Cha pter 13

Case Stud ies In Hyd ro logic Eng ineeri ng :

Water Reso urces Projects
- Antonia Sebastian

Th.. Hoover Dam Bypon Bridgo. completed in A ~i"w 0111,11 rna ••;..... Hoovor Da m Stn..c tore WO$
20 10, . po n. the co nyon nea rly 900 feet Qbov.. co n$lrucled be -ween \ 93 1 and 1936 0 <;. 0 .. Block
lhe Colorod o Rivel. Canyon.

13.1 The 0.:1(1 gene ra tion of modem hydrolo gist'- ", ill fa ce un precede nted cha l-
1N11I00UCTI0N lenges in d e aling with th e e valuat ion and inves tmen t in exi s ting water
f C'!oOUf('C project s as well as the de veto pmera or ne w and in nova tive ones.
This cha pter explores some workl-rc nowned water resources projects Ihal
de mo nstrate h)"drol~ic ap plications at the h i~hC'St jevel of ach jevemc ut.
T hese include projects fo r the wa ter S~1>l c m. in ce ntral TClIa.S, the Co lor ado
Rive r basi n. a nd inte rnatjona! p roje ct s o n .he Th a mes Rive r nca r Londo n
and in Ch ina and Southeas t Asi a.
Ce ntra l T e xa s ts a p rime e xa mple o f a region racin g issues a t bot h en ds
o r the spect rum. T he complex ground wa te r aq uifer syste m has very little
long-te rm sto rage c apaci ty. O ro Ug.lll. ..coupled with ever-increasing pllpu la-
tion growth in the region. has forced wa ter ma nagers to addres.<,conseMiatio n
a nd look lO.....a rd alte rna tive wat e r s upp ly sources to mainta in a sustainable
system. Thic re gion is also a part of n ash n ooJ alley . a n are a where the hi gh-
est ra in fa ll and runorr rates in the co u ntry co ntrih ule III d an gerous flood ing.
Major wa ter projects h ave bee n d e velope d to re spond 10 these ch alle nges.
The C ity o f Sa n A nton io. h,u lle 10 I.J mil1 in n people. lies in the mi dst
o f ce ntr a l Texas. Th e Sa n A nlo nio Riv e r. rllll n in!l directly thro ug h th e cit y' s

72 0
 Ccse Styd'''' in Hyd rologic Eng ineering : Wo'er RcSOl,I!Us Pro ject. 721

d owntown, is one of the premier e xam ples o f struct ura l llood con trol used
to expa nd econo m ic oppon unity. l e H 'C S , d ilm~. tun nels. a nd sluice ga tes
ha ve all been l:>u ih to co n trol the ri ve r a nd to pr otect do wmown . The Sa n
A nton io Rlverwalk a nd ex pa nde d ri ver rea ch a re e xa mples o f sustainable
wa te r dev elo p me nt p rojects that ha ve become the cent er o f a robust tourist
economy a nd the livelihood o f the city.
water issues in the westem United Statcs far exceed those of centra l
Tex as a nd a rc WIlle o f the most comple x in the wo rld. O ver 2Omillion people
rely on the Colorado River fo r d rinking wa ter and irrigation. a rn..l much of the
U.S. too d s upply is p roduced from fa rms tha I usc this wat e r. How ever, this
un ruly source has o nly rece ntly been ta med. The seve n weste rn st ates tha t
re ly o n the Co lorado Ri ver cam e 10 nn ngre cmc ut in the 1920" o ver the divi-
sion o fthe Colorado River's wat e r. buttoda y the a n nual flo w o f the river is
ove r alloca ted. T he Co lo rado Rive r is one 01 the mos t heavily dammed, reg-
ula ted. a nd litigat ed rivers in the U nited States a nd SC f\l (.-S as a p rime example
o f how impo rt a nt wa ter resources are to the fab ric o f life and culture .
Th e grea tes t a nd mus t successful dam project o n the rive r was the
Hoover Dam built in the 1930s. No t lo ng af te r, G le n Canyon D am wa ~ b uilt
to gua rantee water to the Uppe r Bavin States. Hoove r D am h~ bee n a gre a t
success for man)' reasons. b ut Gle n Canyo n Dam has p rov e n 10 be more of
a n e nviron me ntal disaste r. Not onl y has it gre a tl) a rtected nows and wildlife
in the G rand Canyon N ationa l Pa rk , b ut ils rese rvoir h as inu nda ted o ne o f
the most awc - inspirmg c a nyo ns o n the Colo ra d o Rive r. lmc rnationa lly.
da ms ha ve le d 10 bes ted d iseu....vions a nd of le n their negative effects ca n
outweig h the N:nefi t.. o f construct ion.
The Tha mes River in England is an ex ampl e o f acoa.stal river s~'~te m tha t
faces bot h wate r q ua lity L...s-ues and nnoo,ling problems. H istorically, the Th am es
Rive r has bee n conta mina ted wilh sewage e ffluen t fro m London fo r hund reds
of ye ars- Mo re rece ntly, a mod e rn sanita ry sewer system has been des igned that
ca rries sewage aw ay from the rive r. Ad ditio nally. the Th ames Rive r is vulne r-
able to severe flooding Irom upstream snow melt and ra infa ll. as well as tidal
movemen ts a nd storm surge. Enginee rs have installed a nd design ed a sto rm
surge ba rrie r to protect London's infrastr ucture and populatio n,
Ch ina Ls a major de velo ping economy Ihilt has e normo us wate r supply,
flood ing. and "'aler q u.1tity proNcm s. \ia n) o f its rivers have bee n Of" are hei ng
dammed for rIouo..I con tro l in man)' regions. and a lready mere have teen ....,riOlIS
enviro nmenta l a nd sedi me nt issucr... The recent opening ofThn:e Gor~ D am
in 1994. the Iarge;1 in lhe world, is not without a host of proNem s. The Chinese
government also ad mitted thc da m has nep. liw ly impacted downstream river
water. sedimc nl t ran~port. and migra tion of citizens (Ke nl, 2011).
Th e above wat er reso urces p rojcc rs provo ke a series o r import a nt
qu es tio ns th a t p uzzle mode rn e ngi ne e rs: T o wha t e xte nt arc we able to
la me a nd re ro u te rive rs to se rve o u r needs? How high an d how big. must
we b uild before wc become a da nge r 10 ou rse fves? At wh a t point ha ve we
co nsu me d all the re newa ble reso u rces in o u r aquife rs? How rar m ust we
722 Cha plet' I J

regula te an d litigate to p rote c t o ur cemmu nines a nd pro vide wa te r fu r

future gene ratio ns ? A nd finall y. ...ha t role will clima te change p lay in
future .. ater resource proje c ts?

13.2 The: Ci ty of Sa n A ntonio is the seventh largest cil)" in th e U nited Sta te-s. It ~~
THEem OFSAN ho me: to 1.3 milliun peo ple a nd i ~ lhc la rges t c ity tn rely solely on ground -
ANTONIO-OEEP wat e r 10 sustain its population. The u nique ea rly his tory of the city sets the
INTHE HEART OF stage for the de velop men t o f an econo mic m ctrnpnli ~ loca ted directly on the
"US San Anto niu Rive r. Although the cuy rece ives appr oximately 29 inches of
rain a nn ua lly. rai nfall ca n var y anywh... re fro m 10 to 52 inche s in a give n ye a r.
In some yea rs, rive r be d s run praclicall y dry causin g cnizc ns 10 worry abou t
the stat e of the a qu ifer an d tri gge ri ng usag e restncuons. Ho we ve r, in othe r
yea rs the rive r 00\\"5 o ut o f ha nks ..-rea king ha voc a nd destruction.
Wat er ma nagcB an d policy make r-s in th e ("il)' o f San A ntonio have
been fo rced to address conservation. flood a hareme nt, a nd sustainable urban
plann ing in II region tha i reli~ heavi ly on a fractured hmes tone aq uifer for
il'" major wa te r s upp ly a nd a river p£OTle 10 flooding for its e conomic , 'ita lity.
San A ntonio's pro ven success in coose rvmg a nd managing wate r has made
it a natjonalle adcr in wate r supp ly managemen t. f o r e xa mple. the Riv er-
walk a nd expa nde d rive r reach i~ n ne uf the rnc st successful wat er resource s
pro jects in the Un ited States und has mo tivated simila r de ve lo p men t inte r-
na tiona lly.

A arief Hi~Jory 01 Water Use

S ut long ane r th e Spa nish Conquist adores be gan a rr iving in Te xas in !!W I.
they discover ed tha i Ihe area around " 'hal is toda y Sa n Anl on io cou ld be a
po te ntia l coloni al frontier nort h o f Mex ico an d a permanent stronghold
against F re nch espansicn from Lo uisiana. B~' the ea rly' I7lk k , the Sp an ish
had bui lt five m issions a lo ng the hanks o f the San Antonio River. whic h
became Ihe large'" concentration of Calhol ic mesionv in S onh Ame rica
(F i g. 13-1).
T he m issions ac te d as ce n ters fo r milita ry. rchgrous. a nd cultu ral
instruc tio n uf the na tive Ind ia ns, nnd th e ranching practices develope d o y
the Spaniards at the missio ns later be ca me the bnviv fo r th e US. agncult ure
a nd cat tle ind ust ries. Oue agric ultural techn iqu e use d by the Spa niar ds was
10 transport water us ing a series of Irrig ation ditch es, dam s. a nd aq ueducts
know n as acc q uias (Fig 13-2). Se ven aceq uia syste ms linked the fis',: mis..iuf\S
crea ting a IS- mile net..ork th at was capable of irrigating 3500 acres . This
was the first mu nicipa l water d isrrihUliun system in the 10we r.lS sta tes a nd
continued 10 serve as me city 's sok wat er s~'l>re l11 fo r almost two h und re d
years {Eckh ard t, 201 1). E ... e n 1000ay. pa n s o f the s}"'le m a re still in U$C,
San Anton io is I'oest known fo r the h i~lorjc Bank o f the A la mo, whe re
a fe w dozen defe ndc rw held their gro und while ~Iellica n soldiers laid siege 10
the mission. In the end. Te xas gained its inde pe nde nce from Mexico at Sa n
Jaci nto near Ho ustutl in 1836, and was a n ne xed into th e U nite d Sta tes in
 723

fIgUre 13-1
Miuion Son
Anlonio de
VO....o, built in
17 18 along !he
Son Antonio Ri"" "
is ~ nown today 0 '
the AIomo .

•
lK45, After the C ivil War in 11'\65. Tex as jo nghumca ulc beca me prized for
their ha rdy natu re . a nd ove r Ihe lWO decades immed ia tely following the War.
cattle drives wen: a common site throughou t tho: state. Cowboys were able In
lead the carne north through Texas. Oklaho ma. a nd Ka nsas fur UH : r 2O~·ear.;.
due 10 a mple wat e r suppl iel> alo ng the tra il'>. The last b i~ d rive was in lHX.'i
when a severe winter follow..'<1 by drou ~ h l forced many TOsc ut hcir animals.

