Rio Grande Basin Water Balance Model Version 2.0
Versions
Version: 2.0
Source Code: Github Repository
Engine: Python 3.8
Introduction
The Water Balance Model is a simple mathemathical hydrologic accountability model for the Middle Rio Grande Basin. The surface study area covers a section of the Middle Rio Grande between San Marcial Gauges (USGS 08358400 and USGS 08358300) and the Caballo Reservoir gauge (USGS 08362500)[1]. Additionally, it covers groundwater allocation for the Agricultural and Urban sectors over three groundwater nodes: Mesilla Alluvial (shallow aquifer), Mesilla Deep-Intermediate and the Hueco Bolson aquifer.
The predefined climate scenarios were obtained from the “Downscaled CMIP3 and CMIP5 Climate and Hydrology Projections” archive. Temperature and precipitation timeseries were constructed by spatially averaging the monthly 1/8-degree gridded BCSD values across the Elephant Butte and Caballo sub-watersheds [1].
Reservoir releases from Elephant Butte Reservoir and Caballo are based on the 2008 Operating Agreement for the Rio Grande Project established by the Bureau of Reclamation.
A static full allocation target is used to drive the use of groundwater when the surface supply cannot meet demand.
Related Publications
[1] Holmes, Robyn, 2022
"Water Woes Worsen: Middle Rio Grande Reservoir Modeling Projects Declining Water Availability Under Climate Change Simulations",
Open Access Master's Thesis, Michigan Technological University, 2022.
https://doi.org/10.37099/mtu.dc.etdr/1351
[2] Townsend, N. T.; and Gutzler, D. S., 2020
Adaptation of Climate Model Projections of Streamflow to Account for Upstream Anthropogenic Impairments.
JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association
https://doi.org/10.1111/1752-1688.12851
[3] Holmes R. N., Mayer A., Gutzler D. S., Garnica Chavira L.
Asessing the Effects of Climate Change on Middle Rio Grande Surface Water Supplies Using a Simple Water Balance Reservoir Model
AMS Journal of Earth Interactions. 2022. (In Press)
Model Composition
- Downscaled CMIP3 and CMIP5 Climate and Hydrology Projections (San Marcial Inflows).
- Temperature and precipitation timeseries across Elephant Butte and Caballo sub-watersheds.
- 1 streamgauge inflow node San Marcial above Elephant Butte Reservoir
- 1 reservoir storage release node below Caballo Reservoir
- 3 groundwater nodes (Mesilla Alluvial, Mesilla Deep-Intermediate and Hueco Bolson)
- 2008 Operating Agreement release rules
- Urban and Agricultural comsumptive use nodes
- Static full allocation target per year
Input Parameters
| Parameter | Label | Description | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| CabInitStorageV2 | Initial Caballo Storage Volume | Caballo Reservoir Storage on Starting Year | Acre-Feet |
| CabLandAreaV2 | Caballo Watershed Area | Land drainage area for El Caballo Reservoir | Acres |
| CabPrV2_mmday | Average Daily Precipitation at Caballo Reservoir | Average daily precipitation at Caballo Reservoir per year | Millimetres |
| CabTasV2_degC | Average Temperature at Caballo Reservoir | Average annual temperature at Caballo Reservoir. | Celsius |
| EBInitStorageV2 | Initial EB Storage Volume | Elephant Butte Storage on Starting Year | Acre-Feet |
| EBLandAreaV2 | Elephant Butte Watershed Area | Land drainage area for Elephant Butte Reservoir | Acres |
| EBMaxV2 | EB Maximum Storage | Elephant Butte Maximum storage volume | Acre-Feet |
| EBMinV2 | EB Minimum Storage | Elephant Butte reservoir minimum storage volume | Acre-Feet |
| EBPrV2_mmday | Average Precipitation at Elephant Butte Reservoir | Average daily precipitation at Elephant Butte Reservoir per year. | Millimetres |
| EBTasV2_degC | Average Temperature at Elephant Butte Reservoir | Average annual temperature at Elephant Butte Reservoir. | Celsius |
