| Title |
Investigators | Department | Objectives | Approach Keywords | Progress Reports | Impact Statements | Publications | |
Project * COL00707 | |
| Title | Augmentation Accounting in the South Platte Using South Platte Mapping and Analysis Program (SPMAP) |
| Investigator(s) | Garcia, LA; |
| Department | Civil and Environmental Engineering |
| Objectives | Recent court rulings require the implementation of a new augmentation accounting methodology in Colorado's South Platte region. This project will develop a data driven augmentation accounting tool that will allow well water users in the South Platte to report to the State Engineer their augmentation requirements and to show how they have met these requirements. The tool will use data from two models that are part of the South Platte Mapping and Analysis Program (SPMAP). SPMAP is a suite of models that the Integrated Decision Support Group at Colorado State University has developed with the active participation of area water users and staff from the Division One State Engineer's Office (www.ids.colostate.edu/projects/splatte). The models whose data will be used in conjunction with this new project are the Integrated Decision Support Consumptive Use Model (IDSCU) and the Alluvial Water Accounting System (AWAS). Both of these models have been adopted widely in the South Platte River Basin to determine depletions of groundwater and their impacts to the river. In fact, in 2003 and 2004 the depletions and augmentation requirements for over 75% of the wells in the South Platte were calculated using these models. However, well water users still need a tool which incorporates depletions and augmentation sources. The objectives of this project are to 1) develop a tool that will allow users to do augmentation accounting and 2) cooperate with the State Engineer's Office to make the data that users have generated available to the state and other interested parties via the World Wide Web. |
| Approach | This project will follow a 'User-centered DSS Development Approach'. This approach is an interactive and dynamic development process in which the users play an integral part. Using this approach, the stakeholders define their data and modeling needs. The defined needs are then evaluated and the tools required to meet the needs are determined. The databases and tools are developed in a way that is open and transparent to everyone. The models are data driven and allow for the evaluation of many different alternatives and scenarios. Cooperatively, the users and developers decide the number of alternatives and scenarios that it is reasonable for the software to accommodate. The development process is designed to allow for broad stakeholder participation in the creation, testing and implementation of the tools. Currently major concerns of the State Engineer's Office are that water users use a methodology that is valid, transparent and consistent to provide monthly reports on augmentation requirements and that they provide these reports in a timely fashion. As Colorado State University (CSU) is viewed as an impartial third party, an augmentation accounting methodology developed and implemented by CSU would most likely be accepted by everyone, preventing costly legal battles over the methodology used for augmentation accounting. An issue that has been raised by water users is that in order to complete their reports they need to obtain at least an estimate of diversion records generated by the water commissioners. Deliverables - 1) During the first year of this project we will start working with water commissioners to develop a computer based program that will expedite and improve the reporting of the estimates of diversion records by water commissioners and facilitate the importing of these records into the augmentation accounting model. The program will be finalized during the second year of the project. 2) The AWAS model will continue to be updated based on feedback from water users. 3) By the end of the first year of the project, a prototype of the accounting module will be operational. There will be an augmentation accounting website that will allow the State Engineer's office and users to post and view the data and modeling results. 4) During the second year we will focus on developing as close to 'real time' augmentation accounting as possible. This means that augmentation accounting could be done on a daily basis, allowing those water users who have more augmentation water than depletions to do exchanges where they get credit for excess augmentation on those days. These exchanges must be reported to the state within a few days , or they will be too late to claim the credit. 5) During the third year we will concentrate on doing any final adjustments to the augmentation accounting module as well as the 'real time' accounting capabilities of the system. 6) We will maintain the documentation for model upgrades to IDSCU and AWAS as well as for the new accounting model and the web site. |
| Keywords | Well Augmentation Accounting, Groundwater Depletions, User Centered Decision Support System, Computer Models, Consumptive Use of Groundwater, South Platte Basin |
| Progress Reports | |
| 2001 | Several water management agencies have had success using some or all of the tools developed for this project. The participating agencies using the tools are: Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, Central Colorado WCD, Lower South Platte WCD, and the Division 1 Office of the state engineer. The following enhancements to the system have been completed: 1) Upgraded several GIS data layers as well as included some additional functionality into South Platte GIS component (SPGIS). 2) Expanded the capabilities of the South Platte CU Model (SPCU) to use existing data for future projections and added input and output displays for all year types (calendar, irrigation, and water). 3) Generated a first prototype of the Stream Depletion Factor model (SDFView) so that stream depletions and accretions can be computed and displayed on a daily basis. This is important for analysis of wells and recharge occurring close to the river. |
