2014 NWRA Annual Conference Brochure

2014 NWRA Annual ConferenceFebruary 3–6, 2014Tuscany Suites & CasinoLas Vegas, Nevada— 11 —NWRA Annual Conference, February 3–6, 2014 Monday, February 3, 20147:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Event Activity Registration8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Water Rights in Nevada Seminar 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Nevada Well Construction Regulations Workshop10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. NWRA Annual Conference Poster Presentation and Exhibitor Set-Up 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Tour of the Venetian4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. NWRA Annual Conference Exhibit Area Open 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Board of Directors Business Meeting Tuesday, February 4, 2014 7:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Event Activity Registration8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. NWRA Annual Conference Poster Presentation and Exhibitor Set-Up 8:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Advanced Water Rights in Nevada Seminar 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. NWRA Annual Conference Tour10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. NWRA Annual Conference Registration12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. NWRA Annual Conference Exhibit Area Open1:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Water Resources Colloquium 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. U.S. Geological Survey Overview of the National Water Information Systems (NWIS) 4:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. Networking Social, Exhibit and Poster Presentation Area 5:15 p.m. – 5:45 p.m. Legislative Updates with Jason King, P.E., Nevada State EngineerActivities & Schedule — 12 —NWRA Annual Conference, February 3–6, 2014 5:45 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Perspectives on 3M Plans DiscussionWater-resources development in arid regions often must prevent or mitigate negative impacts. Challenges arise because impacts are variably defi ned, diffi cult to quantify, and may take decades to manifest or to remediate. This discussion presents various perspectives on plans designed to monitor, manage and mitigate hydrologic and biologic resources potentially aff ected by water development.Moderator: David Berger, U.S. Geological Survey ? Richard Felling, Chief Hydrologist, Nevada Division of Water Resources, “Monitoring Programs of the State Engineer’s Offi ce” ? Stephen Palmer, Attorney, Offi cer of the Solicitor, Department of Interior, “What is the Interest of Federal Agencies in Monitoring Water Resources Development?” ? Pat Rogers, Vice President, Environmental & Permitting, General Moly Inc., “Mt. Hope Mine 3M Plan” ? Gregory James, Special Counsel to the Board of Supervisors, Inyo County, California, “Groundwater and Surface Water Monitoring and Management in the Owens Valley, California” Wednesday, February 5, 2014 7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. NWRA Annual Conference Registration7:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast, Exhibit and Poster Presentation Area8:00 a.m. – 8:05 a.m. Opening Remarks, Steve Weber, 2014 Conference Chairman8:05 a.m. – 8:45 a.m. Opening Keynote Presentation Steve Hill, Executive Director of the Nevada Governor’s Offi ce of Economic Development 8:45 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. Panel: Water and Agriculture in NevadaThis panel focuses on agricultural issues in the Walker River Basin, including economic consequences and benefi ts in the State of Nevada. The National Fish & Wildlife Foundation is actively involved in the Walker River Basin to address environmental issues in the Walker River and Walker Lake. Alternative Activities & Schedule Water Resources Colloquium (continued)— 13 —NWRA Annual Conference, February 3–6, 2014crop type and effi ciency will be addressed, as well as water banking as a method to sustain water resources. The agricultural industry in the State of Nevada is sizeable and provides numerous job opportunities, and agriculture producers are constantly updating practices and methods to maintain their business and way of life.Moderator: Jay Dixon, P.E., WRS, Kinross-Round Mountain Gold Corporation ? Joy Morris, Walker Basin Restoration Program, Manager, National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, “Walker Basin Restoration Program” ? Jay Davison, Specialist-Alternative Crops & Forage, University of Nevada, Reno, Cooperative Extension, Churchill County, “Alternative Crops for Nevada” ? Loretta Singletary, Ph.D., Professor & Interdisciplinary Outreach Liaison, University of Nevada, Reno, “Water Banking: Farmer Willingness to Participate” ? Paul Mathews, Vice President, Nevada Farm Bureau, “Perspectives From Local Agriculture Producers in the Walker