Geospatial DSS for Maintaining Agricultural Diversions under Environmental Flow Requirements
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 146, Issue 2
Abstract
Competing demands for scarce water supplies in irrigated alluvial valleys can lead to conflicts between disparate uses, resulting in an increased risk of restrictions on agricultural diversions. A tool for understanding the impacts of irrigation diversions on natural stream systems at the tributary scale is needed to evaluate solutions that protect environmental flow requirements for endangered and threatened aquatic species while maintaining irrigation water security. A geospatially referenced decision support system (geo-DSS) coupling a fine-scale [ Hydrologic Rainfall Analysis Project (HRAP) or 1 km] gridded hydrometeorological model (HL-RDHM) with a GIS-based river basin management model (GeoMODSIM) is developed for irrigated stream-aquifer systems. In this proof-of-concept implementation, the geo-DSS is demonstrated on a representative tributary within the Russian River Basin in the Northern Coastal region of California with extensive wine grape vineyard acreage for an average water year using a daily time step. Results indicate that commonly used management practices that rely on direct stream diversions and on-stream ponds for irrigation can have severe negative impacts on instream flow rates by impeding the migration of endangered coho salmon and other species. Through the application of the geo-DSS, improved management practices such as the use of off-stream agricultural ponds are able to meet irrigation demands while satisfying minimum environmental bypass flow restrictions along with the determination of ideal sizes and locations for supplemental off-stream storage.
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Acknowledgments
The writers gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), US Department of Commerce, as administered by the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) at Colorado State University, Christian Kummerow, Director. The authors are appreciative of the support of the Hydrometeorology Modeling and Applications (HMA) team at the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL), Physical Sciences Division (PSD). We are particularly indebted to Joshua Fuller, Fishery Biologist with NOAA Fisheries West Coast Division, California Coastal Office, for his invaluable expertise in understanding and modeling minimum bypass flow requirements for threatened and endangered fish species. We also acknowledge key stakeholders in the study area who provided vital feedback on the coupled GeoMODSIM/HL-RDHM modeling results from this study, including Laurel Marcus of Fish Friendly Farming; Devon Jones, Executive Director of the Mendocino County Farm Bureau; Sean White, City of Ukiah’s Director of Water and Sewer; Janet Pauli, Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Potter Valley Irrigation District; and Natalie Manning with NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service.
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Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 146 • Issue 2 • February 2020
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©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 30, 2018
Accepted: Sep 11, 2019
Published online: Dec 4, 2019
Published in print: Feb 1, 2020
Discussion open until: May 4, 2020
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