Water-use trends in the desert southwest: 1950-2000

Konieczki, A.D.; Heilman, Julie A.

doi:10.3133/sir20045148

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 2 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Cities such as Los Angeles, California and Denver, Colorado have long needed to access water well away from the municipalities in order to satisfy the demands of urban users, often at the expense of agricultural and rural water needs [1,13,14]. Similar issues can be found in the American Southwest, the fastest growing region in the United States, where water use has increased by 58% or 28.6 km 3 yr À1 since 1950 [15]. Limited water resources in the Southwest have necessitated the introduction of more robust crops that are better suited to the arid environment of the region [16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 84%

On the discrepancy between eddy covariance and lysimetry-based surface flux measurements under strongly advective conditions

Alfieri

Kustas

Prueger

et al. 2012

Advances in Water Resources

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Discrepancies can arise among surface flux measurements collected using disparate techniques due to differences in both the instrumentation and theoretical underpinnings of the different measurement methods. Using data collected primarily within a pair of irrigated cotton fields as a part of the 2008 Bushland Evapotranspiration and Remote Sensing Experiment (BEAREX08), flux measurements collected with two commonly-used methods, eddy covariance (EC) and lysimetry (LY), were compared and substantial differences were found. Daytime mean differences in the flux measurements from the two techniques could be in excess of 200 W m À2 under strongly advective conditions. Three causes for this disparity were found: (i) the failure of the eddy covariance systems to fully balance the surface energy budget, (ii) flux divergence due to the local advection of warm, dry air over the irrigated cotton fields, and (iii) the failure of lysimeters to accurately represent the surface properties of the cotton fields as a whole. Regardless of the underlying cause, the discrepancy among the flux measurements underscores the difficulty in collecting these measurements under strongly advective conditions. It also raises awareness of the uncertainty associated with in situ micrometeorological measurements and the need for caution when using such data for model validation or as observational evidence to definitively support or refute scientific hypotheses.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 84%

On the discrepancy between eddy covariance and lysimetry-based surface flux measurements under strongly advective conditions

Alfieri

Kustas

Prueger

et al. 2012

Advances in Water Resources

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: Water Resources Development In Mediterranean Climatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The withdrawal of water for agricultural irrigation in these regions typically represents the vast majority of total human water use (e.g. up to 80%), although water withdrawals for urban use has been increasing in Mediterraneanclimate regions with growing populations such as California (Konieczki & Heilman, 2004) Most of the human water demands in Mediterranean-climate areas occur in the dry summer months, when water is required for agricultural irrigation yet precipitation is rare. Thus, the asynchronous timing of water availability and demands, together with high interannual variability of Mediterranean river flows, have lead to the development of large-scale water storage and irrigation projects to maintain reliable water supply.…”

Section: Water Resources Development In Mediterranean Climatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climatic influences and anthropogenic stressors: an integrated framework for streamflow management in Mediterranean‐climate California, U.S.A.

2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SUMMARY1. In Mediterranean and other water-stressed climates, water management is critical to the conservation of freshwater ecosystems. To secure and maintain water allocations for the environment, integrated water management approaches are needed that consider ecosystem flow requirements, patterns of human water demands and the temporal and spatial dynamics of water availability. 2. Human settlements in Mediterranean climates have constructed water storage and conveyance projects at a scale and level of complexity far exceeding those in other, less seasonal climates. As a result, multiple ecological stressors associated with natural periods of flooding and drying are compounded by anthropogenic impacts resulting from water infrastructure development. 3. Despite substantial investments in freshwater ecosystem conservation, particularly in California, U.S.A., success has been limited because the scales at which river management and restoration are implemented are often discordant with the temporal and spatial scales at which ecosystem processes operate. Often, there is also strong social and political resistance to restricting water allocation to existing consumptive uses for environmental protection purposes. Furthermore, institutions rarely have the capacity to develop and implement integrated management programmes needed for freshwater ecosystem conservation. 4. We propose an integrated framework for streamflow management that explicitly considers the temporal and spatial dynamics of water supply and needs of both human and natural systems. This approach makes it possible to assess the effects of alternative management strategies to human water security and ecosystem conditions and facilitates integrated decision-making by water management institutions. 5. We illustrate the framework by applying a GIS-based hydrologic model in a Mediterranean-climate watershed in Sonoma County, California, U.S.A. The model is designed to assess the hydrologic impacts of multiple water users distributed throughout a stream network. We analyse the effects of vineyard water management on environmental flows to (i) evaluate streamflow impacts from small storage ponds designed to meet human water demands and reduce summer diversions, (ii) prioritise the placement of storage ponds to meet human water needs while optimising environmental flow benefits and (iii) examine the environmental and social consequences of flow management policies designed to regulate the timing of diversions to protect ecosystem functions. 6. Thematic implications: spatially explicit models that represent anthropogenic stressors (e.g. water diversions) and environmental flow needs are required to address persistent and growing threats to freshwater biodiversity. A coupled human-natural system approach to water management is particularly useful in Mediterranean climates, characterised by severe competition for water resources and high spatial and temporal variability in flow regimes. However, lessons learned from our analyses are applicable to other highly se...

