Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE Meeting 1: January 5, 2010 10:00 am – 12:00 pm 1. Introduction and opening remarks 15 minutes EEA Assistant Secretary and Committee Chairman David Cash EEA Agency Commissioners Introductions by Committee members 2. Facilitator and Process 10 minutes 3. Mission and Roles of Advisory Committee and Technical Subcommittee 20 minutes 4. Goals and Objectives, Timeline and Deliverables 20 minutes 5. Policy Issues and Tasks a. Policy Issues for the Advisory Committee b. Technical issues for the Technical Subcommittee 20 minutes 6. Overview of water-related studies conducted by the Commonwealth over the last 10 years - Linda Hutchins, DCR 25 minutes 7. Next Steps a. Charge to both Committees b. Meeting Schedule & Next Meeting 10 minutes Dates for next Advisory Committee Meetings: MISSION STATEMENTS 1. Sustainable Water Resources Advisory Committee (Advisory Committee): The Advisory Committee will advise the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Department of Fish and Game (DFG), and the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) on the following: a. how to ensure that the Commonwealth’s abundant water resources are protected and sustainably managed for habitat protection and economic development; and b. the development of a sustainable water allocation system that i. examines contributing causes and solutions to water use and ecological challenges; and ii. evaluates and establishes methodologies that incorporate streamflow criteria, safe yield, impacts on users, conservation measures, economic impacts, mitigation options, environmental safeguards, and consideration of water resources uses. While it is anticipated that this effort will inform MassDEP’s implementation of the Water Management Act and the development of safe yield, the committee will also consider other major contributing stressors on impacted streamflow, and related statutes and programs (such as stormwater, dams, etc.) in helping EEA and its agencies in the development of an integrated sustainable water management approach. 2. Water Resources Technical Subcommittee (Technical Subcommittee): The Technical Subcommittee will provide technical and scientific information and analysis to support the sustainable water management and allocation activities of the Sustainable Water Resources Advisory Committee and EEA, DEP, DFG, and DCR, including options for developing a river classification system and streamflow criteria. POLICY QUESTIONS AND TASKS 1. How do we develop long-term safe yield? How will the other 9 criteria, that are outlined in the WMA and need to be considered in permit decisions, be included? How will water be allocated? Advisory Committee Provide recommendations for determining safe yield using environmental and hydrologic parameters Discuss how allocation, offsets and mitigation would be determined, applied and implemented Discuss how this will be applied to registrations Technical Subcommittee Evaluate which environmental parameters should be considered in safe yield and how Draft a methodology for allocation Draft offsets and mitigation mechanisms and options for problem areas 2. What are the streamflow needs of aquatic life? How do we develop and incorporate streamflow criteria into the WMA and any other water management program? Advisory Committee Recommend a river classification system in consultation with the Technical Subcommittee Recommend streamflow criteria in consultation with the Technical Subcommittee Discuss how both the above would be applied and implemented Technical Subcommittee Identify and analyze the components for assessing river health using information from the Indicators project, Fish and Flow, Target Fish project, and other relevant research Analyze and Develop cut-offs necessary for a river classification system & develop options for a classification system Develop options for streamflow criteria 3. How can Massachusetts develop a fully-integrated and sustainable water management approach? How do we include other stresses on water resources? Advisory Committee Recommend mechanisms or processes to address each stressor. Mechanisms could include laws, regulations, grants, and technical assistance Technical Subcommittee Evaluate the impacts of stressors such as dams and other impediments, wastewater, land use and impervious surfaces, to aquatic life Determine thresholds of impacts of the stressors STREAMFLOW and AQUATIC HABITAT RESEARCH in MASSACHUSETTS 2000 to Present Evaluation of Streamflow Requirements for Habitat Protection by Comparison to Streamflow Characteristics at Index Streamflow-Gaging Stations in Southern New England USGS WRIR 03-4332 (2003) Streamflow characteristics and methods for determining streamflow requirements for habitat protection were investigated at 23 active index streamflow-gaging stations in southern