H₂OSU is also available at: http://water.oregonstate.edu/newsletter/.
July-August 2007

The View from 210

The Snake-Columbia Energy-Water Summit in Boise attracted over 85 people, exceeding our expectations. John Harrison of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council started things rolling with an excellent overview of the basin and its development. Patrick McGrane of the USBR indicated that Reclamation is revising its reservoir operating rules for its dams in the basin and incorporating the effects of climate change. He revealed the existence of a Department of the Interior Climate Change Task Force whose purpose is to identify challenges and responses. McGrane posed some interesting rhetorical hydroclimatologic questions and summed up (somewhat simplistically, he admitted) by saying that: 1) the climate is changing; 2) Reclamation is trying to deal with it; and 3) it’s complicated. He said that he believed that the Corps of Engineers had yet to incorporate climate change in their PNW water planning. We had good representation from the Canadian side: Tim Newton and Kindy Gosal (both from the Columbia Basin Trust) and Kelvin Ketchum (BC Hydro) gave formal presentations. Gosal surprised us all by announcing that British Columbia has no restrictions on ground water withdrawals and no good aquifer mapping. Newton, who probably knows more about the Columbia River Treaty than anyone else, presented some insightful observations about the operation of the basin from the perspective of power generation. He noted that the effects of global warming are “muted” in Canada as compared to the USA. The power requirements in Canada are assumed to be heaviest during the winter, whereas in the USA, the peak season will likely occur in summer because of global warming and the increase in air-conditioning. Suffice it to say that the renegotiation of the treaty, should there be a renegotiation, could be interesting. The Summit steering committee will be working on a “roadmap” document over the next few weeks and hopes to have it by early August. We will present the roadmap to cognizant government agencies and elected officials.

And speaking of elected officials, a Congressional Water Caucus has been created, one of over 200 such caucuses. Five Representatives are co-founders/co-chairs: John Linder (R-GA); Jim Costa (D-CA); Grace Napolitano (D-CA); Bart Stupak (D-MI); and George Radanovich (R-CA). Eighteen other lawmakers have expressed interest in joining. The co-chairs identified "Twelve Principles of Water Policy", which include: sufficient water supply for urban and rural areas, considering all available technologies for increasing water supply efficiently while safeguarding the environment, and implementing strategies to improve efficiencies.

The National Research Council’s Committee on Hydrology, Ecology, and Fishes in the Klamath River Basin, on which I serve, has completed its draft report, which is now out for review. Our tasks were to: 1) review and evaluate the methods and approach used in the USBR’s Natural Flow Study to create a representative estimate of historical flows, and the Hardy Phase II studies, to predict flow needs for coho and other anadromous fishes; 2) review and evaluate the implications of those studies' conclusions within the historical and current hydrology of the upper basin; for the biology of the listed species; and separately for other anadromous fishes; and 3) identify gaps in the knowledge and in the available scientific information. The final report is to be delivered to our sponsor, the USBR, by 31 August 2007, and should be released to the public on or about that date. I’ll let you know when it is available. The June newsletter of the Conservation Implementation Program (CIP) of the USBR’s Klamath Basin Area Office June is downloadable here. Note that Reclamation is seeking to fund watershed restoration projects.

Speaking of the Klamath Basin, you’ve probably heard about Vice President Cheney’s alleged role in ensuring water deliveries to irrigators. Some House members are calling for an inquiry. I won’t repeat the story here, but I have posted it to my WaterWired blog if you are interested.

Stan Gregory, Linda Ashkenas, and Chris Nygaard have completed their Summary Report to Assist Development of Ecosystem Flow Recommendations for the Coast Fork and the Middle Fork of the Willamette River, Oregon. The IWW conducted this work for the Sustainable Rivers Project of The Nature Conservancy and the USACE. Download a copy from our site.

The OSU Water Vision (see our WWW site) has finally been vetted and will now be carried forward to PSU and UO. Dr. John Cassady, our VP for Research, will now contact his counterparts at those schools and request that they develop water visions as well (if they wish to). An integrated Oregon University System Water Vision will then be submitted to Rep. Earl Blumenauer, who requested such a document last winter.

We plan to revise our WWW site this Fall. If you have any comments or suggestions, email Maria Wright (maria.wright@oregonstate.edu), but not until early September, as she will be taking July and August off.

The newsletter will be taking a holiday until early September. Have a wonderful summer!

Till September,
Michael

“In the West, when you touch water, you touch everything.”  – Wayne N. Aspinall

Featured Research Project - Sustainable Rural Communities Initiative, Upper Klamath Basin Project

The Sustainable Rural Communities Initiative seeks to improve environmental, economic, social and cultural well-being in Oregon's rural communities. One of the goals of the initiative is to fund interdisciplinary pilot projects, including one led by Hannah Gosnell, OSU assistant professor of Geosciences, on land use and water sustainability issues in the Upper Klamath Basin. The project will expand this year with funding from the IWW-USGS minigrant program and will focus on the the social sustainability of new environmental governance structures and watershed restoration efforts. Hannah writes, "I think the most exciting part about the planned research is that it involves faculty and extension with such incredibly diverse backgrounds, all of whom have a unique and valuable perspective on the issue of water resource management and ecosystem restoration on irrigated agricultural lands in the Upper Klamath Basin. Kurt Peters is integral to the project because of his understanding of Klamath tribal issues, Desiree Tullos understands the ecological implications of various approaches to water resource management, Lena Etuk provides insight into the patterns and impacts of population and demographic change in the region, Gail Achterman has an intimate understanding of the laws guiding water resource management, especially the issue of ongoing water rights adjudication in the Upper Basin tributaries, Denise Lach is an expert on various forms of water governance, Lindsey Lyons is our local OSU watershed extension agent who has strong ties in the community, and Mark Meyers is a GIScience guru who will help us identify patterns and display our findings visually. My geographic perspective provides a synthetic function to the research endeavor - I am interested in how all these things come together - the role that population change, demographic change, land ownership change and land use change plays in the emergence of new forms of environmental governance that more effectively engage private landowners and tribal members, and in the potential these new governance mechanisms have for positive ecological change."

