H2OSU is also available at: http://water.oregonstate.edu/newsletter/.
June 5, 2008
The View from 210
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Yogi Berra reportedly said, “It’s just like déjà-vu all over again.” I’m starting to feel like Yogi these days. Thrice within the past week I’ve heard of or received inquiries about selling Oregon water to others as a means to increase state coffers or bail out water-short areas. Some want to sell Columbia River water, others Cascades ground water (never mind that we know little about the recoverability/sustainability of the latter). I’m not arguing that these schemes are anywhere near fruition; they’re merely at the “thinking out loud” stage. But for me, it is recalling the early 1970s, when my mentors at the University of Arizona assured us that the Southwest would never go dry, because “there’s all that wasted Columbia River water just flowing to the sea.”
Regarding that latter statement, I’m reminded of how far we’ve come in 35 years. A few years ago Dr. Robert M. Hirsch, former USGS Associate Director for Water, commented on the difference between the engineering hydrology courses of the 1970s versus those of the present: instead of trying to calculate how much water you can take out of a stream for irrigation or M&I uses, it’s more about how much water you need to leave in the stream for ecosystem requirements.
The new online journal Water Alternatives (www.water-alternatives.org) just published its first issue. All articles are free.
Congratulations to all our spring Water Resources Program graduates! See elsewhere for a list, including thesis topics.
We just concluded a very successful spring seminar series. Julia Jones did a marvelous job assembling an extraordinary cast of speakers, and the Hydrophiles, especially Jay Frentress, Monica Hubbard, Jay Zarnetske, and Daniel Moreno, did a wonderful job organizing things.
Todd Jarvis has been working feverishly on next fall’s seminar, entitled, When Water Does Run Uphill: The Economics and Politics of Water in the 21st Century. The schedule is almost set and should be on our WWW site shortly.
My South Caucasus trip went well, except for an uninvited microscopic guest who returned home with me. The place did not implode, and the Georgian parliamentary elections went off without any apparent violence, except for an altercation at the local McDonald’s over how big a Big Mac should be. But it was nice to be “safe” in the Courtyard by Marriott. When I arrived in Tbilisi on the eve of the elections I could tell I was in a hotel with a different clientele. There were numerous dark-suited OWGs (Old White Guys) and MAWGs (Middle-Aged White Guys), mostly Euros and Americans, engaged in serious discussions about the elections and how the political landscape might change (read: how our “interests” would be affected). All very important stuff, I’m sure.
Azerbaijan was fascinating. Much building in Baku, and ubiquitous signs of oil, gas, and opulence. The city’s police cruisers were BMWs. Hotel lobbies were full of business people making that “big deal”. The Absheron Peninsula was the most environmentally-degraded place I’d ever seen. The Turkmens were in town, partly to discuss an undersea gas pipeline to connect to Baku’s pipeline to Turkey. That prospect made the Euros and Americans quite happy, as it would it would annoy Russia and ensure more reasonable natural gas prices (dream on!). And the Americans were planning to construct a huge new embassy.
Armenia was enjoyable. My colleague Armen (in the picture with me, taken at Lake Sevan) gave me a history lesson without making it seem so. He told me that his streamflow monitoring in the Araks River basin indicated an increase in streamflow during the past few years. He mused that it might be due to global warming, specifically an increase in evaporation from the Black and Caspian Seas, major sources of water for precipitation. Oddly enough, he didn’t have access to good precipitation measurements.
If you want to read more, I’ve posted my travel reports and some pictures on WaterWired, from about 14 May to 26 May.
Several months ago I wrote about working with Sen. Gordon Smith’s (R-OR) staff to give the Water for the Poor Act more gravitas. That effort is still progressing, and I am pleased to report that I and others have been working with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s (D-TX) staff to do the same from the House side. There are a number of senators and representatives from both parties who are interested in seeing this important legislation acquire additional strength and funding.
And related to the Water for the Poor Act and what it seeks to do, one thing that’s recently struck me (and others) is this: Why is bringing water and sanitation to the world’s poor so difficult? Why hasn’t this been done before? It does not require rocket science, nor does it require obscene amounts of money. We’re not meeting the Millennium Development Goal related to water and sanitation (2015 target date), and as William Easterly indicated in his book The White Man’s Burden, in 1977 we tried and failed at this once before, setting a target date of 1990.
Last month I spoke of the Oregon University System Research Council’s (RC) Sustainability POP (Policy Option Package) being considered for submission to the state for funding during the next legislative session. We were successful in getting the RC to double our research seed money request to $800K per biennium. We’ll await the OUS’s decision.
