SALINITY ISSUES AND WATER DEVELOPMENT IN THE GREEN RIVER BASIN,WYOMING1

Water development in the Green River Basin of Wyoming is projected to increase salinity downstream in the Green River and Colorado River, and thereby increase salinity costs to users of water from these two rivers. Despite these water quality and economic impacts to downstream water users, Wyoming will probably be able to develop its currently unused but allocated water supplies of the Green River Basin. The Colorado River Compact and Upper Colorado River Basin Compact are binding, and protect Wyoming's share of the Colorado River System waters for future use. The argument that water may be used to greater profit downstream is not sufficient to reduce Wyoming's allocation. In addition, the no-injury rule under the appropriation doctrine of law does not appear to protect prior downstream appropriations from increasing salinity in this case.     

Price Determination and Efficiency in the Market for South Platte Basin Ditch Company Shares

Water scarcity presents an obstacle to economic development in the western United States. Water rights markets help improve water allocation, allowing states to derive the highest economic benefit from available resources, and supporting new uses and economic development. However, the implicit (marginal) prices of water rights attributes are uncertain. To address this problem, we apply econometric analysis to a unique dataset to estimate the implicit values that market participants place on the attributes of shares of ditch company water rights in Colorado's South Platte River Basin. Our analysis demonstrates that ditch company share buyers value proximity of water diversion, reliability of water deliveries, and temporal flexibility of water use. To assess reliability we introduce the use of the coefficient of variation to capture, in one variable, the randomness of supply from ditch company shares that are not a single water right, but a portfolio of rights with different appropriation dates. Finally, we test and correct for spatial autocorrelation for the first time in a study of water market prices.     

ASSESSING INSTREAM FLOWS AND RESERVOIR OPERATIONS ON AN EASTERN IDAHO RWER1

ABSTRACT: A methodology for assessing reservoir management was applied to the historical conflict between winter fish and wildilife flows below Island Park Reservoir on Henrys Fork of the Snake River and the fulfillment of storage water rights. The methodology consists of (1) identifying impacts of flow regulation, (2) quantifying relationships among variables affecting physical reservoir fill, and (3) assessing effects of these discharges on the fulfillment of water rights in the context of a larger system of interrelated reservoirs. Winter (storage season) flows are critical to management of fish and wildlife populations below Island Park Dam, but flow regulation has resulted in decreased winter discharge. Allowable winter flows are a function of inflow, length of storage season, reservoir content at the start of storage season, and potential for downstream capture of excess storage season water discharged at Island Park. Modeling results indicate that winter flows in the range of those recommended for fish and wildlife management are attainable during average years but not during years when initial reservoir content is low. The methodology was successful in quantifying information useful to decision makers in a variety of agencies and disciplines and could be applied to solve water management problems on other regulated river systems.     

WATER RIGHTS,ALLOCATION, AND CONFLICTS IN THE TONGUE RIVER BASIN,SOUTHEASTERN MONTANA1

ABSTRACT: Southeastern Montana's Tongue River basin is experienceing rapid development of its extensive coal deposits which is significantly impacting the basin's hydrologic systems. Energy development projects may require more water than is available and threatens to dewater the river, degrade water quality, and endanger aquatic econosystems. The Montana Water Use Act promised to end the uncertainty which has existed in Montana water law. However, serious difficulties have been encountered in implementing the law and Tongue River water rights remain in a state of uncertainty. The Tongue River's water was allocated in 1978 but the division of the river's water is meaningless due to Indian lawsuits and lack of an agreement between Montana and Wyoming concerning the Yellowstone River Compact. Thus water which is hydrologically available may not be legally available.     

USING GROUND WATER BASINS AS STORAGE FACILITIES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA1

ABSTRACT: Southern California, now in its fifth consecutive year of drought, has always relied heavily on imported water from the Owens Valley, the State Water Project, and the Colorado River. For various reasons, these sources are now decreasing and water suppliers are being forced to look for new sources. One possible alternative is to store water obtained during peak supply periods for use during dry periods in ground water storage basins. The Santa Ana River Basin in Orange County has already been developed, and is being used to provide water to 25 cities in Orange County. The San Juan Basin, also in Orange County, is being studied as a possible future storage basin. This paper examines some of the positive and negative aspects of developing and using ground water storage basins in Southern California.     

