Browsing by Author "Sheng, Z."
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Item The Development of a Coordinated Database for Water Resources and Flow Model in the Paso Del Norte Watershed(Texas Water Resources Institute, 2006-12) Granados, Alfredo; Srinivasan, Raghavan; Michelsen, Ari; Brown, Christopher; Creel, Bobby; King, Phillip J.; Tillery, Sue; Sheng, Z.This report fulfills the deliverables required by the cooperative agreement between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Texas Agricultural Experiment Station (TAES/03-PL-02: Modification No. 2) on behalf of the Paso del Norte Watershed Council. Tasks accomplished in this phase include (a) review of hydrological models in the region; (b) conceptual model of the Rio Grande flow; and (c) linkage protocol of the coordinated database and hydrological models. In addition, a training workshop on the RiverWare model was offered to regional water stakeholders. Twenty-four trainees attended the workshop at New Mexico State University on December 15-17, 2004. The Project Team also provided review on the FLO-2D model simulation of the Rio Grande flood control scenarios at the U.S. IBWC on August 3, 2005, review of QA/QC procedures of the real-time data collection, and assessment of regional orthophotographic images in 2005. This Project was conducted by researchers at Texas A&M University (TAMU) and New Mexico State University (NMSU) under the direction of Zhuping Sheng of TAMU. It was developed to enhance the coordinated database, which was originally developed by the Paso del Norte Watershed Council with support of El Paso Water Utilities to fulfill needs for better management of regional water resources and to expand the Upper Rio Grande Water Operations Model (URGWOM) to cover the river reaches between Elephant Butte Dam, New Mexico and Fort Quitman, Texas. In Phase I of this Project (TAES/03-PL-02), hydrological data needed for flow model development were compiled and data gaps were identified. The objectives of this phase were to develop a conceptual model of the Rio Grande flow between Elephant Butte Dam and American Dam by using data collected in the first development phase of the PdNWC/Corps Coordinated Water Resources Database and to enhance the data portal capabilities of the PdNWC Coordinated Database Project. The first part of this report (corresponding to Task Five of the contract for the Development of a Coordinated Database and GIS for Water Related Resources in the Rio Grande Watershed, written by Sue Tillery, Phillip King and Zhuping Sheng), summarizes the hydrological models developed for surface water and groundwater flows and management of regional water resources in terms of model configuration, advantages, and limitations of each modeling approach. This part of the report also identifies and verifies the availability of relevant hydrological data needed for development of the RiverWare model, especially hydrology of drain return flows. Based on previous modeling studies, the authors evaluated reasonable simplifications (through the use of look-up tables or similar tools) of interaction of surface and groundwater within the Mesilla Basin and Rincon Valley and developed the RiverWare conceptual model for the Rio Grande flow for the selected reaches and within the limits of available data. The second part of this report was written by C. Brown and B. Creel and summarizes the data portal enhancements to the PdNWC Coordinated Database for its linkage to the URGWOM development. This part of the report describes enhancements to the data portal capabilities of the Project through the development of a low-end user interface that would serve GIS-based graphics of each data set and enhanced metadata of relevant data sets. A literature search of bibliographic resources detailing GIS-based hydrologic modeling in the Paso del Norte region and linkages to these resources are provided via portions of the Project website.Item Estimated Benefits of IBWC Rio Grande Flood-Control Projects in the United States(Texas Water Resources Institute, 2004-09) Villalobos, Joshua I.; Srinivasan, R.; Sheng, Z.; Staats, Chris; Robinson, John R.C.; Morrison, Wendy; McGuckin, James T.; Madison, W. Tom; Jacobs, Jennifer H.; Freeman, Roger; Eriksson, Marian; Assadian, Naomi; Rister, M. Edward; Michelsen, Dr. Ari; Lacewell, Ronald D.; Sturdivant, Allen W.The International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) is responsible for maintaining a series of flood-control projects beginning in New Mexico and extending along the Rio Grande’s international border dividing the United States and Mexico. A review by the USIBWC indicate that, over time, the flood-control capability of the levees has been compromised, possibly to the point where the level of protection is below original-design capacities. Prior to investing federal monies in the rehabilitation of major flood-system infrastructure, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget requires an economic analysis of expected benefits, or losses avoided with implemented protection measures. Recent flood events along the international border, resulting in significant economic damages and loss of human life, emphasized the need for a timely assessment of impacts of potential flood-control failure. Given a short project time line mandated by IBWC and the large geographic extent of the river- and floodway-levee system, innovative methods were developed to conduct a rapid and preliminary economic assessment of the flood-control infrastructure. Estimates for four major project areas relating only to the U.S.