Figu~ 13-2
Tho Eopodo
ocequ'o ave<
Piedra> Creek
wo, built by early
Span ish .elIlef5 to
co rry wote r from
the Soo Anlooi o
Ilive . to rh.. mill-
IcY ;,.,;go.

-
lions
nor. and dr", king
724 ChoplfH' 13

In early 1901. oil \lia\ discovered in TClIO a<I. and the Ea...t Teu.s Oil Field turned
ou t 10 be massi..c and od well\ sprang up overnight. Further investigation
revealed that much oflbe stale sat on oil resert..es, and the rare fOf the b lack
gold began. an indlL~tr}' very de pendent on a rich source of wate r.
In the IlNt'ls. a prominent figure in San Antonio, George Bracken ridge.
obse rved that spring no....-s were Iluctuaring wildly co rrespondin g 10 the
amount of rainfalLl ie was concerned that the springs were not a sustain able
source of water (or the growing populatio n. In respo nse. he drilled major
artesian wells on his prope rty near the headwaters of the San Antonio River.
and ot her citizen s bega n drilling wells due 10 a droughtthat gre atly reduced
spring flows. The abundant undergro und resou rce and the imp rovemen t in
....ell drilling methods at the turn of the cen tury allowed the expansion of
drilling to take place and created the platform for substa ntial urban grow th
near San Anton io.

The Edwa rds Aq uifer is the mitjor aqu ife r se rvin g central T exas and San
Antonio. A bout 2011 million years ago . cen tra l Texas was covered by a
sha llow sea. As this sea oscillate d back and torth.f he Edw ards limesto ne
fo rma tio n was exposed to t he elements. During t he late Cre taceo us
Period . sed ime nts were dep osited on to p o f the e:xpllsed rock . tr ap ping
the water in the crevices between the old and ne w lime\lone and for ming
the Ed wa rds Aq e ife r. About 70 million years ago . .....ind deposited eve n
more sediment s on tllP of the Edwa rds formanon. and the weight of the sed -
imcn rs caused re cns 10 form betw.. cc n th e Edwa rds Pla teau and lh.: Gul f
of Mexico . The most visible expression of these fa ulrs is the Ba jco ees
Escarpmen t which marks the trensinon of lhe: G ull Coast Prairie to the
Texas Hill Cou ntry.
Some of the most extreme rainfall-runoff rates in Ihe country occu r
along the Balcones Escarp men t. As streams Row across the perme able, frac-
tured carbonate: roc ks. their base Ilo..... see ps thruugh the rocky, clay laye r
and into the conduits of the: recharge zone, an aren of approximate ly 1250
sq uare miles (EAA. 2011). Beneath the surface of the recharge zone. wate r
Rows into the artesian zone of the aq uifer. Here, lhe water is under so much
pressure between limestone confining units thai it can reach the surface
.....ithout pum ping, in the form of artesian ....ells or sp rings. In parts of the
aquifer these spri n ~, seldom go dry. while in others their Ro...-varie s great ly
frum year to year. Average ground...ater velocities can range from 27 fectl
da y to 6000 feet/day depend ing on the region of the: aq uifer (A rdis and
Fahlquist. 21Wl4 ).
Today. the Ed wards Aq uifer lies beneath eighl co unties. including
the more heavily' populated Bella r. Comal, H ays. Uva lde . and Medina
Counties (F ig. 13- 3). II cove n an area of approxima tely 3600 square miles
and is 180 miles lo og and anywhere fro m 5 10 40 miles wide (SAW S, 2011).
 Case Studies io Hyo'fologic Eoginee<'og: Water llelOl,uCfls Proie<B

,- ,
-
-~ ~

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- ?
~

7
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".
L.

/
/

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F"1g.... 13-3
The Edwa,ds Aquifer se,,,,, _ a pproxima tely 2 mill ion people in Ce nlrol Texas,

The demographics of th e re gion abo ve the a quife r includ e farm and ra nch -
la n d . u rb an rnerropohses. and ind us tria l sec to rs. as well a~ to u rist an d
recr eationa l a reas a lo ng the riverv an d ~pr i n gs. The aq uifer also su p plies
water 10 major T exav ci ties. incl udi ng.San Anro mo. ....rvi n!! a n estima ted
2 mil lio n peopl e in 20111 (EAA. 2011). A n nu a ll)' the aqu ife r is ex pected
10 yie ld approxima tely 0.45 mi llion ac- ft o f water (D onahu e an d Klaver ,
2(05), Aquife r wat er q uality is l!eno: rall)' good. hut the re arc some issu O:l>
of co nce rn.
Th e aqu ifer's ca pacity has been estimated to he about 173 m illio n
<le-ft of wate r. It is cons ide re d o ne o f the mos t productive gro undwate r
126 ChopiM 13

svstc ms in the Un ited Sta t~ ( E A A . 2011). H o weve r, beca use th e aqui rer
is artesian. wat er levels are highl y depende nt o n Ihe amo unt of annua l
ra infall. In year.> Illit b heavy ra infall. the wa ter flows freely from spnn gs.
but d urin g lon g d roughts, the aCtivity' in the aq uifer d ecreas es a nd the
ec o no mic and env iron me nt al co ste of pu mping wa te r fro m th e aqu ifer
increase sign ificantly'.

A1 k1m<1tive Sovro:el 01 Water

T he Edw ards Aq ui fer A ut hor ity (E A A ) projec ts thatIh c po pulation se rved
by the aq uifer will gro w fro m 1.9 million in 2010 to J million by 2U.'iO and that
annua l de mand Ill'ilI reach 05 million ac -ft. Such projections have Icd 10 se n-
nus discussio n) o ver the futur e availa bility o( th e ....ale r resource a nd the
ne ed for long-term resou rce pla nnin g, including t he diversilic anon of ...atcr
resources. Th e San Anto nio Wa ter Syst em (S A \\'S ) ha s led the cha rge .
developing a 5O-y'ea r ....ate r plan thai ide nl ifies ways 10 cr eate long-te rm
...arer storage. employ recycl ing and conservation gools, and dewlop alte rn a-
uve water sources.
One of the mos t groundb rc aking ....-ater reso urce developments was the
cr eatio n of the Twin O aks Aquifer Sto rage and Reco very (ASR ) facilit y by
SA WS, Com pleted in 2U04, at II tota l CC);; t of $255 millio n, the facility is
located in the Carrizo Aqu ifer. Wat er can be injected into the sand aquifer,
cr ea ting a bu bble o r dome that can be accessed later whe n the re is a shortage
of wate r in th e Edw ard s Aq uife r. D uring wet ye a ~, ....ater is pumped fro m
lh e Ed ....ar ch Aquifer into the Eartizo A quifer a nd store d at the A SR faci l-
ity, Then, d uring drought period s, the wate r is ret urned to the distribu tio n
system 10 meet dema nd. Un like a surface ....ater reservoir, no wate r evapo-
rates. Estimates are that mo re than 0.1 millio n ec-It of water ca n be sto red
at the facility (SAWS. 2011).
T he city ha s bee n using recycled wate r to cool elect rical gen era ting
planls since 1963, ami by the yea r 21101.1 San An to nio had the nat ion 's largest
recy cled wate r distrthution system (Ec khard t, 20 11), MUTe than 80 miles of
pipel ine can provide abo ut 2U% of the city's to ta l ...atc r ca pa city. Rec ycled
wat er is supplied to co mmercial and indus trial custo mers fo r non-po ta ble
uses. such as irri gatio n and cooling. and use d to s upp le ment base-flow in
cree ks a nd streams as well as the San A nton io Riverwatk. SA WS ha s tak en
th e initiativ e to ed ucate the pu blic about the uses of recycled wat er. en~:(lu r·
agillg th em ro co nse rve a nd he ighteni ng awareness a rout wat er sho rtage
issues in the ar ea. Th rs effo rt ha \ been complimen ted b) t he deve lopment
uf mo re erncem ho me appliances and la ndsca ping. Since 1987, desp ite a
SO"," incre ase in wate r use rs, there has been no increase in water consu mp -
tion (SA WS. 201 I ).
Despite co nservatio n initianv es. the Ed...ard.. Aq uiter does no t have
Ihe ca pacity to solely' s upply the cuy's wate r in the (UIU n:. SA WS has loolccd
to the Lowe r Cclorndo R ive r A uthority (l C R A ) in Te xas to sup pleme nt
 Cc ee Studies in Hydrologic: Engin".,. ing: Weier R"seUfc" s Projects 727

water suppl~' hy pipi ng wa ler Irom the Lo.. er Co jor ado Rive r tu Sa n A nto-
nio. The eq uivalent of 50% of a nn ua l ...ithdra wals from the Ed wa rds A q ui-
fer could he d ra .. n acr oss the p ipe line (Ea rl a nd VOlle k r.1Im). l n:!OJ!.
SA WS and LCRA reach ed a n agree ment. i1l1""in g Sa n ,\ n lo nio to pu rchase
ISlUU I ac-ft of Willer (rom LCR A for up to &l years. The project was esn-
mat ed 10 CO'<I abou t $ 1 b illion. hu t hy 2(WlIl the estimate d W!>I o f the project
ha d increa sed b y anot he r $1 hilli"n a nd th e rnaxirnurn p rojected ~'i e ld
d ec re ased 10 ':IlU UI ac-n. Th en in 2al9. the LCKA pred icted tha t re gional
pop ulati o n growth made supply ing additional water 10 Sa n An lnnio un fe a-
sible. By' May. SA WS d eclared thatthe I.C R A was in bre ach of contract a nd
en de d all disc ussions.
SAWS has als o p roposed that hy 21)(" . ol1c alt er native may he 10 de sal-
ina te ocea n wa ter and p ip<: il hack to Sa n Antonio. Howeve r. the e co no mic
and en vironme nta l COSIS a rc e normous nnd the feas ibilit y o f s u<:h a p roject
wo uld ne ed tn he fu rt her e xplo re d . Ma n) other a qu ife r an d pipi ng projects
and p ropo.,als exist. bUI will nOI he cov e re d he re. For more info rmat ion.
please refe r 10 the website edwardsa qujfcr.nc t.

Edwards Aqwifer Management a nd P,........