| 2002 | We continue to collaborate closely with several water management agencies which use some or all of the tools developed for this project. The participating agencies using the tools are: Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, Central Colorado WCD, Lower South Platte WCD, and the Division 1 Office of the state engineer. The following enhancements to the SPMAP system have been completed this year: 1) the ability to create hypothetical scenarios using several different methods in order to simulate conditions like prolonged drought; 2) the inclusion of tools in the consumptive use model (SPCU) to read farm, well, and surface water data stored in generic databases; and 3) the distribution of software and data using the web. This year we worked very closely with the Central Water Conservancy District and utilized their customer database (about 1,000 contracts) to help them automate a process to import their data into SPCU and create individual or group data sets to compute consumptive use for each contract. The consumptive use data can then be automatically exported into the stream depletion model (SDFView) to compute the augmentation requirements. The web site for the project is www.ids.colostate.edu/projects/splatte/ |
| 2003 | To estimate the augmentation required for areas served by wells, the SPMAP tools calculate the amount of groundwater used to meet consumptive use (CU) and estimate the impacts of the pumping on the South Platte. There are three main SPMAP tools: SPGIS, IDS CU, and IDS AWAS. SPGIS is a database of GIS information. Users can view layers that include the river, wells, SDF lines, and farms. SPGIS contains an interface for building input to the consumptive use model, IDS CU, and the aquifer water accounting system (IDS AWAS) to calculate consumptive use or well depletions. The IDS Consumptive Use Model is a data driven model to calculate the amount of groundwater used to meet consumptive use. The IDS CU Model is scaleable, allowing the user to compute consumptive use for an entire river basin or for an individual field. Scenarios can be run to reflect expected land-use or water supply changes. Recent enhancements to the consumptive use model include: the addition of three new monthly consumptive use equations (Hargreaves, Pochop, and calibrated Blaney-Criddle); the addition of two new daily consumptive use equations (ASCE and Kimberly-Penman); the ability to do water budgets on a daily basis; the ability to calculate monthly well pumping from annual records; increased scenario building capabilities; options to import data from CoAgMet and HydroBase; and screens for water managers to input data from Access or dBase files. These enhancements have made the tool more popular throughout Colorado; the Office of the State Engineer is now using the tool on the Western Slope. The third component of SPMAP is a stream depletion factor program. Stream Depletion Factors (SDF) are used to determine the lag time from when irrigation well water is pumped from, or water is recharged to, an alluvial unconfined river aquifer and when a depletion or accretion happens in the river. In the past year, this module of the SPMAP program was reconfigured and renamed the IDS Alluvial Water Accounting System (AWAS). IDS AWAS was developed in response to requests by the SPMAP advisory committee for a program that would meet their needs to comply with legal demands for more detailed augmentation accounting. More specifically, water managers dealing with wells located in areas close to the river need shorter time step accounting (less than monthly). IDS AWAS allows daily, weekly or monthly time steps and uses equations that allow the user to compute depletions for alluvial aquifers with different types of boundary conditions. |
| 2004 | Problem: In Colorado there is increased scrutiny of the amount of groundwater depletions caused by well pumping in alluvial aquifers. The impact of these depletions on river flows has prompted renewed interest in the methods used to calculate them. Water managers are attempting to reconcile the desire to make use of the large amount of storage in the alluvial aquifer with the need to protect Colorado's Doctrine of Prior Appropriation and more senior surface water rights. In order to manage conjunctive use of surface and groundwater, this project ( South Platte Mapping and Analysis Program (SPMAP)) has developed tools to evaluate four components: 1) water demands, 2) water supplies, 3) depletions of groundwater, and 4) impacts to rivers due to depletions of groundwater and resulting augmentation requirements. Narrative: Groundwater in the South Platte Basin in Colorado is used as a supplemental water supply when surface water supplies are unable to meet demand. The first step in modeling a groundwater/surface water system is calculating the water demand for the system. In agricultural systems, the demand is normally determined using either crop evapotranspiration (ET) or an estimate derived from multiplying well pumping by a factor (PDF). The IDS CU Model, an SPMAP module, allows users to determine crop consumptive use, irrigation water requirements , and depletions of groundwater using both ET and PDF methods and compare the estimates of groundwater depletions