives data on the principal categories of water use, sources, and use by county. (Lantz-PTT)

A watershed scale assessment of the impacts of suburban turf management on runoff water quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bachman, M.; Inamdar, S. P.; Barton, S.; Duke, J.; Tallamy, D.; Bruck, J.

2014-12-01

Steadily increasing rates of urbanization have raised concerns about the negative impacts of urban runoff on receiving surface water quality. These concerns have been further amplified by landscaping paradigms that encourage high-input, intensively-managed and mono-culture turf and lawn landscapes. We conducted a watershed-scale assessment of turf management practices on water quality vis-à-vis less-intensive management practices that preserve and enhance more diverse and native vegetation. The study treatments with existing/established vegetation and landscaping practices included turf, urban, forest, meadow, and a mixed site with a professional golf course. Stream water sampling was performed during baseflow and storm events. Highest nutrient (nitrate and total nitrogen) concentrations in runoff were observed for the mixed watershed draining the golf course. In contrast, nutrient concentrations in baseflow from the turf watershed were lower than expected and were comparable to those measured in the surrounding meadow and forest sites. Runoff losses from the turf site may have been minimal due to the optimal quality of management implemented. Total nitrogen concentrations from the turf site increased sharply during the first storms following fertilization, suggesting that despite optimal management there exists a risk for nutrient runoff following fertilization. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations from the turf site were elevated and aromatic in content while the mixed watershed site yielded more labile DOM. Overall, this study suggests that turf lawns, when managed properly, pose minimal environmental risk to surrounding surface waters. Based on the results of this study, providing homeowners with increased information regarding best management practices for lawn maintenance may serve as a cost-efficient method for reducing suburban runoff pollution.

Risk factors and monitoring for water quality to determine best management practices for splash parks.

PubMed

de Man, H; Leenen, E J T M; van Knapen, F; de Roda Husman, A M

2014-09-01

Splash parks have been associated with infectious disease outbreaks as a result of exposure to poor water quality. To be able to protect public health, risk factors were identified that determine poor water quality. Samples were taken at seven splash parks where operators were willing to participate in the study. Higher concentrations of Escherichia coli were measured in water of splash parks filled with rainwater or surface water as compared with sites filled with tap water, independent of routine inspection intervals and employed disinfection. Management practices to prevent fecal contamination and guarantee maintaining good water quality at splash parks should include selection of source water of acceptable quality.

An Investigation of Concrete Deterioration at South Florida Water Management District Structure S65E

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-02-01

24 Figure 19. SEM micrographs of deterioration observed on fracture surface including borehole near exposed surface and transition between...photomicrographs of repaired concrete surface. ........................................ 36 Figure A6. Supplemental photomicrographs of fractured sample...38 Figure B1. Supplemental SEM micrographs of inner non-deteriorated concrete fracture surface

Improving nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency in surface- and overhead sprinkler-irrigated cotton in the desert southwest

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency (NUE) is low in surface-irrigated cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), especially when adding N to irrigation water. A NO3 soil-test algorithm was compared with canopy reflectance-based N management with surface- overhead sprinkler-irrigation in Central AZ. The surfac...

Multi-temporal remote sensing analysis of salars in El Loa Province, Chile: Implications for water resource management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Markovich, K.; Pierce, S. A.

2011-12-01

Salar de Ascotán and Salar de Carcote are internally drained, evaporative basins located in the Atacama Desert, 200 km northeast of Antofogasta in Region II, Chile. The two salars are part of a regional groundwater system that recharges in the adjacent uplands to the east and terminates in the regional topographic low at Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia. This regional groundwater system is discharged locally as spring-fed perennial surface water that flows across the salar surface and either evaporates, or reinfiltrates, in lagoon-like environments. This perennial surface water supports diverse flora and fauna in the salar basins, including flamingo, vicuña, and the endemic fish species Orestias ascotanensis. Mining projects in the region began pumping the groundwater system in the Ascotán basin in the mid-1990's, leading to concern about the preservation of spring-fed surface flows. While hydrologic and ecologic monitoring efforts have been coordinated, data collection is limited to in-situ measurements and antecedent records precede extraction by approximately six months. Remote sensing can provide a means for large scale monitoring of the salars, as well as providing additional historical data to support environmental management of the systems. This comparative study utilizes satellite imagery to detect changes in surface water extent in the two salars and evaluate the results for possible correlation with climatic and/or anthropogenic factors. Landsat TM and ETM+ images from the time period of 1986-2011 are analyzed for surface water extent, and geographic information technologies are used to integrate the remotely sensed data with in-situ measurements. Early results indicate that surface water extent on the salar surface has diminished from 1986 and present day conditions. The decrease is most pronounced in the Ascotán basin, suggesting a possible correlation to anthropogenic influences. Also, the rate of decrease in surface water presence is most elevated in the first years following the onset of pumping, but decreases in the latter part of the time period. Key controls on the water balance in the basins include climatic and hydrologic conditions, human-induced changes to surface structures, water resource extraction, and artificial recharge efforts recently implemented to mitigate the effects of pumping.

Organic matter composition of soil macropore surfaces under different agricultural management practices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glæsner, Nadia; Leue, Marin; Magid, Jacob; Gerke, Horst H.

2016-04-01

Understanding the heterogeneous nature of soil, i.e. properties and processes occurring specifically at local scales is essential for best managing our soil resources for agricultural production. Examination of intact soil structures in order to obtain an increased understanding of how soil systems operate from small to large scale represents a large gap within soil science research. Dissolved chemicals, nutrients and particles are transported through the disturbed plow layer of agricultural soil, where after flow through the lower soil layers occur by preferential flow via macropores. Rapid movement of water through macropores limit the contact between the preferentially moving water and the surrounding soil matrix, therefore contact and exchange of solutes in the water is largely restricted to the surface area of the macropores. Organomineral complex coated surfaces control sorption and exchange properties of solutes, as well as availability of essential nutrients to plant roots and to the preferentially flowing water. DRIFT (Diffuse Reflectance infrared Fourier Transform) Mapping has been developed to examine composition of organic matter coated macropores. In this study macropore surfaces structures will be determined for organic matter composition using DRIFT from a long-term field experiment on waste application to agricultural soil (CRUCIAL, close to Copenhagen, Denmark). Parcels with 5 treatments; accelerated household waste, accelerated sewage sludge, accelerated cattle manure, NPK and unfertilized, will be examined in order to study whether agricultural management have an impact on the organic matter composition of intact structures.

Evaluation of the hydrologic system and selected water-management alternatives in the Owens Valley, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Danskin, Wesley R.

1998-01-01

The Owens Valley, a long, narrow valley along the east side of the Sierra Nevada in eastcentral California, is the main source of water for the city of Los Angeles. The city diverts most of the surface water in the valley into the Owens River?Los Angeles Aqueduct system, which transports the water more than 200 miles south to areas of distribution and use. Additionally, ground water is pumped or flows from wells to supplement the surface-water diversions to the river? aqueduct system. Pumpage from wells needed to supplement water export has increased since 1970, when a second aqueduct was put into service, and local residents have expressed concerns that the increased pumping may have a detrimental effect on the environment and the native vegetation (indigenous alkaline scrub and meadow plant communities) in the valley. Native vegetation on the valley floor depends on soil moisture derived from precipitation and from the unconfined part of a multilayered ground-water system. This report, which describes the evaluation of the hydrologic system and selected water-management alternatives, is one in a series designed to identify the effects that ground-water pumping has on native vegetation and evaluate alternative strategies to mitigate any adverse effects caused by pumping. The hydrologic system of the Owens Valley can be conceptualized as having three parts: (1) an unsaturated zone affected by precipitation and evapotranspiration; (2) a surface-water system composed of the Owens River, the Los Angeles Aqueduct, tributary streams, canals, ditches, and ponds; and (3) a saturated ground-water system contained in the valley fill. Analysis of the hydrologic system was aided by development of a ground-water flow model of the ?aquifer system,? which is defined as the most active part of the ground-water system and which includes nearly all of the Owens Valley except for the area surrounding the Owens Lake. The model was calibrated and verified for water years 1963?88 and used to evaluate general concepts of the hydrologic system and the effects of past water-management practices. The model also was used to evaluate the likely effects of selected water-management alternatives designed to lessen the adverse effects of ground-water pumping on native vegetation. Results of the model simulations confirm that a major change in the hydrologic system was caused by the additional export of water from the valley beginning in 1970. Average ground-water pumpage increased by a factor of five, discharge from springs decreased almost to zero, reaches of the Owens River that previously had gained water from the aquifer system began losing water, and total evapotranspiration by native plants decreased by about 35 percent. Water-management practices as of 1988 were defined and evaluted using the model. Simulation results indicate that increased ground-water pumpage since 1985 for enhancement and mitigation projects within the Owens Valley has further stressed the aquifer system and resulted in declines of the water table and reduced evapotranspiration. Most of the water-table declines are beneath the western alluvial fans and in the immediate vicinity of production wells. The water-table altitude beneath the valley floor has remained relatively constant over time because of hydrologic buffers, such as evapotranspiration, springs, and permanent surface-water features. These buffers adjust the quantity of water exchanged with the aquifer system and effectively minimize variations in water-table altitude. The widespread presence of hydrologic buffers is the primary reason the water-table altitude beneath the valley floor has remained relatively constant since 1970 despite major changes in the type and location of ground-water discharge. Evaluation of selected water-management alternatives indicates that long-term variations in average runoff to the Owens Valley of as much as

Surface water-quality assessment of the lower Kansas River basin, Kansas and Nebraska: analysis of available water-quality data through 1986

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jordan, P.R.; Stamer, J.K.

1991-01-01

Beginning in 1986, the U.S. Congress appropriated funds for the U.S. Geological Survey to test and refine concepts for a National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. The long-term goals of the full-scale program are to: (1) provide a nationally consistent description of current water-quality conditions for a large part of the Nation's surface- and ground-water resources; (2) define long-term trends (or lack of trends) in water quality; and (3) identify, describe, and explain, insofar as possible, the major factors that affect current conditions and trends in water quality. This information, obtained on a continuing basis, will be made available to water managers, policy makers, and the public to provide an improved scientific basis for evaluating the effectiveness of water-quality-management programs and for predicting the likely effects of contemplated changes in land-and water-management practices. At present (1990), the assessment program is in a pilot phase in seven areas that represent diverse hydrologic environments and water-quality conditions.This report completes one of the first activities undertaken as part of the lower Kansas River basin pilot study, which was to compile, screen, and interpret available water-quality data for the study unit through 1986. The report includes information on the sources and types of water-quality data available, the utility of available water-quality data for assessment purposes, and a description of current water-quality conditions and trends and their relation to natural and human factors.

Competing effects of groundwater withdrawals and climate change on water availability in semi-arid India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sishodia, R. P.; Shukla, S.

2017-12-01

India, a global leader in groundwater use (250 km3/yr), is experiencing groundwater depletion. There has been a 130-fold increase in number of irrigation wells since 1960. Anticipated future increase in groundwater demand is likely to exacerbate the water availability in the semi-arid regions of India. Depending on the direction of change, future climate change may either worsen or enhance the water availability. This study uses an integrated hydrologic modeling approach (MIKE SHE MIKE 11) to compare and combine the effects of future (2040-2069) increased groundwater withdrawals and climate change on surface and groundwater flows and availability for an agricultural watershed in semi-arid south India. Modeling results showed that increased groundwater withdrawals in the future resulted in reduced surface flows (25%) and increased frequency and duration (90 days/yr) of well drying. In contrast, projected future increase in rainfall (7-43%) under the changed climate showed increased groundwater recharge (15-67%) and surface flows (9-155%). Modeling results suggest that the positive effects of climate change may enhance the water availability in this semi-arid region of India. However, in combination with increased withdrawals, climate change was shown to increase the well drying and reduce the water availability especially during dry years. A combination of management options such as flood to drip conversion, energy subsidy reductions and water storage can support increased groundwater irrigated area in the future while mitigating the well drying. A cost-benefit analysis showed that dispersed water storage and flood to drip conversion can be highly cost-effective in this semi-arid region. The study results suggest that the government and management policies need to be focused towards an integrated management of demand and supply to create a sustainable food-water-energy nexus in the region.

Assessment of managed aquifer recharge at Sand Hollow Reservoir, Washington County, Utah, updated to conditions through 2007

USGS Publications Warehouse

Heilweil, Victor M.; Ortiz, Gema; Susong, David D.

2009-01-01

Sand Hollow Reservoir in Washington County, Utah, was completed in March 2002 and is operated primarily as an aquifer storage and recovery project by the Washington County Water Conservancy District (WCWCD). Since its inception in 2002 through 2007, surface-water diversions of about 126,000 acre-feet to Sand Hollow Reservoir have resulted in a generally rising reservoir stage and surface area. Large volumes of runoff during spring 2005-06 allowed the WCWCD to fill the reservoir to a total storage capacity of more than 50,000 acre-feet, with a corresponding surface area of about 1,300 acres and reservoir stage of about 3,060 feet during 2006. During 2007, reservoir stage generally decreased to about 3,040 feet with a surface-water storage volume of about 30,000 acre-feet. Water temperature in the reservoir shows large seasonal variation and has ranged from about 3 to 30 deg C from 2003 through 2007. Except for anomalously high recharge rates during the first year when the vadose zone beneath the reservoir was becoming saturated, estimated ground-water recharge rates have ranged from 0.01 to 0.09 feet per day. Estimated recharge volumes have ranged from about 200 to 3,500 acre-feet per month from March 2002 through December 2007. Total ground-water recharge during the same period is estimated to have been about 69,000 acre-feet. Estimated evaporation rates have varied from 0.04 to 0.97 feet per month, resulting in evaporation losses of 20 to 1,200 acre-feet per month. Total evaporation from March 2002 through December 2007 is estimated to have been about 25,000 acre-feet. Results of water-quality sampling at monitoring wells indicate that by 2007, managed aquifer recharge had arrived at sites 37 and 36, located 60 and 160 feet from the reservoir, respectively. However, different peak arrival dates for specific conductance, chloride, chloride/bromide ratios, dissolved oxygen, and total dissolved-gas pressures at each monitoring well indicate the complicated nature of interpreting the arrival of managed aquifer recharge water and estimating ground-water travel times. Additional tracers of managed aquifer recharge currently are being considered for further investigation.

Surface water-quality activities of the U.S. Geological Survey in New England

USGS Publications Warehouse

Huntington, Thomas G.

2016-03-23

• Water quality monitoring networks • Effects of best management practices and low impact development on water quality • Load estimation techniques and total maximum daily load assistance • Mercury studies • Toxics and emerging contaminants • Eutrophication and nuisance algal blooms

Improving irrigation efficiency : the need for a relevant sequence of the management tools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fayolle, Y.

2009-04-01

With 70 % of worldwide withdrawals, irrigation efficiency is a key issue in the overall problem of water resources. Management of water dedicated to agriculture should be improved to secure food production and save water to deal with increasing domestic and industrial demands. This paper is based on the results of a collaborative research project conducted in India with a local NGO (the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, AKRSP(I)) during which GIS were tested. It is aimed at analyzing the efficiency of water usage in a water development programme conducted by the partner NGO in the semi-arid margins of Gujarat state. The analysis raises the question of the articulation of legal, institutional, economical, and technical tools to improve water efficiency. The NGO supervises the construction of surface water harvesting structures for irrigation purposes. Following a participatory approach, it creates and trains user groups to which the management of dams would then be devolved. User group membership depends on financial contribution to the building costs. A legal vacuum regarding surface water management combined with unequal investment capacities favor the concentration of water resources in the hands of a limited number of farmers. This causes low water use efficiency, irrigation choices being mostly oriented to high water consumptive crops and recipient farmers showing no interest in investing in water saving techniques. Our observations favor equality of access and paying more attention to the sequence in which management tools are articulated. On a national scale, as a prerequisite, water user rights as well as NGO's intervention legal framework should be clarified. On a project scale, before construction, information systems could help to identify all potential beneficiaries and optimize equality of access. It aims at reducing the volume of water per farmer to encourage them to irrigate low water consumptive crops and invest in water saving techniques. Depending on individual investment capacities, financial support could be proposed to favor investments in micro-irrigation devices. Finally, we suggest delaying the use of economic tools, giving up financial participation to the building costs (to limit their discriminating effect on user groups access), and limiting their applications to watering charges to cover maintenance expenses.

How Conjunctive Use of Surface and Ground Water could Increase Resiliency in US?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Josset, L.; Rising, J. A.; Russo, T. A.; Troy, T. J.; Lall, U.; Allaire, M.

2016-12-01

Optimized management practices are crucial to ensuring water availability in the future. However this presents a tremendous challenge due to the many functions of water: water is not only central for our survival as drinking water or for irrigation, but it is also valued for industrial and recreational use. Sources of water meeting these needs range from rain water harvesting to reservoirs, water reuse, groundwater abstraction and desalination. A global conjunctive management approach is thus necessary to develop sustainable practices as all sectors are strongly coupled. Policy-makers and researchers have identified pluralism in water sources as a key solution to reach water security. We propose a novel approach to sustainable water management that accounts for multiple sources of water in an integrated manner. We formulate this challenge as an optimization problem where the choice of water sources is driven both by the availability of the sources and their relative cost. The results determine the optimal operational decisions for each sources (e.g. reservoirs releases, surface water withdrawals, groundwater abstraction and/or desalination water use) at each time step for a given time horizon. The physical surface and ground water systems are simulated inside the optimization by setting state equations as constraints. Additional constraints may be added to the model to represent the influence of policy decisions. To account for uncertainty in weather conditions and its impact on availability, the optimization is performed for an ensemble of climate scenarios. While many sectors and their interactions are represented, the computational cost is limited as the problem remains linear and thus enables large-scale applications and the propagation of uncertainty. The formulation is implemented within the model "America's Water Analysis, Synthesis and Heuristic", an integrated model for the conterminous US discretized at the county-scale. This enables a systematic evaluation of stresses on water resources. We explore in particular geographic and temporal trends in function of user-types to develop a better understanding of the dynamics at play. We conclude with a comparison between the optimization results and current water use to identify potential solutions to increase resiliency.

Grenade Range Management Using Lime for Dual Role of Metals Immobilization and Explosives Transformation. Field Demonstration at Fort Jackson, SC

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-09-01

Explosives have been detected in HGR soils at levels from the low parts per billion (µg/kg) up to percent levels. RDX has been detected in leachate waters...soil are transport in surface water and subsurface transport in leachate . Simple, innovative, and cost effective technologies are being developed which...range via surface water and leachate . This technology demonstrated that application of lime is a low-cost treatment that can be incorporated into

Source or Sink: Investigating the role of storm water retention ponds in the urban landscape (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lev, S.; Casey, R.; Ownby, D.; Snodgrass, J.

2009-12-01

The impact of human activities on surface water, groundwater and soil is nowhere more apparent than in urban and suburban systems. Dramatic changes to watersheds in urbanizing areas have led to changes in hydrology and an associated increase in the flux of sediment and contaminants to surface and ground waters. In an effort to mediate these impacts, Best Management Practices (BMP) have been established in order to increase infiltration of runoff and trap sediment and particulates derived from impervious surfaces before they enter surface waters. Perhaps the most ubiquitous BMP are storm water retention ponds. While these structures are designed to reduce runoff and particulate loading to urban streams, their addition to the urban landscape has created a large number of new wetland habitats. In the Red Run watershed, just outside of Baltimore, Maryland, 186 discrete natural or man-made wetland areas have been identified. Of these 186 wetland areas, 165 were created to manage stormwater and most were specifically designed as stormwater management ponds (i.e., human-created basins or depressions that hold runoff for some period during the annual hydrological year). Despite their abundance in the landscape, very little is known about how these systems impact the flux of stormwater pollutants or affect the organisms using these ponds as habitat. Results from a series of related projects in the Red Run watershed are presented here in an effort to summarize the range of issues associated with stormwater management ponds. The Red Run watershed is situated inside the Urban-Rural Demarcation Line (URDL) around Baltimore City and has been identified as a smart growth corridor by Baltimore County. This region is one of two areas in Baltimore County where new development is focused. In a series of investigations of soils, surface and ground waters, and amphibian and earthworm use of 68 randomly selected stormwater retention ponds from the Red Run watershed, a range of hydrologic, ecologic, and geochemical conditions have been identified. Results from these investigations suggest that pollutant conditions, specifically trace metals and chloride, limit the use of these ponds by amphibians and effect the distribution of earthworms within ponds. The soils in ponds associated with high use roadways contain elevated levels of PAHs, Zn and Cu and the groundwater beneath these same ponds tends to have elevated chloride levels year round. Pond and associated flood plain soils in these systems have been altered and exhibit elevated Na+ or Ca2+ concentrations suggesting years of interaction with road salt contaminated discharge. These Na+ and Ca2+ form soils affect the retention of dissolved trace metals with Ca-enriched soils potentially increasing the dissolved metal concentrations of surface and pore waters and enabling the transport of roadway derived metals to surface waters and Na-enriched soils scavenging trace metals from incoming runoff. The increase in dissolved metals may also increase the toxicity to amphibians and other organisms inhabiting the storm water ponds and ultimately, streams fed by ground water recharge from ponds. Our results to date suggest both the intended and unintended function of storm water ponds in urban landscapes are complicated and deserving of more attention.

Patterns and drivers for wetland connections in the Prairie Pothole Region, United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Vanderhoof, Melanie; Christensen, Jay R.; Alexander, Laurie C.

2017-01-01

Ecosystem function in rivers, lakes and coastal waters depends on the functioning of upstream aquatic ecosystems, necessitating an improved understanding of watershed-scale interactions including variable surface-water flows between wetlands and streams. As surface water in the Prairie Pothole Region expands in wet years, surface-water connections occur between many depressional wetlands and streams. Minimal research has explored the spatial patterns and drivers for the abundance of these connections, despite their potential to inform resource management and regulatory programs including the U.S. Clean Water Act. In this study, wetlands were identified that did not intersect the stream network, but were shown with Landsat images (1990–2011) to become merged with the stream network as surface water expanded. Wetlands were found to spill into or consolidate with other wetlands within both small (2–10 wetlands) and large (>100 wetlands) wetland clusters, eventually intersecting a stream channel, most often via a riparian wetland. These surface-water connections occurred over a wide range of wetland distances from streams (averaging 90–1400 m in different ecoregions). Differences in the spatial abundance of wetlands that show a variable surface-water connection to a stream were best explained by smaller wetland-to-wetland distances, greater wetland abundance, and maximum surface-water extent. This analysis demonstrated that wetland arrangement and surface water expansion are important mechanisms for depressional wetlands to connect to streams and provides a first step to understanding the frequency and abundance of these surface-water connections across the Prairie Pothole Region.

Systems modeling to improve the hydro-ecological performance of diked wetlands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alminagorta, Omar; Rosenberg, David E.; Kettenring, Karin M.

2016-09-01

Water scarcity and invasive vegetation threaten arid-region wetlands and wetland managers seek ways to enhance wetland ecosystem services with limited water, labor, and financial resources. While prior systems modeling efforts have focused on water management to improve flow-based ecosystem and habitat objectives, here we consider water allocation and invasive vegetation management that jointly target the concurrent hydrologic and vegetation habitat needs of priority wetland bird species. We formulate a composite weighted usable area for wetlands (WU) objective function that represents the wetland surface area that provides suitable water level and vegetation cover conditions for priority bird species. Maximizing the WU is subject to constraints such as water balance, hydraulic infrastructure capacity, invasive vegetation growth and control, and a limited financial budget to control vegetation. We apply the model at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge on the Great Salt Lake, Utah, compare model-recommended management actions to past Refuge water and vegetation control activities, and find that managers can almost double the area of suitable habitat by more dynamically managing water levels and managing invasive vegetation in August at the beginning of the window for control operations. Scenario and sensitivity analyses show the importance to jointly consider hydrology and vegetation system components rather than only the hydrological component.

Application of FTLOADDS to Simulate Flow, Salinity, and Surface-Water Stage in the Southern Everglades, Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wang, John D.; Swain, Eric D.; Wolfert, Melinda A.; Langevin, Christian D.; James, Dawn E.; Telis, Pamela A.

2007-01-01

The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan requires numerical modeling to achieve a sufficient understanding of coastal freshwater flows, nutrient sources, and the evaluation of management alternatives to restore the ecosystem of southern Florida. Numerical models include a regional water-management model to represent restoration changes to the hydrology of southern Florida and a hydrodynamic model to represent the southern and western offshore waters. The coastal interface between these two systems, however, has complex surface-water/ground-water and freshwater/saltwater interactions and requires a specialized modeling effort. The Flow and Transport in a Linked Overland/Aquifer Density Dependent System (FTLOADDS) code was developed to represent connected surface- and ground-water systems with variable-density flow. The first use of FTLOADDS is the Southern Inland and Coastal Systems (SICS) application to the southeastern part of the Everglades/Florida Bay coastal region. The need to (1) expand the domain of the numerical modeling into most of Everglades National Park and the western coastal area, and (2) better represent the effect of water-delivery control structures, led to the application of the FTLOADDS code to the Tides and Inflows in the Mangroves of the Everglades (TIME) domain. This application allows the model to address a broader range of hydrologic issues and incorporate new code modifications. The surface-water hydrology is of primary interest to water managers, and is the main focus of this study. The coupling to ground water, however, was necessary to accurately represent leakage exchange between the surface water and ground water, which transfers substantial volumes of water and salt. Initial calibration and analysis of the TIME application produced simulated results that compare well statistically with field-measured values. A comparison of TIME simulation results to previous SICS results shows improved capabilities, particularly in the representation of coastal flows. This improvement most likely is due to a more stable numerical representation of the coastal creek outlets. Sensitivity analyses were performed by varying frictional resistance, leakage, barriers to flow, and topography. Changing frictional resistance values in inland areas was shown to improve water-level representation locally, but to have a negligible effect on area-wide values. These changes have only local effects and are not physically based (as are the unchanged values), and thus have limited validity. Sensitivity tests indicate that the overall accuracy of the simulation is diminished if leakage between surface water and ground water is not simulated. The inclusion of a major road as a complete barrier to surface-water flow influenced the local distribution and timing of flow; however, the changes in total flow and individual creekflows were negligible. The model land-surface altitude was lowered by 0.1 meter to determine the sensitivity to topographic variation. This topographic sensitivity test produced mixed results in matching field data. Overall, the representation of stage did not improve definitively. A final calibration utilized the results of the sensitivity analysis to refine the TIME application. To accomplish this calibration, the friction coefficient was reduced at the northern boundary inflow and increased in the southwestern corner of the model, the evapotranspiration function was varied, additional data were used for the ground-water head boundary along the southeast, and the frictional resistance of the primary coastal creek outlet was increased. The calibration improved the match between measured and simulated total flows to Florida Bay and coastal salinities. Agreement also was improved at most of the water-level sites throughout the model domain.

