Water is a master variable: Solving for resilience in the modern era

Water Security, Elsevier | November 21st, 2019

Resilience is increasingly recognized as an imperative for any prospect of sustainable development, as it relates to our ability to sustain human well-being and progress

Resilience is increasingly recognized as an imperative for any prospect of sustainable development, as it relates to our ability to sustain human well-being and progress under the planetary and societal changes that we face now and into the future. Yet, we are ill-prepared to meet this challenge. We neither fully understand nor manage consistently for resilience of the human and natural systems that we must steward through extraordinary change. A unifying approach and common currency would help us to understand and manage for resilience under uncertain futures. Water is an essential, defining element in human and natural systems. Human civilization and water systems have co-evolved as a coupled system, with the majority of natural freshwater systems transformed to meet our demands. Shifting patters of water availability in space and time will define key pathways and tipping points for our resilience, and thus requirements for water system resilience must guide the trajectories and boundaries of human development. Here, we consider the thesis that water offers a key to unlocking the complex challenge of designing and managing for the resilience of coupled human-natural systems. We examine what constitutes a resilient system, what drives freshwater resilience, and how pathways to human resilience may be charted and navigated through the medium of water. Our theoretical treatise frames a portfolio of research that tests this thesis, including modeling and applications to water and water-dependent systems.

Water Management Companion Plan (to the Statewide Wildlife Action Plan)

California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) | December 21st, 2016

The California State Wildlife Action Plan 2015 Update provides a vision and a framework for conserving California’s diverse natural heritage. SWAP 2015 also calls for t

The California State Wildlife Action Plan 2015 Update provides a vision and a framework for conserving California’s diverse natural heritage. SWAP 2015 also calls for the development of a collaborative framework to sustainably manage ecosystems across the state in balance with human uses of natural resources. To address the need for a collaborative framework, California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), Blue Earth Consultants, LLC (Blue Earth), and partner agencies and organizations undertook the preparation of companion plans for SWAP 2015. While this document reports on the progress made thus far on collaboration, the intent is to set a stage for achieving the state’s conservation priorities through continued partnerships and by mutually managing and conserving natural and cultural resources.

Water management in mediterranean river basins: a comparison of management frameworks, physical impacts, and ecological responses

Hydrobiologia (Springer) | September 11th, 2012

Rivers in mediterranean climates have been extensively modified by water management infrastructure and practices, yet patterns of development and consequent effec

Rivers in mediterranean climates have been extensively modified by water management infrastructure and practices, yet patterns of development and consequent effects on freshwater ecosystems have not been compared across multiple regions. To evaluate the influence of water management on mediterranean-climate rivers, we compare the historic progression of management policies, institutions, and ecosystem impacts in the Sacramento River (California, USA), Ebro River (Spain), and Biobío River (Chile) basins. There are broad similarities in patterns of ecosystem alterations related to the extensive development of dams and water management infrastructure in the three study basins. Flow regimes have been altered by the reduction of winter peak flows and increased summer baseflows. There are also common patterns of disturbance from sediment transport alteration, water quality degradation, and declines in freshwater biodiversity. Current approaches are inadequate for addressing the formidable water management challenges in California, Spain, and Chile, yet the dramatic evolution of water policies and institutions over the past 150 years suggests that further adaptation is possible. Advances toward integrated and sustainable water management models are likely to occur through incremental change, driven by growing awareness of climate change effects and public demands for water-use efficiency and improved environmental quality.  

Water Quality Challenges in the San Francisco Bay/ Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary: EPA’s Action Plan

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) | August 22nd, 2012

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed this Action Plan after assessing the effectiveness of current regulatory mechanisms designed to protect water qua

