JOIN US FOR OUR INAUGURAL
ALL BRANCH MEETING
Flood-MAR and a Roadmap to Water Resiliency
Dr. Graham E. Fogg
Professor Emeritus of Hydrogeology
Hydrogeologist in the Agricultural Experiment Station
Department of Land, Air and Water Resources
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
UCD Director, UC Water Security and Sustainability Research Initiative
University of California, Davis
THANK YOU SACRAMENTO BRANCH FOR SCHEDULING THIS MEETING!
PRESENTATION:
By far the largest ‘space’ available for water storage is underground, especially in overdrafted groundwater systems. Although the history of groundwater development is characterized mainly by efforts to find and pump groundwater, the future of groundwater will hinge on working as hard on recharging groundwater as we do on pumping it. A new age of groundwater recharge and sustainable management will come easier if we more fully recognize the benefits of recharge, including the obvious benefits and some that are less obvious.
For most of human history, water supplies have come predominantly from existing and built surface water bodies. As population and hence demand for water grew, more and bigger surface storage projects were constructed, including conveyance structures for wheeling water long distances. As the Green Revolution and the associated large increase in food production ramped up during the middle part of the 20th century, the irrigation water needed for the revolution came initially from surface storage systems, but in the second half of the century groundwater development was increasingly used to satisfy demand. This system, with managed water storage being done mainly with surface reservoirs, and groundwater being used to supplement increasingly larger fractions of the water supply, is becoming increasingly unreliable because of groundwater overdraft and groundwater quality degradation. Furthermore, in many agricultural basins, the irrigation and urban water demands are no longer being met by the existing water stores, with simultaneous, severe depletion of both the surface and subsurface stores of water during droughts. Even moderate amounts of groundwater production have caused significant reductions in lakes, rivers and wetlands that were previously sustained by groundwater discharge, while also in effect converting many basins into closed hydrologic basins in which most of the water exits by evapotranspiration of applied irrigation water. In these newly closed hydrologic basins, just as in other closed basins, groundwater salinization is inevitable. Resolving the storage problem and water security in the face of drought can be accomplished by long-term planning and alternative land management that produces much greater groundwater recharge during wet years and a greater emphasis on subsurface storage instead of the traditional emphasis on surface storage. In turn, such a reimagining of our water storage systems is the only path toward (1) reversing the ongoing declines in regional groundwater quality caused by non-point source contamination from irrigation water and hydrologic basin closure, and (2) recovering some the ecosystem functions that were formerly supported by the underlying groundwater systems being sufficiently ‘full’ of water to discharge to the surface.
SPEAKER BIOS:
Dr. Graham E. Fogg received a B.S. in Hydrology from the University of New Hampshire, an M.S. in Hydrology and Water Resources from the University of Arizona, and a Ph.D. in Geology from The University of Texas at Austin. He has more than 40 yrs experience researching and teaching about subsurface water flow and pollutant transport processes and water resource sustainability. He taught courses at UC Davis in groundwater hydrology, groundwater modeling, applied geostatistics, and water resources. Much of his research focuses on massive increases in groundwater storage through management of flood flows and exploitation of subsurface geologic features that maximize opportunities for relatively rapid recharge. He has also worked extensively on modeling contaminant transport in groundwater both at the plume and basin scales. Dr. Fogg is a Fellow in the Geological Society of America, was the Birdsall-Dreiss Distinguished lecturer in 2002, and received the O.E. Meinzer Award in 2011.
SCHOLASTIC SPONSOR:
ABOUT COMPANY: California Laboratory Services
Founded in 1982, California Laboratory Services is a State certified small environmental laboratory committed to provide the environmental industry with the highest quality testing service. Our laboratory is located in Rancho Cordova, CA. Our laboratory performs work under State certification programs. We are certified in the State of California Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (#1233). Our laboratory performs organic, inorganic & bacteriological analyses of: Drinking Water Solid waste Petroleum fuels Waste water Soil Sludge & Hazardous Waste With facilities encompassing over 16,000 square feet of lab space, housing high-resolution instrumentation and highly trained chemists, we are positioned to offer your company a wide range of first class environmental analytical chemistry that satisfies State and Federal regulations such as: CCR Title 22 Drinking Water + CERCLA (Superfund) + NPDES Permits UST Sites + RCRA + EPA Contact: Scott Furnas (800) 638-7301-Office scottf@californialab.com 3249 Fitzgerald Road Rancho Cordova, CA 95742
ANNOUNCING SCHOLASTIC SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES:
All Proceeds to Benefit Science Students
The GRA Sacramento Branch has a history of supporting university-level science students. Our Scholastic Sponsorship Program is an opportunity to publicize your business while contributing toward a good cause. The cost is minimal; if interested, please contact Michael Bombard at (916) 865-5301 or Michael.Bombard@ghd.com.
MEETING COSTS AND RSVP:
This meeting will be provided to members at no cost but registration is necessary to receive call-in information.
Non-Member: $10.00
IIf you have questions about the meeting, please call Rodney Fricke at 916-407-8539 or email him at rodneyafricke@gmail.com. For questions about Sacramento Branch in general, including submittal of your ideas and/or desires for future presentations, please call Mike Bombard at (916) 865-5301 or email him at michael.bombard@GHD.com.