calculated by both methods. The model is scaleable, allowing the user to compute consumptive use for an entire basin or for an individual field. Scenarios can be run to reflect expected land-use or water supply changes. Recently the interface has been improved to automatically check for new program versions on start-up, allow for synthesizing of data before the historical period of record, and make automated queries of Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District's web page for weather station data. Special templates and improvements were made for collaborators and clients including the Central Water Conservancy District, the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, and the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD). To respond to the increase in users of IDS CU, two software training sessions, attracting 40 registrants, were held in June. In additon to determining water demands, supplies and depletions, lag time from when a well is pumped or water is recharged to a recharge site and when a depletion or accretion happens in the river needs to be calculated. The IDS Alluvial Water Accounting System (IDS AWAS) is the SPMAP module that determines this lag time. IDS AWAS is capable of modeling different time steps (daily, monthly , and annually) and allows users to evaluate different types of different boundary conditions (no flow boundaries, alluvial aquifers, etc.). New additions include importing well parameters from a database, the ability to set the ending year past the period of record, the ability to temporarily set pumping to zero after a given year, the ability to ignore selected wells when calculating output, and improved handling of non-calendar year formats. |
| 2005 | Problem: Recent court rulings require the implementation of a new augmentation accounting methodology in Colorado's South Platte region. Water users must now provide monthly reports giving their augmentation requirements and showing how they have met these requirements. These reports need to be done in a timely fashion and must utilize a methodology that is valid, transparent and consistent. This methodology must take into account lag times and must allow for by-pass flows and exchanges. Narrative: The South Platte Mapping and Analysis Program (SPMAP) include a GIS tool, a tool for calculating consumptive use (IDSCU), and a tool for calculating stream depletions (IDS Alluvial Water Accounting System). SPMAP has become the program of choice in the South Platte region for water users, but new needs continue to be expressed. To meet the new needs voiced by water users, we have developed the Augmentation Accountant, a program which is now being prototyped, and we have enhanced the existing IDSCU program. The Augmentation Accountant is a data-driven tool that allows well water users in the South Platte to report to the State Engineer their augmentation requirements and to show how they have met these requirements. Farmers are required to replace the groundwater that is consumptively used in their fields. To assist farmers in calculation the amount of groundwater depletions, we have added the ability to use growing degree days to IDSCU. Growing degree days are a way to calculate the amount of heat that is accumulated during the season. Previously IDSCU was able to use only crop coefficients, which assume that crop growth is occurring over an ideal or typical season. Growing degree days are able to better take into account especially warm or cold seasons. Once the groundwater depletions are calculated, their impacts need to be linked to water supply information from reservoir releases, augmentation ponds, and augmentation wells. The result of these calculations is the net effect on the river for individual augmentation plans. The state of Colorado makes available the surface water flows for irrigation in a database called Hydrobase. This year the format of Hydrobase changed from Microsoft Access to SQL Server, so IDSCU was updated to read the new format. The amount of water from augmentation ponds that can be used for augmentation is a calculation that includes weather data, pond inflows, outflows, evaporation, and surface area. Currently the water commissioner distributes a spreadsheet that contains this information for each recharge site. We have created a preprocessor to help users automatically download weather data and add it to this spreadsheet as well as perform some of the other recharge calculations. To assist water users in creating their reports in a timely manner, we have created a website, (http://animas.engr.colostate .edu/aug/index.psp) for disseminating augmentation plans of various groups in the South Platte. |
| 2006 | Problem: Recent court rulings require the implementation of a new augmentation accounting methodology in Colorado's South Platte region. Water users must now provide monthly reports giving their augmentation requirements and showing how they have met these requirements. These reports need to be done in a timely fashion and must utilize a methodology that is valid, transparent and consistent. This methodology must take into account lag times and must allow for by-pass flows and exchanges. Narrative: The South Platte Mapping and Analysis Program (SPMAP) includes a GIS tool, a tool for calculating consumptive use (IDSCU), and a tool for calculating stream depletions (IDS Alluvial Water Accounting System). SPMAP has become the program of choice in the South Platte region for water users, but new needs continue to be expressed. This year there was significant increase in the use of the Consumptive Use model (IDSCU). As a result of this increased use, we interacted with many users and provided