A GAMING EVALUATION OF COLORADO RWER DROUGHT MANAGEMENT INSTITUTIONAL OPTIONS1

ABSTRACT: Researchers representing each of the Colorado River Basin states as well as the Secretary of the Interior were presented with an interactive computer simulation of a progressively increasing drought and were given the collective opportunity to change the ways in which basin-wide and within-state water management were conducted. The purpose of this “gaming” exercise was to identify rules for managing the Colorado River which are effective in preventing drought-caused damages to basin water users. This water management game was conducted three times, varying the collective choice roles for management of the river yet staying substantially within the current institution for management of the Colorado River known as the “Law of the River.” The Law of the River was quite effective in minimizing drought impacts upon consumptive water uses. Additional effective drought-coping measures to protect consumptive uses consisted mostly of intrastate water management improvements which states were able to implement independently. The Law of the River did not protect non-consumptive water uses, such as hydroelectric power generation, water-based recreation, endangered species, and water quality from drought, as well as it protected consumptive water uses. Players reached collective choice decisions to cope with rising salinity, equalize storage between the upper and lower basins, and protect endangered species. While these measures had some success, only reductions in withdrawals for consumptive uses, particularly in the upper basin, could have substantially lessened adverse impacts.     

Benefit‐Cost Analysis of Integrated Water Resource Management: Accounting for Interdependence in the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan

Integrated water resource management (IWRM) requires accounting for many interrelated facets of water systems, water uses and stakeholders, and water management activities. The consequence is that project analysis must account for the nonseparability among the component parts of IWRM plans. This article presents a benefit‐cost (B‐C) analysis of a set of projects included in the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan proposed for the Yakima Basin in south‐central Washington State. The analysis accounts for interdependence among proposed water storage projects and between water storage and water market development in the context of historical and more adverse projected future climate scenarios. Focusing on irrigation benefits from storage, we show that the value of a given proposed storage project is lower when other proposed storage projects in the basin are implemented, and when water markets are functioning effectively. We find that none of the water storage projects satisfy a B‐C criterion, and that assuring proposed instream flow augmentation is less expensive by purchasing senior diversion rights than relying on new storage to provide it.     

粮食安全视角下黄河流域生态保护与高质量发展

黄河流域是我国重要的生态功能区，是实现国家粮食安全的重点区域。本文梳理了近期黄河流域的相关研究，从粮食安全视角下分析了黄河流域现阶段在流域水效率、流域水管理机制、流域水生态文明三方面的问题，并提出了关于黄河流域大保护与高质量发展的两方面建议。一是创新流域水管理机制，服务国家粮食安全。积极改进水资源管理方式，加大节水宣传教育力度，加强黄河流域水土流失综合治理，合理调控水价，完善黄河流域水权市场建设。二是践行"两山"理论，提升流域水生态文明。建设"四大体系"和"七大区域"，推进生态廊道建设；转变经济发展方式；提前布局水生态文明建设。     

长江经济带经济增长进程中的水资源阻尼效应研究

为量化2000-2016年长江经济带水资源消耗量对经济增长的约束程度，本文在科布道格拉斯生产函数中加入水资源要素，构建改进的Romer增长阻尼模型进行实证分析。结果显示：①研究期内长江经济带水资源增长阻尼系数总体稳定，水资源对经济增长的约束作用程度经历了明显的强弱变化；②研究期内水资源增长阻尼显著降低并趋向平稳，说明水资源对长江经济带经济增长的约束作用减弱并逐渐稳定；③浙江、上海、江西等7个省份存在明显的水资源增长阻尼，区域差异显著。由此，本文建议：长江经济带各省市应提升水资源利用效率，同时加大资本投入、优化劳动力结构，在区域协调发展方面可构建水权交易机制，以期使长江经济带在水资源"大保护"约束下实现经济的持续发展。     