A major Jrough t e ncompassed mu ch o f th e U nite d Sta les from 1 ~ ~ I 956_
beginning in Ii'll: So ulh.. est a nd cove tin g III sta tes by 1954 (NCOC. 2003 ).
In Tens. d rought condinons .....e re so se vere that the a quife r fe ll 10 the low-
est lewis e ve r reco rded. Som e farm er s reported tha t rain had nOI fa lle n on
th e ir property fo r mere than seven years and the San MarCO'> Sp rin gs. Ihc
larges l artesian spring.~ in Te xas. ran completely d ry. leadi n g. 10 inte nse co n-
ce rn ov e r the future ava ilab ility a nd ma nagement o r the l'dw an h A q uife r
as a wa te r re sou rce.
w ater manage rs re ly on mo nitoring wens to measu re press ure wit hin
the aq uife r. O ne nfthe we ll records. the J-17 lndex We ll in San Antonio. has
bee n u!>C J s ince 1956 a ~ a n indicator of Ihe hcnh h o f the a q uife r. The J- 17
..'ell is loca ted o n a major Ilo wp a th of the uquile r a nd thu s re spo nds q u ic kly
to press ure cha nges fro m p u mping o r recharge. Sim ilarly. lhe le vels in the
J-17 ...ell can he rela ted to majo r a rl e~i a n s pring flows such as the Co ma l
Spri ngs and San Mar cos Springs IFig . 13-1 1. Th e abse nce of sp ring flo .....
causes nvers to ru n Jry a nd lake levels 10 decrease d ramatically. a nd aquifer
dep letion ca n a lso cause severe environme nt al da ma ge to the un de rground
ecos yste m. The Edwards Aq uife r is home 10 man)' fresh .. a tcr species of
salamander, cal fi~h. sh rimp. a nd e ther orga ni~nts. eigtnot wh ich have bee n
placed on the endange re d sp...'"Cies li.,t.
Historicall y. the A qui fe r was subject h ) " righl of capt ure" laws. allow-
ing illl)OUe with wells d rilled into the aq uifer 10 use unlimited wate r ~uprl ies ,
T his h as led to significa nl ue pleriun o f Ihe resou rce. especia lly a , the \' 0 1-
urnes dra wn fro m the aq u ifer eonl inu;llly increa se. In I9'J.t Senate Hill 14n
established the E A A 10 manage. co nserve. preserve . a nd protectthe a q uife r.
728 Cho~ , 13

F;gw. 13-1 t: _" ". 'K ~'

Votiol;on$ in
, 1 """"""' .......11.11
Edwards Aquifer
lewis m80SU,ed <;II '"
@""
the J.) 7 monilcJr-

A~
ing well in BeJ<CIr 600 •
i" "" f~\.
~t
Counly_

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and in 200 1 tho: EAA be gan limiting pu mp ing by issu i n ~ pe rmits. Inle nd ing
til p ro tect spring Ilo ws by 2012. the Au thority esta blished ju ni()r a nd se nior
p umping right s. Th irt y po: rcc nl of the reductions were e xpecte d to be seen
as perman ent in 2tJUI . and ano the r tJO% o f re d uc tio ns as permane nt 11)' 2(X)R.
d cpend mg on po pu latio n increase . The permns a re transferrab le. allo wing
fanners and municipa l wate r pu rveyo rs to b uy, sell. a nd inves t in ..-ithd ra wa l
pe rm its (Dona h ue a nd Kla ver . 20(5 ).
Aquifer ma na gem e nt is one o f th e most p res smg poli tical d jscu ....ion s
in central Texas tod ay. His torically. wa te r resou rce pla nnin g has bee n ba sed
on the d rought of the 19505. the wont d rou ght o n r ec ord. H owever. there ili
some disc ussio n tha t with clima te cha nge more sev ere d rough ts co uld ( ICC U'
a nd ma nage rs wo uld he u np repa red 10 a dd ress the extre me wat e r sho rta ges
thM wo uld tra nspire.
In 19',1::;, the E AA ma nd ated wate r-usc cutbac ks to ad d ress red uced
spr ing flows and alarmi ngly low aquitcr levels for the first time. By 2007. the
EAA had d evelo pe d a mu ttiphasc pla n to red uce aq uife r withdrawal d uring
d rou ght periods tha t met state ma nda tes. The plan ha.s fo ur cruicalpe nod
stages determine d by aquifer je vels at the J-17 Ind ex We ll a nd the Conw l and
San Marcos Spri ngs Ilows, Each critical period stage is tri ggered wncn the
100day a verage aquifer level Of spring no ... i1i belo... the minimu m value of the
nu l stage. The cri tical stages from 110 IV ra nge (rom w ater levels < 600 It 11t~.
< 650 h . < ~) fl. "nd < 630 h msl and provid e wilhtl rll...al rcd uctions ol 20%.
30%. 35%. and oW%.
Al lhough th e EA A ma nda tes tho: pe rcent with d ra wa l re d uction. it
d ocs no t d e termine ho w tho: c utbacks are me l by the i n d i~ idual use rs. C ities
relying o n the Ed wa rd , Aq uife r ha ve c re a ted th eir u wn res trictions to me e t
 •
COWl Stud;8S in Hydrologrc; ElI9ineefiog: Wa ter ResoorcBli Projects

each cr itical stage red uctio n. Fo r exa mple, 10 reduce wate r cu nsumplion in
San A nton io. Stage II resrricrions prohibit the use of fount ai ns, waterfalls.
or ot he r aesthetic water fea tures booth cu tdccrs and indoors, More informa-
tion about San Antonio's critical sta ge-ba sed ..-ate r restrictions OlDbe fo und
at www .saw....org'conservanon/,
D uri ng lOl l. La Kina condi tiol1l> enco mpass ed ce r ural Te xas bri nging
hot, dry ai r 10 ce ntral TClI:(IS an d \;rtualll eliminating the hope for any rain
ea rly in the year. In July 20 11. th e EAA had declared Stage II drough t
restrict ions (SAW S. 2(1 1). T he se ve rity of Ihi s d ro ught concerns water man-
agers be ca use . while it is not th e lo nge st droug h t o n record . no r is the aq ui-
fer at its lowest histori cal level, il is the driest and hottest ei ght-mo nth period
on recor d since 1t;1I5 (LC R A, 2011). Th e Texas State climatologist declared
this drought as the most se vere one-year drought in Texa s histo ry. Usually
seve re droughts e nd in T exas afte r it seve re sto rm or hur rican e d rop s sig-
nifican t rainfall o ver the regio n ca using aq uifer levels 10 nse and often res ult-
ing in significant ove rland flooding.

T exas is a ccu..romed 10 month- or yea r-long d roughts . le ading to intense

....ater sho rtag..-s th roughoe t tbe sta te. as discussed in the pre vious sections.
However. in MIme yean, inte nse rainfall exceeding 10 inche s pe r day leads
10 signifJam l flooding. In Iact. cen tra l T exas often receives mOliI of its annual
rainfall in a few large events ra ther tha n st ea d y pr ecipita tio n thro ughou t the
year. T hin soils. exposed be drock a nd sparse vege tation. as we ll as stee p
slo pes. prod uce som e of the highest ru noff rates in the cou ntry. mak ing the
Texas H ill Co unt ry the most flash flood-pron e area in the U nited Stale s.
Th e I H-35 co rridor. span ning from Dallas to San A ntonio. has been
appro priately limned Flash Flood A lley. Stre ams and river s receiving runoff
fro m the Texas H ill Coun try compounded with he avy rainfall ca use massive
Iloodmg in the flat, gulf coast pl ains. He lwee n 1959 and 2005. 760 flood-
rela ted death s occurred in Texas . ra. nkinll it the numbe r one for nood -retatcc
fata lities. injuries. a nd cas ualties ( A ~h l ey and Ashley. 201J!'1).
In ce ntral Te xas. peak disch arges coe ur much mo re qu icldy than in
othe r wate r)hcJs d ue tu the slope and in te n.~ity 01rainfall, catching resident)
off gua rd an d puttin g them in the \l,ay of the Ilood. tloodpl<$in maps ar e often
subject to political pressur es and ma y be inaccu rate by the lime they ar e
finally made pu Nic. In T exas. floodplain\ are heavily dispu ted terri tory and
become resident ial because o t warcrfrcm views, ~{any casualt i~ OCl:II r whe n
d rivers atte mpt to traverse 10'" wat er crossings while e\ ao.:uat i n ~ (Fig. 13-5).
Since flood ing is infreq uent a nd o tte n une xpected. central Texan" assume
thai in their lifetime no significant flood ..... ill occ ur. H o wever. in 1995 and
again in 21XI2. f1 a.~h Ilood alley lived up to its name.
Hist or ically. unpre cedented Ilo.. di n~ occurred in so uth-centra l Tex as
in Oc tob e r Ill/IX. Nc ar pe rfect co nditio ns caused to rrentia l ra ins between
730 Chople< 13

Figure 13-5
floodiog 0 1 a low
water craning be--
hind Olmos Dam
during Ottobet-
2002 Io«:ed c"y
monoge-l lII) dose
US-2S I.

Au.s.t in a nd Sa n An tonio. d umping up to 22 inches o f rain at some locations

(U.S. Depa rt me n t of Commerce. 1999). F la sh flood ing bet .. ecn A ustin an d
Sa n A n to nio be gan on October 17, a nd by th e e ve ning of the 18th, seven
rive r bas in.., d ra in ing a pp roxi ma te ly 10.1"10) sq uare m iles. were affec ted by
flood ing. R eco rd pea ks ..occur red at 15 rive r loc a lions. and groun d -wa ter
levels in monito ring we lls rema ined 100 feet a bov e the normal fo r 1" 0 we eks
afte r the stu rm.
T he mo st no ta ble flooding occ urre d in C ue ro. T e xas, a bu ut llO m iles
so uth wes t o f Sa n A nto nio. Pe ak flow s we re thre e times tho se pr eviously
reco rde d , a nd the floo d plai n was 3 miles wid e (U.s. De pnruuc nt o f Co m-
merce. 1999). A pp ro xima te ly 43% of homes were d estroyed by the flooding,
an d proper ty da mage a mou n ted to S750 m illion. In ad d it io n. mo re than
10.000 people we re dispfaced. It is importa nt to no te thatthis flood e ve nt
was no t out ul th e o rd inary. On a ve rage . majo r floo di ng occurs o n the G ua -
da lupe River every five years,
In 2(" 12, a stationary a rea of lo w p ressure d e velope d o ver ce nt ra l
T exas, In ea rly J uly. parts o f the Hill Coun try re ceive d in e xcess of 30 inches
o f rai n (Purp u ra c t al.. 2009 ). Si~ ni fiCar'l t flooding occurred on the G ua dal -
upe , Sa n A momo, Atascosa, Frio. and Nucces Rive rs. 1I0w e ve r. u nlike the
199!l storm , the 21ltll eve nt d ro pped most o f its ra in a bo ve Canyon Lak e.
Canyon Dam "as const ructed in l<,l.sl-i at the e dge o f the Balcones Escarp-
me nt to eonSCT\'C wa te r an d 10 p ro tect the lowe r Guada lupe River Basin
(ro m nu...Ji n~. The reservo ir ca n hold up 10 72Il,400ae-ft u uring flood coodi-
nons. but d ur ing 21m wate r crested the d a m spillway. a nd e me rgency ma n-
a gers reared the possibility uf d a m fa ilure .
 Ccse Studi... in HydfOlog; c Engineefi ng ' WO!f~r Re$QV.ce$ P,o jecb 731

Ca nyo n Da m provided Wille pnlleC1 io n to downst rea m comm unuics;

ho weve r. the i n l r: n sit ~· of Ihe ra infall a nd a mo u nt of wa te r lltlwinl!- from the
U pper Gu.uial uJlf: Rive r was mo re tha n dou bled th e Cl pad ly o f Ihe reser-
vo ir. South of th e d a m . lU I hc mev were washed downstrea m (Ec khardt .
20 11). ma ny o f ...hich had bee n rebuilt a fter the 1998 flood eve nt. Th is 1)1""
o f event could occ ur in a numbe r of T r:u s cines. as so man) are b u ilt alon g
majo r Ti ~ e rs a nd strea ms. Sa n A n lo n io ...a~ found ed o n the Sa n An tonio
Rive r, a nd much of the city's d ow nto wn is p ru ne to flood ing. Conseq ue n tly.
significa nl e ngineering p rojec ls hav e bee n unde rta ke n 10 pro tect <.!" ...ntown
ove r the ra ~1 decades.

