GEOG 273
China Issues with Pipelines
4,000 km in total $65 billion Generous assumption 330,000 displaced Essentially creating 3 new, large rivers Phase one by 2014 Pumping water east to west
What are 3 benefits to having large woody debris (lwd) in a stream?
-Increase in nutrient sediments from the trees -Slows down streamflow allowing fish that have to swim upstream an easier chance to get up the river -Slows rainwater runoff lessening the potential impacts for flooding or erosion
Rivers account for ________ % of the World's water supply.
0.1
Indus River Flooding in 2010
3.5 million children are at high risk from deadly water-borne diseases • 20 million people have now been affected by the monsoon floods Monsoon, worse effects downstream
Sacramento-San Joaquin competing interests
538,000 acres of agriculture; 64,000 acres of urban & commercial use; open water covers 60,000 acres; remainder of region is undeveloped natural plant vegetation • Water from Delta serves 25 million people; irrigates more than 3 million most if not all of California water
Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint Basin
600 Mile basin that starts in Georgia, goes through Alabama and goes into Florida and then into Gulf of Mexico Forms part of border between Alabama and Georgia Two rivers meet north blue ridge mountains north of Atlanta to form ACF 430 miles long Flint River- Starts around Atlanta airport, goes under airport, flows unimpeded for 200 miles Apalachicola River- Smallest of three rivers, 112 miles long, border between Alabama and florida Provides 70 percent of water to atlanta Home to first natural water trail Flint River very biologically diverse- alligator, salamanders, darter Apalachicola Bay where river flows into- takes up three states Lots of drinking water for three states Most important estuary north of Mexico Many endangered species Heavy commercial fishing Crucial spawning zones Estuary not in good shape, large reduction in oyster population to due heavy water usage upstream Florida blaming Georgia Excessive irrigation and army corps holding back water Couple years of extreme drought and overfishing Numerous projects to restore it, three projects will help quality and quantity Primary objective to fix stuary Atlanta has massive water withdrawal Agricultural use also massive Massive drought issues States cant come together over instream flows States fighting with US Army Corps 13 dams Grade: C+
Atchafalaya River Basin
931 square miles, million football fields US largest river swamp and wetland 20 miles wide, 150 miles long In Lousiana, takes up a fifth of the state Diverse habitat and ecosystem, Weakness: massive flooding problems Water quality issues, Changed geomophologically a lot Threats: Overfishing, illegal logging, pollution/excess sedimentation, oil leaks Pipeline proposal Oppurtunities for economic growth, ecosystem services, wetlands getting taken out so animals can survive, growing delta system Lots of Tourism for fishing, hunting, biking Large number of species for ecosystem Grade- C+
What is a stream adjudication?
A legal process which determines water rights
San Joaquin Sacramento Agriculture
Ag supported by Delta Water contributes $2 billion of $31 billion state economy • Main crops - corn, grain & hay, alfalfa, pasture, tomatoes, fruit, asparagus, safflower, pears and grapes
Umpqua River Basin
Based in southern Oregon Small river, 111 miles long 7,343 cubic feet per second Starts near Roseburg and drains into Winchester Bay (Pacific Ocean) Tributaries, fed by Cascades, South and North Umpqua World renowned fly fishing, steelhead, Umpqua National Forest Tons of recreational oppurtunities Jobs- Coast guard, boating Really good water quality, steady flows, no pollutants, no industrial waste, good water temperature Does have occasional algae blooms, no dams for the most part Not a lot of weaknesses, a few major floods Coastal Bar- Jetty that allows ships in and out of river Rough bar, ships Threats- dormant algae an damage to spawning grounds, maybe more flooding and dam failure and overfishing Oppurtunities- tourism expansion, no real need to improve river Overall Grade: A-
Which of the following best describes how the Prior Appropriations system allocates water?
Based on the priority date of the first use
Howe Article, water rights on basins
Building virtual water river basins: adoption of the principle of "benefit sharing" in place of just water sharing, take full advantage of newly developed optimization and surveillance technologies that facilitate basin-wide real time management using more efficient but complicated allocation rules, expand the geographical scope of water leasing or sale markets to an interstate (or even international) basis. Water allocation is bad.