DINOSAUR NATIONAL MONUMENT: THE EVOLUTION OF A FEDERAL RESERVED WATER RIGHT1

ABSTRACT: Dinosaur National Monument, in northwestern Colorado, has become a test case in the establishment of a federal reserved water right to instream flows. For the first time, the Interior Department was forced to rigorously defend its claims in a watershed where the federal government did not control the upstream reaches. Inadequate quantification of minimum flow requirements, court orders, and an apparent Congressional ban on the spending of Water Resources Program funds by the Park Service to quantify its water rights have already placed the Service in a difficult position to protect instream flows for maintaining the ecological integrity of the Monument. As late as 1983, administrators of the Park Service were divided over their legal strategy, many wanting to pursue a policy of claiming “natural, historic” flows rather than “minimum” flows. The conditional right to instream flows panted to the Park Service in 1978 was subject to quantification within five years. That deadline has been extended, but it is not likely that the case will reach final settlement this decade. Until the design and conduct of federal water rights quantifications better integrate public policy and law with science, the principle lesson from Dinosaur may have to be repeated.     

岷江流域地表水水质的模糊综合评价

岷江是长江上游的一个重要支流，其水质安全对维持成都平原正常的生产生活起着至关重要的作用。采用模糊综合评价的方法，对岷江流域14个地表水监测断面的水质状况进行了综合评价。结果表明：在14个监测断面中，处于清洁和未污染程度的断面占50％，主要位于岷江流域的上游和下游，其水质状况较好；处于重污染的断面占29％，主要位于岷江流域的中游，水质状况较差。因此，需要加强流域综合治理尤其是对岷江中游的治理，以确保岷江流域的水质安全。     

WATER LOSSES ALONG A REACH OF THE PECOS RIVER IN NEW MEXICO1

ABSTRACT: A reach of the Pecos River, located in eastern New Mexico, was examined to evaluate losses of river flows due to evaporation, seepage, and transpiration. An accurate assessment of the water losses along this reach is critical for determining how water rights are adjudicated for water users in the Pecos basin and interstate compact accounting. Water losses significantly impact flows through critical habitat for species protected under the Endangered Species Act. Daily losses of river flows were analyzed for the study reach that extends from immediately below the Pecos River confluence with Taiban Creek to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) gage near Acme. The analysis was completed with consideration for other processes including flood wave travel times and attenuation along with stream bank storage and returns. The analysis was completed using daily stream flow data from USGS gages located along the study reach. Empirical seasonal functions were developed to relate flow loss to the flow rate in the river. The functions were ultimately developed to provide a method for comparing the effects of different river flows on the available water supply.     

INSTITUTIONAL BARRIERS TO WATER MARKETING IN THE WEST1

ABSTRACT: Water marketing has been proposed as one means of reallocating water supplies in the western United States. While markets for western water currently exist and may be expected to expand, the institutional constraints within which the markets must operate will limit the ultimate size and efficiency of those markets. Lack of articulation of public interests in the water resource itself leads to incomplete definition of the private rights to use the water, and it is those private rights which are sold or leased in the market. The increase in size and efficiency of any market in water rights will be dependent on the willingness of legislatures to specifically define the nature and extent of public interests in water supplies, and detailed definition is unlikely.     

沱江流域水资源的保护与利用

本文研究了沱江流域水资源的开发利用问题。由于流域内水资源贫乏和开发利用程度较高,枯水期中下游区无法保证水资源的需要。随着工业的发展,沱江水质污染将日趋严重致使枯水期有限的水资源变成不能使用的污水。因此,本文较详细地研究了沱江水质保护规划。在水目标、水污染控制最优方案、总量控制标准、流域水质保护区划等方面进行了探讨,文中从水量和水质两方面着手,根据系统工程原理求得解决水资源问题的最佳方案。     

WATER QUALITY IN SHALLOW ALLUVIAL AQUIFERS,UPPER COLORADO RIVER BASIN,COLORADO, 19971

ABSTRACT: Shallow ground water in areas of increasing urban development within the Upper Colorado River Basin was sampled for inorganic and organic constituents to characterize water‐quality conditions and to identify potential anthropogenic effects resulting from development. In 1997, 25 shallow monitoring wells were installed and sampled in five areas of urban development in Eagle, Grand, Gunnison, and Summit Counties, Colorado. The results of this study indicate that the shallow ground water in the study area is suitable for most uses. Nonparametric statistical methods showed that constituents and parameters measured in the shallow wells were often significantly different between the five developing urban areas. Radon concentrations exceeded the proposed USEPA maximum contaminant level at all sites. The presence of nutrients, pesticides, and volatile organic compounds indicate anthropogenic activities are affecting the shallow ground‐water quality in the study area. Nitrate as N concentrations greater than 2.0 mg/L were observed in ground water recharged between the 1980s and 1990s. Low concentrations of methylene blue active substances were detected at a few sites. Total coliform bacteria were detected at ten sites; however, E. coli was not detected. Continued monitoring is needed to assess the effects of increasing urban development on the shallow ground‐water quality in the study area.     