New England. Fish communities sampled near index streamflow-gaging stations in Massachusetts have a high percentage of fish that require flowing-water habitats for some or all of their life cycle. The relatively unaltered flow condition at these sites was assumed to be one factor that has contributed to this condition. Streamflow requirements for habitat protection were determined for 23 index stations by use of three methods based on hydrologic records, the Range of Variability Approach, the Tennant method, and the New England Aquatic-Base-Flow method. Streamflow requirements for habitat protection were determined for riffle habitats near 10 index stations by use of two methods based on hydraulic ratings, the Wetted-Perimeter and R2Cross methods. Streamflow requirements determined by the different methods were evaluated by comparison to streamflow statistics from the index streamflow-gaging stations. 23 Index Gages Streamflow needs for Aquatic Habitat Page 1 of 10 STREAMFLOW and AQUATIC HABITAT RESEARCH in MASSACHUSETTS 2000 to Present Characteristics and Classification of Least Altered Streams in Massachusetts USGS SIR 2007-5291 Streamflow records from 85 streamflow-gaging stations at which streamflows were considered to be least altered were used to characterize natural streamflows within southern New England. Period-ofrecord streamflow data were used to determine annual hydrographs of median monthly flows. The shapes and magnitudes of annual hydrographs of median monthly flows, normalized by drainage area, differed among stations in different geographic areas of southern New England. These differences were gradational across southern New England and were attributed to differences in basin and climate characteristics. Streamflows were used in the Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration (IHA) and Hydrologic Index Tool (HIT) programs to determine 224 hydrologic indices for the 61 stations. Principal-components analysis (PCA) was used to reduce the number of hydrologic indices to 20 that provided nonredundant information. The PCA also indicated that the major patterns of variability in the dataset are related to differences in flow variability and low-flow magnitude among the stations. A comparison of station classifications indicated that a classification based on multiple hydrologic indices that represent different aspects of the flow regime did not result in the same classification of stations as a classification based on a single type of statistic such as a monthly median. River basins identified by the cluster analysis as having similar hydrologic properties tended to have similar basin and climate characteristics and to be in close proximity to one another. Stations were not classified in the same cluster on the basis of geographic location alone; as a result, boundaries cannot be drawn between geographic regions with similar streamflow characteristics. Rivers with different basin and climate characteristics were classified in different clusters, even if they were in adjacent basins or upstream and downstream within the same basin. 61 Index Gages for Massachusetts Reference Streamflows WRC Mass. Index Streamflows Includes median seasonal flows for fish bioperiods Page 2 of 10 STREAMFLOW and AQUATIC HABITAT RESEARCH in MASSACHUSETTS 2000 to Present Fish community response to flow alteration, land use, and water quality in the Ipswich, SuAsCo, and Blackstone River basins, southern New England (USGS 2008 Pilot Study) Changes in land- and water-use have resulted in flow alterations in many streams and rivers in Massachusetts. Changes in streamflow, together with other stressors can substantially alter stream ecosystems, including fish communities. The extent to which the flow regime and habitats of rivers in Massachusetts can be altered from natural while maintaining the integrity of river ecosystems remains unknown. Project objectives: 1. Assess the degree of flow alteration due to withdrawals and returns in sub-basins of the Blackstone, Assabet/Sudbury, and Ipswich River Basins. These basins have been previously modeled by the USGS, and include 65, 44, and 69 HSPF model-node sub-basins, respectively. The sub-basins range from “reference” (or relatively unaltered) to highly altered basins. 2. Classify the sub-basins by degree of urbanization and by physical basin characteristics, including surficial geology (percent sand and gravel), slope, elevation, ecoregion, percent wetlands, impounded area, and by selected water-quality variables, to the extent data is available. 3. Compare statistically the composition of the fish communities from similar sub-basins with different degrees of flow alteration. 