Climate changes. That’s what climate does. It is a natural and dynamic process. The National Weather Service (NWS) recognizes on-going climate change by publishing new figures for average climate every ten years. Climate averages for precipitation, temperature, and other weather parameters are computed on a 30 year basis but only...
Drought events are usually characterized by their duration, severity, and intensity which are calculated based on different indices for drought recognition. Streamflow Drought Index (SDI) used in hydrological droughts is applied in this study to calculate drought variables of historical events in Upper Klamath River basin in Oregon. Historical extreme...
Effects of climate change in the Cascade Range will likely include more rain, less snow, and earlier snowmelt in the Cascade Range as compared to present conditions. These changes, in turn, will affect the timing of runoff, groundwater recharge, and groundwater discharge to spring-fed streams. This hydrologic response needs to...
As part of a larger study to examine the effect of climate change (CC) on estuarine resources, we simulated the effect of rising sea level, alterations in river discharge, and increasing atmospheric temperatures on water quality in the Yaquina Estuary. Due to uncertainty in the effects of climate change, initial...
The specter of climate change looms large over Oregon. Although hydroclimatologic models predict a warmer Oregon, the total volume of precipitation may not change significantly. However, the character (rain vs. snow) and spatial and temporal distributions of precipitation will likely change. The state is already witnessing earlier snowmelt in the...
During 2009, the 75th Legislative Assembly passed House Bill 3369, directing the Oregon Water Resources Department to develop a state-wide, Integrated Water Resources Strategy (IWRS) to help Oregon meet its future water quantity, water quality, and ecosystem needs, while taking into account coming pressures such as population growth, changing land...
In order to efficiently reduce toxic loading to the Columbia River basin, sources and pathways need to be identified. Little is known about the toxic loadings coming from wastewater-treatment facilities and stormwater runoff in the system. This study provides preliminary data on these sources and pathways throughout the basin. The...
A key challenge for resource and landscape managers is to predict the consequences of climate warming on streamflows and water resources. Different approaches are being developed to forecast the direction, magnitude, and timing of future streamflow changes in specific landscapes. One approach that is being utilized in the Pacific Northwest...
Water related ecosystem services (WES), such as flow regulation, drinking water supply, temperature regulation, and water recreational activities, are affected by anthropogenic climate change. Forecasting potential shifts in such WES is critical to identifying the form and magnitude of likely impacts. We quantified the levels and values of WES under...
Across Oregon and other PNW states thousands of miles of rivers, streams and adjacent wetlands are chronically de-watered as a result of over-appropriated water rights. In Montana alone, chronic or periodic de-watering occurs in over 4,000 miles of streams across 381 different river or stream systems. The ecological harm resulting...
The Wolf Creek Restoration and Monitoring project is a large-scale restoration project that treated over 10 miles of stream with 900 logs and 3700 boulders over a two year period. Wolf Creek is a tributary to the Umpqua River west of Roseburg, Oregon. This presentation, designed for those involved in...
With the convergence of several economic, social, and environmental factors, dam removal has emerged as a feasible river management option. The Rogue River, located in southwest Oregon, is one of the few river basins in the United States to remove a number of large dams in quick succession. This paper...
While the negative effects of urban development on freshwater systems are well documented, impacts of human disturbance on water quality vary depending on land cover, local climate, and temporal and spatial scales of analysis. To better understand this variation, we analyzed water quality data for a total of 15 sites...
The USGS SPARROW model (SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes) was used to predict the long-term, average loads, yields, and concentrations of total nitrogen and total phosphorus for stream reaches located in the Pacific Northwest (the Columbia basin, Puget Sound basin, and Pacific drainages of Oregon and Washington), and to...
Peak discharge estimates are fundamental in the design of hydraulic structures, embankment protection, and stream restoration efforts, as well as flood risk analysis. Historic stream gage records are commonly used in the development of peak discharge estimates for a particular watershed. Use of an entire stream gage record assumes hydrologic...