California Water Myths:
California has run out of abundant water and will need to adapt to scary, no true villain, no cure all infrastructure plan, conservation effectiveness is overstated, healthy ecosystems provide value to economy, fish need more water to thrive, legal tools for reform are present but we need to start using them, consensus won't be achievable on all water issues
Zetland Article, California Water Relocation
California's water transfer system depends on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to move water. Unfortunately, the Delta's ecosystem appears to be suffering from this use - and other uses. After discussing the stakeholders in the Delta, the causes of ecological decline, and the choices for change (including a radical political-economic market), I conclude that business as-usual is over, that any solution is costly, and that the politicians and bureaucrats in the middle of this process benefit from conflict and inaction. The Delta will remain broken for the foreseeable future. Fish die from levees, invasive species, water flows and quality, climate change. Peripheril Canal one bad solution.
Accurate vs. Precise
Climate models are accurate not precise
Rio Grande Main Issues
Colorado gets all the water, New Mexico and Texas don't get almost any, high withdraws from agriculture with little to no productivity, river dried up below new mexico, endangered species
Floods impact the Floodplain
Create side channels for species and destroy anything not natural to floodplain, good for species that aren't humans, bad for humans, get larger over time because banklines widen
Dams History and Present
Dam fever before 1960s, US heavy, now most dams being removed, developing countries building dams
Columbia River Main Issues
Dams, Energy demand highest in winter when flow is most at summer, Climate Change, salmon decline, management a problem, tributaries as well
The headwaters of a stream tend to be nutrient __________________.
Deficient
The _______________________ is the small indicator species in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta having a dramatic impact on water allocation in areas up to 500 miles away.
Delta Smelt
Endangered Species Act-
Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation", prescribes obligations of federal agencies to ensure their actions do not jeopardize a listed species.
Per capita water demand is increasing across all sectors, but it is growing faster in ______________ nations. While problematic for water managers, this can be considered a good thing as it is a driver for social change and can directly lead to vast improvements in quality of life.
Developing
Mackenzie River Basin
Disappointment River, Alexander Mackenzie thought it would go to pacific but went to Arctic Longest river in North America, 10th longest in the world 6 separate basins that divide up system 3 Large lakes Runs in northern Canada Only about 1% of Canada population lives in Basin Watershed in cold wilderness, cold grasslands in south and arctic tundra in north, wetlands, tundra, and grasslands "The Big River" named after Alexander Mackenzie Really strong river today, lot of water passes through it, average discharge 350 thousand CFS, 10 times larger than Yakima 700 square miles drainage basin size of Mexico Water meanders well, highest discharge in summer months like June Really strong ecologically, lots of fish Natives control of majority of this land, delayed construction of piplines and damage being done to it Lots of resource extraction coming from northern towns, lots of chemical spills, winter months very cold and some rivers freeze up, evidence of climate change with flooding Ice is thinner which is dangerous to Ice trucks Natural Resources not very rich, not very accessible, but there are large deposits of oil and natural gas Not currently being extracted Not a lot of agriculture because of permafrost but some valleys have agriculture, peace river valley and Athabasca valley Very good farmland there No dams on main river but some tributaries have smaller dams but proposals to build more aren't going through WAC Bennet Dam one of biggest in North American on Peace River Site C dam under construction Site C is a threat to environment though, takes out half of population of endangered species Oblierates agricultural land Mackenzie River Pipeline Project- major problems Grade: A-
Induced Floods
Done by humans, deforestation, poor land use, bad disposal systems, quarrying
China Issues with Yangtze
Extremely polluted, 3rd longest on Earth Empties to China Sea near Shanghai 400 million people "1954 Yangtze River floods, killing around 30,000 people. Other severe floods included those of 1911, which killed around 100,000, 1931 (145,000 dead), and 1935 (142,000 dead)." Giant dams a good and bad thing, archaeology destroyed, relocating people
The Clean Water Act imposes strict requirements for minimum instream flows to ensure stream health.
False
Fastest Flowing Part of Stream
Fastest flowing area of the stream- 6/10 of the way into the water column, where you have the most water on water, lack of friction
What is hyporheic exchange? Identify 2 reasons it is beneficial.
Hyporheic exchange is the interactions between streamwater and groundwater. -Helps regulate stream temperature -Increases the residence time of water within a stream
Deschutes
If you don't know this by now you're doomed. Grade B-
Indus River Nations
India, China, Pakistan, Afghanistan
Delta Smelt
Indicator species, on endangered species list. Native to this delta. Indicator species = is any biological species that defines a trait or characteristic of the environment. For an example, a species may delineate an ecoregion or indicate an environmental condition such as a disease outbreak, pollution, species competition or climate change. Indicator species can be among the most sensitive species in a region, and sometimes act as an early warning to monitoring biologists.
