H2OSU is also available at: http://water.oregonstate.edu/newsletter/.
August 6, 2008
The View from 210
|
Columbia and Compacts
Sending water out-of-state is sure to generate controversy, regardless of which state is proposing to sell. Even my last April Fools’ Day blog post on a faux-proposal to drain Crater Lake, bottle the water, and pipe some to Las Vegas drew the ire of some: “Don’t even the suggest the idea, lest someone decides to do it.”
Well, I guess someone took my “advice”. Oregon’s Senate Republicans, prompted by Sen. David Nelson of Pendleton, have included a water-exportation scheme in their legislative agenda for the 2009-2011session. They would like to take Columbia River water during the wet season and use it not only to irrigate 100,000 acres of new farmland, but also to sell to water-poor communities outside Oregon [italics mine]. The particular proposal I heard would generate as much as a few billion dollars for Oregon by selling water to non-Oregonians. Just a reminder: we already export some Oregon water in the form of virtual water.
Whether you like the idea or not, there would be many obstacles to surmount before such a plan could be implemented. Jeff Mapes of the The Oregonian wrote about this last week.
Some feel such a scheme might lead to increased withdrawals by other Columbia Basin states, perhaps fomenting a “race to buy the biggest pump” (I eschew the term “water war”). After all, there is no compact among the Columbia-Snake Basin states, although it is not for lack of trying. The Senate Republican plan might provide an impetus for the states to sign a compact. Such a document should be crafted to include flexibility (e.g., climate change impacts), water quality, environmental flows, and transboundary ground water. This would be a daunting task, but would, among other things, prescribe a method for dealing with out-of-basin transfers, something we may want to have in the future.
The eight Great Lakes states recently signed a compact, which is now in Congress, where it will likely pass (the Senate just passed it unanimously). My sense is that the impetus for the last few stragglers to climb aboard the Great Lakes Basin Compact was the feeling that “outsiders” were casting lustful eyes at the reservoir that holds 20% of the world’s liquid fresh surface water.
Water Quality Made Simple
At the recent UCOWR/NIWR Conference in Durham, NC, I heard a simple solution to water-quality problems: just raise the standards. One presenter described a situation in Israel where a potential drinking water supply exceeded both the chloride (250 mg/L) and the nitrate (45 mg/L) drinking water standards. The solution? The chloride standard was raised to 600 mg/L and the nitrate to 90 mg/L (since lowered to 70 mg/L). Sounds like something I’d expect in Absurdistan or some similar place. Don’t think such an approach would fly in the USA.
T. Boone Pickens, Somewhat Greener, Rides Again
Some of us remember T. Boone Pickens from the 1970s and 1980s, when he made his name and a bunch of money in oil (Mesa Petroleum) and as a “corporate raider” (or, the term he prefers, “shareholder activist”). He dropped out of sight (at least nationally) for a while, but in recent years has come back, first with water and now with wind energy, not oil, propelling him back to the forefront. Pickens, reputed to be the USA’s largest individual water-rights owner, wants to pump 200,000 acre-feet per year from beneath his Roberts County ranch in the Texas Panhandle and sell it to places like Dallas, San Antonio, et al. That plan has not found any buyers but probably will eventually.
His latest scheme has made him the darling of the green folks. Motivated by nationalism and, I suspect, by profit, Pickens wants to wean us from our addiction to oil, and is currently building the world’s largest wind farm in the Panhandle. He’s ordered 700 wind turbines from GE, the largest single wind turbine order ever. He wants us to use natural gas for transportation and not for generating electricity. You can read more at www.PickensPlan.com. A New York Times article discusses some of the plan’s aspects. It’ll be interesting to see how all this pans out.
Like many others, I never thought I would use the word “green”, other than referring to money, to describe Pickens.
Water Books, Blogs, Songs, Initiatives
For those of you tired of reading The Secret, Harry Potter and the Trainloads of Money, and other great works, try Jared Simpson’s waterblogged.info lists of water books. He’s got two lists so far: Part 1 and Part 2.
Let me add my own “water book” to the list, and that is the National Research Council’scommittee report, Hydrologic Effects of a Changing Forest Landscape. A “pre-publication” (uncorrected) version is now available and you can read it free at the WWW site. Two OSU faculty contributed to the book: committee vice-chair Julia Jones and Gail Achterman. Because those two were involved, I can vouch for the report’s quality.