River Basin Area”10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Break, Exhibit and Poster Presentation Area10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Panel: Water and TourismModerator: Steve Weber, Ph.D., MWH Americas Inc. ? Terry Jicinsky, Senior Vice President of Operations, Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority ? Brian McAnallen, Vice President of Government Aff airs, Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce ? Robert Lang, Ph.D., UNLV Director, Brookings Mountain West, Professor of Urban Aff airs ? Jessica Rosman, Director of Supplier Diversity & Sustainability at Caesars Entertainment Corporation 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Luncheon with 2014 Lifetime Achievement and Scholarship Awards1:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Technical Session A: Water SupplyModerator: Tom Maher, Southern Nevada Water Authority ? Catherine Hansford, B.S., M.S., Hansford Economic Consulting, “The Cost of Rectifying Over-Appropriation of Groundwater in Diamond Valley” ? Nathan Harper, Las Vegas Valley Water District, “Deep History: The History and Prehistory of Water in the Las Vegas Valley” ? Stephen Maples, U.S. Geological Survey, “Assessing Capture from the Truckee River by Pumping Wells with a Predictive Drawdown Model — Tracy Segment Hydrographic Area, NV” ? James Prieur, Southern Nevada Water Authority, “Las Vegas Valley Artifi cial Recharge Program: 25 Years as a Water Resource Management Tool”Activities & Schedule — 14 —NWRA Annual Conference, February 3–6, 20141:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Concurrent Technical Session B: Adapting to Climate ChangeModerator: Paul Williams, PG, P.H., SRK Consulting Inc. ? Keely Brooks, Southern Nevada Water Authority, “Climate Impacts, Risks and Vulnerabilities: Implications of an Uncertain Climate Future for the Southern Nevada Water Authority” ? Derek Kauneckis, Ph.D., University of Nevada, Reno, Department of Political Science, “Developing a Method for Measuring the Climate Resilience of Water Policy Subsystems” ? Al Preston, Ph.D., P.E., Flow Science Inc., “Climate Change and Decreasing Levels in Lake Mead: Modeling Changes in Thermal Structure and Water Quality” ? Todd Tietjen, Ph.D., Southern Nevada Water Authority, Regional Water Quality, “Climate Change Modeling of Lake Mead: Extrapolating Model Results to Biological Change”3:15 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. Networking Break, Exhibit and Poster Presentation Area3:45 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. Panel: Economic Perspective on Water Resources and Energy Discussion of the role of the economics of water resources within the context of the profi tability of geothermal and other renewable energy development in Nevada, and related natural resources. Perspectives will be given on Regulations, Competing Local Water Uses, Cooperation and Stewardship.Moderator: Thomas Piechota, Ph.D., P.E., University of Nevada, Las Vegas ? James E. Faulds, Ph.D., Director/State Geologist/Professor, Nevada Bureau of Mines & Geology, University of Nevada, Reno, “Why is Nevada in Hot Water: New Approaches to Understanding and Harnessing Nevada’s Vast Geothermal Resources” ? Bobby Hollis, Executive Renewable Energy, NV Energy ? Randal Peterson, Manager, Corporate Permitting Group, Ormat Energy Systems ? Andrew Wang, Director of Development, SolarReserve LLC 5:15 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Artifi cial Recharge Reception and Student Poster Competition Thursday, February 6, 2014 7:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. NWRA Annual Conference Registration7:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast, Exhibit and Poster Presentation Area8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Technical Session C: Water QualityModerator: Michael Rosen, Ph.D., U.S. Geological Survey ? Angela Paul, U.S. Geological Survey, Nevada Water Science Center, “Estimated Arsenic Concentrations in Basin-Fill Aquifers of the Southwest, United States” ? Michael Rosen, Ph.D., U.S. Geological Survey, “Mixing of Deep Geothermal and Shallow Alluvial Groundwater in Dixie Valley, Nevada” ? Zachary Walter, Farr West Engineering, “NDEP-BWPC Groundwater Nitrate Assessment Study”Activities & Schedule — 15 —NWRA Annual Conference, February 3–6, 20148:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Concurrent Technical Session D: InnovationsModerator: Chris Cottingham, Cascade Geoscience ? Keith Halford, U.S. Geological Survey, “Improving Groundwater Models with Transmissivity Observations” ? Justin Huntington, Ph.D., Desert Research Institute and University of Nevada, Reno, “Cloud Computing of Landsat Imagery and Gridded Weather Data for Evaluating Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems in Nevada” ? Marjorie Sant, Fairfi eld & Woods PC, “Nevada’s Evolving Public Trust”9:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. Transition