40,266 research outputs found

    Water Availability Modeling to Support Water Management in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas

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    The Rio Grande River is considered as an over-appropriated river basin in Texas, where the number of permits to use surface waters exceed the amount of available water. Agricultural and municipal water supply and use in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) are essentially dependent upon storage of the International Amistad and Falcon Reservoirs, which are owned and operated by the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBCW) based on provisions of the 1944 treaty between Mexico and the United States. The Texas share of the waters of the Rio Grande is allocated among numerous farmers, irrigation districts, and cities by a unique water rights permit system administered by the Rio Grande watermaster of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The Rio Grande Water Availability Model (WAM) obtained from the TCEQ WAM System has a hydrologic period-of-analysis of 1940-2000. However, hydrology since 2000 includes the severe 2008-2014 drought and is important to the simulation study. The hydrologic period of analysis for the Rio Grande WAM was extended from 2001 to 2015 using Water Rights Analyses Package (WRAP) programs and methodologies. Extending the hydrologic period-of-analysis of the Rio Grande WAM to cover 1940-2015 was an initial major task in the research. A WRAP/WAM simulation combines natural hydrology represented by sequences of monthly naturalized streamflows and reservoir evaporation-precipitation rates for a specified hydrologic period-of-analysis, 1940-2015 in this study, with specified scenarios of water resources development, allocation, management, and use. Water availability is assessed based on supply reliability metrics and storage and flow frequency metrics computed from simulation results. Additionally, the Rio Grande WAM original 1940-2000 hydrologic period of analysis is extended to cover 1940-2015 and long-term simulations were performed to develop water supply reliability and storage frequency metrics for major water right groups, reallocation of municipal water rights in the Amistad-Falcon Reservoir system, and water planning scenarios including drought management. The Conditional Reliability Modeling (CRM) methods were applied to assess short-term water planning and management strategies for the LRGV along with the drought management scenarios were simulated to predict the likelihood of extended drought conditions based on beginning storage in the Amistad-Falcon Reservoir system. The reliability and exceedance frequencies of maximum end-of-month storage at Amistad and Falcon reservoirs were developed using CRM

    Water Availability Modeling to Support Water Management in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas

    Get PDF
    The Rio Grande River is considered as an over-appropriated river basin in Texas, where the number of permits to use surface waters exceed the amount of available water. Agricultural and municipal water supply and use in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) are essentially dependent upon storage of the International Amistad and Falcon Reservoirs, which are owned and operated by the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBCW) based on provisions of the 1944 treaty between Mexico and the United States. The Texas share of the waters of the Rio Grande is allocated among numerous farmers, irrigation districts, and cities by a unique water rights permit system administered by the Rio Grande watermaster of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The Rio Grande Water Availability Model (WAM) obtained from the TCEQ WAM System has a hydrologic period-of-analysis of 1940-2000. However, hydrology since 2000 includes the severe 2008-2014 drought and is important to the simulation study. The hydrologic period of analysis for the Rio Grande WAM was extended from 2001 to 2015 using Water Rights Analyses Package (WRAP) programs and methodologies. Extending the hydrologic period-of-analysis of the Rio Grande WAM to cover 1940-2015 was an initial major task in the research. A WRAP/WAM simulation combines natural hydrology represented by sequences of monthly naturalized streamflows and reservoir evaporation-precipitation rates for a specified hydrologic period-of-analysis, 1940-2015 in this study, with specified scenarios of water resources development, allocation, management, and use. Water availability is assessed based on supply reliability metrics and storage and flow frequency metrics computed from simulation results. Additionally, the Rio Grande WAM original 1940-2000 hydrologic period of analysis is extended to cover 1940-2015 and long-term simulations were performed to develop water supply reliability and storage frequency metrics for major water right groups, reallocation of municipal water rights in the Amistad-Falcon Reservoir system, and water planning scenarios including drought management. The Conditional Reliability Modeling (CRM) methods were applied to assess short-term water planning and management strategies for the LRGV along with the drought management scenarios were simulated to predict the likelihood of extended drought conditions based on beginning storage in the Amistad-Falcon Reservoir system. The reliability and exceedance frequencies of maximum end-of-month storage at Amistad and Falcon reservoirs were developed using CRM

    Actions speak louder than words: designing transdisciplinary approaches to enact solutions

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    Sustainability science uses a transdisciplinary research process in which academic and non-academic partners collaborate to identify a common problem and co-produce knowledge to develop more sustainable solutions. Sustainability scientists have advanced the theory and practice of facilitating collaborative efforts such that the knowledge created is usable. There has been less emphasis, however, on the last step of the transdisciplinary process: enacting solutions. We analyzed a case study of a transdisciplinary research effort in which co-produced policy simulation information shaped the creation of a new policy mechanism. More specifically, by studying the development of a mechanism for conserving vernal pool ecosystems, we found that four factors helped overcome common challenges to acting upon new information: creating a culture of learning, co-producing policy simulations that acted as boundary objects, integrating research into solution development, and employing an adaptive management approach. With an increased focus on these four factors that enable action, we can better develop the same level of nuanced theoretical concepts currently characterizing the earlier phases of transdisciplinary research, and the practical advice for deliberately designing these efforts

    Water Quality Trading and Offset Initiatives in the U.S.: A Comprehensive Survey

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    This document summarizes water quality trading and offset initiatives in the United States, including state-wide policies and recent proposals. The following format was used to present information on each program. We attempted to have each program summary reviewed by at least one contact person for program accuracy. In the cases where this review occurred, we added the statement "Reviewed by.." at the end of the case summary

    Development of scenarios for land cover, population density, impervious cover, and conservation in New Hampshire, 2010–2100

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    Future changes in ecosystem services will depend heavily on changes in land cover and land use, which, in turn, are shaped by human activities. Given the challenges of predicting long-term changes in human behaviors and activities, scenarios provide a framework for simulating the long-term consequences of land-cover change on ecosystem function. As input for process-based models of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem function, we developed scenarios for land cover, population density, and impervious cover for the state of New Hampshire for 2020–2100. Key drivers of change were identified through information gathered from six sources: historical trends, existing plans relating to New Hampshire’s land-cover future, surveys, existing population scenarios, key informant interviews with diverse stakeholders, and input from subject-matter experts. Scenarios were developed in parallel with information gathering, with details added iteratively as new questions emerged. The final scenarios span a continuum from spatially dispersed development with a low value placed on ecosystem services (Backyard Amenities) to concentrated development with a high value placed on ecosystem services (the Community Amenities family). The Community family includes two population scenarios (Large Community and Small Community), to be combined with two scenarios for land cover (Protection of Wildlands and Promotion of Local Food), producing combinations that bring the total number of scenarios to six. Between Backyard Amenities and Community Amenities is a scenario based on linear extrapolations of current trends (Linear Trends). Custom models were used to simulate decadal change in land cover, population density, and impervious cover. We present raster maps and proportion of impervious cover for HUC10 watersheds under each scenario and discuss the trade-offs of our translation and modeling approach within the context of contemporary scenario projects

    Modeling water resources management at the basin level: review and future directions

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    Water quality / Water resources development / Agricultural production / River basin development / Mathematical models / Simulation models / Water allocation / Policy / Economic aspects / Hydrology / Reservoir operation / Groundwater management / Drainage / Conjunctive use / Surface water / GIS / Decision support systems / Optimization methods / Water supply
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