Storing and managing water for the environment is more efficient than mimicking natural flows.

Dams and reservoirs are often needed to provide environmental water and maintain suitable water temperatures for downstream ecosystems. Here, we evaluate if water allocated to the environment, with storage to manage it, might allow environmental water to more reliably meet ecosystem objectives than a proportion of natural flow. We use a priority-based water balance operations model and a reservoir temperature model to evaluate 1) pass-through of a portion of reservoir inflow versus 2) allocating a portion of storage capacity and inflow for downstream flow and stream temperature objectives. We compare trade-offs to other senior and junior priority water demands. In many months, pass-through flows exceed the volumes needed to meet environmental demands. Storage provides the ability to manage release timing to use water efficiently for environmental benefit, with a co-benefit of increasing reservoir storage to protect cold-water at depth in the reservoir.

Hydrologic response and watershed sensitivity to climate warming in California's Sierra Nevada.

This study focuses on the differential hydrologic response of individual watersheds to climate warming within the Sierra Nevada mountain region of California. We describe climate warming models for 15 west-slope Sierra Nevada watersheds in California under unimpaired conditions using WEAP21, a weekly one-dimensional rainfall-runoff model. Incremental climate warming alternatives increase air temperature uniformly by 2 degrees, 4 degrees, and 6 degrees C, but leave other climatic variables unchanged from observed values. Results are analyzed for changes in mean annual flow, peak runoff timing, and duration of low flow conditions to highlight which watersheds are most resilient to climate warming within a region, and how individual watersheds may be affected by changes to runoff quantity and timing. Results are compared with current water resources development and ecosystem services in each watershed to gain insight into how regional climate warming may affect water supply, hydropower generation, and montane ecosystems. Overall, watersheds in the northern Sierra Nevada are most vulnerable to decreased mean annual flow, southern-central watersheds are most susceptible to runoff timing changes, and the central portion of the range is most affected by longer periods with low flow conditions. Modeling results suggest the American and Mokelumne Rivers are most vulnerable to all three metrics, and the Kern River is the most resilient, in part from the high elevations of the watershed. Our research seeks to bridge information gaps between climate change modeling and regional management planning, helping to incorporate climate change into the development of regional adaptation strategies for Sierra Nevada watersheds.

The legacy of mercury cycling from mining sources in an aquatic ecosystem: from ore to organism.

Clear Lake is the site of an abandoned mercury (Hg) mine (active intermittently from 1873 to 1957), now a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Site. Mining activities, including bulldozing waste rock and tailings into the lake, resulted in approximately 100 Mg of Hg entering the lake's ecosystem. This series of papers represents the culmination of approximately 15 years of Hg-related studies on this ecosystem, following Hg from the ore body to the highest trophic levels. A series of physical, chemical, biological, and limnological studies elucidate how ongoing Hg loading to the lake is influenced by acid mine drainage and how wind-driven currents and baroclinic circulation patterns redistribute Hg throughout the lake. Methylmercury (MeHg) production in this system is controlled by both sulfate-reducing bacteria as well as newly identified iron-reducing bacteria. Sediment cores (dated with dichlorodiphenyldichlorethane [DDD], 210pb, and 14C) to approximately 250 cm depth (representing up to approximately 3000 years before present) elucidate a record of total Hg (TotHg) loading to the lake from natural sources and mining and demonstrate how MeHg remains stable at depth within the sediment column for decades to millenia. Core data also identify other stresses that have influenced the Clear Lake Basin especially over the past 150 years. Although Clear Lake is one of the most Hg-contaminated lakes in the world, biota do not exhibit MeHg concentrations as high as would be predicted based on the gross level of Hg loading. We compare Clear Lake's TotHg and MeHg concentrations with other sites worldwide and suggest several hypotheses to explain why this discrepancy exists. Based on our data, together with state and federal water and sediment quality criteria, we predict potential resulting environmental and human health effects and provide data that can assist remediation efforts.

Origin of shallow ground water in an alluvial aquifer as determined by isotopic and chemical procedures.

In this study, we identify the origin of shallow ground water that supports regionally unique plant and wildlife habitats in a riparian and reservoir-fringe system using isotopic and chemical procedures. This study was conducted where Little Stony Creek flows into East Park Reservoir on the east front of the Coast Range, northern California. Little Stony Creek water, Hyphus Creek water, Franciscan Complex regional ground water, Great Valley Group regional ground water, and local shallow ground water were collected during wet and dry seasons and were analyzed for deuterium, oxygen-18, temperature, pH, redox potential, conductivity, and major cation and anion concentrations. Turnover in the local flow system is rapid indicating that local shallow ground water is dependent on recent recharge. Local shallow ground water is recharged primarily by Little Stony Creek water and Franciscan Complex ground water. In the wet season, Little Stony Creek is the more prominent source of local shallow ground water, and the ratio of Little Stony Creek water to Franciscan Complex ground water decreases with distance from the channel. In the dry season, Franciscan Complex ground water is the more prominent source of local shallow ground water, and the ratio of Little Stony Creek water to Franciscan Complex ground water decreases with distance down the valley. Franciscan Complex ground water discharges to local shallow ground water throughout the year, primarily because the local flow system is a regional low that lies perpendicular to the Franciscan Complex ground water flowpath. Little Stony Creek is a more prominent source of ground water in the wet season than in the dry season because Little Stony Creek flows continuously through the alluvial reach in the wet season and intermittently through the alluvial reach in the dry season. Extensive ground water withdrawals from the Franciscan Complex flow system could reduce the amount of water available to the local flow system, particularly during the dry season, and could substantially reduce the geographic extent of the regionally unique plant and wildlife habitats.