Water Resource Management Commons^™

Impacts Of Lake Elevation Decline On Tui Chub, A Critical Forage Species For Lahontan Cutthroat Trout In Pyramid Lake, Nevada, Usa, Sarah Barnes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Lake level decline affects lakes worldwide, changing the availability and character of nearshore habitat used by fish to spawn, and increasing total dissolved solids (TDS), similar to salinity, a factor that negatively impacts fish health. Lake level decline can affect different lakes in different ways, but typically when lake level declines significantly, there is less nearshore habitat overall, and what nearshore habitat remains has less diverse habitat for fish. We investigated whether both impacts of lake level decline may be causing declines of Tui Chub Siphateles bicolor, a large minnow native to Pyramid Lake that spawns in nearshore habitat. …

Comparing Commonly Used Aquatic Habitat Modeling Methods For Native Fishes, Eryn K. Turney

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Water resources are managed for a variety of human needs, including agriculture, industrial and municipal consumption, hydropower generation, and recreation. There has been a recent push to incorporate habitat needs of aquatic wildlife into water management models alongside these other uses, particularly as competition for limited water resources in a changing climate has reduced instream flow and contributed to declining native fish populations. Habitat models are used to estimate species distributions and differentiate between suitable and unsuitable habitat based on variables important to a given species, but are not usually incorporated into water management models. Because there are many ways …

Scarce Water In Site: A Content Analysis Of News Coverage Of The Sites Reservoir Project, Cara Lawson, Richard Austin-Castillo, Lauren Chase

Journal of Applied Communications

Plagued by recent and historic drought, the need for water storage and management solutions in California is apparent. As a potential solution, the Sites Reservoir project offers an opportunity to a state eager to conserve and better manage water. The Sites Reservoir project involves complexities from a variety of standpoints and stakeholder perspectives. This study investigated the frames and sources used by The Sacramento Bee to communicate about the Sites Reservoir project over a 10-year period. The most frequently used frames throughout the dataset were “policy and government” and “water conscious,” and the sources most frequently utilized for information about …

Review Of Toxicity Of Agricultural Chemicals And Implications For Aquatic Fauna Of The Keep River, Samanatha Reynolds, David Morgan

Natural resources commissioned reports

This report was compiled for the Western Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) as part of the National Water Grid Authority (NWGA) project entitled “Managing water quality to enable future irrigation development in the Kimberley Region, WA”. The purpose of this report is to review the toxicity of farm chemicals (herbicides and insecticides) used by farm operators in the Keep River catchment and their potential impacts on the aquatic species in the river, in particular those species that are listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. It is designed to complement the report entitled …

Water Literacy In Drought-Prone Regions: Case Studies From Aurora, Colorado, Usa And Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa, Meghan Mccarroll

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Water managers around the world must reevaluate their approach to water security as challenges continue to grow. Supply-focused paradigms that aimed to capture, control, and commodify water resources are increasingly unreliable and often depend on environmentally and socially damaging practices. Of particular concern are regions experiencing climate shocks and aridification from rising global temperatures. In order to stretch limited water resources using equitable water policies, conservation programs, and alternative water sourcing, water managers must invest in a water literate citizenry. Water literacy is the culmination of water-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. The benefits of a water literate citizenry abound, including …

Future Of Great Salt Lake Survey, Lisa W. Welsh, Joanna Endter-Wada, Karin M. Kettenring, Anna Mcentire

Reports

The Future of Great Salt Lake Survey was conducted in fall 2022 when state and global attention on Great Salt Lake was ramping up, following record lows of the elevation of lake water levels. In the survey, we asked Utahns their opinions on securing water for Great Salt Lake and focused on strategies that individuals, local communities, and the state of Utah could pursue. When it comes to how water is used and managed in Utah, there are multiple actors and institutions who all make decisions and have authority or ability to take different actions. While the state of …

When High-Water-Use Neighbors Move In: Farming Pecans In Valencia County, New Mexico, Tylee M. Griego

