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IMPORTANCE AND THE STATE OF SURFACE WATER MEASUREMENT IN THE NAVAJO NATION

IMPORTANCE AND THE STATE OF SURFACE WATER MEASUREMENT IN THE NAVAJO NATION. AREGAI TECLE Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ THIS RESEARCH PROJECT IS FUNDED BY THE ARIZONA WATER INSTITUTE WITH SUPPORT FROM THE NAVAJO NATION DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES. DEFINITION.

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IMPORTANCE AND THE STATE OF SURFACE WATER MEASUREMENT IN THE NAVAJO NATION

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  1. IMPORTANCE AND THE STATE OF SURFACE WATER MEASUREMENT IN THE NAVAJO NATION AREGAI TECLE Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ THIS RESEARCH PROJECT IS FUNDED BY THE ARIZONA WATER INSTITUTE WITH SUPPORT FROM THE NAVAJO NATION DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES

  2. DEFINITION • Stage height – height of the water in a stream above a certain baseline. • Rating curve – A graphical representation of the relationship between the stage height and the discharge. • Stream flow or discharge – is volume flow of water (in cubic • feet) moving past a cross-section of a stream during a specific period of time (in seconds), hence the discharge unit is cubic feet per second. Crane, current meter, and weight used to measure the discharge of a river from a bridge.

  3. MAIN CONCERN There is major concern or peril due to absence, or inadequate, or reduced monitoring of the Nation’s streams and rivers (New York Times, April 11, 2006) Flooding in Wisconsin on 6/9/2008

  4. STREAM WATER COMES FROM SURFACE AND SUBSURFACE SOURCES. PRECISE MEASUREMENT OF THE STREAM DISCHARGE RATE IS NEEDED TO ACCURATELY ESTIMATE THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF WATER LEAVING A WATERSHED. THERE ARE MANY REASONS FOR THE NEED TO KNOW THE AMOUNT OF STREAM FLOW. Kinlichee Creekgauge

  5. OVERARCHING REASONS FOR THE NEED TO KNOW AND MONITOR SURFACE WATER IN THE NAVAJO NATION • Protect & manage Navajo Nation surface water resources for economic, social, cultural and spiritual benefits of the Nation • Improve the Nation’s capacity to monitor, plan and manage extreme hydrologic conditions (drought & flooding) Flooding in Wisconsin on 6/9/2008

  6. SPECIFIC PURPOSES FOR STREAM GAUGING • To enhance the public safety by providing data for forecasting and managing floods • To delineate and manage flood plains • To characterize current water-quality conditions • To operate and design multipurpose reservoirs - For domestic and agricultural water supply - For flood control - For energy generation - Recreation and wildlife habitat • To design highway bridges and culverts

  7. SPECIFIC PURPOSES FORSTREAM GAUGING –Cont. • To set minimum flow requirements to meet • aquatic life goals (habitatspawning area, food source, migration paths of • fish and other wildlife) • To monitor compliance with minimum flow • requirements • To develop or operate recreation facilities • To allocate water for municipal, industrial, • and irrigation uses • To determine impacts of phreatophyte water • consumption • To evaluate surface- and ground-water interaction • To facilitate long-term scientific studies of any • changes in the hydrologic cycle

  8. DIFFERENT WAYS OF MEASURING SURFACE WATER FLOW

  9. STREAMFLOW MEASURING DEVICES Structural example of a V-notch weir Flume used for small stream flowmeasurements Structure of a Parshall flume Various parts of a stilling well: left figure showing most appropriate location by a bridge to ensure channel stability; right figure shows the different parts of a stilling well.