If water songs are more your speed, try Terry Meyer’s WaterDance Playlist. Yours truly contributed some. Lots of tunes with “rain” or “raindrops” in their titles.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is seeking comments on its Water For America initiative plan.
Steve Wainwright’s Reddit blog has a great water section with lots of news items. Displacement behavior, anyone?
Meetings, Anyone?
Along with Oregon Sea Grant Extension we will be sponsoring a one-day symposium on Wells and the Well-Being of Oregon in the Salem area, tentatively scheduled for 11 December 2008. Kevin McCray, Executive Director of the National Ground Water Association, has tentatively accepted our invitation to keynote. We will have more later.
We (IWW, Institute for Natural Resources, Oregon Sea Grant Extension) will be working with State Rep. Jackie Dingfelder to conduct a series of water roundtables around the state. These will be listening sessions, designed to provide information on what Oregonians are thinking about water. We want to conduct these in late September through October. You’ll be hearing more about these soon.
Till next month,
Michael
"If you’re not kicking up dust, you’re eating it." -- Unknown
OSU Water in the News
Oregon's Sandy River successfully reinvents itself after dam removal Scientists are impressed how fast the river is digesting Marmot Dam sediment (The Oregonian, 7/30/2008) - As dams go, Marmot Dam on the Sandy River wasn't huge. But now that it's gone, its impact is turning out to be enormous. The removal of the nearly 50-foot-high dam by Portland General Electric in October gave scientists perhaps their best chance to watch as a river digested a vast amount of rocks, sand and gravel collected over many decades in a reservoir. "Never has this much sediment been released at once into such an active and hungry river," said Gordon Grant, a research hydrologist with the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station. He has studied the dam removal and given presentations on the results at conferences from Sacramento to Venice, Italy.
Students Learn to Design with Nature - (Oregon's Agricultural Progress, Summer 2008) - This year, students at Oregon State University are studying the laws of nature to help design a world more in tune with natural systems. Ecological Engineering combines the tools of engineering design with an understanding of how complex natural systems interact. It is part of both the College of Agricultural Sciences and the College of Engineering.
Beyond Wind Plan, Pickens Eyes Pipelines in Drought-Ridden U.S. (Popular Mechanics, 7/24/08) - Legendary Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens recently detailed his plan to wean America off foreign oil by blanketing the Great Plains with wind turbines. But Pickens also has a lesser-known plan that is centered on another commodity, one every bit as vital to America's future as energy—water. If it all works out, his water plan could remake Pickens as a whole new kind of baron. This article includes a quote by IWW Director, Michael Campana.
Crews hunt source of Rainier debris flows Climate change suspected issue for glacier system (The Olympian, 7/21/08) - A slurry of rocks and mud sounded like a freight train when it ripped through a popular Mount Rainier hiking destination in 2001 and scared some television viewers who believed their homes were in the path. Click here to find out more! As it turned out, the debris flow at Comet Falls was less eventful than initially believed, but it gave scientists new insights into a phenomenon that continues to mystify. Researchers are trying to find out whether climate change boosts the probability of such flows. ... This summer, a team of researchers is beginning to gather information that could help provide answers. One of the leading scientists is Gordon Grant, who is a U.S. Forest Service hydrologist and an Oregon State University professor of geosciences. "Geological record documents debris flows for as long as the mountains have been around," Grant said. "But given well documented glacier retreat here and elsewhere, now is a good time to ask whether glacial retreat is changing the risk."
The First Step Home? Study Suggests Upper Klamath Lake is able to Support Juvenile Salmon (USGS Press Release, 7/15/08) - Young Chinook Salmon should be able to grow and develop in the waters of Upper Klamath Lake and the Williamson River, according to a new study. That could be the first step in a journey back to ancestral waters for fall-run Chinook salmon. Researchers found that water-quality conditions in those bodies of water appear adequate for the physiological development of the salmon. The study was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and Oregon State University. The study examined Iron Gate Hatchery fall-run Chinook salmon, which are a potential candidate for reintroduction.
New Report: Greatest Value of Forests is Sustainable Water Supply (OSU News Service, 7/14/08) – The forests of the future may need to be managed as much for a sustainable supply of clean water as any other goal, researchers say in a new federal report – but even so, forest resources will offer no “quick fix” to the insatiable, often conflicting demands for this precious resource. ... “Historically, forest managers have not focused much of their attention on water, and water managers have not focused on forests,” said Julia Jones, a professor of geosciences at Oregon State University, and vice chair of a committee of the National Research Council, which today released a report on the hydrologic effects of a changing forest landscape. “But today’s water problems demand that these groups work together closely." Gail Achterman, director of the Institute for Natural Resources also served on the committee that authored the report. Link to the OSU press release, the NRC report brief or the full report.