WEST Consultants, Inc. (WEST) worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC) to enhance the flood forecasting capability and management strategies for the Willamette Basin. Specifically, WEST was contracted by the HEC to modify the existing HEC-ResSim model of the Willamette Basin. Reservoir operation schemes...
After three decades of active research in hydrology and stream ecology, the connection between solute transport, stream metabolism and nutrient dynamics is still unresolved. This existing gap obscures the functionality of stream ecosystems and how they interact with other landscape processes. To date, determining rates of metabolism is accomplished with...
The western slope of the Oregon Cascades receives up to 3500 mm of precipitation annually, with a majority falling between the months of November-March. In this maritime climate, the partitioning of precipitation between rain and snow is highly sensitive to temperature. Climate models generally agree that winter temperatures in the...
The Metolius River basin is a sub-basin of the Deschutes Basin within central Oregon. Considered one of the crown jewels of the state, this historically undisturbed basin drew attention in 2009 because the Oregon legislature designated the basin as the first Area of Critical State Concern (ACSC) under the state’s...
Human adaptation to change is an essential determinant in the resilience of complex social-ecological systems. In the field of water policy and management it has become increasingly clear that traditional government actors cannot fully address emerging water problems at every scale given a demonstrated lack of resources, increasing variability in...
An interdisciplinary study, USGS Columbia River Contaminants and Habitat Characterization (ConHab) project, is underway to investigate transport pathways, chemical fate and effects of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in aquatic media and the foodweb in the lower Columbia River. Polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) and...
The Columbia River Treaty has been in effect for over 45 years, but its future is uncertain. Starting in 2014, Canada and the United States will have the opportunity to announce ten years’ notice for termination of the current arrangement. As this artificial deadline approaches, stakeholders are working to determine...
Conventional monitoring to assess water quality of drinking water sources in streams and rivers is typically focused on identifying primary sources and conditions that are associated with mobilization of contaminants. This approach is often organized as a series of discrete samples collected in such a way as to capture the...
In this report we consider the Debye model along with Maxwell's equations (Maxwell-Debye) to model electromagnetic wave propagation in dispersive media that exhibit orientational polarization. We construct and analyze a sequential operator splitting method for the discretization of the Maxwell-Debye system. Energy analysis indicates that the operator splitting scheme is...
In 2008 the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) initiated a program to monitor Oregon’s surface waters and aquatic biota for the presence of pollutants that pose risks to human and/or environmental health. ODEQ’s Toxics Monitoring Program was first implemented in the Willamette River Basin (WRB) between 2008 and 2010....
The presentation discusses the economic value of Ensemble Streamflow Predictions (ESP) streamflow and energy price forecasts in the operation of the Jackson Hydropower Project in western Washington. A decision support system (DSS) was constructed for this multipurpose reservoir system for the evaluation of operational alternatives and improvement of operational procedures....
Oregon is perceived as a water rich state; however, as the 2001 Klamath Basin crisis demonstrated, Oregon is not immune to water conflict and problems. Due to its seasonal fluctuations in water availability and geographical variation, Oregon can be considered a water scarce state, with the majority of surface water...
The City of Damascus, Oregon has a current population of nearly 10,000 people and expects to grow to 50,000 residents by 2060. On the eastern edge of the Portland metropolitan area, the City is located in the Clackamas and Willamette basins with an area of almost 12,000 acres. Semi-rural in...
The elected County Commissioner-led Benton-Lane-Linn Water Resources Study Group evolved in early 2009 to help counties, their partners, and area residents understand, pursue projects and offer recommendations to governing bodies concerning the region’s water quality and quantity. The Study Group is building on 2009-2010 successes including community engagement to support...
River flooding is a recurrent threat and its control and management continues to be a challenge. It has been recognized that effective flooding control requires a real-time strategy that combines optimization with a physically-based simulation model. Current real-time frameworks that combine simulation and optimization have two main drawbacks. The first...
The McKenzie River serves as the sole source of drinking water for nearly 200,000 residents in Eugene, OR. The McKenzie River is also home to a number of threatened and endangered fish species. Whereas the majority of the upper watershed is forested, areas of rural development and agriculture occur along...
