modeling

Lower Truckee River Bioassessment Symposium

lynellg — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:54:43 -0800

Two day symposium includes:
Day 1- Presentations from various groups & individuals on aquatic biological issues on the
Lower Truckee River
Day 2-Introduction to CADDIS
Causal Analysis/Diagnosis Decision Information System - A model addressing aquatic
biological stressor identification presented by U.S. EPA's National Center for
Environmental Development

Attendance is FREE, however, pre-registration by December 19 is required as
seating and parking is limited.
*For registration to attend please send an email to: kvargas@ndep.nv.gov
and provide your name, affiliation, contact information and if you will be attending Day 1, 2 or both days.

Full flyer: attached or visit website below.

Truckee River Biomass Monitoring Program...July 2001 to Aug 2002

lynellg — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:48:24 -0700

Truckee River Biomass Monitoring Program: Data Encompassing Field Studies of July 2001 to August 2002
Jeramie Memmott, Megan Robinson, Annika Mosier, Christian H. Fritsen
Division of Earth and Ecosystem Science, Desert Research Institute
2215 Raggio Parkway, Reno NV 89512. phone: (775) 673-7487

The Truckee River Biomass Monitoring (TRBM) program has collected data regarding algal
biomass in the lower Truckee River [expressed as plant pigments (chlorophyll a), carbon,
nitrogen and phosphorous] that can be used for independent analysis of ecosystem health and
nutrient budgets. Furthermore, the biomass sampling program has been implemented in such a
manner that the results will be used to validate water quality models and, hence, to make model
formulations more scientifically defensible as management tools.
Data reported within this draft were generated as part of the second round of monthly biomass
sampling that began in November 2001 and was completed as of August 2002.
THE STUDY:
In monitoring plant and algal biomass in the lower Truckee River we conducted the following
field activities:
Samples were collected four times at eleven sites (HERS, FLEI, PATA, EMCC, LOCK,
PATR, TRAC, PAIN, JOHN, DEAD, LNIX) on the Truckee River (Figure 2) and an additional
six times at eight of the eleven sites (HERS, FLEI, PATA, LOCK, PATR, TRAC, JOHN,
LNIX). Sampling at all eleven sites was conducted on a quarterly basis to be consistent with
the previous monitoring program (July 2000 to July 2001), which also included more
spatially intensive sampling for increased spatial information on a quarterly basis. Eight of
the eleven sites were sampled on a monthly basis.
During the majority of sampling, temperature, pH, specific conductance, and dissolved
oxygen were recorded in real-time using YSI Incorporated sondes provided by Washoe
County. River velocity measurements were made at points where samples were collected to
constrain the physical flow regime of the plant communities beyond levels previously
attained.
· Samples for water quality analysis were collected at each sampling site (consistent with
monthly or quarterly sampling) using a depth-integrating sampler and were delivered to
Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility (TMWRF) for analysis. Vertical profiles of
solar irradiance in the water column were conducted to constrain previously estimated light
penetration values used for modeling primary productivity and in community metabolism
studies.
At each site during each round of sampling, an average of 14 periphyton samples were
collected for ash free dry weight (AFDW) and chlorophyll a. A minimum of three samples
from each site were collected for determining periphyton functional groups (e.g. blue green
algae, filamentous green algae, green algae, and diatoms) that are consistent with
groupings currently used in water quality models (e.g. DSSAMt). On average, five
subsamples of periphyton from each site were analyzed for carbon, nitrogen, and
phosphorous contents.
Please find report in pdf attached.

Climate change shrinking water in western U.S.

lynellg — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:12:50 -0800

Program #5460 of the Earth & Sky Radio Series
with hosts Deborah Byrd, Joel Block, Lindsay Patterson and Jorge Salazar.

A 2008 study shows that Earth’s changing climate has caused available water to shrink in the western U.S. during the last half century.

And even bigger changes lie ahead, according to lead author Tim Barnett of Scripps Oceanographic Institution in San Diego.

Tim Barnett: It’s a 20 percent decrease on average over the western U.S. in the snowpack as it exists on the first of April.

Barnett’s study compared 50 years of river and climate data with computer models. It showed that in the western U.S., about 60 percent of changes, such as shrinking snowpack, can only have a non-natural explanation: a human-induced rise in temperature caused by greenhouse gases. Barnett added that water supplies in the western U.S. might be disrupted within 20 years.

Earth & Sky asked Barnett how people will adapt.

Tim Barnett: Some of the adaptations will be conservation. Some will be taking it from farmers and giving it to a growing population. A decent adaptation would be to limit the population growth and development in the western United States. I don’t think that will ever happen. But those are the kinds of things that we’re going to have to do.

Barnett is concerned about the environmental future we’re leaving for the coming generations.

