Louisiana Freshwater Assessment:

Transcription

1 Louisiana Freshwater Assessment: Scientific Decision Support for Water Conservation and Policy Development Bryan P. Piazza, David P. Harlan, James F. Bergan, Joseph Baustian, Micah Bennett, and Zach Ferdaña

2 Recent Louisiana Newspaper Headlines Bayou Boeuf Drying Up Will bayou become Big Dusty? Low water levels on area lakes Natchitoches urges water conservation Bistineau water sales plan hits snag Opposition mounts against proposed Texas water sales from Sabine River. Salt water, quality concerns for Louisiana rice farmers

3 Mission: To conduct a comprehensive statewide assessment of freshwater resources in Louisiana. To provide a powerful, user-friendly online tool that is freely-available. To facilitate the ranking and user-driven prioritization of watersheds throughout the state. To create custom analyses and applications with partners for targeted decision support. To improve conservation and protection of Louisiana s watersheds.

4 Process: Met with partners to determine need and vet project ideas. Data assembly and system construction. Release internal site and re-vet with partners. Release public site.

5 Project Architecture 8 Digit Hydrologic Units Watershed Health (integrity, impairment, water quality, biological health) Surface/Groundwater Resources and Flow (statewide modeling) Coastal Connectivity (integration with Coastal Resilience GOM system)

6 Comprehensive Data Foundation U.S.G.S National Hydrologic Dataset 580,000 features. 125,000 mi. of rivers/streams 36,000 miles of canals/ditches Fish Data Up to 50 years of fish data (museum and state fish data) Nutrient Data 50 years of data (multi-parameter) and impaired waterbodies Surface Flow Modeling to catchment scale

7 Data Compilation and Display Data rich system. Land cover and use, protected areas, nutrients, impaired waterbodies, fish communities. Data display and metadata - users can access data and methods.

8 Summary information and metrics. Information that is useful for decision making. Current status of a watershed. Data Aggregation and Display

9 User-driven Multiple scales and multiple features. Return a report. Watershed Comparison

10 Water Use Intensity Flow-based product Investigate the intensity of water withdrawal and return in a watershed. App - GUI for decision-support.

11 Land-use Effects on Flow

12 Condition-based Stream Classification Flow-biology based assessment Classification based on changes in flow and effects on fish communities. Use relationships to evaluate effects of proposed water development.

13 Resiliency Indicators and Water-Availability Mapping Reflect existing condition or change in condition. Can use any IHA metric. Facility siting, water supply planning, withdrawal permitting, etc. Linked to changes in groundwater use.

14 A Freshwater Network (FreshwaterNetwork.org) Full integration with other geographies consume data and perform analyses (e.g. entire river systems like the Pearl River). Coastal Resilience GOM system Mississippi Freshwater Assessment Any other state that wants to join!

15 Applications Statewide water planning. Water withdrawal and flow issues. Design/management of coastal projects. Public policy and resource allocation. Healthy Watershed Initiative. Local watershed coalitions (e.g. Teche) Environmental damage assessment. Identify knowledge gaps and related opportunities. Develop custom analyses and apps with stakeholders to answer questions and make decisions.

16 Project Partners TNC, Mississippi Chapter TNC, Global Marine Team Research Triangle Institute, International Southern Illinois University National Science Foundation, IGERT Program Baton Rouge Area Foundation For more information: Bryan Piazza,