Interactions of water quality and integrated groundwater management: Examples from the United States and Europe: Chapter 14

USGS Publications Warehouse

Warner, Kelly L.; Barataud, Fabienne; Hunt, Randall J.; Benoit, Marc; Anglade, Juliette; Borchardt, Mark A.

2015-01-01

Groundwater is available in many parts of the world, but the quality of the water may limit its use. Contaminants can limit the use of groundwater through concerns associated with human health, aquatic health, economic costs, or even societal perception. Given this broad range of concerns, this chapter focuses on examples of how water quality issues influence integrated groundwater management. One example evaluates the importance of a naturally occurring contaminant Arsenic (As) for drinking water supply, one explores issues resulting from agricultural activities on the land surface and factors that influence related groundwater management, and the last examines unique issues that result from human-introduced viral pathogens for groundwater-derived drinking water vulnerability. The examples underscore how integrated groundwater management lies at the intersections of environmental characterization, engineering constraints, societal needs, and human perception of acceptable water quality. As such, water quality factors can be a key driver for societal decision making.

Ground-water, surface-water, and bottom-sediment contamination in the O-field area, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, and the possible effects of selected remedial actions on ground water

USGS Publications Warehouse

Vroblesky, Don A.; Lorah, Michelle M.; Oliveros, James P.

1995-01-01

Disposal of munitions and chemical-warfare substances has introduced inorganic and organic contaminants to the ground water, surface water, and bottom sediment at O-Field, in the Edgewood area of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. Contaminants include chloride, arsenic, transition metals, chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons, aromatic compounds, and organosulfur and organophosphorus compounds. The hydrologic effects of several remedial actions were estimated by use of a ground-water-flow model. The remedial actions examined were an impermeable covering, encapsulation, subsurface barriers, a ground-water drain, pumping of wells to manage water levels or to remove contaminated ground water for treatment, and no action.

Integration of Rs/gis for Surface Water Pollution Risk Modeling. Case Study: Al-Abrash Syrian Coastal Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yaghi, Y.; Salim, H.

2017-09-01

Recently the topic of the quality of surface water (rivers - lakes) and the sea is an important topics at different levels. It is known that there are two major groups of pollutants: Point Source Pollution (PSP) and non-point Source pollution (NPSP). Historically most of the surface water pollution protection programs dealing with the first set of pollutants which comes from sewage pipes and factories drainage. With the growing need for current and future water security must stand on the current reality of the coastal rivers basin in terms of freshness and cleanliness and condition of water pollution. This research aims to assign the NPS pollutants that reach Al Abrash River and preparation of databases and producing of risk Pollution map for NPS pollutants in order to put the basin management plan to ensure the reduction of pollutants that reach the river. This research resulted of establishing of Databases of NPSP (Like pesticides and fertilizers) and producing of thematic maps for pollution severity and pollution risk based on the pollution models designed in GIS environment and utilizing from remote sensing data. Preliminary recommendations for managing these pollutants were put.

Towards the review of the European Union Water Framework Directive: Recommendations for more efficient assessment and management of chemical contamination in European surface water resources

EPA Science Inventory

Water is a vital resource for natural ecosystems and human life, and assuring a high quality of water and protectingit from chemical contamination is a major societal goal in the European Union. The Water Framework Directive(WFD) and its daughter directives are the major body of ...

Sustainable microbial water quality monitoring programme design using phage-lysis and multivariate techniques.

PubMed

Nnane, Daniel Ekane

2011-11-15

Contamination of surface waters is a pervasive threat to human health, hence, the need to better understand the sources and spatio-temporal variations of contaminants within river catchments. River catchment managers are required to sustainably monitor and manage the quality of surface waters. Catchment managers therefore need cost-effective low-cost long-term sustainable water quality monitoring and management designs to proactively protect public health and aquatic ecosystems. Multivariate and phage-lysis techniques were used to investigate spatio-temporal variations of water quality, main polluting chemophysical and microbial parameters, faecal micro-organisms sources, and to establish 'sentry' sampling sites in the Ouse River catchment, southeast England, UK. 350 river water samples were analysed for fourteen chemophysical and microbial water quality parameters in conjunction with the novel human-specific phages of Bacteroides GB-124 (Bacteroides GB-124). Annual, autumn, spring, summer, and winter principal components (PCs) explained approximately 54%, 75%, 62%, 48%, and 60%, respectively, of the total variance present in the datasets. Significant loadings of Escherichia coli, intestinal enterococci, turbidity, and human-specific Bacteroides GB-124 were observed in all datasets. Cluster analysis successfully grouped sampling sites into five clusters. Importantly, multivariate and phage-lysis techniques were useful in determining the sources and spatial extent of water contamination in the catchment. Though human faecal contamination was significant during dry periods, the main source of contamination was non-human. Bacteroides GB-124 could potentially be used for catchment routine microbial water quality monitoring. For a cost-effective low-cost long-term sustainable water quality monitoring design, E. coli or intestinal enterococci, turbidity, and Bacteroides GB-124 should be monitored all-year round in this river catchment. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

smwrBase—An R package for managing hydrologic data, version 1.1.1

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lorenz, David L.

2015-12-09

This report describes an R package called smwrBase, which consists of a collection of functions to import, transform, manipulate, and manage hydrologic data within the R statistical environment. Functions in the package allow users to import surface-water and groundwater data from the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System database and other sources. Additional functions are provided to transform, manipulate, and manage hydrologic data in ways necessary for analyzing the data.

Multi-resolution integrated modeling for basin-scale water resources management and policy analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gupta, Hoshin V.; Brookshire, David S.; Springer, E. P.

Approximately one-third of the land surface of the Earth is considered to be arid or semi-arid with an annual average of less than 12-14 inches of rainfall. The availability of water in such regions is of course, particularly sensitive to climate variability while the demand for water is experiencing explosive population growth. The competition for available water is exerting considerable pressure on the water resources management. Policy and decision makers in the southwestern U.S. increasingly have to cope with over-stressed rivers and aquifers as population and water demands grow. Other factors such as endangered species and Native American water rightsmore » further complicate the management problems. Further, as groundwater tables are drawn down due to pumping in excess of natural recharge, considerable (potentially irreversible) environmental impacts begin to be felt as, for example, rivers run dry for significant portions of the year, riparian habitats disappear (with consequent effects on the bio-diversity of the region), aquifers compact resulting in large scale subsidence, and water quality begins to suffer. The current drought (1999-2002) in the southwestern U.S. is raising new concerns about how to sustain the combination of agricultural, urban and in-stream uses of water that underlie the socio-economic and ecological structure in the region. The water stressed nature of arid and semi-arid environments means that competing water uses of various kinds vie for access to a highly limited resource. If basin-scale water sustainability is to be achieved, managers must somehow achieve a balance between supply and demand throughout the basin, not just for the surface water or stream. The need to move water around a basin such as the Rio Grande or Colorado River to achieve this balance has created the stimulus for water transfers and water markets, and for accurate hydrologic information to sustain such institutions [Matthews et al. 2002; Brookshire et al 2003; Krause, Chermak Brookshire, 2003].« less

Pharmaceutical Occurrence in Groundwater and Surface Waters in Forests Land-Applied with Municipal Wastewater

PubMed Central

McEachran, Andrew D.; Shea, Damian; Bodnar, Wanda; Nichols, Elizabeth Guthrie

2016-01-01

The occurrence and fate of pharmaceutical and personal care products in the environment are of increasing public importance because of their ubiquitous nature and documented effects on wildlife, ecosystems, and potentially humans. One potential, yet undefined, source of entry of pharmaceuticals into the environment is via the land application of municipal wastewater onto permitted lands. The objective of the present study is to determine the extent to which pharmaceuticals are mitigated by or exported from managed tree plantations irrigated with municipal wastewater. A specific focus of the present study is the presence of pharmaceutical compounds in groundwater and surface water discharge. The study site is a municipality that land-applies secondary treated wastewater onto 930 hectares of a 2000-hectare managed hardwood and pine plantation. A suite of 33 pharmaceuticals and steroid hormones was targeted in the analysis, which consisted of monthly grab sampling of groundwater, surface water, and wastewater, followed by concentration and cleanup via solid phase extraction and separation, detection, and quantification via liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. More than one-half of all compounds detected in irrigated wastewater were not present in groundwater and subsequent surface water. However, antibiotics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, caffeine, and other prescription and over-the-counter drugs remained in groundwater and were transported into surface water at concentrations up to 10 ng/L. These results provide important documentation for pharmaceutical fate and transport in forest systems irrigated with municipal wastewater, a previously undocumented source of environmental entry. PMID:26297815

Flood Inundation Mapping and Management using RISAT-1 derived Flood Inundation Areas, Cartosat-1 DEM and a River Flow Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuldeep, K.; Garg, P. K.; Garg, R. D.

2017-12-01

The frequent occurrence of repeated flood events in many regions of the world causing damage to human life and property has augmented the need for effective flood risk management. Microwave satellite data is becoming an indispensable asset for monitoring of many environmental and climatic applications as numerous space-borne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors are offering the data with high spatial resolutions and multi-polarization capabilities. The implementation and execution of Flood mapping, monitoring and management applications has become easier with the availability of SAR data which has obvious advantages over optical data due to its all weather, day and night capabilities. In this study, the exploitation of the SAR dataset for hydraulic modelling and disaster management has been highlighted using feature extraction techniques for water area identification and water level extraction within the floodplain. The availability of high precision digital elevation model generated from the Cartosat-1 stereo pairs has enhanced the capability of retrieving the water depth maps by incorporating the SAR derived flood extent maps. This paper illustrates the flood event on June 2013 in Yamuna River, Haryana, India. The water surface profile computed by combining the topographic data with the RISAT-1 data accurately reflects the true water line. Water levels that were computed by carrying out the modelling using hydraulic model in HECRAS also suggest that the water surface profiles provided by the combined use of topographic data and SAR accurately reflect the true water line. The proposed approach has also been found better in extraction of inundation within vegetated areas.

Upgrading and extended testing of the MSC integrated water and waste management hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bambenek, R. A.; Nuccio, P. P.; Hurley, T. L.; Jasionowski, W. J.

1972-01-01

The results are presented of upgrading and testing an integrated water and waste management system, which uses the compression distillation, reverse osmosis, adsorption filtration and ion-exchange processes to recover potable water from urine, flush water and used wash water. Also included is the development of techniques for extending the useful biological life of biological filters, activated carbon filters and ion-exchange resins to at least 30 days, and presterilizing ion-exchange resins so that sterile water can be recovered from waste water. A wide variety of reverse osmosos materials, surfactants and germicides were experimentally evaluated to determine the best combination for a wash water subsystem. Full-scale module tests with real wash water demonstrated that surface fouling is a major problem.

[Countermeasures for strict water quality management of drinking water sources: some thoughts and suggestions on implementing strict water resources management].

PubMed

Fu, Guo-Wei

2013-08-01

Suggestions on Carrying Out Strict Management Regulations of Water Resources were promulgated by the State Council in January, 2012. This is an important issue which has drawn public attention. I strongly support the principle and spirit of the regulations, as well as the request that governments above the county level bear the overall management responsibility. However, as to the technical route of and countermeasures for achieving strict management, several problems exist in reality. Relevant opinions and suggestions are given in this paper (the paper focuses exclusively on drinking water sources which are most in need of strict protection and management). Main opinions are as follows. (1) The sources of drinking water meeting the Class II standard in Surface Water Environment Quality Standards (GB 3838-2002) may not necessarily be unpolluted; (2) A necessary condition for protecting drinking water sources is that the effluents of enterprises' workshops discharged into the conservation zone should meet the regulation on the permitted maximum concentration of priority-I pollutants defined in the Integrated Wastewater Discharge Standard (GB 8978-1996); (3) There is a strong doubt about whether Class II standard in GB 3838-2002 for priority I pollutants reflects environmental background values in water.

The role of trees in urban stormwater management

EPA Science Inventory

Urban impervious surfaces convert precipitation to stormwater runoff, which causes water quality and quantity problems. While traditional stormwater management has relied on gray infrastructure such as piped conveyances to collect and convey stormwater to wastewater treatment fac...

Link Climate Effects to Surface Water Quality and Drinking Water Plant Adaptation - A Update on Hydroclimatic Province and WTP-ccam Model

EPA Science Inventory

Key points in this presentation are: (1) How and why hydroclimatic province can help precipitation projection for water program engineering and management, (2) Implications of initial research results and planned further monitoring / research activities, (3) Five adaptation t...

ISSUES IN MANAGING THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH PERCHLORATE IN DRINKING WATER

EPA Science Inventory

Perchlorate (ClO₄^-) contamination of ground and surface waters has placed drinking water supplies at risk in communities throughout the US, especially in the West. Several major assessment studies of that risk in terms of health and environmental impact are ...

Use of thermal inertia determined by HCMM to predict nocturnal cold prone areas in Florida. [The Everglades agricultural area, Lake Okeechobee, and the Suwanee River basin

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, L. H., Jr. (Principal Investigator); Chen, E.; Martsolf, J. D.; Jones, P. H.

1981-01-01

Transparencies, prints, and computer compatible tapes of temperature differential and thermal inertia for the winter of 1978 to 1979 were obtained. Thermal inertial differences in the South Florida depicted include: drained organic soils of the Everglades agricultural area, undrained organic soils of the managed water conservation areas of the South Florida water management district, the urbanized area around Miami, Lake Okeechobee, and the mineral soil west of the Everglades agricultural area. The range of wetlands and uplands conditions within the Suwanee River basin was also identified. It is shown that the combination of wetlands uplands surface features of Florida yield a wide range of surface temperatures related to wetness of the surface features.

Flood-inundation map and water-surface profiles for floods of selected recurrence intervals, Consumnes River and Deer Creek, Sacramento County, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Guay, Joel R.; Harmon, Jerry G.; McPherson, Kelly R.

1998-01-01

The damage caused by the January 1997 floods along the Cosumnes River and Deer Creek generated new interest in planning and managing land use in the study area. The 1997 floodflow peak, the highest on record and considered to be a 150-year flood, caused levee failures at 24 locations. In order to provide a technical basis for floodplain management practices, the U.S. Goelogical Survey, in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, completed a flood-inundation map of the Cosumnes River and Deer Creek drainage from Dillard Road bridge to State Highway 99. Flood frequency was estimated from streamflow records for the Cosumnes River at Michigan Bar and Deer Creek near Sloughhouse. Cross sections along a study reach, where the two rivers generally flow parallel to one another, were used with a step-backwater model (WSPRO) to estimate the water-surface profile for floods of selected recurrence intervals. A flood-inundation map was developed to show flood boundaries for the 100-year flood. Water-surface profiles were developed for the 5-, 10-, 50-, 100-, and 500-year floods.

Spatial variability analysis of combining the water quality and groundwater flow model to plan groundwater and surface water management in the Pingtung plain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Ching-Fang; Chen, Jui-Sheng; Jang, Cheng-Shin

2014-05-01

As a result of rapid economic growth in the Pingtung Plain, the use of groundwater resources has changed dramatically. The groundwater is quite rich in the Pingtung plain and the most important water sources. During the several decades, a substantial amount of groundwater has been pumped for the drinking, irrigation and aquaculture water supplies. However, because the sustainable use concept of groundwater resources is lack, excessive pumping of groundwater causes the occurrence of serious land subsidence and sea water intrusion. Thus, the management and conservation of groundwater resources in the Pingtung plain are considerably critical. This study aims to assess the conjunct use effect of groundwater and surface water in the Pingtung plain on recharge by reducing the amount of groundwater extraction. The groundwater quality variability and groundwater flow models are combined to spatially analyze potential zones of groundwater used for multi-purpose in the Pingtung Plain. First, multivariate indicator kriging (MVIK) is used to analyze spatial variability of groundwater quality based on drinking, aquaculture and irrigation water quality standards, and probabilistically delineate suitable zones in the study area. Then, the groundwater flow model, Processing MODFLOW (PMWIN), is adopted to simulate groundwater flow. The groundwater flow model must be conducted by the calibration and verification processes, and the regional groundwater recovery is discussed when specified water rights are replaced by surface water in the Pingtung plain. Finally, the most suitable zones of reducing groundwater use are determined for multi-purpose according to combining groundwater quality and quantity. The study results can establish a sound and low-impact management plan of groundwater resources utilization for the multi-purpose groundwater use, and prevent decreasing ground water tables, and the occurrence of land subsidence and sea water intrusion in the Pingtung plain.

Effects of spatially distributed sectoral water management on the redistribution of water resources in an integrated water model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voisin, Nathalie; Hejazi, Mohamad I.; Leung, L. Ruby; Liu, Lu; Huang, Maoyi; Li, Hong-Yi; Tesfa, Teklu

2017-05-01

Realistic representations of sectoral water withdrawals and consumptive demands and their allocation to surface and groundwater sources are important for improving modeling of the integrated water cycle. To inform future model development, we enhance the representation of water management in a regional Earth system (ES) model with a spatially distributed allocation of sectoral water demands simulated by a regional integrated assessment (IA) model to surface and groundwater systems. The integrated modeling framework (IA-ES) is evaluated by analyzing the simulated regulated flow and sectoral supply deficit in major hydrologic regions of the conterminous U.S, which differ from ES studies looking at water storage variations. Decreases in historical supply deficit are used as metrics to evaluate IA-ES model improvement in representating the complex sectoral human activities for assessing future adaptation and mitigation strategies. We also assess the spatial changes in both regulated flow and unmet demands, for irrigation and nonirrigation sectors, resulting from the individual and combined additions of groundwater and return flow modules. Results show that groundwater use has a pronounced regional and sectoral effect by reducing water supply deficit. The effects of sectoral return flow exhibit a clear east-west contrast in the hydrologic patterns, so the return flow component combined with the IA sectoral demands is a major driver for spatial redistribution of water resources and water deficits in the US. Our analysis highlights the need for spatially distributed sectoral representation of water management to capture the regional differences in interbasin redistribution of water resources and deficits.

Experimental dosing of wetlands with coagulants removes mercury from surface water and decreases mercury bioaccumulation in fish

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ackerman, Joshua T.; Kraus, Tamara E.C.; Fleck, Jacob A.; Krabbenhoft, David P.; Horwarth, William R.; Bachand, Sandra M.; Herzog, Mark; Hartman, Christopher; Bachand, Philip A.M.

2015-01-01

Mercury pollution is widespread globally, and strategies for managing mercury contamination in aquatic environments are necessary. We tested whether coagulation with metal-based salts could remove mercury from wetland surface waters and decrease mercury bioaccumulation in fish. In a complete randomized block design, we constructed nine experimental wetlands in California’s Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, stocked them with mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis), and then continuously applied agricultural drainage water that was either untreated (control), or treated with polyaluminum chloride or ferric sulfate coagulants. Total mercury and methylmercury concentrations in surface waters were decreased by 62% and 63% in polyaluminum chloride treated wetlands and 50% and 76% in ferric sulfate treated wetlands compared to control wetlands. Specifically, following coagulation, mercury was transferred from the filtered fraction of water into the particulate fraction of water which then settled within the wetland. Mosquitofish mercury concentrations were decreased by 35% in ferric sulfate treated wetlands compared to control wetlands. There was no reduction in mosquitofish mercury concentrations within the polyaluminum chloride treated wetlands, which may have been caused by production of bioavailable methylmercury within those wetlands. Coagulation may be an effective management strategy for reducing mercury contamination within wetlands, but further studies should explore potential effects on wetland ecosystems.

Northern Great Basin Seasonal Lakes: Vulnerability to Climate Change.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Russell, M.; Eitel, J.

2017-12-01

Seasonal alkaline lakes in southeast Oregon, northeast California, and northwest Nevada serve as important habitat for migrating birds utilizing the Pacific Flyway, as well as local plant and animal communities. Despite their ecological importance, and anecdotal suggestions that these lakes are becoming less reliable, little is known about the vulnerability of these lakes to climate change. Our research seeks to understand the vulnerability of Northern Great Basin seasonal lakes to climate change. For this, we will be using historical information from the European Space Agency's Global Surface Water Explorer and the University of Idaho's gridMET climate product, to build a model that allows estimating surface water extent and timing based on climate variables. We will then utilize downscaled future climate projections to model surface water extent and timing in the coming decades. In addition, an unmanned aerial system (UAS) will be utilized at a subset of dried basins to obtain precise 3D bathymetry and calculate water volume hypsographs, a critical factor in understanding the likelihood of water persistence and biogeochemical habitat suitability. These results will be incorporated into decision support tools that land managers can utilize in water conservation, wildlife management, and climate mitigation actions. Future research may pair these forecasts with animal movement data to examine fragmentation of migratory corridors and species-specific impacts.

Experimental dosing of wetlands with coagulants removes mercury from surface water and decreases mercury bioaccumulation in fish.

PubMed

Ackerman, Joshua T; Kraus, Tamara E C; Fleck, Jacob A; Krabbenhoft, David P; Horwath, William R; Bachand, Sandra M; Herzog, Mark P; Hartman, C Alex; Bachand, Philip A M

2015-05-19

Mercury pollution is widespread globally, and strategies for managing mercury contamination in aquatic environments are necessary. We tested whether coagulation with metal-based salts could remove mercury from wetland surface waters and decrease mercury bioaccumulation in fish. In a complete randomized block design, we constructed nine experimental wetlands in California's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, stocked them with mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis), and then continuously applied agricultural drainage water that was either untreated (control), or treated with polyaluminum chloride or ferric sulfate coagulants. Total mercury and methylmercury concentrations in surface waters were decreased by 62% and 63% in polyaluminum chloride treated wetlands and 50% and 76% in ferric sulfate treated wetlands compared to control wetlands. Specifically, following coagulation, mercury was transferred from the filtered fraction of water into the particulate fraction of water which then settled within the wetland. Mosquitofish mercury concentrations were decreased by 35% in ferric sulfate treated wetlands compared to control wetlands. There was no reduction in mosquitofish mercury concentrations within the polyaluminum chloride treated wetlands, which may have been caused by production of bioavailable methylmercury within those wetlands. Coagulation may be an effective management strategy for reducing mercury contamination within wetlands, but further studies should explore potential effects on wetland ecosystems.

Effects of agricultural land-management practices on water quality in northeastern Guilford County, North Carolina, 1985-90

USGS Publications Warehouse

Harned, Douglas A.

1995-01-01

The effects of selected agricultural land-management practices on water quality were assessed in a comparative study of four small basins in the Piedmont province of North Carolina. Agricultural practices, such as tillage and applications of fertilizer and pesticides, are major sources of sediment, nutrients, and pesticides in surface water, and of nutrients and pesticides in ground water. The four study basins included two adjacent row-crop fields, a mixed land-use basin, and a forested basin. One of the row-crop fields (7.4 acres) was farmed by using conservation land-management (CLM) practices, which included strip cropping, contour plowing, field borders, and grassed waterways. The other row-crop field (4.8 acres) was farmed by using standard land-management (SLM) practices, which included continuous cropping, straight-row plowing without regard to land topography, and poorly maintained waterways. The mixed land-use basin (665 acres) was monitored to compare water quality in surface water as SLM practices were converted to CLM practices during the project. The forested basin (44 acres) provided background surface-water hydrologic and chemical-quality conditions. Surface-water flow was reduced by 18 percent by CLM practices compared to surface-water flow from the SLM practices basin. The thickness of the unsaturated zone in the row-crop basins ranged from a few feet to 25 feet. Areas with thick unsaturated zones have a greater capacity to intercept and store nutrients and pesticides than do areas with thinner zones. Sediment concentrations and yields for the SLM practices basin were considerably higher than those for the other basins. The median sediment concentration in surface water for the SLM basin was 3.4 times that of the CLM basin, 8.2 times that of the mixed land-use basin, and 38.4 times that of the forested basin. The total sediment yield for the SLM basin was 2.3 times that observed for the CLM basin, 14.1 times that observed for the mixed land-use basin, and 19.5 times the yield observed for the forested basin. Nutrient concentrations in surface water from the row-crop and mixed land-use basins were higher than those measured in the forested basin and in precipitation collected near the row-crop basins. The SLM basin generally had the highest concentrations of total nitrogen, nitrite plus nitrate, total phosphorus (equivalent to the mixed land-use basin), and potassium. Nutrient concentrations in soil water and ground water were less than concentrations in surface water for the row-crop basins. Nutrient concentrations generally were at least slightly below the root zone (3-foot depth) and in ground water. Differences in nutrient yields among basins had patterns similar to those observed for nutrient concentrations. The total nitrogen yield for the SLM basin was 1.2 times the yield for the CLM basin, 1.9 times the yield for the mixed land-use basin, and 4.2 times the yield for the forested basin. The total phosphorus yield for the SLM basin was 1.7 times the yield for the CLM basin, 3.3 times the yield for the mixed land-use basin, and 7.8 times the yield for the forested basin. No significant differences in pesticide concentrations in surface water were identified between those measured in the SLM basin and those measured in the CLM basin. Significantly higher pesticide concentrations were observed at the row-crop basins compared with those observed at the mixed land-use basin probably because sampling sites for the row-crop basins were closer to the pesticide sources. No pesticides were detected in the forested basin. Comparisons of pesticide concentrations in soil from the two row-crop basins indicated some differences. Concentrations of the soil pesticides isopropalin and flumetralin were higher in the SLM basin than in the CLM basin. The surface-water quality of the mixed land-use basin generally was less affected by agricultural nonpoint sources than that of the smaller row-crop b

Hydogeomorphic Processes in Mountainous Terrain: Effects of Land Management and Implications for Sustainability and Hazards

EPA Science Inventory

The evolving science of hydrogeomorphology encompasses the interaction of water with landforms in time and space. This includes the processes of surface and mass erosion as well as the effects of land management. These hydrogeomorphic processes and management effects are examined...