2008 Pilot Study of 3 Basins Fish community response to flow alteration, land use, and water quality Flow data for 178 HSPF sub-basins Impervious cover Page 3 of 10 Fish Community data from MDFW and RIDEM STREAMFLOW and AQUATIC HABITAT RESEARCH in MASSACHUSETTS 2000 to Present Development of target fish community models for Massachusetts mainstem rivers. MA Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, Westborough, Massachusetts (2008) The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MDFW) applied the Target Fish Community (TFC) approach to the majority of Massachusetts mainstem rivers. TFCs describe expected fish community composition. This allows us to compare an expectation to what we currently find in our mainstem rivers. TFC evaluations were developed to determine models for fish community composition for rivers in southern New England. Each mainstem river TFC is constructed using fish community data from several relatively high quality rivers (e.g. few or no impoundments, withdrawals, low impervious surface) that have similar physical and zoo-geographical characteristics (e.g. watershed size, geology, gradient). For the purposes of this report, these high quality rivers will be referred to as reference rivers. The mainstem fish communities were compared to their respective TFCs by a percent similarity index. This index measures, on a scale of zero (no similarity) to 100 percent (complete similarity), the degree to which the current and Target Fish Communities coincide based on species presence and relative abundance. We used the percent similarity scores, in conjunction with species scarcity measures to categorize the studied rivers into good, fair, or poor condition (see below). Watershed Fish Community Status Good Westfield Fair Poor Farmington Blackstone Hoosic Charles Housatonic Concord Nashua Ipswich Quinebaug Shawsheen Westfield Hoosic Quinebaug Nashua Housatonic Farmington Concord Shawsheen Charles Ipswich Blackstone 76(0) 68(1) 62(1) 50(1) 44(0) 39(1) 38(1) 32(1) 28(3) 23(2) 22(4) 0 20 40 60 Percent Unassessed rivers are in blue Page 4 of 10 80 100 STREAMFLOW and AQUATIC HABITAT RESEARCH in MASSACHUSETTS 2000 to Present USGS/DEP Massachusetts Sustainable Yield Estimator (SYE): a decisionsupport tool to assess water availability at ungaged sites in Massachusetts (USGS SIR 2009-xxxx) Federal, state, and local water supply, regulatory, and planning agencies require easy-to-use, technicallydefensible, decision-support tools that can evaluate effects of existing and proposed water withdrawals, compute any number of flow statistics, determine baseline streamflow conditions needed for sustainability of aquatic habitat, and estimate inflows to drinking-water-supply reservoirs for safe yield analyses at ungaged locations. An interactive, point-and-click, decision-support tool was developed in combination with a geographic-information system to address these needs. The decision-support tool estimates time series of unregulated and regulated daily streamflows at any user-selected location on a perennial stream in Massachusetts using an index-streamflow station selected by the tool as most similar to the chosen location. The SYE incorporates a spatially-referenced database of ground- and surface-water withdrawals, groundwater discharges, and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) return flows statewide. For a user-selected basin, the water-use database is queried to obtain these water-use locations within the basin. The effects of ground- and surface-water withdrawals and discharges are subtracted and added, respectively, from the unregulated, daily streamflow to obtain a time series of regulated, daily streamflow at an ungaged location. Estimated unregulated daily streamflows show remarkably good agreement with observed unregulated daily streamflows and are generally comparable to the agreement obtained from a calibrated rainfall-runoff model. The user can also input environmental flow targets for comparison to the modeled streamflows. 2009: USGS/DEP SYE Application Sustainable yield STREAMFLOW Unimpacted streamflow User-specified instream-flow targets USER-SPECIFIED TIME PERIOD WELL 1 Impacted streamflow PROPOSED WELL STREAMFLOW WWTP 1 User-specified instream-flow targets USER-SPECIFIED TIME PERIOD Page 5 of 10 STREAMFLOW and AQUATIC HABITAT RESEARCH in MASSACHUSETTS 2000 to Present USGS Indicators of Stream alteration, impounded storage, water quality, and impervious cover for Massachusetts stream basins (USGS SIR 2009-xxxx) Massachusetts streams and stream basins have been subjected to a wide variety of human alteration since colonial times. These alterations include water withdrawals, wastewater discharges, construction of dams, forest clearing, and urbanization—all of which have the potential to affect streamflow regimes, water quality, and habitat integrity for fish and other aquatic biota. A set of indicators were developed to characterize these major types of alteration for 1,429 subbasins across the Commonwealth. Indicators were