Water Resources Professional Project Reports

Valencia County, comprised of a collection of farming communities in the Middle Rio Grande of central New Mexico, is undergoing a fundamental change in its irrigated agriculture. Historically, over recent decades, it has had many smaller-sized farms, or “hobby farms”, with fewer larger commercial enterprises, and with alfalfa as its dominant crop. But in recent years, it has seen a significant expansion of acreage devoted to pecan orchards – a higher value commercial crop that also is substantially higher in water use. Some of these orchards have been planted on land not previously irrigated. The Rio Grande flows through the …

Projecting Water Available For Irrigation Use And Identifying Water Supply Stress Under Climate Change Scenarios In Selected U.S. Fruit And Vegetable Production Regions, Andrew Shaw

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Climate change affects water resources differently across geospatial regions in the United States (U.S). There is a concern of how water availability will be affected by changes in long-term temperature and precipitation patterns, specifically in major production regions for eight fruit and vegetable crops. The effects on surface water available for irrigation use and supply stress in five regions containing 31 Agricultural Statistics Districts (ASDs) were assessed. The Water Supply Stress Index Model was used and modified to project water available for irrigation use across nine climate scenarios driven by historical data, five General Circulation Models, two population scenarios, and …

Trend Of Thornthwaite's Aridity Index (Ai) At Atakpame (Togo), Komlan Koudahe

English Language Institute

Drought can severely affect agricultural production potential, destroying the local economy and creating famine. Data were collected (1990 to 2014) from the Meteorological Department of Togo. Reference evapotranspiration (ETo) varied with two peaks obtained on March 28 (5.84mm) and on November 17 (4.87mm). There was water deficit in all years except 2005 and 2007. Also, there was non-significant increasing trend of aridity index (AI). Specific actions should target efficient water management in Atakpame.

Energy Intensity Variation Among California Urban Water Supplies, Madeline Willett

Master's Projects and Capstones

Drought, population growth, and warmer temperatures will continue to strain and stress California's water supplies. Surface water and groundwater will not suffice as primary water supplies in the future. As California looks to build a more resilient water supply portfolio, the energy intensity of the water supplies in California could increase. This study examines 4 cities in California and their varied water supplies. Urban Water Management Plans (UWMP) are used to calculate the projected change in energy intensity of each city's supply. The results show that there is such variation in climate and water supply sources across California that there …

Who Decides: Is Water Life Or Capital? Contesting Visions Of Western Water Management In The 21st Century, Ceorl

Water Resources Professional Project Reports

There is an ideological divide between the goal of universal access to clean water and the outcomes of how water regulations are implemented. John Fleck, author of Water is for Fighting Over: and Other Myths about Water in the West and Sivas, et al. in California Water Governance in the 21st Century present contesting prescriptions for Western water management. The ideologies advocated by Fleck and Sivas, et al. differ as to who enacts and profits from each and exemplify the divide between the goals of water regulations and how they are implemented. Fleck regards water as property and an economic …

An Internet For Water: Connecting Texas Water Data, Rudolph A. Rosen, Sam Marie Hermitte, Suzanne Pierce, Sarah Richards, Susan V. Roberts

Water Resources Science and Technology Faculty Publications

The Connecting Texas Water Data Workshop brought together experts representative of Texas’ water sectors to engage in the identification of critical water data needs and to discuss the design of a data system that facilitates access to and the use of public water data in Texas. Workshop participants identified “use cases” that list data gaps, needs, and uses for water data and answered questions on who needs data, what data do they need, in what form do they need the data, and what decisions need to be made about water in Texas. They described desires for future water data management …

Nitrous Oxide Emissions From Rice Production On A Silt-Loam Soil In Arkansas, Casey Rector

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a common crop grown in Arkansas under flooded-soil conditions. The saturated to nearly saturated soil makes rice production an ideal environment for the production of potent greenhouse gases, such as nitrous oxide (N2O). The objectives of this study were to i) evaluate the impact of water management practice (full-season-flood and intermittent-flood) and cultivar (pure-line and hybrid) on N2O fluxes, season-long N2O emissions, and global warming potential (GWP; 2016) and ii) evaluate the impact of tillage practice [conventional tillage and no-tillage (NT)] and type of urea fertilizer [ N-(n-butyl) thiosphosphoric triamide (NBPT)-coated and non-coated urea] on …