Scm Anlonio River

The Sa n A nto nio River ha s alwa ys been a u nique resou rce fo r the cu y o f
Sa n A ntonio. Inili<l lly. it p rovid e d the water neede d 10 susmm the San A nto-
nio missions and the region's agricu ltura l vita lity. TOO:lY. the Sa n A nto nio
Rivcrwalk is a tourist attraction a nd 1"1 economic reso urce. Over the years.
citiz e ns ha ve de h<lle.J the e xistence o f the rive r a nd tried In de ~'ek'r the best
management practices 10 add ress the m.10) issues s urrounding the river, such
as d rough t. 0 000 co ntrol. a nd wa te r ,-! ua lity ( Fig. D---6).
.
The vitalitv n f the Sa n A nlonio Rive r is tied ctosetv. \0 the hea llh of the
aquife r a OO Ii'll' a mu un t of rainfall in a r.i\'cn yea r. 111.: heaJv. a ICf'i of the river
ori gina te a t Ihe Blue Hole. a ramou~ sp ri n~ north of d ownt ow n Sa n A nlonio.
f rom there . the rive r pa sses through downtown berore tra ve rsing gulf coast
p rairie for 24Um iles. cofwe r!!in!!..... hh the G uada lupe Rive r and e mptyin g into
Ihe G ulf (I f Mexku (SA R A. 20 11). II d rains mo re th a n 41<,M sq ua re m iles .

f"tgu.-.1W
Resla urants and
lour boo" an the
famaus Riv8rw olk
in San Antoni o.
732 Chopler 1J

In the 18905. when the citize ns o f Sa n An tonio began relying on arte-

sian and ~hallow well~ for thei r water ..upply rat her than surface water. the
river level ....-as signiftcanlly depicted. In respon se. the ma)'Of 01 the City of
San Anton io crea ted the C ity Plan ning Committee in 1910 and beg an re-
beautificatioo effo rts alon [!. the river ban ks. There were three primary pro-
posals for bl:!a ulirying the river• •md the: combination hli!; created the basis
for the Rive rwalk !today:
1. Th irteen miles of stone bridges and park along the river,
2. Channelize the river near do....ntown 10 co ntrol for flood ing.
3. Build the shops along the river nca r downtown Sa n An tonio designed
to 1:T00a tc a Venetian-like atmosphere to stimulate economic gro wth
in the hea rt of San Antonio.
Re-bcautification efforts met ser ious oppos ition when. between 1914
lind 1921 , six major floods occurr ed in do.....mown San A nton io. The worst
of these occurred in 1921 , when parts of do.....ntowo ..'e re inundated by as
much as 10 fee t of water. Significant loss of life and propert y prompted city
officials to propose cementing ove r the river and tu rning it into a piped
sewer system to prevent do wnto..... n (rom future floods. Luckily, the citizens
of San An tonio protested a nd took ot her meas ures 10 protect downtown
from Doodi ng.
Olm os Dam was completed in 1926 at the cost of $1.5 million and was
built 10 con tain water accum ulating in the Olmos Creek watershed north of
do.....nto wn . The area behind the dam has been turned into park and recr e-
atiooal facilities that flood during heavy rainfall. With a spillway length of 1152
fee t, the dam W85 designed to hold vnst quantities of wate r. There are six
flood gates to rt:lease water into O lmos Creek et the downstream side of the
dam, which provide significant protec tion fOTareas of no rthern San Antonio.
In 1929, the city complet ed a second flood co ntrol measure: the cutoff
channel. The cutoff chan nel was designed to allow floodw ate rs to bypass the
" Gree t Bend " portion uf downtown lind is co ntrolled by il se ries of flood -
gates located al the en tra nce and eli t to the great ben d. When the river
reaches a ce rtain stage. the gates arc c1010Cd and the water is diverted a..ay
from downtown. Th is port ion of the river is hom e to rJt~ a nd res taurants
that aCI a" the cit)·'s main downt c..n attraction. Much like in Veni ce. resi-
de nts and tourish CIIn dine and shop along th e waters edge.
The ~l impressive enginee ring accomp lishment in the City of San
Antonio ....·as a tunn cll40 feet ben ea th the city Ihat di\·erts floodwaters
before they reach do wnto wn and the Riverwalk . controlliag lhe river stage
in the down town area. The project was ccmpje ted in 1997 OI l the cost of $111
million. The tunnel runs for 3 miles benea th the city and ca rries water down -
stre am .. here wider channels can hand le the excess floodwaters. The tu nnel
Iunctioned perfecll)' durin g both the 1998 and 2002 ST orms when 30 inches
of rainfall fell on mecity in 48 hours. Had the tun nel not bee n in place at the
time of the stor m, the damage to the city c ould have been catastrop hic.
 COle- St udi e-~ ill Hyd'olog iC Ellgine ering : W o t.... Resource s P,o jeet s 733

In 1996. the Sa n A nlo nio Rive r Im prove me nts Pro ject was initiated.
Appro ximately 13 mile s o f rive r. from Bracke n ridge pa rk to Ihe las t mission
in Sou lh Sa n A nton io . is be ing resto red a t the cos t o f $358 millio n. Engineers
a ntl u rba n pla nn er s re-evalua ted floodpla in exte nts and designed a gree n
space consisling o f puckel pa rks. pad dling a nd bit e tra ils, a nd ....-ildtifc ha b i-
ta t to provide nooc storage and II recreational outlet for citizens. The u niq ue
cunure of the ci l~' o f Sa n A ntunio a nd i ts amaz ing Rive rw alk is o ne o f the
pr emier u rban wate r resou rces redevelopmen t p rojects in the U nited States
an d has tlra.... n to uris ts from aro u nd the world for pleaw re a nd confe re nces .

Tbc Colorado R ive r Y1"3$ once one of the wiklest rivers in A me rica , and it 113
serves as the Iife hlood o f the A merican Southwest. For most parts o f lhe "" COLORADO
yea r, th e live r gen tly me a nde rs he lllw the la ll ca n yo n walls, b ut be t.... ee n RIVER- TAMING
A pril and J uly th ree -fou rt hs o f the a nnual Ilow torre nt s do wnst ream ali snow THE wtLD WEST
in the mo un ta ins he gins to melt. Th e rive r is o ne n re ga rded as wild an d
unco ntrollable because o f violent and someti mes spo n taneo us floods caused
by snowme n. Powe rful flo ws scour e no rmous amo unts o f red dish-brow n
sed ime nt fro m the mo untains ami high pla teaus, giving Ihe rive r its oril:inal
na me, Rio Colorad o, or " red nvcr" (U SSR. 2(K16).
T he river begins in the mountain s o f Co lo rado, flowin g th rough the high
plateaus o f nort he rn A riznua. d o wn through the Black Mou muins nc ar Boul-
d e r City, and through northern Me xico into the n ull of Catifomia (Fill. 13-7).
G e ne ra lly, the rive r flow s south-so uth wes t. cu rving th ro ug h 1401 miles 0 1
high mo untains. Jee p canyon s. a nd scorching dese rt s. Th e rive r is feu by the
G ree n. Sa n J ua n, Little Co lor aU<l. a nd G ila Riv e rs. T he dra inage ba sin
includ es 242.000 squ a re milc!; o f U .S . la nd a nd 1«10sq ua re miles in Mexic o.
cncompa....s ing 1113of the U nited Sta tes ' area. indudin g seven slal~ Ad/ una,
Ca lifo rn ia. Col orado. Nevada . Ne .... Mexil;o, U ta h. a nd W~'Oming ( Construe-
lion o f Hoover Dam. 1976) . Mu ch o f tho: la nd in the Colorado Rive r basin
was once co nside red d esola te a nd usele-ss..... ith the lo we r re ac hes passing
through the driest and houest ro:!ri<m~ o f tbe United States. Today. the la ming
o f the west rb ro ugh dams a nd irr ilUltillf1 chill1 nds has allo....ed enormous cines
10 flouri,; h, However. o:n... iron memal impacts have a lso resulted fro m these:
major projects.

Regional History
'(b e firs t in habitan ts 10 se ttle t he Colorado R ive r we re Na tive A me rican
India ns, including the Hoboka m pc: ul"le , The Hoho kam reoJI lc we re a ... erj-
~nrh;sl ;ca led tribe li\-i ng in " ha l is no " the sla te o f A r izo na. The)' we re a ble
10 sUl'\:essf ull,- d ive rt wat e r for ir riga tio n fro m the Sa lt an d G ila Riv ers
Ih rn u!!-h 21Xl lo 25U m iks I l f ca na ls, a nd the y utiliz e d the fert ile red soil ca r-
ried h y the rive r a nd the consta nt so urc e of wat e r to irr igate the ir cro ps. In
the la te 17tK ls, Spa nis h e xplo rers dis cove red the Colora do Rive r nnd pe ri-
od ica lly beg an exped itiun s fro m the rive r's mouth in t he Gu lf o f California.
734 e haple' 13

Figure 13-7
The CoIo<odo
RiYel' Boli n in
", ,,

i .'
!he SOUIh_llotm
,
Uni1led Stor&.. ,, ': WYtMlol[l.l(i
~ '.,
~. ' ..• .. ....
,
50 100 " ' - -,
- " ". - - - -"\ ;- - -
,, • ,r-''-=>~ :......,
",," ~...,.
e-• ~. .'•
c

.., .'
1 11.\ 11,:
."•
" "
'
,•
•
,,•
,I
f.... -.
n ll. OIl.Al JO
'.
k", ,•,
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.'

