Abstract
Groundwater is of vital importance in providing
drinking water and supporting irrigated agriculture in many arid lands from the
western U.S. to Central Asia. It is
often poorly managed in comparison to surface waters, yet has far-reaching
effects on the development and chemistry of agricultural soils.
Despite ever-worsening conditions of overdraft, salt accumulation, and
pesticide concentrations, California possesses no state-wide plan for managing
groundwater (Narasimhan 1996; Department of
Water Resources 1998)
. By utilizing groundwater
level and quality data from the California Department of Water Resources I will
model the San Joaquin Valley Basin in California in GIS to understand the flow
and quality of groundwater. I will additionally make use of the Water Resources Center
Archives on campus to further understand the limitations of current California
policy regarding groundwater management. In
bringing together an understanding of the natural setting and the legal/societal
setting I hope to identify management tools for protecting groundwater in the
state. I further intend to expand
this study to the Aral Sea Basin in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to conduct a
similar analysis and to perform a pilot groundwater protection project.
I seek to find solutions in two diverse regions to the water question
that balance domestic, agricultural, and industrial uses of groundwater with the
natural environment.
Background
In California, groundwater provides a total of 15 MAF
for irrigated agriculture and drinking water supplies.
In normal years groundwater comprises 36% of California's developed water
and 60% in dry years (Department of Water
Resources 1998)
. Despite its importance,
California has no comprehensive, state-wide plan for managing groundwater or
providing local government with the tools to do so. In the San Joaquin Valley
Basin, typically unconfined aquifers of alluvial and lacustrine deposits
contribute 6 million acre-feet (MAF) of irrigation water for more then 10
billion dollars worth of crops annually and provide drinking water for many
communities. Inadequate management
has failed to remedy conditions of overdraft (1.5 MAF in the San Joaquin Valley
Basin), land subsidence, salt and pesticide accumulation in the subsurface, and
inconsistencies in water rights law (Domagalski
1992; Dubrovsky 1995)
. California needs a plan to
protect groundwater resources that accounts for the natural hydrological setting
and the societal setting; striking a balance among the agricultural, domestic,
industrial, and environmental uses of water.
Plan
of Study and Research
My coursework will be based at the Department of
Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at the University of California,
Berkeley, which emphasizes a holistic approach to finding environmental
solutions and offers flexibility in the pursuit of interdisciplinary work.
I am currently in the first year of a master's program and my course of
study includes geology, soils, watershed hydrology, groundwater, and other areas
such as water law. Located at the University are excellent facilities for the
pursuit of my research such as the Geographic Information Systems Center, the
Center for the Assessment and Monitoring of Forest and Environmental Resources,
and the Water Resources Center Archives of the University of California system.
The first stage of the research project will find its
basis in a GIS model of the San Joaquin Valley Basin.
This is already underway, making use of spatial data from the California
Department of Water Resources, the U.S. Geological Survey, and U.S. EPA's BASINS
program. The specific steps to be undertaken include: 1) the development of a
GIS model to understand the flow of groundwater in the San Joaquin Valley Basin;
2) the spatial analysis of land use practices, groundwater extraction, and
current groundwater management practices in relation to groundwater quality,
quantity, and flow patterns; 3) the identification of local entities (of which
there are many) in the Basin which are more effectively managing groundwater and
how; and 4) the compilation of successful strategies, perhaps in tandem with
plans in other states, to catalog management options that local authorities can
implement to protect groundwater resources.
Finding solutions is necessary to ensure the viability of agriculture and
to protect drinking water supplies. The
San Joaquin Valley Basin is only the first part which will lead to my M.S.
thesis.
The second stage of the research project will
incorporate my interest in the former Soviet Union. I have spent more than two years in Russia and Lithuania, and
I also have an interest in the Central Asian Republics of Kazakhstan and
Uzbekistan that share the Aral Sea and the two major rivers that feed it, the
Amu Dar'ya and Syrdar'ya. The
region has much in common with California, including the burden of intensive,
irrigated agriculture on ground and surface waters. Water diversions from the
rivers have shrunk the surface area of the Aral Sea approximately 40%, once the
fourth largest inland body of water in the world. In addition to decimating the ecology of the Aral Sea and
impairing agricultural lands, the declining quality of water is having a
catastrophic effect on public health (Feshbach
1995)
. I have already begun to
seek partnerships with Termez State University in Uzbekistan and Karaganda State
University in Kazakhstan. I further
hope that the Initiative for Social Action and Renewal in Eurasia (ISAR) will be
able to provide me with some local government or NGO contacts in the region.
This comparative analysis will lead to my Ph.D. dissertation.
The
project will result in:
·
a
comprehensive analysis of changes in groundwater chemistry, flow, and quantity
in the San Joaquin Valley Basin;
·
an
examination of California policy regarding the administration of groundwater in
California law, such as AB3030 regarding the formation of groundwater management
districts;
·
recommendations
for management solutions necessary to protect groundwater quality in the San
Joaquin Valley Basin and the state; and
·
a
comparative analysis with the Aral Sea Basin and the initiation of pilot project
in groundwater protection perhaps involving the development of GIS tools for
groundwater management.
My
experience in Lithuania and Russia, my Russian language abilities, and my
motivation will hopefully help me realize these goals.
I think groundwater protection is of critical importance from the
aquifers of the San Joaquin River Basin to those of the Aral Sea Basin to
provide humans with agricultural and drinking water and to ensure the viability
of natural ecosystems. Finding a management solution to provide for these needs and
protect groundwater is what I hope to accomplish.
References
Department of Water Resources (1998). Bulletin 160-98: California Water Plan. Sacramento, State of California.
Domagalski, J. L. (1992). Pesticides in Surface and Ground Water of the San Joaquin-Tulare Basins, California: Analysis of Available Data, 1966 through 1992, USGS.
Dubrovsky, N. M., C. R. Kratzer , L. R. Brown, J. M. Gronberg , and K. R. Burow (1995). Water Quality in the San Joaquin-Tulare Basins, California, 1992-95, USGS.
Feshbach, M. (1995). Ecological Disaster: Cleaning up the hidden legacy of the Soviet Regime. New York, The Twentieth Century Fund Press.
Narasimhan, T. N., N.W.T. Quinn (1996). Agriculture, Irrigation, and Drainage, on the West Side of the San Joaquin Valley, California: Unified Perspective on Hydrogeology, Geochemistry, and Management. Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California: 85.