also assessed at the HUC-12 scale for 183 basins in Massachusetts. All withdrawal and discharge data used in the study were reported to the state for the 2000-2004 period, except domestic-well withdrawals and septic-system discharges, which were estimated for this study. The study utilized the USGS/DEP Sustainable Yield Estimator (SYE) tool. Indicators of flow alteration included: monthly January, April, August, and October flows; annual 7-day minimum flows; and low-flow pulse and duration. Other analyses include annual relative net demand and water-use intensity based on comparison to average annual flows. The subbasin storage ratio indicates the potential for alteration of subbasin flow, sediment-transport, and temperature regimes by dams. Dam density was also analyzed as an indicator of stream habitat fragmentation by dams. Impervious cover, an indicator of urban land use, has been shown to be negatively correlated with the health of aquatic ecosystems. The water quality status of Massachusetts streams assessed by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to the requirements of Section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act were also mapped as part of this project. Habitat Fragmentation Indicator Dam Density, dams per stream mile ~3,500 dams Riverways/DCR database DRAFT August Median Flow Alteration Dam Density Page 6 of 10 STREAMFLOW and AQUATIC HABITAT RESEARCH in MASSACHUSETTS 2000 to Present Fish Community Response to Flow Alterations, Land Use, Impoundments, and Water Quality in Massachusetts (USGS SIR 2011-xxxx) (Statewide Fish-Flow-Habitat Study) A recent assessment of fish community composition at Massachusetts Department of Fish and Wildlife (MDFW) fish-sampling sites in the Ipswich, Sudbury-Assabet, and Blackstone River basins showed that scatterplots of relations between percent fluvial-specialist fish and percent flow alteration had a wedge-shaped data distribution. This wedge-shaped distribution indicates that flow alteration sets an upper limit, or ceiling, for the percentage of fluvial fish in a fish community, and that other unmeasured factors, such as water quality, connectivity, or habitat may also limit fish community composition. In other words, regardless of other conditions, when flow alteration is high, the percentage of fluvial fish will be low, but when flow alteration is low, the percentage of fluvial fish may or may not be high, depending on the influence of the other factors. The response of fish community composition may be difficult to detect at high levels of alteration because few flow-sensitive fish species remain once alterations exceed certain thresholds. Identification of the upper limits and thresholds in these relations would be useful to Massachusetts agencies managing the state’s water-resources. A statewide assessment relating fish community composition at MDFW fish-sampling sites to disturbance factors and basin characteristics will allow the response of fish communities to these factors to be evaluated over a wide range of conditions. Disturbance factors to be evaluated include flow alteration, imperviousness, impoundment, and water-quality. Fish communities are also strongly influenced by their habitat. Relations between fish-community composition and physical basin characteristics will be evaluated at fish sample sites. Physical basin characteristics to be evaluated include drainage area, elevation, slope, and surficial geology. Fish communities integrate the effects of many stressors, many of which are highly correlated. Consequently, a multivariate statistical analysis will be used to evaluate relations between fish communities and various disturbance factors. Approach (1): Use quantile regression to identify upper limits on fish community composition • Fish community metrics will be plotted against disturbance factors 100 pFS 80 60 pabsaugiu 40 Prediction 20 0 0 50 100 150 pabsaugiu 100 pFS 80 60 pnimpv 40 Prediction 20 0 0 5 10 15 20 25 pimpv Source: Rich Vogel (Tufts University) Source: Cade, B.S., and Noon, B.R., 2003: A gentle introduction to quantile regression For ecologists We are working with R. Vogel to develop quantitative methods for Identifying envelope curves using quantile regression Page 7 of 10 STREAMFLOW and AQUATIC HABITAT RESEARCH in MASSACHUSETTS 2000 to Present Factors Affecting Firm Yield and the Estimation of Firm Yield for Selected Streamflow-Dominated Drinking-Water-Supply Reservoirs in Massachusetts USGS SIR 2006-5044 (Firm Yield I) Factors affecting reservoir firm yield, as determined by application of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s Firm Yield Estimator (FYE) model, were evaluated, modified, and tested on 46 streamflow-dominated reservoirs representing 15 Massachusetts drinking-water supplies. The model uses a mass-balance approach to determine the maximum average daily