San Joaquin Sacramento Groundwater pumping-subsidence
Insane amount of land subsiding meaning sinking deeper below sea level, could be horrible for flooding, groundwater pumping become more and more, land will subside when you pump because earth is sponge
China Water Pollution
Largest population on earth, lack of water, poor people, economic prosperity causes water problems, no state bureaucracy telling regulating pollution, trash and pollution from huge cities go into these rivers
Parana River Basin
Located in South America, 2nd largest behind Amazon River 3,000 miles long, slightly longer than Mississppi Starts in Brazil, meats Iguazu, meats with Paraguay, meets with Uruguay, and goes into Rio de la Plata in Atlanta Ocean Runs through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina Discharge from River is roughly equivalent to discharge of Mississppi Delta Very important river for entire area, divided into upper middle and lower, upper has no dams, allows easy fish migration Middle delta very vital ecosystem to animals, and regions water quality and hydroelectricity Lower Delta- industrial and agricultural core Watershed serves major cities like Buenos Aires Major source of income in region with food Overfishing problem though Also heavily used for navigation Main weakness is water quality thanks to deforestation, pollution, dams and sedimentation build up Sewage polluting and garbage and industrial pollution from factories Eco Boat- one of the measures to combat pollution, they go pick up trash Eco barrier- barrier along river to catch trash, small portion fixes, not feasible Atlantic Forest in Southern Brazil and Northern Argentina been deforested, 85% gone This forest provides resources and buffer for river to help cleanse itself When buffer removed, when river gets to major cities the water quality is incredibly poor Hydrovia Water Transportation Project- 5 country proposal, convert Parana and Paraguay rivers into industrial shipping channel, dredging and rock removal and channeling Allows barges to travel up river to go to different countries Pantanal- worlds largest wetland in this basin, massive ecological effects to this if Hydrovia passes Itaipu Dam Threats- Overfishing, giant river stingray and shad, deforestation with water quality issues, and flooding but flooding is common Grade- B+ Strengths outweight weaknesses
Ganges Basin-
Longest and most populate river basin in East Asia Runs in India and Bangladesh 1600 miles long from Himilayas to Bay of Bengal Shorter than Missippi River but 15x more people Source in Himlayas- Gomukh, snowmelt from Himlayas People wash their clothes in the river downstream Considered the Holiest River in India Religious connection Millions of people bathe in the river, drink it too People release their dead into the river Relies heavily on Waterway, provides transportation for cargo boats Irrigation very important and utilized Hyroelectric oppurtunities, many dams and proposed dams Massive problems with flood Horrible pollution problems, extinct animals and rise in water level Fecal matter 100 times limit inside the river, killing fish and destroying habitat Only water source for drinking water Lots of industrial factors that dump into river No regulations for river pollution South Asian River Dolphin dying out Pollution- agriculture run off, bodies, toxins, tanneries and factories, seware GAP- fialed cleaning river Little bit of hope- NGRBA attempting to clean river Grade: D+
Indus River Basic Geopolitical Issues
Massive cities taking out water because of insanely large populations in small concentrated areas, India taking out most of water before it goes into Pakistan, boundaries between India and Pakistan never solved, good agriculture, nuclear war imminent due to territory dispute, treaties not fair
Aquifer and Ogalala
Massive storage of groundwater, Ogalala we pumped too much of in the Great Plains
LWD- Large Woody Debris
Missile if it breaks loose, provides habitat, increases hypoheic exchange
Salt Cedar are:
Non-native high water consumption plants
Organic Machine Ch 3 and 4
Nuclear problems, Hanford, Bonneville, grand coulee cant store enough, lots of land and failing economy, salmon runs essence of columbia, dams decline of fish, not enough water storage for growing demand, no solution to nuclear waste,
Water Inventory
Oceans 97% of water, 2.8% is Freshwater, 2% is Glacier, 0.5% groundwater, 0.01% in rivers,
Eidem Article, Conflicts
Oregon water more quality than quantity, see presentation for Klamath and Deschutes, river categories, Intensity -7 Is full out war, really bad, 0 is neutral, 7 is unification
Reasons/Causes of Flooding
Prolong rain, clogged storm drain, agriculture, snowmelt, breached levees
Developing on Floodplain
Property destruction from flooding
Dams Pros and Cons
Pros: Recreation, Flood Control, Water Storage, Irrigation, Hydropower, Navigation, Debris collection Cons: Fish displacement, human displacement, sediment buildup at top of dam
Aral Sea
Pumped out so much there's no more water left, in Russia
Mississippi and Nile Delta Shrinking
Sediment, delta is built on sediment, fine grain materials, when you don't get anymore, it compacts and sinks, we put in giant dam, no more sediment
