Integrating Water and Land Management: A Suburban Case Study and Locally Adaptable Tool

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | October 15th, 2013

Managing the impacts of development on water resources is an urgent challenge in California. To support more efficient growth with fewer environmental impacts, the Califo

Managing the impacts of development on water resources is an urgent challenge in California. To support more efficient growth with fewer environmental impacts, the California Legislature and governor have adopted policies to better integrate land use and resource management. The Land Use Planning and Management Resource Management Strategy (RMS) located within California’s 2009 Water Plan Update calls for Low Impact Development (LID) and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) development approaches to reduce land use impacts on water resources. These strategies are suggested to decrease indoor/outdoor or residential water consumption, improve the quality of stormwater runoff, decrease the quantity and flow rates of stormwater runoff, and protect downstream riparian habitat. The 2009 RMS set in motion a study to quantify costs and benefits associated with water-smart land use practices. Following this 2009 initiative, the charter for the RMS in the 2013 California Water Plan Update proposed a land use decision tool and demonstration of its application through pilot projects. For the first time since 1957, the Water Plan will also include a land use objective linked to corresponding actions. Consistent with this approach, the California Department of Water Resources partnered with Sonoma State University’s (SSU) Center for Sustainable Communities and conducted four case studies of suburban development in Sonoma County. An “Integrated Water and Land Management Tool” was also designed and built as part of this project. This tool may be downloaded free of charge at the website for the California Water Plan Update 2013. < http://www.waterplan.water.ca.gov/cwpu2013/index.cfm > Then navigate to Volume 4. Although existing tools are available to guide practitioners, those that are easy to use generally could not be modified to reflect local conditions. And calculators that could be modified possessed challenging user interfaces that required extensive background knowledge. Thus, the project team determined that a user-friendly calculator with the ability to customize and save local data would be a valuable asset. The case studies were then compared and contrasted using the new tool. This allowed users to specify different residential land cover and infrastructure choices and compare development outcomes, especially at the lot and neighborhood levels. Guiding principles for the study and creation of the tool were to: • Create an open, locally modifiable, and user-friendly tool to help guide land use and land cover decisions • Quantify relationships between land use alternatives and key water management benefits relating to water supply reliability, flood management, water quality, habitat value, and greenhouse gas emissions • Quantify the monetary costs of implementing LID and traditional development strategies, including long-term costs • Compare and contrast outputs from different development approaches, as exemplified in four case study sites This report, “Integrating Water and Land Management: A Suburban Case Study and Locally Adaptable Tool”, proceeds in two major parts: developing the tool, and then applying the tool to four residential developments in Sonoma County, California, as a proof of concept. While preliminary conclusions are made from the analysis of the case studies, the primary contribution of this research effort is a new, open-source Integrated Water and Land Management Tool, which will further grow and develop over time as additional case studies and applications are completed.

Intensification of hydrological drought in California by human water management

American Geophysical Union (AGU) | January 25th, 2017

Inter- and intra-ethnic variation in water intake, contact, and source estimates among Tucson residents: Implications for exposure analysis

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology (Springer) | January 7th, 2002

Water-related exposures among Hispanics, particularly among Mexican Americans, are relatively unknown. Exposure and risk assessment is further complicated by the

Water-related exposures among Hispanics, particularly among Mexican Americans, are relatively unknown. Exposure and risk assessment is further complicated by the absence of good time–activity data (e.g., water intake) among this population. This study attempts to provide some insight concerning water-related exposure parameters among Hispanics. Determining the extent to which non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics living in the Tucson metropolitan area differ with respect to direct water intake and source patterns is the primary purpose of this investigation. Using random digit dialing, researchers conducted a cross-sectional telephone population survey of 1183 Tucson residents. Significant ethnic variation was observed in water intake patterns among this sample, particularly in terms of source. Hispanics reported much higher rates of bottled water consumption than did non-Hispanic whites. Ethnic variation in exposure parameters such as that observed in this study increases the potential for measurement error in exposure analysis. Erroneous assumptions that exposure estimates (i.e., water intake source) are generalizable across various ethnic groups may lead to both overestimation and underestimation of contaminant exposure.