MISSOURI RIVER - THE NEW COMPACTING GAME1

ABSTRACT: This paper addresses the recent interest in management of the Missouri River. Interstate issues in the river basin include interbasin water diversions, riverbed and shoreline degradation, loss of recreational and natural areas, reduction in navigation capacity, the status of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program in terms of general river development, and the elimination of river basin commissions, An attempt to develop a comprehensive interstate water compact failed in the 1950s. The new efforts towards establishing a compact are discussed, as well as other available mechanisms for resolution of the current political and legal differences among the ten river basin states.     

钱塘江突发水污染事故应急系统开发与应用

采用网络信息平台和水环境模型相结合的技术手段,构建了钱塘江突发水污染事故应急系统。该系统旨在帮助应急管理部门快速应对钱塘江流域突发性水污染事故,以及保障G20峰会期间钱塘江流域的饮用水源地安全。该系统以水动力模型、溢油和化学品泄漏模型为核心,采用空间关系型中央数据库作为数据管理系统,基于网络GIS技术开发而成。通过对钱塘江流域历史事故的反演,验证了该系统的准确度和可靠性。在该系统的基础上,构建了钱塘江流域典型流场库和典型突发水污染事故情景库,以实现快速应对G20峰会期间钱塘江流域突发水污染事故风险。     

从长江流域水污染规律看四川省水环境保护战略

用流域系统联系的观点，从长江流域水污染特点规律及其发展趋势出发，分析了四川省水环境保护在长江流域的地位作用，及其面临的挑战，最后简要讨论四川水环境保护应采取的宏观战略。     

GROUND WATER IN PERSPECTIVE1

ABSTRACT. Owing to their enormous capacity, ground-water reservoirs are at least equal in importance to the ground water itself. As regulators of water movement in the hydrological cycle, these reservoirs surpass all lakes combined, natural and manmade. While many aquifers are not well understood, data on many others are adequate for long-range broad-scale planning. An example is the basalt aquifer of the Snake River Plain in Idaho. However, the area has managerial problems which concern the time, the place and the feasibility of manipulations of water. All continents of the world contain great aquifers. For every huge aquifer, however, hundreds of smaller ones occur, and even these contain astonishing amounts of water. Aquifers in the Ohio River Basin of the United States are good examples. Management of total water resources is a difficult problem at many places. But many problems could be met and many water shortages alleviated or eliminated by use of aquifers, not merely as sources of water, but as reservoirs for management of water.     

REASONABLY FULL HYDROLOGIC DEVELOPMENT OF RESERVOIR SITES1

The size of multipurpose reservoir development is usually determined by an economic analysis of reservoir capabilities and the present and projected water resources needs which can be satisfied. This analysis is referred to as project formulation, wherein optimum conditions are sought. In responding to multiple objectives, i.e., national economic development, regional development and environmental quality, which are being considered in river basin planning in recent years, reservoirs should provide for reasonably full hydrologic development. Additional storage will be needed to provide opportunities for economic development, as well as meet unexpected development. Also, it provides more flow regulation capability for quality of environment considerations. An analysis has been made on twelve reservoir sites in the New York State portion of the Susquehanna River Basin to determine the so-called “reasonably full hydrologic development of reservoir sites.” Hydrologic, economic, environmental and physical characteristics of the sites are taken into consideration. For normal conditions, it can be concluded that a yield equivalent to about 80 percent of the average discharge (runoff) can be considered as reasonably full hydrologic development for reservoir sites in the Susquehanna River Basin in New York. The same technique can be applied elsewhere to determine reasonably full hydrologic development of reservoir sites.