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Minute 319, a binational agreement between the United States and México, authorized environmental flows into the Colorado River Delta, including a high-profile pulse flow delivered in March through May 2014. Reforming water management policy to secure future delivery of environmental flows to the delta hinges on demonstrating the feasibility of delivering environmental water and documenting positive ecological responses of the delta's severely degraded riparian habitat. The design of the flow's hydrograph, the novel utilization of irrigation infrastructure, the preparation and subsequent maintenance of selected restoration sites, and interdisciplinary monitoring at multiple scales combined to show that ecological...
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The Science and Policy of the First Environmental Flows to the Colorado River Delta The first transboundary flow of water for the environment was delivered to the Colorado River Delta in spring of 2014. This engineered mini-spring flood of 130 million cubic meters (105,000 acre-feet) was implemented as part of Minute 319, an addition to the 1944 U.S.-Mexico Water Treaty. Minute 319 is a temporary agreement, expiring in 2017. Teams of scientists from government agencies, universities, and environmental NGOs from both the U.S. and Mexico are measuring the surface flow rates, inundation, ground water recharge, ground water levels and subsurface flows, geomorphic change, recruitment, survival and health of vegetation,...
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Just Add Water: Historic Return Of The Colorado River To Its Delta, United States And Mexico On May 15, 2014, the Colorado River reached the sea for the first time in decades. This was but one highlight of an unprecedented experiment in binational water management – the world’s first transboundary water allocation for the environment. Minute 319, signed by Mexico and the United States in 2012, changes the way the two countries share water in the over-allocated Colorado River basin. One of its provisions is a “pulse flow” of 105,000 acre-feet of water released from Morelos Dam into the parched Colorado River delta. Implemented in March-May 2014, the pulse flow was intended to emulate the ecological functions of...
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The objective is to create a hydrologic foundation for detailed assessment of human and climate impacts on stream and river flows, including the impacts of hydrologic alterations on aquatic habitats. A specific application will be to support implementation of ELOHA, the Ecological Limits of Hydrologic Alteration, a scientific framework for determining environmental flow needs for all rivers and streams throughout a very large region. During Year 1, we will model pre-development (unaltered) daily flows for 1960-2006 for every enhanced national hydrography dataset (NHDPLUSPlus) catchment within the SALCC. We will also model current condition daily flows over the same time period for at least 6 watersheds using available...
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