Break 9:15 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. Panel: Economic Development and Urban Water SuppliesThis panel discusses the linkages between economic development and water use in urban areas. Specifi cally the panel addresses securing the water resources necessary to support urban economic development, land use and water resource use relationship, the costs to secure additional water resources, and the costs to ensure environmental stewardship of our water resources before and after its use in urban areas. This discussion will demonstrate the inter-relationships of land use, water use, the environment and economic vitality for the communities that water nourishes.Moderator: Catherine Hansford, B.S, M.S., Hansford Economic Consulting ? Eric Dickenson, Ph.D., Southern Nevada Water Authority, “The Costs of Providing Clean Water to Support Urban Economic Activities” ? Jim Smitherman, Program Manager, Northern Nevada Water Planning Commission, “Planning for Future Water Uses and Supporting Infrastructure” ? John Hester, AICP, Planning Director, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, “It’s All Linked Land Use, Water, the Economy and the Environment” ? Zane Marshall, Director of Water & Environmental Resources Department, Southern Nevada Water Authority, “Managing Water Resources for a Metropolitan Area in the Desert Southwest”10:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Break, Exhibit and Poster Presentation Area11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Technical Session E: Science Impacts to PolicyModerator: Michael Hardy, P.E., PG, WRS, Lumos & Associates Inc. ? Jeff Johnson, Southern Nevada Water Authority, “Observations from the Carbonate Aquifer Testing Conducted in Compliance with State Engineer Order 1169, Coyote Springs Valley and Muddy River Springs Area, Clark and Lincoln Counties, Nevada” ? Tim Mayer, Ph.D., U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, “Interpreting Impacts to Spring Discharge During the Order 1169 Pumping Test” ? Richard Felling, Nevada Division of Water Resources, “Groundwater Availability in the Lower White River Flow System” ? David Syzdek, Southern Nevada Water Authority, “Recovering the Moapa Dace in the Upper Muddy River Within the Warm Springs Natural Area, Moapa, Nevada”Activities & Schedule — 16 —NWRA Annual Conference, February 3–6, 201411:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Concurrent Technical Session F: Effi ciency and OptimizationModerator: Ayoub Ayoub, Ph.D., Southern Nevada Water Authority ? John Enloe, P.E., Stantec, “More Crop per Drop — Benefi ts of the South San Joaquin Irrigation District’s Pilot Pressure Irrigation Project” ? George McMahon, Ph.D., P.E., D.WRE, ARCADIS, U.S., Inc., “Water-Energy Nexus: Economic Evaluation of Hydropower” ? Stephen Rogers, C.W.P., ARCADIS, U.S., Inc., “San Luis Project: Water Treatment Process Optimization” ? Kimberly Rollins, Ph.D., University of Nevada, Reno, Department of Economics, “Evaluation of Controllable and Uncontrollable Drivers on Residential Water Demand: An Application to the Las Vegas Area”12:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Luncheon, Student Poster Awards and Elections Jay Dixon, NWRA President 1:40 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Video Presentation Congressman Mark Amodei, Representing the 2nd District of Nevada2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Panel: Perspectives on Water Resources and Mining This panel discusses the role water plays in the development of mines and related natural resource industries — specifi cally how the costs and benefi ts leads to innovation and stewardship.Moderator: David Donovan, M.S. R.G. C.P.G., Hydrologist II, Southern Nevada Water Authority ? Paul Pettit, Senior Environmental Manager, Carlin Operations, Newmont Mining Corporation ? TBD, Noble Energy Inc., “Developing a Viable Water Supply for Oil and Gas Development, the Opportunities and Challenges” ? Melissa Jennings, Geologist & Environmental Engineer, Rockwood Lithium Inc., “A Comparison of the Salar de Atacama and Clayton Valley Lithium Ore Deposits: Groundwater Mining in Some of the Driest Places on Earth” ? Johnny Zhan, Ph.D., Regional Manager, Hydrology, Barrick Gold of North America Inc., “Mine Dewatering and Water Management at Barrick Goldstrike Mine in the Carlin Trend, Nevada” 3:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. Closing Remarks, Board Election Results and Adjourn Steve Weber, 2014 Conference Chairman4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. NWRA Board of Directors MeetingActivities & Schedule — 18 —NWRA Annual Conference, February 3–6, 2014Technical Session A: Water SupplyCatherine Hansford, B.S., M.S., The Cost of Rectifying Over-Appropriation of Groundwater in Diamond Valley .................................19Nathan Harper, Deep History: The History and Prehistory