Assessing the impact of managed aquifer recharge on seasonal low flows in a semi-arid alluvial river

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ronayne, M. J.; Roudebush, J. A.; Stednick, J. D.

2016-12-01

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is one strategy that can be used to augment seasonal low flows in alluvial rivers. Successful implementation requires an understanding of spatio-temporal groundwater-surface water exchange. In this study we conducted numerical groundwater modeling to analyze the performance of an existing MAR system in the South Platte River Valley in northeastern Colorado (USA). The engineered system involves a spatial reallocation of water during the winter months; alluvial groundwater is extracted near the river and pumped to upgradient recharge ponds, with the intent of producing a delayed hydraulic response that increases the riparian zone water table (and therefore streamflow) during summer months. Higher flows during the summer are required to improve riverine habitat for threatened species in the Platte River. Modeling scenarios were constrained by surface (streamflow gaging) and subsurface (well data) measurements throughout the study area. We compare two scenarios to analyze the impact of MAR: a natural base case scenario and an active management scenario that includes groundwater pumping and managed recharge. Steady-periodic solutions are used to evaluate the long-term stabilized behavior of the stream-aquifer system with and without pumping/recharge. Streamflow routing is included in the model, which permits quantification of the timing and location of streamflow accretion (increased streamflow associated with MAR). An analysis framework utilizing capture concepts is developed to interpret seasonal changes in head-dependent flows to/from the aquifer, including groundwater-surface water exchange that impacts streamflow. Results demonstrate that accretion occurs during the target low-flow period but is not limited to those months, highlighting an inefficiency that is a function of the aquifer geometry and hydraulic properties. The results of this study offer guidance for other flow augmentation projects that rely on water storage in shallow alluvial aquifers.

Threshold and resilience management of coupled urbanization and water environmental system in the rapidly changing coastal region.

PubMed

Li, Yangfan; Li, Yi; Wu, Wei

2016-01-01

The concept of thresholds shows important implications for environmental and resource management. Here we derived potential landscape thresholds which indicated abrupt changes in water quality or the dividing points between exceeding and failing to meet national surface water quality standards for a rapidly urbanizing city on the Eastern Coast in China. The analysis of landscape thresholds was based on regression models linking each of the seven water quality variables to each of the six landscape metrics for this coupled land-water system. We found substantial and accelerating urban sprawl at the suburban areas between 2000 and 2008, and detected significant nonlinear relations between water quality and landscape pattern. This research demonstrated that a simple modeling technique could provide insights on environmental thresholds to support more-informed decision making in land use, water environmental and resilience management. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The National Danish Water Resources Model - using an integrated groundwater - surface water model for decision support and WFD implementation in a changing climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lajer Hojberg, Anker; Hinsby, Klaus; Jørgen Henriksen, Hans; Troldborg, Lars

2014-05-01

Integrated and sustainable water resources management and development of river basin management plans according to the Water Framework Directive is getting increasingly complex especially when taking projected climate change into account. Furthermore, uncertainty in future developments and incomplete knowledge of the physical system introduces a high degree of uncertainty in the decision making process. Knowledge based decision making is therefore vital for formulation of robust management plans and to allow assessment of the inherent uncertainties. The Department of Hydrology at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland started in 1996 to develop a mechanistically, transient and spatially distributed groundwater-surface water model - the DK-model - for the assessment of groundwater quantitative status accounting for interactions with surface water and anthropogenic changes, such as extraction strategies and land use, as well as climate change. The model has been subject to continuous update building on hydrogeological knowledge established by the regional water authorities and other national research institutes. With the on-going improvement of the DK-model it is now increasingly applied both by research projects and for decision support e.g. in implementation of the Water Framework Directive or to support other decisions related to protection of water resources (quantitative and chemical status), ecosystems and the built environment. At present, the DK-model constitutes the backbone of a strategic modelling project funded by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, with the aim of developing a modelling complex that will provide the foundation of the implementation of the Water Framework Directive. Since 2003 the DK-model has been used in more than 25 scientific papers and even more public reports. In the poster and the related review paper we describe the most important applications in both science and policy, where the DK-model has been used either directly or as an important starting point for assessing the impact of climate change on the quantity and quality of groundwater and surface water e.g. in relation to changes in water tables, runoff, nutrient loadings, flooding risks (coastal and hinterland), irrigation demands, sea level rise and seawater intrusion or to assess where geology or climate change create the largest uncertainty for evaluation of the development of water resources quantity and quality.

Staggering successes amid controversy in California water management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lund, J. R.

2012-12-01

Water in California has always been important and controversial, and it probably always will be. California has a large, growing economy and population in a semi-arid climate. But California's aridity, hydrologic variability, and water controversies have not precluded considerable economic successes. The successes of California's water system have stemmed from the decentralization of water management with historically punctuated periods of more centralized strategic decision-making. Decentralized management has allowed California's water users to efficiently explore incremental solutions to water problems, ranging from early local development of water systems (such as Hetch Hetchy, Owens Valley, and numerous local irrigation projects) to more contemporary efforts at water conservation, water markets, wastewater reuse, and conjunctive use of surface and groundwater. In the cacophony of local and stakeholder interests, strategic decisions have been more difficult, and consequently occur less frequently. California state water projects and Sacramento Valley flood control are examples where decades of effort, crises, floods and droughts were needed to mobilize local interests to agree to major strategic decisions. Currently, the state is faced with making strategic environmental and water management decisions regarding its deteriorating Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Not surprisingly, human uncertainties and physical and fiscal non-stationarities dominate this process.

Evaluation of alternative groundwater-management strategies for the Bureau of Reclamation Klamath Project, Oregon and California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wagner, Brian J.; Gannett, Marshall W.

2014-01-01

The water resources of the upper Klamath Basin, in southern Oregon and northern California, are managed to achieve various complex and interconnected purposes. Since 2001, irrigators in the Bureau of Reclamation Klamath Irrigation Project (Project) have been required to limit surface-water diversions to protect habitat for endangered freshwater and anadromous fishes. The reductions in irrigation diversions have led to an increased demand for groundwater by Project irrigators, particularly in drought years. The potential effects of sustained pumping on groundwater and surface-water resources have caused concern among Federal and state agencies, Indian tribes, wildlife groups, and groundwater users. To aid in the development of a viable groundwater-management strategy for the Project, the U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with the Klamath Water and Power Agency and the Oregon Water Resources Department, developed a groundwater-management model that links groundwater simulation with techniques of constrained optimization. The overall goal of the groundwater-management model is to determine the patterns of groundwater pumping that, to the extent possible, meet the supplemental groundwater demands of the Project. To ensure that groundwater development does not adversely affect groundwater and surface-water resources, the groundwater-management model includes constraints to (1) limit the effects of groundwater withdrawal on groundwater discharge to streams and lakes that support critical habitat for fish listed under the Endangered Species Act, (2) ensure that drawdowns do not exceed limits allowed by Oregon water law, and (3) ensure that groundwater withdrawal does not adversely affect agricultural drain flows that supply a substantial portion of water for irrigators and wildlife refuges in downslope areas of the Project. Groundwater-management alternatives were tested and designed within the framework of the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (currently [2013] awaiting authorizing Federal legislation), which would establish a permanent limit on the amount of surface water that can be diverted annually to the Project. Groundwater-management scenarios were evaluated for the period 1970•2004; supplemental groundwater demand by the Project was estimated as the part of irrigation demand that would not have been satisfied by the surface-water diversion allowed under the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement. Over the 35-year management period, 22 years have supplemental groundwater demand, which ranges from a few thousand acre-feet (acre-ft) to about 100,000 acre-ft in the driest years. The results of the groundwater-management model indicate that supplemental groundwater pumping by the Project can be managed to avoid adverse effects to groundwater discharge that supports critical aquatic habitat. The existing configuration of wells in the Project would be able to meet groundwater-pumping goals in 14 of the 22 years with supplemental groundwater demand; however, substantial irrigation shortages can be expected during drought periods when the demand for supplemental groundwater is highest. The maximum irrigation-season withdrawal calculated by the groundwater-management model is about 60,000 acre-ft, the average withdrawal in drought years is about 54,000 acre-ft, and the amount of unmet groundwater demand reaches a maximum of about 45,000 acre-ft. A comparison of optimized groundwater withdrawals by geographic region shows that the highest annual withdrawals are associated with wells in the Tule Lake and Klamath Valley regions of the Project. The patterns of groundwater withdrawal also show that a substantial amount of the available pumping capacity is unused due to the restrictions imposed by drawdown constraints. Subsequent model applications were used to evaluate the sensitivity of optimization results to various factors. A sensitivity analysis quantified the changes in optimized groundwater withdrawals that result from changes in drawdown-constraint limits. The analysis showed the potential for substantial increases in withdrawals of groundwater with less restrictive drawdown limits at drawdown-control sites in the California part of the model. Systematic variation of the drains-constraint limit yielded a trade-off curve between optimized groundwater withdrawals and the allowable reduction in groundwater discharge to the Project drain system. Additional model applications were used to assess the value of increasing the pumping capacity of the network of wells serving the Project, and the relation between reduced off-Project groundwater pumping and increased pumping by Project irrigators.

Resource protection and resource management of drinking water-reservoirs in Thuringia--a prerequisite for high drinking-water quality.

PubMed

Willmitzer, H

2000-01-01

In face of widespread pollution of surface waters, strategies must be developed for the use of surface waters which protect the high quality standards of drinking water, starting with the catchment area via the reservoir to the consumer. As a rule, priority is given to the avoidance of contaminants directly at their point of origin. Water protection is always cheaper than expensive water-body restoration and water treatment. Complementary to the generally practised technical methods of raw water treatment with all their associated problems of energy input requirements, costs, and waste products, there is an increasing number of environmentally sound treatment technologies which use ecological principles as a basis to support the self-cleaning properties of flowing and dammed waters.

Estimated 2008 groundwater potentiometric surface and predevelopment to 2008 water-level change in the Santa Fe Group aquifer system in the Albuquerque area, central New Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Falk, Sarah E.; Bexfield, Laura M.; Anderholm, Scott K.

2011-01-01

The water-supply requirements of the Albuquerque metropolitan area of central New Mexico have historically been met almost exclusively by groundwater withdrawal from the Santa Fe Group aquifer system. Previous studies have indicated that the large quantity of groundwater withdrawal relative to recharge has resulted in water-level declines in the aquifer system throughout the metropolitan area. Analysis of the magnitude and pattern of water-level change can help improve understanding of how the groundwater system responds to withdrawals and variations in the management of the water supply and can support water-management agencies' efforts to minimize future water-level declines and improve sustainability. This report, prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, presents the estimated groundwater potentiometric surface during winter (from December to March) of the 2008 water year and the estimated changes in water levels between predevelopment and water year 2008 for the production zone of the Santa Fe Group aquifer system in the Albuquerque and surrounding metropolitan and military areas. Hydrographs from selected wells are included to provide details of historical water-level changes. In general, water-level measurements used for this report were measured in small-diameter observation wells screened over short intervals and were considered to best represent the potentiometric head in the production zone-the interval of the aquifer, about 300 feet below land surface to 1,100 feet or more below land surface, in which production wells generally are screened. Water-level measurements were collected by various local and Federal agencies. The 2008 water year potentiometric surface map was created in a geographic information system, and the change in water-level elevation from predevelopment to water year 2008 was calculated. The 2008 water-level contours indicate that the general direction of groundwater flow is from the Rio Grande towards clusters of production wells in the east, north, and west. Water-level changes from predevelopment to 2008 are variable across the area. Hydrographs from piezometers on the east side of the river generally indicate a trend of decline in the annual highest water level through most of the period of record. Hydrographs from piezometers in the valley near the river and on the west side of the river indicate spatial variability in water-level trends.

Trade study for water and waste management concepts. Task 7: Support special analysis. [cost analysis of life support systems for waste utilization during space missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

Cost analyses and tradeoff studies are given for waste management in the Space Station, Lunar Surface Bases, and interplanetary space missions. Crew drinking water requirements are discussed and various systems to recycle water are examined. The systems were evaluated for efficiency and weight savings. The systems considered effective for urine water recovery were vapor compression, flash evaporation, and air evaporation with electrolytic pretreatment. For wash water recovery, the system of multifiltration was selected. A wet oxidation system, which can process many kinds of wastes, is also considered.

Water withdrawals, use, discharge, and trends in Florida, 1995

USGS Publications Warehouse

Marella, R.L.

1999-01-01

In 1995, the total amount of water withdrawn in Florida was nearly 18,200 million gallons per day (Mgal/d), of which 60 percent was saline and 40 percent was freshwater. Ground water accounted for 60 percent of freshwater withdrawals and surface water accounted for the remaining 40 percent. Ninety-three percent of the 14.15 million people in Florida relied on ground water for their drinking water needs in 1995. Almost all (99.9 percent) saline water withdrawals were from surface water. Public supply accounted for 43 percent of ground water withdrawn in 1995, followed by agricultural self-supplied (35 percent), commercial-industrial self-supplied (including mining) (10 percent), domestic self-supplied (7 percent), recreational irrigation (4.5 percent), and power generation (0.5 percent). Agricultural self-supplied accounted for 60 percent of fresh surface water withdrawn in 1995, followed by power generation (21 percent), commercial-industrial self-supplied (9 percent), public supply (7 percent), and recreational irrigation (3 percent). Almost all of saline water withdrawn was used for power generation. The largest amount of freshwater was withdrawn in Palm Beach County and the largest amount of saline water was withdrawn in Hillsborough County. Significant withdrawals (more than 200 Mgal/d) of fresh ground water occurred in Dade, Broward, Polk, Orange, and Palm Beach Counties. Significant withdrawals (more than 200 Mgal/d) of fresh surface water occurred in Palm Beach, Hendry, and St. Lucie Counties. The South Florida Water Management District accounted for the largest amount of freshwater withdrawn (nearly 50 percent). About 57 percent of the total ground water withdrawn was from the Floridan aquifer system; 20 percent was from the Biscayne aquifer. Most of the surface water used in Florida was from managed and maintained canal systems or large water bodies. Major sources of fresh surface water include the Caloosahatchee River, Deer Point Lake, Hillsborough River, Lake Apopka, Lake Okeechobee and associated canals, and the St. Johns River. Freshwater withdrawals increased nearly 29 percent in Florida between 1970 and 1995. Ground-water withdrawals increased 56 percent, and surface-water withdrawals increased 2 percent during this period. Between 1990 and 1995, freshwater withdrawals decreased 5 percent. Fresh ground-water withdrawals decreased 7 percent, and fresh surface-water withdrawals decreased 1 percent during this period. Saline water withdrawals increased 13 percent between 1970 and 1995, and increased 6 percent between 1990 and 1995. An estimated 39 percent of the freshwater withdrawn in Florida was consumed; the remaining 61 percent was returned for use again. Wastewater discharged from the 615 treatment facilities inventoried in 1995 totaled 1,836 Mgal/d, of which 84 percent was from domestic wastewater facilities and the remaining 16 percent was from industrial facilities. Domestic wastewater discharge increased 37 percent between 1985 and 1995, while industrial wastewater discharge increased 7 percent during this period.

Climate change and water table fluctuation: Implications for raised bog surface variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taminskas, Julius; Linkevičienė, Rita; Šimanauskienė, Rasa; Jukna, Laurynas; Kibirkštis, Gintautas; Tamkevičiūtė, Marija

2018-03-01

Cyclic peatland surface variability is influenced by hydrological conditions that highly depend on climate and/or anthropogenic activities. A low water level leads to a decrease of peatland surface and an increase of C emissions into the atmosphere, whereas a high water level leads to an increase of peatland surface and carbon sequestration in peatlands. The main aim of this article is to evaluate the influence of hydrometeorological conditions toward the peatland surface and its feedback toward the water regime. A regional survey of the raised bog water table fluctuation and surface variability was made in one of the largest peatlands in Lithuania. Two appropriate indicators for different peatland surface variability periods (increase and decrease) were detected. The first one is an 200 mm y- 1 average net rainfall over a three-year range. The second one is an average annual water depth of 25-30 cm. The application of these indicators enabled the reconstruction of Čepkeliai peatland surface variability during a 100 year period. Processes of peatland surface variability differ in time and in separate parts of peatland. Therefore, internal subbasins in peatland are formed. Subbasins involve autogenic processes that can later affect their internal hydrology, nutrient status, and vegetation succession. Internal hydrological conditions, surface fluctuation, and vegetation succession in peatland subbasins should be taken into account during evaluation of their state, nature management projects, and other peatland research works.

Dissolved carbon and nitrogen dynamics in paddy fields under different water management practices and implications on green-house gas emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miniotti, Eleonora; Said-Pullicino, Daniel; Bertora, Chiara; Pelissetti, Simone; Sacco, Dario; Grignani, Carlo; Lerda, Cristina; Romani, Marco; Celi, Luisella

2013-04-01

The alternation of oxidizing and reducing conditions in paddy soils results in considerable complexity in the biogeochemical cycling of elements and their interactions, influencing important soil processes. Water management practices may play an important role in controlling the loss of nutrients from rice paddies to surface and subsurface waters, as well as soil organic matter (SOM) stabilization and the emission of green-house gases (GHG) such as methane and nitrous oxide. The aim of this study was therefore to evaluate the interaction between changes in soil redox conditions and element cycling in temperate paddy soils as a function of different water management practices. The research was carried out within an experimental platform (1.2 ha) located at the Rice Research Center of Ente Nazionale Risi (Castello d'Agogna, PV, NW Italy) where three water management practices are being compared with two plots for each treatment. These included (i) rice cultivation under traditional submerged conditions (FLD); (ii) seeding under dry soil conditions and flooding delayed by about 40 days (DRY); (iii) seeding under dry soil conditions and rotational irrigation (IRR). Surface and subsurface (25, 50 and 75 cm) water samples were collected at regular intervals over the cropping season from V-notch weirs and porous ceramic suction cups installed in each plot, and subsequently analyzed for DOC, SUVA, Fe(II), ammonium and nitrate-N. Moreover, methane and nitrous oxide fluxes were measured in situ by the closed-chamber technique. DOC concentrations in soil solutions were generally higher in FLD and DRY treatments with respect to IRR throughout the cropping season. Higher DOC contents after field flooding in FLD and DRY treatments also corresponded with greater concentrations of reduced Fe, higher SUVA values, lower Eh values and higher pH values, suggesting that desorption of more aromatic, mineral-associated SOM could be responsible for the observed increase in DOC. These trends were not observed in the IRR treatment. The differences in DOC contents and in Eh trend between treatments could possibly explain the increasing trend in cumulative methane emissions in the order IRR<

Green Remediation: Best Management Practices for Excavation and Surface Restoration

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This fact sheet is one of a series describing best management practices (BMPs) for green remediation, which holistically addresses a cleanup project's energy requirements, air emissions, impacts on water, impacts on land and ecosystems, material consumpt..

Integrated impact assessment of climate change, land use, and adaptation policies on water quality in Austria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trautvetter, Helen; Schoenhart, Martin; Parajaka, Juraj; Schmid, Erwin; Zessner, Matthias

2017-04-01

Climate change is one of the major challenges of our time and adds considerable stress to the human society and environment. A change in climate will not only shift general weather patterns, but might also increase the recurrence of extreme weather events such as drought and heavy rainfall. These changes in climatic conditions will affect the quality and quantity of water resources both directly as well as indirectly through autonomous adaptation by farmers (e.g. cultivar choices, fertilization intensity or soil management). This will influence the compliance with the good ecological and chemical status according to the EU Water Framework Directive. We present results from an integrated impact modelling framework (IIMF) to tackle those direct and indirect impacts and analyze policy options for planned adaptation in agricultural land use and sustainable management of land and water resources until 2040. The IIMF is the result of an interdisciplinary collaboration among economists, agronomists, and hydrologists. It consists of the bio-physical process model EPIC, the regional land use optimization model PASMA[grid], the quantitative precipitation/runoff TUWmodel and the surface water emission model MONERIS. Scenarios have been developed and parameterized in collaboration with stakeholders in order to facilitate multi-actor knowledge transfer. The set of climate change scenarios until 2040 includes three scenarios with equal temperature changes but varying precipitation patterns. They are combined with potential socio-economic and policy development. The latter include water protection measures on fertilization management, soil management, or crop rotation choices. We will presented the development of interfaces among the research, the definition of scenarios and major scenario results for Austria. We will focus on nutrient emissions to surface waters, which are the major link between the different models. The results, available at watershed level indicate the significant impact on future precipitation development on the risk of not achieving nutrient criteria of the good ecological water quality status of surface waters. Policy measures show relatively low impacts for nitrogen, while they may highly affect the phosphorus emissions and hence the compliance with environmental quality standards for phosphate phosphorus.

Collaborative modelling and integrated decision support system analysis of a developed terminal lake basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Niswonger, Richard G.; Allander, Kip K.; Jeton, Anne E.

2014-01-01

A terminal lake basin in west-central Nevada, Walker Lake, has undergone drastic change over the past 90 yrs due to upstream water use for agriculture. Decreased inflows to the lake have resulted in 100 km2 decrease in lake surface area and a total loss of fisheries due to salinization. The ecologic health of Walker Lake is of great concern as the lake is a stopover point on the Pacific route for migratory birds from within and outside the United States. Stakeholders, water institutions, and scientists have engaged in collaborative modeling and the development of a decision support system that is being used to develop and analyze management change options to restore the lake. Here we use an integrated management and hydrologic model that relies on state-of-the-art simulation capabilities to evaluate the benefits of using integrated hydrologic models as components of a decision support system. Nonlinear feedbacks among climate, surface-water and groundwater exchanges, and water use present challenges for simulating realistic outcomes associated with management change. Integrated management and hydrologic modeling provides a means of simulating benefits associated with management change in the Walker River basin where drastic changes in the hydrologic landscape have taken place over the last century. Through the collaborative modeling process, stakeholder support is increasing and possibly leading to management change options that result in reductions in Walker Lake salt concentrations, as simulated by the decision support system.

Acid rain and its effects on streamwater quality on Catoctin Mountain, Maryland

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rice, Karen C.; Bricker, O.P.

1992-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is the Nation's largest water-science and water-information agency. The mission of the Water Resources Division of the USGS is to provide the hydrologic information and understanding needed for the best management of the Nation's water resources. To fulfill this mission, the USGS conducts water-quality and other types of investigations of the Nation's surface- and ground-water resources.

Risk of post-fire metal mobilization into surface water resources: A review.

PubMed

Abraham, Joji; Dowling, Kim; Florentine, Singarayer

2017-12-01

One of the significant economic benefits to communities around the world of having pristine forest catchments is the supply of substantial quantities of high quality potable water. This supports a saving of around US$ 4.1 trillion per year globally by limiting the cost of expensive drinking water treatments and provision of unnecessary infrastructure. Even low levels of contaminants specifically organics and metals in catchments when in a mobile state can reduce these economic benefits by seriously affecting the water quality. Contamination and contaminant mobility can occur through natural and anthropogenic activities including forest fires. Moderate to high intensity forest fires are able to alter soil properties and release sequestered metals from sediments, soil organic matter and fragments of vegetation. In addition, the increase in post-fire erosion rate by rainfall runoff and strong winds facilitates the rapid transport of these metals downslope and downstream. The subsequent metal deposition in distal soil and water bodies can influence surface water quality with potential impacts to the larger ecosystems inclusive of negative effects on humans. This is of substantial concern as 4 billion hectares of forest catchments provide high quality water to global communities. Redressing this problem requires quantification of the potential effects on water resources and instituting rigorous fire and environmental management plans to mitigate deleterious effects on catchment areas. This paper is a review of the current state of the art literature dealing with the risk of post-fire mobilization of the metals into surface water resources. It is intended to inform discussion on the preparation of suitable management plans and policies during and after fire events in order to maintain potable water quality in a cost-effective manner. In these times of climate fluctuation and increased incidence of fires, the need for development of new policies and management frameworks are of heighted significance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Applications of NASA GSFC's Land Information System (LIS) for water resources management in Korea and East-Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, D. H.; Hwang, E.; Jung, H. C.; Kim, E. J.; Peters-Lidard, C. D.; Kumar, S.; Chae, H.; Baeck, S. H.

2017-12-01

NASA has contributed to resolve global water issues by utilizing their long-term legacy of remote sensing technologies supported by a state of art software engineering. In this context, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center has developed a land surface model framework to monitor and predict water hazards such as flood and drought with the Land Information System (hereafter LIS) applied to North America and beyond it to include a global coverage. However, it is still challenging to apply the LIS to East-Asia where a rice-paddy agriculture is prevalent compared to other parts of the world, but retains a high population density in this region. Thus, this paper introduces recent efforts from the Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) in S. Korea to establish the LIS in East-Asia including Korea, aiming at producing surface hydrology datasets in Asia. One of the ultimate goals of this project is to manage the water hazards in Korea and to provide the water resources dataset in East-Asia by adapting the LIS with their abundantly available hydrometeorological observations to support the LIS applications. Preliminary results from initiating efforts since the beginning of 2017 between NASA and K-water are addressed in the paper to review the possible outcomes after this ongoing project to benefit both entities. Acknowledgements This research was supported by a grant (17AWMP-B079625-04) from Water Management Research Program sponsored by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Korean government.

Design and Fabrication of a Hybrid Superhydrophobic-Hydrophilic Surface That Exhibits Stable Dropwise Condensation.