Climate Change in PNW
Snowmelt
Truckee River Basin
Starts in California at Lake Tahoe, goes north to Pyramid Lake, internal system in California and Nevada Small river basin, fed through two big cities Reno and Sparks Half the size of the Yakima River Basin, half as long as Yakima, and roughly half the flow rate Used to help spawning near extinct fish species, beaver dams help remove pollutant and sediment White water rafting, sport fishing, drinking water, TROA Provides drinking water to California and Nevada, experiences periods of low flow TROA- allocates water between California and Nevada during low flow periods Pyramid Lake governed by Paiute Tribe Non native species of fish introduced to river, invasive specis added for recreational use of fly fishing Restoration of 25 miles of river to help with water pollution Storm runoff in cities goes into river without treatment, causes toxic environments Drought conditions a problem, erratic flooding Heavily relies on snow pack at Lake Tahoe In a lot better condition than neighboring basins Lot of good activists groups helping them Biggest threat is flooding in cities, flood season in January Agricultural lands get messed up Downstream Truckee has low flow into Pyramid Lake The cities take up so much water for drinking Grade B: Healthy river only a few minor drawbacks
Zambezi River Basin
Starts in Milwanga, 4900 above sea level Ends in Mozambique in Indian Ocean Divided up into 3 parts, upper, middle, lower Upper has water spirit, giver of life, brings water to crops Middle starts with Victoria Falls, 33 football fields wide, serves as border between Zimbabwe and Zambia for 500 meters, drops into Lake Cariba, one of major hydroelectric dams located there Lower Zambezi- goes into Indian Ocean at end Diversity of land, it provides great diversity amongst wildlife Tiger Fish Massive poaching problem 4th largest river basin in Africa, runs alongside many countries, countries don't communicate well they care more about themselves Main economic drivers of the basin: mining, tourism, hydropower, fisheries, agriculture Large scale copper mining, Victoria Falls, fishing yield decline, agriculture 75% of people living in the region Dams have decreased the amount of flooding, but there are extreme floodingevents Climate change expected to increase flooding in wet seasons and more drought in dry seasons Two dams: Kariba Dam and Cahora Bassa Dam Kariba Dam is falling apart, volume of reservoir at a record low, if it were refilled the dam could collapse Cahora Bassa Dam- One of largest dams in Southern Africa, supplies power to South Africa Batoka Gorge Dam Proposal- governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe proceeding with this project, supply power to both countries and project under Zambezi River Authority, council of 4 people from Zambia and Zimbabwe Project to cost 4 billion dollars, will take 10-13 years to complete, first proposed in 1993 Issues with Project- Social impact like not create tourism benefits, wouldn't create as many jobs, environment is crucial to birds, impacts on endangered species, Grade: C
Groundwater
Supply dropping rapidly, especially in Great Plains cause we pumped so much, can be polluted but more saline than river water but too much cannot be cleaned
What one dramatic event triggered the creation of the Clean Water Act?
The Cuyahoga River going up in flames in Cleveland.
Competence vs. Capacity
The competence of a river is the maximum particle size that it is able to transport based on speed. The capacity is the maximum load a river can transport. As the velocity of the river increases it is able to transport larger particles and so its competence increases.
What is a watershed?
This is also known as a drainage basin. This is the area that contributes run-off water to a drainage course like a stream or water body. An example of this would be the Cle Elum River drains into the Yakima River, so it is a part of the Yakima Watershed.
Which of the following is NOT in the Indus River Basin?
Vietnam (Pakistan, China, and India are)
Hydrologic Cycle
Water movement, you should know this
Prior Appropriations System-
Water rights are based on beneficial use, in times of shortage water is allocated on the basis of priority, rights must be exercised "use it or lose it", rights are quantified but the amount of water diverted, historically no in stream rights except for hydropowerr, 1st rights we dont know who has them, the legal doctrine that the first person to take a quantity of water from a water source for "beneficial use"—agricultural, industrial or household —has the right to continue to use that quantity of water for that purpose. Subsequent users can take the remaining water for their own beneficial use provided that they do not impinge on the rights of previous users. USED IN WESTERN US
Global water use
World starvation going down, but comes down to more water consumption then, we are tearing down rainforests and grasslands
Natural Levee
a deposit of sand or mud built up along, and sloping away from, either side of the flood plain of a river or stream.
