INTERBASIN TRANSFER ACT REVISIONS & DROUGHT PLANNING Vandana - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

INTERBASIN TRANSFER ACT REVISIONS & DROUGHT PLANNING Vandana Rao, Ph.D. Asst. Director for Water Policy Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs 495/Metrowest Partnership - Water Resources Committee Meeting March 16, 2017

Presentation Overview INTER TERBASN ASN TRANSFER SFER ACT • Goals & Overview of Major Changes • Insignificance • Regional System DROUGHT UGHT & PLAN ANNI NING NG • Key components of current drought plan • State Actions on Current Drought • Update on revisions to drought plan

Interbasin Transfer Act (ITA) Revision Goal oals 1) Incorporate ITA policies adopted by WRC over the years 2) Incorporate 21 st century water resources science 3) Streamline procedures 4) Clarify terms and improve organization

Overview of Major Changes • Specified Process for Wastewater Transfers • Updated Insignificance Criteria (revised streamflow metrics and added lakes/impoundments metrics) • Added Streamlined Option for Transfers < 10,000 gpd • Added a Regional Water Supply Approval Process • Revised Approach to Local Water Resources Planning Requirements

For Insignificant Transfers  Current regulations treat all requests as direct river withdrawals (hardly ever the case)  Revisions specify review process for:  Wastewater transfers  Transfers mainly impacting streamflow  Transfers mainly impacting a lake or reservoir • Added streamlined option for transfers < 10,000 gpd

Insignificance – Streamflow Criteria • Criteria for transfers impacting streams – Updated metrics based on 21 st century hydrologic analysis • Criteria for transfers impacting a lake or reservoir – New metrics developed – Where appropriate, flow augmentation and/or protection measures will be considered • Added streamlined option for transfers < 10,000 gpd – Initial screening looks for potentially impacted: • Nearby water bodies (at source and wastewater discharge point) • Special resource values • Community water or wastewater systems – Based on screening, WRC can require further review

Regional Water Supply Approval Process • Regional Suppliers can seek approval of Donor Basin Criteria before identifying all Receiving Areas – One-time approval of Donor Basin portion of the application eliminates duplicate review – Donor Basin and Receiving Area Criteria same as for any full review, but may be completed at different times – Time Limits: • Ten Year Check-In • Twenty Year Expiration

Other Proposed Revisions • Local Water Resources Management Plan - Replaced with a requirement to evaluate how the transfer supports the long-range water resources planning. Information required by the plans is generally supplied in the EIR. • Wastewater Transfers: – Incorporates 1987 guidance – Adds wastewater definition of Receiving Area, Viable Sources – Requires data specific to wastewater – Requires evaluation of potential in-basin discharge areas – Requires information on impacts to NPDES permits, 7Q10 flows and available capacity at the WWTP

MA DROUGHT OUGHT & DR & DROUGHT OUGHT PLA LANNING NNING Su Summar mmary y / Review ew www.mass.gov/eea/wrc-dmtf

Massachusetts Drought Regions Drought Regions Western Connecticut Valley Central Northeast Southeast Cape and Islands

Massachusetts Drought Indicators and Levels Drought Indicator Indicator Type Drought Levels: Standardized Precipitation Index Precipitation Normal Precipitation Percent Below Normal Precipitation Streamflow Months Below Normal Streamflow Advisory Watch Groundwater Level Months Below Normal Groundwater Warning Size of Reservoir (S, M, L) Below Normal Reservoirs Emergency Crop Moisture Index Crop Moisture Keetch-Byram Drought Index Fire Danger Drought declaration based on majority of indices

Groundwater Network

Streamflow Network

Reservoir Network

Data Points for Decision Making REGION INDEX TOTALS CT North- South- Cape & West Central Valley east east Islands Precipitation 4 6 6 6 6 3 31 Ground- 5 11 10 17 12 13 68 water Streams 6 11 16 19 6 n/a 58 Reservoirs 2 2 4 7 3 1 19 Totals 17 30 36 49 27 17 176