PubMed

Mondal, Bikash; Mac Giolla Eain, Marc; Xu, QianFeng; Egan, Vanessa M; Punch, Jeff; Lyons, Alan M

2015-10-28

Condensation of water vapor is an essential process in power generation, water collection, and thermal management. Dropwise condensation, where condensed droplets are removed from the surface before coalescing into a film, has been shown to increase the heat transfer efficiency and water collection ability of many surfaces. Numerous efforts have been made to create surfaces which can promote dropwise condensation, including superhydrophobic surfaces on which water droplets are highly mobile. However, the challenge with using such surfaces in condensing environments is that hydrophobic coatings can degrade and/or water droplets on superhydrophobic surfaces transition from the mobile Cassie to the wetted Wenzel state over time and condensation shifts to a less-effective filmwise mechanism. To meet the need for a heat-transfer surface that can maintain stable dropwise condensation, we designed and fabricated a hybrid superhydrophobic-hydrophilic surface. An array of hydrophilic needles, thermally connected to a heat sink, was forced through a robust superhydrophobic polymer film. Condensation occurs preferentially on the needle surface due to differences in wettability and temperature. As the droplet grows, the liquid drop on the needle remains in the Cassie state and does not wet the underlying superhydrophobic surface. The water collection rate on this surface was studied using different surface tilt angles, needle array pitch values, and needle heights. Water condensation rates on the hybrid surface were shown to be 4 times greater than for a planar copper surface and twice as large for silanized silicon or superhydrophobic surfaces without hydrophilic features. A convection-conduction heat transfer model was developed; predicted water condensation rates were in good agreement with experimental observations. This type of hybrid superhydrophobic-hydrophilic surface with a larger array of needles is low-cost, robust, and scalable and so could be used for heat transfer and water collection applications.

Water Quality and Management Changes Over the History of Poland.

PubMed

Szalinska, Ewa

2018-01-01

Poland is one of the countries distinguished by a long and colorful past. Undergoing numerous turbulent socio-economic changes forced by the course of history, Poland is now one of the member states of the European Union. Experiencing low water quantity and high contamination levels in surface waters, Poland is following other EU countries in the effort to reach a "good" water status. Herein are presented impacts of changes in Polish history on water legislation, management, and research, as well as explanations for the perceptible split between engineering and scientific approaches to the aquatic issues. Drawbacks caused by unsatisfactory state research funding for the sciences and division of the water related contemporary scientific interests are also discussed.

Natural uranium and strontium isotope tracers of water sources and surface water-groundwater interactions in arid wetlands: Pahranagat Valley, Nevada, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Paces, James B.; Wurster, Frederic C.

2014-01-01

Near-surface physical and chemical process can strongly affect dissolved-ion concentrations and stable isotope compositions of water in wetland settings, especially under arid climate conditions. In contrast, heavy radiogenic isotopes of strontium (87Sr/86Sr) and uranium (234U/238U) remain largely unaffected and can be used to help identify unique signatures from different sources and quantify end-member mixing that would otherwise be difficult to determine. The utility of combined Sr and U isotopes are demonstrated in this study of wetland habitats on the Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge, which depend on supply from large-volume springs north of the Refuge, and from small-volume springs and seeps within the Refuge. Water budgets from these sources have not been quantified previously. Evaporation, transpiration, seasonally variable surface flow, and water management practices complicate the use of conventional methods for determining source contributions and mixing relations. In contrast, 87Sr/86Sr and 234U/238U remain unfractionated under these conditions, and compositions at a given site remain constant. Differences in Sr- and U-isotopic signatures between individual sites can be related by simple two- or three-component mixing models. Results indicate that surface flow constituting the Refuge’s irrigation source consists of a 65:25:10 mixture of water from two distinct regionally sourced carbonate aquifer springs, and groundwater from locally sourced volcanic aquifers. Within the Refuge, contributions from the irrigation source and local groundwater are readily determined and depend on proximity to those sources as well as water management practices.

Natural uranium and strontium isotope tracers of water sources and surface water-groundwater interactions in arid wetlands - Pahranagat Valley, Nevada, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paces, James B.; Wurster, Frederic C.

2014-09-01

Near-surface physical and chemical process can strongly affect dissolved-ion concentrations and stable-isotope compositions of water in wetland settings, especially under arid climate conditions. In contrast, heavy radiogenic isotopes of strontium (87Sr/86Sr) and uranium (234U/238U) remain largely unaffected and can be used to help identify unique signatures from different sources and quantify end-member mixing that would otherwise be difficult to determine. The utility of combined Sr and U isotopes are demonstrated in this study of wetland habitats on the Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge, which depend on supply from large-volume springs north of the Refuge, and from small-volume springs and seeps within the Refuge. Water budgets from these sources have not been quantified previously. Evaporation, transpiration, seasonally variable surface flow, and water management practices complicate the use of conventional methods for determining source contributions and mixing relations. In contrast, 87Sr/86Sr and 234U/238U remain unfractionated under these conditions, and compositions at a given site remain constant. Differences in Sr- and U-isotopic signatures between individual sites can be related by simple two- or three-component mixing models. Results indicate that surface flow constituting the Refuge's irrigation source consists of a 65:25:10 mixture of water from two distinct regionally sourced carbonate-aquifer springs, and groundwater from locally sourced volcanic aquifers. Within the Refuge, contributions from the irrigation source and local groundwater are readily determined and depend on proximity to those sources as well as water management practices.

Estimated 2012 groundwater potentiometric surface and drawdown from predevelopment to 2012 in the Santa Fe Group aquifer system in the Albuquerque metropolitan area, central New Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Powell, Rachel I.; McKean, Sarah E.

2014-01-01

Historically, the water-supply requirements of the Albuquerque metropolitan area of central New Mexico were met almost exclusively by groundwater withdrawal from the Santa Fe Group aquifer system. In response to water-level declines, the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA) began diverting water from the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project in December 2008 to reduce the use of groundwater to meet municipal demand. Modifications in the demand for water and the source of the supply of water for the Albuquerque metropolitan area have resulted in a variable response in the potentiometric surface of the production zone (the interval of the aquifer, from within about 200 feet below the water table to 900 feet or more, in which supply wells generally are screened) of the Santa Fe Group aquifer system. Analysis of the magnitude and spatial distribution of water-level change can help improve the understanding of how the groundwater system responds to withdrawals and variations in the management of the water supply and can support water-management agencies’ efforts to minimize future water-level declines and improve sustainability. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the ABCWUA, has developed an estimate of the 2012 potentiometric surface of the production zone of the Santa Fe Group aquifer system in the Albuquerque metropolitan area. This potentiometric surface is the latest in a series of reports depicting the potentiometric surface of the area. This report presents the estimated potentiometric surface during winter (from December to March) of water year 2012 and the estimated changes in potentiometric surface between predevelopment (pre-1961) and water year 2012 for the production zone of the Santa Fe Group aquifer system in the Albuquerque metropolitan area. Hydrographs from selected piezometers are included to provide details of historical water-level changes. In general, water-level measurements used for this report were collected in small-diameter observation wells screened over short intervals near the middle of the production zone and were considered to best represent the potentiometric head in the production zone. The water-level measurements were collected by various local and Federal agencies. The water year 2012 potentiometric surface map was created in a geographic information system, and the change in water-level altitude from predevelopment to water year 2012 was calculated. The 2012 potentiometric surface indicates that the general direction of groundwater flow is from the Rio Grande towards clusters of supply wells in the east, north, and west. Water-level changes from predevelopment to 2012 were variable across the Albuquerque metropolitan area. Estimated drawdown from 2008 was spatially variable across the Albuquerque metropolitan area. Hydrographs from piezometers on the east side of the river indicate an increase in the annual highest water-level measurement from 2008 to 2012. Hydrographs from piezometers in the northwest part of the study area indicate either steady decline of the water-level altitude over the period of record or recently variable trends in which water-level altitudes increased for a number of years but have declined since water year 2012.

The impact of poor governance on water and sediment quality: a case study in the Pitimbu River, Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moreira, L.; Adamowski, J.; Gaskin, S.; Saraiva, A.

2014-09-01

Applying a collaborative approach under a power-sharing institutional structure, coupled with a shift in paradigms, sustainable water resources management often requires political-institutional reform to achieve its goals. Most of Brazil's river basins are subject to rapid urbanization; however, basin stakeholders generally lack sufficient institutional capacity to address the attending water resource issues. Subject to urbanisation, the Pitimbu River basin supplies potable water to approximately 280 000 people in Brazil's Natal region. This study investigated how current institutional models influence both water management and fluvial contamination by metals. Sediment samples collected at eight sites along the river revealed elevated levels of Pb, Fe, Al, Ni and Zn, whose sources were linked to industries, vehicles, as well as agricultural and construction wastes. Aluminium enrichment of surface waters was mainly linked to inadequate sanitation infrastructure. In light of this, the region's poor institutional capacity must be addressed through institutional reform, including a new management structure open to public collective water management planning. In so doing, Brazil's water policies should acknowledge capacity building as a critical element of institutional reform.

Land management impacts on dairy-derived dissolved organic carbon in ground water

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chomycia, J.C.; Hernes, P.J.; Harter, T.; Bergamaschi, B.A.

2008-01-01

Dairy operations have the potential to elevate dissolved organic carbon (DOC) levels in ground water, where it may interact with organic and inorganic contaminants, fuel denitrification, and may present problems for drinking water treatment. Total and percent bioavailable DOC and total and carbon-specific trihalomethane (THM) formation potential (TTHMFP and STHMFP, respectively) were determined for shallow ground water samples from beneath a dairy farm in the San Joaquin Valley, California. Sixteen wells influenced by specific land management areas were sampled over 3 yr. Measured DOC concentrations were significantly elevated over the background as measured at an upgradient monitoring well, ranging from 13 to 55 mg L-1 in wells downgradient from wastewater ponds, 8 to 30 mg L-1 in corral wells, 5 to 12 mg L-1 in tile drains, and 4 to 15 mg L-1 in wells associated with manured fields. These DOC concentrations were at the upper range or greatly exceeded concentrations in most surface water bodies used as drinking water sources in California. DOC concentrations in individual wells varied by up to a factor of two over the duration of this study, indicating a dynamic system of sources and degradation. DOC bioavailability over 21 d ranged from 3 to 10%, comparable to surface water systems and demonstrating the potential for dairy-derived DOC to influence dissolved oxygen concentrations (nearly all wells were hypoxic to anoxic) and denitrification. TTHMFP measurements across all management units ranged from 141 to 1731 ??g L-1, well in excess of the maximum contaminant level of 80 ??g L-1 established by the Environmental Protection Agency. STHMFP measurements demonstrated over twofold variation (???4 to ???8 mmol total THM/mol DOC) across the management areas, indicating the dependence of reactivity on DOC composition. The results indicate that land management strongly controls the quantity and quality of DOC to reach shallow ground water and hence should be considered when managing ground water resources and in any efforts to mitigate contamination of ground water with carbon-based contaminants, such as pesticides and pharmaceuticals. Copyright ?? 2008 by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America. All rights reserved.

Environmental and socio-economic methodologies and solutions towards integrated water resources management.

PubMed

Friesen, Jan; Rodriguez Sinobas, Leonor; Foglia, Laura; Ludwig, Ralf

2017-03-01

Semi-arid regions are facing the challenge of managing water resources under conditions of increasing scarcity and drought. These are recently pressured by the impact of climate change favoring the shifting from using surface water to groundwater without taking sustainability issues into account. Likewise, water scarcity raises the competition for water among users, increasing the risk of social conflicts, as the availability of fresh water in sufficient quality and quantity is already one of the major factors limiting socio-economic development. In terms of hydrology, semi-arid regions are characterized by very complex hydro- and hydrogeological systems. The complexity of the water cycle contrasts strongly with the poor data availability, (1) which limits the number of analysis techniques and methods available to researchers, (2) limits the accuracy of models and predictions, and (3) consequently challenges the capabilities to develop appropriate management measures to mitigate or adapt the environment to scarcity and drought conditions. Integrated water resources management is a holistic approach to focus on both environmental as well as on socio-economic factors influencing water availability and supply. The management approaches and solutions adopted, e.g. in form of decision support for specific water resources systems, are often highly specific for individual case studies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Peat porewater chloride concentration profiles in the Everglades during wet/dry cycles from January 1996 to June 1998: Field measurements and theoretical analysis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Reddy, M.M.; Reddy, M.B.; Kipp, K.L.; Burman, A.; Schuster, P.; Rawlik, P.S.

2008-01-01

Water quality is a key aspect of the Everglades Restoration Project, the largest water reclamation and ecosystem management project proposed in the United States. Movement of nutrients and contaminants to and from Everglades peat porewater could have important consequences for Everglades water quality and ecosystem restoration activities. In a study of Everglades porewater, we observed complex, seasonally variable peat porewater chloride concentration profiles at several locations. Analyses and interpretation of these changing peat porewater chloride concentration profiles identifies processes controlling conservative solute movement at the peat-surface water interface, that is, solutes whose transport is minimally affected by chemical and biological reactions. We examine, with an advection-diffusion model, how alternating wet and dry climatic conditions in the Florida Everglades mediate movement of chloride between peat porewater and marsh surface water. Changing surface water-chloride concentrations alter gradients at the interface between peat and overlying water and hence alter chloride flux across that interface. Surface water chloride concentrations at two frequently monitored sites vary with marsh water depth, and a transfer function was developed to describe daily marsh surface water chloride concentration as a function of marsh water depth. Model results demonstrate that porewater chloride concentrations are driven by changing surface water chloride concentrations, and a sensitivity analysis suggests that inclusion of advective transport in the model improves the agreement between the calculated and the observed chloride concentration profiles. Copyright ?? 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Illinois drainage water management demonstration project

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pitts, D.J.; Cooke, R.; Terrio, P.J.; ,

2004-01-01

Due to naturally high water tables and flat topography, there are approximately 4 million ha (10 million ac) of farmland artificially drained with subsurface (tile) systems in Illinois. Subsurface drainage is practiced to insure trafficable field conditions for farm equipment and to reduce crop stress from excess water within the root zone. Although drainage is essential for economic crop production, there have been some significant environmental costs. Tile drainage systems tend to intercept nutrient (nitrate) rich soil-water and shunt it to surface water. Data from numerous monitoring studies have shown that a significant amount of the total nitrate load in Illinois is being delivered to surface water from tile drainage systems. In Illinois, these drainage systems are typically installed without control mechanisms and allow the soil to drain whenever the water table is above the elevation of the tile outlet. An assessment of water quality in the tile drained areas of Illinois showed that approximately 50 percent of the nitrate load was being delivered through the tile systems during the fallow period when there was no production need for drainage to occur. In 1998, a demonstration project to introduce drainage water management to producers in Illinois was initiated by NRCS4 An initial aspect of the project was to identify producers that were willing to manage their drainage system to create a raised water table during the fallow (November-March) period. Financial assistance from two federal programs was used to assist producers in retrofitting the existing drainage systems with control structures. Growers were also provided guidance on the management of the structures for both water quality and production benefits. Some of the retrofitted systems were monitored to determine the effect of the practice on water quality. This paper provides background on the water quality impacts of tile drainage in Illinois, the status of the demonstration project, preliminary monitoring results, and other observations.

Idaho's surface-water-quality monitoring program: results from five sites sampled during water years 1990-93

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

1994-01-01

In 1990, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Division of Environmental Quality, implemented a statewide water-quality monitoring program in response to Idaho's antidegradation policy as required by the Clean Water Act. The program objective is to provide water-quality managers with a coordinated statewide network to detect trends in surface-water quality. The monitoring program includes the collection and analysis of samples from 56 sites on the Bear, Clearwater, Kootenai, Pend Oreille, Salmon, Snake, and Spokane Rivers and their tributaries (fig. 1). Samples are collected every year at 5 sites (annual sites) in drainage basins where long-term water-quality management is practiced, every other year at 19 sites (biennial sites) in basins where land and water uses change slowly, and every third year at 32 sites (triennial sites) where future development may affect water quality. Each year, 25 of the 56 sites are sampled. This report discusses results of sampling at five annual sites. During water years 1990-93 (October 1, 1989, through September 30, 1993), samples were collected six times per year at the five annual sites (fig. 1). Onsite analyses were made for discharge, specific conductance, pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, bacteria (fecal coliform and fecal streptococci), and alkalinity. Laboratory analyses were made for major ions, nutrients, trace elements, and suspended sediment. Suspended sediment, nitrate, fecal coliform, trace elements, and specific conductance were used to characterize surface-water quality. Because concentrations of all trace elements except zinc were near detection limits, only zinc is discussed.

Inverse modeling of surface-water discharge to achieve restoration salinity performance measures in Florida Bay, Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Swain, E.D.; James, D.E.

2008-01-01

The use of numerical modeling to evaluate regional water-management practices involves the simulation of various alternative water-delivery scenarios, which typically are designed intuitively rather than analytically. These scenario simulations are used to analyze how specific water-management practices affect factors such as water levels, flows, and salinities. In lieu of testing a variety of scenario simulations in a trial-and-error manner, an optimization technique may be used to more precisely and directly define good water-management alternatives. A numerical model application in the coastal regions of Florida Bay and Everglades National Park (ENP), representing the surface- and ground-water hydrology for the region, is a good example of a tool used to evaluate restoration scenarios. The Southern Inland and Coastal System (SICS) model simulates this area with a two-dimensional hydrodynamic surface-water model and a three-dimensional ground-water model, linked to represent the interaction of the two systems with salinity transport. This coastal wetland environment is of great interest in restoration efforts, and the SICS model is used to analyze the effects of alternative water-management scenarios. The SICS model is run within an inverse modeling program called UCODE. In this application, UCODE adjusts the regulated inflows to ENP while SICS is run iteratively. UCODE creates parameters that define inflow within an allowable range for the SICS model based on SICS model output statistics, with the objective of matching user-defined target salinities that meet ecosystem restoration criteria. Preliminary results obtained using two different parameterization methods illustrate the ability of the model to achieve the goals of adjusting the range and reducing the variance of salinity values in the target area. The salinity variance in the primary zone of interest was reduced from an original value of 0.509 psu2 to values 0.418 psu2 and 0.342 psu2 using different methods. Simulations with one, two, and three target areas indicate that optimization is limited near model boundaries and the target location nearest the tidal boundary may not be improved. These experiments indicate that this method can be useful for designing water-delivery schemes to achieve certain water-quality objectives. Additionally, this approach avoids much of the intuitive type of experimentation with different flow schemes that has often been used to develop restoration scenarios. ?? 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Enhancing the water management schemes of H08 global hydrological model to attribute human water use to six major water sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanasaki, N.; Yoshikawa, S.; Pokhrel, Y. N.; Kanae, S.

2017-12-01

Humans abstract water from various sources to sustain their livelihood and society. Some global hydrological models (GHMs) include explicit schemes of human water management, but the representation and performance of these schemes remain limited. We substantially enhanced the human water management schemes of the H08 GHM by incorporating the latest data and techniques. The model enables us to estimate water abstraction from six major water sources, namely, river flow regulated by global reservoirs (i.e., reservoirs regulating the flow of the world's major rivers), aqueduct water transfer, local reservoirs, seawater desalination, renewable groundwater, and nonrenewable groundwater. All the interactions were simulated in a single computer program and the water balance was always strictly closed at any place and time during the simulation period. Using this model, we first conducted a historical global hydrological simulation at a spatial resolution of 0.5 x 0.5 degree to specify the sources of water for humanity. The results indicated that, in 2000, of the 3628 km3yr-1 global freshwater requirement, 2839 km3yr-1 was taken from surface water and 789 km3yr-1 from groundwater. Streamflow, aqueduct water transfer, local reservoirs, and seawater desalination accounted for 1786, 199, 106, and 1.8 km3yr-1 of the surface water, respectively. The remaining 747 km3yr-1 freshwater requirement was unmet, or surface water was not available when and where it was needed in our simulation. Renewable and nonrenewable groundwater accounted for 607 and 182 km3yr-1 of the groundwater total, respectively. Second, we evaluated the water stress using our simulations and contrasted it with earlier global assessments based on empirical water scarcity indicators, namely, the Withdrawal to Availability ratio and the Falkenmark index (annual renewable water resources per capita). We found that inclusion of water infrastructures in our model diminished water stress in some parts of the world, on the other hand, daily evaluation of water supply and demand highlighted the temporal/seasonal water deficit due to their variations. The enhanced model is potentially useful for quantitative understanding of the global hydrological cycles including human activities and advancement of global water resources assessment.

Assessment of quality of water provided for wildlife in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Selebatso, Moses; Maude, Glyn; Fynn, Richard W. S.

2018-06-01

Arid and semi-arid environments have low and unpredictable rainfall patterns resulting in limited availability of surface water for wildlife. In the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) wildlife populations have lost access to natural surface water through cordon fences, livestock and human encroachment along the access routes. Artificial waterholes have been developed in the reserve to compensate for this loss. However, there have not been any assessments of the quality of water provided for wildlife and how that may be contributing to populations declines in the CKGR. We assessed water quality from 12 artificial waterholes against both Botswana and international livestock standards for drinking. Overall the quality of water provided is poor and poses a health risk to both animals and humans. Eight out of twelve boreholes tested exceeded the maximum acceptable Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) limits while three and four boreholes have toxic levels of lead and arsenic, respectively. Thus, pumping ground water could have more negative than positive impacts on wildlife thus defeating the intended management purpose. Failure to provide water of acceptable quality is a major concern for wildlife management in the CKGR and it may underlie some wildlife declines in the reserve. These findings confirm that restriction of populations from natural water sources create complex management challenges, especially where safe and sustainable alternative sources are scarce. Restriction of access of the population to natural water sources by fences and provision of poor quality water could compromise the overall fitness of wildlife populations and contribute to their decline.

CONTAMINATION OF URBAN SURFACE WATER BY VEHICLE EMISSIONS

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-10-01

Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) are a water management issue for Onondaga County and the city of Syracuse, NY. To reduce them, the County is investing in green infrastructure (GI). GI technologies such as green roofs, rain gardens, and bioswales are ...

From safe yield to sustainable development of water resources - The Kansas experience

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sophocleous, M.

2000-01-01

This paper presents a synthesis of water sustainability issues from the hydrologic perspective. It shows that safe yield is a flawed concept and that sustainability is an idea that is broadly used but perhaps not well understood. In general, the sustainable yield of an aquifer must be considerably less than recharge if adequate amounts of water are to be available to sustain both the quantity and quality of streams, springs, wetlands, and ground-water-dependent ecosystems. To ensure sustainability, it is imperative that water limits be established based on hydrologic principles of mass balance. To establish water-use policies and planning horizons, the transition curves of aquifer systems from ground-water storage depletion to induced recharge of surface water need to be developed. Present-day numerical models are capable of generating such transition curves. Several idealized examples of aquifer systems show how this could be done. Because of the complexity of natural systems and the uncertainties in characterizing them, the current philosophy underlying sustainable management of water resources is based on the interconnected systems approach and on adaptive management. Examples of water-resources management from Kansas illustrate some of these concepts in a real-world setting. Some of the hallmarks of Kansas water management are the formation of local ground-water management districts, the adoption of minimum streamflow standards, the use of modified safe-yield policies in some districts, the implementation of integrated resource planning by the City of Wichita, and the subbasin water-resources management program in potential problem areas. These are all appropriate steps toward sustainable development. The Kansas examples show that local decision-making is the best way to fully account for local variability in water management. However, it is imperative that public education and involvement be encouraged, so that system complexities and constraints are better understood and overly simplistic solutions avoided. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V.This paper presents a synthesis of water sustainability issues from the hydrologic perspective. It shows that safe yield is a flawed concept and that sustainability is an idea that is broadly used but perhaps not well understood. In general, the sustainable yield of an aquifer must be considerably less than recharge if adequate amounts of water are to be available to sustain both the quantity and quality of streams, springs, wetlands, and ground-water-dependent ecosystems. To ensure sustainability, it is imperative that water limits be established based on hydrologic principles of mass balance. To establish water-use policies and planning horizons, the transition curves of aquifer systems from ground-water storage depletion to induced recharge of surface water need to be developed. Present-day numerical models are capable of generating such transition curves. Several idealized examples of aquifer systems show how this could be done. Because of the complexity of natural systems and the uncertainties in characterizing them, the current philosophy underlying sustainable management of water resources is based on the interconnected systems approach and on adaptive management. Examples of water-resources management from Kansas illustrate some of these concepts in a real-world setting. Some of the hallmarks of Kansas water management are the formation of local ground-water management districts, the adoption of minimum streamflow standards, the use of modified safe-yield policies in some districts, the implementation of integrated resource planning by the City of Wichita, and the subbasin water-resources management program in potential problem areas. These are all appropriate steps toward sustainable development. The Kansas examples show that local decision-making is the best way to fully account for local variability in water management. However, it is imperative that public education and involv

Soil water sensing for climate change studies; Applicability of COSMOS and local sensor networks

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soil water sensors are used to characterize water content in the near-surface, the root zone and below for agricultural and ecosystem management, but only a few are capable of sensing soil volumes larger than a few hundred liters. Scientists with the USDA-ARS Conservation & Production Research Labor...

Water Intake by Soil, Experiments for High School Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

1969

Presented are a variety of surface run-off experiments for high school students. The experiments are analogies to basic concepts about water intake, as related to water delivery, soil properties and management, floods, and conservation measures. The materials needed to perform the experiments are easily obtainable. The experiments are followed by…

Burned forests impact water supplies

Treesearch

Dennis W. Hallema; Ge Sun; Peter V. Caldwell; Steven P. Norman; Erika C. Cohen; Yongqiang Liu; Kevin D. Bladon; Steven G. McNulty

2018-01-01

Wildland fire impacts on surface freshwater resources have not previously been measured, nor factored into regional water management strategies. But, large wildland fires are increasing and raise concerns about fire impacts on potable water. Here we synthesize longterm records of wildland fire, climate, and river flow for 168 locations across the United States. We show...

Linking nitrogen management, seep chemistry, and stream water quality in two agricultural headwater watersheds

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Riparian seepage zones in headwater agricultural watersheds represent important sources of nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) to surface waters, often connecting N-rich groundwater systems to streams. In this study, we examined how NO3-N concentrations in seep and stream water were affected by NO3-N processin...

A farm pond water irrigation management system in Mid-South United States

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In the mid-southern United States, though most states receive more than 1000 mm of annual precipitation, only 20% irrigation is from surface water in this region. The majority of rainfall occurs in fall, winter and spring, but water deficit still exists during crop critical growing season from May t...

Willamette Basin Surface Water Isoscape (18O and 2H): Interpreting Temporal Changes of Source Water within the River

EPA Science Inventory

Determining how water sources for rivers vary over time can greatly enhance our understanding and management of land use and climate change impacts on rivers. Because the stable isotope composition of precipitation can vary geographically, variation in the stable isotope composi...

Can We Control Contaminant Transport In Hydrologic Networks? Application Of Control Theory Concepts To Watershed Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yeghiazarian, L.; Riasi, M. S.