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed this Action Plan after assessing the effectiveness of current regulatory mechanisms designed to protect water quality in the San Francisco Bay Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary (Bay Delta Estuary) and its tributaries. EPA’s assessment concludes that Clean Water Act (CWA) programs currently are not adequately protecting aquatic resources of the Bay Delta Estuary. In this document, EPA recommends actions to restore water quality for aquatic species protection using existing EPA authorities and resources, as well as actions EPA believes are important and appropriate for the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board). EPA is one of more than 25 state and federal governmental agencies with responsibilities in the Bay Delta Estuary. EPA’s major statutory mission in the Estuary is to implement the CWA. EPA has delegated many CWA program authorities to the State Water Board while providing financial support,1 technical assistance, and oversight (including, in some cases, review and approval of State actions). Much of EPA's work in this Action Plan (as well as elsewhere in California) is done in support of and in partnership with the State. For example, water quality standards, which define water quality goals for our waterbodies, are typically developed and adopted by the State with EPA assistance, review, and ultimately, approval or disapproval. In the Bay Delta Estuary, EPA focuses on assuring that the many designated uses of the Estuary’s aquatic resources are protected. EPA emphasizes the CWA goals of maintaining and improving water quality – the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the water – to ensure the Bay Delta Estuary can function as a vibrant, healthy estuary. About 90 species of fish are found in the Delta. The Delta’s channels serve as a migratory route and nursery area for Chinook salmon, striped bass, white and green sturgeon, American shad, and steelhead trout. These anadromous fish spend most of their adult lives either in the lower bays of the Estuary or in the ocean. Resident fish in the Estuary include delta smelt, longfin smelt, Sacramento splittail, catfish, largemouth bass, black bass, crappie, and bluegill. All Bay Delta Estuary waters are impaired by one or more contaminants. In addition, the reduction in the quantity and quality of estuarine habitat limits the Estuary’s ability to support aquatic species. EPA’s Action Plan describes a suite of activities to: 1. Strengthen water quality standards to protect estuarine habitat 2. Advance regional water quality monitoring and assessment 3. Accelerate water quality restoration through Total Maximum Daily Loads 4. Strengthen selenium water quality criteria 5. Prevent pesticide pollution 6. Restore aquatic habitats while managing methylmercury 7. Support the Bay Delta Conservation Plan Collectively, these activities will contribute to the restoration of the Bay Delta Estuary. Even if they are all successfully implemented, however, they are not sufficient to resolve the complex problems that have stressed the ecosystem to the point of collapse. Any solution to the ecological problems of the Bay Delta Estuary must be multi-faceted, including providing sufficient flows, physical habitat which is sufficiently large, connected, diverse, and self-sustaining, as well as a reduction of many types of stressors, such as contaminants, invasive species, and predation.

Water quality measurements in San Francisco Bay by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1969–2015

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | August 8th, 2017

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) maintains a place-based research program in San Francisco Bay (USA) that began in 1969 and continues, providing one of the longest reco

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) maintains a place-based research program in San Francisco Bay (USA) that began in 1969 and continues, providing one of the longest records of water-quality measurements in a North American estuary. Constituents include salinity, temperature, light extinction coefficient, and concentrations of chlorophyll-a, dissolved oxygen, suspended particulate matter, nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, silicate, and phosphate. We describe the sampling program, analytical methods, structure of the data record, and how to access all measurements made from 1969 through 2015. We provide a summary of how these data have been used by USGS and other researchers to deepen understanding of how estuaries are structured and function differently from the river and ocean ecosystems they bridge.

Water Recommendations to the Next President

Pacific Institute | September 14th, 2020

The United States faces several severe and worsening water problems. Continuing to neglect these problems will impoverish and sicken this and future generations,

The United States faces several severe and worsening water problems. Continuing to neglect these problems will impoverish and sicken this and future generations, destroy beneficial aquatic ecosystems, and threaten our economy and food supply. Smart water policies will create hundreds of thousands of jobs, improve public health, and speed our economic recovery. In this letter, we offer a short assessment of four key problems and specific recommendations for addressing them.

Water Resource Modeling of the Colorado River: Present and Future Strategies

Utah State University | August 21st, 2019

The CRSS is imprecisely configured to address water supply and environmental management issues within many large tributaries of the headwater branches, including the Colo

The CRSS is imprecisely configured to address water supply and environmental management issues within many large tributaries of the headwater branches, including the Colorado River upstream from Glenwood Springs, the Yampa River upstream from Maybell, the Little Snake River upstream from Lily, the Dolores River, the Duchesne River watershed, the White River upstream from Watson, the Animas River, the Little Colorado River watershed, the Virgin River watershed, and other tributaries in the Lower Basin. Today, river management programs, endangered fish recovery programs, and some Native American tribes are focusing on these tributaries. It is important for stakeholders to understand that the CRSS is most appropriate for addressing basin-wide issues but is not designed to address issues within these tributaries. Expanding the spatial resolution of the CRSS to do so will require significant effort.