| EndYearV2 | Ending Year | Ending year of simulation run | year |
| EvapCoeffV2 | Future Evaporation Coefficient | Evaporation coefficient for future projections | n/a |
| EvapIntV2 | Evaporation intercept | Evaporation intercept | n/a |
| FullAllocationV2 | Full Allocation | Full allocation of water to be released from Caballo for downstream water users as defined by the Rio Grande Project Operating Agreement 2008 | Acre-Feet |
| HBAgBaselineV2 | Base Agriculture Allocation from Hueco Bolson | Base Water allocation from Hueco Bolson to the agricultural sector | Thousands of Acre-Feet |
| HBNetRechargeV2 | HB Net Recharge | Hueco Bolson aquifer natural water recharge | Thousands of Acre-Feet |
| HBRFCoeffV2 | HB RF Coefficient | Return flow coefficient for pumping for agricultural use in Hueco Bolson aquifer | n/a |
| HBSWIrrBaselineV2 | HB Surface Irrigation Baseline | Baseline volume of water extracted from Hueco Bolson for surface irrigation | Thousands of Acre-Feet |
| HBUnderallocAgFracV2 | HB Agricultural + Other Fraction of Underallocation | Fraction of underallocation of surface water replaced with groundwater overall from Hueco Bolson aquiferr | percent |
| HBUnderallocFractionV2 | HB Fraction of Underallocation | Proportion of underllocation at the Hueco Bolson | percent |
| HBUnderallocUrbanFracV2 | HB Urban + Other Fraction of Underallocation | Fraction of underallocation of surface water replaced with groundwater for urban use from Hueco Bolson aquifer | percent |
| HBUrbBaselineV2 | Base Urban + Other Allocation from Hueco Bolson | Base Water allocation from Hueco Bolson to the urban sector | Thousands of Acre-Feet |
| HistoricEvapV2 | Average Evaporation at Elephant Butte | Average historical evaporation at Elephant Butte reservoir between 1950 and 1999 | Millimetres |
| HistoricTasV2 | Average Temperature at Elephant Butte | Average historical temperature at Elephant Butte reservoir between 1950 and 1999 | Celsius |
| MAARechargeCoeffArtV2 | MAA Recharge Coefficient | Return flow coefficient for surface water for agricultural use in Mesilla Alluvial aquifer | n/a |
| MIDAFractionAgV2 | Agricultural Fraction from MIDA | Mesilla Intermediate-Deep Aquifer proportion allocated for the agricultural sector | percent |
| MIDAFractionUrbanV2 | Urban Fraction from MIDA | Mesilla Intermediate-Deep Aquifer proportion allocated for the urban sector | percent |
| OPConst1V2 | Maximum Release Volume OP #1 | Maximum desired reservoir release volume | n/a |
| OPConst2V2 | Operating Agreement Coefficient #2 | Percent of San Marcial flow that will be released in low volume years when the maxium desired reservoir release volume is not possible | n/a |
| OPConst3V2 | Operating Agreement Coefficient #3 | Percent of previous year's reservoir volume to be released in low volume years when the maxium desired reservoir release volume is not possible | n/a |
| RunoffCoeffV2 | Runoff coefficient | Proportion of precipitation on land that ultimately reaches streams often with dissolved or suspended material | n/a |
| SanMarV2_cfs | Inflows at San Marcial Gauges | Upstream Water supply to Elephant Butte Reservoir through San Marcial Gauges. | cubic foot per second |
| StartYearV2 | Starting Year | Starting year of simulation run | year |
Output Variables
| Variable | Label | Description | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| CabReleaseV2_af | Caballo Reservoir Releases | Annual surface water volume released for regional consumption from Caballo Reservoir located upstream of the city of Las Cruces and the Elephant Butte irrigation district, release volumes are directed by the 2008 Rio Grande Project Operating Agreement | Acre-Feet |
| CabROV2_af | Caballo Basin Runoff | Basin runoff to Caballo Reservoir | Acre-Feet |