The Route To Water Security For Texas: The 2015–2016 Texas Water Roadmap Forums, Rudolph A. Rosen, Rabi Mohtar, Luis A. Cifuentes, Stephen Frayser, Gwendolyn Hustvedt, Wesley Patrick, Chara Ragland, Susan V. Roberts, Jorge Vanegas, Cindy Wall, James Wall

Water Resources Science and Technology Faculty Publications

Three forums were held between February 2015 and November 2016, bringing together Texas water experts from business, industry, government, academia, research, and the investment community in impartially facilitated sessions to deter-mine ways to secure Texas’ water future through accelerating growth of infrastructure, technologies, research, education, and sustainable use. Consensus emerged after the first forum that Texas is approaching a water crisis reflecting matters of supply, allocation, and quality that demands immediate action to ensure water security and equitable access to this vital resource. Participant focus rested on new technology acceleration and investment, workforce education, research underway and desired by segments …

Protecting And Maintaining Silicon Valley’S Liquid Gold, Paul Mark Fulcher

Master's Projects

Public sector leaders and decision makers in the California water industry have learned from previous severe drought conditions that to sustain water supplies during extremely dry seasons, there is a substantial need for behavioral changes associated with water conservation efforts among the businesses and residents of the community to maintain an adequate water supply. The intent of this study is to compare four California water agencies that have been designated as sustainable groundwater agencies (GSA), and determine what current programs and/or practices those agencies are using to meet the mandated requirements of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 (Act …

The Polycentric Turn: A Case Study Of Kenya's Evolving Legal Regime For Irrigation Waters, Daniel H. Cole, Stefan Carpenter, Elizabeth Baldwin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Formal legal systems comprise a major part, but not the only part, of the “rules of the game” that structure social and social-ecological interactions. Throughout the twentieth century, centralization and consolidation of legal authority were dominant themes among many, if not all, legal systems. That process may have been successful in some cases, but in others the presumed economies of scale from consolidation and centralization either did not materialize or were offset by other social costs, including the failure to accommodate local knowledge, expertise, and preferences. In what could become a theme of the twenty-first century, many countries, including developing …

15004.Pdf, Marcus C. Randall

Marcus Randall

Systems Modeling To Improve The Hydro-Ecological Performance Of Diked Wetlands, Omar Alminagorta, David E. Rosenberg, Karin M. Kettenring

Publications

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 …

Options For An Indigenous Economic Water Fund (Iewf), First Peoples' Water Engagement Council

Indigenous Water Justice Symposium (June 6)

Presenter: Phil Duncan, Gomeroi Nation, New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council

15 pages

Contains footnotes

"OPTIONS PAPER for the First Peoples' Water Engagement Council (FPWEC)"

"DATED 20 APRIL 2012"

Abstract: This paper highlights the options for a path forward to establish an Indigenous Economic Water Fund (IEWF) through acquisition of water entitlements¹ by indigenous people in systems where the consumptive pool is fully allocated. The water allocation that comes from indigenous holdings in the consumptive pool is an important mechanism for enabling Indigenous communities to achieve economic development and as such is a legitimate strategy for ‘Closing the Gap’. …

Framework For Drafting Ecological Objectives For Water Sharing Plans - Submission Of The Nsw Aboriginal Land Council, Geoff Scott, New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council

Indigenous Water Justice Symposium (June 6)

Presenter: Phil Duncan, Gomeroi Nation, New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council

4 pages

Contains 1 footnote

Letter addressed to Nick Cook, A/Team Leader, WSP Science & Evaluation - North, NSW Office of Water, from Geoff Scott, Chief Executive Officer, New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council.

Fact Sheet: Water Licences, New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council

Indigenous Water Justice Symposium (June 6)

Presenter: Phil Duncan, Gomeroi Nation, New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council

4 pages

Contains references

Slides: Gwc Review Report, Larry Macdonnell

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Larry MacDonnell, University of Colorado Law School

12 slides

Slides: Perspectives On Water Management In Arizona, Kathy Jacobs

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Kathy Jacobs, Director, Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions (CCASS), Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona

25 slides

Navigating A Pathway Toward Colorado's Water Future: A Review And Recommendations On Colorado's Draft Water Plan, Lawrence J. Macdonnell, Colorado Water Working Group

Books, Reports, and Studies

40 pages (includes color illustrations).

