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In the Lower Colorado River Basin, 1972-1976

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In the Lower Colorado River Basin, 1972-1976 Water Resources Research in the Lower Colorado River Basin, 1972-1976 Authors Cooper, E. Nathan; Lyon, Donna K.; Decook, K. James; Foster, Kennith E.; Lybeck, Lynn; Valencia, Mercy A.; Scherer, Charles R.; Dracup, John A.; Chan, Martin; Jacobsen, Nancy Publisher Desert Research Institute, University of Nevada System (Las Vegas, NV) Download date 05/10/2021 16:24:48 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/305520 Water Resources Research in the Lower Colorado RiverBasin, 1972 -1976 4 I / c""i '\,, : 1 ' i,. Prepared for BUREAU OF RECLAMATION and the OFFICE OF WATER RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY U. S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bythe UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES, and the UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA AUGUST 1976 Price $5.00 Published by Desert research Institute University of Nevada System 4582 Maryland Parkway T.as Vegas, Nevada 89109 WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH IN THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER BASIN 1972 - 1976 Compiled and Edited by Investigators Technical Staff Desert Research Institute. E. Nathan Cooper Donna K. Lyon University of Arizona K. James DeCook Lynn Lybeck Kennith E. Foster Mercy A. Valencia University. of California at Los Angeles Charles R. Scherer Martin Chan John A. Dracup Nancy Jacobsen August 1976 The work upon which this report is based was supported in part by the United States Department of the Interior, Office of Water Research and Technology as authorized under the Water Resources Research Act of 1964, as amended, Grant No. 14 -31- 0001 -5262 (Nevada X -151), theBureauof Reclamation, and the States of Arizona, California and Nevada. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The successful compilation of this report depended upon the cooperation of the principal investigators and project leaders who contributed their time in reply- ing to our requests for data. The time and effort expended toward organizing and advising the project by the directors of the state. Water Resource Centers, Sol Resnick in Arizona, J. Herbert Snyder in California and George B. Maxey in Nevada, is appreciated. Manuel Lopez Jr., chairman of the Tower Colorado River Management Program Coordinating Committee, members of that committee and staff of the Lower Colorado Region office of the Bureau of Reclamation were instrumentai in formulating and supporting this work. The work of the many people involved in this initial effort is gratefully acknowledged and appreciated and the support of the funding agencies must be recog- nized with sincere appreciation. iì1 ABSTRACT Current and recent research (1972 -1976) concerning water resources in the Lower Colorado River Basin is abstracted and compiled into a bibliography. Data . were gathered by contacting research personnel and requesting information via questionnaire. The report is indexed by principal investigator, keyword and funding source. In addition, the project descriptions are contained in a computerized data file and easily accessed by contacting the Office of Arid Lands Studies, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ. The information can be retrieved by keyword, principal investigator, state, funding source and geographic location. iv CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT iv INTRODUCTION 1 OBJECTIVES 3 ME'ÍHODOUOGY 3 SCOPE OF STUDY 5 DATA RETRIEVAL 7 KEYWORD INDEX 162 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS INDEX 177 FUNDING AGENCY INDEX 183 FIGURES 1. Lower Colorado River Basin Drainage Sub -areas 2 2. Questionnaire 4 v INTRODUCTION The Colorado River is a vital part of past and continuing development in the southwestern United States and a portion of Mexico. Owing to its importance, many studies and research efforts have been undertaken concerned with the Colorado River Basin resources, in particular the water resources. Such research is conducted by governmental agencies, private individuals, businesses and members of the university community. Attention to the dissemination of information about current projects or the results of past research has often been inadequate. This imperfect knowledge affects those involved with the Colorado River Basin to the extent that research may be duplicated, overlooked or unknown to those involved in pertinent decision - making processes or in planning and executing further research. Recognizing the insufficiency of technology transfer and the resultant po- tential for research duplication, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Lower Colorado Region, requested that agencies and universities involved with research in the Lower Colorado River Basin address this problem. The intent was to increase the coordination of research and exchange of research information for the Lower Colo- rado River