Congratulations

OSU civil engineering professor Wayne Huber has been selected to receive the national 2007 Julian Hinds Award, presented by the Environmental & Water Resources Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers. The award is made annually to the author(s) of that paper which is judged to be the most meritorious contribution to the field of water resources development. (excerpt from COE's Momentum Newsletter) Read More about the award ...

OSU environmental engineering professor Lewis Semprini has been selected as an OSU distinguished professor. He is the first engineering professor to receive this faculty honor. Lew has taught at OSU for 14 years and has led pioneering research projects on the use of bioremediation to remove pollutants from soil and groundwater. Read more in the Corvallis G-T...

Get Involved

Oregon Trout is looking for volunteers for their Salmon Watch program. Volunteers attend a free half-day training workshop in August or September and then help teach middle and high school students about wild salmon. For more information, contact Kim Carson, the Mid-Willamette Regional Education Coordinator, in Corvallis at 753-4280.

Join the Mixing Zone, a social gathering of water resources professionals in the Portland Area. This group was started by OSU water alum, John Metta who writes, " Whether you are working for the Army Corps, Pacific Power, DEQ, your thesis or a middle school, if you are interested in seeing new friends and old in water, come join us. Feel free to invite others who might be interested." Contact John (METTA.John<at>deq.state.or.us) to receives emails about upcoming events.

Upcoming Events

July 24-26, Boise, Idaho. Universities Council on Water Resources (UCOWR) and the National Institutes for Water Resources (NIWR) 2007 Conference (Theme: Hazards in Water Resources). Examples of topics: floods, droughts, terrorism, climate change, waterborne diseases, and hazards from water management.

August 4-9, Columbia and Deschutes Basins, Oregon. WOU Field Trip: River Environments of Oregon. The trip is run by Steve Taylor, Western Oregon University, who writes "The trip is focused on fluvial geomorphology, hydrology, field methods, and big fun and includes 1 day at Newberry Volcano (catastrophic outburst floods from Paulina Lake + volcanic landscapes, derived from the 2000 FOP field guide by Jensen and Chitwood), 1-2 days in the Columbia River Gorge (Missoula flood work / field guides of O'Connor and others in 1980’s), and 3 days on the middle Deschutes (geomorphic work / field guides by Bybee, O'Connor, Grant, and others)". There are 5-6 slots open for non-credit participants, total cost = $385/person for van rental, camping, field guide, and rafting service. FMI: Steve Taylor, 503-838-8398.

September 8-28, Eugene and Upper Klamath Basin, Oregon. Summer Field Course in River and Riparian Field Studies (UO Geography Course 410/510). This course will focus on interactions between biological and physical processes in river floodplains, including geomorphology and plant ecology, and concepts and techniques for river assessment and restoration planning. UO Geography Professor Pat McDowell will lead this course along the Sprague River in the Upper Klamath Basin. It includes a pre-meeting, post-meeting, and two weeks in the field.

Wednesdays Fall Term 2007, 4-5:30 p.m., 102 Owen Hall, OSU. OSU Fall Water Resources Seminar Series. The theme will be: Revisiting Restoration, Reconstruction, and Renaturalization of Engineered Landscapes: Technical, Political, Legal and Natural Resistance. FMI: Todd Jarvis, 737-4032.

Link to a calendar of other upcoming water-related events...

Upcoming Funding Opportunities

NASA ROSES Terrestrial Hydrology Program - "The THP uses NASA’s unique view from space to study hydrologic processes associated with runoff production, hydrologic fluxes at the land-air interface, and terrestrial water stores. THP fosters the development of hydrologic remote sensing theory, new hydrologic satellite missions, hydrologic remote sensing field experiments, and the interface of hydrology with other disciplines, such as ecology. Particular emphasis is placed on the application of satellite-based remotely sensed data for characterizing, understanding, and predicting the terrestrially linked components of the hydrologic cycle and the dynamics of large-scale river basins." Notice of intent due August 1, 2007; full proposals due October 1, 2007.

NSF Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CBET) - Environmental Sustainability - " This program supports engineering research that seeks to balance society’s need to provide ecological protection and maintain stable economic conditions. Research is encouraged to advance the next generation of water and wastewater treatment that will decrease material and energy use, consider new paradigms for delivery of services, and promote longer life for engineered systems. Other activities of interest include:

• Advancing engineering methods to promote smart growth strategies,
• Integrating economic development and protection of natural resources,
• Regenerating ecological functions of degraded environments,
• Understanding how large complex environmental systems behave, and
• Developing effective principles for adaptive management of such systems."

Proposals due: September 15, 2007.

Don't forget, a list of water-related external funding opportunities is available on the IWW Web site.

H₂OSU is a periodic e-mail news briefing provided by the Institute for Water and Watersheds. It is distributed through the OSU hydro e-mail lists -- to subscribe or unsubscribe, go to http://oregonstate.edu/groups/hydro/email.htm. Questions, comments and ideas for news briefs may be sent to the IWW at iww@oregonstate.edu. More news from the IWW is available at http://water.oregonstate.edu/news/index.htm.