The Adaptability and Sustainability of Surface Water Diversions along the Main Stem of the Snake River in Southern Idaho

Abstract

This is an author-produced, peer-reviewed version of this article. The final, definitive version of this document can be found online 1928-1957, 1960-1980, and 1980-2009 indicates how the construction of Palisades Reservoir in 1956 allowed some canals to increase diversions, while other canals where able to improve the reliability of diversions. The analysis also highlights how decreasing diversions by irrigators (10% and 13% in July and August, respectively) from the Twin Falls North Side Canal Compnay has increased diversion reliability in those months. The second section of the research uses the SWSM to assess the sustainably of diversions under three projected climate change scenarios. All projected flow scenarios were run using a system dynamics version of the Snake River Planning Model (SRPM) developed by the authors. SRPM is currently used by the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) to plan water resource management in the Snake River basin. The analysis indicates based on the projected climate scenarios analyzed that upstream irrigators may see a significant decline in reliability while downstream users may see improved irrigation reliability.

Climate Change Impacts on Streamflow in the Krishna River Basin, India: Uncertainty and Multi-Site Analysis

“…The rate of change of extreme weather events, such as droughts or floods, will affect the quantity and quality of water resources, human health, environmental conditions, and agricultural production as a consequence [11][12][13]. Hence, it is important to analyze the impact of climate change on water resources at the basin level in order to understand the variability of streamflow in future periods and to provide support for regional resource management [14,15].…”