Rasin. Two advisory groups became involved with the discussion: the Lower Colorado River Management Program Coordinating Committee (hereinafter cited as Coordinating Committee), representing federal and state agencies in the Lower Colorado River Basin having management or regulatory responsibilities of the river system, and the Consortium of Water Institutes and Centers (CWIC), composed of the seven state Water Resources Institutes with interests in the Colorado River Basin. After lengthy correspondence and discussion, the Coordinating Committee asked the Water Resources Centers of Arizona, California and Nevada to submit a proposal dealing with research information and dissemination in the Lower Colorado River Basin.The three centers formulated a proposal and agreed to work as an informal consortium within the context of the CWIC. The scope of the first year's effort was limited to the three lower states of the Colorado River Basin shown by the map in Figure 1. 2.1. ColoradoLittleDRAINAGE Colorado River BASINabove River ParkerINDEX Dam 4.5.3. UpperSulphurBill Williams Gila Spring River River Valley 8.6.7. SonSaltSanta Pedro River Cruz River River 10.II.9. LowerColorado Gila River River below Parker Dam 13.12. ColoradoSouthMexican Coastal drainage Desert 16.15.14.17. UpperLower MeadowWhiteMeadow River Valley Wiley WashWash 19.18.Figure LasVirgin Vegas RiverI. WashLowerColorado River Basin drainagesub -areas OBJECTIVES The objective of the proposal was to create a regional research information dissemination program. The project has culminated in an extensive bibliography of research projects and personnel involved in water resources research in the lower basin. Financial support was obtained fran the Office of Water Research and Technology (OWRT), the Bureau of Reclamation and the states of Arizona, Calif - ornia and Nevada. METHODOLOGY The initial task was to identify the research community currently involved with water resources of the Lower Colorado River Basin. A listing of people, organizations and agencies potentially sponsoring or engaged in research work was compiled. Those listed were contacted by mail as to the extent of their involve- ment with research in the lower basin and were asked whether they knew of any other pertinent research work being done. A total of 1,019 requests were mailed in this first phase, with a response of 557 or approximately 55 percent.Of those who responded, 114 (20 percent of the replies) either were conducting research themselves or referred us to. others. Those who responded affirmatively to the initial research information re- quest were then contacted a second time for more detailed information. A one- page "Water Resources Research Questionnaire - Lower Colorado River Basin" (Fig- ure 2) was sent. Once returned, the questionnaires were edited and standardized by project personnel in each state for entry into a computerized data storage and retrieval system at the University of Arizona, Tucson. The geographical location of each project was assigned a subarea within the Lacer Colorado River Basin whenever possible, as shown in Figure 1. The choice of subareas is based insofar as possible upon the hydrologic basins in the states of Arizona, California and Nevada. The subareas were included so that the projects could be retrieved from the data file on a regional basis. For example, one can request all of the projects . specifically related to subareas (such as the Virgin River), principal investigator, keyword, funding source and state. The source of standardized keywords is the Water Resources Thesaurus, Second Edition, published in 1971 by the (then) Office of Water Resources Research. 3 AWOLtLD YOJ LIKE TO :<ECEiVE A COPY OF OUR-1 ïFINAL COMPILATION Figure 2 YES WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH QUESTIONNAiRE LOWER COLORADO RIVER BASIN I. OFFICIAL TITLE OF PROJECT (as funded); 2. PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR(S) OR PERSONNEL IN CHARGE (nome 3. LOCALE WHERE RESEARCH IS /WAS DONE (river basin, county ö and address): state (s) if applicable); 4. DATES OF FUNDING; 5. LEVEL OF FUNDING: 6. SUPPORTING AGENCIES: BEGIN FEDERAL $ END OTHER $ 7 éSCRIPTION OF PROJECT (including objectives, procedures /analytical techniques, results); (200 words or less) B. KEYWORDS (including state) 9. PAPERS ÓR ARTICLES RESULTING FROM PROJECT (please rank in order of importance and include title, dote and location of publication or presentation): 10. COMPLETION DATE OF FINAL REPORT: II. PREPARED BY: Pleaseuse roversesideif necessary. THANK Dm 4 SCOPE OF STUDY This report gives an indication of the magnitude and variety of current research dealing with the Laser Colorado River Basin and its water resources. However, several limitations dealing with the extent of material covered in this report need to be discussed briefly. The mailing list, although extensive, was limited to the three lower basin states. Thus work being done by people located in the upper basin or other parts of the country has
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