Tim Barnett: We’re altering the climate of planet in ways that we know, and in lots of ways that we don’t know. We’re making a world for today’s children and grandchildren that they’re going to have to live in, in the future. And if they don’t like it, there won’t be a thing they can do about it.

Barnett warns that dam capacity will be insufficient to hold the water coming rushing down.

To view the entire interview/article, please visit the website.

IBM Plans Water Research Center

lynellg — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 09:56:48 -0800

By: GreenBiz.com

OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 4, 2008 -- IBM plans to establish a water management research center in the Netherlands as part of its Big Green Innovations initiative.

The IBM Global Center of Excellence for Water Management in Amsterdam aims to help the company's public center customers develop prediction and protection systems for low-lying coastal areas and river deltas that are especially susceptible to negative impacts from climate change. The center will play a large role in the country's Flood Control 2015 water innovation program announced Friday.

The research center will provide flood forecasting and prediction modeling work, as well as use IBM’s experience with smart sensors and serious gaming technology to build better modeling and simulation technologies.

For entire article, please visit website

County joins effort to protect watersheds

lynellg — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 09:24:17 -0800

SUSAN VOYLES, RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 1/16/2008

A comprehensive approach to manage watersheds to improve water quality in the Truckee River was endorsed Tuesday by the Washoe County Commission.

The county would join Reno, Sparks and other agencies to reduce pollutants, sediments and salts from entering storm drains, creeks and other waterways before entering the river. It's one way to improve the river aquatics, Pyramid Lake and avoid more than $100 million in upgrades for additional nitrogen removal at the Reno-Sparks sewer plant.

A model and regulations to oversee the watershed cleanup are being researched by California State University in a "white paper" for Reno, said Rosemary Menard, county water resources director.

For entire article, please visit website below.

Influence of Riparian Vegetation on Local Climate and River Temperature

lynellg — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 14:50:18 -0800

This project is managed by
Gayle Dana, Jim Brock, and John Stanley

Temperature is of fundamental importance to the function of aquatic ecosystems and the distribution and abundance of species. Water temperature is critical to maintenance of self-sustaining fisheries with considerable resources being applied towards managing flow, channel, and riparian conditions in order to promote optimal thermal regimes. Numerical models that simulate river temperature have come into common use by managers concerned with water quality (pollutant loading) as well as biological communities.

These models typically require meteorologic data (e.g., air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation). Such data typically are obtained from regional weather stations and applied to conditions at a point in the basin. Some models, such as SNTEMP (Bartholow 1995) make adjustments for elevation but generally it is assumed that the climate data from the weather station (commonly located a t airports) adequately reflect conditions that influence river temperature.

Meteorological data (air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, solar radiation) were collected in two areas within in the Truckee River Basin, Nevada. Stations within Reno Urban area include the Reno Airport (Reno), which is presently used in the modeling efforts described earlier, and the Desert Research Institute (DRI). At the Lower Truckee River area, data were collected in 4 different habitat types near the river: open water (OW), shaded riparian (SRA), gallery forest (GF), and open field (OF). Two stations were set up in each habitat type. Data were collected from September 27 to October 23, 2001.

Evaluating the Impact of TROA Alternatives on Pyramid Lake Algal Production and Hypolimnetic Oxygen: Final Alternatives

admin — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 16:02:13 -0700

Prepared For

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Nevada State Office, Reno, Nevada 89502 (March 6, 2004)

Summary

The factors controlling nitrogen availability, and hence algal productivity, in Pyramid Lake differ from those in the Truckee River, and therefore, an assessment of the impacts of water management strategies must reflect those differences. As a lake, algal production in Pyramid is affected by total available nitrogen from external sources, internal sources, and the nitrogen concentration of lake waters. This dependence of production on a variety of nitrogen sources means that nitrogen availability for a given year depends on the supply of nitrogen to the lake over several years rather than simply during the current year. The Davis Limnology Group developed in 1994 a computer simulation modeling tool that predicts the eutrophication response of Pyramid Lake as a whole to nitrogen loadings. In the past, the U.C. Davis Tool was used to evaluate how different Truckee River Operating Agreement (TROA) alternatives may affect the coldwater fishery of Pyramid Lake for the report to the negotiators (1995) and the DEIS/EIR (1996) compared with current conditions and the No Action Alternative. This study evaluates the TROA alternative developed for the TROA EIS/EIR and compares predictions with current conditions, the No Action Alternative, and a Local Water Supply Alternative (LWS).

Simulated water quality for the lake under current conditions are similar to conditions reported during the 1970's and 1980's. Mean lake concentrations for dissolved inorganic (DIN) and dissolved organic (DON) nitrogen during the final 87 years of the simulation were 0.091 and 0.69 mg/l, respectively, while average algal production was 173 g C/m2?yr. Spikes in the simulated values for the DIN concentration in the lake and annual algal production were associated with years of high river inflow.

