Aquifer Recharge, Storage, and Recovery - Southwest Hydrology ...

R & D (continued)Colorado, Nevada, Texas, and Utah,up to 44 percent for New Mexico.The researchers note that their findingsare consistent with previous studiesof extreme precipitation patterns. In1999, studies at the Illinois State WaterSurvey and the National Climatic DataCenter (NCDC) found that stormswith extreme precipitation becamemore frequent by about 3 percentper decade from 1931 to 1996. In2004, scientists at NCDC concludedthat most of the observed increasein storms with heavy and very heavyprecipitation levels since the early1900s had occurred in the last threedecades. In other words, the change isrelatively recent. Furthermore, NCDCfound that extremely heavy stormsare increasing in frequency morerapidly than very heavy storms—whichin turn are increasing in frequencymore rapidly than heavy storms.Environment America is a federation of state-based,citizen-funded environmental advocacy organizationswith staff in 23 states and Washington, D.C. The 48-page report is available at environmentamerica.org.Sandia Developing IntegratedEnergy-Water ModelResearchers at Sandia NationalLaboratories are developing an interactivecomputer model that integrates waterand energy demands for planning andmanagement purposes. The objectiveof the model is to “allow energy andwater producers, resource managers,regulators, and decision makers tolook at the different tradeoffs of wateruse and energy production caused byuncertainties in population, energydemand, climate, and the economy,” saidVince Tidwell, principal investigator.Concurrent with the energy-watermodeling, the research team will puttogether a set of optimization toolsthat could be used to assist in thesiting of power plants, balancing theenergy portfolio (including fossil,nuclear, and renewable fuels) to keeppace with growing power demands,and in making decisions about whento build the next power plant. Cost,availability of water and fuels, access totransmission lines, and greenhouse gasemissions all need to be considered.The research is in its second year ofthree-year funding. The team is nowcompiling data to go into the program.The model will allow users to tailortheir investigations to meet specificneeds. For example, they can get resultson energy and water scenarios at thenational, state, or local levels and willbe able to look at specific watersheds.This would be particularly helpful indetermining water-energy trends instates like New Mexico where most ofthe power is generated at in-state plantsbut used by people outside the state.“Energy data is provided by DOE,and water information is coming fromdifferent agencies,” says Peter Kobos,who is also doing energy modeling atSandia. “The challenge will be to haveenough data to tell a story. We thinkwe do. If not, we’ll identify gaps andaddress them as the project progresses.”Visit www.sandia.gov.Business Directory326 South Wilmot RoadTucson, AZ 85711Tel.: 520.326.1898info@HaleyAldrich.comHaleyAldrich.com21 offices nationwide• EnvironmentalRemediation Solutions• Water ResourceInvestigations• Environmental, Health,Safety Compliance• Environmental &Regulatory Strategiesjohn j ward, rggroundwater consultant- water supply - water rights- peer review - litigation support- expert witness - due diligenceTucson AZphone: (520) 296-8627cell: (520) 490-2435email: ward_groundwater@cox.netweb: www.wardgroundwater.com40 • May/June 2008 • Southwest Hydrology