Water storage decisions will determine the distribution and persistence of imperiled river fishes

Ecological Society of America (Wiley) | December 17th, 2020

Managing the world’s freshwater supply to meet societal and environmental needs in a changing climate is one of the biggest challenges for the 21st century. Dams provid

Managing the world’s freshwater supply to meet societal and environmental needs in a changing climate is one of the biggest challenges for the 21st century. Dams provide water security; however, the allocation of dwindling water supply among reservoirs could exacerbate or ameliorate the effects of climate change on aquatic communities. Here, we show that the relative sensitivity of river thermal regimes to direct impacts of climate change and societal decisions concerning water storage vary substantially throughout a river basin. In the absence of interspecific interactions, future Colorado River temperatures would appear to benefit both endemic and nonnative fish species. However, endemic species are already declining or extirpated in locations where their ranges overlap with warmwater nonnatives and changes in water storage may lead to warming in some of the coolest portions of the river basin, facilitating further nonnative expansion. Integrating environmental considerations into ongoing water storage negotiations may lead to better resource outcomes than mitigating nonnative species impacts after the fact.

Water Supply and Habitat Resiliency for a Future Los Angeles River: Site-Specific Natural Enhancement Opportunities Informed by River Flow and Watershed-Wide Action

Nature Conservancy | December 15th, 2016

The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. As the Conservancy engages with the Los Angeles region, they are inve

The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. As the Conservancy engages with the Los Angeles region, they are investigating what it means to carry out this mission in the highly urbanized Los Angeles River ecosystem. As a starting point, it is known that the basic ecological principles of science apply to all environmental systems, regardless of their location. Therefore, the Conservancy is testing these principles by applying them in the Elysian Valley of the Los Angeles River and identifying habitat enhancement requirements, opportunities, and constraints. As a basic principle of ecological systems, a watershed’s hydrology determines the flow characteristics of its river system. These flows define what the biological characteristics of that river will be, which in turn determine what kinds of habitat enhancement projects will succeed at various locations along a river. The study of the Elysian Valley included one full year of multi-taxa biological surveys, a historical ecology investigation of the Elysian Valley, and a review of historic and existing hydrological and hydraulic conditions. Major findings of this study are: Multiple Flow Scenarios = Uncertainty: There are currently multiple visions for the flow characteristics of the Los Angeles River as a whole due to differing management priorities of the agencies and stakeholders that have governance over different aspects of this hydrologic system. Bringing the various hydrologic plans and possibilities for the watershed into a single integrated vision of system flow characteristics will allow certainty and clarity at the site level for the design of habitat projects anywhere in the River system, including the Conservancy’s study area. Flows Drive Biology: The study area currently has higher flood and much higher dry weather flow rates than its historic condition. These high flow rates are supporting and encouraging non-native and invasive species. This leads to a lower level of biological diversity and resiliency than what would exist under lower flow rates, particularly during dry weather conditions. Prioritize Complementary Habitats: Enhancing and increasing the amount of perennial riparian habitat in-stream alone will not create as much biological value as identifying complementary enhancement opportunities outside of the River channel in adjacent upper terrace floodplain and upland habitats (e.g. alluvial scrub, mulefat scrub, willow scrub, oak-sycamore woodland, sage scrub, and grassland). River Adjacent Land Use: Land uses adjacent to the River and throughout the watershed are a part of the solution and part of the Los Angeles River’s biological and hydrologic system. The landscaping and hydrology of these areas should be designed to provide a value-added role to the habitat functions of the Los Angeles River ecosystem. Next steps for advancing the discussion of habitat enhancement include working with local stakeholders and agencies to find consensus on a flow condition for the River and its Watershed as a whole. In the study area itself there are six complementary project opportunities that could be implemented in the near term to advance understanding of habitat enhancement for the Los Angeles River. These smaller, localized projects can be used as pilot projects for the complicated jurisdictional and regulatory processes that all future habitat projects will have to navigate. They will provide a manageable and controlled process that will bring the necessary agencies together to identify the most effective processes for future projects throughout the Los Angeles River ecosystem.

Water Wasted to the Sea?

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | July 15th, 2017