Carol DiGiorgio DWR, Mercury Monitoring and Evaluation Section - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Carol DiGiorgio DWR, Mercury Monitoring and Evaluation Section

DES—David Bosworth BDO—Jamie Anderson, En-Ching Hsu, Hari Rajbhandari, Nicky Sandhu, Tara Smith Cody Beals, Reed Harris, David Hutchinson

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• Delta Mercury Control Program (DMCP)

and Open Water

• Model Development-Delta
• Model Development-Yolo Bypass
• From the Sierra to the Sea-Mine

Remediation and Modeling Linkages

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What is the Delta Mercury Control Program (DMCP)?

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O% 82% 65% 44% 65% O% 78%

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• Methylmercury (MeHg) load allocations assigned

to point and nonpoint sources. The DMCP requires reductions in annual loads. *Reductions required for:

• NPDES facilities
• Municipal storm water
• Agricultural lands
• Wetlands
• Open Water

*partial list

Open Water Work group

• California State Lands

Commission

• Central Valley Flood

Protection Board

• Department of Water

Resources

• US Army Corps of

Engineers

• US Bureau of

Reclamation

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Advection/Diffusion

Open water allocations apply to MeHg load fluxes from the sediment to the water column.

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Control Studies:

Delta Flooded Yolo Bypass

Impacted agencies required to evaluate what

• perational changes or other practices could be

implemented to reduce MeHg in open waters. Difficult to do this in the field.

Solution?

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• Use modeling to examine questions on State Water Project

(SWP) and Yolo Bypass flooding on MeHg supply.

• Provide working models of MeHg transport and fate.
• Literature, field and laboratory studies to provide info

for the model.

• Determine most important drivers (Sensitivity analysis)
• *Scenario testing.

*(TBD; based on acceptance of validation results).

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• Delta
• DSM2 + Hg algorithms

(DWR + Reed Harris Environmental, Ltd.)

• Yolo Bypass
• TuFlow + Dynamic

Mercury Cycling Model (D-MCM)

(Reed Harris Environmental Ltd.)

Delta Model

Yolo Bypass Model

Highlighted area s are approximate 11

Delta Modeling

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Conceptual Models

Understand processes

Numerical Model Development

Identify key processes Prioritize key processes Represent processes in DSM2

Simulate Existing Conditions

Obtain available field data Identify data gaps Calibration/validation Sensitivity testing

Scenario Testing

How would changes in operations affect mercury methylation potential?

Items in yellow are in progress

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DWR: Update DSM2 with new General Transport Model Add mercury cycling to DSM2 Reed Harris: Create Mercury cycling code Calibrate/validate DSM2 with Hg using field data Evaluate impacts of management scenarios

• n MeHg in the Delta

Tasks highlighted in yellow are currently in progress

DSM2: Delta Simulation Model 2 Hg: Mercury , MeHg: methylmercury

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Yolo Bypass

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* Models key factors

• Predicts Hg cycling &

bioaccumulation in aquatic systems (lakes, rivers, wetlands, marine systems.)

• Major sources and sinks for

total mercury and MeHg

• Predicts response to changes

in..

• Hg loading
• Environmental conditions

(e.g. climate, pH)

• Trophic structure
• Aquatic vegetation

*Partial list

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Mercury Modeling - Abiotic Total mercury and methylmercury in water and sediments Hydrodynamics from models and field data (e.g. Tuflow) Particle dynamics from literature, field data and models (e.g. TuFlow) Water and sediment quality from literature and field data Mercury Modeling – Biota Food web from literature D-MCM

Information Sources:

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Sediment mercury Land use Disked land Water covering/uncovering cycling Land use & disking Sediment mercury Wetting Frequency (% days)

• Diamond in the rough.
• First cut at a Hg model for the Delta and Yolo

Bypass.

• Points to data gaps requiring refinement.
• Serves as a jumping off point for other users to

refine inputs and ask their own questions.

Will MeHg production increase? Will MeHg production decrease?

Model testing will determine its robustness

Goal--Scenario Testing

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• Oct. 2011
• Feb. 2014
• Oct. 2015
• Oct. 2018

Promulgated Workplan Interim Report Final Report Accepted

Summer 2015—Begin initial YB model calibration and validation w/ existing field data January 2017—Begin Delta model calibration and validation

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Can we link models to evaluate upstream mine cleanup to downstream impacts?

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How can others use DWR’s model?

Within the Delta Use existing model

• Use scenario analysis to examine reductions
• f one or more non-openwater mandated

DMCP sources. Outside the Delta Extend modeling domain

• Upstream-mine drainage impacts.
• Downstream—Delta effects to San Francisco

Bay.

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DMCP Load Allocations

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Coast Range Hg mines Gold Mines Delta Estuary dynamics YB Reservoirs and river transport Reservoirs and river transport

Extend Modeling Domain

USGS Fact Sheet

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US EPA Environment Canada

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Environment Canada--Six ecosystems studied with integrated model framework for Hg

DMCP Load Allocations

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In theory could model from Sierra to the Sea, however:

• Linked models for Hg previously applied to simpler systems
• applied mostly to isolated watersheds w/out

many anthropogenic disturbances.

• Terrestrial models for Hg not as well developed as

aquatic Hg models.

• Garbage in, garbage out. You need data to calibrate,

validate and fine tune the models.

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