2016-12-01

Although controlling the level of contamination everywhere in the surface water network may not be feasible, it is vital to maintain safe water quality levels in specific areas, e.g. recreational waters. The question then is "what is the most efficient way to fully/partially control water quality in surface water networks?". This can be posed as a control problem where the goal is to efficiently drive the system to a desired state by manipulating few input variables. Such problems reduce to (1) finding the best control locations in the network to influence the state of the system; and (2) choosing the time-variant inputs at the control locations to achieve the desired state of the system with minimum effort. We demonstrate that the optimal solution to control the level of contamination in the network can be found through application of control theory concepts to transport in dendritic surface water networks.

Interactions of woody biofuel feedstock production systems with water resources: Considerations for sustainability

Treesearch

Carl C. Trettin; Devendra Amatya; Mark Coleman

2008-01-01

Water resources are important for the production of woody biofuel feedstocks. It is necessary to ensure that production systems do not adversely affect the quantity or quality of surface and ground water. The effects of woody biomass plantations on water resources are largely dependent on the prior land use and the management regime. Experience from both irrigated and...

Interactions of woody biofuel feedstock production systems with water resources: considerations for sustainability

Treesearch

Carl C. Trettin; Devendra Amatya; Mark Coleman

2008-01-01

Water resources are important for the production of woody biofuel feedstocks. It is necessary to ensure that production systems do not adversely affect the quantity or quality of surface and ground water. The effects of woody biomass plantations on water resources are largely dependent on the prior land use and the management regime. Experience from both irrigated and...

Effectiveness of submerged drains in reducing subsidence of peat soils in agricultural use, and their effects on water management and nutrient loading of surface water: modelling of a case study in the western peat soil area of The Netherlands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hendriks, Rob F. A.; van den Akker, Jan J. A.

2017-04-01

Effectiveness of submerged drains in reducing subsidence of peat soils in agricultural use, and their effects on water management and nutrient loading of surface water: modelling of a case study in the western peat soil area of The Netherlands In the Netherlands, about 8% of the area is covered by peat soils. Most of these soils are in use for dairy farming and, consequently, are drained. Drainage causes decomposition of peat by oxidation and accordingly leads to surface subsidence and greenhouse gas emission. Submerged drains that enhance submerged infiltration of water from ditches during the dry and warm summer half year were, and are still, studied in The Netherlands as a promising tool for reducing peat decomposition by raising groundwater levels. For this purpose, several pilot field studies in the Western part of the Dutch peat area were conducted. Besides the effectiveness of submerged drains in reducing peat decomposition and subsidence by raising groundwater tables, some other relevant or expected effects of these drains were studied. Most important of these are water management and loading of surface water with nutrients nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphate. Because most of these parameters are not easy to assess and all of them are strongly depending on the meteorological conditions during the field studies some of these studies were modelled. The SWAP model was used for evaluating the hydrological results on groundwater table and water discharge and recharge. Effects of submerged drains were assessed by comparing the results of fields with and without drains. An empirical relation between deepest groundwater table and subsidence was used to convert effects on groundwater table to effects on subsidence. With the SWAP-ANIMO model nutrient loading of surface water was modelled on the basis of field results on nutrient concentrations . Calibrated models were used to assess effects in the present situation, as thirty-year averages, under extreme weather conditions and for two extreme climate scenarios of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute. In this study the model results of one of the pilot studies are presented. The case study 'de Krimpenerwaard' is situated in the peat area in the "Green Heart" between the major cities of Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht. Model results show a halving of soil subsidence, a strong increase of water recharge but a lower increase of water discharge, and generally small to moderate effects on nutrient loading , all depending (strongly) on meteorological conditions.

Water quality responses to the interaction between surface water and groundwater along the Songhua River, NE China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teng, Yanguo; Hu, Bin; Zheng, Jieqiong; Wang, Jinsheng; Zhai, Yuanzheng; Zhu, Chen

2018-03-01

Investigation of surface water and groundwater interaction (SW-GW interaction) provides basic information for regional water-resource protection, management, and development. In this survey of a 10-km-wide area along both sides of the Songhua River, northeast China, the hydrogeochemical responses to different SW-GW interactions were studied. Three types of SW-GW interactions were identified—"recharge", "discharge", and "flow-through"—according to the hydraulic connection between the surface water and groundwater. The single factor index, principal component analysis, and hierarchical cluster analysis of the hydrogeochemistry and pollutant data illuminated the hydrogeochemical response to the various SW-GW interactions. Clear SW-GW interactions along the Songhua River were revealed: (1) upstream in the study area, groundwater usually discharges into the surface water, (2) groundwater is recharged by surface water downstream, and (3) discharge and flow-through coexist in between. Statistical analysis indicated that the degree of hydrogeochemical response in different types of hydraulic connection varied, being clear in recharge and flow-through modes, and less obvious in discharge mode. During the interaction process, dilution, adsorption, redox reactions, nitrification, denitrification, and biodegradation contributed to the pollutant concentration and affected hydrogeochemical response in the hyporheic zone.

Optimizing conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater resources with stochastic dynamic programming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davidsen, Claus; Liu, Suxia; Mo, Xingguo; Rosbjerg, Dan; Bauer-Gottwein, Peter

2014-05-01

Optimal management of conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater has been attempted with different algorithms in the literature. In this study, a hydro-economic modelling approach to optimize conjunctive use of scarce surface water and groundwater resources under uncertainty is presented. A stochastic dynamic programming (SDP) approach is used to minimize the basin-wide total costs arising from water allocations and water curtailments. Dynamic allocation problems with inclusion of groundwater resources proved to be more complex to solve with SDP than pure surface water allocation problems due to head-dependent pumping costs. These dynamic pumping costs strongly affect the total costs and can lead to non-convexity of the future cost function. The water user groups (agriculture, industry, domestic) are characterized by inelastic demands and fixed water allocation and water supply curtailment costs. As in traditional SDP approaches, one step-ahead sub-problems are solved to find the optimal management at any time knowing the inflow scenario and reservoir/aquifer storage levels. These non-linear sub-problems are solved using a genetic algorithm (GA) that minimizes the sum of the immediate and future costs for given surface water reservoir and groundwater aquifer end storages. The immediate cost is found by solving a simple linear allocation sub-problem, and the future costs are assessed by interpolation in the total cost matrix from the following time step. Total costs for all stages, reservoir states, and inflow scenarios are used as future costs to drive a forward moving simulation under uncertain water availability. The use of a GA to solve the sub-problems is computationally more costly than a traditional SDP approach with linearly interpolated future costs. However, in a two-reservoir system the future cost function would have to be represented by a set of planes, and strict convexity in both the surface water and groundwater dimension cannot be maintained. The optimization framework based on the GA is still computationally feasible and represents a clean and customizable method. The method has been applied to the Ziya River basin, China. The basin is located on the North China Plain and is subject to severe water scarcity, which includes surface water droughts and groundwater over-pumping. The head-dependent groundwater pumping costs will enable assessment of the long-term effects of increased electricity prices on the groundwater pumping. The coupled optimization framework is used to assess realistic alternative development scenarios for the basin. In particular the potential for using electricity pricing policies to reach sustainable groundwater pumping is investigated.

A tale of integrated regional water supply planning: Meshing socio-economic, policy, governance, and sustainability desires together

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asefa, Tirusew; Adams, Alison; Kajtezovic-Blankenship, Ivana

2014-11-01

In 1998, Tampa Bay Water, the largest wholesale water provider in South East USA with over 2.3 million customers, assumed the role of planning, developing, and operating water supply sources from six local water supply utilities through an Interlocal Agreement. Under the agreement, cities and counties served by the agency would have their water supply demands met unequivocally and share the cost of delivery and/or development of new supplies based on their consumption, allowing a more holistic approach to manage resources in the region. Consequently, the agency was able to plan and execute several components of its Long-Term Master Water Plan to meet the region's demand, as well as diversify its sources of water supply. Today, the agency manages a diverse and regionally interconnected water supply system that includes 13 wellfields, two surface water supply sources, off-site reservoir storage, a sea water desalination plant, a surface water treatment plant, and 14 pumping/booster stations. It delivers water through 390 km of large diameter pipe to 19 potable water connections. It uses state-of-the-practice computer tools to manage short and long-term operations and planning. As a result, after the agency's inception, groundwater pumpage was reduced by more than half in less than a decade-by far one of the largest cutback and smaller groundwater utilization rate compared to other utilities in Florida or elsewhere. The region was able to witness a remarkable recovery in lake and wetland water levels through the agency's use of this diverse mix of supply sources. For example, in the last three years, 45-65% of water supply came from groundwater sources, 35-45% from surface water sources and 1-9% from desalinated seawater-very different from 100% groundwater only supply just few years ago. As an "on demand" wholesale water provider, the agency forecasts water supply availability and expected water demands from seasonal to decadal time frames using a suite of forecasting tools and a structured decision-making process. This paper presents a case study of the approach taken by Tampa Bay Water to meet the region's growing water demands while satisfying other competing objectives in a sustainable fashion and documents the remarkable environmental improvement observed in the area.

Spatiotemporal variation of the surface water effect on the groundwater recharge in a low-precipitation region: Application of the multi-tracer approach to the Taihang Mountains, North China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakakibara, Koichi; Tsujimura, Maki; Song, Xianfang; Zhang, Jie

2017-02-01

Groundwater recharge variations in time and space are crucial for effective water management, especially in low-precipitation regions. To determine comprehensive groundwater recharge processes in a catchment with large seasonal hydrological variations, intensive field surveys were conducted in the Wangkuai Reservoir watershed located in the Taihang Mountains, North China, during three different times of the year: beginning of the rainy season (June 2011), mid-rainy season (August 2012), and dry season (November 2012). Oxygen and hydrogen isotope and chemical analyses were conducted on the groundwater, spring water, stream water, and reservoir water of the Wangkuai Reservoir watershed. The results were processed using endmember mixing analysis to determine the amount of contribution of the groundwater recharging processes. Similar isotopic and chemical signatures between the surface water and groundwater in the target area indicate that the surface water in the mountain-plain transitional area and the Wangkuai Reservoir are the principal groundwater recharge sources, which result from the highly permeable geological structure of the target area and perennial large-scale surface water, respectively. Additionally, the widespread and significant effect of the diffuse groundwater recharge on the Wangkuai Reservoir was confirmed with the deuterium (d) excess indicator and the high contribution throughout the year, calculated using endmember mixing analysis. Conversely, the contribution of the stream water to the groundwater recharge in the mountain-plain transitional area clearly decreases from the beginning of the rainy season to the mid-rainy season, whereas that of the precipitation increases. This suggests that the main groundwater recharge source shifts from stream water to episodic/continuous heavy precipitation in the mid-rainy season. In other words, the surface water and precipitation commonly affect the groundwater recharge in the rainy season, whereas the reservoir and stream water play important roles in the groundwater recharge in the low-precipitation period. The results should contribute not only to the understanding of the mountain hydrology but also to groundwater resource management in the North China Plain.

Water-Table and Potentiometric-Surface Altitudes in the Upper Glacial, Magothy, and Lloyd Aquifers beneath Long Island, New York, March-April 2006

USGS Publications Warehouse

Monti, Jack; Busciolano, Ronald J.

2009-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with State and local agencies, systematically collects ground-water data at varying measurement frequencies to monitor the hydrologic situation on Long Island, New York. Each year during March and April, the USGS conducts a synoptic survey of hydrologic conditions to define the spatial distribution of the water table and potentiometric surfaces within the three main water-bearing units underlying Long Island - the upper glacial, Magothy, and Lloyd aquifers. These data and the maps constructed from them are commonly used in studies of Long Island's hydrology, and by water managers and suppliers for aquifer management and planning purposes. Water-level measurements made in 502 wells across Long Island during March-April 2006, were used to prepare the maps in this report. Measurements were made by the wetted-tape method to the nearest hundredth of a foot. Water-table and potentiometric-surface altitudes in these aquifers were contoured using these measurements. The water-table contours were interpreted using water-level data collected from 341 wells screened in the upper glacial aquifer and (or) shallow Magothy aquifer; the Magothy aquifer's potentiometric-surface contours were interpreted from measurements at 102 wells screened in the middle to deep Magothy aquifer and (or) contiguous and hydraulically connected Jameco aquifer; and the Lloyd aquifer's potentiometric-surface contours were interpreted from measurements at 59 wells screened in the Lloyd aquifer or contiguous and hydraulically connected North Shore aquifer. Many of the supply wells are in continuous operation and, therefore, were turned off for a minimum of 24 hours before measurements were made so that the water levels in the wells could recover to the level of the potentiometric head in the surrounding aquifer. Full recovery time at some of these supply wells can exceed 24 hours; therefore, water levels measured at these wells are assumed to be less accurate than those measured at observation wells, which are not pumped. In this report, all water-level altitudes are referenced to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29).

USGS investigations of water produced during hydrocarbon reservoir development

USGS Publications Warehouse

Engle, Mark A.; Cozzarelli, Isabelle M.; Smith, Bruce D.

2014-01-01

Significant quantities of water are present in hydrocarbon reservoirs. When brought to the land surface during oil, gas, and coalbed methane production, the water—either naturally occurring or injected as a method to enhance production—is termed produced water. Produced water is currently managed through processes such as recycling, treatment and discharge, spreading on roads, evaporation or infiltration, and deep well injection. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists conduct research and publish data related to produced water, thus providing information and insight to scientists, decisionmakers, the energy industry, and the public. The information advances scientific knowledge, informs resource management decisions, and facilitates environmental protection. This fact sheet discusses integrated research being conducted by USGS scientists supported by programs in the Energy and Minerals and Environmental Health Mission Areas. The research products help inform decisions pertaining to understanding the nature and management of produced water in the United States.

Experimental study on soluble chemical transfer to surface runoff from soil.

PubMed

Tong, Juxiu; Yang, Jinzhong; Hu, Bill X; Sun, Huaiwei

2016-10-01

Prevention of chemical transfer from soil to surface runoff, under condition of irrigation and subsurface drainage, would improve surface water quality. In this paper, a series of laboratory experiments were conducted to assess the effects of various soil and hydraulic factors on chemical transfer from soil to surface runoff. The factors include maximum depth of ponding water on soil surface, initial volumetric water content of soil, depth of soil with low porosity, type or texture of soil and condition of drainage. In the experiments, two soils, sand and loam, mixed with different quantities of soluble KCl were filled in the sandboxes and prepared under different initial saturated conditions. Simulated rainfall induced surface runoff are operated in the soils, and various ponding water depths on soil surface are simulated. Flow rates and KCl concentration of surface runoff are measured during the experiments. The following conclusions are made from the study results: (1) KCl concentration in surface runoff water would decrease with the increase of the maximum depth of ponding water on soil surface; (2) KCl concentration in surface runoff water would increase with the increase of initial volumetric water content in the soil; (3) smaller depth of soil with less porosity or deeper depth of soil with larger porosity leads to less KCl transfer to surface runoff; (4) the soil with finer texture, such as loam, could keep more fertilizer in soil, which will result in more KCl concentration in surface runoff; and (5) good subsurface drainage condition will increase the infiltration and drainage rates during rainfall event and will decrease KCl concentration in surface runoff. Therefore, it is necessary to reuse drained fertile water effectively during rainfall, without polluting groundwater. These study results should be considered in agriculture management to reduce soluble chemical transfer from soil to surface runoff for reducing non-point sources pollution.

Water budget and flow attenuation in a small montane meadow in the Sierra Nevada, California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mancuso, L. A.; Cornwell, K.

2011-12-01

The purpose of this study was to assess how montane meadows aid in flow attenuation and store groundwater. The Van Vleck meadow, a 73 acre relatively healthy montane meadow in the Sierra Nevada of northern California was chosen for this analysis due to its protected status (in the Eldorado National Forest) and drainage infrastructure (culverts managing flow into and out of the meadow). A water budget for the meadow was developed to understand the quantity and timing of water entering and leaving the meadow throughout the 2009-2010 water year. The water storage capacity was estimated from data collected from piezometers, seismic refraction surveys and weirs. Flow attenuation parameters were assessed by comparing water reservoir increases and decreases during specific precipitation events. Results suggest that the meadow does slow down surface water pass through. An imbalance of surface flow in versus surface flow out suggests that surplus inflow waters may be recharging deeper aquifer systems via bedrock fractures although additional work is necessary to confirm this connection.

Application of an Environmental Decision Support System to a Water Quality Trading Program Affected by Surface Water Diversions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Obropta, Christopher C.; Niazi, Mehran; Kardos, Josef S.

2008-12-01

Environmental decision support systems (EDSSs) are an emerging tool used to integrate the evaluation of highly complex and interrelated physicochemical, biological, hydrological, social, and economic aspects of environmental problems. An EDSS approach is developed to address hot-spot concerns for a water quality trading program intended to implement the total maximum daily load (TMDL) for phosphorus in the Non-Tidal Passaic River Basin of New Jersey. Twenty-two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) spread throughout the watershed are considered the major sources of phosphorus loading to the river system. Periodic surface water diversions to a major reservoir from the confluence of two key tributaries alter the natural hydrology of the watershed and must be considered in the development of a trading framework that ensures protection of water quality. An EDSS is applied that enables the selection of a water quality trading framework that protects the watershed from phosphorus-induced hot spots. The EDSS employs Simon’s (1960) three stages of the decision-making process: intelligence, design, and choice. The identification of two potential hot spots and three diversion scenarios enables the delineation of three management areas for buying and selling of phosphorus credits among WWTPs. The result shows that the most conservative option entails consideration of two possible diversion scenarios, and trading between management areas is restricted accordingly. The method described here is believed to be the first application of an EDSS to a water quality trading program that explicitly accounts for surface water diversions.

Assessing the influence of climate change and inter-basin water diversion on Haihe River basin, eastern China: a coupled model approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xia, Jun; Wang, Qiang; Zhang, Xiang; Wang, Rui; She, Dunxian

2018-04-01

The modeling of changes in surface water and groundwater in the areas of inter-basin water diversion projects is quite difficult because surface water and groundwater models are run separately most of the time and the lack of sufficient data limits the application of complex surface-water/groundwater coupling models based on physical laws, especially for developing countries. In this study, a distributed surface-water and groundwater coupling model, named the distributed time variant gain model-groundwater model (DTVGM-GWM), was used to assess the influence of climate change and inter-basin water diversion on a watershed hydrological cycle. The DTVGM-GWM model can reflect the interaction processes of surface water and groundwater at basin scale. The model was applied to the Haihe River Basin (HRB) in eastern China. The possible influences of climate change and the South-to-North Water Diversion Project (SNWDP) on surface water and groundwater in the HRB were analyzed under various scenarios. The results showed that the newly constructed model DTVGM-GWM can reasonably simulate the surface and river runoff, and describe the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of groundwater level, groundwater storage and phreatic recharge. The prediction results under different scenarios showed a decline in annual groundwater exploitation and also runoff in the HRB, while an increase of groundwater storage and groundwater level after the SNWDP's operation. Additionally, as the project also addresses future scenarios, a slight increase is predicted in the actual evapotranspiration, soil water content and phreatic recharge. This study provides valuable insights for developing sustainable groundwater management options for the HRB.

Pesticide exposure assessment for surface waters in the EU. Part 2: Determination of statistically based run-off and drainage scenarios for Germany.

PubMed

Bach, Martin; Diesner, Mirjam; Großmann, Dietlinde; Guerniche, Djamal; Hommen, Udo; Klein, Michael; Kubiak, Roland; Müller, Alexandra; Preuss, Thomas G; Priegnitz, Jan; Reichenberger, Stefan; Thomas, Kai; Trapp, Matthias

2017-05-01

In order to assess surface water exposure to active substances of plant protection products (PPPs) in the European Union (EU), the FOCUS (FOrum for the Co-ordination of pesticide fate models and their USe) surface water workgroup introduced four run-off and six drainage scenarios for Step 3 of the tiered FOCUSsw approach. These scenarios may not necessarily represent realistic worst-case situations for the different Member States of the EU. Hence, the suitability of the scenarios for risk assessment in the national authorisation procedures is not known. Using Germany as an example, the paper illustrates how national soil-climate scenarios can be developed to model entries of active substances into surface waters from run-off and erosion (using the model PRZM) and from drainage (using the model MACRO). In the authorisation procedure for PPPs on Member State level, such soil-climate scenarios can be used to determine exposure endpoints with a defined overall percentile. The approach allows the development of national specific soil-climate scenarios and to calculate percentile-based exposure endpoints. The scenarios have been integrated into a software tool analogous to FOCUS-SWASH which can be used in the future to assess surface water exposure in authorisation procedures of PPPs in Germany. © 2017 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Curtailing Agricultural Pumping in an Era of Extended Drought: Infusing Science and Leagality into a Common Hydrologic Framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carroll, R. W. H.; Pohll, G.; Benedict, J.; Felling, R.

2016-12-01

Many arid and semi-arid agricultural systems of the Great Basin in the western United States depend on supplemental groundwater pumping to augment diminished surface water flows during periods of drought. As droughts become longer and more severe in the region, unprecedented drawdown in these aquifer systems has occurred with legal and environmental implications on both surface and groundwater. The Walker River in the Great Basin supports extensive agriculture in the region and is the sole perennial stream to one of the few desert terminal lakes in North America. Continuous declines in the lake have spurred extensive research into management options to balance demands of agriculture and increase water deliveries to the lake. Smith and Mason Valleys are important agricultural centers within the Walker Basin. In 2015 the region entered its fifth year of drought and both valleys were the focus of curtailment orders to restrict the use of supplemental groundwater rights. To aid management decisions, hydrologic models were developed that simulate complex feedbacks between surface diversions, crop consumptive needs, groundwater recharge, return flow, and groundwater-surface water interactions. Demand-driven pumping that incorporates priority dates and maximum duty allocations are directly input to the hydrologic model to allow an assessment of groundwater curtailment options under a variety of drought scenarios to meet targeted water levels and downstream conveyance of surface water in a legally defensible framework. Hydrologic results using a sliding scale approach to priority based curtailment are presented in the arena of stakeholder participation and response.

Pharmaceutical occurrence in groundwater and surface waters in forests land-applied with municipal wastewater.

PubMed

McEachran, Andrew D; Shea, Damian; Bodnar, Wanda; Nichols, Elizabeth Guthrie

2016-04-01

The occurrence and fate of pharmaceutical and personal care products in the environment are of increasing public importance because of their ubiquitous nature and documented effects on wildlife, ecosystems, and potentially humans. One potential, yet undefined, source of entry of pharmaceuticals into the environment is via the land application of municipal wastewater onto permitted lands. The objective of the present study is to determine the extent to which pharmaceuticals are mitigated by or exported from managed tree plantations irrigated with municipal wastewater. A specific focus of the present study is the presence of pharmaceutical compounds in groundwater and surface water discharge. The study site is a municipality that land-applies secondary treated wastewater onto 930 hectares of a 2000-hectare managed hardwood and pine plantation. A suite of 33 pharmaceuticals and steroid hormones was targeted in the analysis, which consisted of monthly grab sampling of groundwater, surface water, and wastewater, followed by concentration and cleanup via solid phase extraction and separation, detection, and quantification via liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. More than one-half of all compounds detected in irrigated wastewater were not present in groundwater and subsequent surface water. However, antibiotics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, caffeine, and other prescription and over-the-counter drugs remained in groundwater and were transported into surface water at concentrations up to 10 ng/L. These results provide important documentation for pharmaceutical fate and transport in forest systems irrigated with municipal wastewater, a previously undocumented source of environmental entry. © 2015 SETAC.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Elvado Environmental LLC

This report contains the groundwater and surface water monitoring data that were obtained during calendar year (CY) 2008 at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Y-12 National Security Complex (hereafter referenced as Y-12) on the DOE Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The CY 2008 monitoring data were obtained from wells, springs, and surface water sampling locations in three hydrogeologic regimes at Y-12 (Figure A.1). The Bear Creek Hydrogeologic Regime (Bear Creek Regime) encompasses a section of Bear Creek Valley (BCV) between the west end of Y-12 and the west end of the Bear Creek Watershed (directions aremore » in reference to the Y-12 grid system). The Upper East Fork Poplar Creek Hydrogeologic Regime (East Fork Regime) encompasses the Y-12 industrial facilities and support structures in BCV. The Chestnut Ridge Hydrogeologic Regime (Chestnut Ridge Regime) encompasses a section of Chestnut Ridge directly south of Y-12. Section 2 of this report provides background information pertinent to groundwater and surface water quality monitoring in each hydrogeologic regime, including the topography and bedrock geology, surface water drainage, groundwater system, and extent of groundwater contamination. The CY 2008 groundwater and surface water monitoring data in this report were obtained from sampling and analysis activities implemented under the Y-12 Groundwater Protection Program (GWPP) managed by Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services Y-12, LLC (B&W Y-12) and from sampling and analysis activities implemented under several monitoring programs managed by Bechtel Jacobs Company LLC (BJC). Cooperative implementation of the monitoring programs directed by the Y-12 GWPP and BJC (i.e., coordinating sample collection and sharing data) ensures that the CY 2008 monitoring results fulfill requirements of all the applicable monitoring drivers with no duplication of sampling and analysis efforts. Section 3 of this report contains a summary of information regarding the groundwater and surface water sampling and analysis activities implemented under the Y-12 GWPP including sampling locations and frequency; quality assurance (QA)/quality control (QC) sampling; sample collection and handling; field measurements and laboratory analytes; data management and data quality objective (DQO) evaluation; and groundwater elevation monitoring. However, this report does not include equivalent QA/QC or DQO evaluation information regarding the groundwater and surface water sampling and analysis activities associated with the monitoring programs implemented by BJC. Such details are deferred to the respective programmatic plans and reports issued by BJC (see Section 3.0).« less

Occurrence and distribution of pesticides and volatile organic compounds in ground water and surface water in Central Arizona Basins, 1996-98, and their relation to land use

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gellenbeck, Dorinda J.; Anning, David W.