" -,,,
"'i~f;~~r~...;;:? ir::
r. ~ .
.••••••••...•• Upp«" Coiondo . '
'
•

.~. Rl _ 8M1n :
"." "'1"",, ....
l o Wll' ColoI lI4o·..- '
r; RI _ Basin -:
.. I :
":"7't_,>",,~ AIl. III IN'\ ....,... I " ..
I : vtw MLXk 't J
,
,I '.• ' -,,
, ,
.'
t, .,'
•
... • -, 1,'
." :"': -r-, :' I.
.......
t ..
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,
-' k.....
, _•
' -
." 'vI''
• I '

t ;. or .. r 1 __ - - : . - '- - ..
('~iII""""" .,
'., .. '
but explo ra tion upstre am o n tho: wild rive r wa s d ifficull a nd man y C:1lp lo rC:11I
died in the extreme tempe ratures and roc ky landscapes (USBR, 2(0) ). In
fact, the nver basin wa s the la st a rea in the con tig uo us U nited Sta les 10 be
explored , havi ng u nmilppo:d a nd unn am e d feature s as late as 1m ( Fradk in .
1'1% ). when the American gold rus h bega n in 11Wi'i. ma ny travelers heading.
west tra ver sed the ba sin and c rossed lhe Colorad o R ive r ...here il meets the
G ila R ive r in sout hwe st Arizo na (US BR. 2lX16).
 Cose SJudies in Hydrologic Eng i~ ring : Woter Re>ourccs Projec ts 735

In l8%. lhe pr iva te ly o ....ned C abfomia De velop me nt Company bega n

to co nstruct lrrig auou ca nals to the Im pe rial Va lley in Sou thern Ca liforni a ,
A canal was bu ilt alon g the old A lamo Ri ver. an uvc rfl ow chan nel or the
ma in river. and wa s ro ute d up to the Sal to n Sea in Ca lifornia. Th e Sa lto n
Se a e xists as a resu lt o f perio d ic flo o< ling an d re treating o f Colora do River
wat e rs. A fter-cons tr uction beg an on the Imperia l Canal. Colora do R iver wa ter
fina lly reached the Va lley in 190 1 (The Bureau of Reclamation , 200ti).
Presid ent T heodore Roosevelt began feder al reclam ation o f the A mer-
ica n So uth west by e ll<Kting the Reclam ation Act o f I ,)O~ ( USB R . 2(6 ). T he
t heory wa s to "rec la im " th e a rid lands for huma n l"e through irr iga tion
( www.us hr .gov ). T he A ct cr e a te d th ... me a ns (o r fe de rally fund ed irr iga -
tio n proje ct s by se tting asi de money fro m th e sa le o f pu blic lan d . wh ich
wou ld he uscd to b uild and maint a in irriga tion works in the west e rn 13 states.
Th e ne wly irrigated lan ds encouraged people 10 move wes t where the y cou ld
g row crops o n fe rtile soi ls. re lying o n a steady so ur ce o f water. T he irr if'- <l te oJ
lan d. no w mo re valua ble , WIISsold a nd the mOIWY p ut back into the revolv -
ing irrigation fund (Loring. 2( ~ 14 ) .
Recl amat ion was not an e asy fix to con que ring the west. as the unru ly
rive r a nd erra tic 110 ws pro vided ma ny irri ga tion challenges in the e ar ly I \j (I(b;.
cspc'clally in the lower str etc hes of th... rive r. Flow in the Colorad o is high ly
variable. fluctuating between () a nd 20 rnillion ac- ft a n n uully (Cartiq uiry a nd
Sa nchez, 19'»'1), Pea k 110 ws coincid e with the sprin g s no w me lt, bu t durin g
o the r time s of the yea r its n ow ca n he much lo we r. limitin g its a b ility to
irrigate nil the depe nd an t farmla nd . A lso, th e vio len t sp ring flood s requi re
s ufficien t fmd ex pensive levees to co nta in a nd dire ctthe water, wh ile a t the
same time the hig hly tu rbid wa ter depos its enor mo us a mou nts o f sedi me nt.
It was estimated tha t the rive r in its n at ural. red-colored state ca rried 100 mil-
lio n tuns o f sed imen t ea ch yea r (Carriq uiry and San c hez. 1l)99 ) T his massive
loa d of se d ime nt clogged man-made cana ls a fter ,I large 1100d. an d rcq ui r..d
expe nsive re pairs ea ch tim e.
A side from 1100 . -1 con tro l problems. wa ter sa linity is the biggest wa ter
q ua lity issue in the Colorado, a nd can result in co mpl e tel y useless water.
Sa lin it y concc mranons in the he ad wa te rs o f th e C olorad o a re le.., than
SO mg/L . hu t co ncen tr at ion , inc re ase downs tream oJ ra miltica lly. re ach ing
abo ut 'JI M) mg/ L near the Mexico bo rde r (p ubs.usgs.go v). Ma ny of the miner -
al.. come fro m the salin e soils in the high p lains of Colo rado a nd A rizona,
hU I ag ricultural irrigiltinn al".\is a xiguifica ru contributor. ln fart. wat e r flow-
ing in the lowest rea ches or the riv e r has hee n re -used, on average. th ree
times to r irrigation purposes, all o wing it to lea ch more minera ls from the soil
and be com e more sal ine (Fradki n, 19\16 ). U rbanizatio n. pop ula tio n growth,
mining. agr icultura l p ract ices . a nd recre a tio n a ll a ffect sa linity co ncentra-
tio ns an d othe r c hemical cons tit ue nt co ncentr ations in the Co lora do River
( p uhs.usgs.gov ).
For the pe ople o f the So uthweste rn l Jnited Sta tes . the ( 'olora do River
in the la te IXlM k ne eded to he ta me d . Its wild, seasonal flo od ing and recedi ng
impa cte d farm ing, a nd this unp redictability p ro mpted Ihe pe o ple of Ihe
Sou thwest 10 sea rch for a solu tio n. In the ~p ri n !t of 1905. a seri es of floods
ca used the Colorad o Ri ver 10 overflo w into the Imperial Canal. a nd e vcntu-
ally cha nged Ihe co urse of the entir e rive r imc the Sal ton Sea. Severa l ....eak
dams failed. allo..-i ng the floodw ate rs into the Impe rial Ca nal. e rodin g the
sofl channel deeper a nd dee per unt il it ea rned the enure river. For 18 mont hs
the Colorado R iver changed ns co urse , and the So u the rn Pacitic R ailroad
Compa ny pa id 3 million dcners to direct the river b ac k into its main chan ne l
(USB R. 2006).
Th e South..ti1 '!03" ho'" vulne rab le they were 10 the power of the nv cr.
and pleaded 10 the federal gove rnmen t fo r help . Th e De partm en t of the
In terior's Bureau of R eclama tio n (US B R) "' a~ give n the res po nsibility of
this task. Afte r examining the pro blem. il proposed that construc ting a dam
to control the now of the river would nee o nly alleviate the seasonal flooding
a nd d ro ught pro hlems th e people faced. bUI il ..ould also provide the vita l
freshwater thai the area needed to gro ....-. Befo re the construction o n the dam
co uld commence , the US S R need ed to solve a m ajo r legisla tive issue that
was blocking its path: wat er rights on the Colorado River.

Wilhdrowal Regulation
A co mmission was crea ted in A ugust 1921 uml was headed by the Secreta ry
of Commerce Herbe rt Hoover to add ress the issue of water rights. It com-
pr ised re pre sen ta tives fro m the se ven basin slates affecled by the consu uc-
lion of th e H oover D am: Colo rado . Wyo m ing. Ut ah. New M exico.
Ca lifo m ia. Nevad a. and A rizo na. Th e seve n ha~io Slates de bat ed exte nsively
ove r water aljoca uons. bUI coul d not senle o n an ag ree me nt. By H oove r's
s ugges lion. a n agreeme nt was finally reached tha i apportion ed the water
betwee n lwo grou ps. the U ppe r and the Lower Basin Stares, This pur fort h
the moveme nt ro es ra blish the firs t ..ate r ngfus o n the river, and wat er rights
fIX the ind ividual Slates .....ou ld be alloca ted in futu re agree ments. Th e Col o-
ra do River Com pact..aeo re terred to "IS the HOO\'er Com prom ise, was signed
in 1922 officia lly di"iding the basin into two pa ns near the ArizonalUlah
bo rde r ( lJSHR_ 2006).
The co mpact allot te d TO each basin 7.5 m illion ae-ft of water to be
used for be neficia l co nsu mp tive purposes eac h year . This vo lume of wa ter
" 'a" then to be divid ed amon g the Slates in eac h basin . O n Octo be r 11.
1')48. th e sta res in the U ppe r Ba sio sipled th e U ppe r Colo rado River
Basin Compact. Colo rado was given the lar gest su m o f wate r with 51.75% .
Uta h wit h 23 % . Wyo m ing with 14% . an d Ne .... Me xico wjth 11.25 %
(U SBR. 2006) . Th e Low er Basin Slates. how ever, were unab le to willfully
reach a co mpro m ise . and a s uite ..as filed in the U,S. Sup reme Co urt in
1')52 by Arizo na. A rizon a asked fo r the Supre me Co url to dete rm ine ho w
th e rive r' s wat er sho uld be d ivided amo ng the th ree lowe r sta tes . Finally.
in 1%4 11 de cree was es tablis hed by th e Co urt sta ting th a t Cal ifo rnia was
 Case Studies in Hyd rologiC Engineering; w crer Resources Proj••d s 737

e ntitled to 4.4 millio n ac -ft . A rizona to 2.1-l m illinn a c-ft, an d Nevada to

0.3 m illio n ac -ft (T he: Bureau o r R ecla mation. 2(KJo). Me xico was entitled
to 1.5 m illio n ac-It a n nu ally th roug h a se pa rate: tr eat y. T his made th e
Colorado River the mo st highly litigat ed and politicized river in t he coun -
try (F rad kin. 1l)'}6 ).

Hoover Dam
Having esta blished the wate r rights amo ng the basin SIMes . the USB R co uld
now choose a localio n to build the dam. After explor ing 70 pote ntia l sites
with t he help of the U.S. Geo logical Survey. the Burea u identified two can-
yo ns. Bouldcr Can yo n and Black Can yon. which wen: feasible locatio ns fo r
the dam. In 1928. after furt he r da ta collection, Hlack Canyon was chosen for
three rcavons: lilt: shallow de pt h to the be drock eased excavation. the dam
at Black C anyo n would sto re the same amou nt of water at a lesser hei ght ,
a nd the geologica l stru cture of the area was de emed mo re fa vorable for
co nstruc tion (F ig, IJ- S). With the site: chosen, President C alvin Coo lidge
sign ed a nd e nacted the Boulder C anyo n Project Act o n December 21. 1928.
T he Hoover Dam a nd the resu ltant reserv oir . Luke Mea d. wo uld se rve
fo ur mai n purposes once com plete d: floo d control. water sto rage to allow
for irrtgation a nd dom est ic lISC . do wnst ream sill co ntrol. and ele ctrici ty gen -
eration . The con struction ofthe Hoove r D am was awnrded to Six Compa nies ,

Figure 13-8
Block Conyon be-
fo'e lhe construc·
tion 01Hoover
Dom 0 0 !hI! Colo-
rado Rive,.
738 Chop/e. 13

tlQure 13-9
A diversion Iu<lnel
built lW Hoc.>""'"
Dom.