| CabStorageV2_af | Caballo Reservoir Storage | Average volume of water stored at Caballo Reservoir by year | Acre-Feet |
| CabSurfAV2_ac | Caballo Lake Surface Area | Superficial surface area covered with water at El Caballo Reservoir | Acres |
| EBStorageV2_af | Elephant Butte Reservoir Storage | Elephant Butte reservoir storage volume at end of year | Acre-Feet |
| EBSurfAV2_ac | Elephant Butte Lake Surface Area | Superficial surface area covered with water at Elephant Butte Reservoir | Acres |
| ExcessV2_af | Water Excess from Elephant Butte Reservoir | Yearly excess of water spilled from Elephant Butte Reservoir | Acre-Feet |
| FullAllocationV2 | Full Allocation | Full allocation from Caballo Reservor to downstream users according to the 2008 Rio Grande Project Operating Agreement | Acre-Feet |
| HBAgCumV2 | Hueco Bolson Agricultural Cumulative Loss | Annual consumptive use of water from the Hueco Bolson aquifer for agricultural use | Thousands of Acre-Feet |
| HBCumLossV2 | Hueco Bolson Urban Cumulative Loss | Annual consumptive use of water from the Hueco Bolson aquifer for urban use | Thousands of Acre-Feet |
| HBRechargeCumV2 | Hueco Bolson Cumulative Recharge | Annual water recharge to the Hueco Bolson | Thousands of Acre-Feet |
| HBUrbanCumV2 | Hueco Bolson Urban Cumulative Loss | Annual consumptive use of water from the Hueco Bolson aquifer for urban use | Thousands of Acre-Feet |
| LocalNetDepthV2 | Net Local Depth | Net local reservoir depth derived from Precipitation + Runoff - Evaporation | Feet |
| MAAAgV2 | Mesilla Alluvial Cumulative loss from Agriculture | Annual consumptive use of water from the Mesilla shallow depth aquifer for agricultural use | Thousands of Acre-Feet |
| MAACumLossV2 | Mesilla Alluvial Total Cumulative Loss | Total consumptive water use from the Mesilla shallow depth aquifer from both urban and agricultural sectors | Thousands of Acre-Feet |
| MAARechargeV2 | Mesilla Alluvial Cumulative Recharge | Annual water recharge to the Mesilla shallow depth aquifer | Thousands of Acre-Feet |
| MIDAAgV2 | Mesilla Intermediate Cumulative Agricultural Loss | Annual consumptive use of water from the Mesilla intermediate and deep aquifer for agricultural use | Thousands of Acre-Feet |
| MIDACumLossV2 | Mesilla Intermediate Total Cumulative Loss | Annual consumptive use of water from the Mesilla intermediate and deep aquifer from both urban and agricultural sectors | Thousands of Acre-Feet |
| MIDARechargeV2 | Mesilla Intermediate Cumulative Recharge | Annual water recharge to the Mesilla intermediate and deep depth aquifer | Thousands of Acre-Feet |
| MIDAUrbanV2 | Mesilla Intermediate Cumulative Urban Loss | Annual consumptive use of water from the Mesilla intermediate and deep aquifer for urban use | Thousands of Acre-Feet |
| NetLocalV2 | Net Local Reservoir Flows | Net local reservoir flows derived from Precipitation + Runoff - Evaporation | Acre-Feet |
| ResSEvapV2_af | Rio Grande Project Storage Evaporation | Water loss due to evaporation from open water surface storage locations which includes Elephant Butte and Caballo reservoirs | Acre-Feet |
| ResSPrecipV2_af | Rio Grande Project Storage Precipitation | Average local precipitation at storage locations which includes Elephant Butte and Caballo reservoirs | Acre-Feet |
| SWEvapV2_ft | Surface Water Evaporation Depth | Depth of water loss due to evaporation from open water surface storage locations which includes Elephant Butte and Caballo reservoirs | Feet |
Contacts
Alex Mayer
The University of Texas at El Paso
amayer2@utep.edu
Robyn Holmes
Michigan Technological University
rnholmes@mtu.edu
Luis Garnica
The University of Texas at El Paso
lagarnicachavira@utep.edu
Sponsored by US Dept of Agriculture: 5 yr project 2015 - 2020