Welcome to the first issue of the Center for Watersheds and Environmental Sustainability (CWES) newsletter! The CWES newsletter is planned to be a series to inform DRI faculty of ongoing CWES activities, including recently submitted proposals, and most importantly upcoming research opportunities for DRI faculty.

CWES newsletters are planned to be short and informative and will be disseminated to DRI faculty via e-mail and also posted on the DRI CWES Web site. Newsletter frequency will depend on the start up of new CWES-supported projects and when announcements of upcoming research opportunities are released. Please provide feedback on the newsletter, tell me what you like and what you do not like, and suggest improvements.

Year In Review

I would like to thank DRI Division Directors and acknowledge their support of faculty for proposal writing and other activities that help make CWES-supported activities and projects possible. This past year has seen lots of CWES activity with research in the Walker Lake basin culminating in an International Terminus Lakes Symposium held at the University of Nevada, Reno’s new student union building in October; the Annual Tahoe Summit in August, during which Senator Ensign joined Steve Wells on the DRI research boat for a tour of near-shore invasive species and other water quality issues associated with the Lake Tahoe near-shore environment; and many proposals submitted for future Walker Lake and Lake Tahoe research projects.

In addition to continuing our water resources and water sustainability research in West Africa with a trip to Ghana, I also visited Egypt with support from the Egyptian Desert Research Center and Burkina Faso with WaterAid (a London based NGO) and in both countries I am working on developing future water resource sustainability projects.

Happy Holidays,
Jim Thomas, CWES Director

International Symposium on Terminus Lakes

Download the International Terminus Lakes Symposium Program and Abstracts (PDF)

One of the highlights of recent CWES activities was the International Symposium on Terminus Lakes “Preserving Endangered Lakes through Research”, which was co-sponsored by CWES and the UNR Academy for the Environment. The symposium was held at the new student union on the University of Nevada, Reno campus in October, and about 150 researchers, administrators, politicians, irrigation district personnel, representatives from environmental groups, and locals from the Walker Lake basin attended.

The first day of the conference focused on presentations of Walker Lake Basin research projects supported by the DRI/UNR Walker Basin Project. The second day of the conference was devoted to many presentations and posters highlighting research on terminus lakes from the western U.S., Antarctica, the Middle East, China, and Uzbekistan.

A detailed report on research findings from the Walker Basin Project can be found in a 1,100 page draft report on the CWES Web page (www.dri.edu/cwes-projects/walker-lake-basin). A summary of key research findings from the Walker Basin Project will be published in an upcoming book. The results of the research include a decision support tool with water supply, water demand, and water routing throughout the Walker Lake watershed; low water use alternative crop production and native vegetation re-establishment; economic analyses; and current Walker River and Walker Lake conditions.

Walker Basin

A new study that is just getting underway that developed from the Walker Basin Project is a water resource and water use evaluation project conducted in collaboration with the Nevada State Engineer’s Office. Although the focus is water use in the Walker Lake watershed, the scope of the project will include developing crop water use for much of northwestern Nevada and determining long-term native vegetation evapotranspiration rates in eastern and northwestern Nevada. This project will have application throughout the entire state of Nevada. Total funding is $4 million with $3.3 million coming directly to DRI.

Although the first research phase of the Walker Basin Project is near completion, with final revisions to the draft report scheduled to be completed by December 31, 2009, some of these research tasks will continue in a second phase. These include the Health of Walker River, Alternative Agriculture and Vegetation Management, Decision Support Tool (Watershed coupled surface water and groundwater flow model), and Economic Impact and Strategies. Recently passed federal legislation has $5 million included to start these tasks. Most tasks in the second phase of the Walker Basin Project will span two to four years.

Annual Tahoe Summit

The Annual Tahoe Summit this past August featured the DRI research boat on which Senator Ensign joined Steve Wells and Rick Susfalk to observe near-shore invasive species, particularly Asian Clams, and other water quality issues associated with the Lake Tahoe near-shore environment. This year the event was hosted by Senator Ensign, and he voiced strong support of DRI research in the near-shore environment for invasive species and near-shore pollution issues.

More information: recently completed and ongoing research projects in the Lake Tahoe basin.

Seventeen proposals were recently submitted for research projects in the Lake Tahoe basin. These proposals were in response to RFPs for the latest SNPLMA, Nevada State Lands, and nonpoint source pollution prevention 319 programs.

The proposals focused on fine particle sources and transport to the lake, urban stormwater runoff, the near-shore environment, fuel treatment effects on Lake Tahoe clarity, improving meteorological data in the basin, atmospheric monitoring in the basin, and aquatic biological assessments. Faculty from all three of DRI’s Divisions were involved in these proposals.

CWES is working on developing partnerships with consulting firms to respond to RFPs and IDIQs that are beyond the scope of most DRI projects (often requiring engineering aspects). Recently, most of these efforts have been with RBF Consulting. If you would like to be considered for future RFP and IDIQ opportunities, please contact me about filling out a 330 resume form describing your expertise and experience.

DRI Las Vegas-RFB Consulting Meeting 1/5/2010

CWES is planning a DRI Las Vegas-RBF consulting meeting on January 5th at 9:00 am at the DRI office. This is an opportunity to meet RBF staff, show them your laboratories, and discuss mutual research interests with them for collaboration on future projects. If you would like to attend, please contact me.

Preparation for RFP and IDIQ Requests

CWES is compiling a list of 330 resumes so that as opportunities present themselves CVs will already be prepared for RFP and IDIQ requests that often have a short timeframe. Your CV would not be included in a proposal unless you have been contacted first and you have confirmed that you would like to participate in the project or IDIQ. Some potential collaborative projects include ecosystem restoration, selenium removal, highway runoff treatments, and review of environmental reports. If you have an interest in any of these upcoming projects, please let me know. As the RFPs are released, I will contact you.

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation RFP

Another future opportunity for DRI researchers to obtain funding is a planned RFP from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for Walker Basin research projects. This RFP will have $10 million to support numerous research projects in the Walker Basin and likely will be posted this spring. I will notify DRI faculty as soon as the RFP is released.

Research Opportunities in Africa

Finally, I am working on developing international research opportunities in West Africa and Egypt for water resource sustainability issues. As opportunities arise I will inform DRI faculty.