show abstract

“…() found that as vineyard cover increased in four California watersheds between 1994 and 2002 there was an associated decrease in apparent oversummer survival of stream‐rearing juvenile steelhead, presumably due to increased water extraction. Human water demand is expected to increase with increasing population growth and exurban expansion (Konieczki and Heilman ; Laraus ; Thompson ; Grantham et al. ), and climate change is expected to further jeopardize summer streamflows in Mediterranean systems as a result of increased temperatures, reduced precipitation, and changes in rainfall timing (Mannion ; Moyle et al.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Grantham et al (2012) found that as vineyard cover increased in four California watersheds between 1994 and 2002 there was an associated decrease in apparent oversummer survival of stream-rearing juvenile steelhead, presumably due to increased water extraction. Human water demand is expected to increase with increasing population growth and exurban expansion (Konieczki and Heilman 2004;Laraus 2004;Thompson 2007;Grantham et al 2010), and climate change is expected to further jeopardize summer streamflows in Mediterranean systems as a result of increased temperatures, reduced precipitation, and changes in rainfall timing (Mannion 1995;Moyle et al 2008;Karl et al 2009;MacDonald 2010). Quantifying the relationship between juvenile salmonid survival and streamflow will help us evaluate the impacts of water withdrawals on fish populations and prepare for the anticipated changes resulting from human population growth and climate change.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Flow‐Related Variables on Oversummer Survival of Juvenile Coho Salmon in Intermittent Streams

Obedzinski

Pierce

Horton³

et al. 2018

Trans Am Fish Soc

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

While many studies have established the importance of streamflow as a driver of fish population dynamics, few have examined relationships between survival of juvenile salmonids and flow‐related variables in intermittent streams. With predictions for a higher frequency of drought conditions due to climate change and the associated increasing human demand for water during the dry season, understanding fish–flow relationships is becoming increasingly important for the protection of sensitive aquatic species. To examine the effects of low streamflow on juvenile salmonids rearing in small intermittent streams, we estimated survival and collected environmental data in four coastal California watersheds from 2011 to 2013. We used an individual‐based mark–recapture modeling approach to evaluate the influence of flow‐related variables on oversummer survival of PIT‐tagged juvenile Coho Salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch stocked into eight stream reaches. Survival was positively associated with streamflow magnitude, wetted volume, and dissolved oxygen and negatively associated with days of disconnected surface flow (days of disconnection) and temperature. Days of disconnection best explained survival, though the relationship varied by geomorphic reach type. Survival was lower in alluvial reaches than in bedrock and clay reaches and showed a faster rate of decline with increasing days of disconnection and drought condition. In all reaches, the onset of pool disconnection represented a turning point at which water quality, water quantity, and survival declined. For this reason, we suggest that days of disconnection (or the flow magnitude at which pools become disconnected) is a useful metric for identifying flow‐impaired reaches, informing streamflow protection strategies, and prioritizing streamflow enhancement efforts designed to benefit sensitive salmonid populations in intermittent streams.

show abstract

Water-use trends in the desert southwest: 1950-2000

Cited by 8 publications

References 2 publications

On the discrepancy between eddy covariance and lysimetry-based surface flux measurements under strongly advective conditions

On the discrepancy between eddy covariance and lysimetry-based surface flux measurements under strongly advective conditions

Climatic influences and anthropogenic stressors: an integrated framework for streamflow management in Mediterranean‐climate California, U.S.A.

Effects of Flow‐Related Variables on Oversummer Survival of Juvenile Coho Salmon in Intermittent Streams

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About