DESERT HOUSE: A DEMONSTRATION/EXPERIMENT IN EFFICIENT DOMESTIC WATER AND ENERGY USE1

ABSTRACT: In May 1993, a single-family home and adjoining information center opened to the public at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona. Desert House is designed as an example of what can be achieved today using available technology to improve residential water and energy efficiency. The home is expected to reduce water and energy use by 40 percent compared with that for the typical three-bedroom, single-family residence in the Phoenix area. Water-conserving features include: landscape design employing low-water use plants, minimum turf area, mulch around plants to reduce evaporation, and drip irrigation system; spa cover for evaporation reduction; rainwater harvesting; low-flow shower heads, faucets, and toilets; and graywater reuse system. The home will be occupied by a family and monitored for water and energy use by computer. Visitors are able to access real time water and energy use data about the home, as well as tour the information center, technical exhibits, surrounding landscape, and the home when it is open (one afternoon a week).     

MEETING FUTURE PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY NEEDS: A SOUTHWEST PERSPECTIVE1

ABSTRACT: Most southwestern cities were founded along rivers or in areas having springs or readily available ground water. Because of the generally sparse precipitation, the renewable fresh water supply in the Southwest is smaller than most other areas of the United States. Despite the arid climate, water use has increased rapidly, first in the form of irrigation, and more recently the use in cities. This has caused extensive development of local water resources and overdraft of ground water basins in some areas. It is difficult to implement new local supplies and importation projects due to a myriad of environmental and legal constraints and a general shortage of public funds. Various opportunities and plans for water management, both on the demand and supply sides, are discussed. Evolving water strategies in four metropolitan areas - El Paso, Albuquerque, Las Vegas, and Phoenix - and issues regarding the Central Arizona Project are presented.     

ALAWAT: A spatially allocated watershed model for approximating stream,sediment, and pollutant flows in Hawaii,USA

The Ala Wai Canal Watershed Model (ALAWAT) is a planning-level watershed model for approximating direct runoff, streamflow, sediment loads, and loads for up to five pollutants. ALAWAT uses raster GIS data layers including land use, SCS soil hydrologic groups, annual rainfall, and subwatershed delineations as direct model parameter inputs and can use daily total rainfall from up to ten rain gauges and streamflow from up to ten stream gauges. ALAWAT uses a daily time step and can simulate flows for up to ten-year periods and for up to 50 subwatersheds. Pollutant loads are approximated using a user-defined combination of rating curve relationships, mean event concentrations, and loading/washoff parameters for specific subwatersheds, land uses, and times of year. Using ALAWAT, annual average streamflow and baseflow relationships and urban suspended sediment loads were approximated for the Ala Wai Canal watershed (about 10,400 acres) on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Annual average urban suspended sediments were approximated using two methods: mean event concentrations and pollutant loading and washoff. Parameters for the pollutant loading and washoff method were then modified to simulate the effect of various street sweeping intervals on sediment loads.     

A first alternative for estimating the physical carrying capacities of natural areas for recreation

Utilizing an adaptation of the Universal Soil Loss Equation, this article discusses a method for approximating the physical carrying capacity of natural areas for outdoor recreation. Classification of forested woodland and field environments is based upon the conversion of ground cover coefficients to the percentage of ground cover required to maintain soil productivity over time. Four canopy types, three canopy densities, and two general types of ground cover are recognized in the equation as well as soil characteristics, topographical variations, and rainfall velocities and intensities. The method requires that the areal distribution of soils occurring within natural areas be mapped. Approximations will vary according to the intensity of the planning desired, and may range from a general classification of large land areas to highly site-specific evaluations. Data generated from over 40 years of cooperative research form the basis for classifying natural areas according to their relative physical capacities to accommodate outdoor recreation.     

APPLICATION OF A LOW-FLOW ASSESSMENT MODEL FOR THE MONONGAHELA RIVER BASIN1

ABSTRACT: The application of a low-flow assessment model is illustrated for the Monogahela River Basin. The model simulates the impact of reservoir operating rules and consumptive use limitation policies on low-flow frequency at downstream locations in the basin. Policies are evaluated using an observed flow sequence and synthetic flow inputs. The paper reviews the historical development of flow management on the Monogahela to provide background for the current study.     

WATERSHED PLANNING FOR ACID MINE DRAINAGE ABATEMENT1

Acid drainage from abandoned mines is a widespread problem in old mining regions. Agencies seeking to abate it face the prospect of dealing with hundreds of potential abatement projects, stretching decades into the future. A systematic regional analysis is necessary to establish locations, objectives, priorities, and phasing of such projects. The U.S. Bureau of Mines developed a novel procedure for abatement planning in the 420 square mile Blacklick Creek Watershed in Pennsylvania. The plan sought to direct abatement projects toward pollution sources where degradation was worst and adverse effects greatest. It established abatement priorities by comparing the “supply” of sources to be reclaimed (the degrees of old mines' water quality degradation) with the “demand” for abatement to be done (the natural and cultural values represented by the region's demography, land use and other non-mining characteristics). Matrices were used to define the relationships among mining and non-mining factors; maps were developed to show the geographic distribution of the conclusions. The locations, priorities, and phasing of abatement objectives shown on the maps should provide guidance for any abatement effort, no matter what type of technology is applied to achieve the objectives. Over the many years in which abatement projects are to be performed in the Watershed, the plan can be used to define, coordinate, and establish priorities for the projects in a manner that can result in maximum abatement benefits from the application of limited funds.     

