H2bidblog

Water planners and managers do their best to plan for water usage patterns but there are often many assumptions that have to factor into those plans. Specifically, how will private wells be used, and how will farmers use natural water sources such as streams and rivers adjacent to their land? How robust is the aquifer? What is the recharge rate of that aquifer relative to rainfall patterns? A poor assumption relating to any of these questions can unhinge a well-crafted plan. Now, planners may have a new tool for evaluating water sustainability – satellite imagery.

Scientists at the University of California have a project called GRACE which stands for “Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment” and the project appear poised to redefine the science of hydrology. The project team looks for small variations in the Earth’s gravity to identify trouble spots where people could be making unsustainable demands on groundwater. Jay S. Famiglietti, director of the University of California’s Center for Hydrologic Modeling, says that GRACE can detect changes in ice, snow, surface water and soil moisture.

In an article in the journal Nature, the GRACE team identified and evaluated a region in northwest India. Indirect evidence had been mounting that groundwater was being consumed faster than it was being replenished but no direct evidence was available. The team used changes in observations from the NASA Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment to show that groundwater was being depleted at a mean rate of 4.0cm annually over the Indian states of Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana, including Delhi.

The Indian government suspected that this was happening, but there had been no regional assessment of the rate of groundwater depletion. The GRACE team used terrestrial water storage-change observations and simulated soil-water variations and what they found was startling. During the period from August 2002 to October 2008, the groundwater depletion was equivalent to a net loss of 109 km3 of water, which is double the capacity of India’s largest surface-water reservoir. The detected depletion was especially significant given that the annual rainfall was close to normal throughout the period which removes abnormal weather as a possible culprit.

After using the GRACE data to look at the complete picture, the team ruled out significant changes in soil moisture, water volume in fresh water bodies, glaciers and biomass that could have otherwise accounted for the water use. Based on these facts, the team concluded that human consumption was the only factor that could account for the drop in groundwater levels. Although the observation period was relatively brief, the available data indicates that an unsustainable rate of consumption is present and in the absence of measures taken to address the issue, problems could manifest including a reduction of agricultural output.

GRACE has also been used to show similar patterns of consumption in the western United States, African nations and elsewhere. In contrast to the reaction in India, where the data was viewed as a confirmation and reinforcement of what was already suspected, findings in other regions have been viewed with some suspicion. California water managers, for example, were skeptical of data that showed from 2003 to 2010, aquifers under the state’s Central Valley were drawn down by 25 million acre-feet. Additionally, Greg Zlotnick, a board member of the Association of California Water Agencies, said that the managers feared that the data could be used to demand a reallocation of the region’s freshwater resources.

As with many new technologies, there will be a learning curve with this emerging science and healthy skepticism many lead to improvements in the science or greater understanding of its limitations. Such skepticism, however, should not be used as a singular reason to dismiss findings. Rather, efforts should be made to directly confirm or challenge the GRACE findings. We should acknowledge that the entire water community is searching for the same set of answers and new methods such as the GRACE project may offer valuable tools in the quest to obtain those answers.

Water management is a tough business, even in regions where water is abundant. Imagine having the responsibility for managing water resources in a mostly-rural nation where rain is unpredictable and temperatures range from up to 30 °C in the summer and -40 °C in the winter. Couple that with a geography that features mountains over 3,000m in height and a desert that is among the driest and harshest on Earth and one can begin to understand the challenge that faces the water managers in Mongolia, a landlocked, central-Asian nation of nearly 3 million people.
Historically, Mongolians drew water from rivers and local wells; much of the population was mobile and migrated as the seasons changed. As the population grew and as more people settled in towns and cities, wells were stressed and already fragile groundwater supplies were not replenished fast enough to keep up with demand. Additionally, as a result of population growth coupled with infrequent rain, many lakes began to dry. In the past few decades, rain has become less frequent and the rain that does come is frequently in the form of heavy storms which contribute to run-off and turbidity in the rivers. Beyond that, the heavy rains tend not to soak into the ground as well as gentle precipitation, so they do not recharge the groundwater as effectively as other forms of precipitation.
Though daunting, Mongolia elected to address these challenges head-on. Beginning in 2006, Mongolia has been working with the Fraunhofer Application Center System Technology AST in Ilmenau, Germany. Working together, the parties have been engaged on a project called “Integrated Water Resources Management for Central Asia: Model Region Mongolia”; the nickname given this project by the center is MoMo. In the MoMo project, the first demonstration of the concept was the city of Darkhan. Darkhan is a city in the north of the country with approximately 100,000 permanent residents; it is situated in the Kharaa River valley and has seen sizable population increases in the past 20 years. Problems with the water infrastructure were clearly evident in Darkhan; water pumps were consuming significant amounts of energy, water pipes were in need of repair and nearly half of the drinking water was lost on its way to the end user as a result of leaks. Many yurts, traditional Mongolian family tents, had their own wells, but the water was often contaminated with bacteria. The situation made Darkhan an ideal test case that could be used to vet ideas and refine concepts that could then be utilized widely across the nation.
Software and planning tools managing water quantity have been in use for many years. The Fraunhofer team took those tools to the next level by incorporating water quality into the model, as well. The result was “HydroDyn”, a water management solution that examines both quantity and quality. A simple, yet practical, example of this is the on-site well; it is common for each cluster of tents to have a well. Often, though, these wells are contaminated with bacteria; by examining the relationship between contaminated wells and latrine placement, an improved guideline was developed that situated latrines beyond the critical distance identified by the software.
At the urban level, the software is taking data from sensitive flow sensors to directly pinpoint leaks to specific sections of pipe, taking significant time out of the leak detection and repair process. This has saved water resulting in improved availability city-wide and even a reduction in pumping costs. More importantly, the improvement in efficiency has reduced the demand on groundwater, allowing the reserves to charge and move in the direction of re-establishing themselves. Additionally, the software identified that sewage treatment was not as effective in the winter months as the summer; the root cause was traced back to the cold climate. The bacteria metabolized waste slower in the cold months than in the warmer months. To address this, the MoMo team is building a test sewage plant which will contain microorganisms in higher concentrations. The team expects the test facility to effectively treat the sewage, even in the cold months when the bacteria are less-active. Assuming success, the goal will be to transfer the findings to other plants in the country.
The MoMo project will run for another three years, at which time the team intends to recommend specific projects for larger scale in Darkhan and additional installations around the country. So far, the results look promising and the city is looking forward to the completion of this stage. Darkhan’s attitude and Mongolia’s direct action can serve as examples to other nations and regions facing water challenges. The MoMo project shows that these problems can be solved with a mix of technology, diligent analysis and committed implementation.