Loss of Wolves Causes Major Ecosystem Disruption at Olympic National Park (OSU News Service, 7/11/08) – Olympic National Park was created in 1938, in part “to preserve the finest sample of primeval forests in the entire United States” – but a new study at Oregon State University suggests that this preservation goal has failed, as a result of the elimination of wolves and subsequent domination of the temperate rainforests by herds of browsing elk. ... The extermination of wolves in the early 1900s set off a “trophic cascade” of changes that appear to have affected forest vegetation and stream dynamics, with possible impacts on everything from fisheries to birds and insects, the scientists wrote in their report, just published in the journal Ecohydrology. Features research by forestry professors Robert Beschta and William Ripple.
Featured Research Project: Dam Construction & Ethnic Minorities in China
Marco Clark, recipient of an IWW Graduate Student Award and a M.S. Candidate in the Department of Anthropology recently wrote IWW Associate Director, Todd Jarvis about his experiences in China this summer. Marco's research is affiliated with a collaborative research project led by several Oregon State University faculty including his advisor, Bryan Tilt (Anthropology), Desiree Tullos (Biological and Ecological Engineering) and Aaron Wolf (Geosciences). The project examines the social, economic and ecological effects of dams on the Nu River and the Upper Mekong River in Yunnan, China.
Marco wrote about his experiences in the field:
Starting from Kunming, I headed west, to the Nu River, which runs parallel to the border of Burma to the west, and the Mekong to the east. Having spent the last year reserching this area, I was still very much uncertain as to what I was going to encounter. Are there only small villages? Or, has the rapid pace of China's development caught up to this remote region. The latter proved to be true. What appeared to be small villages in Google Earth images were in fact sprawling cities, clinging to the banks of the Nu River, a torrent of water this time of year. I first layed eyes on the murky brown mass of the Nu in Liuku, the capital, and hub of transport in the area.
Turning north, I sped up the river via public bus and private car (private car being more sound and safe on what could be a one lane highway). Either side of the gorge towers above the river with dramatic imensity, peaks reaching anywhere from 2000 to 4000 meters, with varnished walls of grey and yellow limestone.
As I pass small village after small village, I notice certain trends emerging. All of the small hamlets are in close proximity to small tributaries that feed the Nu River. Among these tributaries, many are outfitted with small scale power stations, over 45 total on the barly 400km stretch of road. As I pass through the towns of Fugong and Gongshan, which earlier promised to be potential study sites, I realize that "progress" has taken hold, and I'll unlikely be able to access small, homogenous communities within these large cities. Reaching the terminus of the road in Bingzhongluo, I wage my prospects on a small village located up river on one the Nu's larger tributaries, Dimaluo. Crossing a footbridge over the Nu, and relentlessly asking for directions as I march two hours into the mountains (it really wasn't that hard to find, but better safe than sorry), I arrive at the quiet village of Dimaluo. I promptly great the locals and ask where I might find food and lodging, as I hadn't eaten all day and did not bring a tent. A few friendly old-times smiled at me with wide grins and point to a xiaomaibu (small store) and tell me I could fix up some fangmian (instant noodles). As for living arrangments, they suggested I start knocking on doors to see if anyone had room for a visitor (i.e. no hotels). I realized top-ramen was not going to work, so I continued up hill into the village until a nice Tibetan on horseback suggested I find Aluo's place further up the hill. Negotiating pigs, chickens, dogs, donkeys and small children, I finally reach Aluo's place, a Tibetan guesthouse and guide service for treks in the Gaoligongshan (Gaoligong mountains) area. Aluo and I discussed plans for my stay, to which he was agreeable, and made myself at home for the next few days. Strolling around the village you will find a Catholic cathedral, mostly old style houses with wooden architecture, and fields spread anywhere there is flat land and streatch up the hillsides until the laws of gravity refuse one's ability to grow no further.