Oregon’s largest metropolitan region, Greater Portland, is home to a diverse array of water utilities though few have sufficiently robust water reuse and conservation goals. In determining the most beneficial way to allocate water-related public goods and natural resource management services, Oregonians are adapting to stronger legal standards among other...
“Exempt wells” are water wells that are exempt from one or more permit or other requirements in seventeen western states. Important policy considerations underlie the exemption, and only Utah does not exempt any water uses. However, some have expressed concerns about exempt water wells and the impact of the exemptions...
In January 2008, the Georgia Water Council approved the Georgia Comprehensive State-Wide Water Management Plan (GA Water Plan). The purpose of GA Water Plan is to guide the state of Georgia with managing its water resources in a sustainable manner. This means not only allowing growth in Georgia, but also...
The motion of floating objects are of importance to engineers and scientists in a
range of applications. For example, in the design of ships and wave energy convertors
and the study of debris mobilized by tsunamis. Measuring the movement of floating
objects in the laboratory can be challenging. Six degrees...
Climate change is expected to dramatically alter the timing and quantity of water within the nation’s river systems. These changes are driven by variation in the form, location and amount of precipitation that will affect the temporal and spatial distribution of river source water over time. To manage the impact...
In 2010 Oregon Environmental Council (OEC) embarked on a research effort to develop strategic, practical recommendations for advancing agricultural water efficiency in Oregon. While OEC’s report on this project will not be published until July 2011, we will share some of our initial findings at the Oregon Water Conference.
As...
There is reasonable expectation that climate warming will accelerate the hydrologic cycle, resulting in greater evapotranspiration (ET) and reduced groundwater recharge (R) (or stream flow). Though qualitatively intuitive, quantifying these potential shifts in water budget partitioning is a contemporary challenge in hydrology, because the linkage between ET and R is...
Ensemble Streamflow Prediction (ESP) provides the means for statistical post-processing of the forecasts and estimating the inherent uncertainties. On the other hand large scale climate variables provide valuable information for hydrologic predictions. In this study we propose a post-processing procedure that assigns weights to streamflow ensemble members using these large...
One important aspect related to the management of water resources under future climate variation is the occurrence of extreme precipitation events. In order to prepare for extreme events, namely floods and droughts, it is important to understand how future climate variability will influence the occurrence of such events. Recent advancements...
The decommissioning of dams, as an approach to restoring longitudinal connectivity and to managing aging infrastructure, presents valuable opportunities for organized study of channel responses to sediment pulses. Experiments with physical and numerical models suggest that rivers process coarse sediment pulses primarily through dispersion. In contrast, translation appears to be...
With the advance of climate change and growth of human populations and economies, the amount of freshwater in the world remains roughly the same as it has been throughout history. The amount economically available for human use is only 0.007% of the total, or about 13,500 km3, which is about...
The goal of the Whole Watershed Restoration Initiative (WWRI) is to restore natural functions of whole watersheds in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, while amplifying community-based partnerships focused on the strategic restoration of Pacific salmon and steelhead ecosystems. The WWRI partners (Ecotrust, NOAA Restoration Center, the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Northwest...
Pesticides are widely used to control undesirable pests and may be applied directly to water or lands directly adjacent to water. Pesticides are an option for habitat restoration but there can be unintended consequences to native, threatened and endangered species. There is very little information on the impacts of pesticides...
The Walla Walla basin lies in an arid region on the border of Eastern Washington and Oregon. A large portion of the area is devoted to agricultural production, relying on irrigation water diverted from the Walla Walla River and underlying aquifers occurring within Quaternary gravel and Mio-pliocene basalt formations. Heavy...
This is a Biological Assessment (BA) addressing the potential effects on aquatic species currently listed or proposed for listing under the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) from the construction of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Marine Operations Center – Pacific (MOC-P) in Newport, Oregon. The MOC-P is proposed...
NMFS No: 2010/02704. This document contains a biological opinion (Opinion) that was prepared by National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in accordance with section 7(b) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531, et seq.), and implementing regulations at 50 CFR 402.1 It also contains essential fish...