Posts Tagged by Bureau of Reclamation
Climate Change and Groundwater
| May 9, 2011 | Posted by karmadsen under blog, Climate Change, Conservation, Desertification, Groundwater and Agriculture, Groundwater Pumping, Groundwater Regulation, water ecology, Water Rights |
This April, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation published a report describing the squeeze climate change will put on the water budget of the Western United States. Groundwater is fairly sensitive to climate change.1 As temperatures increase, evapotranspiration will accelerate, impacting the entire hydrologic cycle and will lower the water level of aquifers and surface water bodies. With less snow and more rain falling, recharge patters will alter. The peak annual of recharge may shift towards the winter months and away from the spring. Recharge will also become more spread-out across seasons, as hydraulic storage in snow decreases.2
And all this could have an impact on our wallets. As change climate robs us of aquifer storage, the cost of water and food will climb. Modeling scenarios predict that warming temperatures will reduce the productivity of the Ogallala Aquifer, which accounts for 30% of all groundwater withdrawls in the US. 96% of water pumped from the Ogallala Aquifer goes to agriculture.1
The challenges is being taken seriously by the scientific departments of the federal government. In 2009, the Federal Climate Change and Water Working Group was formed to identify data gaps and support collaboration between government agencies and the scientific community. It includes NOAA, the USGS, the USACE, and the Bureau of Reclamations.
Simulated impact of climate change on long-term average annual diffuse groundwater recharge (under four different climate change models)3
1. U.S. Department of the Interior. (2011). SECURE Water Act Section 9503(c) – Reclamation Climate Change and Water 2011. Denver, Colorado: Bureau of Reclamation
2. Brekke, L.D., Kiang, J.E., Olsen, J.R., Pulwarty, R.S., Raff, D.A., Turnipseed, D.P., Webb, R.S., and White, K.D. (2009). Climate Change and Water Resources Management: A Federal Perspective. Circular 1331. Reston, Virginia: US Gelogical Survey. US Department of Interior.
2. M.L. Parry, O.F. Canziani, J.P. Palutikof, P.J. van der Linden, and C.E. Hanson (eds). (2007). Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007. Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press. Section 3.4.2 Groundwater: Figure 3.5. Simulated impact of climate change on long-term average annual diffuse groundwater recharge. Availalbe at: http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg2/en/ch3s3-4-2.html.
*Image reproduced with permission given in the copyright of the Intergovenmental Panel on Climate Change
Expanding the Columbia Basin Project
| October 27, 2010 | Posted by artisangwm under blog, Groundwater in the News, Groundwater Pumping, Irrigation, water ecology, Water Rights |
The Washington Department of Ecology and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation are working to expand the Eastern Washington’s Columbia Basin Project, one of the largest irrigation projects in the country. Congress authorized the project in 1943 to irrigate farm land with water from the Columbia River, but only 671,000 acres of the 1 million authorized were actually brought under service. Groundwater pumping has been used for irrigation in many of the areas that didn’t receive river water.
The government proposal includes eight alternatives, including options to pipe water in from existing reservoirs, the option to construct a new reservoir, and a no-action option. Piping water to farm lands from existing reservoirs will probably save the most money in the long run. The people of Washington state are increasing concerned about declining groundwater levels, but it may take some time to select a solution. Bill Gray, an area manager with the Bureau of Reclamation, told the Associated Press that figuring out how to pay for the project, which will cost hundreds of millions of dollars, will be a big part of the decision making process.