Inter-Basin Transfers Extend the Benefits of Water From Forests to Population Centers Across the Conterminous U.S.

American Geophysical Union (AGU) | May 12th, 2022

Clean water from forests is commonly used to supply drinking water to communities both within and outside basin boundaries through inter-basin transfers (IBTs). Here, we

Clean water from forests is commonly used to supply drinking water to communities both within and outside basin boundaries through inter-basin transfers (IBTs). Here, we modified the Water Supply Stress Index (WaSSI) model to provide estimates of mean water yield and the proportion of mean flow originating on forested lands at the 12-Digit Hydrologic Unit Code scale across the conterminous United States (CONUS). We accounted for the benefits of forests for drinking water supply and receiving populations through IBTs by incorporating a new IBT database, surface intake location information for public drinking water systems, and modeled water yield from forests. We compiled the new database of 594 IBTs ranging from 0.01 million m3 yr−1 to 8,900 million m3 yr−1, for a total transferred volume of 116,894 million m3 yr−1. According to our results, forested lands comprised 28.7% of the total land area across CONUS, but contributed 46% of the total surface water yield. Approximately 125.5 million people derived more than 10% of their surface drinking water supply from forested lands, and 83.1 million people received more than 50% of their surface drinking water supply from forested lands. Of those 83.1 million people receiving more than 50% of their surface drinking water supply from forested lands, 19.4 million people obtained some (≥0.01%) of that water through IBTs. We conclude that accounting for IBTs is critical to accurately assess the contribution of forested watersheds for surface drinking water supply. Hydrologic models for assessment and decision making must include IBTs to fully account for the effects of climate change and human population dynamics on water resource availability at watershed to regional scales. Results from this study can aid water resource and forest managers in developing integrated watershed management plans at a time when climate change, population growth, and land use change threaten water supplies.

Inter-population differences in salinity tolerance of adult wild Sacramento splittail: osmoregulatory and metabolic responses to salinity

Conservation Physiology (Society of Experimental Biology) | December 10th, 2020

The Sacramento splittail (Pogonichthys macrolepidotus) is composed of two genetically distinct populations endemic to the San Francisco Estuary (SFE). The allop

The Sacramento splittail (Pogonichthys macrolepidotus) is composed of two genetically distinct populations endemic to the San Francisco Estuary (SFE). The allopatric upstream spawning habitat of the Central Valley (CV) population connects with the sympatric rearing grounds via relatively low salinity waters, whereas the San Pablo (SP) population must pass through the relatively high-salinity Upper SFE to reach its allopatric downstream spawning habitat. We hypothesize that if migration through SFE salinities to SP spawning grounds is more challenging for adult CV than SP splittail, then salinity tolerance, osmoregulatory capacity, and metabolic responses to salinity will differ between populations. Osmoregulatory disturbances, assessed by measuring plasma osmolality and ions, muscle moisture and Na+-K+-ATPase activity after 168 to 336 h at 11 salinity, showed evidence for a more robust osmoregulatory capacity in adult SP relative to CV splittail. While both resting and maximum metabolic rates were elevated in SP splittail in response to increased salinity, CV splittail metabolic rates were unaffected by salinity. Further, the calculated difference between resting and maximum metabolic values, aerobic scope, did not differ significantly between populations. Therefore, improved osmoregulation came at a metabolic cost for SP splittail but was not associated with negative impacts on scope for aerobic metabolism. These results suggest that SP splittail may be physiologically adjusted to allow for migration through higher-salinity waters. The trends in interpopulation variation in osmoregulatory and metabolic responses to salinity exposures support our hypothesis of greater salinity-related challenges to adult CV than SP splittail migration and are consistent with our previous findings for juvenile splittail populations, further supporting our recommendation of population-specific management.

