Blog
Aquifer Hydraulic Characteristics and Why They are Important to Understand
If you are dealing with groundwater as a water supply, whether it is for irrigation, municipal, commercial, industrial, or other purposes, understanding the hydraulics of the aquifer(s) being used is critical to being able to both manage the resource and optimize its use.
LWS Presenting at AHS Symposium - Evaluating Well Sustainability in an Extremely Developed Groundwater Basin
Bruce Lytle is providing a technical session on modeling at the 33rd Annual Arizona Hydrological Society Symposium, on Thursday, September 16. The presentation, titled “Evaluating Well Sustainability in an Extensively Developed Groundwater Basin,” will be given in the technical session on Modeling. Ms Adrienne Soder, Senior Hydrologist with Arizona Public Service (APS), is the co-author/presenter.
Series: Colorado Water Law Basics #18 - Valuation of Water Rights
For any reasons related to the sale of water rights, or to the establishment of a conservation easement on land, it is important that water rights are valued, similarly to how appraisers value land and improvements on the land.
Colorado Drought Contingency Plan - Current Events
In a May 2021 LWS blog, we went over the basic concepts of the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan (DCP). In the past decade (2011-2020), Lake Mead has fallen into the Tier 0 water level elevation range, or below, in 8 of those 10 years. A historic graph of water levels at Lake Mead shows the lake levels have been in steady decline since 2000.
Tier 0 restrictions are currently in place; however, the Tier 0 restrictions are about to be replaced with a higher Tier 1 restriction, to be implemented on January 1, 2022.
Series: Colorado Water Law Basics #17 - Conditional & Absolute Water Rights: What’s the Difference?
In Colorado water rights there are two stages of water rights: conditional and absolute, which apply to all tributary water rights. An absolute right is a water right which has been proved in Water Court and the owner may use it indefinitely in accordance with their decree. Conditional water rights can be thought of as a trial period for water rights.
Series: Colorado Water Law Basics #16 - Colorado's Interstate Compacts - Part 2
Because Colorado is the source of significant surface water supplies for 14 states, there is the potential for Colorado to control the flow and use of water from each of these river basins that originate in Colorado but flow through 13 other states that rely on the waters of these rivers. To protect the availability of water to the states where these rivers flow, Congress has enacted interstate Compacts that determine the terms and conditions in which water is apportioned to Colorado and the other downstream states.
Fate and Transport Modeling for NAPLs
NAPLs (non-aqueous phase liquids) are non-soluble organic liquid contaminants commonly found in soil or groundwater caused by industrial releases, accidents, or spills. NAPLs can be categorized into DNAPL (Denser NAPL) for contaminants denser than water and, therefore, will sink to the bottom of the aquifer; and LNAPL (Light NAPL), which are lighter than water, will accumulate on the water table. Because of their toxicity and persisting nature, they pose a long-term threat to groundwater quality when present in the subsurface.
Particle Tracking in Groundwater Modeling
Groundwater models are sometimes used not only to evaluate groundwater levels and aquifer responses to stresses, but also as a backdrop for evaluating flow paths, concentration mass balances, and advection and dispersion of solutes within the groundwater. Particle tracking is the mechanism used in conjunction with groundwater flow models to evaluate these factors.
Colorado River Yield Projections
In August and January of each year, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) releases a projection of what Lake Mead on the Colorado River could look like in the next 5 years. You can find their projections HERE.. The projection is an intensive question that has far-reaching implications for all western states subject to the Colorado River Compact (see the LWS blogs on 11/17/20 and 5/4/21) and has many complexities and moving parts, thus a model was used by Reclamation to assess this question.
Water Supply Planning - Point-Flow Models
Modeling a system where values do not change is a generally simple task. But when dealing with systems like rivers, the flow in those rivers is constantly changing due to water being added from high water tables or tributary streams, or water is being lost from the stream due to diversions or loss to low water table aquifers. The flow in rivers is constantly changing both in time and location. To model river systems at LWS we develop tools known as point-flow models.
Online Course Covering Groundwater Artificial Recharge, Storage and Recovery
Bruce Lytle has been invited to instruct an online EUCI course on Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) June 23 - 24, 2021.
Attend this course to learn how ASR uses common techniques such as surface spreading, rapid infiltration pits and basins, porosity reservoirs and injection wells to efficiently store water supply.
Series: Colorado Water Law Basics #15 - Colorado's Interstate Compacts
As the state of origin for Multiple river basins, there is the potential for Colorado to control the flow and use of water from each of these river basins, whose waters flow through 13 other states that rely on the waters of these rivers. To protect the availability of water to the downstream states (where these rivers flow), Congress has enacted interstate Compacts that determine the terms and conditions in which water is apportioned to Colorado and the other downstream states.