The impact of the Alternatives on food availability and habitat for the coldwater fish population of Pyramid Lake was evaluated by comparing values for No Action with values determined for current conditions and by comparing the TROA and LWS Alternatives with the No Action Alternative. Conditions for the No Action Alternative were similar to current conditions, with lower river inflow and corresponding coldwater fishery habitat. Under the TROA Alternative, Truckee River inflow to Pyramid Lake increased by 11,500 acre?ft/yr causing mean lake level for 1913-1999 to be 3.2 ft higher than under the No Action Alternative. This increase in river inflow for the TROA Alternative corresponded with higher predicted DIN loading (3.9 Mg N/yr) and DON loading (13.1 Mg N/yr). Differences in lake characteristics for TROA and the No Action Alternative were relatively small but generally benefited the coldwater fishery of Pyramid Lake. The LWS Alternative provided results similar to the No Action Alternative.

River and Reservoir Operations Model, Truckee River Basin, California and Nevada, 1998

admin — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 15:45:22 -0700

By Steven N. Berris, Glen W. Hess, and Larry R. Bohman
U.S. Geological Survey
Water-Resources Investigations Report 01-4017

Summary

The demand for all uses of water in the Truckee River Basin, California and Nevada, commonly is greater than can be supplied. Storage reservoirs in the system have a maximum effective total capacity equivalent to less than two years of average river flows, so longer-term droughts can result in substantial water-supply shortages for irrigation and municipal users and may stress fish and wildlife ecosystems. Title II of Public Law (P.L.) 101-618, the Truckee–Carson–Pyramid Lake Water Rights Settlement Act of 1990, provides a foundation for negotiating and developing operating criteria, known as the Truckee River Operating Agreement (TROA), to balance interstate and interbasin allocation of water rights among the many interests competing for water from the Truckee River. In addition to TROA, the Truckee River Water Quality Settlement Agreement (WQSA), signed in 1996, provides for acquisition of water rights to resolve water-quality problems during low flows along the Truckee River in Nevada. Efficient execution of many of the planning, management, or environmental assessment requirements of TROA and WQSA will require detailed water-resources data coupled with sound analytical tools. Analytical modeling tools constructed and evaluated with such data could help assess effects of alternative operational scenarios related to reservoir and river operations, water-rights transfers, and changes in irrigation practices.

The Truckee–Carson Program of the U.S. Geological Survey, to support U.S. Department of the Interior implementation of P.L. 101-618, is developing a modeling system to support efficient water-resources planning, management, and allocation. The daily operations model documented herein is a part of the modeling system that includes a database management program, a graphical user interface program, and a program with modules that simulate river/reservoir operations and a variety of hydrologic processes. The operations module is capable of simulating lake/reservoir and river operations including diversion of Truckee River water to the Truckee Canal for transport to the Carson River Basin. In addition to the operations and streamflow-routing modules, the modeling system is structured to allow integration of other modules, such as water-quality and precipitation-runoff modules.

The USGS Truckee River Basin operations model was designed to provide simulations that allow comparison of the effects of alternative management practices or allocations on streamflow or reservoir storages in the Truckee River Basin over long periods of time. Because the model was not intended to reproduce historical streamflow or reservoir storage values, a traditional calibration that includes statistical comparisons of observed and simulated values would be problematic with this model and database.

This report describes a chronology and background of decrees, agreements, and laws that affect Truckee River operational practices; the construction of the Truckee River daily operations model; the simulation of Truckee River Basin operations, both current and proposed under the draft TROA and WQSA; and suggested model improvements and limitations. The daily operations model uses Hydrological Simulation Program–FORTRAN (HSPF) to simulate flow-routing and reservoir and river operations. The operations model simulates reservoir and river operations that govern streamflow in the Truckee River from Lake Tahoe to Pyramid Lake, including diversions through the Truckee Canal to Lahontan Reservoir in the Carson River Basin. A general overview is provided of daily operations and their simulation. Supplemental information that documents the extremely complex operating rules simulated by the model is available.

Memo: Data availability for modeling water quality on the Truckee River

admin — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 15:37:42 -0700

Written By

J.T. Brock
Rapid Creek Research

Prepared For

Carollo Engineers
Walnut Creek, California
Reno/Sparks/Washoe Co. Truckee River Project

Summary

This document provides a description of data available to support water quality modeling in the Truckee River Basin (DSAMMt model). Conditions within the Truckee Basin have changed considerably throughout the 19th century (beaver importation, riparian tree removal, channelization, flow diversion for agriculture, flood control, Marble Bluff Dam, grazing, flow augmentation, riparian restoration, etc.). Future changes are expected associated with river operations, flood control, and channel restoration. Although it is one of the better studied rivers in the world, there are significant gaps in our knowledge of the system.