In the first article covering the water contamination in Camden, Ohio, H2Bid provided an overview of the problem and how the town was attempting to cope with the day-to-day issues. Camden’s municipal water system, fed from three town-maintained wells, showed salt contamination in 2010. By the end of the summer in 2010, the contamination had become so severe that the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) declared the municipal water unfit to drink. That declaration left the town’s citizens scrambling to find alternatives to a resource that had been largely taken for granted. In this article we will explore the response of the State of Ohio and the town of Camden to the problem.
Ohio EPA Testing Reveals Problems
Beginning as early as 2009, the Ohio EPA had conducted tests on the three town-managed wells. At that time, one well (identified as the Number Two well) showed elevated levels of sodium and chloride and dissolved solids. By August of 2010, the town’s water began to exhibit a distinct salty taste. After further testing, the Ohio EPA determined that the salt contamination was accelerating and was clearly impacting two of the three wells.
At first, the Ohio EPA considered the salt pollution to be a nuisance, but not a health threat. “I want to be real clear here, this salt does not belong in drinking water,” said a spokesman from the Ohio EPA. “It is safe to drink in that it won’t make healthy people sick. That doesn’t matter it doesn’t belong in water.” That attitude changed, however, when the sodium and chloride levels continued to rise and trace levels of cyanide were detected. At that point the pollution had passed what is considered safe for potable water.
On September 14, 2010, the Ohio EPA officially ordered the village of Camden to identify a means of providing Camden’s residents with drinking water that was “both safe and palatable.” According to the order from the State, Camden was required to submit detailed plans for how it would accomplish this no later than September 30, 2010. The final solution was to be in place no later than October 30, 2010. Adding urgency to the situation, the State of Ohio threatened to revoke Camden’s license to operate a drinking water system if the timeline was not met.
Options and Poor Choices
The town had two plausible choices to remedy the situation. One option involved establishing a new well in an area free of contamination, the other option involved connecting to an established regional-municipal water system. The new well might prove to be faster and more cost-effective solution – assuming that a well site could be found that could offer sustainable, safe drinking water. The regional water system (the Southwest Regional Water District or SRWD) offered a guaranteed-safe solution, but would represent a more costly solution to the town. The Ohio EPA advocated for the connection to the SRWD and advised the town that the costs should be placed squarely on the shoulders of the polluters.
The town council met and voted to go along with the Ohio EPA recommendation to connect to the SRWD system – at least initially. As September gave way to October, the town council began to rethink the strategy. The town tabled payment to the engineering firm drawing up the plans for the connection and began to seriously discuss the use of a new well as either a permanent or temporary solution. The State of Ohio was concerned because any new well would need to supply a substantial volume of water and it did not seem feasible that a single site could supply the town’s needs. Even more concerning was a slip in the schedule caused by the town council’s change in plans; any solution would not be ready until December 24, 2010.
October passed into November. Incomplete plans, changes in strategies and finger pointing left the town’s residents wondering when the situation would be resolved. The Camden Council did itself no favors by holding several closed-door sessions, taking away the transparency that could allow the town’s residents and the State of Ohio to understand the rationale behind some of the choices.
In the end, a hybrid solution was reached. A temporary well was identified that could provide Camden with potable water but the aquifer was not sufficient for long-term use. Camden began pumping water from the new well (the Klapper well) on November 18, 2010. The Ohio EPA agreed to permit the town to utilize the new well until March 15, 2011. A permanent connection to the SRWD system was to be in place by that date.
There have certainly been many “lessons learned” on all sides and there will likely be more to come. While not perfect and leaving clear room for improvement in the areas of communication and transparency, the interaction of the State and the town of Camden do show that state and local governments can and must work together to identify workable solutions to tough problems.