Water is certainly on many people’s minds these days, more so than at any point in my brief two-year tenure here. We are working with the Oregon Business Council to develop a water agenda, and had our first meeting of our working group several days ago. We are also working with Rep. Jackie Dingfelder and others on conducting water forums prior to the next legislative session. A one-day symposium on wells is in the offing. Our non-renewable ground water conference is on tap for mid-October. The Headwaters-2-Ocean strategy document from the Governor’s Office is moving forward. Water reuse, recycling, and conservation are moving out of the shadows into the sunshine. Can all this continue?
I must confess that my biggest fear regarding water in Oregon is not the export of all our water to Las Vegas, but that the Governor will declare 2009 “The Year of Water”, which will be the kiss of death for sure. Just ask some of my New Mexico colleagues about all the “good things” that happened after Gov. Bill Richardson declared 2007 “The Year of Water” in New Mexico.
Till next month,
Michael
"If I look at the mass, I will never act. If I look at the one, I will."
– Mother Teresa
Congratulations
Congratulations to this summer's graduates of the Water Resources Graduate Program! Many will be presenting their theses in the next two weeks.
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Eva Lieberherr, M.S. Water Resources Policy and Management. Thesis: Acceptability of Market-Based Approaches to Water Management: An Analysis of the Deschutes Groundwater Mitigation Program. Eva's presentation was May 13.
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Amy McNally, M.S. Water Resources Policy and Management. Thesis: A Collaborative Potential Assessment of UNEP Project Atmospheric Brown Clouds, Summer 2008.
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Olivia Odom, M.S. Water Resources Policy and Management. Thesis: Institutional Capacity Building through Land and Water Stewardship Integration - An Analysis of Source Water Protection in Corvallis, Oregon. Presentation: Tuesday, June 10, 2 p.m., Wilkinson 203.
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Jeffrey Phillippe, M.S. Water Resources Science. Thesis: Present-day and Future Contributions of Glacier Melt to the Upper Middle Fork Hood River: Implications for Water Management. Presentation: Friday, June 6, 2:30 p.m., Wilkinson 203.
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Mark Porter, Ph.D. Water Resources Engineering. Dissertation: Investigating Capillary Pressure and Interfacial Area for Multiphase Flow in Porous Media using Pore-scale Imaging and Lattice-Boltzmann Modeling. Presentation: Friday, June 13, 9 a.m., Owen 106.
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Kelley Thomas, M.S. Water Resources Policy and Management. Thesis: An Analysis for the Prerequisites of Landowner Participation in Conservation Oriented Programs in the Wood River Valley, Oregon. Presentation: Thursday, June 5, 10 a.m., Valley Library Willamette West (Room 3622 on the 3rd floor of Valley Library).
Congratulations also to the Hydrophiles officers elected for 2008-2009! Hydrophiles is the OSU student chapter of the American Water Resources Association and the American Institute of Hydrology. The officers for next year will be:
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Julie Gabrielli - President
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Jay Zarnetske - Vice President
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Eric Andersen - Treasurer
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Dannie Jansik - Webmaster
Recent IWW Activities
IWW visits Aquifer Storage and Recovery Sites - As part of the technical review for the Aquifer Storage and Recovery Feasibility projects underway in Umatilla County that are being funded under SB 1069, IWW Associate Director Todd Jarvis toured the sites on May 20, 2008. Tour hosts included Fred Ziari of IRZ Consulting Engineers in Hermiston and Jeff Barry of GSI Water Solutions in Portland. Participants included Barry Norris of the Oregon Water Resources Department , Phil Richerson of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, JR Cook of the Umatilla County Planning Department, Harmon Springer, Umatilla County Critical Groundwater Task Force member, and water treatment specialists from HDR Engineering. Two sites where surface water was spread to induce aquifer recharge were visited. Farmers Mike McCarty and Kent Madison provided a tour of the recently completed Aquifer Storage and Recovery system at the McCarty Farm where over 1,800 gallons per minute were being injected into the deep basalt aquifer using 3R downhole valves designed by Kent Madison while controlled and monitored with state-of-the-art computer system. The preliminary phase of the feasibility study will be submitted to the OWRD in August, 2008 with the final report due in July, 2009.
IWW participates in Drinking Water Protection and Land Use Planning Workshop - The City of Corvallis, Benton County Community Development and Environmental Health Departments, the Oregon Departments of Human Services and Environmental Quality sponsored a workshop in Corvallis on May 14, 2008. Approximately 30 participants shared knowledge and “boots on the ground” experience on the challenges facing protecting water quality in light of increased development in Benton County. IWW Associate Director Todd Jarvis presented his work on the problems of dueling experts and inconsistencies in water policy related to balancing land development to availability of groundwater supplies in the Willamette Basin. He also developed a three-dimensional perspective of the hydrogeology of Benton County (view PDF) to show the rationale behind Benton County’s new ordinance requiring developers to “prove” they have sufficient water supplies for their proposed developments. For more information, visit the Benton County Water Supply Policy and Plan Project maintained by former IWW intern and current County Water Project Coordinator, Adam Stebbins.
