Representative Projects »
Water Rights Evaluation & Support
Project: Water Rights / Stream
Restoration
Client: Washington Water Trust
Location: Various counties in Washington
The Washington Water Trust helps transact water right purchases
for the environmental benefit of streams. NLW worked with the Trust
to develop GIS-based products for use in assessing water rights
— specifically, a set of watershed maps and a set of county
maps. The county maps included many themes associated with both
land and water resources that could affect stream health:
 Surface water
rights
ESA-listed fish
stream reaches
Agricultural
parcels
Water-quality
impaired streams
Stream gages
Public lands
Construction
permits
Sub-watersheds
Conservation
lands
High ecological-value
land
NLW associated water rights with active agricultural lands using
several techniques, including name matching and location criteria.
Multiple data tables were also constructed so the Trust could identify
land owners with water rights. Deliverables included:
A
total of 29 WRIA maps showing water rights, ESA-listed fish, and
water-quality impaired streams
A
total of 12 maps showing water rights and various natural resource
features for sub-watersheds
Data
tables linking land owners and water rights
Project: River–Aquifer
Analyses in Support of Water Rights Application
Client: City of Grand Mound
Location: Thurston County, Washington
Jim Mathieu managed a groundwater development project for the
City of Grand Mound during the formation of its Utility Local Improvement
District. This project involved modeling the effects of groundwater
withdrawals on flows in the Chehalis River. Thurston County used
the results of this analysis to purchase water rights that could
be transferred from the Chehalis watershed to the Grand Mound project
area.
Work for this project also included characterizing the local hydrogeology,
inventorying potential sources of groundwater contamination, and
preparing a preliminary wellhead protection plan. Jim also developed
technical specifications for a production well.
Project: Groundwater Flow Modeling and River–Aquifer Evaluation
Client: City of Auburn
Location: King and Pierce Counties, Washington
From 1995 through 2007, Jim Mathieu and Laura Strauss have worked with the City of Auburn on a variety of projects that have focused on developing additional water supplies and obtaining water rights. Their work has included monitoring groundwater quality, collecting and analyzing isotope and other geochemical data, designing and conducting aquifer tests, analyzing hydraulic data, developing well specifications, logging boreholes, and supervising well construction. Jim has also managed well maintenance and rehabilitation work.
Most significantly, Jim developed a sophisticated numerical model of the groundwater flow system using MODFLOW. A state-of-the-art tool for assessing river–aquifer interactions, this model evaluates the effects of groundwater withdrawals on flows and defines recharge zones for wells and springs. It also incorporates monitoring and other data from river stations and wells. The model can be operated using Groundwater Vistas, a processing application that features a graphical user interface. Deliverables included:
A digital flow model
Reports documenting the model configuration and calibration, as well as the results of initial model runs
Maps showing delineated recharge zones for 0.5, 1, 5, and 10-year travel times for each City water source
A report documenting potential contaminant sources and strategies to manage risks
© 2007 |