Headwaters
a tributary stream of a river close to or forming part of its source. not good rearing environments for species, steep gradients, harsh climates, lack of nutrients means things don't live there, Deposition at the bottom of rivers
A river delta is an example of a(n) _______________.
alluvial fan
What is required to measure streamflow?
channel width, stream speed, channel depth
A small, narrow, but fast moving stream with a steep gradient has a high ______________.
competence
What data are needed to measure the discharge of a stream (check all that apply)?
depth, velocity, width
The processes by which water leaves a watershed via crop transpiration or evaporation is know as ___________________.
evapotranspiration
Check all that apply: The Green Revolution:
increased the number of non-native species in an area, contributed to alleviating global poverty, required additional inputs such as water and fertilizers, increased crop yields.
Instream Flow
instream flow is the water flowing in a stream channel (IFC, 2002). This simple concept belies the difficulty of determining what that flow should be among competing uses for water, such as irrigation, public supply, recreation, hydropower, and aquatic habitat.
Oxbow Lake
is a U shaped body of water that forms when a wide meander from the main stem of a river is cut off, creating a free-standing body of water.
Alluvial Fan
is a fan- or cone-shaped deposit of sediment crossed and built up by streams. If a fan is built up by debris flows it is properly called a debris cone or colluvial fan. These flows come from a single point source at the apex of the fan, and over time move to occupy many positions on the fan surface. Fans are typically found where a canyon draining from mountainous terrain emerges out onto a flatter plain, and especially along fault-bounded mountain fronts.
River Delta
is a landform that forms from deposition of sediment carried by a river as the flow leaves its mouth and enters slower-moving or standing water.This occurs where a river enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, or (more rarely) another river that cannot transport away the supplied sediment. The size and shape of a delta is controlled by the balance between watershed processes that supply sediment and receiving basin processes that redistribute, sequester, and export that sediment. The size, geometry, and location of the receiving basin also plays an important role in delta evolution. River deltas are important in human civilization, as they are major agricultural production centers and population centers. They can provide coastline defense and can impact drinking water supply.They are also ecologically important, with different species assemblages depending on their landscape position.
Flood
is an accumulation or an overflow of an expanse of water that covers or inundates land that is usually dry.
River incision
is the narrow erosion caused by a river or stream that is far from its base level. River incision is common after tectonic uplift of the landscape. Incision by multiple rivers result in a dissected landscape, for example a dissected plateau. River Incision is the natural process by which a river cuts downward into its bed, deepening the active channel. Though it is a natural process, it can be accelerated rapidly by human factors including land use changes such as timber harvest, mining, agriculture, and road and dam construction.
Groundwater/Surface Interaction
is vital because hypoheic exchange, snow seaps into soil, that water released in ground from a sponge and that is our insurance policy, water comes back to surface is nice and cool
A highly channelized river:
moves water more quickly downstream, is a sign of human intervention, aids in transportation, protects infrastructure.
Cone of depression
occurs in an aquifer when groundwater is pumped from a well. In an unconfined aquifer (water table), this is an actual depression of the water levels. When a well is pumped, the water level in the well is lowered. By lowering this water level, a gradient occurs between the water in the surrounding aquifer and the water in the well. Because water flows from high to low water levels or pressure, this gradient produces a flow from the surrounding aquifer into the well. As the water flows into the well, the water levels or pressure in the aquifer around the well decrease. The amount of this decline becomes less with distance from the well, resulting in a cone-shaped depression radiating away from the well.
In a meandering stream, erosion generally occurs on the ______________________ of curves.
outside edge
Perennial vs. ephemeral streams
perennial stream or perennial river is a stream or river (channel) that has continuous flow in parts of its stream bed all year round during years of normal rainfall. ephemeral streama is stream that flows only briefly during and following a period of rainfall in the immediate locality.
Evapotranspiration
plants transpiring and water evaporating
The Endangered Species Act:
prescribes obligations of federal agencies to ensure their actions do not jeopardize a listed species.
Desalinization-Pros and cons
too expensive, pump water uphill, figure out what to do with salt, does make sense for rich countries especially those along the ocean though
The amount of water embedded in the production of a given product is known as ____________ __________________.
virtual water
The water embedded in the production of a commodity is called ____________________ ______________________________.
virtual water
Consumptive vs. non-consumptive uses
water doesn't get returned, non-consumptive- water get's returned
1960 Indus River Treaty
• Pakistan wants separation of water supplies • India has control over the eastern rivers - Ravi, Sutlej, Beas • Pakistan has control over the western rivers - Indus, Chenab, Jhelum • World Bank helps fund projects in Pakistan to compensate water loss (IBP) - Tarbela and Mangla Dams • Tarbela was the largest earth-filled dam at the time • 10 year transition period • Commission to meet every year Problems with the Treaty • Old treaty - population has changed water needs - India is depleting aquifers • Left India as the upper Riparian to Pakistan • China???