of Water in the Las Vegas Valley ........................................................................19Stephen Maples, Assessing Capture from the Truckee River by Pumping Wells with a Predictive Drawdown Model —Tracy Segment Hydrographic Area, NV ..................................................................................................................................................................20James Prieur, Las Vegas Valley Artifi cial Recharge Program: 25 Years as a Water Resource Management Tool .....................................20Concurrent Technical Session B: Adapting to Climate ChangeKeely Brooks, Climate Impacts, Risks and Vulnerabilities: Implications of an Uncertain Climate Future for the Southern Nevada Water Authority ...........................................................................................................................................................................21Derek Kauneckis, Ph.D., Developing a Method for Measuring the Climate Resilience of Water Policy Subsystems ...........................21Al Preston, Ph.D., P.E., Climate Change and Decreasing Levels in Lake Mead: Modeling Changes in Thermal Structure and Water Quality ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................22Todd Tietjen, Ph.D., Climate Change Modeling of Lake Mead: Extrapolating Model Results to Biological Change ............................22Technical Session C: EngineeringAngela Paul, Estimated Arsenic Concentrations in Basin-Fill Aquifers of the Southwest, United States ..................................................23Michael Rosen, Ph.D., Mixing of Deep Geothermal and Shallow Alluvial Groundwater in Dixie Valley, Nevada ..................................23Zachary Walter, NDEP-BWPC Groundwater Nitrate Assessment Study ...............................................................................................................24Concurrent Technical Session D: InnovationsKeith Halford, Improving Groundwater Models with Transmissivity Observations ........................................................................................25Justin Huntington, Ph.D., Cloud Computing of Landsat Imagery and Gridded Weather Data for Evaluating Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems in Nevada ...............................................................................................................................................25Marjorie Sant, Nevada’s Evolving Public Trust ...............................................................................................................................................................26Technical Session E: Science Impacts to PolicyJeff Johnson, Observations from the Carbonate Aquifer Testing Conducted in Compliance with State Engineer Order 1169, Coyote Springs Valley and Muddy River Springs Area, Clark and Lincoln Counties, Nevada .....................................27Tim Mayer, Ph.D., Interpreting Impacts to Spring Discharge During the Order 1169 Pumping Test .........................................................27Richard Felling, Groundwater Availability in the Lower White River Flow System ..........................................................................................28David Syzdek, Recovering the Moapa Dace in the Upper Muddy River Within the Warm Springs Natural Area, Moapa, Nevada........................................................................................................................................................28Concurrent Technical Session F: Effi ciency and OptimizationJohn Enloe, P.E., More Crop per Drop — Benefi ts of the South San Joaquin Irrigation District’s Pilot Pressure Irrigation Project ............................................................................................................................................................................................................29George McMahon, Ph.D., P.E., D.WRE, Water-Energy Nexus: Economic Evaluation of Hydropower ...........................................................29Stephen Rogers, C.W.P., San Luis Project: Water Treatment Process Optimization ...........................................................................................30Kimberly Rollins, Ph.D., Evaluation of Controllable and Uncontrollable Drivers on Residential Water Demand: An Application to the Las Vegas Area......................................................................................................................................................................30Technical Sessions Index — 31 —NWRA Annual Conference, February 3–6, 2014— 31 —Saria BukharyImprovement of Hydrologic Reconstructions Using Oceanic-Atmospheric Climate Variables ....................................................32Li ChenModeling Study of the Rainfall-Runoff Processes and Scaling Eff ect in Complex Arid Environments .............................................................................................................................................................................................................32Jason R. EckbergLong-Term Eff ects of Rotenone on Aquatic Invertebrates in the Muddy River Within the Warm Springs Natural Area, Moapa, Nevada ...............................................................................................................................................................................332Jiangang Han, Ph.D.Removal Effi ciency of Nitrogen by Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Under Three Kinds of Inorganic Nitrogen Treatments in a Water-Sediment System .......................................................................................................................................33Penny HunterSurface-Water Quality: Challenges and Changes ..........................................................................................................................................34Soumya SagarikaRole of Large-Scale Climate Patterns and Sea Surface Temperature in Infl uencing the Continental U.S. Streamfl ow ..................................................................................................................................................................................34Douglas B. Sims, Ph.D.Trace Metal Mobilization at Abandoned Mining Sites Due to Redevelopment Activities in Hyperarid Climates ...................................................................................................................................................................................................35Matt Vitale, PGDistributed Temperature Sensing Downhole Profi ling ...............................................................................................................................35Poster Presenters— 36 —NWRA Annual Conference, February 3–6, 2014Sayed Joinal Hossain Abedin Understanding the Spatiotemporal Behavior of Floods in an Urban Catchment ..................................................................................... 37Taylor Ball, B.S. Rewetting of Artifi cially Desiccated Soils: Eff ects of Gravity on Vapor Phase Diff usion .......................................................................... 37Matthew Bromley Analyzing Diff erences in Crop ET During Wet and Dry Years in the Walker Basin Using Remotely Sensed Data .......................... 38Saria Bukhary Improvement of Hydrologic Reconstructions Using Oceanic-Atmospheric Climate Variables ............................................................ 38Chao Chen Planning and Managing Water Resources Allocations in Shanshan County, China: A Dynamic Modeling Approach ................................................................................................................................................................................. 39Gwendolyn E. Davies Hyperspectral Remote Sensing of an Open Pit Sulfur Mine for Characterization of Temporal Sulfate Minerals Relating to Acid Mine Drainage ................................................................................................................................................................................... 39Tanna DeRuyter, EIT Modeling Halophytic Plants in APEX for Sustainable Agriculture and Water Resources ........................................................................ 40Christian Dunkerly, B.S. Student Examining Aridity-Induced Bias in Reference Evapotranspiration Calculations for Agriculture .......................................................... 40Mohammad Masih Edalat Study of Hydrological Impacts of Constructing a Large Scale Solar Power Plant...................................................................................... 41Sunny Grunloh Fate and Transport of Disinfection By-Products in Las Vegas Valley During Aquifer Storage and Recovery ................................... 41Ryan Liebert Estimating Open Water Evaporation for Lake Mead with Remote Sensing ................................................................................................. 42Soumya Sagarika A Dynamics Simulation Model to Evaluate Water Diversion Scenarios in the Colorado River Water ................................................. 43Joseph Sapin Simulating Reservoir Operations to Mitigate Impacts on Fish Sustainability Below Shasta Lake, CA Under Extreme Conditions ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 43Ashley Selvy, B.S.E., E.I.T. Optimization of Ozone-Biological Activated Carbon Treatment for Potable Reuse Applications ...................................................... 44Karly Wagner Groundwater and Surface Water Interactions at Pond and Plug Restoration Sites in the Northern Sierra Nevada Mountain Range ................................................................................................................................................................ 45Student Poster Presenters