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Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
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OCR for page 25
3
Future WRD Technical Niches
Public controversy surrounds many water resources problems.
For example, reports of pesticide contamination of ground water
have placed water consumers in opposition to agriculturalists.
Often, calls for wetlands protection have set conservationists
against developers. Concern about surface water quality has
pitted fishermen against industrialists.
Because of the mistrust on different sides of such problems,
research into their solutions must come from an agency of
scientific authority and public trust. The WRD has a reputation
for conducting sound science while maintaining its objectivity.
Objectivity, combined with databases that give the WRD a better
overall view of water resources than any other agency, enables the
WRD to move beyond the public controversy in researching strate
· ~ -
ales tor managing water resources.
This chapter reviews eight key water resources problems. It
recommends how the WRD can direct its future activities to help
address these problems. The discussion is not meant to be all-
encompassing but to illustrate appropriate WRD roles in con-
fronting currently recognized water resources challenges that
involve several agencies and levels of government. The needs and
opportunities for the agency's resources are clear. Indeed, the
demand for these resources may exceed their availability--under-
scoring the need for the agency to plan program development
carefully.
WELLHEAD/AQUIFER PROTECTION
The increasing national concern about aquifer protection has
led to legislation at all government levels that regulates land use
25
OCR for page 26
26
i
.
.
Pre paring for the Twenty-First Century
in aquifer protection areas. Unfortunately, the current under-
standing of what takes place in water beneath the earth's surface--
how it flows, how it transports contaminants, how it is affected by
different land-use practices--falls short of public expectations.
Potential roles for the WRD in advancing the understanding of
ground water include:
developing methods to identify critical recharge areas on
small spatial scales;
· conducting research into theories and models to analyze
and predict contaminant transport in different subsurface
settings;
investigating concepts and techniques for more efficient
integration of data into comprehensive ground water models;
· directing prototype studies on the transfer of conceptual
models to aquifer protection areas and the use of such models as
management tools;
· upgrading techniques for gathering and maintaining the
ground water data that are essential for model development,
calibration, and validation; and
· guiding water managers in the appropriate use of data and
models for managing aquifer protection areas.
INTEGRATED WATER SUPPLY MANAGEMENT
There is an emerging awareness among water supply managers
that they must integrate considerations about water quality and
quantity into management strategies. In California's Central
Valley, for example, increasing water demand and decreasing
supply create intense competition for water. To solve supply
problems, managers need models that integrate scientific
knowledge about water resources with public policy options for
directing water use.
A potential role for the WRD in the water supply area is
analyzing how laws and institutions determine water use.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Increasingly, policymakers and water supply managers are
becoming concerned about how potential global change could
OCR for page 27
Future WRD Technical Niches
27
affect water supplies: about whether existing water supply
facilities will stand up to extreme storms, about whether water
supply networks will require new designs as water sources react to
climate change, about whether there is enough water to meet
future demand. To analyze the effects of globa1 change on water
supplies, global change models must be improved. The existing
models are too coarse in grid-size and lack adequate interfaces
with hydrologic models. Existing models need to be refined and
linked with regional models that have smaller grids. Potential
roles for the WRD in upgrading global change models include:
· conducting prototype studies to examine how water
resources in areas with different hydrologic characteristics and
land-use patterns react to various climatic scenarios;
· improving the hydrologic component of global circulation
models and the links between global circulation models and fine-
grid regional models; and
· advancing the use of remote sensing and geographical
information systems for linking land surface processes to atmo-
spheric processes.
WATER QUALITY
With the increasing public concern about environmental
pollution, water quality research will remain a high priority on
the national agenda, as evidenced by the recent development of
the NAWQA program. Potential roles for the WRD in water
quality research (many of which are directly relevant to NAWQA)
are:
· developing both an understanding of contaminant trans-
port and models of transport processes;
· improving water quality sampling protocols;
· expanding national water quality data collection networks;
· analyzing the trends and relationships revealed by the
data; and
· providing technical assistance in the interpretation of data
and the use of models.
OCR for page 28
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WETLA~DS
~espile lncrcased regulalory att~nlion, thz nation is losing
~ellands at an ~larming ratc. Onc probl~m wlth ~etlands protcc^
OCR for page 29
Future WRD Technical Niches
29
tion is that definitions of what constitutes a wetland differ with
regulatory jurisdictions. Another is that the functions of various
types of wetlands in a given hydrologic basin are not well under-
stood and are rarelY considered when permits for building on
wetlands are issued.
protection include:
.
~ is
Potential roles for the WRD in wetlands
· researching the functions of wetlands within a hydrologic
basin and the potential impacts on the. basin if the wetlands are
altered or destroyed;
· educating water resource managers about wetlands hydrol-
ogy and the roles of wetlands; and
.
trends.
conducting a national inventory of wetland conditions and
LAKES AND RESERVOIRS
Eutrophication and sedimentation in lakes and reservoirs are
natural processes that human activity can accelerate. Ensuring the
longevity of lakes and reservoirs depends on an understanding of
limnology. The WRD's potential roles in helping preserve lakes
and reservoirs are:
.
· investigating how watershed processes contribute to de-
creased water quality;
conducting operations studies for water supply and multi
ple use:
· supporting limnological research; and
· educating water resource managers about anthropogenic
processes that accelerate the aging of lakes and reservoirs.
ESTUARIES, HARBORS, AND BAYS
Understanding coastal marine processes requires a large data-
base and sophisticated models. Addressing concerns about how
best to protect marine environments for multiple uses will require
major new initiatives. Potential roles for the WRD in marine
research are:
· advancing development of contaminant transport and
dynamic flow models for shallow marine environments;
OCR for page 30
30
Preparing for the Twenty-First Century
· conducting prototype studies to evaluate the models in a
variety of estuary, harbor, and bay conditions; and
· collecting marine data and analyzing trends.
-
Representative terms from entire chapter:
water supply
