PRICE BEHAVIOR IN THE WATER MARKET OF NORTHEASTERN COLORADO1

ABSTRACT Past prices of Colorado-Big Thompson water shares were analyzed using an asset pricing model which incorporated the growth rate in real returns to irrigation water and the value of potential urban water uses. A real growth rate in the returns to irrigation water was estimated at 5.3 percent. Nevertheless, market values for water shares have exceeded capitalized agricultural values since 1969. Historically, urban use potential was heavily discounted, but the implicit discount rate fell rapidly in the last decade. The expectation that water shares will eventually be sold to municipal or industrial consumers now appears to be reflected fully in water prices.     

SUBSURFACE DISTRIBUTION OF NITRATES BELOW COMMERCIAL CATTLE FEEDLOTS,TEXAS HIGH PLAINS1

ABSTRACT. Samples for water-quality analyses were collected from beneath eighty commercial cattle feedlots in the Texas High Plains. Twenty-two feedlots were drilled and/or cored to establish vertical gradients of dissolved solids. Sample and gamma logs, size analyses and vertical permeability of cores were determined from samples beneath these lots. Relationships of groundwater saturated thickness, depth to watertable, and age of lots to specificion distribution were evaluated. The study includes lots ranging in age from 35 years to new installations. Runoff collection-systems on lots include playas, man-made ponds, and dammed and undammed stream channels. Infiltration of feedlot liquid waste to the watertable below feedyards is insignificant in most localities in the Texas High Plains. Infiltration of “collected” feedlot runoff and subsequent concentration of dissolved ions in groundwater in the High Plains are dependent upon, among other things, (1) surface and subsurface geology, (2) depth to water, (3) thickness of the groundwater zone, and to (4) differences in lateral and vertical permeabilities of the Ogallala Formation, the major aquifer. Certainly, no regional subsurface pollution problem exists today nor is one foreseen from cattle feedlot runoff in the Texas High Plains.     

STORM WATER RUNOFF QUALITY FROM THREE LAND-USE AREAS IN SOUTH FLORIDA1

ABSTRACT: Storm water runoff studies of three small basins (20, 40, and 58 acres) in the Fort Lauderdale area of Florida were conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1974–78. The basins were homogeneously developed with land uses being: commercial, single family residential, and high traffic volume highway. Synchronized data were collected for rainfall, storm water discharge, storm water quality, and bulk precipitation (rainfall plus dry fallout) quality. Analysis of the storm water discharge data showed that most runoff was from impervious areas hydraulically connected to drain inlets. Regression analyses of the storm water discharge and water quality data indicated that storm loads from the single family residential area correlated strongly with peak discharge and length of antecedent dry periods. Storm loads from the highway area correlated strongly with rainfall and less strongly with peak discharge and antecedent dry periods. Storm loads from the commercial area correlated strongly with peak discharge and rainfall, and less strongly with antecedent dry periods. On a unit area basis, the single family residential area yielded the largest loads of nitrogen, phosphorus, and dissolved solids. The commercial area yielded the largest loads of lead, zinc, and chemical oxygen demand. Yields of carbon were about the same for the three areas. Constituent loadings derived directly from the atmosphere were estimated on the basis of bulk precipitation samples and compared with storm runoff loads from the highway and commercial areas.     

DOWNSCALED CLIMATE AND STREAMFLOW STUDY OF THE SOUTHWESTERN UNITED STATES1

ABSTRACT: Downscaling coarse resolution climate data to scales that are useful for impact assessment studies is receiving increased attention. Basin-scale hydrologic processes and other local climate impacts related to water resources such as reservoir management, crop and forest productivity, and ecosystem response require climate information at scales that are much finer than current and future GCM resolutions. The Regional Climate System Model (RCSM) is a dynamic downscaling system that has been used since 1994 for short-term precipitation and streamflow predictions and seasonal hindcast analysis with good skill. During the 1997–1998 winter, experimental seasonal forecasts were made in collaboration with the NOAA Climate Prediction Center and UCLA with promising results. Preliminary studies of a control and 2°CO₂ perturbation for the southwestern U.S. have been performed.     

天目湖沙河水库热分层变化及其对水质的影响

为揭示亚热带水库热分层的季节性变化特征、影响因素及水质效应,以最大水深11 m的江苏溧阳天目湖沙河水库为例,基于对水库坝前区(TM1)3~11月逐时的水温监测及对该水库2009~2016年相关水质和气象指标监测,分析了该水库热分层的形成和消失时间、驱动因素及其对水质的影响.结果表明,天目湖沙河水库呈典型的亚热带单循环混合模式:春季随着太阳辐射的增强,水温逐渐升高,当表层水温升至21℃左右时,热分层稳定形成,在整个5~9月期间水体热分层十分稳定;秋季随着太阳辐射的减弱,水温逐渐降低,当表层水温降至19℃左右时,热分层基本消失,在10~4月期间水体呈混合状态.热分层期间,表层和底层的水温差随太阳辐射的增强而增加;日均气温超过30℃的情况下,水体热分层更加稳定;夏季强降雨过程降低了水体表层的温度、减弱了上层5 m水体的温度分层,但对5 m以下深度的热分层状况基本无影响.水温分层对水库水质产生一定的影响:热分层期间,底层水体处于厌氧状态,底层水体氨氮浓度明显增加;热分层消失后,底层水体溶解氧、总磷及悬浮颗粒物含量均增加.研究表明,对于四季分明的亚热带中等深度的水库而言,水体热分层主要受太阳辐射的控制,稳定的热分层有利于蓝藻门相关种属藻类的生长,热分层形成及消散阶段改变了沉积物的营养盐释放及供给水体的强度,对水体水质形成冲击.在水库水质监控及生态保护管理中,应关注热分层过程的不利影响,并探索相关灾害的防控技术.