Drought and Water Supply Issues in

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Drought and Water Supply Issues in
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Water Supply Concerns
Reduced supply - drought
Increasing demand
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Water Supply It all Starts Here
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The Natural Supply and Demand of Water
Evapotranspiration
Over 50 of precipitation is lost to
evapotranspiration
Precipitation
Moisture Deficit
Groundwater Recharge
Moisture Surplus
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What is Groundwater?
well
Soil
Capillary Water
Unsaturated Rock
Water Table
Saturated Rock (Aquifer)
Saturated Water
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An Example of Normal Groundwater Fluctuations
During the Year
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Wells, Springs, and Other Private Water Systems
1000 to 5000
5,000 to 10,000
10,000 to 15,000
15,000 to 20,000
gt 20,000
1990 Census data
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The Added Pressure on Water Resources
Wells drilled between 1966-1994 Average of
15,000 new wells each year!
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Private Water Supplies in PA
Total 899,483
Total 1,083,087
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Water Use
Consumptive Water Use
Septic System
Non-Consumptive Water Use
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Groundwater Mining
Consumptive Water Use
Can result from -removal of water -density of
homes
Treatment Plant
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Drought

• Meteorological based solely on precipitation
• Agricultural based on soil moisture
• Hydrologic based on stream flow, groundwater
  conditions

Not correlated to air temperature
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Drought Measurements

• Precipitation
• NWS precipitation stations
• Streamflow
• USGS monitoring stations
• Groundwater Levels
• 50 wells throughout state
• Palmer Drought Index
• Computed for ten divisions
• Reservoir Storage
• Delaware River Basin

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Precipitation Data
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Stream Flow Monitoring Network
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Ground Water Monitoring Network
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Example of Groundwater Data Available on USGS
Web Site
observed
average
record low
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Palmer Drought Index

• Long term hydrologic index
• Widely used (and abused)
• Water balance method compares water input to
  water demands
• Complex, need 30 years of data
• Values range from 6 to 6
• Positive number surplus moisture
• Negative number moisture deficit
• Normalized to climate

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Historical Palmer Drought Index in
Pennsylvania(1930 2001)
moderate
severe
extreme
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Drought Susceptibility

• Cisterns (High)
• Streams
• Ponds
• Springs
• Shallow Wells
• Deep Wells (Low)

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Drought Stages

• Watch - warning emergency
• Each stage carries increasingly strict water use
  regulations
• Need three of five indices to agree on stage
• Stage recommended by Emergency Management Council
• Emergency declared by Governor
• Enforced by DEP, River Basin Commissions, police
• Separate declarations can be made by the River
  Basin Commissions to control streamflow

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Managing Your Water Supply During Drought

• Obtain your well log if possible
• Rock type, depth, yield, depth to water, etc.
• Keep records
• Identify alternate sources (private and public)
• Monitor your water supply
• depth to water in the well
• flow from springs
• Monitor nearby wells and streams on the web?
• Hire a consulting hydrogeologist? ()
• Water conservation!!

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Monitoring Wells During Drought
Water Level Recorder

• Allows accurate detection of water level
• Can be easily and quickly read
• 250 - 1,000

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Planning For Your Water Needs
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Recommended Flow Rates for Homes(gallons per
minute)
Bathrooms
Bedrooms 1 2 3
2 6 10
3 8 12 14
4 10 14 16
5 15 17
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Flow Rates for Livestock Production
Flow Rate (gallons per minute)
0
8
16
24
28
32
36
39
42
45
48
50
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
10000
12000
Peak Use (gallons per day)
Assumes relatively uniform use throughout the day
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Example

• 600 hogs _at_ 4 gpd 2,400 gpd
• Hose for hydraulic
• waste removal (1 hr) 600 gpd
• Total 3,000 gpd
• Necessary flow rate 24 gpm

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Home Water Use in Pennsylvania
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Water Conservation

• achieved by change in habit or plumbing
• voluntary 10 during watch and warning
• mandated 15 during drought emergency
• ban on non-essential use
• always controversial
• water rationing last resort
• agriculture exempt
• can be difficult to enforce

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Effect of Water Conservation
Low flow toilets
Front- loading
Low flow showerhead
aerators
Normal use 72 Conservation use 49 Total
savings 32
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Pennsylvania Water Use - 1995
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Pennsylvania Drinking Water Sources - 1995
Total Population 12,071,810
Private Ground Water
Public Surface Water
Public Ground Water
Per capita 60 gpd
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U.S. Per Capita Water Use
These numbers are calculated as the total amount
of water used by everyone (residential,
industrial, commercial, etc.) users divided by
the total population.
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Pennsylvania Water Law

• Much debate over water use during drought
• Centered on reasonable use
• DRBC and SRBC permit of large users
• Registration of 10,000 gpd users
• Permitting of 100,000 gpd
• Little protection for existing sources!
• Agricultural uses exempt
• Several bills introduced to update the State
  Water Plan

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Southeast PA Ground Water Protection Area
Permit for 10,000 gpd for 30 days
Due to Groundwater Mining
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Surface Water Laws

• Riparian Rights doctrine
• landowners with property adjacent to or crossed
  by a water body have the right to use the water
  unchanged in quality or quantity
• i.e. nobody can use the water!
• Reasonable Use doctrine
• Allows water to be used as long as other users
  are not unreasonably harmed
• Reasonable use defined case-by-case
• Domestic gt Navigation gt Other uses

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Ground Water Laws

• American Rule
• May withdraw water for any natural and ordinary
  use without regard for neighboring users
• Natural and ordinary just about anything as
  long as it is on the property
• Established to promote economic development
• Not meant to deal with disputes
• Deepest well and biggest pump wins!
• No guarantee of future availability

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River Basin Commissions

• SRBC and DRBC
• Issue permits for surface and groundwater
  withdrawal (100,000 gallons per day)
• Designate Special Protection Areas
• Declare drought emergencies
• Develop comprehensive plan for water use
• Resolve disputes??

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Drought Resources on the Web

• PA DEP drought home page
• http//www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/subject/hotopics/dr
  ought/
• PA State Climatologist page
• http//pasc.met.psu.edu/PA_Climatologist/
• Mid Atlantic River Forecasting Center
• http//crab.met.psu.edu/
• Susquehanna River Basin Commission
• http//www.srbc.net/
• Delaware River Basin Commission
• http//www.nj.gov/drbc/
• National Climatic Data Center
• http//lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/onlineprod/dro
  ught/xmgr.htmlds
• NOAA Drought Information Center
• http//www.drought.noaa.gov/
• U.S. Geological Survey
• http//wwwpah2o.er.usgs.gov/