IWW Participates in 2008 Spring STEWARDsHIP - Water Resources Engineering Ph.D. candidate Travis Roth and IWW Associate Director Todd Jarvis participated in the Students and Teachers Engaged in Watershed And Resource Decisions through Sustainable, Hands-on, Inquiry-based Practices (STEWARDsHIP) Field Day, a collaborative effort sponsored by Marys River Watershed Council, Marys Peak Interpretive Center and Oregon Trout at the Newton Creek Wetlands near Philomath on May 21 and 27 with over 300 Corvallis sixth-grade and middle school students. Students spent the day in the Rock Creek watershed, which supplies Corvallis with 40%-50% of its drinking water. They listened to specialists speak, watched demonstrations, and participated in various experiments. In the morning volunteers set up field stations along the creeks edge for the students with activities including, surface water-groundwater interaction, water quality sampling, macroinvertabrate identification, and even a live Great Horned Owl brought by the Chintimini Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. The hands on field trip helped show students the water cycle and the interconnectivity of a watershed. The famous IWW Groundwater Flow Model captivated the approximately 50 students who assisted in creating one of the most "polluted" sites in Benton County by injecting gallons of red food coloring into the table-sized model. Having the ability to really visualize underground contaminant flow paths, the students took away an understanding of the importance of a clean, healthy watershed.
Middle East Water Collection Arrives at OSU - On May 19, OSU welcomed Dr. Thomas Naff and Judy & John Kolars to the dedication of the Middle East Water Collection at Oregon State University. The collection provides access to roughly 9,000 items on political, socio-economic, demographic, and legal issues of water in the Middle East. Materials include data, books, journal and newspaper articles, and documents published in the Middle East, Europe, and North America originating from a variety of publishers and national and multinational agencies and organizations. College of Science Dean Sherman Bloomer and Professor Aaron Wolf summarized the importance of the new database to the OSU databases on water, specifically the Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database. The event was followed by a panel discussion on “Water on the Edge: Water Issues for the 21st Century” with Dr. Naff, John and Judy Kolars, and Dr. Mark Giordano of the International Water Management Institute and 2002 alumni of the Department of Geosciences leading the discussion.
Featured Alumnus: Suva Shakya
IWW Associate Director Todd Jarvis recently ran into Suva Shakya, a recent graduate from the OSU Water Resources Engineering Program, in the big water in Umatilla County. Suva currently works as an engineer for IRZ Consulting in Hermiston, Oregon. Suva is "deeply" involved with the Aquifer Storage projects in Umatilla County where his tasks include flow gauging, water sampling, and monitoring water levels in a large network of irrigation wells. In recognition of his importance to the project and to IRZ Consulting, Suva was assigned a company pickup truck to live in for the duration of the project. Suva and his supervisor Fred Ziari extended an invitation to all of the engineering students in the Water Resources Graduate Program to take a tour of their projects in the Umatilla Basin and to bring along a current resume.
Get Involved
Volunteers needed – Benton Soil & Water Conservation District: Fish Passage Improvement Program - This program surveys culverts for fish passage data in streams within the Marys River watershed. The data is then submitted to Benton County engineers. FMI: Contact the Fish Passage Coordinator, Taber Burton, 541-766-6821 x4532.
Friday, June 20. Deadline to submit a letter of interest for an OSU sustainability grant (full applications due in Fall 2008). The competition is sponsored by the Student Sustainability Initiative and up to $5,000 dollars are available for projects that promote renewable energy, efficiency, technology, agriculture and awareness on campus.
Monday, July 7. Deadline to submit Session Proposals for the April 19-23, 2009 Ground Water Summit to be held in Tucson, Arizona.
Friday, July 11. Abstract Deadline for the Third Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds (ICRW). The conference has been organized by the USGS and will be held 8-11 September 2008 in Estes Park, Colorado. The theme is: Planning for an Uncertain Future: Monitoring, Integration, and Adaptation. All abstracts are expected to be developed into final peer-reviewed and approved manuscripts for inclusion in the on-line Conference Proceedings. FMI: http://www.hydrologicscience.org/icrw/.
