INTERBASIN TRANSFER ACT REVISIONS & DROUGHT PLANNING Vandana - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

INTERBASIN TRANSFER ACT REVISIONS & DROUGHT PLANNING

Vandana Rao, Ph.D.

• Asst. Director for Water Policy

Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs

495/Metrowest Partnership - Water Resources Committee Meeting March 16, 2017

Presentation Overview

INTER TERBASN ASN TRANSFER SFER ACT

• Goals & Overview of Major Changes
• Insignificance
• Regional System

DROUGHT UGHT & PLAN ANNI NING NG

• Key components of current drought plan
• State Actions on Current Drought
• Update on revisions to drought plan

Interbasin Transfer Act (ITA) Revision

Goal

• als

1) Incorporate ITA policies adopted by WRC over the years 2) Incorporate 21st century water resources science 3) Streamline procedures 4) Clarify terms and improve organization

Overview of Major Changes

• Specified Process for Wastewater Transfers
• Updated Insignificance Criteria (revised streamflow metrics and

added lakes/impoundments metrics)

• Added Streamlined Option for Transfers < 10,000 gpd
• Added a Regional Water Supply Approval Process
• Revised Approach to Local Water Resources Planning

Requirements

For Insignificant Transfers

 Current regulations treat all requests as direct river withdrawals

(hardly ever the case)

 Revisions specify review process for:

• Wastewater transfers
• Transfers mainly impacting streamflow
• Transfers mainly impacting a lake or reservoir
• Added streamlined option for transfers < 10,000 gpd

Insignificance – Streamflow Criteria

• Criteria for transfers impacting streams

– Updated metrics based on 21st century hydrologic analysis

• Criteria for transfers impacting a lake or reservoir

– New metrics developed – Where appropriate, flow augmentation and/or protection measures will be considered

• Added streamlined option for transfers < 10,000 gpd

– Initial screening looks for potentially impacted:

• Nearby water bodies (at source and wastewater discharge point)
• Special resource values
• Community water or wastewater systems

– Based on screening, WRC can require further review

Regional Water Supply Approval Process

• Regional Suppliers can seek approval of Donor Basin Criteria

before identifying all Receiving Areas

– One-time approval of Donor Basin portion of the application eliminates duplicate review – Donor Basin and Receiving Area Criteria same as for any full review, but may be completed at different times – Time Limits:

• Ten Year Check-In
• Twenty Year Expiration

Other Proposed Revisions

• Local Water Resources Management Plan - Replaced with a requirement

to evaluate how the transfer supports the long-range water resources planning. Information required by the plans is generally supplied in the EIR.

• Wastewater Transfers:

– Incorporates 1987 guidance – Adds wastewater definition of Receiving Area, Viable Sources – Requires data specific to wastewater – Requires evaluation of potential in-basin discharge areas – Requires information on impacts to NPDES permits, 7Q10 flows and

available capacity at the WWTP

MA DROUGHT OUGHT & DR & DROUGHT OUGHT PLA LANNING NNING Su Summar mmary y / Review ew

www.mass.gov/eea/wrc-dmtf

Massachusetts Drought Regions

Drought Regions Western Connecticut Valley Central Northeast Southeast Cape and Islands

Massachusetts Drought Indicators and Levels

Drought Indicator Indicator Type Standardized Precipitation Index Precipitation Precipitation Percent Below Normal Precipitation Streamflow Months Below Normal Streamflow Groundwater Level Months Below Normal Groundwater Size of Reservoir (S, M, L) Below Normal Reservoirs Crop Moisture Index Crop Moisture Keetch-Byram Drought Index Fire Danger Drought Levels: Normal Advisory Watch Warning Emergency

Drought declaration based on majority of indices

Groundwater Network

Streamflow Network

Reservoir Network

Data Points for Decision Making

INDEX REGION TOTALS West CT Valley Central North- east South- east Cape & Islands Precipitation 4 6 6 6 6 3 31 Ground- water 5 11 10 17 12 13 68 Streams 6 11 16 19 6 n/a 58 Reservoirs 2 2 4 7 3 1 19 Totals 17 30 36 49 27 17 176

Streamflow, Groundwater and Reservoir Indices

Drought Level Streamflow Index Groundwater Index Reservoir Index Normal 1 month below normal* 2 consecutive months below normal* Reservoir levels at or near normal Advisory At least 2 out of 3 consecutive months below normal* 3 consecutive months below normal* Small index reservoirs below normal Watch At least 4 out of 5 consecutive months below normal* 4 to 5 consecutive months below normal* Medium index reservoirs below normal Warning At least 6 out of 7 consecutive months below normal* 6 to 7 consecutive months below normal* Large index reservoirs below normal Emergency Greater than 7 months below normal* Greater than 8 months below normal* Continuation of previous month’s conditions

*Below normal for streamflow and groundwater are defined as being within the lowest 25th percentile of the period of record

Summary of Drought Indices as of September 1, 2016

This summary is provided for informational purposes. No changes in drought status are official until the Drought Management Task Force convenes and makes a recommendation accepted by the Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. DROUGHT REGIONS DROUGHT INDICATOR