Interactions between snow cover and evaporation lead to higher sensitivity of streamflow to temperature

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | December 4th, 2020

Estimates of potential evaporation often neglect the effects of snow cover on evaporation process. Here, we present a definition of potential evaporation that explicitly

Estimates of potential evaporation often neglect the effects of snow cover on evaporation process. Here, we present a definition of potential evaporation that explicitly accounts for landscapes that are partially covered by snow. We show that, in the presence of snowpack, our evaporation estimates differ from conventional methods that assume evaporation from a free water surface. Specifically, we find that conventional methods overestimate potential evaporation as well as aridity, taken as the ratio of atmospheric water demand to supply, in landscapes where snowfall is significant. With dwindling snow-cover, actual aridity increases, which could explain the reduction in streamflow with decreasing snowfall. We suggest that streamflow, and hence water availability, is more sensitive to temperature changes in colder than in warmer regions.

Interactions between urban water policy, residential irrigation, and plant & bird diversity in the Fresno-Clovis Metro Area

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | August 11th, 2011

Ecological theory has begun to incorporate humans as part of coupled socio-ecological systems. Modern urban development provides an excellent laboratory to examine the in

Ecological theory has begun to incorporate humans as part of coupled socio-ecological systems. Modern urban development provides an excellent laboratory to examine the interplay among socio-ecological relationships. Urban land and water management decisions result from dynamic interactions between institutional, individual and ecological factors. Landscaping and irrigation at any particular residence, for example, is a product of geography, hydrology, soil, and other local environmental conditions, the homeowners’ cultural preferences, socioeconomic status, identity construction, neighborhood dynamics, as well as zoning laws, market conditions, city policies, and county/state/federal government regulations. Since land and water management are key determinants of habitat for other species, urban biodiversity is strongly driven by the outcome of interactions between these variables. This study addresses the significance of water as a key variable in the Fresno-Clovis Metropolitan Area (FCMA), shaping current patterns of landscape and water use, at a time when the city of Fresno is installing meters as a regulatory tool to conserve water. We combine data from a citizen science bird monitoring project, field surveys of trees, and mail surveys of residents to address interactions among key components of the urban socioecological system.

Interagency Ecological Program Science Strategy 2020 – 2024: Investment Priorities for Interagency Collaborative Science

Interagency Ecological Program (IEP) | April 20th, 2019

The IEP Science Strategy is one of three organizing documents that together set the course for annual (IEP Annual Work Plan), 5-year (IEP Science Strategy), and 5

The IEP Science Strategy is one of three organizing documents that together set the course for annual (IEP Annual Work Plan), 5-year (IEP Science Strategy), and 5+ year (IEP Strategic Plan) organization planning for the Program. The Science Strategy is where the Science Management and Coordinators Teams articulate what they understand as the most pressing suite of subjects requiring additional data collection for management-relevant purposes for the IEP 9-Agency collective. The Science Strategy serves the additional purpose of providing a 5-year focus of planning effort to even-out short-term (annual) imperatives that change depending on mutable Agency directives.

Interagency Ecological Program Science Strategy: Needs for near-term science in five areas of emphasis

Interagency Ecological Program (IEP) | March 4th, 2016

The mission of the Interagency Ecological Program (IEP) is to provide and integrate relevant and timely ecological information for management of the Bay-Delta ecosystem a

The mission of the Interagency Ecological Program (IEP) is to provide and integrate relevant and timely ecological information for management of the Bay-Delta ecosystem and the water that flows through it. This is accomplished through collaborative and scientifically sound monitoring, research, modeling, and synthesis efforts for various aspects of the aquatic ecosystem. Building on the IEP Strategic Plan, which identifies the long-term goals and strategies to be implemented by the IEP to achieve its mission, the IEP Science Strategy provides direction to interagency science used to inform the management and ecological interests of IEP agencies in the near-term, and is one of a number of inputs used to shape the IEP Annual Work Plans. While the IEP Strategic Plan states that the Science Strategy be drafted for a 3-5 year horizon, a shorter 2-year timeframe for this first IEP Science Strategy has been adopted to allow for a more flexible internal development and review process, as well as feedback from the Bay-Delta research and stakeholder community.

Interagency Ecological Program’s Ability to Provide Science Supporting Management of the Delta

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | November 15th, 2019