Fast Neural Network Surrogates For Complex Groundwater Flow Models, Niels Schütze, Tirthankar Roy

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

Surrogate modeling approach has been adopted in the study to replace computationally expensive physical-based numerical flow and transport model. Two approximate surrogate models namely, Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Gaussian Process Model (GPM) are developed individually using a scenario database generated from the density dependent numerical flow and transport model OpenGeoSys (OGS). The state-space surrogates have the flexibility to move freely from one point to another within a time frame of decades and also to allow for moderate extrapolation in the case of extreme abstractions. The performance of the GPM was better in many cases with a little compromise on …

Short-Term Optimization Of A Canal Network For Navigation And Water Management, Arnejan Van Loenen, Min Xu, Robin Engel

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

We present the design, implementation and operational use of a short-term optimization approach for the operational water management of the Twentekanalen canal system for navigation and water resources management. The system was originally designed for navigation and its construction had been completed in 1938. In the past decades, it also became increasingly important for the regional water management. In summer periods, the system provides the region with fresh water and helps to drain the area otherwise. The short-term optimization is implemented in the Operational Monitoring System for the National Regulated Water Systems for advising the operating staff on the operation …

Model Prediction Control For Water Management Using Adaptive Prediction Accuracy, Xin Tian, Rudy Negenborn, Peter-Jules Van Overloop, Erik Mostert

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

In the field of operational water management, Model Predictive Control (MPC) has gained popularity owing to its versatility and flexibility. The MPC controller, which takes predictions, time delay and uncertainties into account, can be designed for multi-objective management problems and for large-scale systems. Nonetheless, a critical obstacle, which needs to be overcome in MPC, is the large computational burden when a large-scale system is considered or a long prediction horizon is involved. In order to solve this problem, we use an adaptive prediction accuracy (APA) approach that can reduce the computational burden almost by half. The proposed MPC scheme with …

Participant Impacts From A Participatory Water Modeling Workshop In The Sonora River Basin, Mexico, David J. Kossak

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Much of the research in the field of participatory modeling (PM) has focused on the developed world. Few cases are focused on developing regions, and even fewer on Latin American developing countries. The work that has been done in Latin America has often involved water management, often specifically involving water users, and has not focused on the decision making stage of the policy cycle. Little work has been done to measure the effect PM may have on the perceptions and beliefs of decision makers. In fact, throughout the field of PM, very few attempts have been made to quantitatively measure …

On Target For People And Planet: Setting And Achieving Water-Related Sustainable Development Goals, Julie Van Der Bliek, Peter G. Mccornick, James Clarke

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Our specific focus in this book is on securing water for sustainable food production. This links to sustainable water resources management, delivering on the water supply and sanitation requirements and provisioning water for energy and the urban sector. A specific intent is to ensure that the realities in low- and middle-income countries in Africa and Asia are recognized and to provide practical pathways to change that fit these realities and the aspirations of those countries. This will help to prepare for the next step in the SDG [sustainable development goals] process: devolving the SDGs to the national level. It will …

A Tree-Ring Based Reconstruction Of Logan River Streamflow In Northern Utah, Eric B. Allen, Tammy M. Rittenour, R. Justin Derose, Matthew F. Bekker, Roger Kjelgren, Brendan M. Buckley

Wasatch Dendroclimatology Research

[1] We created six new tree-ring chronologies in northern Utah, which were used with preexisting chronologies from Utah and western Wyoming to reconstruct mean annual flow for the Logan River, the largest tributary of the regionally important Bear River. Two reconstruction models were developed, a “Local” model that incorporated two Rocky Mountain juniper chronologies located within the basin, and a “Regional” model that also included limber pine and pinyon pine chronologies from a larger area. The Local model explained 48.2% of the variability in the instrumental record and the juniper chronologies better captured streamflow variability than Douglas-fir collected within the …