  10. STREAM FLOW MEASURING DEVICES - Continue Electromagnetic current meter – advantageous in channels where fouling mechanical sensors is problematic Utrasonic water level sensor – non-contact measurement of water surface elevation used for long term operation and monitoring (sensitive to disturbances) Pressure transducer – installed submerged in the flow channel useful for long-term measurement and operation (may also be used with no cable as battery-operated) Radar level sensor – non contact measurement of water surface, mostly used for long-term operation and measurement (sensitive to disturbance)

  11. STREAM FLOW MEASURING DEVICES - Continue Current meter – acoustic doppler velocity meter – used for infrequent non-continuous water velocity measurement (has high accuracy) Price pigmy stream flow measuring device –done from a suspended position. Mechanical (Pygmy) current meter for infrequent flow measurement – vertical axis Mechanical current meter – horizontal axis

  12. STREAM FLOW MEASURING DEVICES - Cont. Microwave water surface velocity gage – useful for water surface velocity measurement during high stage floods. Bubble manometer – the manometer shelter can be located at a distance from the water’s edge in a safe location and the orifice may be easily moved to follow changing stream channel. Gas bubbles keep the orifice from getting cover by sediment Ultrasonic velocity with water level transducer –current meter. It is typically mounted in the channel bottom and measures water surface elevation and vertically-integrated velocity in small channel.

  13. CURRENT CONDITIONS OF STREAM GAUGES AND ASSOCIATED DATA IN THE NAVAJO NATION Black Creek

  14. CHARACTERISTICS THAT INFLUENCE DATA QUALITY AND RELIABILITY • INSTRUMENT RELIABILITY • INSTRUMENT MAINTENANCE • DATA HANDLING • DATA PROCESSING • DATA ACCESSIBILITY (Location) • SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION AND REPRESENTATIVENESS OF DATA • KNOWLEDGEABLE AND DEDICATED PERSONNEL AVAILABILITY Captain Tom wash gauge

  15. SOURCES OF INFORMATION USED IN THIS PRESENTATION • On-site examination of stream flow gauging sites and instruments • Relevant literature review • Downloading available USGS data on Navajo streams • Interview of relevant personnel (NDWR and USGS) • Historical data acquisition

  16. STREAM GAGE DATA ANALYSIS • Evaluation of NDWR stream flow data collection, reporting, communication, and integration needs • Arranging data and trend analysis • Comparing data from USGS and NDWR operated gauges • Determining weaknesses and strengths • Providing appropriate recommendations

  17. NAVAJO NATION STREAMS AND STREAM GAUGING NETWORKS

  18. BLACK CREEK:GAUGE CONDITION Instrument has been operating continuously Data arrangement follows a USGS format Data recording has been interrupted a number of times Problems with the gauging station • Channel invasion by Exotic vegetation • Channel bed sediment accumulation • Channel aggredation & degradation Sediment accumulation Stilling well & vegetation

  19. BLACK CREEK STREAMFLOW CHART

  20. ASSAYI CREEK: GAUGE CONDITION Problems with Assayi Creek 1. Invasion by vegetation 3. Data have not been regularly 2. Sediment accumulation taken and processed June 2007 June 2007

  21. ASSAYI CREEK DATA The graph on the left shows sporadic stream flow data while the dotted graph on the right is stage-discharge relationship of the recorded data. The chart shows little flows for high stage which may be due to errors in data recording or instrument reading or due to large amount of sediment accumulation.

  22. CHINLE CREEK: GAUGE CONDITION Three major problems are apparent in this gauging station: 1) stream braiding resulting in most of the flow taking place away from the gauge, 2) lots of sediment accumulation and 3) stream bottom plant and tree growth The consequences of these conditions are both under and over estimation of stream flow Stilling well

  23. CHINLE CREEK DATA The graph on the left hand side shows the sporadic nature of the data collected form the gauge at Chinle, and there is nothing one can do with such data. The dotted graph of stage-discharge relationship on the right shows low correlation between the two forms of stream flow measurement, which reflects the channel problem.

  24. WHEATFIELDS CREEK: GAUGE CONDITION The gauge is in a stable cross-section. However there is a great deal of vegetation invasion above the bankful stage to affect the accuracy of a stream flow measurement. As in the other gauges, we do not have a continuous record to make much sense of the data. The higher correlation between stage and discharge at low flows comopared to at higher flows is reflective of the stream cross-section. It is stable near the bottom of the stilling well but have vegetation at higher level.