Monday, September 1. Deadline to apply for CUAHSI's Hydrograf(x) Visualization Competition - The goal of this competition, sponsored in part by the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI), is to foster greater understanding and appreciation of hydrologic science. This competition also provides graduate students with an opportunity to present the results of their research endeavors in a non-traditional format as well as to audiences that they would not regularly reach.
Upcoming Events
Wednesday, June 11, 4-5:00 p.m., 206 Nash Hall. Everything you know about the extent of alien fish in Oregon streams is wrong. Speaker: Thom Whittier, OSU Fisheries & Wildlife. FMI: jan.cyrus@oregonstate.edu.
Sunday, June 15. OSU Commencement.
Monday, July 14 - Wednesday, July 16, Boulder, CO. CUAHSI Biennial Colloquium on Hydrologic Science and Engineering (Resilience & Vulnerability of Natural and Managed Hydrologic Systems). This first CUAHSI colloquium features an exciting line-up of sessions exploring cutting-edge issues in hydrologic science, biogeochemistry, and environmental engineering that can benefit from the community planning that CUAHSI has been leading.
Tuesday, July 22 - Thursday, July 24, Durham, NC. International Water Resources: Challenges for the 21st Century (Universities Council on Water Resources Annual Conference).
See also the list of Water Resources Graduate Program thesis presentations listed above in the Congratulations section.
Read about more upcoming events on the IWW's calendar.
Opportunities for Students
Two funding opportunities for graduate students are now open for application. The Oregon Sea Grant Robert E. Malouf Marine Studies Scholarship (due June 20, 2008) and the Well Monitoring Fellowship (due June 10, 2008). The Malouf Scholarship awards up to $10,200 for support while working towards a degree in any field of marine studies that is compatible with Oregon Sea Grant’s mandate and areas of interest. The Well Monitoring Fellowship will involve working with the Oregon Department of Water Resources to help well owners develop skills to collect water level and use data from their wells. It includes a three-month stipend of full-time work during the summer of 2008 (up to $2500 per month) and a nine-month stipend for 0.40 FTE beginning in the fall of 2008 ($1000 per month).
Festival VidéEau, International Video Competition on Water - The Festival VidéEau invites young people aged from 17 to 30, to submit 90 second or shorter video clips on the theme “Water, People and Sustainable Development”. This competition for video clips is organized by the International Secretariat for Water (ISW), in preparation for the International “Water and Film” Events that will take place in Istanbul in 2009, within the context of the 5th World Water Forum. The winners of the competition will be announced at a prize-giving ceremony to be held during the World Youth Congress, in Quebec, Canada, from 10 to 21 August 2008. Deadline to submit clips: June 15, 2008.
OSU Undergraduate Research, Innovation, Scholarship and Creativity Grants for 2008-2009 - The URISC Fund is intended to enable undergraduate students to initiate a scholarly relationship with faculty members early in their academic careers. Awards are made to support scholarly, creative, and research activities and can support student wages, travel and some other expenses. Proposals due June 16, 2008.
Funding Opportunities for Faculty
NASA ROSES Energy and Water Cycle Study - Water Quality - NASA’s Water and Energy Cycle program focuses on achieving the grand challenge of “documenting and enabling improved, observationally based, predictions of water and energy cycle consequences of Earth system variability and change.” To improve remote sensing capability of water quality, NASA solicits projects that have either of the two following objectives: algorithms to remotely sense inland and coastal water quality or providing the scientific basis for next generation water quality remote sensing. Notice of intent due June 19, 2008; full proposals due August 19, 2008.
OSU Venture Development Fund - The Fund supports faculty and student projects at the critical, early stages of turning research into a viable business proposition by providing funds for activities that are not normally funded by research grants, but are required before seed funding can be obtained. Proposals are due in the Research Office by Tuesday, July 1, 2008.
NSF Geomorphology and Land-Use Dynamics - This program supports innovative research into processes that shape and modify landscapes over a variety of length and time scales. The program encourages research that investigates quantitatively the coupling and feedback between such processes, their rates, and their relative roles, especially in the contexts of variation in climatic and tectonic forcings and in light of changes due to human impact. Proposals due July 16, 2008.
NSF Physics of Living Systems (PoLS) - This program evolved from the successful Biological Physics program, which supported projects that applied analytical and experimental tools of physics to the study of biological problems at the molecular level. PoLS is replacing the Biological Physics program and will target theoretical and experimental research exploring the most fundamental biological processes that living systems utilize to perform their functions in dynamic and diverse environments. PoLS will stimulate those investigations that have the potential to transform the study of living systems. Proposals due July 31, 2008.
A list of additional 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 Email lists and the Oregon Water List (http://water.oregonstate.edu/news/email_lists.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.