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Stabilization and Restoration of Owens Dry Lake California
Jim Jordahl, Ph.D.USEPA International Phytotechnologies Conference
Atlanta, GeorgiaApril 22, 2005
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)
Outline• