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