Inc., an ama lgam o f six major co n tracting firms loca ted ou t wes t. which pro-
posed the job cou ld hi: du m: fo r $48.9 million. To p ut the enorm ity of the oid
in pe rspective. the amou n t was ro ughly ;1 quarte r n ! the na tio n's ann ual
p uh lic works project budge t a t tha t tim e and created the lar gest constr uct ion
project e ver u nde rta ken.
In J une 1931. work ers bega n dive rting the C.olnr ado River. Four dive r-
sson tunnels 56 feet in diameter a nd nearly 3 mil..' S in (utal length we re blasted
through the walt, o f the canyon (USR R , 20:16) (Fig. 13-9), w h en the tu nnels
we re compleled in November 1933, engine"," n...d irected the now o f the river
using t...vo te mporary concrcems made o( rock and ea rth to lift the water in to
d i",eNoil channek. The upper coffe rdam was built jw;.t belo\lo· the opening of
the fow tun ecls to divert the now of the Colo rado Rive r down the tunne ls.. O n
Novem ber 14. 1932. the flowof tht: ~ River !>UCCeSSfully woend its wa y
or
around the W1,)f k site, a nd the task c \ C3",aling the (:('Jrn;l rucrion site began.
Engineers we re tasked with de signin g spillways, intak e towe rs, pe n-
stock a nd o utle t systems. and powe rho use and s",itching sta tions as well to
hyd roele clric generatio n. Th ese components we re no less import an t lind
"cry o rte n no less di fficult to construc t than t he d am fac e. The spillways
loca ted o n e ach sid e o f the dam we re respo nsible for han dling e xcess water
now in the event Iha t flooding cond it io ns we re prese nt in Lake Mead , the
rese rvo ir crea ted beh ind Hoo ver D a m. A t capaci ty, the co ncTe te line d cha n-
nels ru nning 650 fee t lo ng a nd lZ5 feel w id e co uld handle 4OO,OOJcubic te e l
pe r seco nd o f o verf low rushing a l 120 miles pe r ho ur (Com>lrucl io n o f
H oover D am , 1976 ).
 Case Studies in HydrologiC En gineering Woter Resources Proi..ct~ 739

Figure 13-10
An eerie! view
of the completed
Hoove r Do m ond
te ke Mead,

It was also n<.' CCSSMy to design a way to mow the wate r from La ke
Mead th ro ugh the Hoover Darn. En ginee rs designe d a series of intak e lo w"
ers an d penstocks that wo uld pull water fnmtthc re servoir through 41 fee l
tunnels line d with 2 feel of con cre te a nd massive thic k plate steel pipes. Th e
int ake tow e rs sat o n ledges thai were c ut out of the canyon a pp roxima tely
260 fee t a bove the ri ver bed in or der to provide a basin for silt senfin g, Th e
lowe rs wou ld he connected I'>TUn ne ls thut wo uld d ro p 2(0 feci straight down
and co nnect to a ser ies of unde rgro u nd tunnels that flowed into th e d a m.
O n Fe b ru ary 1. 1935. engi nee rs began filling the Hoove r Da m. a nd
within Iwo mont hs the cres t was reach ed . In less th a n five years. two yea rs
ahead o f sch ed ule. the Hoove r D am sto od completed. T he comple tio n of
the Ho o ver Da m was a n enginee ring success the likes of whic h the world
had neve r seen a nd it se rved as a sy mbol o f ho pe for the people o f the G rea l
Depression . The Hoover D a m lo we rs 72n.4 Ieee above tnc bedrock. spa n,
1224 feet between the ca nyo n walls . hllid s back 22.5 Io ns of pressure at the
base uf the da m. a nd we ighs iI sla gge ring 6.6(H)J)Oll ton s (Fig. 13-- 1111. La ke
Mea d be cam e the large st ma n-made reservoi r inth e U.S .. ho ldi ng a massive
25.9 m illion ac-It 0 1" wat er. stre tching 110 mile s ups trea m a nd cov er ing
1)7,<>U t ac res ( USBK 2(Ht6),
T he Hoove r D am has become an integral pa rt or the Sourhwcste m
Un il<:d SIMes. T oe water stored behind its walls in Lake Mend is used da ily to
service 21l million people throu gh dom estic. industrial. and munic ipal purposes.
740 Chapter 13

T he wate r that surges thro ugh its 17 co mmercial generating units, with a 2078
MW cap acity , supplies enough clea n electr icity to serve 1.3 millio n people
(US B R, 211(16). As a flood contro l device, the Hoover Dam has bee n successful.
While it ca nnot r revt:nt every major floo d event, it has helpe d to regulate the
flo w by alleviating flood ing between Fe bruary and June and drought bet wee n
June and Feb ruary.
H owever, Hoover dam has also con tributed to environ mental degrada-
tio n. Fo r example, flow regulatio n has disrupted wildlife hab itats and fish
m igr atio n patterns in the reg ion. The dam has al so tra pped much of the
sedime nt that used to flo w do wnst rea m. Th is hns incre ased eros ion do wn-
strea m. Within nine years o f ope ra tin g. the thickness of the do wnst ream
river be d dec reased by more tha n four meters, lo we ring gro und water tables
and threatening local wells and vegetation,

Glen Canyon Dam

Af te r the constru ct ion of the Hoove r Dam, the govern ment needed to pro.
vide a mea ns with which wate r cou ld he reg ulate d to ensure th at the Lo wer
Basin a nd Upper Basin sta tes wo uld receive the ir rightful allotmen ts of
water. A fter nego tiat ing with the Sie rra Clu b regardin g multiple dam sites .
Congress a uthorized the Color ado R iver Storage A ct on April 1956, whil:h
ensured the delive r)' of allott ed wate r do wnstream. T he co nstr uction of the
G len Can yon D am in nor the rn A rizon a be gan o n Ju ne 1960, and the final
concrete was poured o n Sep tem ber 1%3. Th e Glen C a nyo n D am towered
over rhe landscape at 7 10 tee tt an, and created a reservoir, La ke Powell. with
26 millio n ae-fl of storage stretching over Hl6 miles of the Colorado Rive r
that too k 17 yea rs to fill. Th e Glen Ca nyo n D am is infamous for the se no us
e nviro nmental damage it has caused (ww w, us br.or g).
D avid Brower, the exec utive di rec tor of the Sie rra Club at the time
of co mple tion. called the Gl en C a nyon D am ~ A me rica 's mos t re gr etted
e nviro nme nta l mist ake." In fac t, G len C anyo n was o ne of the most beau -
tiful ca nyo ns along t he Co lora do R iver befo re it was in undated with wate r
(Fig. 13- 11). Post-constr uct ion, numerous enviro nmental co nce rns have
arisen. Fo r ins tance , under na tu ral condit io ns the flow through t he G ran d
C an yo n wo uld range be twee n 3000 a nd 9ll,000 cu bic fee t pe r seco nd and
carry m assive am o unt s of silt. Now that the G len C anyon D am is regula t-
ing water flow, t he an nua l flo ws ra nge between 8000 anrl2U,lKKl cubic feet
per second a nd are virtua lly sediment free (Iivingrivers.net). The natural
high a nd fl uctua ting flo ws se rved as a co nve yo r of sediment 10 build
beac he s, rejuve nat e and rep lenish the shorelines. as well as cre ate san d-
bars that s uppo rt ed cairn, ba ckwater a reas fo r fish to utilize, while th e lo w
flows were esse ntia l in JUven ile fish sur vival. Ins te ad , the fluctuating. often
lower, sedime nt-tree flows seen erode the sand har s a nd allow ve ge tat ion
to e ncroach upon are as th at are no t nat urally vegetated. The disrupt ion
uf this natural system has significantly impacted G rand Ca nyon Na tion a l
 COle Studies in Hydrologic Engineering Woler Rescorces Proiec~ 7.,
Figure 13-11
An aerial ~iew
of Glen Con )'oo
inundoted by lake
Powe ll behind
Glen Cooyon
Dam.

Park where so me specks have beco me exti nct and canyon flows ha ve bee n
reduced to a trick le.
Sediment and flow issues art: no t the o nly enviro nmental problems ere-
atc d by the G len Canyon Dam. Because the rese rvoir is so deep. the wate r
released fro m the lo wer po rtions of the reservoir exits the dam at fairly con-
stant 47°F. T he natu ral water tempe ratur e of the river flowing through the
Grand Ca nyon should have a wide range - from nea rly fre ezing in the winter
10 nearly M OF in the sum mer. T he nat ural tem perature fluctuatio n is impor-
tan t in various biologica l processes which now must de al with extra stress.
Gle n Canyon Dam is wastefu l of significant volumes of water each year .
Lake Powell alo ne loses 2600 gallo ns of wate r per minute to infiltr ation in the
ca nyon wa lls {www.us br.go v]. ne arly 0..% m illion ac-fI of WOl le r a nnually.
While this is a small nu mber when co mpared to Lak e Powell's total capacity
(ar ound 3%). it constitutes nearly 6% of the river's a nnu al Flow. an d togethe r
with Lake Mead the two reservoirs acco unt for a 10% loss of flo w (gle ncan-
yon.o rg). ln a region that re lies heavily upon the Co lorado River for multiple
pu rposes. water lost to evaporation is simply uns usta inable.
In 1910 . a greater than ave rage sno wmel t ca used significan t flooding
ups tream of Gle n Ca nyon Darn . As ups trea m darns be ga n re leasing their
flows, the Gle n Can yo n Dam became overw he lmed. E ngine e rs ope ne d
th e spi llways o n either side of the da m, but ru mbli ng and sha king caused
im me nse conce rn. Concrete. re bar, an d sa ndstone flew out of the sp illway
IU nnels a t th e hasc of the dam. but to avoi d failure. t he sp illw ays had to
742 Chopte, 13

he ke pi o pe n ( H a nn on , 200.1), If O len C a nyo n D am were to ha ve fai led .

a SM ft wav e would hav e o ve rto pped H oo ve r D a m (Li ving Rive rs. 2tl(5 ).
Some discuss ion has an se n a bou t the removal of G len Ca nyon Da nl.
Propone nts a rg ue that in the wa ke of thl: l'>llOl1 uod. da m failur e is ine vita-
hie. A ud llKlIlally, H oove r D am has the cap<\CIIY to pn wid e the L1.juivalcnt
sto rage of G len Canyon Dam. R e moving the <Ja m .. o uld allev iate mullipk
e nvi ron me nt concern s and return a ~ignifica n l po rtion of the ri ver ba d. to
its natu ral sta te, Fo r the case of G le n Canyon Da m. the nega tive impacts
rna}' fa r uutwdgh the be nefits pro vided b,-lhe da m.
The Colorado Rive r ru ns dl:e p into the Un ite d Stares. bol h geologi-
cally a nd histo rically , Iniually the ....ikl ri ver impeded ex ploration and de vel-
opme nt of the So uth..est. and .. itho ut a reliable a nd co ntro lled so urce IIf
fresh wate r. th e U,S, Southwes t wo uld likel y rema in II d C'iOla te a nd vast
dese rt. G rea t engi nee ring fea ts. suc h n the Hoove r D a m. haw allowed
h um ans 10 ta me the Col o rad o Rive r a nd provide so urces of fres h.... atcr to
its inh a hira r us a nd to agr icultu ra l inte rests, How e ver. the nve r mus t be
ca ref ully man aged so tha t it is no! ove ru sed hi th e po int th a t floods,
d ro ughts, salinity a nd o the r e nvironmen tal imp acts d rive pe o ple a wa y,