Indicator Type West CT River Central Northeast Southeast Cape and Islands

Standardized Precipation Index (SPI) Precipitation Normal Watch Advisory Watch Watch Watch Precipitation % Below Normal Precipitation Normal Watch Normal Warning Watch Watch Months Below Normal Streamflow Watch Watch Warning Warning Watch N/A Months Below Normal Groundwater Warning Watch Watch Watch Watch Normal Size of reservoir below normal Reservoirs Normal Normal Watch Watch Watch Normal Crop Moisture Index Crop Moisture Advisory Watch Watch Warning Warning Warning Keetch-Byram Drought Index Fire Danger Watch Watch Watch Warning Warning Watch

Drought as of October 1, 2016

Drought as of March 1, 2016

Drought Declarations since 2000

Years 2 1 2 2 2 3 2 4 2 5 2 6 2 7 2 8 2 9 2 1 2 1 1 2 1 2 2 1 3 2 1 4 2 1 5 2 1 6 2 1 7 Highest drought level in at least one region A d v i s

• r

y W a t c h A d v i s

• r

y A d v i s

• r

y A d v i s

• r

y W a r n i n g W a r n i n g

State Actions on the Drought

• Intensive Agency Coordination
• Press Releases each month & Press calls/interviews
• Governor’s Press Conference
• Drought-dedicated webpage – EEA, DAR
• Agency outreach – DEP

, DAR, DPH

• Conference Call w Municipal Officials
• Highway Signs, Tweats, Web Updates
• Impact Assessments
• Funding – HED, DEP

, DAR, USDA/NRCS

Next Steps

• We need your feedback and ideas.

– What are you concerned about going into 2017 – What worked well for you last summer – How can the state help?

• Data is the new bacon. Please consider joining our

reservoir lake and pond monitoring network.

• Proposed Revisions will be presented to the

Drought Management Task Force (April/May)

Revisions to DMP

The he Need

• 2016/17 Drought was first time plan had gone beyond

watch level- we learned a lot

• Plan is not “operationalized”, lacks many actions, some

indicators appeared to lag behind conditions The he Proce

• cess

ss

• Indicators Technical Workgroup
• Listening Sessions with Stakeholders
• Comment Letters

Revisions to Indices

• Consider US Drought Monitor method

– Measures severity better, percentiles standardize data, media use it

• What to call the drought levels for clarity
• How to “roll up” data by region and for state

– Majority/median/mean per region?

• Primary vs. Secondary indicators
• Qualitative indicators (forecast, snowpack)

Drought Nomenclature

US Drought Monitor Names Recurrence Percentiles D0: Abnormally Dry

• nce per 3 to 5 years

21 to 30 D1: Moderate

• nce per 5 to 10 years

11 to 20 D2: Severe Drought

• nce per 10 to 20 years

6 to 10 D3: Extreme Drought

• nce per 20 to 50 years

3 to 5 D4: Exceptional Drought

• nce per 50 to 100 years

0 to 2

http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu

Levels MA RI VT PA CT NH NY 1 Heightened Awareness Watch (Abnormally Dry) 2 Advisory Advisory Advisory Below Normal Conditions Alert (Moderate) Watch 3 Watch Watch Watch Watch Moderate Drought Warning (Severe) Warning 4 Warning Warning Warning Warning Severe Drought Emergency (Extreme) Emergency 5 Emergency Emergency Emergency Emergency Extreme Drought Disaster (Exceptional) Disaster

Potential ‘Action’ Topics

• 1. Drought Management Plans
• 2. Adequate Supply During Drought
• 3. Demand Management
• 4. State Drought Portal on Web

– Impact Reporting, Drought status and info

• 5. Communication Plan

– Clear, timely, consistent messaging

• 6. Technical and financial assistance

PWS Drought Management Plans

• Should be part of Emergency Management Plan
• Provide templates
• Peer to peer workshops
• Examples for surface water and groundwater systems,

small and large

• List of potential thresholds and actions

Supply during Drought

• Need an inventory to determine vulnerability

– interconnections/emergency supplies – Are new sources needed?

• Part of ASR? Part of Sanitary Survey?
• Assistance to those who need additional supply
• Private Well users
• Trucking Water?

Demand Management

Default Guidance: Avoid Watering During a Drought1

Limits on outdoor water use are critical to help ensure that enough water is available for essential needs, including drinking water and fire protection, crop irrigation, and our natural resources.

• 1. Certain water uses are not subject to mandatory restrictions, such as water used:
• for health or safety reasons;
• for the production of food and fiber;
• for the maintenance of livestock;
• to meet the core functions of a business (for example, irrigation by plant nurseries as necessary to maintain stock).
• 2. If your water supplier has stricter restrictions in place, abide by those.

Drought Level Recommended Water Use Restrictions for Everyone1,2 Advisory 1 day per week at the most,

• utside the hours of 9AM – 5PM

Watch hand-held only or drip irrigation

• utside the hours of 9AM – 5PM

Warning/Emergency Outdoor water use should be banned

Questions?

Contact

Vandana Rao, PhD Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs vandana.rao@state.ma.us 617-626-1248