stabilization and restoration of owens dry lake california
TRANSCRIPT
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Stabilization and Restoration of Owens Dry Lake California
Jim Jordahl, Ph.D.USEPA International Phytotechnologies Conference
Atlanta, GeorgiaApril 22, 2005
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Acknowledgements
• John Dickey, Maurice Hall, Mark Madison, Jason Smesrud, Quitterie Cotten, Mica Heilman, Greg Roland, Richard Coles, Kevin Burton (CH2M HILL)
• Margot Griswold (Earthworks)• Richard Harasick, Thayne DeVorss, and
Ray Prittie (Los Angeles Department of Water and Power)
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Outline• Project location and history• Agronomic and engineering challenges• Dust control measure description and
implementation
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Project LocationIntroduction
• Photo/map that shows location andsize of project
• CH and LADWP logos
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Owens Lake, c. 1900
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Owens Lake History• 1850’s to 1908: Owens Valley water developed for irrigated
agriculture reducing inflow to the lake• 1913: Los Angeles Aqueduct begins export of Owens River
flow to Los Angeles nearly eliminating inflow• 1930: Much of 110 sq. mi. (28,490 ha) lakebed area exposed• 1972: Clean Air Act• 1980: Owens Dust problem linked to LA water exports• 1997: MOA between LA and GBUAPCD establishes time
frame for dust control• 2001: First 10 sq. mi. (2,590 ha) of dust mitigation operated• Today: 19 sq. mi. (4,920 ha) constructed, 10 sq. mi. (2,590
ha) more by 2006
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Owens Lake, CA
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Owens Lake - An Environmental Problem of Epic Proportion
•110 square miles of dusty, saline, desert lakebed•Single largest source of PM10 in the U.S.•A very aggressive timeline for a solution
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Salt crust covers the Playa from 50-100 years of saline shallow groundwater evaporation
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Reduced, cracking, clay subsoil
Spring salt bloom on lakebed
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Environmental Challenges
• High desert– ETo = 62.1– precipitation = 5.4 (inches/year)– Hot summers, frozen winters
• Shallow groundwater (4X seawater)• Soils (avg. 160 dS/m)• Winds and mobile sand• Sensitive shorebird spp.• Large stormwater flows
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Railroad ties Railroad ties after years after years
on the playaon the playa
Challenges of working on Challenges of working on a a ““drydry”” lakebedlakebed
Extreme weathering and Extreme weathering and intensively corrosive intensively corrosive
environmentenvironment
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Los Angeles Aqueduct
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MV control mechanism:• Stabilizes and protects land
surface• Slows surface wind
velocity• Ties up mobile sand
MV specifications:• Saltgrass (Distichlis
spicata) stands• 50% of each acre covered
in vegetation (live or dead)
MV control mechanism:• Stabilizes and protects land
surface• Slows surface wind
velocity• Ties up mobile sand
MV specifications:• Saltgrass (Distichlis
spicata) stands• 50% of each acre covered
in vegetation (live or dead)
MV pluses:• 1 to 2.5 feet of water/year• Stable once established• Less ancillary habitat than SF
MV challenges:• Extreme environment requires cutting
edge farming, increases risk• Soils and Groundwater
– Extreme chemistry– Waterlogging, cementation– Requires saltwater recycling
• Planting material not readily available
• Higher capital costs– Drainage and recycling– Saltgrass propagation
• Construction in difficult areas
MV pluses:• 1 to 2.5 feet of water/year• Stable once established• Less ancillary habitat than SF
MV challenges:• Extreme environment requires cutting
edge farming, increases risk• Soils and Groundwater
– Extreme chemistry– Waterlogging, cementation– Requires saltwater recycling
• Planting material not readily available
• Higher capital costs– Drainage and recycling– Saltgrass propagation
• Construction in difficult areas
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Subsurface drip irrigation network
Why subsurface?• More efficient water use • Minimizes drainage loads • Less prone to damage and displacement from
thermal expansion, roaming cattle, vertebrate pests, sunshine, wind, and stormwater
• Stable temperature reduces scaling and associated plugging risk
• Mobile sand on the Playa will result in portions becoming buried anyway
• Mechanized transplanting is feasible.
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Subsurface Drip Irrigated Saltgrass (Distichlis spicata)
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Tillage and planting profile
Drip tubing
Transplant
Bed surfaceReclaimed zone
Depth of tillage
Fertilizer placement
Pre-plant roto-tillage
5 feet
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Aqueduct
Saltwater
Shallow groundwater
MV SF* Ponds
Drains
Mix
* Habitat SF areas can be served with fresher water also.
Drainwaterand Tailwater
recyclingIrrigation (ETc +
leaching)
Irrigation Storage and
recovery
PercolationSeepage
Inflow
Irrigation (ET)
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Drainwater Reuse Drivers• Economic: LAA water value is at a
premium (approximately $7M to $24M per year in water cost)
• Soil Management: LAA water is not saline enough to prevent soil dispersion and structural collapse of the highly sodic lakebed soils
• Regulatory: The project is permitted with zero-discharge requirements
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Drainwater Collection and Reuse System
• Subsurface drainwater collected from managed vegetation fields is pumped into a dedicated drainwater conveyance system
• Freshwater and saline drainwater are blended to an EC of 9 dS/m at irrigation turnouts
• Excess saline drainwater is directed to shallow flooding dust control areas
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Blended Drip Irrigation Water Quality Objectives
• Sand media filtration / secondary screen• Adjust water chemistry to avoid emitter
plugging by biological growth, mineral precipitation, or root intrusion– Phosphonate scaling inhibitor– Trifluralin– NaOCl – NaBr
• Fertilization (fertigation)
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Water Treatment and Fertigation
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Saltgrass After Establishment
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Vegetated Playa Surface
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Vegetation in row exceeds 50% cover quickly
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Conclusions• Reuse of very saline water in an extreme
environment is possible with the appropriate consideration of:– soil and crop upper and lower salinity limits– irrigation water quality management in the
conveyance system– corrosion control of irrigation and drainage
equipment
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Conclusions• Shallow flooding areas nearly 100%
compliant, covering about 15.7 square miles• 1,173 acres (49%) of the saltgrass area was
compliant (50% cover) after 2 growing seasons
• Compliance calculations originally ignored strips of compliant vegetation in rows, taking an area average
• 2,240 acre site (saltgrass) contributed little dust to storms in that region of the lakebed