withdrawal rate that can be sustained during a period of record that includes the 1960s drought-ofrecord. The FYE methodology to estimate streamflow to the reservoir at an ungaged site was tested by simulating streamflow at two streamflow-gaging stations in Massachusetts and comparing the simulated streamflow to the observed streamflow. In general, the FYE-simulated flows agreed well with observed flows. There were substantial deviations from the measured values for extreme high and low flows. A sensitivity analysis determined that the model’s streamflow estimates are most sensitive to input values for average annual precipitation, reservoir drainage area, and the soilretention number-a term that describes the amount of precipitation retained by the soil in the basin. Firm yields for 25 (14 single-reservoir systems and 11 multiple-reservoir systems) reservoir systems were determined by using the historical records of streamflow and precipitation. Current water-use data indicate that, on average, 20 of the 25 reservoir systems in the study were operating below their estimated firm yield; during months with peak demands, withdrawals exceeded the firm yield for 8 reservoir systems. Page 8 of 10 STREAMFLOW and AQUATIC HABITAT RESEARCH in MASSACHUSETTS 2000 to Present Ground-Water Contributions to Reservoir Storage and the Effect on Estimates of Firm Yield for Reservoirs in Massachusetts USGS SIR 2006-5045 (Firm Yield II) Potential ground-water contributions to reservoir storage were determined for nine reservoirs in Massachusetts that had shorelines in contact with sand and gravel aquifers. The effect of ground water on firm yield was not only substantial, but furthermore, the firm yield of a reservoir in contact with a sand and gravel aquifer was always greater when the ground-water contribution was included in the water balance. Increases in firm yield ranged from 2 to 113 percent, with a median increase in firm yield of 10 percent. Additionally, the increase in firm yield in two reservoirs was greater than 85 percent. This study identified a set of equations that are based on an analytical solution to the ground-waterflow equation for the case of one-dimensional flow in a finite-width aquifer bounded by a linear surface-water feature such as a stream. These equations, which require only five input variables, were incorporated into an existing firm-yield-estimator (FYE) model, and the potential effect of ground water on firm yield was evaluated. To apply the FYE model to a reservoir in Massachusetts, the model requires that the drainage area to the reservoir be clearly defined and that some surface water flows into the reservoir. For surface-water-body shapes having a more realistic representation of a reservoir shoreline than a stream, a comparison of ground-water-flow rates simulated by the ground-water equations with flow rates simulated by a twodimensional, finite-difference ground-waterflow model indicate that the agreement between the simulated flow rates is within ±10 percent when the ratio of the distance from the reservoir shoreline to the aquifer boundary to the length of shoreline in contact with the aquifer is between values of 0.5 and 3.5. Page 9 of 10 STREAMFLOW and AQUATIC HABITAT RESEARCH in MASSACHUSETTS 2000 to Present Refinement and Further Evaluation of the Massachusetts Firm-YieldEstimator Model, v 2.0. (USGS SIR 2010-xxxx) (Firm Yield III) This study addresses problem statements not taken up in the two prior firm yield studies. This research study will focus on improvements to the calculation of the groundwater contribution in the Firm-Yield-Estimator (FYE) model; validation of the FYE model and estimation of reservoiraquifer characteristics; address uncertainty in firm yield estimates determined from the historical record; conduct simulations on the effect of different drought conditions on calculations of firm yield; and conduct simulations on the effects of release scenarios and demand management on firm yield. In addition, this project will research the effects of water-depth measurements on estimates of reservoir storage and firm yield, which in effect, will provide guidance on bathymetry for data collection on reservoir storage capacity and analysis for stage-storage relationships for future firm yield analysis. A further deliverable of this project is to develop a user-friendly FYE Model, Version 2.0, along with a user manual. The new model code will incorporate the research findings from all three firm yield studies and the model and manual will be posted on the MassDEP webpage for all to use. Finally, as a result of improvements made to the basic model code, Firm Yield III will also publish revised estimates for the firm yields previously reported in Firm Yield Reports I and II, in addition to firm yield estimates determined for added research reservoirs. Page 10 of 10