After a brief rest, I arrange a guide (Aluo's younger brother) to take me to the Mekong river, a two day, 80km trek crossing passes at altitudes of 3900m, 4100m, and 3200m respectively. To give some perspective, the highest pass is much higher than Oregon's tallest mountain, Mt. Hood. The scenery is breathtaking, as was the altitude, both leaving an exhilerating impression. We stayed over night in a small wooden shack with a Tibetan woodsman, who lives deep in a mountain valley during the summer falling trees with his young son, two cows, five pigs and unknown number of chickens. The next day we climbed up and nearly slid down the remaining passes, traversing waterfalls, glaciers and snow fields until we reached the small town of Cizhong on the Mekong River (known in China as the Lancang river). After peeling three leeches off my ankles, showering and a good nights sleep, I ventured north to the boarder of Tibet and the Meilixueshan mountains. I spent three days relaxing and absorbing incredible views before making my way south, crossing the Jinsha River (which turns into the Yangte river) to finally arrive where I am currently, in the old city of Dali. Certainly this is an abridged version of events, leaving out details that may terrify some, and will be recounted in subsequant indepth storytelling at a later time.
Having traversed three of Asia's most important watersheds, and interacting with numerous locals and migrants to the area, I am left with some interesting conclusions; China's ambitious "Develop the West" movement to extract natural resources, most importantly hydropower and tourism is rapidly and irreversibly changing the bio-physical and cultural landscape of this region. Evidence of improved livelihood and access to health care, education and opportunity abound but at a cost to the environment that is recognized by both locals and recent migrants to the area. My task now is to return to Dimaluo, and assist Aluo, who is a staunch environmentalist, in reconciling the contradiction of sustainable development in this small village. I hope all of you are doing well, and I want to express my deepest gratitude to you all for your support and encouragement as I make my way through another adventure in China.
For more information, contact Marco Clark.
Recent IWW Activities
IWW Meets with the Oregon Winegrowers Association - In anticipation of any proposed legislation that might relate to groundwater, the Oregon Winegrowers Association (OWA) met with Associate Director Todd Jarvis on how each of Oregon’s regions currently deals with scarcity of groundwater. Todd met with Sara Gourley, Industry Relations Manager for the Oregon Wine Center, to discuss ongoing planning efforts for the future of Oregon’s water by the Governor’s Office, the Oregon Water Resources Department, the Oregon Business Council, and the OSU Institute for Water and Watersheds, OUS Institute for Natural Resources, and the Oregon House Energy and Environment Committee. IWW anticipates providing an overview of Oregon’s water challenges at the OWA meeting in mid August.
Willamette River Water Quality Map Updated by Corvallis Environmental Center - IWW sponsored the updating and printing of the Willamette River Water Quality Map that was originally developed by the Corvallis Environmental Center in 1997. The old map showed the extent of the Willamette River from Eugene to Oregon City; the new map encompasses the entire Willamette River watershed on a topographic base map. The update is particularly timely given that July 31, 2008 issue of The Oregonian reported that pesticide use in the Willamette River Basin approaches 9.6 million pounds, with Copper naphthenate, a wood perservative, as the most common pesticide used in the water basin. The map has been used since 2004 as a class assignment for both the in class and eCampus versions of CSS/GEO 335 – Introduction to Water Science and Policy.
IWW speaks with Saturday Academy 2008: Apprenticeships in Science & Engineering - Budding scientists and engineers associated with Saturday Academy met with IWW Associate Director Todd Jarvis to learn more about the geology of bottled water. The Apprenticeships in Science and Engineering (ASE) Program matches high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors with scientists and engineers for an 8-week summer apprenticeship in a professional, scientific or engineering environment. During his afternoon workshop, Todd taught the new generation of bottled water consumers how to shop for bottled water, how to read bottled water labels, the environmental impacts of bottled water bottles, and an introduction to Oregon’s great bottled waters, including one derived from the Willamette River! Todd’s presentation was an encore performance from Saturday Academy 2007.
IWW and Corvallis Kiwanis Talk about Dowsing - IWW Associate Director presented The Geography, History, and Science of Water Witching during the July 9 luncheon of the Kiwanis Club of Corvallis. Approximately 30 people were in attendance and nearly everyone had a story to share about water witching.
Get Involved
Thinking about attending the 2008 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco? Soon it will be time to prepare your abstract -- they are due September 10. There are special sessions on all kinds of topics -- here are examples of several:
- Urban Impact on the Weather, Climate, and Hydrology: Field Experiments, Modeling, Remote Sensing, and Societal Implications
- Use of Rain Gage-Radar (NEXRAD) Rainfall Data Relationships for Hydrologic Modeling and Water Resources Management
- Timescales and Feedbacks in Ecogeomorphology
- Microbial Transport in Aqueous Environments
- Hydrologic Controls on Ecosystem Function
- The Cross-Cutting Impacts of Energy and Agricultural Demands on Water-Resources Sustainability.
