WSC Category 1 - Hydrologic and Ecological Impacts of Changes in Human Water Resource Management in Response to Climate Change and Urbanization

Utah State University, Logan UT

Investigators

Abstract

NSF 1038973 WSC CATEGORY 1: Hydrologic and Ecological Impacts of Changes in Human Water Resource Management in Response to Climate Change and Urbanization. Human responses to rapid demographic and climatic changes in the Intermountain West have major ramifications for how water flows through this landscape, which in turn affect patterns of water availability, water quality, and the provision of ecological services. Existing scientific understanding of hydrologic and ecological processes in this region tends to be fragmented by discipline, fails to account for many important human elements, and lacks an integrated social-engineering-geoscience-ecological theoretical framework. This project supports a team of interdisciplinary scientists and applied water resource managers to develop a scientific research plan to study complex water systems in the transitioning irrigated landscapes of this Intermountain region. A core scientific question underlying the project is: "What are the intended and unintended consequences of changes in water availability, water allocation and water use efficiency in response to anticipated climate change and urbanization?" To answer that question, the project will produce an analytical framework for modeling patterns of climate change, human water use and their impacts on local and watershed-scale hydrologic processes and ecological systems. A major focus is the identification of ways to integrate human infrastructure and behavior within existing hydrologic and ecological models, and the interactions among the various components. Project activities include weekly workgroup sessions for researchers and water resource managers to share expertise and sensitize team members to the accomplishments and limitations of one another's work. The project also uses in-depth interdisciplinary research methodology workshops to build a unified vision among team members that will guide future research design, data analysis, and modeling approaches. Field trips and meetings in local watersheds help ensure that the research plan is designed with full awareness of the complex social, economic, and political realities that constrain water resource management strategies in this landscape. A key project output will include a synthesis paper that outlines plans for a water systems research observatory and modeling program that integrates human, hydrologic, engineering and ecological components. Projected climate change and population growth in the Intermountain West will require intensive management of water resources. This project will develop an improved science framework for understanding the impacts of management decisions on water availability, water quality, and ecosystem health in the region. By supporting interdisciplinary collaboration and integrating human and natural science models, the project contributes to better scientific understanding of complex water system dynamics. Meanwhile, systematic interactions between scientists and stakeholders ensure that future research will address the information needs and real-world constraints of applied water resource managers. The project provides important educational benefits in two ways. First, graduate students are receiving valuable training and experience by collaborating in an interdisciplinary work environment and helping design an integrated water systems research plan. Second, water resource managers and users are gaining a deeper understanding of the strengths and gaps in the existing science base, and are improving their ability to work with regional scientists.