water current

UNLWATERCENTER—PARTOFTHESCHOOLOFNATURALRESOURCESVOL.36,NO.4FALL2004INSIDEWATERCURRENTPROTECTINGNEBRASKA’SWATERRESOURCESTHROUGHRESEARCHANDEDUCATION10.............TestKitsTravelFarandWide11.............MissouriRiverEPAGrant15.............WaterNewsBriefs16.............NewMethodsandCapabilities(continuedonpage4)GleicktoSpeakatAprilWaterLawScienceandPolicyConferenceBySteveRessPeterGleick,presidentofthePacificInstitute,willspeakatthisspring’sSecondAnnualWaterLaw,PolicyandScienceConferenceattheUniversityofNebraska-LincolnCityCampusUnionApril7-8.“We’reverypleasedtoannounceaspeakerofhiscaliberthisearlyintheplanningprocessfortheoverallconference,”saidconferenceco-organizerKyleHoagland,directoroftheUNLWaterCenter.Gleickisco-founderandpresidentofthePacificInsti-tuteforStudiesinDevelopment,Environment,andSecurity.Heisinternationallyrecognizedasanexpertonglobalfreshwaterresources,includingthehydrologicimpactsofclimatechange,sustainablewateruse,privatizationandglobalization,andinternationalconflictsoverwaterresources.TwoofhismorerecentbooksincludeTheWorld’sWater2002-2003:TheBiennialReportonFreshwaterResourcesandWaterinCrisis:AGuidetotheWorld’sFreshWaterResources.Gleickwilladdressthetwo-dayconference’sfirstplenarysessionon“WaterManagementandPolicy:IncreasingCompetitionforaScarceRe-source.”2................Director’sNotes3................MeettheFaculty5................DealingwithArsenic6................StudyingSDI7................RepublicanRiverEconomicsMeasurementsFromNearly5,000WellsShowGroundwaterDeclinesBySteveRessInformationfromnearly5,000groundwaterwellsacrossNebraskaindicatesgroundwaterinthestatedeclinedbyonetofivefeetfrom2002to2003inmanyheavilyirrigatedareas.Continuingdroughtandrecentlegislationtopreventconflictsbetweengroundwaterandsurfacewaterusershavecontributedtotherecentdeclines,saidJimGoeke,aUni-versityofNebraskahydrogeologist.“Atleastsomeofthedepletionsshownonthelatestgroundwater-levelchangemapproducedbytheuniversityarearesultofdrought-relatedspikesinwelldrillingandwellpumpingstatewide,”Goekesaid.ThemapshowsgroundwaterlevelchangesintheHighPlainsaquiferthatunderliesmuchofNebraska.Risesanddeclinesinaquiferlevelsarecommonandalsoareaffectedbysoiltypes,differencesingeologyandprecipitation,saidMarkBurbach,anassistantgeoscientistwiththeUni-versityofNebraska-Lincoln.Thelatestmap,whichshowsgroundwaterlevelchangesbetweenspring2002andspring2003,indicatesgroundwaterdeclinesoflessthanafoottomorethanfivefeetovermuchof(continuedonpage4)PeterGleickWATERCURRENTFALL2004PAGE2KyleD.Hoagland-DirectorJ.MichaelJess-AssociateDirectorDanielD.Snow-DirectorofLaboratoryServices,WaterSciencesLaboratoryStevenW.Ress-EditorAnneM.Moore-UNLCIT,LayoutandDesignThisnewsletterispublishedwithpartialfinancialsupportfromtheDepartmentoftheInterior;U.S.GeologicalSurvey.ThecontentdoesnotnecessarilyreflecttheviewsandpoliciesoftheDepartmentoftheInterior,nordoesmentionoftradenamesorcommercialproductsconstituteendorsementbytheU.S.Government.WATERCURRENTWaterCenterUniversityofNebraska103NaturalResourcesHallLincoln,NE68583-0844Phone:[phone]Fax:[phone]E-mail:[e-mail](continuedonpage14)ByKyleD.Hoagland,Ph.D.Inourrushtomoveforwardatever-increasingspeeds,wesometimesdon’ttakethetimetopauseforamomentandlookatallwehaveaccomplished.Thiscanbeparticularlyimportantasweresumeourmoveahead,forasothershavesaid,it’stoughtoknowwhereyou’regoingunlessyouknowfromwhereyou’vebeen.Wehavehadanexceptionallypro-ductiveandsuccessfulperiodofwaterresearch,extensionandout-reachactivityoverthelastcoupleofyearsandIthoughtitmightmakesensetorecountsomeofthosesuc-cesseshere.Noneofthiswouldhavebeenpos-siblewithouttheindividualandcol-laborativeeffortsofwhatIbelievetobeoneofthemostdiverse,capableandtalentedgroupsofwaterresearchandeducationfacultyandstaffatanyuniversityinthecountry.Wehavebecomeveryfocusedonhelpingsolvestateandregionalwaterissues,manyofwhichhavebecomeallthatmorepressingduetooneofthemostintensedroughtstheareahasexperi-encedinthelast50years.Ithasalsobeenatimeoftighten-ingbudgetsandoftenhavingtolearntodomorewithless,andyet,Ithinkwe’verespondedwelltotheneedsofourfellowcitizensinfindingwaystobetterworktogetherandbecomemoreinnovativeandrigorousinourresearchandoutreachprogrammingandreachingouttoformnewpartner-shipswithotheruniversityfacultyandstaff,aswellaswithourcol-leaguesinstateandfederalagenciesandnaturalresourcesdistrictsacrossthestate.Withallthatinmind,herearejustsomeofthestate-basedwaterresearchprojectsandrelatedextensionandoutreacheffortsthattheWaterCenterhasbeeninvolvedwithoverthepastcoupleofyears,includingsomeon-goingprojects:•HydrologicmodelingassistanceinboththePlatteandRepublicanRiverbasins.•Arsenicindrinkingwatercom-munityassistanceprojectinPolkCounty.•EconomicimpactstudyontheeffectsoftheongoingdroughtintheRepublicanRiverbasin.•Irrigationefficiencystudiessuchassubsurfacedripirrigationanddecision-supportmodelinginwesternNebraska.•Wellfieldsite-planningassis-tanceforSutherlandReservoirincon-junctionwithC