2002-01-01

Samples of ground water and surface water from the Sierra Vista subbasin, the Upper Santa Cruz Basin, and the West Salt River Valley were collected and analyzed to determine the occurrence and distribution of pesticides and volatile organic compounds in central Arizona. The study was done during 1996-98 within the Central Arizona Basins study unit of the National Water-Quality Assessment program. This study included 121 wells and 4 surface-water sites in the 3 basins and the analyses of samples from 4 sites along the Santa Cruz River that were part of a separate study. Samples were collected from 121 wells and 3 surface-water sites for pesticide analyses, and samples were collected from 109 wells and 3 surface-water sites for volatile organic compound analyses. Certain pesticides detected in ground water and surface water can be related specifically to agricultural or urban uses; others can be related to multiple land uses. Effects from historical agriculture are made evident by detections of DDE in ground-water and surface-water samples collected in the West Salt River Valley and detections of atrazine and deethylatrazine in the ground water in the Upper Santa Cruz Basin. Effects from present agriculture are evident in the seasonal variability in concentrations of pre-emergent pesticides in surface-water samples from the West Salt River Valley. Several detections of DDE and dieldrin in surface water were higher than established water-quality limits. Effects of urban land use are made evident by detections of volatile organic compounds in ground water and surface water from the West Salt River Valley. Detections of volatile organic compounds in surface water from the Santa Cruz River near Nogales, Arizona, also are indications of the effects of urban land use. One detection of tetrachloroethene in ground water was higher than established water-quality limits. Water reuse is an important conservation technique in the Southwest; however, the reuse of water provides a transport mechanism for pesticides and volatile organic compounds to reach areas that are not normally affected by manmade compounds from specific land-use activities. The most complex mixture of pesticides and volatile organic compounds is in the West Salt River Valley and is the result of water-management practices and the combination of land uses in this basin throughout history.

Surface-water-quality assessment of the Yakima River basin, Washington; project description

USGS Publications Warehouse

McKenzie, S.W.; Rinella, J.F.

1987-01-01

In April 1986, the U.S. Geological Survey began the National Water Quality Assessment program to: (1) provide a nationally consistent description of the current status of water quality, (2) define water quality trends that have occurred over recent decades, and (3) relate past and present water quality conditions to relevant natural features, the history of land and water use, and land management and waste management practices. At present (1987), The National Water Quality Assessment program is in a pilot studies phase, in which assessment concepts and approaches are being tested and modified to prepare for possible full implementation of the program. Seven pilot projects (four surface water projects and three groundwater projects) have been started. The Yakima River basin in Washington is one of the pilot surface water project areas. The Yakima River basin drains in area of 6,155 sq mi and contains about 1,900 river mi of perennial streams. Major land use activities include growing and harvesting timber, dryland pasture grazing, intense farming and irrigated agriculture, and urbanization. Water quality issues that result from these land uses include potentially large concentrations of suspended sediment, bacteria, nutrients, pesticides, and trace elements that may affect water used for human consumption, fish propagation and passage, contact recreation, livestock watering, and irrigation. Data will be collected in a nine year cycle. The first three years of the cycle will be a period of concentrated data acquisition and interpretation. For the next six years, sample collection will be done at a much lower level of intensity to document the occurrence of any gross changes in water quality. This nine year cycle would then be repeated. Three types of sampling activities will be used for data acquisition: fixed location station sampling, synoptic sampling, and intensive reach studies. (Lantz-PTT)

Conjunctive management of multi-reservoir network system and groundwater system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mani, A.; Tsai, F. T. C.

2015-12-01

This study develops a successive mixed-integer linear fractional programming (successive MILFP) method to conjunctively manage water resources provided by a multi-reservoir network system and a groundwater system. The conjunctive management objectives are to maximize groundwater withdrawals and maximize reservoir storages while satisfying water demands and raising groundwater level to a target level. The decision variables in the management problem are reservoir releases and spills, network flows and groundwater pumping rates. Using the fractional programming approach, the objective function is defined as a ratio of total groundwater withdraws to total reservoir storage deficits from the maximum storages. Maximizing this ratio function tends to maximizing groundwater use and minimizing surface water use. This study introduces a conditional constraint on groundwater head in order to sustain aquifers from overpumping: if current groundwater level is less than a target level, groundwater head at the next time period has to be raised; otherwise, it is allowed to decrease up to a certain extent. This conditional constraint is formulated into a set of mixed binary nonlinear constraints and results in a mixed-integer nonlinear fractional programming (MINLFP) problem. To solve the MINLFP problem, we first use the response matrix approach to linearize groundwater head with respect to pumping rate and reduce the problem to an MILFP problem. Using the Charnes-Cooper transformation, the MILFP is transformed to an equivalent mixed-integer linear programming (MILP). The solution of the MILP is successively updated by updating the response matrix in every iteration. The study uses IBM CPLEX to solve the MILP problem. The methodology is applied to water resources management in northern Louisiana. This conjunctive management approach aims to recover the declining groundwater level of the stressed Sparta aquifer by using surface water from a network of four reservoirs as an alternative source of supply.

Assessment of water sources to plant growth in rice based cropping systems by stable water isotopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahindawansha, Amani; Kraft, Philipp; Racela, Heathcliff; Breuer, Lutz

2016-04-01

Rice is one of the most water-consuming crops in the world. Understanding water source utilization of rice will help us to improve water use efficiency (WUE) in paddy management. The objectives of our study are to evaluate the isotopic compositions of surface ponded water, soil water, irrigation water, groundwater, rain water and plant water and based on stable water isotope signatures to evaluate the contributions of various water sources to plant growth (wet rice, aerobic rice and maize) together with investigating the contribution of water from different soil horizons for plant growth in different maturity periods during wet and dry seasons. Finally we will compare the water balances and crop yields in both crops during both seasons and calculate the water use efficiencies. This will help to identify the most efficient water management systems in rice based cropping ecosystems using stable water isotopes. Soil samples are collected from 9 different depths at up to 60 cm in vegetative, reproductive and matured periods of plant growth together with stem samples. Soil and plant samples are extracted by cryogenic vacuum extraction. Root samples are collected up to 60 cm depth from 10 cm intercepts leading calculation of root length density and dry weight. Groundwater, surface water, rain water and irrigation water are sampled weekly. All water samples are analyzed for hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios (d18O and dD) using Los Gatos Research DLT100. Rainfall records, ground water level, surface water level fluctuations and the amount of water irrigated in each field will be measured during the sampling period. The direct inference approach which is based on comparing isotopic compositions (dD and d18O) between plant stem water and soil water will be used to determine water sources taken up by plant. Multiple-source mass balance assessment can provide the estimated range of potential contributions of water from each soil depth to root water uptake of a crop. These evaluations will be used to determine the proportion of water from upper soil horizons and deep horizons for rice and maize in different maturity periods during wet and dry seasons. Finally we will estimate the influence of groundwater and surface water by irrigation water and/or by precipitation. First results of the sampling during the wet season 2015 will be presented.

Assessing Variability and Errors in Historical Runoff Forecasting with Physical Models and Alternative Data Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Penn, C. A.; Clow, D. W.; Sexstone, G. A.

2017-12-01

Water supply forecasts are an important tool for water resource managers in areas where surface water is relied on for irrigating agricultural lands and for municipal water supplies. Forecast errors, which correspond to inaccurate predictions of total surface water volume, can lead to mis-allocated water and productivity loss, thus costing stakeholders millions of dollars. The objective of this investigation is to provide water resource managers with an improved understanding of factors contributing to forecast error, and to help increase the accuracy of future forecasts. In many watersheds of the western United States, snowmelt contributes 50-75% of annual surface water flow and controls both the timing and volume of peak flow. Water supply forecasts from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), National Weather Service, and similar cooperators use precipitation and snowpack measurements to provide water resource managers with an estimate of seasonal runoff volume. The accuracy of these forecasts can be limited by available snowpack and meteorological data. In the headwaters of the Rio Grande, NRCS produces January through June monthly Water Supply Outlook Reports. This study evaluates the accuracy of these forecasts since 1990, and examines what factors may contribute to forecast error. The Rio Grande headwaters has experienced recent changes in land cover from bark beetle infestation and a large wildfire, which can affect hydrological processes within the watershed. To investigate trends and possible contributing factors in forecast error, a semi-distributed hydrological model was calibrated and run to simulate daily streamflow for the period 1990-2015. Annual and seasonal watershed and sub-watershed water balance properties were compared with seasonal water supply forecasts. Gridded meteorological datasets were used to assess changes in the timing and volume of spring precipitation events that may contribute to forecast error. Additionally, a spatially-distributed physics-based snow model was used to assess possible effects of land cover change on snowpack properties. Trends in forecasted error are variable while baseline model results show a consistent under-prediction in the recent decade, highlighting possible compounding effects of climate and land cover changes.

Are harmful algal blooms becoming the greatest inland water quality threat to public health and aquatic ecosystems?

PubMed

Brooks, Bryan W; Lazorchak, James M; Howard, Meredith D A; Johnson, Mari-Vaughn V; Morton, Steve L; Perkins, Dawn A K; Reavie, Euan D; Scott, Geoffrey I; Smith, Stephanie A; Steevens, Jeffery A

2016-01-01

In this Focus article, the authors ask a seemingly simple question: Are harmful algal blooms (HABs) becoming the greatest inland water quality threat to public health and aquatic ecosystems? When HAB events require restrictions on fisheries, recreation, and drinking water uses of inland water bodies significant economic consequences result. Unfortunately, the magnitude, frequency, and duration of HABs in inland waters are poorly understood across spatiotemporal scales and differentially engaged among states, tribes, and territories. Harmful algal bloom impacts are not as predictable as those from conventional chemical contaminants, for which water quality assessment and management programs were primarily developed, because interactions among multiple natural and anthropogenic factors determine the likelihood and severity to which a HAB will occur in a specific water body. These forcing factors can also affect toxin production. Beyond site-specific water quality degradation caused directly by HABs, the presence of HAB toxins can negatively influence routine surface water quality monitoring, assessment, and management practices. Harmful algal blooms present significant challenges for achieving water quality protection and restoration goals when these toxins confound interpretation of monitoring results and environmental quality standards implementation efforts for other chemicals and stressors. Whether HABs presently represent the greatest threat to inland water quality is debatable, though in inland waters of developed countries they typically cause more severe acute impacts to environmental quality than conventional chemical contamination events. The authors identify several timely research needs. Environmental toxicology, environmental chemistry, and risk-assessment expertise must interface with ecologists, engineers, and public health practitioners to engage the complexities of HAB assessment and management, to address the forcing factors for HAB formation, and to reduce the threats posed to inland surface water quality. © 2015 SETAC.

The Everglades Depth Estimation Network (EDEN) surface-water model, version 2

USGS Publications Warehouse

Telis, Pamela A.; Xie, Zhixiao; Liu, Zhongwei; Li, Yingru; Conrads, Paul

2015-01-01

Three applications of the EDEN-modeled water surfaces and other EDEN datasets are presented in the report to show how scientists and resource managers are using EDEN datasets to analyze biological and ecological responses to hydrologic changes in the Everglades. The biological responses of two important Everglades species, alligators and wading birds, to changes in hydrology are described. The effects of hydrology on fire dynamics in the Everglades are also discussed.

Chemical application strategies to protect water quality

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Management of turfgrass on golf courses and athletic fields often involves application of plant protection products to maintain or enhance turfgrass health and performance. However, the transport of fertilizer and pesticides with runoff to adjacent surface waters can enhance algal blooms, promote e...

Crop yield summary for three wetland reservoir subirrigation systems in northwest Ohio

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Wetland Reservoir Subirrigation Systems (WRSIS) are innovative agricultural water management and recycling systems comprised of three main components; a constructed wetland, a water storage reservoir, and cropland containing subsurface drainage pipe systems. Surface runoff and subsurface drainage f...

Simulating the effects of ground-water withdrawals on streamflow in a precipitation-runoff model

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zarriello, Philip J.; Barlow, P.M.; Duda, P.B.

2004-01-01

Precipitation-runoff models are used to assess the effects of water use and management alternatives on streamflow. Often, ground-water withdrawals are a major water-use component that affect streamflow, but the ability of surface-water models to simulate ground-water withdrawals is limited. As part of a Hydrologic Simulation Program-FORTRAN (HSPF) precipitation-runoff model developed to analyze the effect of ground-water and surface-water withdrawals on streamflow in the Ipswich River in northeastern Massachusetts, an analytical technique (STRMDEPL) was developed for calculating the effects of pumped wells on streamflow. STRMDEPL is a FORTRAN program based on two analytical solutions that solve equations for ground-water flow to a well completed in a semi-infinite, homogeneous, and isotropic aquifer in direct hydraulic connection to a fully penetrating stream. One analytical method calculates unimpeded flow at the stream-aquifer boundary and the other method calculates the resistance to flow caused by semipervious streambed and streambank material. The principle of superposition is used with these analytical equations to calculate time-varying streamflow depletions due to daily pumping. The HSPF model can readily incorporate streamflow depletions caused by a well or surface-water withdrawal, or by multiple wells or surface-water withdrawals, or both, as a combined time-varying outflow demand from affected channel reaches. These demands are stored as a time series in the Watershed Data Management (WDM) file. This time-series data is read into the model as an external source used to specify flow from the first outflow gate in the reach where these withdrawals are located. Although the STRMDEPL program can be run independently of the HSPF model, an extension was developed to run this program within GenScn, a scenario generator and graphical user interface developed for use with the HSPF model. This extension requires that actual pumping rates for each well be stored in a unique WDM dataset identified by an attribute that associates each well with the model reach from which water is withdrawn. Other attributes identify the type and characteristics of the data. The interface allows users to easily add new pumping wells, delete exiting pumping wells, or change properties of the simulated aquifer or well. Development of this application enhanced the ability of the HSPF model to simulate complex water-use conditions in the Ipswich River Basin. The STRMDEPL program and the GenScn extension provide a valuable tool for water managers to evaluate the effects of pumped wells on streamflow and to test alternative water-use scenarios. Copyright ASCE 2004.

Data Validation Package October 2016 Groundwater and Surface Water Sampling at the Monticello, Utah, Disposal and Processing Sites January 2017

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nguyen, Jason; Smith, Fred

Sampling Period: October 10–12, 2016. This semiannual event includes sampling groundwater and surface water at the Monticello Disposal and Processing Sites. Sampling and analyses were conducted as specified in the Sampling and Analysis Plan for U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management Sites (LMS/PRO/S04351, continually updated) and Program Directive MNT-2016-01. Samples were collected from 54 of 64 planned locations (16 of 17 former mill site wells, 15 of 18 downgradient wells, 7 of 9 downgradient permeable reactive barrier wells, 3 of 3 bedrock wells, 4 of 7 seeps and wetlands, and 9 of 10 surface water locations).

Bioinspired materials for water supply and management: water collection, water purification and separation of water from oil.

PubMed

Brown, Philip S; Bhushan, Bharat

2016-08-06

Access to a safe supply of water is a human right. However, with growing populations, global warming and contamination due to human activity, it is one that is increasingly under threat. It is hoped that nature can inspire the creation of materials to aid in the supply and management of water, from water collection and purification to water source clean-up and rehabilitation from oil contamination. Many species thrive in even the driest places, with some surviving on water harvested from fog. By studying these species, new materials can be developed to provide a source of fresh water from fog for communities across the globe. The vast majority of water on the Earth is in the oceans. However, current desalination processes are energy-intensive. Systems in our own bodies have evolved to transport water efficiently while blocking other molecules and ions. Inspiration can be taken from such to improve the efficiency of desalination and help purify water containing other contaminants. Finally, oil contamination of water from spills or the fracking technique can be a devastating environmental disaster. By studying how natural surfaces interact with liquids, new techniques can be developed to clean up oil spills and further protect our most precious resource.This article is part of the themed issue 'Bioinspired hierarchically structured surfaces for green science'. © 2016 The Author(s).

Status of surface-water modeling in the U.S. Geological Survey

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jennings, Marshall E.; Yotsukura, Nobuhiro

1979-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey is active in the development and use of models for the analysis of various types of surface-water problems. Types of problems for which models have been, or are being developed, include categories such as the following: (1)specialized hydraulics, (2)flow routing in streams, estuaries, lakes, and reservoirs, (3) sedimentation, (4) transport of physical, chemical, and biological constituents, (5) surface exchange of heat and mass, (6) coupled stream-aquifer flow systems, (7) physical hydrology for rainfall-runoff relations, stream-system simulations, channel geometry, and water quality, (8) statistical hydrology for synthetic streamflows, floods, droughts, storage, and water quality, (9) management and operation problems, and (10) miscellaneous hydrologic problems. Following a brief review of activities prior to 1970, the current status of surface-water modeling is given as being in a developmental, verification, operational, or continued improvement phase. A list of recently published selected references, provides useful details on the characteristics of models.

National Management Measures to Protect and Restore Wetlands and Riparian Areas for the Abatement of Nonpoint Source Pollution

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Guidance includes technical assistance to state, local, and tribal program managers on means of reducing nonpoint source pollution of surface and ground water through the protection and restoration of wetlands and riparian areas.

40 CFR 279.54 - Used oil management.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Used oil management. 279.54 Section 279.54 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES (CONTINUED... the soil, groundwater, or surface water. (d) Secondary containment for existing aboveground tanks...

Modelling of THM formation potential and DOM removal based on drinking water catchment characteristics.

PubMed

Awad, John; Fisk, Claire A; Cox, Jim W; Anderson, Sharolyn J; van Leeuwen, John

2018-09-01

Catchment properties influence the character and concentration of dissolved organic matter (DOM). Surface and subsurface runoff from discrete catchments were collected and DOM was measured and assessed in terms of its treatability by Enhanced Coagulation and potential for disinfection by-product (trihalomethane, THMFP) formation potential. Models were developed of [1] DOM character [i.e. SUVA and SpCoL] and concentration (measured as dissolved organic carbon), [2] treatability of DOM by coagulation/flocculation processes and [3] specific THMFP based on the catchment features including: (a) surface and sub-surface soil texture (% clay: 5-25%), (b) topography (% slope: 5-15%) and (c) vegetation cover [i.e. high photosynthetic vegetation, low photosynthetic vegetation and bare soil] extracted from RapidEye satellite imagery using spectral mixture analysis. From these models, a catchment management decision support tool was designed for application by catchment managers to support decision-making of land-use and expected water quality related to water resources for drinking water supply. Data sets used for models developing presented in this paper have been published in Research Data Australia (RDA) under the title of "Impacts of catchment properties on DOM and nutrients in waters from drinking water catchments". 1 These data sets are available in open access and published in June 2017. A catchment management decision support model (CMDSM) tool was developed. Macros created using Visual Basic for Applications in Excel 2010. Excel 2010 or higher is required to open the CMDSM tool. The tool is provided by the University of South Australia (UniSA) and is not currently available on-line so please contact the corresponding author for access or further information. Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sustainable Capture: Concepts for Managing Stream-Aquifer Systems.

PubMed

Davids, Jeffrey C; Mehl, Steffen W

2015-01-01

Most surface water bodies (i.e., streams, lakes, etc.) are connected to the groundwater system to some degree so that changes to surface water bodies (either diversions or importations) can change flows in aquifer systems, and pumping from an aquifer can reduce discharge to, or induce additional recharge from streams, springs, and lakes. The timescales of these interactions are often very long (decades), making sustainable management of these systems difficult if relying only on observations of system responses. Instead, management scenarios are often analyzed based on numerical modeling. In this paper we propose a framework and metrics that can be used to relate the Theis concepts of capture to sustainable measures of stream-aquifer systems. We introduce four concepts: Sustainable Capture Fractions, Sustainable Capture Thresholds, Capture Efficiency, and Sustainable Groundwater Storage that can be used as the basis for developing metrics for sustainable management of stream-aquifer systems. We demonstrate their utility on a hypothetical stream-aquifer system where pumping captures both streamflow and discharge to phreatophytes at different amounts based on pumping location. In particular, Capture Efficiency (CE) can be easily understood by both scientists and non-scientist alike, and readily identifies vulnerabilities to sustainable stream-aquifer management when its value exceeds 100%. © 2014, National Ground Water Association.

Valuing Groundwater Resources in Arid Watersheds under Climate Change: A Framework and Estimates for the Upper Rio Grande

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hurd, B. H.; Coonrod, J.

2008-12-01

Climate change is expected to alter surface hydrology throughout the arid Western United States, in most cases compressing the period of peak snowmelt and runoff, and in some cases, for example, the Rio Grande, limiting total runoff. As such, climate change is widely expected to further stress arid watersheds, particularly in regions where trends in population growth, economic development and environmental regulation are current challenges. Strategies to adapt to such changes are evolving at various institutional levels including conjunctive management of surface and ground waters. Groundwater resources remain one of the key components of water management strategies aimed at accommodating continued population growth and mitigating the potential for water supply disruptions under climate change. By developing a framework for valuing these resources and for value improvements in the information pertaining to their characteristics, this research can assist in prioritizing infrastructure and investment to change and enhance water resource management. The key objective of this paper is to 1) develop a framework for estimating the value of groundwater resources and improved information, and 2) provide some preliminary estimates of this value and how it responds to plausible scenarios of climate change.

U.S. Geological Survey water-resource monitoring activities in support of the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative

USGS Publications Warehouse

Soileau, Suzanna; Miller, Kirk

2013-01-01

The quality of the Nation’s water resources are vital to the health and well-being of both our communities and the natural landscapes we value. The U.S. Geological Survey investigates the occurrence, quantity, quality, distribution, and movement of surface water and groundwater and provides this information to engineers, scientists, managers, educators, and the general public. This information also supplements current (2013) and historical water data provided by the National Water Information System. The U.S. Geological Survey collects and shares data nationwide, but how those data are used is often site specific; this variety of data assists natural-resource managers in addressing unique, local, and regional challenges.

Water quality standards for the protection of human health and aquatic ecosystems in Korea: current state and future perspective.

PubMed

Kwak, Jin Il; Nam, Sun-Hwa; An, Youn-Joo

2018-02-01

Since the Korean Ministry of the Environment established the Master Plan for Water Environment (2006-2015), the need to revise the water quality standards (WQSs) has driven government projects to expand the standards for the protection of human health and aquatic ecosystems. This study aimed to provide an historical overview of how these WQSs were established, amended, and expanded over the past 10 years in Korea. Here, major projects related to national monitoring in rivers and the amendment of WQSs were intensely reviewed, including projects on the categorization of hazardous chemicals potentially discharged into surface water, the chemical ranking and scoring methodology for surface water (CRAFT, Chemical RAnking of surFace water polluTants), whole effluent toxicity (WET) management systems, the 4th, 5th, and 6th revisions of the water quality standards for the protection of human health, and efforts toward developing the 7th revision. In this review, we assimilated the past and current status as well as future perspectives of Korean surface WQSs. This research provides information that aids our understanding of how surface WQSs have been expanded, and how scientific approaches to ensure water quality have been applied at each step of the process in Korea.

Hydrochemical and environmental isotope analysis of groundwater and surface water in a dry mountain region in Northern Chile.

PubMed

Zang, Carina; Dame, Juliane; Nüsser, Marcus

2018-05-08

This case study examines the geological imprint and land use practices on water quality in the arid Huasco Valley against the backdrop of ongoing water conflicts surrounding competing demands for agriculture and mining. The study is based on a detailed analysis of spatial and temporal variations of monthly surface and bi-monthly groundwater quality samples measured during the Chilean summer of 2015/16. Additional information on source regions and river-groundwater interactions were collected using stable water isotopes. Regarding the geological impact on water quality, high concentrations of Ca 2+ , SO 4 2- and HCO 3 - indicate a strong influence of magmatic rocks, which constitute this high mountain basin, on the hydrochemistry. Piper and Gibbs-diagrams revealed that all samples show a homogenous distribution dominated by rock-water interactions. Measured NO 3 - concentrations in surface water are generally low. However, groundwater aquifers exhibit higher concentrations. Mn is the only heavy metal with elevated concentrations in surface water, which are possibly related to mining activities. The results illustrate that both surface and groundwater can be classified as suitable for irrigation. In addition, groundwater has been found to be suitable as drinking water. High similarities in isotopic signatures indicate a strong connection between surface and groundwater. Isotopic analyses suggest a strong influence of evaporation. This combined approach of hydrogeochemical and isotopic analysis proved to be a helpful tool in characterizing the catchment and can serve as a basis for future sustainable water management.

The role of trees in urban stormwater management | Science ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Urban impervious surfaces convert precipitation to stormwater runoff, which causes water quality and quantity problems. While traditional stormwater management has relied on gray infrastructure such as piped conveyances to collect and convey stormwater to wastewater treatment facilities or into surface waters, cities are exploring green infrastructure to manage stormwater at its source. Decentralized green infrastructure leverages the capabilities of soil and vegetation to infiltrate, redistribute, and otherwise store stormwater volume, with the potential to realize ancillary environmental, social, and economic benefits. To date, green infrastructure science and practice have largely focused on infiltration-based technologies that include rain gardens, bioswales, and permeable pavements. However, a narrow focus on infiltration overlooks other losses from the hydrologic cycle, and we propose that arboriculture – the cultivation of trees and other woody plants – deserves additional consideration as a stormwater control measure. Trees interact with the urban hydrologic cycle by intercepting incoming precipitation, removing water from the soil via transpiration, enhancing infiltration, and bolstering the performance of other green infrastructure technologies. However, many of these interactions are inadequately understood, particularly at spatial and temporal scales relevant to stormwater management. As such, the reliable use of trees for stormwater control depe

Governance conditions for adaptive freshwater management in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ha, T. P.; Dieperink, Carel; Dang Tri, Van Pham; Otter, Henriëtte S.; Hoekstra, Piet

2018-02-01

The Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) is a region of utmost importance to Vietnam's national food security. However, the availability of required freshwater resources (from both surface and groundwater sources) is currently under great threats due to dry season salinity intrusion, surface water pollution, and over-exploitation of groundwater. Global climate change, sea level rise, and upstream and in situ development activities may worsen the situation. Assuming that adaptive management could be a promising strategy to address the increasingly complex and unpredictable water-related problems in the VMD, we design and apply a framework to identify the extent to which the governance regime in this region exhibits conditions that are likely to promote adaptive freshwater management. Using both primary and secondary data, our analysis reveals that the prospects for adaptive water management in the study area are limited since several conditions were not present. We observe among others limitations in vertical and horizontal integration and public participation, restraints in knowledge and information sharing, inadequate policy development and implementation, and insufficient diversification of financial resources. Following our findings, we conclude the paper with recommendations both for national, regional and local policy interventions and for future research.

