Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Programs. Kib Jacobson Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program Manager

Transcription

1 Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Programs Kib Jacobson Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program Manager

2 2 Overview 1. Background of salt-loading in the Colorado River System 2. Enactment of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act (PL ) 3. Colorado River Basin, Title II, Salinity Control Units and Programs 4. Salinity Economic Impacts Model (SEIM)

3 The Colorado River Basin 246,000 square miles Water for million people More than 4 million acres irrigated

4 The Problem Historically, 9 million tons of salt passed Lees Ferry every year 47% occurs naturally 53% is human-caused

5 9 million tons of salt would require a train of hopper cars about 1,000 miles long The Colorado River is 1,450 miles long

6 COLORADO RIVER BASIN Yellow outline Red: Upper Cretaceous salt bearing formations Federal lands Lt. Green Approx. 40% of Basin

7 Source Sectors Sources of Salinity Irrigation 37% Rangeland Badlands Springs Erosion 47% Reservoir 12% M&I 4%

8 Natural Salt-Loading Saline Springs and Groundwater Discharges Grand Valley CO

9 Natural Salt-Loading Evaporation, Transpiration, and Erosion Price, UT

10 Natural Salt-Loading La Verkin Springs

11 Human-Caused Salt-Loading Irrigation Practices

12 Irrigation Sources

13 Human-Caused Salt-Loading Reservoir Operations Lake Powell

14 Human-Caused Salt-Loading Crystal Geyser near Green River Utah

15 Damages Sectors 2014 Quantified Economic Damages $382 Million/Year 4% 2% 2% 2% 16% Agricultural - $280M Household - $62M Commercial - $15M Utility - $8M Industrial - $8M Other - $10M 73%

16 Agricultural Damages Crop Production Lower yields and limits type of crop Increases water use and operating & maintenance costs

17 Municipal Damages Accelerates appliance and pipe deterioration Additional treatment required and reuse capability reduced

18 Industrial Damages Accelerates pipe and machinery deterioration Additional treatment required for high tech applications

19 Colorado River Basin States In cooperation with Reclamation Clean Water Act of 1972 Water quality standards that include: Numeric Criteria Plan of Implementation

20 The Numeric Criteria Based on 1972 salinity data Calculated as a Flow-weighted Average Annual Value Measured at three locations in the Lower Basin

21 Numeric Criteria Hoover mg/l Parker mg/l Imperial mg/l

22 Below Hoover Dam 723 mg/l The Hoover Station reflects damages associated with the metropolitan areas of Las Vegas and southern Nevada

23 Below Parker Dam 747 mg/l The Parker Station reflects damages associated with the metropolitan regions of southern California and central Arizona

24 At Imperial Dam 879 mg/l The Imperial Station reflects damages associated with agricultural areas of Imperial and Coachella in California and Yuma Arizona

25 25 The Plan of Implementation Offset the effects of human-caused activities in the Upper Basin Maintain the numeric criteria thru 2035 Target objective control 1.68 M tons/year Reduce the economic damages Enactment of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act (Public Law )

26 Salinity Control Act 1974 PL enacted Title I Addresses US commitment to Mexico Yuma Desalting Plant Title II Measures Upstream of Imperial Dam Authorized 4 units Required cost share of 25%

27 Title II Salinity Control Program Administered by Reclamation Grand Valley Crystal Geyser (deauthorized 1984) Paradox Valley Las Vegas Wash

28 Grand Valley Unit

29 Paradox Valley Unit

30 Brine Disposal Paradox Valley Unit

31 Paradox Valley Unit Interception/Injection INJECTION WELL COLLECTION WELLS Dolores River SALINE GROUNDWATER

32 Title II Salinity Control Program 1984 Amendment- Authorized 2 units, de-authorized 1 Authorized USDA s on-farm salinity control program Required a cost share of 30% BLM directed to develop a program for minimizing salt contributions from lands it administers.

33 Title II Salinity Control Program Administered by Reclamation Lower Gunnison (Winter Water Replacement) McElmo Creek (Dolores Project)

34 The USDA Program Natural Resources Conservation Service Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Technical Assistance to improve irrigation efficiency Financial assistance Provides financial incentives of 75 to 90% of the cost of the irrigation improvements Remaining costs paid by the producers

35 The BLM Program Nearly 40% of Basin area is public lands administered by the BLM Salinity Control on public lands administered by the BLM Point source control (well-plugging) Nonpoint source control (rangeland management) Resources Management Plans

36 Title II Salinity Control Program 1995 Amendment Created Reclamation s Basinwide Salinity Control Program Cost share of 30% 1996 Amendment Authorized Up-front Cost Sharing