technical support to them. We fixed bugs in the program and made enhancements to the model. Some of the major enhancements to IDSCU included adding Arizona Meteoroligical Network (AZMET), California Irrigation Management Information System (CIMIS), and the Middle Rio Grande's ET Toolbox weather data formats. We now have users of the model in California and New Mexico. In addition to using the traditional consumptive use models we are working on developing a remote sensing algorithm known as RESET (Remote Sensing of Evapotranspiration) which uses Landsat 7 and 5 imagery to calculate actual evapotranspiration (ET). ET is computed for each pixel for the instantaneous time of the satellite image. The process is based on a complete energy balance for each pixel, where ET is predicted from the residual amount of energy remaining from the classical energy balance, where ET = net radiation - heat to the soil-heat to the air. We plan to generate actual ET from the satellite energy balance approach and compare it with the results from computing ET using the traditional method (crop coefficient * reference crop ET). This comparison will be invaluable to farmers and water users because it will aid them in determining areas that are water short and help in the development of crop coefficients for the South Platte. We are working on developing ET estimates based on remote sensing for 2004 and 2005. |
| Impact | |
| 2001 | SPMAP currently provides valuable tools for managers in the Lower South Platte basin who provide water mostly to agricultural users (the highest water use category in the basin). These tools have been implemented to allow users to develop augmentation plans and manage conjunctive use of ground and surface water. The computer tools developed as part of this project allow water organizations to compute their depletions to the river in a much quicker and more efficient manner and from those estimate their augmentation requirements. These tools are being used by several water organizations in the South Platte and the Division 1 Office of the state engineer of Colorado who reviews the augmentation plans. |
| 2002 | The severe drought that impacted Colorado in the last year highlighted the need for the SPMAP tools. As water managers in the Lower South Platte Basin went about the difficult work of providing water to agricultural users (the highest water use category in the basin) and others , the SPMAP tools were used to help organizations compute their depletions to the South Platte River quickly and efficiently and to help them use these depletion computations to estimate necessary augmentation requirements. To better help water managers this year, the SPMAP tools were further enhanced and customized. For instance, the Central Water Conservancy District incorporated all their data into the SPMAP system so that they can now generate a data set to evaluate augmentation requirements. |
| 2003 | The SPMAP tools were used by over 3,000 wells (over 60 percent of the agricultural wells) in the South Platte to file augmentation plans. Drought conditions and the new regulations of Colorado Senate Bill 73 are making the SPMAP tools even more valuable. |
| 2004 | The SPMAP models are used in the South Platte to determine augmentation requirements for over 80 percent of the wells in the basin (more than 3,500 wells). The consumptive use model is now also being applied to the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District in New Mexico. |
| 2005 | Accurate estimates of water availability, demand, use, and augmentation requirements play an essential role in keeping Colorado agriculture competitive, in developing rural communities, and in promoting harmony between agriculture and the environment. CSU, being a credible impartial party in water issues, is able to develop methodologies and software, that builds consensus on water issues and prevents costly legal battles. The SPMAP tools, including the Augmentation Accountant and IDSCU, have a proven track record with water managers dealing with the complex issues pertaining to water scarcity and high demand. SPMAP models are used in the South Platte to determine augmentation requirements for over 75% of the basin (approximately 4 ,000 wells). Other western states are also adopting some of the tools. |
| 2006 | Accurate estimates of water availability, demand, use, and augmentation requirements play an essential role in keeping Colorado agriculture competitive, in developing rural communities, and in promoting harmony between agriculture and the environment. CSU, being a credible impartial party in water issues, is able to develop methodologies and software, that build consensus on water issues and prevent costly legal battles. The SPMAP tools, including the Augmentation Accountant and IDSCU, have a proven track record with water managers dealing with the complex issues pertaining to water scarcity and high demand. SPMAP models are used in the South Platte to determine augmentation requirements for over 75% of the basin (approximately 4 ,000 wells). Other western states are also adopting some of the tools. |
| Publications | |
| 2001 |
Garcia, L.A. Patterson, D., Lange, R.W., Altenhofen, J., Hall, J.R., Leaf, F., and Odor, J. (2001) "South Platte Mapping and Analysis Program (SPMAP) Decision Support Tools for the Lower South Platte", Completion Report No. 193, 2001. |
| 2004 |
Garcia, L.A. "User Centered Approach to Develop Decision Support Systems - Estimating Pumping and Augmentation Flow Needs in the South Platte Basin in Colorado" published in the proceedings of the USCID Conference on Water Rights and Related Water Supply Issues October 13-16, 2004 - Salt Lake City, Utah. |