IJA The T ha mes Rive r, o ne of t he mos t famo us in all o f E uro pe, flows 205
ACROSSTHE mile s fro m the T ha mes Head , ill the Cnl ~wo l d H ills, thro ugh So ut he rn
POND-THE E ng lan d be fo re e mp tying into the North Se a nea r Lon don. It is tho: longe st
RIVER THAMES rive r in E ngla nd an d d rai ns a pproximately 5StKl sq ua re mile s. T he las t 65
miles of the river are a n es tuary whe re the s,.lt wa te r tres h wat e r ba rrie r
fluctua tes daily. In London. thc incom ing tide ca n rais e the ri ver u p 10 7
me ters d uring Ihe spring. re versing it s no.... through the estua ry (Encyclo-
pe dia Brit a nn ica. 2011),
H istori cally. lhili rive r suffers from ove ruse an d neglect , R unoff frorn
wasi l" a nd se"'altc has seve rely co nt a minated th e river for deca des . a pro b-
lem that has only recently be e n add ressed b, a uthorities , In addi tion. seve re
st orms in the Nort h Sea ca n inund a te Lo ndon 'li th sto rm su rge. Sto rm surge
is the ph e no men a br ought o n by high wind" a nd , ha Uo,", bat h}mc tr y whe n
a wall of water i5 pushed a head of a storm a nd on to la nd, T o comba t these
issues. engi neers ha ve constructed a se ries of wate r resou rce projec ts t ha t
mitiga tc the effects of co nta m inatio n a nd flood ing.
Mueh of the ear l}' Victoria n sewer nc t.. or k is still in use tod ay for the
movement of ..a tcr a nd conta mina nts, hut as London con tinues to grow . the
sys te m becomes eve r mo re ta xed , D uri ng heavy rai ns. Ih.:: se we r s ystem
o ve rf lows. affecting plan t a nd a nimal life an d prese nting a seri ous h uma n
healt h risk. T he Thames Tide.. a y !khc me is a !,m j"ct cu rre nl ly in r rngres.s
that int fouuo:<,: s two nc'"' Slo rtlgc-a n, I·lnll1sfcr tunn els as well as ca pacita nce
impro veme nts to three wastew at e r tre urmcnt plmlls, Th e tunn els will red uce
overflow in to the River Th ames and L.I:C, mo ving it to th e tre at me nt facilities
instead , Th e T ha mes Tunnel is to be constr ucted be t....ee n 2013 and 2020, It
 Ccse Studiel in Hydro log ic Engineering: Water Re'OOrcel Proiedl 743

will be mo re than 20 mi lt's lon g and 25 reet in diamet er . flowing parallelto

th e R ive r T ha me s. T he tu nnel is designed to remove %% of the se wa ge
e ntering the Th ames annua lly ( NRL 2(1 1).

Flooding gnd the Bgmer

Hoods o n the Rive r Thames oncn occu r because of lar ge storms. upstream
flood ing. extreme tida l movement. or seve re storm su rge. T he comhi ned
effec t of any of th ese can he ca tastrophic. In 1928, 14 peop le die d when a ll
four causes occurred simultaneously (E ncycloped ia Britan nica. 2U1 1). Snow.
melt a nd unus ually heavy ra infa ll co upled wit h spr ing tid es and storm su rge
filled London's streets with four feet of water. T hou sands of pe o ple lo st the ir
homes and the city's infrastruct ure was sign ifican tly damaged .
In 1953. a not he r m ajor storm in the No rth Sea da mage d the E nglish
coast line a nd sea wa lls, Floo d s carried entire st ructures outto sea , lea ving
24,000 properties seriously da ma~!e,L In t he Un ited Kingdom. 3110 peo p le
d icd beca use ~)I the sto rm. T he se sig mfica n t e ven ts, a lo ng with sm aller o nes.
p rompted the cons tr uction o f the Tha mes Ba rrie r, the wm lu 's second largest
mo va ble flood ba rr ie r (co mp lete d in 1982). Buil t downstr eam o f Lond on , it
spans 171111 feet acro ss. an d prot ects over 33.l1(X) acres from flo od ing ( E nvi-
ronment Agency. 2011a ).
T he T ha me s Barrier is made up of 10 s teel ua tc-s. 65 feci high . T her e
arc two types o f ga les : fa lling rad ia l gat es and ri~ing sec tor gat e s. Thc falling
radi al gates a rc situated above the non-naviga ble po rt ions of the river whi le
the rising sec tor gates rest on the rive r bed . a llow ing shi p tra ffic to p'ISS. Th e
gat es ca n be man e uve re d into four positio ns: ope n. clo s ed. unde r spi ll. an d
maintenance. T he e ntir e struc ture C~lO he re adi ed fo r flo odin g within 'Xl
minutes (Environment Age ncy. 20 1I a).
Th e ([0001 barrier p ro te cts signi ficant infras tructur e. includ ing his -
toncalla mlmarks. government buildi ngs. bu sines ses. schools, hospita ls. e tc ,
H owever. it lea ves the en tire d o wnstrea m Tha me s estu ary vulnerable to
se vere storms. E stuar ies have sig nifica nt ca pac ity to sto re storm s urge und
he lp mit igat e the e ffect s of seve re storms. In 2002. E ng land est ab lished the
Thames Estuar y 2100 Pla n, a flo od ris k ma nage ment pla n that takes int o
consideration c lima te cha nge and socioeco nomic change. Th e I'la n wou l<.J
a llo w th e river 10 rccl a im its floodplain nc a r t he estua ry to re duce the
im pact s of floodi ng in Lo ndo n [ En vir onmen t Age ncy. 20 1I h) , This no n-
struct ur a l altc ruunve re flects opinions 01 wa ter manag ers wo rldwide a nd is
on e effo rt to conside r the true futu re imp acts of climate change in Eu ro pe,

O ver the pas t one hundred ye ars. global aver age surface te mperatures have 13.5
increased. T he ra te has acc e lerate d siucc 1970 and I I o f the 12 ye an> be twee n GLOBAL CUMATE
IIN5 and 2006 were the warmest on re cord (So lomo n e t al.. 2(x)7). D espite CHANG.
eve r-contin uing arguments abou t whethe r climate change exist s a nd whe the r AND WATER
this is ,I na tural clim atic shift, it is genera lly well-accepte d that tempe rature, RESOURCES
744 Cha pler 13

Figure 13- 12 Jen-pee Global Mean Temperature over Land & Ocean
Varia tion5 in
global m9CIn
8,
~
I.'
0.8
tempe ratures ever
land a nd ocean
5: 0 .6

between 1880 S 0.4

and 20 10. 1 0.2
11 0.0
1! ...,
E
>
-0.4
'i -e.6
g -e.e
.. "" 1920 .. ".
C .1 .0t!::c-'---'::':::'-~cJoo'-''''''''~~"::':C::-'-':::':::~~='--'
" " 1660 2000
NCDClN ESDlSJNDA A

and weathe r pat terns around the world are chan ging (Fig. 13-12 ). G laciers are
melt ing at extre me rates, storms are more intense, an d dry spells in som e pa rts
of the world are unp receden ted according to the IPeC (Solomo n et al.. 21 M.7).
Th e Inte rgovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC ) was cstab-
hshed by the United Na tions Enviro nmen tal Programm e and t he Wo rld
Me teorological Organizat ion to provide the world with a scientific view of
climate change and its potential socio-economic and enviro nmental im pacts.
The IPCC reviews the work of thousa nds of scient ists from the internatio nal
pool of the best engineers, at rnosphe ric scieme ts. chemists. physicists. etc. who
volu ntarily co nduct rese arch on climate change. T he combined efforts of their
research show that tempe rature increase and ot her weather pat te rns seem to
correlate with increased at mospheric car bon , mostly from hu man sources.
Co nclusions d rawn by the IPCC ind icate that incr eases in laud and sea
su rface te mperature are already be gin ning to alter the hydrologic cycle.
H igher te m per at ure s lend to increased evaporat ion and higher wat er vapo r
co nten t over oceans. Subseq uently, wea ther syste ms are becom in g larger
and precipita tio n events more severe . even thou gh annual precipit at ion is
redu ced. Such change presen ts a challen ge to hydro logists when de term ining
how to develop sustainab le co mmu nities through wate r resource projects.

Interadio." cI Huma n and Natul"a l Water Sys\'e1ns

Across the world. dro ught, exacerbated by increa sed pop ulations . is taxing
ava ilable freshwater resources. Rivers and aq uifers that were once plenti ful
arc no lon ger be ing fully rec harged in the face of decr eased an nual precipi ta-
tion. Countries. states. cities, and communities will argue or even go to war
over the remaining resource. In response. au thorities are cont inuo usly looking
for ways to create long-ter m wate r storage. However. struct ural solutions, such
as dams and the ir reservoirs. may do more harm than good in certain regio ns.
 Cow $Iudi" , in Hydrologic Engin"....ing: Woler Re sources Proiects 745