-side of the border only (stretching from Caballo Reservoir in New Mexico to the Rio Grande’s mouth, near Brownsville, TX.) comprise the study’s focus. Millions populate the cities and towns along these economic reaches of the Rio Grande where extensive housing, commerce, industry, tourism, and irrigated agricultural production exist. Areas susceptible to flooding, along with land-use, were identified and quantified through high-resolution map imagery. Estimates of representative residential, commercial, and industrial property values and agricultural production values were developed from property assessment records, economic development councils, crop enterprise budgets and cropping patterns, census data, previous U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ flooding studies, etc. Gross economic values of flood-control benefits for a sample of each of the land-use types were determined and extrapolated to similar land-use areas in the flood zone. This analytical method provides a rapidassessment of potential flood-control benefits for a single event for each of the four IBWCdesignated flood-control project areas. An aggregate estimate arrived at by summing the potential benefits across all four project areas assumes avoidance of, or protection against, a simultaneous breach in all areas. Baseline economic benefits for agriculture and developed property along the Rio Grande Canalization project are estimated at $13.7 million (basis FY 2004). Comparable estimates for the Rio Grande Rectification project are $139.1 million, while those for the Presidio Valley Flood Control project amount to $2.9 million. The Lower Rio Grande Flood Control project is estimated to provide $167.2 million in flood-control benefits. Combined, the four project areas provide $322.9 million in flood-control protection benefits in the baseline analysis. When preliminary estimates of $183.0 million in other costs (i.e., emergency, roads, utilities, and vehicles) are added to the baseline estimate, the total floodcontrol protection benefits provided by the four project areas increases to $506.0 million.Item Geographical Information System Coverage For Characterization of the Pecos River Basin(Texas Water Resources Institute, 2007-01) Hart, Charles; Sheng, Z.; Villalobos, J.To develop a successful watershed protection plan for the Pecos River, it is very important to correctly characterize the river basin including vegetation coverage, river channel and others. The objective of subtask 1.1 was to delineate the Pecos River and its various characterizations using aerial photography. The aerial photography was high resolution and was acquired for the main channel of the Pecos River. The aerial photos were also taken to help differentiate invasive and non invasive vegetation (i.e. saltcedar and mesquite and other native species). Remote sensing was used to identify the various characteristics of stream channel locations, saltcedar overgrowth and treatment areas, and land use. GIS (Geographical Information Systems) was used to develop a baseline assessment of the Pecos River Basin’s characteristics (Stream channel morphology, riparian vegetation aerial photography, etc.). GIS will be the platform to create, view, and utilize data that was created or downloaded via the internet for the study region of the Pecos River Watershed. This report discusses procedures for data processing and mapping, and presented images produced.Item Installation of River and Drain Instrumentation Stations to Monitor Flow and Water Quality and Internet Data Sharing(Texas Water Resources Institute, 2008-08) Fahy, M. P.; Michelsen, A.; Srinivasan, R.; Creel, B.; Brown, C.; Sheng, Z.Over the last five years, the Paso del Norte Watershed Council’s Coordinated Water Resources Database and GIS Project (Project) was developed to provide improved access to regional water resources data for regional water stakeholders to make timely decisions in water operations and flood control. This report presents major components of the Project developed from August of 2005 through July of 2007 through funding provided by the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) through the Water 2025 Challenge Grant Program to the El Paso Water Utilities, Texas A&M University, and New Mexico State University. Additional documentation of related Project activities is provided through final project reports being submitted by the City of Las Cruces (CLC) and Elephant Butte Irrigation District (EBID) for the work conducted through linked USBR-funded Projects. Tasks accomplished in the phase of work funded by the USBR include the following specific outcomes, which are detailed in later sections of