Wind energy development in California,USA

Windfarms have been developed rapidly in California in the last few years. The impetus has been a legislated goal to generate 10% of California's electricity by windpower by the year 2000, and generous state and federal tax incentives. Windpower is promoted as environmentally benign, which it is in traditional uses. The California program, however, is not traditional: it calls for centralized development of a magnitude sufficient to offset significant amounts of fossil fuels now used to generate electricity.Centralized windfarm development, as exemplified by the Altamont Pass, Tehachapi Mountains, and San Gorgonio Pass developments, involves major road building projects in erosion-sensitive terrain, effective closure of public lands, and other detrimental effects. A windfarm consisting of 200 turbines with 17-m rotors located in steep terrain 16 km from an existing corridor might occupy 235 ha and physically disturb 86 ha. With average annual wind speeds of 22.5 km/h, the farm would generate about 10×10⁶ kWh/year at present levels of capacity. This annual production would offset 1% of one day's consumption of oil in California. To supply 10% of the state's electricity (at 1984 production rates) would require about 600,000 turbines of the type in common use today and would occupy more than 685,000 ha. It is likely that indirect effects would be felt in much larger areas and would include increased air and water pollution resulting from accelerated erosion, degradation of habitat of domestic and wild animals, damage to archaeological sites, and reduction of scenic quality of now-remote areas of the state.     

Characteristics of winter backcountry use in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Numerous backcountry and wilderness use studies have been conducted over the last decade, but nearly all of them have concentrated on peak season and summer use. This study investigates use patterns and user characteristics of winter campers, and implications for the management of winter backcountry overnight use. Use pattern data were collected from 580 backcountry use permits for both winter and summer campers of Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). A two-page questionnaire was also mailed to 300 of the winter users to survey their characteristics, past backpacking experience, and reasons for winter camping. Backcountry permit data indicate that use patterns differ significantly between winter and summer campers, with winter campers taking shorter, weekend, destination-type trips. Winter campers engage in backcountry camping nearly twice as often during winter as other seasons of the year, both in and outside GSMNP. They are also experienced hikers that tend to avoid camping in Great Smoky Mountains National Park during the summer because of heavy visitor use. This suggests that winter backcountry campers are different enough from peak season campers that management of these two user groups may require different styles.     

ASSESSING ENVIRONMENTAL ATTITUDES AND CONCERNS ABOUT A CONTAMINATED SITE IN A DENSELY POPULATED SUBURBAN ENVIRONMENT

Considerable attention has been devoted to the concerns and perceptions of people residing around contaminated facilities, both brownfields in urban areas and others located in remote and lightly populated areas. This paper examines the concerns of recreationists and sportsmen residing near the Department of Energys (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, in central Long Island, one of the most densely populated regions in the United States, where tourism is of prime importance. On an open-ended question, the greatest concern was pollution, followed by environmental health as a global concern, and human health as a concern for Brookhaven. Accidents/spills, loss of public health, and loss of ecological health were rated highest among a list of concerns, and change in property values was rated lowest. When asked to rank seven concerns, protecting human health was ranked the highest, and economic interests were ranked the lowest. For future land use at Brookhaven, recreational uses were rated the highest, while building houses and factories, and storage of nuclear material were rated the lowest. These data can be used by managers, decision and policy makers, and the general public to assess and manage local and regional environmental concerns and to consider future land uses for decommissioned lands, such as those at Brookhaven.     

Community Exchange and Training in the Suid Bokkeveld: A UNCCD Pilot Project to Enhance Livelihoods and Natural Resource Management

Community knowledge exchanges have played a key role in developmental processes in the Suid Bokkeveld community of South Africa. Two exchange visits were undertaken with the support of the Department of Agriculture and an NGO, the Environmental Monitoring Group, which have led to local economic development and enhanced capacity to manage natural resources in a sustainable manner. These pilot projects were undertaken within the framework of the Community Exchange and Training Programme of the Global Mechanism of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The methodology applied included facilitation to develop a community-based vision for development, in terms of which the community exchange process was designed. A Facilitation Team of service providers conducted preparatory workshops, and identified potential partner communities. Two exchange visits were carried out, one focused on Rooibos production and marketing, and the other on community-based eco-tourism. Following report-back and planning workshops, emerging community-driven initiatives were supported through their formative stages. The initiatives have not only resulted in enhanced livelihoods, but the methodology has also been applied widely in a number of different contexts.