Looking at Environmental Flows in the upper Colorado River Basin - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

▶
looking at environmental flows in the upper colorado
SMART_READER_LITE
LIVE PREVIEW

Looking at Environmental Flows in the upper Colorado River Basin - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Jan 17, 2024 234 likes •534 views

Looking at Environmental Flows in the upper Colorado River Basin Adam Csank Department of Geography University of Nevada-Reno They are particularly interested in projected changes in streamflow timing. Interested in learning how often their

slide-1
SLIDE 1

Looking at Environmental Flows in the upper Colorado River Basin

Adam Csank

Department of Geography University of Nevada-Reno

slide-2
SLIDE 2

They are particularly interested in projected changes in streamflow timing. Interested in learning how often their low flow thresholds are met. Interested in changes in the percentage of wet vs dry years.

slide-3
SLIDE 3

Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration

slide-4
SLIDE 4
slide-5
SLIDE 5
slide-6
SLIDE 6

Sojka et al. (2016)

slide-7
SLIDE 7
slide-8
SLIDE 8

Parameter Group 1

Magnitude of monthly water conditions mean or median flow for each month

slide-9
SLIDE 9

Parameter Group 2

Magnitude and duration of extreme water conditions

slide-10
SLIDE 10

Parameter Group 3 Timing of extreme water conditions

Date of each annual maximum & minimum Number and duration of low pulses Number and duration of high pulses

slide-11
SLIDE 11

Parameter Group 4

Rate and frequency of water condition changes Rise rates, fall rates & number of hydrologic reversals.

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?09058000

slide-12
SLIDE 12

Test Case: Yampa River

https://www.oars.com/adventures/yampa-river-rafting/

slide-13
SLIDE 13
slide-14
SLIDE 14

Projected Changes in streamflow timing

slide-15
SLIDE 15
slide-16
SLIDE 16
slide-17
SLIDE 17
slide-18
SLIDE 18

How often are low flow thresholds met?

slide-19
SLIDE 19
slide-20
SLIDE 20
slide-21
SLIDE 21

Threshold target Yampa River

Between 93 and 135 cfs (ideally >120) during the baseflow period (August- October)

slide-22
SLIDE 22

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

number of days

Yampa River days with discharge below threshold

<120 cfs <93 50000 100000 150000

slide-23
SLIDE 23

10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000 70000 80000 90000 100000

August September October

slide-24
SLIDE 24

50000 100000 150000 200000 250000 1550 1600 1650 1700 1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 2000

Aug-Oct Streamflow (acre-ft)

Yampa River Baseflow

recon

  • bs

10 per. Mov. Avg. (recon) 10 per. Mov. Avg. (obs)

slide-25
SLIDE 25

Which (if any) of the IHA might be useful to you?

slide-26
SLIDE 26

Any recommendations for other directions or things to look at?

slide-27
SLIDE 27

Ecological Limits of Hydrologic Alteration (ELOHA)

Baseline Hydrographs Flow data and modeling Developed Hydrographs Hydrologic Classification Analysis of Flow Alteration River Type Measures

  • f Flow

Alteration Ecological Data for each analysis node Flow-Ecology hypotheses for each river type Flow Alteration- Ecological response relationships for each river type Environmental Flow Standards Implementation Acceptable Ecological Conditions Societal Values and Management Needs Monitoring Geomorphic sub-classification

Scientific Process Social/Management Process

Hydrologic Foundation River Classification Flow-Ecology Relationships Flow Alteration

slide-28
SLIDE 28