Ground-water models for water resource planning

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moore, J.E.

1983-01-01

In the past decade hydrogeologists have emphasized the development of computer-based mathematical models to aid in the understanding of flow, the transport of solutes, transport of heat, and deformation in the ground-water system. These models have been used to provide information and predictions for water managers. Too frequently, ground-water was neglected in water resource planning because managers believed that it could not be adequately evaluated in terms of availability, quality, and effect of development on surface-water supplies. Now, however, with newly developed digital ground-water models, effects of development can be predicted. Such models have been used to predict hydrologic and quality changes under different stresses. These models have grown in complexity over the last ten years from simple one-layer models to three-dimensional simulations of ground-water flow, which may include solute transport, heat transport, effects of land subsidence, and encroachment of saltwater. Case histories illustrate how predictive ground-water models have provided the information needed for the sound planning and management of water resources in the USA. ?? 1983 D. Reidel Publishing Company.

Improving assessment of groundwater-resource sustainability with deterministic modelling: a case study of the semi-arid Musi sub-basin, South India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Massuel, S.; George, B. A.; Venot, J.-P.; Bharati, L.; Acharya, S.

2013-11-01

Since the 1990s, Indian farmers, supported by the government, have partially shifted from surface-water to groundwater irrigation in response to the uncertainty in surface-water availability. Water-management authorities only slowly began to consider sustainable use of groundwater resources as a prime concern. Now, a reliable integration of groundwater resources for water-allocation planning is needed to prevent aquifer overexploitation. Within the 11,000-km2 Musi River sub-basin (South India), human interventions have dramatically impacted the hard-rock aquifers, with a water-table drop of 0.18 m/a over the period 1989-2004. A fully distributed numerical groundwater model was successfully implemented at catchment scale. The model allowed two distinct conceptualizations of groundwater availability to be quantified: one that was linked to easily quantified fluxes, and one that was more expressive of long-term sustainability by taking account of all sources and sinks. Simulations showed that the latter implied 13 % less available groundwater for exploitation than did the former. In turn, this has major implications for the existing water-allocation modelling framework used to guide decision makers and water-resources managers worldwide.

Y-12 Groundwater Protection Program Groundwater and Surface water Sampling and Analysis Plan for Calendar Year 2006

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

N /A

2006-01-01

This plan provides a description of the groundwater and surface water quality monitoring activities planned for calendar year (CY) 2006 at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12) that will be managed by the Y-12 Groundwater Protection Program (GWPP). Groundwater and surface water monitoring performed by the GWPP during CY 2006 will be in accordance with DOE Order 540.1 requirements and the following goals: {sm_bullet} to maintain surveillance of existing and potential groundwater contamination sources; {sm_bullet} to provide for the early detection of groundwater contamination and determine the quality of groundwater and surface water where contaminantsmore » are most likely to migrate beyond the Oak Ridge Reservation property line; {sm_bullet} to identify and characterize long-term trends in groundwater quality at Y-12; and ! to provide data to support decisions concerning the management and protection of groundwater resources. Groundwater and surface water monitoring during CY 2006 will be performed primarily in three hydrogeologic regimes at Y-12: the Bear Creek Hydrogeologic Regime (Bear Creek Regime), the Upper East Fork Poplar Creek Hydrogeologic Regime (East Fork Regime), and the Chestnut Ridge Hydrogeologic Regime (Chestnut Ridge Regime). The Bear Creek and East Fork regimes are located in Bear Creek Valley, and the Chestnut Ridge Regime is located south of Y-12 (Figure A.1). Additional surface water monitoring will be performed north of Pine Ridge, along the boundary of the Oak Ridge Reservation (Figure A.1). Modifications to the CY 2006 monitoring program may be necessary during implementation. Changes in programmatic requirements may alter the analytes specified for selected monitoring wells or may add or remove wells from the planned monitoring network. All modifications to the monitoring program will be approved by the Y-12 GWPP manager and documented as addenda to this sampling and analysis plan. The following sections of this report provide details regarding the CY 2006 groundwater and surface water monitoring activities. Section 2 describes the monitoring locations in each regime and the processes used to select the sampling locations. A description of the field measurements and laboratory analytes is provided in Section 3; sample collection methods and procedures are described in Section 4; and Section 5 lists the documents cited for more detailed operational and technical information. The narrative sections of the report reference several appendices. Figures (maps and diagrams) and tables (excluding data summary tables presented in the narrative sections) are in Appendix A and Appendix B, respectively. The monitoring frequency and selection criteria for each sampling location is in Appendix C. Laboratory requirements (bottle lists, holding times, etc.) are provided in Appendix D. If issued, addenda to this plan will be inserted in Appendix E, and Groundwater Monitoring Schedules (when issued) will be inserted in Appendix F. Guidance for managing purged groundwater is provided in Appendix G.« less

Y-12 Groundwater Protection Program Groundwater And Surface Water Sampling And Analysis Plan For Calendar Year 2010

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Elvado Environmental LLC

2009-09-01

This plan provides a description of the groundwater and surface water quality monitoring activities planned for calendar year (CY) 2010 at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12) that will be managed by the Y-12 Groundwater Protection Program (GWPP). Groundwater and surface water monitoring performed by the GWPP during CY 2010 will be in accordance with requirements of DOE Order 540.1A and the following goals: (1) to protect the worker, the public, and the environment; (2) to maintain surveillance of existing and potential groundwater contamination sources; (3) to provide for the early detection of groundwater contaminationmore » and determine the quality of groundwater and surface water where contaminants are most likely to migrate beyond the Oak Ridge Reservation property line; (4) to identify and characterize long-term trends in groundwater quality at Y-12; and (5) to provide data to support decisions concerning the management and protection of groundwater resources. Groundwater and surface water monitoring during CY 2010 will be performed primarily in three hydrogeologic regimes at Y-12: the Bear Creek Hydrogeologic Regime (Bear Creek Regime), the Upper East Fork Poplar Creek Hydrogeologic Regime (East Fork Regime), and the Chestnut Ridge Hydrogeologic Regime (Chestnut Ridge Regime). The Bear Creek and East Fork regimes are located in Bear Creek Valley, and the Chestnut Ridge Regime is located south of Y-12 (Figure A.1). Additional surface water monitoring will be performed north of Pine Ridge, along the boundary of the Oak Ridge Reservation. Modifications to the CY 2010 monitoring program may be necessary during implementation. Changes in programmatic requirements may alter the analytes specified for selected monitoring wells or may add or remove wells from the planned monitoring network. All modifications to the monitoring program will be approved by the Y-12 GWPP manager and documented as addenda to this sampling and analysis plan. The following sections of this report provide details regarding the CY 2010 groundwater and surface water monitoring activities. Section 2 describes the monitoring locations in each regime and the processes used to select the sampling locations. A description of the field measurements and laboratory analytes is provided in Section 3. Sample collection methods and procedures are described in Section 4, and Section 5 lists the documents cited for more detailed operational and technical information. The narrative sections of the report reference several appendices. Figures (maps and diagrams) and tables (excluding data summary tables presented in the narrative sections) are in Appendix A and Appendix B, respectively. Groundwater Monitoring Schedules (when issued throughout CY 2010) will be inserted in Appendix C, and addenda to this plan (if issued) will be inserted in Appendix D. Laboratory requirements (bottle lists, holding times, etc.) are provided in Appendix E, and an approved Waste Management Plan is provided in Appendix F.« less

Surface Freshwater Storage and Variability in the Amazon Basin from Multi-Satellite Observations, 1993-2007

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Papa, Fabrice; Frappart, Frederic; Guntner, Andreas; Prigent, Catherine; Aires, Filipe; Getirana, Augusto; Maurer, Raffael

2013-01-01

The amount of water stored and moving through the surface water bodies of large river basins (river, floodplains, wetlands) plays a major role in the global water and biochemical cycles and is a critical parameter for water resources management. However, the spatio-temporal variations of these freshwater reservoirs are still widely unknown at the global scale. Here, we propose a hypsographic curve approach to estimate surface freshwater storage variations over the Amazon basin combining surface water extent from a multi-satellite-technique with topographic data from the Global Digital Elevation Model (GDEM) from Advance Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER). Monthly surface water storage variations for 1993-2007 are presented, showing a strong seasonal and interannual variability, and are evaluated against in situ river discharge and precipitation. The basin-scale mean annual amplitude of approx. 1200 cu km is in the range of previous estimates and contributes to about half of the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) total water storage variations. For the first time, we map the surface water volume anomaly during the extreme droughts of 1997 (October-November) and 2005 (September-October) and found that during these dry events the water stored in the river and flood-plains of the Amazon basin was, respectively, approx. 230 (approx. 40%) and 210 (approx. 50%) cu km below the 1993-2007 average. This new 15year data set of surface water volume represents an unprecedented source of information for future hydrological or climate modeling of the Amazon. It is also a first step toward the development of such database at the global scale.

Fractal behavior of soil water storage at multiple depths

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ji, Wenjun; Lin, Mi; Biswas, Asim; Si, Bing C.; Chau, Henry W.; Cresswell, Hamish P.

2016-08-01

Spatiotemporal behavior of soil water is essential to understand the science of hydrodynamics. Data intensive measurement of surface soil water using remote sensing has established that the spatial variability of soil water can be described using the principle of self-similarity (scaling properties) or fractal theory. This information can be used in determining land management practices provided the surface scaling properties are kept at deep layers. The current study examined the scaling properties of sub-surface soil water and their relationship to surface soil water, thereby serving as supporting information for plant root and vadose zone models. Soil water storage (SWS) down to 1.4 m depth at seven equal intervals was measured along a transect of 576 m for 5 years in Saskatchewan. The surface SWS showed multifractal nature only during the wet period (from snowmelt until mid- to late June) indicating the need for multiple scaling indices in transferring soil water variability information over multiple scales. However, with increasing depth, the SWS became monofractal in nature indicating the need for a single scaling index to upscale/downscale soil water variability information. In contrast, all soil layers during the dry period (from late June to the end of the growing season in early November) were monofractal in nature, probably resulting from the high evapotranspirative demand of the growing vegetation that surpassed other effects. This strong similarity between the scaling properties at the surface layer and deep layers provides the possibility of inferring about the whole profile soil water dynamics using the scaling properties of the easy-to-measure surface SWS data.

Understanding Water-Energy-Ecology Nexus from an Integrated Earth-Human System Perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, H. Y.; Zhang, X.; Wan, W.; Zhuang, Y.; Hejazi, M. I.; Leung, L. R.

2017-12-01

Both Earth and human systems exert notable controls on streamflow and stream temperature that influence energy production and ecosystem health. An integrated water model representing river processes and reservoir regulations has been developed and coupled to a land surface model and an integrated assessment model of energy, land, water, and socioeconomics to investigate the energy-water-ecology nexus in the context of climate change and water management. Simulations driven by two climate change projections following the RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 radiative forcing scenarios, with and without water management, are analyzed to evaluate the individual and combined effects of climate change and water management on streamflow and stream temperature in the U.S. The simulations revealed important impacts of climate change and water management on hydrological droughts. The simulations also revealed the dynamics of competition between changes in water demand and water availability in the RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios that influence streamflow and stream temperature, with important consequences to thermoelectricity production and future survival of juvenile Salmon. The integrated water model is being implemented to the Accelerated Climate Modeling for Energy (ACME), a coupled Earth System Model, to enable future investigations of the energy-water-ecology nexus in the integrated Earth-Human system.

Decadal water quality variations at three typical basins of Mekong, Murray and Yukon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, Afed U.; Jiang, Jiping; Wang, Peng

2018-02-01

Decadal distribution of water quality parameters is essential for surface water management. Decadal distribution analysis was conducted to assess decadal variations in water quality parameters at three typical watersheds of Murray, Mekong and Yukon. Right distribution shifts were observed for phosphorous and nitrogen parameters at the Mekong watershed monitoring sites while left shifts were noted at the Murray and Yukon monitoring sites. Nutrients pollution increases with time at the Mekong watershed while decreases at the Murray and Yukon watershed monitoring stations. The results implied that watershed located in densely populated developing area has higher risk of water quality deterioration in comparison to thinly populated developed area. The present study suggests best management practices at watershed scale to modulate water pollution.

Modeling Water Resource Systems Accounting for Water-Related Energy Use, GHG Emissions and Water-Dependent Energy Generation in California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Escriva-Bou, A.; Lund, J. R.; Pulido-Velazquez, M.; Medellin-Azuara, J.

2015-12-01

Most individual processes relating water and energy interdependence have been assessed in many different ways over the last decade. It is time to step up and include the results of these studies in management by proportionating a tool for integrating these processes in decision-making to effectively understand the tradeoffs between water and energy from management options and scenarios. A simple but powerful decision support system (DSS) for water management is described that includes water-related energy use and GHG emissions not solely from the water operations, but also from final water end uses, including demands from cities, agriculture, environment and the energy sector. Because one of the main drivers of energy use and GHG emissions is water pumping from aquifers, the DSS combines a surface water management model with a simple groundwater model, accounting for their interrelationships. The model also explicitly includes economic data to optimize water use across sectors during shortages and calculate return flows from different uses. Capabilities of the DSS are demonstrated on a case study over California's intertied water system. Results show that urban end uses account for most GHG emissions of the entire water cycle, but large water conveyance produces significant peaks over the summer season. Also the development of more efficient water application on the agricultural sector has increased the total energy consumption and the net water use in the basins.

Modelling tools for managing Induced RiverBank Filtration MAR schemes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Filippis, Giovanna; Barbagli, Alessio; Marchina, Chiara; Borsi, Iacopo; Mazzanti, Giorgio; Nardi, Marco; Vienken, Thomas; Bonari, Enrico; Rossetto, Rudy

2017-04-01

Induced RiverBank Filtration (IRBF) is a widely used technique in Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) schemes, when aquifers are hydraulically connected with surface water bodies, with proven positive effects on quality and quantity of groundwater. IRBF allows abstraction of a large volume of water, avoiding large decrease in groundwater heads. Moreover, thanks to the filtration process through the soil, the concentration of chemical species in surface water can be reduced, thus becoming an excellent resource for the production of drinking water. Within the FP7 MARSOL project (demonstrating Managed Aquifer Recharge as a SOLution to water scarcity and drought; http://www.marsol.eu/), the Sant'Alessio IRBF (Lucca, Italy) was used to demonstrate the feasibility and technical and economic benefits of managing IRBF schemes (Rossetto et al., 2015a). The Sant'Alessio IRBF along the Serchio river allows to abstract an overall amount of about 0.5 m3/s providing drinking water for 300000 people of the coastal Tuscany (mainly to the town of Lucca, Pisa and Livorno). The supplied water is made available by enhancing river bank infiltration into a high yield (10-2 m2/s transmissivity) sandy-gravelly aquifer by rising the river head and using ten vertical wells along the river embankment. A Decision Support System, consisting in connected measurements from an advanced monitoring network and modelling tools was set up to manage the IRBF. The modelling system is based on spatially distributed and physically based coupled ground-/surface-water flow and solute transport models integrated in the FREEWAT platform (developed within the H2020 FREEWAT project - FREE and Open Source Software Tools for WATer Resource Management; Rossetto et al., 2015b), an open source and public domain GIS-integrated modelling environment for the simulation of the hydrological cycle. The platform aims at improving water resource management by simplifying the application of EU water-related Directives and at facilitating the use of modeling environments and GIS tools for storage, management and visualization of large spatial datasets. The groundwater flow and solute transport model was built using FREEWAT, where MODFLOW-2005 and MT3DMS are integrated. The aquifer of the Sant'Alessio plain was discretized using square cells 100 m2 wide and two model layers, a silty-sandy superficial cover and the sandy-gravelly aquifer. Hydraulic connection with the Serchio river and exploitation of the aquifer through the Sant'Alessio well field were simulated. The aquifer model layer was further refined to simulate advection, dispersion, sorption and degradation of contaminants within the river. The objectives are: (i) estimating induced infiltration rates and travel times, (ii) optimizing groundwater exploitation in complex well field schemes, (iii) preventing pollution events, (iv) estimating time for remedial actions. Acknowledgements This paper is presented within the framework of the projects FP7 MARSOL and H2020 FREEWAT. The MARSOL project has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration under grant agreement no 619120. The FREEWAT project has received funding from the European Union's HORIZON 2020

Estimating and validating surface energy fluxes at field scale over a heterogeneous land surfaces based on two-source energy balance model (TSEB)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Accurate estimation of surface energy fluxes at field scale over large areas has the potential to improve agricultural water management in arid and semiarid watersheds. Remote sensing may be the only viable approach for mapping fluxes over heterogeneous landscapes. The Two-Source Energy Balance mode...

Water Management Decisions within a Changing Hydrologic Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wegner, D. L.

2013-12-01

Across the United States and around the world we are facing unprecedented demands on our surface and ground water. Increasing population demands coupled with maintaining water quality, supporting species and ecosystem services, distribution of supply, hydrologic variability associated with changing climatic conditions - all require us to look more rigorously at the intersection of policy, management and science. The water supply and hydroelectric constituencies has embraced the concept of Adaptive Management in balancing the needs of resources, people, economies and providing ecosystem support. In its infancy Adaptive Management was employed as a way to move forward on dam operation and reservoir management decisions while recognizing the unknowns of how up or downstream physical and biological elements of freshwater systems would respond. River science at the time was not mature or expansive enough to address the interrelated and complex impacts of the nuances of changing operations of dams. Adaptive Management, the concept, made good sense and has provided a framework to inform management and policy decisions while keeping the door open for integrating new knowledge into a management matrix - the essence of adaptation. The application of Adaptive Management principles has continued to expand as water management demands increase. The application and reality of the use of Adaptive Management has had variable success. In the United States we have over 25 federal agencies that have water in their mission statements. Combine this with 50 states with their own water management requirements, Native American Tribes, and countless watershed and local water supply constraints and you get a sense of the challenge associated with collaborating and addressing water management issues. Without having a set of national water objectives and goals (a National Water Policy) it is up to the collaboration and integration of the multiple water silos with appropriate science. It is within this context that river restoration and management case studies will be explored to evaluate opportunities, challenges, the process of integrating science-policy-management, and some perspectives on the possible options for building a water future. A water future that embraces the essence of Adaptive Management without using the concept as a convenient mechanism for avoiding having to make difficult decisions on water management. The review will include assessing the application of various tools including hydrologic and ecosystem models, experimental floods, channel-cleansing flows, manipulation of habitats, and seasonal allocation of water to provide flooding of estuary habitats and river mouths for water volume and water quality purposes.

Natural water purification and water management by artificial groundwater recharge

PubMed Central

Balke, Klaus-Dieter; Zhu, Yan

2008-01-01

Worldwide, several regions suffer from water scarcity and contamination. The infiltration and subsurface storage of rain and river water can reduce water stress. Artificial groundwater recharge, possibly combined with bank filtration, plant purification and/or the use of subsurface dams and artificial aquifers, is especially advantageous in areas where layers of gravel and sand exist below the earth’s surface. Artificial infiltration of surface water into the uppermost aquifer has qualitative and quantitative advantages. The contamination of infiltrated river water will be reduced by natural attenuation. Clay minerals, iron hydroxide and humic matter as well as microorganisms located in the subsurface have high decontamination capacities. By this, a final water treatment, if necessary, becomes much easier and cheaper. The quantitative effect concerns the seasonally changing river discharge that influences the possibility of water extraction for drinking water purposes. Such changes can be equalised by seasonally adapted infiltration/extraction of water in/out of the aquifer according to the river discharge and the water need. This method enables a continuous water supply over the whole year. Generally, artificially recharged groundwater is better protected against pollution than surface water, and the delimitation of water protection zones makes it even more save. PMID:18357624

Natural water purification and water management by artificial groundwater recharge.

PubMed

Balke, Klaus-Dieter; Zhu, Yan

2008-03-01

Worldwide, several regions suffer from water scarcity and contamination. The infiltration and subsurface storage of rain and river water can reduce water stress. Artificial groundwater recharge, possibly combined with bank filtration, plant purification and/or the use of subsurface dams and artificial aquifers, is especially advantageous in areas where layers of gravel and sand exist below the earth's surface. Artificial infiltration of surface water into the uppermost aquifer has qualitative and quantitative advantages. The contamination of infiltrated river water will be reduced by natural attenuation. Clay minerals, iron hydroxide and humic matter as well as microorganisms located in the subsurface have high decontamination capacities. By this, a final water treatment, if necessary, becomes much easier and cheaper. The quantitative effect concerns the seasonally changing river discharge that influences the possibility of water extraction for drinking water purposes. Such changes can be equalised by seasonally adapted infiltration/extraction of water in/out of the aquifer according to the river discharge and the water need. This method enables a continuous water supply over the whole year. Generally, artificially recharged groundwater is better protected against pollution than surface water, and the delimitation of water protection zones makes it even more save.

Modeling the hydrologic effects of land and water development interventions: a case study of the upper Blue Nile river basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haregeweyn, Nigussie; Tsunekawa, Atsushi; Tsubo, Mitsuru; Meshesha, Derege; Adgo, Enyew; Poesen, Jean; Schütt, Brigitta

2014-05-01

Over 67% of the Ethiopian landmass has been identified as very vulnerable to climate variability and land degradation. These problems are more prevalent in the Upper Blue Nile (UBN, often called Abay) river basin covering a drainage area of about 199,800 km2. The UBN River runs from Lake Tana (NW Ethiopia) to the Ethiopia-Sudan border. To enhance the adaptive capacity to the high climate variability and land degradation in the basin, different land and water management measures (stone/soil bunds, runoff collector trenches, exclosures) have been extensively implemented, especially since recent years. Moreover, multipurpose water harvesting schemes including the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD, reservoir area of ca. 4000 km2) and 17 other similar projects are being or to be implemented by 2025. However, impact studies on land and water management aspects rarely include detailed hydrological components especially at river basin scale, although it is generally regarded as a major determinant of hydrological processes. The main aim of this study is therefore to model the significance of land and water management interventions in surface runoff response at scale of UBN river basin and to suggest some recommendations. Spatially-distributed annual surface runoff was simulated for both present-day and future (2025) land and water management conditions using calibrated values of the proportional loss model in ArcGIS environment. Average annual rainfall map (1998-2012) was produced from calibrated TRMM satellite source and shows high spatial variability of rainfall ranging between ca. 1000 mm in the Eastern part of the basin to ca. 2000 mm in the southern part of the basin. Present-day land use day condition was obtained from Abay Basin Master Plan study. The future land use map was created taking into account the land and water development interventions to be implemented by 2025. Under present-day conditions, high spatial variability of annual runoff depth was observed in the basin ranging from 80 mm in the central part of the basin to over 1700 mm in water bodies. This variation is mainly controlled by variation in surface conditions and areal-extent of each land use type, and rainfall depth. For a specific land use type, runoff depth is found to increase with elevation as this in turn directly influences the rainfall distribution. By 2025, due to the land and water management interventions, total runoff depth in the basin could decrease by up to 40%. Following the conversion of other land use types to water bodies due to the medium to large-scale water harvesting schemes such as GERD reservoir, runoff response in those specific parts of the basin could increase by over 200%. Sub-basins have been prioritized for future land and water management interventions. Further study remains necessary to understand the downstream impacts of those interventions on runoff and sediment discharges. Keywords: Land and water management; Upper Blue Nile; Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam; Spatial variability of runoff; Downstream impact.

Issues that Drive Waste Management Technology Development for Space Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fisher, John W.; Levri, Julie A.; Hogan, John A.; Wignarajah, Kanapathipillai

2005-01-01

Waste management technologies for space life support systems are currently at low development levels. Manual compaction of waste in plastic bags and overboard disposal to earth return vehicles are the primary current waste management methods. Particularly on future missions, continuance of current waste management methods would tend to expose the crew to waste hazards, forfeit recoverable resources such as water, consume valuable crew time, contaminate planetary surfaces, and risk return to Earth of extraterrestrial life. Improvement of waste management capabilities is needed for adequate management of wastes. Improvements include recovery of water and other resources, conversion of waste to states harmless to humans, long-term containment of wastes, and disposal of waste. Current NASA requirements documents on waste management are generally not highly detailed. More detailed requirements are needed to guide the development of waste management technologies that will adequately manage waste. In addition to satisfying requirements, waste management technologies must also recover resources. Recovery of resources such as water and habitat volume can reduce mission cost. This paper explores the drivers for waste management technology development including requirements and resource recovery.

Water budget and estimated suspended-sediment inflow for Reelfoot Lake, Obion and Lake Counties, Northwestern Tennessee, May 1984-April 1985

USGS Publications Warehouse

Robbins, Clarence H.

1985-01-01

Reelfoot Lake in northwestern Tennessee, with a surface area of 15,500 acres at normal pool elevation, is the largest natural lake in Tennessee. Over the years, the lake has become an important economic, environmental, and recreational resource to the people in the area, and to the State of Tennessee. The natural eutrophic succession rate of the lake has apparently been accelerated by land use practices within the Reelfoot Lake drainage basin during the past several decades. The potential loss of Reelfoot Lake has prompted the State to make management and restoration of the lake and its resources a priority objective. The U.S. Geological Survey entered into a cooperative study in May 1984 with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the Tennessee Department of Health and Environment, Division of Water Management, to collect and analyze hydrologic data and prepare an annual water budget for Reelfoot Lake. The purpose of the water budget is to provide an analysis of the surface-groundwater-lake-atmospheric water relation at Reelfoot Lake. Results of the analysis can be used by lake managers to evaluate the potential effects of proposed lake management strategies upon the lake and surrounding hydrologic system. The water budget for the 12-month study period (May 1, 1984 through April 30, 1985) is presented in this report. In addition, estimates of suspended-sediment discharge from tributary streams in the Reelfoot Lake basin and an analysis of concentrations of constituents in stream-bottom material at three inflow sites are also presented. (Lantz-PTT)

Hydrological modeling of upper Indus Basin and assessment of deltaic ecology

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Managing water resources is mostly required at watershed scale where the complex hydrology processes and interactions linking land surface, climatic factors and human activities can be studied. Geographical Information System based watershed model; Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is applied f...

Feedbacks between managed irrigation and water availability: Diagnosing temporal and spatial patterns using an integrated hydrologic model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Condon, Laura E.; Maxwell, Reed M.

