Instream Flows For Riverine Resource Stewardship

"[This book] presents the collective views and recommendations of the Instream Flow Council's (IFC) state and provincial fishery and wildlife agency members regarding appropriate instream flow strategies for managing, maintaining, or restoring riverine fishery and aquatic wildlife resources and processes. [It] also identif[ies] eight components that should serve as guidelines in establishing or improving existing agency instream flow programs and in developing prescriptions to be addressed in each instream flow assessment. These components include hydrology, geomorphology, biology, water quality, and connectivity as well as legal, institutional, and public involvement."--Page xxv.

Flows of the Columbia River, although modified substantially during the twentieth century, still vary considerably between seasons and between years. Lowest flows tend to occur during summer months when demand for irrigation water is at its highest and when water temperatures are greatest. These periods of low flows, high demand, and high temperature are critical periods for juvenile salmon migrating downstream through the Columbia River hydropower system. Although impacts on salmon of any individual water withdrawal may be small, the cumulative effects of numerous withdrawals will affect Columbia River flows and would pose increased risks to salmon survival. The body of scientific knowledge explaining salmon migratory behavior and physiology is substantial, but imperfect, and decision makers should acknowledge this and be willing to take action in the face of uncertainties. In order to provide a more comprehensive water permitting process, the State of Washington, Canada, other basin states, and tribal groups should establish a basin-wide forum to consider future water withdrawal application permits. If the State of Washington issues additional permits for water withdrawals from the Columbia River, those permits should contain provisions that allow withdrawals to be curtailed during critical high-demand periods.

The Klamath River basin, which spans parts of southern Oregon and northern California, has been the focus of a prominent conflict over competing uses for water. Management actions to protect threatened and endangered fish species in the basin have left less water available for irrigation in dry years and heightened tensions among farmers and other stakeholders including commercial fishermen, Native Americans, conservationists, hunters, anglers, and hydropower producers. This National Research Council book assesses two recent studies that evaluate various aspects of flows in the Klamath basin: (1) the Instream Flow Phase II study (IFS), conducted by Utah State University, and (2) the Natural Flow of the Upper Klamath Basin study (NFS), conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). The book concludes that both studies offer important new information but do not provide enough information for detailed management of flows in the Klamath River, and it offers many suggestions for improving the studies. The report recommends that a comprehensive analysis of the many individual studies of the Klamath river basin be conducted so that a big picture perspective of the entire basin and research and management needs can emerge.

Across the United States, municipalities, counties, and states grapple with issues of ensuring adequate amounts of water in times of high demand and low supply. Instream flow programs aim to balance ecosystem requirements and human uses of water, and try to determine how much water should be in rivers. With its range of river and ecosystem conditions, growing population, and high demands on water, Texas is representative of instream flow challenges across the United States, and its instream flow program may be a model for other jurisdictions. Three state agenciesâ€"the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ)â€"asked a committee of the National Research Council (NRC) to review the Programmatic Work Plan (PWP) and Technical Overview Document (TOD) that outline the state's instream flow initiative. The committee suggested several changes to the proposed plan, such as establishing clearer goals, modifying the flow chart that outlines the necessary steps for conducting an instream flow study, and provide better linkages between individual studies of biology, hydrology and hydraulics, physical processes, and water quality.

Rivers provide about 60 percent of the nation's drinking water and irrigation water and 10 percent of the nation's electric power needs. The multiple and sometimes incompatible services demanded of rivers often lead to policy and management conflicts that require the integration of science-based information. This report advises the U.S. Geological Survey on how it can best address river science challenges by effectively using its resources and coordinating its activities with other agencies. The report identifies the highest priority river science issues for the USGS, including environmental flows and river restoration, sediment transport and geomorphology, and groundwater surface-water interactions. It also recommends two cross-cutting science activities including surveying and mapping the nation's river systems according to key physical and landscape features, and expanding work on predictive models, especially those that simulate interactions between physical-biological processes. The report identifies key variables to be monitored and data-managed. It proposes enhancements in streamflow, biological, and sediment monitoring; these include establishing multidisciplinary, integrated reach-scale monitoring sites and developing a comprehensive national sediment monitoring program. Finally, it encourages the USGS to be at the forefront of new technology application, including airborne lidar and embedded, networked, wireless sensors.

Water scarcity is an increasing problem in many parts of the world, yet conventional supply-side economics and management are insufficient to deal with it. One of the key water management options for water demand is water trading. This book explores the role of water trading, as an instrument of integrated water resources management.