37 Title II Salinity Control Program Funding for Reclamation s Basinwide and NRCS s EQIP Programs Appropriations 70% Up-front Cost Sharing 30% 85% Lower Colorado River Basin Development Fund 15% Upper Colorado River Basin Fund

38 Reclamation s Basinwide Salinity Control Program Reclamation solicits new projects based on a competitive process open to the public Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Applications ranked on cost effectiveness ($/ton) and risk factors Highest ranking applications receive grants for construction of salinity control measures Most projects have been improving irrigation delivery systems

39 39 Basinwide Program FOA Year Average Cost Per Ton of Projects Selected No. of Projects Projects Selected Average Cost\Ton Tons Controlled $ , $ ,886 Combined Off-Farm & On-Farm ARRA Funding Off-Farm Delivery Systems $ ,839 Off-Farm Delivery Systems $ ,621 Off-Farm Delivery Systems $ ,611 Off-Farm Delivery Systems

40 40 Basinwide Program Projects Big Sandy (3) Blacks Fork (1) Manila (2) Uinta Basin (21) Price-San Rafael (18) Paria (1)

41 41 Basinwide Program Projects continued Grand Valley (3) Lower Gunnison (15) McElmo Creek (1) San Juan (2)

42 Burns Bench Project, Jensen UT Burns Bench Construction

43 Grand View Canal, Crawford CO

44 Lone Pine Canal, Cortez CO

45 Uinta Basin, UT

46 Title II Salinity Control Program 2008 Amendment Created the Basin States Program Basin States Program (BSP) Reclamation administers the BSP in consultation with the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council Amounts from the Basin Funds used for up-front cost sharing are now administered through the BSP.

47 Basin States Program (BSP) Reclamation administers the BSP with assistance from state agriculture agencies (SAG) and NRCS thru agreements Projects are selected thru a competitive process, i.e. Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) or NRCS batching process. Projects too small for Basinwide Program and not eligible for NRCS s EQIP. Ranked on cost effectiveness ($/ton) and other factors. Selected projects are awarded agreements with the SAG or with Reclamation for construction of salinity control measures

48 48 Basin States Program Average Cost Per Ton of Projects Selected FOA Year No. of Projects Projects Selected Average Cost\Ton Tons Controlled $ ,889 Off-Farm Delivery Systems $ ,032 Off-Farm Delivery Systems $ ,597 Off-Farm Delivery Systems

49 Federal Programs Bureau of Reclamation Lead Agency U.S.D.A. Natural Resources Conservation Service Bureau of Land Management Public Lands Support Agencies Fish & Wildlife Service Environmental Protection Agency U.S. Geologic Service

50 Title II Salinity Control Program Federal Agency Tons of Salt per Year Target Control by 2035 Controlled as of 2016 Remaining to Control Reclamation 761, , ,000 USDA-NRCS 793, , ,000 BLM 126, ,000 Unknown Total 1,680,000 1,306, ,000

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52 Habitat Replacement Habitat Replacement Uinta Basin, UT

53 Habitat Replacement Mallard Springs, Uinta Basin UT

54 Habitat Replacement Uinta Basin UT

55 Salinity Economic Impact Model (SEIM) Purpose of the SEIM: Provide a means to estimate quantifiable economic damages caused by salinity in the Lower Colorado River Basin. Provide a means to estimate the benefits of salinity control through the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program

56 Salinity Economic Impact Model (SEIM) Calculating Economic Impact: Identify With and Without SCP conditions in terms of total dissolved solids (TDS) levels. With SCP = With Plan of Implementation Without SCP = Without additional controls

57 Salinity Economic Impact Model (SEIM) Calculating Economic Impact: Estimate $ value of economic damages for With and Without SCP conditions at the 3 criteria locations. Calculate benefits of SCP by measuring the difference in $ value in economic damages between With and Without SCP conditions

58 Damages Sectors 2014 Quantified Economic Damages $382 Million/Year 4% 2% 2% 2% 16% Agricultural - $280M Household - $62M Commercial - $15M Utility - $8M Industrial - $8M Other - $10M 73%

59 Salinity Economic Impact Model (SEIM) Update the SEIM: Salinity Management Study Funded by Reclamation

60 Salinity Management Study Study Team: Southern California Salinity Coalition Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Colorado River Board of California Colorado River Commission of Nevada Arizona Department of Water Resources Southern Nevada Water Authority Reclamation

61 Salinity Management Study Objectives: Review, validate, and update the existing impact functions. Update cost and other input values. Identify and create new impact functions. Update the existing SEIM and test the model Prepare a report documenting all the update to the SEIM and sources.

62 Salinity Management Study Update: A Request for Proposals (RFP) should be released by Reclamation within the next month.

63 63 QUESTIONS?