the report: * Continued compilation and inclusion of new data sources identified as relevant by Project partners and users; * Installation and calibration of additional new monitoring stations and equipment and inclusion of these monitoring sites in web-based GIS map products to fill data gaps and provide additional real-time data; * Linking to additional monitoring sites being implemented by EBID through their Project work and inclusion of these sites and data in web-based GIS map products; * Development and implementation of a user needs survey focusing on new data sets of interest, enhanced access mechanisms, and other suggestions to improve the Project website; * Development and deployment of an online, downloadable Microsoft Access database of Project water resource data to provide search and query functions; * Development and deployment of an online help facility to make the site easier for users to navigate and use; * Exploration of new tools to enhance online data sharing and access; and * Implementation of suggestions compiled in the User Needs Assessment, including resolution of problems related to accessing the Project website using Firefox and Mozilla web browsers. Keywords: Paso del Norte watershed, water resources database, GIS map, ArcIMS, data sharing and transfer, user needs assessment, Rio Grande, Rio Grande Project, gage station, surface water flow, groundwater, downloadable Microsoft Access database.Item Quantity and Fate of Water Salvage as a Result of Saltcedar Control on the Pecos River in Texas(Texas Water Resources Institute, 2007-06) Villalobos, J.; McDonald, A.K.; Hatler, W.; Hart, C.; Sheng, Z.This report presents results for the Subtask 3.3 of the Pecos River Basin Assessment Project sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB). The overall objective of Subtask 3.3 is to examine the hydrologic impacts of Tamarix spp. (saltcedar) control along a 5 km segment of the Pecos River near Mentone, Texas. This report is also based on work supported in part by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Agreements No. 2005-34461-15661 and No. 2005-45049-03209, Texas Cooperative Extension (TCE), and Texas Agricultural Experiment Station (TAES). As part of the deliverables of this project, an existing monitoring network of 8 wells was examined and enhanced with 9 additional wells equipped with water level loggers. Land surface profile and piezometric surface profile were developed to characterize interaction of surface and groundwater for different seasons as well as for verification of monitored water levels. Flow measurements were conducted during a release of water from Red Bluff Reservoir in March 2005 to determine losses or gains within the selected reach. Continued water level monitoring data provide more detailed information about water exchange between surface water and groundwater under different flow conditions. Correlation analyses of river stage and groundwater levels in monitoring boreholes provided further insight. Results show that the river is hydraulically connected with shallow groundwater for this 5 km segment, which is comprised of Sites A and B, near Mentone, Texas in Loving County. Generally, the river is losing water to the aquifer at both sites. A gentle hydraulic gradient exists on the east bank of the river while a steeper gradient occurs on the west bank probably due to different hydrological properties of soils. Seepage from the river not only recharges the shallow aquifer, but also creates groundwater flow parallel to the channel, which may eventually discharge back to the river downstream. The reversed hydraulic gradients also demonstrate complexity of the dynamic relationship between the river and the aquifer. Water loss at the treated Site A decreased dramatically following saltcedar control in 2001, and remained very low through 2004. This study conservatively estimates water salvage of 0.5 – 1.0 acre feet per acre from control of saltcedar at this particular site. Salvaged water most likely contributes to aquifer recharge rather than increased streamflow. Vegetation return in the form of native grasses and saltcedar re-growth at Site A may be the cause of corresponding increases in water loss in 2005 and 2006. Site A may also be affected by the untreated adjacent upriver segment (Site B), resulting in over-estimated water loss. Although the saltcedar water loss and salvage estimates presented here are believed to be conservative, the extreme differences in yearly site conditions throughout the study made it difficult to compare pre and post treatment calculations with confidence. It is recommended that additional flow measurements for longer reaches, enhanced monitoring of surface water and groundwater interaction, and further studies on hydrological impacts of saltcedar control be conducted. For future studies using the paired plot method, it is recommended that both sites be logged for at least 3 years prior to treatment. To reduce the potential for upriver treatment affect on downriver study areas, it is recommended that hydrological and ecological conditions immediately upstream of each plot be alike.