Streamflow, Groundwater and Reservoir Indices Drought Streamflow Index Groundwater Index Reservoir Index Level Normal 1 month below 2 consecutive months Reservoir levels at or normal* below normal* near normal Advisory At least 2 out of 3 3 consecutive months Small index reservoirs consecutive months below normal* below normal below normal* Watch At least 4 out of 5 4 to 5 consecutive Medium index consecutive months months below reservoirs below below normal* normal* normal Warning At least 6 out of 7 6 to 7 consecutive Large index reservoirs consecutive months months below below normal below normal* normal* Emergency Greater than 7 Greater than 8 Continuation of months below months below previous month’s normal* normal* conditions *Below normal for streamflow and groundwater are defined as being within the lowest 25 th percentile of the period of record

Summary of Drought Indices as of September 1, 2016 DROUGHT REGIONS Indicator Cape and DROUGHT INDICATOR West CT River Central Northeast Southeast Type Islands Standardized Precipation Index (SPI) Precipitation Normal Watch Advisory Watch Watch Watch Precipitation % Below Normal Precipitation Normal Watch Normal Warning Watch Watch Months Below Normal Streamflow Watch Watch Warning Warning Watch N/A Months Below Normal Groundwater Warning Watch Watch Watch Watch Normal Size of reservoir below normal Reservoirs Normal Normal Watch Watch Watch Normal Crop Moisture Index Crop Moisture Advisory Watch Watch Warning Warning Warning Keetch-Byram Drought Index Fire Danger Watch Watch Watch Warning Warning Watch This summary is provided for informational purposes. No changes in drought status are official until the Drought Management Task Force convenes and makes a recommendation accepted by the Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

Drought as of October 1, 2016

Drought as of March 1, 2016

Drought Declarations since 2000 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Years 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Highest A W A A A W W drought d a d d d a a level in at v t v v v r r least one i c i i i n n region s h s s s i i o o o o n n r r r r g g y y y y

State Actions on the Drought • Intensive Agency Coordination • Press Releases each month & Press calls/interviews • Governor’s Press Conference • Drought-dedicated webpage – EEA, DAR • Agency outreach – DEP , DAR, DPH • Conference Call w Municipal Officials • Highway Signs, Tweats, Web Updates • Impact Assessments • Funding – HED, DEP , DAR, USDA/NRCS

Next Steps • We need your feedback and ideas. – What are you concerned about going into 2017 – What worked well for you last summer – How can the state help? • Data is the new bacon. Please consider joining our reservoir lake and pond monitoring network. • Proposed Revisions will be presented to the Drought Management Task Force (April/May)

Revisions to DMP The he Need • 2016/17 Drought was first time plan had gone beyond watch level- we learned a lot • Plan is not “operationalized”, lacks many actions, some indicators appeared to lag behind conditions The he Proce ocess ss • Indicators Technical Workgroup • Listening Sessions with Stakeholders • Comment Letters

Revisions to Indices • Consider US Drought Monitor method – Measures severity better, percentiles standardize data, media use it • What to call the drought levels for clarity • How to “roll up” data by region and for state – Majority/median/mean per region? • Primary vs. Secondary indicators • Qualitative indicators (forecast, snowpack)

Drought Nomenclature US Drought Monitor Recurrence Percentiles Names D0: Abnormally Dry once per 3 to 5 years 21 to 30 D1: Moderate once per 5 to 10 years 11 to 20 D2: Severe Drought once per 10 to 20 years 6 to 10 D3: Extreme Drought once per 20 to 50 years 3 to 5 D4: Exceptional Drought once per 50 to 100 years 0 to 2 Levels MA RI VT PA CT NH NY Heightened Watch 1 Awareness (Abnormally Dry) Below Normal 2 Advisory Advisory Advisory Alert (Moderate) Watch Conditions Moderate 3 Watch Watch Watch Watch Warning (Severe) Warning Drought Severe Emergency 4 Warning Warning Warning Warning Emergency Drought (Extreme) Extreme Disaster 5 Emergency Emergency Emergency Emergency Disaster http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu Drought (Exceptional)

Potential ‘Action’ Topics 1. Drought Management Plans 2. Adequate Supply During Drought 3. Demand Management 4. State Drought Portal on Web – Impact Reporting, Drought status and info 5. Communication Plan – Clear, timely, consistent messaging 6. Technical and financial assistance

PWS Drought Management Plans • Should be part of Emergency Management Plan • Provide templates • Peer to peer workshops • Examples for surface water and groundwater systems, small and large • List of potential thresholds and actions