Upcoming Events
Monday, August 10 - Friday, August 14, Vancouver, British Columbia. Water Engineering for a Sustainable Environment (33rd International Association of Hydraulic Engineers & Research Congress). Co-located with the 19th Canadian Hydrotechnical Conference.
Saturday, September 13. Water 1st • Beer 2nd – Portland. Benefit to support Water 1st - an organization whose mission is to serve families in the poorest communities in the world as they implement community-managed projects that integrate water supply, sanitation, and health education. RSVP by September 5. Location: BridgePort Brewing Company in Portland, Oregon. Cost: $$30/person FMI: http://www.water1st.org/news/W1B2_2008_portland.html.
Wednesday, September 17 - Saturday, September 20, Portland, Oregon. Managing Water in a Climate Changing World: Implications for Irrigation, Drainage and Flood Control (A USCID Water Management Conference). The conference will discuss projects of the coming water environment, the nature of the impacts on water to be expected, and the ways in which global and regional changes affect Western irrigation drainage and flood control.
Friday, September 19, Vancouver, WA. 12th Annual Remote Sensing Technical Exchange. Hosted by the Puget Sound/British Columbia and the Columbia River Region of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Especially interesting at this meeting is the new work on the use of the blue spectrum for river bathymetry.
Monday, October 13 - Wednesday, October 15, Portland, OR. Sociotechnological Aspects of Nonrenewable Ground Water Resources: Half-Empty, Hall-Full, Top-Down, Bottom-Up, and Some Paths Forward (International Conference on Nonrenewable Ground Water Resources). The National Ground Water Association, in association with the Institute for Water and Watersheds, The World Bank, and the International Hydrological Programme of UNESCO, will host an international conference on nonrenewable ground water. There will be presentations on all aspects of nonrenewable ground water: legal, social, economic, scientific/engineering, institutional, policy, and management. Register by September 15 for a discount.
Read about more upcoming events on the IWW's calendar.
Opportunities for Students
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.
Tuesday, September 9. Deadline to apply for the NSF International Research Fellowship Program (IRFP) - This program introduces scientists and engineers in the early stages of their careers to research opportunities abroad. These awards are available for research in any field of science and engineering research and education supported by NSF. Applicants must be a U.S. citizen and have been awarded a doctoral degree within three years of the application date or expect to receive the doctoral degree by the award date.
Funding Opportunities for Faculty
(listed by due date)
1 September 2008. National Water Research Institute Research Projects.- Description: NWRI Research Areas: water quality assessment, treatment and monitoring, knowledge management, exploratory research. Funding Details: The average NWRI-supported research project has had an annual budget of approximately $100K and a 1:1 match is required.
8 September 2008. The United States - Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund. Description: This program supports mission-oriented cooperative agricultural research projects of mutual interest to the United States and Israel. Among the six priority research areas is Biotic Protection of Animal and Plant Crops; Water Quality and Quantity; Functional Genomics and Proteomics; and Engineering of Sensors, Robotics. Funding Details: The average BARD grant is $300,000 for a three- year award.
15 September 2008. NSF Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CBET) -
- Environmental Engineering - This cluster focuses on research on innovative biological, chemical, and physical processes used alone or as components of engineered systems to restore the usefulness of polluted land, water, and air resources.
- 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.
- Fluid Dynamics - This program supports fundamental research and education on mechanisms and phenomena that govern fluid flow. Topics include: hydrodynamic stability; transitional flows and turbulence; Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluid mechanics; sediment transport, waves and coastal engineering; multi-scale, multi-phenomena models and computations; bio-fluid mechanics, micro and nanoscale flow phenomena, and microfluidics.
- Particulate and Multiphase Processes - This program supports fundamental and applied research on mechanisms and phenomena governing particulate and multiphase processes, including granular and granular-fluid flows, particle/bubble/droplet interactions, aerosol science and technology, suspensions, micro- and nano-structured fluids, self- and directed-assembly of nanostructures, and related instrumentation and diagnostics.
Preliminary proposals due: 16 September 2008. NSF Undergraduate Research and Mentoring in the Biological Sciences (URM) (Full proposals due: 3 March 2009). Description: Support will be provided to academic institutions to establish innovative programs to engage undergraduates in a year-round research and mentoring activity. Particular emphasis will be placed on broadening participation of members of groups historically underrepresented in science and engineering.
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) and the Web. 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.