  25. LUKACHUKAI CREEK: GAUGE CONDITION As with the data from the other gauging stations those from Lukachukai Creek have not followed proper protocol to provide any important information on the stream flow nor can they be used in any modeling or decision-making process. The order less scatter of the stage-discharge relationship points on the right hand side graph shows the poor gauging station condition. Large sediment accumulation and in-channel vegetation growth give a false high stage height. Observe the tremendous amount of sediment accumulation along the stream bed. There is also plenty of vegetation growth along the stream bed.

  26. CAPTAIN TOM Wash: GAUGE CONDITION There are lots of boulders in the stream cross-section where the stilling well is located. We could also see the sediment accumulation inside the stilling well. These along with the vegetation in the stream can affect the reliability of the flow data significantly. They need to be cleaned.

  27. WHISKEY CREEK: GAUGE CONDITION The flume in this station has some vegetation growth problems, but it is relatively in good condition. The stage-discharge data on the right shows this relatively good condition.

  28. TSAILE CREEK: GAUGE CONDITION This stream gauge is located in a very stable and clean reach and there are no problems associated with channel aggradation or degradation nor with sediment accumulation. The only problem is that the instrument is not calibrated for flows that rise well above bankful stage.

  29. TSAILE CREEK DATA The measured stream flow record for the gauge at Tsaile is sporadic like those in most of the other NDWR-operated gauges. However the condition of the stream makes the stage-discharge points on the right look good.

  30. KINLICHEE CREEK: GAUGE CONDITION The gauge at kinlichee Creek is located under a bridge which is stable with no vegetation growth and little sediment accumulation. The effect can be see in the near-perfect stage-discharge relationship curve below

  31. LITTLE COLORADO RIVER NEAR CAMEROON: ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF A USGS-OPERATED STREAM GAUGE

  32. SAN JUAN RIVER STREAM FLOW CHARACTERISTICS The San Juan River gauge is operated by the USGS. Compared to those operated by the NDWR, the data can be used for many purposes. Here we use it to show the wet season in the lower right hand side and to show the decreasing stream flow (or drying) condition with time in the lower left hand side. The 3-D figure to the right shows the monthly average stream flow for 27 years. The figure also shows periods of high and low flows as well as its persistent unimodal nature. We can also use the data for modeling water yield and peak flow or flood forecasting

  33. SOME CONCLUDING REMARKS The condition of the different streams and the gauging facilities in the Navajo Nation and the data gathered from those streams tell us many things. 1. The stream gauges operated by the Navajo Nation are all functioning, however, 2. The stream reaches where the gauges are located are not well maintained to provide reliable data - data are not gathered following USGS protocols and even if they were - the data from most of the gauges need proper processing for any use 3. The available gauges are concentrated in a very small portion of the Nation to represent the hydrologic conditions in the Navajo Nation 4. The main reasons for the problems are inadequate funding and shortage of manpower to properly operate existing gauges, install new ones, process and make data available for various uses, and to train and hire enough number of technical personnel to make all these possible.

  34. SOME RECOMMENDATIONS Since availability of accurate and reliable stream flow data are important for the various reasons stated previously, we recommend: • That having adequate hydrological information be a priority since many important situations such as accurate flood forecasting, proper reservoir operation, reliable estimation of agricultural and domestic water supplies, drought management as well as satisfactory wildlife and ecosystem maintenance and management depend on it; • Obtain adequate funding for existing instrument maintenance, personnel training and hiring new employees; • Ensure that data gathered from existing gages are properly processed and analyzed following standard protocol and make it available for others to use; • In the long-term, make funds available for installing gauges in streams that are not gauged at present.

  35. SOME MORE RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Seek federal government support to have the capability for proper hydrological data collection, maintenance and processing to meet its needs; • Develop a collaborative effort among local (Navajo) and relevant state and federal agencies to work together to ensure availability of needed hydrological information for various uses; • Develop ecosystem-based and multidisciplinary water resources management.

  36. THANK YOU

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