2014-03-01

Groundwater-fed irrigation has been shown to deplete groundwater storage, decrease surface water runoff, and increase evapotranspiration. Here we simulate soil moisture-dependent groundwater-fed irrigation with an integrated hydrologic model. This allows for direct consideration of feedbacks between irrigation demand and groundwater depth. Special attention is paid to system dynamics in order to characterized spatial variability in irrigation demand and response to increased irrigation stress. A total of 80 years of simulation are completed for the Little Washita Basin in Southwestern Oklahoma, USA spanning a range of agricultural development scenarios and management practices. Results show regionally aggregated irrigation impacts consistent with other studies. However, here a spectral analysis reveals that groundwater-fed irrigation also amplifies the annual streamflow cycle while dampening longer-term cyclical behavior with increased irrigation during climatological dry periods. Feedbacks between the managed and natural system are clearly observed with respect to both irrigation demand and utilization when water table depths are within a critical range. Although the model domain is heterogeneous with respect to both surface and subsurface parameters, relationships between irrigation demand, water table depth, and irrigation utilization are consistent across space and between scenarios. Still, significant local heterogeneities are observed both with respect to transient behavior and response to stress. Spatial analysis of transient behavior shows that farms with groundwater depths within a critical depth range are most sensitive to management changes. Differences in behavior highlight the importance of groundwater's role in system dynamics in addition to water availability.

Groundwater modeling in integrated water resources management--visions for 2020.

PubMed

Refsgaard, Jens Christian; Højberg, Anker Lajer; Møller, Ingelise; Hansen, Martin; Søndergaard, Verner

2010-01-01

Groundwater modeling is undergoing a change from traditional stand-alone studies toward being an integrated part of holistic water resources management procedures. This is illustrated by the development in Denmark, where comprehensive national databases for geologic borehole data, groundwater-related geophysical data, geologic models, as well as a national groundwater-surface water model have been established and integrated to support water management. This has enhanced the benefits of using groundwater models. Based on insight gained from this Danish experience, a scientifically realistic scenario for the use of groundwater modeling in 2020 has been developed, in which groundwater models will be a part of sophisticated databases and modeling systems. The databases and numerical models will be seamlessly integrated, and the tasks of monitoring and modeling will be merged. Numerical models for atmospheric, surface water, and groundwater processes will be coupled in one integrated modeling system that can operate at a wide range of spatial scales. Furthermore, the management systems will be constructed with a focus on building credibility of model and data use among all stakeholders and on facilitating a learning process whereby data and models, as well as stakeholders' understanding of the system, are updated to currently available information. The key scientific challenges for achieving this are (1) developing new methodologies for integration of statistical and qualitative uncertainty; (2) mapping geological heterogeneity and developing scaling methodologies; (3) developing coupled model codes; and (4) developing integrated information systems, including quality assurance and uncertainty information that facilitate active stakeholder involvement and learning.

Middle Rio Grande Water Sustainability in Extreme Drought: Using Provenance to Trace Modeling Scenarios Selected by Users

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pennington, D. D.; Garnica Chavira, L.; Villanueva-Rosales, N.

2017-12-01

People living in the vicinity of the middle Rio Grande from Elephant Butte Reservoir in New Mexico through Fort Quitman, Texas, including inhabitants on the Mexican side of the river, are confronted with numerous challenges that include drought, population growth, reduced surface water quality and quantity, declining aquifers, and expected future increases in temperature with more variable precipitation. The transboundary surface water is subject to complex regulation across two U.S. states and two nations (U.S. and Mexico). This presentation will summarize the modeling efforts of a USDA-funded project to characterize potential future solutions for water sustainability while managing agriculture, economic, and human impacts. It will present an online software system designed for rapid, flexible modeling of different climate, policy, and technology scenarios with stakeholders, and the underlying intelligent system that manages model selection, data and parameters, and user choices, and provides a provenance trace based on the W3C PROV standard.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Elvado Environmental LLC

This plan provides a description of the groundwater and surface water quality monitoring activities planned for calendar year (CY) 2009 at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12) that will be managed by the Y-12 Groundwater Protection Program (GWPP). Groundwater and surface water monitoring performed by the GWPP during CY 2009 will be in accordance with DOE Order 540.1 requirements and the following goals: (1) to protect the worker, the public, and the environment; (2) to maintain surveillance of existing and potential groundwater contamination sources; (3) to provide for the early detection of groundwater contamination andmore » determine the quality of groundwater and surface water where contaminants are most likely to migrate beyond the Oak Ridge Reservation property line; (4) to identify and characterize long-term trends in groundwater quality at Y-12; and (5) to provide data to support decisions concerning the management and protection of groundwater resources. Groundwater and surface water monitoring during CY 2009 will be performed primarily in three hydrogeologic regimes at Y-12: the Bear Creek Hydrogeologic Regime (Bear Creek Regime), the Upper East Fork Poplar Creek Hydrogeologic Regime (East Fork Regime), and the Chestnut Ridge Hydrogeologic Regime (Chestnut Ridge Regime). The Bear Creek and East Fork regimes are located in Bear Creek Valley, and the Chestnut Ridge Regime is located south of Y-12 (Figure A.1). Additional surface water monitoring will be performed north of Pine Ridge, along the boundary of the Oak Ridge Reservation. Modifications to the CY 2009 monitoring program may be necessary during implementation. Changes in programmatic requirements may alter the analytes specified for selected monitoring wells or may add or remove wells from the planned monitoring network. All modifications to the monitoring program will be approved by the Y-12 GWPP manager and documented as addenda to this sampling and analysis plan. The following sections of this report provide details regarding the CY 2009 groundwater and surface water monitoring activities. Section 2 describes the monitoring locations in each regime and the processes used to select the sampling locations. A description of the field measurements and laboratory analytes is provided in Section 3; sample collection methods and procedures are described in Section 4; and Section 5 lists the documents cited for more detailed operational and technical information.« less

Permitted water use in Iowa, 1985

USGS Publications Warehouse

Runkle, D.L.; Newman, J.L.; Shields, E.M.

1985-01-01

This report summarizes where, how much and for what purpose water is allocated for use in Iowa with permits issued by the Department of Water, Air and Waste Management. In Iowa, from a total permitted water use of 855,175.45 million gallons per year, about 58 percent is from surface-water sources and about 42 percent is from ground-water sources. Streams are 80.5 percent of the total surface-water use and wells make up 80.1 percent of the total ground-water use, with 65.4 percent of ground water coming from surficial aquifers. Power generation is the use category that is permitted the largest amount of total water use, 46.6 percent, with surface water being the source of 96.7 percent and 77.9 percent of the surface water is from streams. The public water suppliers' category is the next largest use type with 15.7 percent of the total permitted water. Ground water constitutes 74.4 percent of the public water supplier category with 51.7 percent from surficial aquifers. Surface water makes up 25.6 percent of this category with 83.0 percent of the surface water withdrawn from streams. Mining comprises 13.4 percent of the total water use and is the third largest water-use category. Ground water is the source of 63.3 percent of permitted mining water use with 94.3 percent of this from quarries and sand and gravel pits. Surface water is the source of 36.7 percent of the permitted mining water use with 97.6 percent from streams. Irrigation is the fourth largest permitted use type using 12.0 percent of the total water use. Eighty-eight percent of irrigation is from ground-water sources where surficial aquifers account for 94.7 percent. Streams are 81.1 percent of irrigational surface-water use. Self-supplied industrial users are permitted 10.6 percent of the total permitted water use with 85.5 percent of this from ground-water sources and 14.5 percent from surface-water sources. Of the self-supplied industrial ground-water use, 47.9 percent comes from surficial aquifers and of the self-supplied industrial surface-water use 86.1 percent is from streams. Self-supplied commercial use is allocated 1.5 percent of the total permitted water. Surface-water is the source of 37.7 percent of this and 62.3 percent is from ground-water sources. Agricultural (non-irrigation) use is 0.3 percent of the total permitted water with 73.3 percent from groundwater sources and 26.7 percent from surface-water sources. The areas that are allocated the most water permits are east-central Iowa and west-central Iowa.

Using Automation to Improve Surface Irrigation Management

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In the Lower Mississippi Water Resource Area (WRA 08), also called the Mid-South, 2 million ha of cropland (80% of the irrigated farmland) employ surface irrigation, almost equally divided between furrow (52%) and controlled flooding (48%). Because Mid-South farmers experience less-than-optimal surf...

Time-Dependent Liquid Transport on a Biomimetic Topological Surface.

PubMed

Yu, Cunlong; Li, Chuxin; Gao, Can; Dong, Zhichao; Wu, Lei; Jiang, Lei

2018-05-02

Liquid drops impacting on a solid surface is a familiar phenomenon. On rainy days, it is quite important for leaves to drain off impacting raindrops. Water can bounce off or flow down a water-repellent leaf easily, but with difficulty on a hydrophilic leaf. Here, we show an interesting phenomenon in which impacting drops on the hydrophilic pitcher rim of Nepenthes alata can spread outward to prohibit water filling the pitcher tank. We mimic the peristome surface through a designed 3D printing and replicating way and report a time-dependently switchable liquid transport based on biomimetic topological structures, where surface curvature can work synergistically with the surface microtextures to manipulate the switchable spreading performance. Motived by this strange behavior, we construct a large-scaled peristome-mimetic surface in a 3D profile, demonstrating the ability to reduce the need to mop or to squeegee drops that form during the drop impacting process on pipes or other curved surfaces in food processing, moisture transfer, heat management, etc.

Coupled Surface and Groundwater Hydrological Modeling in a Changing Climate.

PubMed

Sridhar, Venkataramana; Billah, Mirza M; Hildreth, John W

2017-11-09

Many current watershed modeling efforts now incorporate surface water and groundwater for managing water resources since the exchanges between groundwater and surface water need a special focus considering the changing climate. The influence of groundwater dynamics on water and energy balance components is investigated in the Snake River Basin (SRB) by coupling the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) and MODFLOW models (VIC-MF) for the period of 1986 through 2042. A 4.4% increase in base flows and a 10.3% decrease in peak flows are estimated by VIC-MF compared to the VIC model in SRB. The VIC-MF model shows significant improvement in the streamflow simulation (Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency [NSE] of 0.84) at King Hill, where the VIC model could not capture the effect of spring discharge in the streamflow simulation (NSE of -0.30); however, the streamflow estimates show an overall decreasing trend. Two climate scenarios representing median and high radiative-forcings such as representative concentration pathways 4.5 and 8.5 show an average increase in the water table elevations between 2.1 and 2.6 m (6.9 and 8.5 feet) through the year 2042. The spatial patterns of these exchanges show a higher groundwater elevation of 15 m (50 feet) in the downstream area and a lower elevation of up to 3 m (10 feet) in the upstream area. Broadly, this study supports results of previous work demonstrating that integrated assessment of groundwater-surface water enables stakeholders to balance pumping, recharge and base flow needs and to manage the watersheds that are subjected to human pressures more sustainably. © 2017, National Ground Water Association.

Multivariate statistical techniques for the evaluation of surface water quality of the Himalayan foothills streams, Pakistan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malik, Riffat Naseem; Hashmi, Muhammad Zaffar

2017-10-01

Himalayan foothills streams, Pakistan play an important role in living water supply and irrigation of farmlands; thus, the water quality is closely related to public health. Multivariate techniques were applied to check spatial and seasonal trends, and metals contamination sources of the Himalayan foothills streams, Pakistan. Grab surface water samples were collected from different sites (5-15 cm water depth) in pre-washed polyethylene containers. Fast Sequential Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (Varian FSAA-240) was used to measure the metals concentration. Concentrations of Ni, Cu, and Mn were high in pre-monsoon season than the post-monsoon season. Cluster analysis identified impaired, moderately impaired and least impaired clusters based on water parameters. Discriminant function analysis indicated spatial variability in water was due to temperature, electrical conductivity, nitrates, iron and lead whereas seasonal variations were correlated with 16 physicochemical parameters. Factor analysis identified municipal and poultry waste, automobile activities, surface runoff, and soil weathering as major sources of contamination. Levels of Mn, Cr, Fe, Pb, Cd, Zn and alkalinity were above the WHO and USEPA standards for surface water. The results of present study will help to higher authorities for the management of the Himalayan foothills streams.

Increase globe artichoke cropping sustainability using sub-surface drip-irrigation systems in a Mediterranean coastal area for reducing groundwater withdrawal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mantino, Alberto; Marchina, Chiara; Bonari, Enrico; Fabbrizzi, Alessandro; Rossetto, Rudy

2017-04-01

During the last decades in coastal areas of the Mediterranean basin, human growth posed severe stresses on freshwater resources due to increasing demand by agricultural, industrial and civil activities, in particular on groundwater. This in turn led to worsening of water quality, loss/reduction of wetlands, up to soil salinization and abandonment of agricultural areas. Within the EU LIFE REWAT project a number of demonstration measures will take place in the lower Cornia valley (Livorno, Italy), both structural (pilot) and non-structural (education, dissemination and capacity building), aiming at achieving sustainable and participated water management. In particular, the five demonstration actions are related to: (1) set up of a managed aquifer recharge facility, (2) restoration of a Cornia river reach, (3) water saving in the civil water supply sector, (4) water saving in agriculture, (5) reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation purposes. Thus, the REWAT project general objective is to develop a new model of governance for sustainable development of the lower Cornia valley based on the water asset at its core. As per water use in agriculture, the lower Cornia valley is well known for the horticultural production. In this regard, globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus L. var. scolymus L. (Fiori)) crops, a perennial cool-season vegetable, cover a surface of about 600 ha. In order to increase stability and productivity of the crop, about 2000 - 4000 m3 ha-1 yr-1 of irrigation water is required. Recent studies demonstrated that yield of different crops increases using Sub-surface Drip-Irrigation (SDI) system under high frequency irrigation management enhancing water use efficiency. In the SDI systems, the irrigation water is delivered to the plant root zone, below the soil surface by buried plastic tubes containing embedded emitters located at regular spacing. Within the LIFE REWAT, the specific objectives of the pilot on irrigation efficiency is to (i) demonstrate the suitability of SDI for globe artichoke cultivation, reducing the water consumption, while maintaining (or even increasing) crop production and (ii) assess the crop water use efficiency respect to surface drip-irrigation. The field test is located in Venturina (Italy) and it covers a surface of 4 ha. The soil is characterized by sandy-loam texture, 1.72% of organic matter at 7.81 pH. Groundwater is the main source of supply for irrigation. By the chemical point of view, a monitoring campaign in spring 2016 showed a neutral pH of 7.2, electrical conductivity of 1363 μS/cm, 373 and 243 mg/l of total sulphate and carbonate, respectively, thus demonstrating the suitability of groundwater for SDI application. The SDI system was implemented at the beginning of September 2016. The sub-surface buried pipelines, were placed at 0.25 m depth, with emitters spaced 0.5 m. The distance between pipelines was 1.5 m, according to globe artichoke layout (1.5 m between rows, 1 m in-row spacing). Surface-buried tubes were placed in an area about 0.75 ha wide for the comparison with SDI. Artichoke var. Terom were transplanted after the SDI operation test. In the next 3 years, both crop productivity and water use will be assessed. Results will be presented and discussed with the whole farmer's community. Acknowledgement This paper is presented within the framework of the project LIFE REWAT, which has received funding from the LIFE Programme of the European Union Grant Agreement LIFE14 ENV/IT/001290.

Water resources data for Oregon, water year 2004

USGS Publications Warehouse

Herrett, Thomas A.; Hess, Glenn W.; House, Jon G.; Ruppert, Gregory P.; Courts, Mary-Lorraine

2005-01-01

The annual Oregon water data report is one of a series of annual reports that document hydrologic data gathered from the U.S. Geological Survey's surface- and ground-water data-collection networks in each State, Puerto Rico, and the Trust Territories. These records of streamflow, ground-water levels, and quality of water provide the hydrologic information needed by State, local, Tribal, and Federal agencies and the private sector for developing and managing our Nation's land and water resources. This report contains water year 2004 data for both surface and ground water, including discharge records for 209 streamflow-gaging stations, 42 partial-record or miscellaneous streamflow stations, and 9 crest-stage partial-record streamflow stations; stage-only records for 6 gaging stations; stage and content records for 15 lakes and reservoirs; water-level records from 12 long-term observation wells; and water-quality records collected at 133 streamflow-gaging stations and 1 atmospheric deposition station.

Integration of models of various types of aquifers for water quality management in the transboundary area of the Soča/Isonzo river basin (Slovenia/Italy).

PubMed

Vižintin, Goran; Ravbar, Nataša; Janež, Jože; Koren, Eva; Janež, Naško; Zini, Luca; Treu, Francesco; Petrič, Metka

2018-04-01

Due to intrinsic characteristics of aquifers groundwater frequently passes between various types of aquifers without hindrance. The complex connection of underground water paths enables flow regardless of administrative boundaries. This can cause problems in water resources management. Numerical modelling is an important tool for the understanding, interpretation and management of aquifers. Useful and reliable methods of numerical modelling differ with regard to the type of aquifer, but their connections in a single hydrodynamic model are rare. The purpose of this study was to connect different models into an integrated system that enables determination of water travel time from the point of contamination to water sources. The worst-case scenario is considered. The system was applied in the Soča/Isonzo basin, a transboundary river in Slovenia and Italy, where there is a complex contact of karst and intergranular aquifers and surface flows over bedrock with low permeability. Time cell models were first elaborated separately for individual hydrogeological units. These were the result of numerical hydrological modelling (intergranular aquifer and surface flow) or complex GIS analysis taking into account the vulnerability map and tracer tests results (karst aquifer). The obtained cellular models present the basis of a contamination early-warning system, since it allows an estimation when contaminants can be expected to appear, and in which water sources. The system proves that the contaminants spread rapidly through karst aquifers and via surface flows, and more slowly through intergranular aquifers. For this reason, karst water sources are more at risk from one-off contamination incidents, while water sources in intergranular aquifers are more at risk in cases of long-term contamination. The system that has been developed is the basis for a single system of protection, action and quality monitoring in the areas of complex aquifer systems within or on the borders of administrative units. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pesticide management and their residues in sediments and surface and drinking water in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam.

PubMed

Toan, Pham Van; Sebesvari, Zita; Bläsing, Melanie; Rosendahl, Ingrid; Renaud, Fabrice G

2013-05-01

Public concern in Vietnam is increasing with respect to pesticide pollution of the environment and of drinking water resources. While established monitoring programs in the Mekong Delta (MD) focus on the analysis of organochlorines and some organophosphates, the environmental concentrations of more recently used pesticides such as carbamates, pyrethroides, and triazoles are not monitored. In the present study, household level pesticide use and management was therefore surveyed and combined with a one year environmental monitoring program of thirteen relevant pesticides (buprofezin, butachlor, cypermethrin, α-endosulfan, β-endosulfan, endosulfan-sulfate, fenobucarb, fipronil, isoprothiolane, pretilachlor, profenofos, propanil, and propiconazole) in surface water, soil, and sediment samples. The surveys showed that household level pesticide management remains suboptimal in the Mekong Delta. As a consequence, a wide range of pesticide residues were present in water, soil, and sediments throughout the monitoring period. Maximum concentrations recorded were up to 11.24 μg l(-1) in water for isoprothiolane and up to 521 μg kg(-1) dm in sediment for buprofezin. Annual average concentrations ranged up to 3.34 μg l(-1) in water and up to 135 μg kg(-1) dm in sediment, both for isoprothiolane. Occurrence of pesticides in the environment throughout the year and co-occurrence of several pesticides in the samples indicate a considerable chronic exposure of biota and humans to pesticides. This has a high relevance in the delta as water for drinking is often extracted from canals and rivers by rural households (GSO, 2005, and own surveys). The treatment used by the households for preparing surface water prior to consumption (flocculation followed by boiling) is insufficient for the removal of the studied pesticides and boiling can actually increase the concentration of non-volatile pollutants. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mitigation of nutrient losses via surface runoff from rice cropping systems with alternate wetting and drying irrigation and site-specific nutrient management practices.

PubMed

Liang, X Q; Chen, Y X; Nie, Z Y; Ye, Y S; Liu, J; Tian, G M; Wang, G H; Tuong, T P

2013-10-01

Resource-conserving irrigation and fertilizer management practices have been developed for rice systems which may help address water quality concerns by reducing N and P losses via surface runoff. Field experiments under three treatments, i.e., farmers' conventional practice (FCP), alternate wetting and drying (AWD), and AWD integrated with site-specific nutrient management (AWD + SSNM) were carried out during two rice seasons at two sites in the southwest Yangtze River delta region. Across site years, results indicated that under AWD irrigation (i.e., AWD and AWD + SSNM), water inputs were reduced by 13.4~27.5 % and surface runoff was reduced by 30.2~36.7 % compared to FCP. When AWD was implemented alone, total N and P loss masses via surface runoff were reduced by 23.3~30.4 % and 26.9~31.7 %, respectively, compared to FCP. However, nutrient concentrations of surface runoff did not decrease under AWD alone. Under AWD + SSNM, total N and P loss masses via surface runoff were reduced to a greater extent than AWD alone (39.4~47.6 % and 46.1~48.3 % compared to FCP, respectively), while fertilizer inputs and N surpluses significantly decreased and rice grain yields increased relative to FCP. Therefore, by more closely matching nutrient supply with crop demand and reducing both surface runoff and nutrient concentrations of surface runoff, our results demonstrate that integration of AWD and SSNM practices can mitigate N and P losses via surface runoff from rice fields while maintaining high yields.

Water resources data-Maine, water year 2003

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stewart, G.J.; Caldwell, J.M.; Cloutier, A.R.

2004-01-01

This volume of the annual hydrologic data report of Maine is one of a series of annual reports that document data gathered from the U.S. Geological Survey's surface- and ground-water data-collection networks in each State, Puerto Rico, and the Trust Territories. These records of streamflow, ground-water levels, and quality of water provide the hydrologic information needed by State, local, and Federal agencies, and the private sector for developing and managing our Nation's land and water resources.

Potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer in the Ichetucknee springshed and vicinity, northern Florida, September 2003

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sepulveda, A. Alejandro; Katz, Brian G.; Mahon, Gary L.

2006-01-01

The Upper Floridan aquifer is a highly permeable unit of carbonate rock extending beneath most of Florida and parts of southern Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. The high permeability is due in a large part to the widening of fractures that developed over time and the formation of conduits within the aquifer through dissolution of the limestone. This process has also produced numerous karst features such as springs, sinking streams, and sinkholes in northern Florida. These dissolution features, whether expressed at the surface or not, greatly influence the direction of ground-water flow in the Ichetucknee springshed adjacent to the Ichetucknee River. Ground water generally flows southwestward in the springshed and discharges to the Ichetucknee or Santa Fe Rivers, or to the springs along those rivers. This map depicts the September 9-10, 2003, potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer based on 94 water-level measurements made by the Suwannee River Water Management District. Ground-water levels in this watershed fluctuate in response to precipitation and due to the high degree of interconnection between the surface-water system and the aquifer.

Sensitivity of Regulated Flow Regimes to Climate Change in the Western United States

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhou, Tian; Voisin, Nathalie; Leng, Guoyong

Water management activities or flow regulations modify water fluxes at the land surface and affect water resources in space and time. We hypothesize that flow regulations change the sensitivity of river flow to climate change with respect to unmanaged water resources. Quantifying these changes in sensitivity could help elucidate the impacts of water management at different spatiotemporal scales and inform climate adaptation decisions. In this study, we compared the emergence of significant changes in natural and regulated river flow regimes across the Western United States from simulations driven by multiple climate models and scenarios. We find that significant climate change-inducedmore » alterations in natural flow do not cascade linearly through water management activities. At the annual time scale, 50% of the Hydrologic Unit Code 4 (HUC4) sub-basins over the Western U.S. regions tend to have regulated flow regime more sensitive to the climate change than natural flow regime. Seasonality analyses show that the sensitivity varies remarkably across the seasons. We also find that the sensitivity is related to the level of water management. For 35% of the HUC4 sub-basins with the highest level of water management, the summer and winter flows tend to show a heightened sensitivity to climate change due to the complexity of joint reservoir operations. We further demonstrate that the impacts of considering water management in models are comparable to those that arises from uncertainties across climate models and emission scenarios. This prompts further climate adaptation studies research about nonlinearity effects of climate change through water management activities.« less

Potential impacts of global warming on water resources in southern California.

PubMed

Beuhler, M

2003-01-01

Global warming will have a significant impact on water resources within the 20 to 90-year planning period of many water projects. Arid and semi-arid regions such as Southern California are especially vulnerable to anticipated negative impacts of global warming on water resources. Long-range water facility planning must consider global climate change in the recommended mix of new facilities needed to meet future water requirements. The generally accepted impacts of global warming include temperature, rising sea levels, more frequent and severe floods and droughts, and a shift from snowfall to rain. Precipitation changes are more difficult to predict. For Southern California, these impacts will be especially severe on surface water supplies. Additionally, rising sea levels will exacerbate salt-water intrusion into freshwater and impact the quality of surface water supplies. Integrated water resources planning is emerging as a tool to develop water supplies and demand management strategies that are less vulnerable to the impacts of global warming. These tools include water conservation, conjunctive use of surface and groundwater and desalination of brackish water and possibly seawater. Additionally, planning for future water needs should include explicit consideration of the potential range of global warming impacts through techniques such as scenario planning.

Investigation of priorities in water quality management based on correlations and variations.

PubMed

Boyacıoğlu, Hülya; Gündogdu, Vildan; Boyacıoğlu, Hayal

2013-04-15

The development of water quality assessment strategies investigating spatial and temporal changes caused by natural and anthropogenic phenomena is an important tool in management practices. This paper used cluster analysis, water quality index method, sensitivity analysis and canonical correlation analysis to investigate priorities in pollution control activities. Data sets representing 22 surface water quality parameters were subject to analysis. Results revealed that organic pollution was serious threat for overall water quality in the region. Besides, oil and grease, lead and mercury were the critical variables violating the standard. In contrast to inorganic variables, organic and physical-inorganic chemical parameters were influenced by variations in physical conditions (discharge, temperature). This study showed that information produced based on the variations and correlations in water quality data sets can be helpful to investigate priorities in water management activities. Moreover statistical techniques and index methods are useful tools in data - information transformation process. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.