Like the Gle n Canyon D am. many dams across th e U nited States have
se verely impac ted riv er systems and arc he ing hea vily protes ted . O n the
Elwha Ri ver . ncar Oly mpia in the stale of Wnshing to n. the large st darn
removal projec t in A merica n history h'l' begun in 21) 11 (Yard ley. 2UII ). A
21O-ft tall hydroelect ric darn. built in 19 12. has so greatly impact ed the
salmon po pulati o n in the river that environ me nta l gro ups have successfully
litigat ed to co nde m n th e da m. lis remo val will hope fully bring back the
sal mon po pulat ion in th e river. Similarly. man y of dam s o n the Colu mbia
River syste m in the Pacific Nor thwest have pote ntially decimated salmo n
po pulat ions. bu t the 14 hydroelectric da ms o n the river produ ce mor e hyd ro -
ele ctric po wer than I ll] a ny o the r North American river (American Rivers.
20 11 ). Wate r can yield incredible po wer. hut of ten the negative cnvironmcn-
tal impacts ou tweigh th e economic ben efits . Part of futu re wate r re so urces
planning will be weighing the true costs and benefits of pro posed projec ts.
T hus, instead of the old tradi tio nal eco nom ic be ne fit/cost analysis used to
analy ze major dam and reservoi r prnjeets in the past. tr ue environ ment al
costs need to be more accu ra te ly mea s ured.
ln te rnmionally, dams are becom ing l'Ver larger an d mo re impactful.
Climate change and the eventual de pletion o f petroleum re sources arc ('O lI-
tributing 10 a massive hunt for alte rnative sou rces o( power for co untries in
Asia. China as a vast co un try has rela tively ab undant wate r resou rces and is
ra nked sixt h in the wo rld after Brazil. the Russian Federat io n. Ca nada. the
Un ited States . and Indo nesia in term s o f absolute amoun t of annual runoff.
Figure 13- 1J shows three majo r C hinese rivers: the Yellow R iver. the Yan g-
tze River, and the Mekon g R iver. D ue to Ihe do mina nce of the mon soon
cl imate, the te mpor al an d spa tial dis tribu tion of water resources is highly
varia ble . Flooding as o ne of the major wate r pr oh lems in C hina has brou ght
great attentio n from the gove rnme nt and public ove r the years.
Th e Yangtze River flo ws for ) 9SH miles from the glacie r o n the Tibe tan
Platea u eastward across sou thwest. cent ral. and easte rn C hina before e mpty -
ing into the East Chi na Sea at Shanghai. It is the third longes t ri ver in the
wo rld be hi nd the Nile an d the A mazon. The Yangt ze River 's no to rious
floods in sout hern Ch ina have ht en recor ded fo r millennia and have clai med
mo re tha n 1 m illion lives in the pa st cent ury. In o rde r to control floodi ng and
develo p a future so urce of e ne rgy, C hina hcgnn co nst rucrl ng the T hree
G or ges D am in 19')4. Comp k ted in 2(MI6. at a cost of $21'! billio n. the dam is
1 mile wide a nd mo re than 600 fee t high a nd creates a rese rvoir hund reds o t
feel dee p and nearly 4(1) miles lo ng. Ch inese a uthor ities claim th:H the dam 's
hydropower turbin es are able to cre ate as much electricity as II'! nuclea r
pow er plant s, T he project has bee n a so urce of pride for the govern me nt,
bu t hits aro used int e nse debate amo ng scientists.
While th e gigan tic dam has be ne fitte d the re gion, there have also been
a var iety of issues since constructio n began in IY'92. More than 1.4 millio n
pe o ple were forced to relocate and rese ttle. More tha n lotIO towns and vil-
lages were in unda ted by the rese rvoir. and landslides and po llut ion have
746 Chopler 13

Co".

I n,...

"

"

- - ,
A
Figure 13-13
Mo jo< rivers of C hiTlO : !he Velow. Vong '2e, a nd Mel:on g ll.........

pla gued areas nca r the da m since il was built. Additionally. the dam ca n
ca use rapid sill huild-up in the reservoir, arreeting bot h upstream and down -
stream «~y'l ems or esseruial nutr ients, In a rare ad mission. in 2011. the
Chinese govermnea t slated meune Th ree GOllte'> Dam , the worjd's largest
hydropo wer plant, is having " urge nt jlroNe rn..- and warn ed of environ me n-
tal. cons truction, and migration kdi..asters- amid the ....erst drough t to hit
so uthe rn Ch ina in 50 years. The Chi nese gove rnme nt also ad mitte d the
Th ree Gorges Dam has negatively impacted downstream rive r water, tra ns-
port, and migratitlll ( Ken t. ZUI I).
In sou thern China. eight hydroe lectric da rns have been proposed on
the Mek ong River, which w ill he ca pable of ~t (lri ng half o f the river's Ilcw.
 Case ShJdies in Hydrologic Enginee ri"9' Wale<' Resources Projects ro
Despite th e in.crc d ible e lectric ca pacity o f thL"SC dams. th ey han: teen he a v-
i1~. prot e>sh:d. Afh: r lea ving China. Ihe Mc l o ng River n uws fu r !SIr) miles
through So ulheas t Aloia a nd into Cambodia a nd viet nam. pro vid ing Iuod 10
ove r 60 million people (pea rce. 2IlO'J). The po ten tial po lil":a 1a nd e n viron-
mental impacts of da mm ing the \te ko ng R i",' r art' h uge. Not on ly will China
ha ve co mplete control o ver Ihe no.... of the rive r to its d ownstrc.lrn ne igh-
bors. 00\ the dam will greatly red uce the productivuy o f the rish inJ1 ind ustry.
the lifeline of these 'iouth Asian L"un lfies. The Tonie Sa p. a trihut a ry to the
Me kong. is th e wo rld 's seco nd lar ge..t inla nd fis he ry . In s ummer. the
Me kong's an nualflood re ve rsc"S the flow in Ihe Ton ie Sap cnnlr ih uling to its
pr od uctivity. T he Fhinese dam s have the capacity 10 fore ver destroy this
ecosystem a nd its prod uctivity .
O fte n struct u res ca n exace rbate the impacts of na tura l disas ters. For
e xample. the Meko ng R ive r is located ncar a significa nt fuult in central China.
E ngine e rs belie ve rhar the extre me weight of the wa te r st ored be hind some
o f the dams can accelerate. if no t ca use. ean hqc a kes alon g Ihis fault. w hethe r
this p he nome no n. ca lled induced scb mic ily. may ha ve played 0 ro le in the
2lXl':1 o:a nh<.juake in Sich ua n Cllina is high ly disputed. Simil'Lrl)'. if a dam ..... er...
10 fa il d uring a n ...arl hqua ke. the c nsuin!l nood s wo uld be di~slrous.
The intc raclion between h uman a nd natura l systems is ~i l!n irlC'".I 111 whe n
planning water resou rce peoject s. NOI on l~' C".In an ill-a dvised Of insufflCie nlly
plan n ed project negati vely influe nce a resou rce. but may a lso e ncour age
u nsusta inable d e vel o pm en t. In ilny given loc at io n. natural d isaste rs ca n
occu r infreq uc nl ly. bUI when they d o. Ihe im pact is felt Ior ye ars afterwards.
As popula l}On, a nd com munities continue to grow an d expand , Lhe number
of people living a nd mew ing into vuln e ra ble areas increases.

Sustainoble Development ond C005101 AIwa.

In coastal ar e as o t rhc U nited Sta tes. 87 millio n people . o r 2L)% of lhc U .S_
po pu lativ n. live in coas ta l co u ntie s. H'«1million pe rso n incrc<l'>C since 1960
(Wilso n a nd Fisch e tti. 2l11tl ). In a ny gtvcn yea r. a hu rricane could destroy
much o r the i n fra~l ruelure along the coast . Scie ntis ts new have the a bilily 10
predict e xtr e me even ts a nd o fte n give comm un ities the jea d- ume lhe ) nee d
to e vac ua te or find she lle r [ Cha pte r 12). Howeve r. coasta l co mrnuauy rcvil-
ienc-y still ba ffles engm......"'" es pecially in t he Ieee o r clima te change. sea le ve l
rise . and increased s tor m se verity. The l Pee has ope nl)' published that since
the 1970s th e pote ntia ! destructive ness of h urricanes has increase d. tr e ndin g
to ..'ard lo nger a nd mon: inte nse: s torms. w a rer resource plan ncn;. must find
innovative ne w wa)~ 10 p rot ect eoo,lal com m umues tha i a re' o lren a combi-
natkmof s tructura l a nd non-structu ra l solutio ns.
As we contin ually e ocr osch on Ihe na tura l syste m. ma n-mad e en viro n-
mental disaster s be co me mo re p re valen t. The res id ual er k e l' o f sUl'h d isas -
ters ca n im pact WA ter resou rce sysll' l1l~ for ye an; a fterward. La rge oi l spills.
suc h as Ex xo n Valde z. 19l{l). a nd tho: UP O il Spi ll. 211W . ha d h uge vhort-t...rm
1 48 Cha pter 13

e n viron me nta l and economic impacts . h ut the lon g-te rm impacb o f the se
e vents a re o lte n ove rtooked. The n umbers of fish, birds. a nd o the r wild life.
as we ll as the marshes a nd beeches, effect ed by oil spills are e nor mous an d
th e costs o f t he perman e nt cle a n up astr onomical. Sud! major even ts receive
mo re anenuon than the sm alle r spills, of heavy met a ls. o rganic che mica ls.
a nd fe rtiliz e rs.llu t these spills can have la...ting impe cts o n wat e r SUPflly sys-
tems, bo th surface a nd ground wa ter. Economic activiti es to s uppon popula-
tio n gro .... 'th can pote n tially play a huge ro le in the Iu tu re qualit y o t our wa ter
resources a nd o ur ability to pr ovide (o r futu re ge ne ra tio ns.
D ams that destro y e n tire ecosys tems. majo r spills a nd le a ks, a nd global
wa rming tha t puts the .....orld as ..... c kno..... it at risk, if nothing else, nave sho wn
tha t there is a limit 10 how much the n at ural syste m ca n be ab used before
the impac ts a re irre versible . Unt il rece ntly tha t limit see med unattaina ble ,
bu t as populations ke ep gro ..... ing . The carrying ca pacity of the e art h will even-
tually be reac hed . Fu tur e wa te r resource p ro jects mU!!.The d eveloped in a
.....ay that is su stain able so as not to pe rm an enTly destroy our access to wa ter.
Sustaina ble develop me n t. "dt' \·e1opmcn t tha t meets the needs o f CUTTen t
gencrark ...." witho ut comp romising the a bility of fut ure gen e ra tions to meet
their o.....n needs" (United Nauons, 2009). is II coecept that has recentl y e merged
as a necessary com ponent of .... a tc r re'lour~ pla nning. Sust.a inabilily is often
refe rred 10 as. three- legged stool 011 which our continued a nd future e xisrcrce
sits . Each leg represents one a TC3 o f M1stainahility: economic, social. and en vi-
ronme nt.a l. Tho: interactions of I ~ th ree: a reas and the balano:e act required
to sil le~'Clly on the ~tool determ ine ho y. susta inable a projocd or a lifC5f)'1e is.
As discussed in pre~iou.. scc no ns, some projects a re completed wit hou t
du o: l;tmsid e ra tio fl o f all assoc ia ted imp al;ts_ The ovc r-attcc anon of wa te r
resou rces 10 bo ur gcon mg popula tion s in d eve loping count ries .....ill u nly fur-
thc r d ama ge the e nviron me n t a nd lead to po litica l up he aval. Ac cording to
the critic all y acclai me d ho ok Co l/llp.' e (D ia mo nd. 2(kI5 ), pe ak ing popu la-
nons. co upled wit h climate change a nd II decrease in available Witte r sup-
plies. le d In The Ma ya ns d e m ise hu nd re d s o f yea rs ajl;o. Sim ilarly ,
unsustaina ble an d uncontaincd gro .....th ma y trigge r the co llapse ormodern
soc iet ies. as in man y of the drought -ridde n a re as o f A frica e nd the flood-
prone a nd cont am inated re gio n) of Ind ia. In the future . il will toe e xtremely
im portan t (or engineers a nd wat e r plan ne rs to conscie ntiously e valua te the
im pact of a p roject (rom an overall su"ta in.hihty po int o f view.

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750 Chopler 13

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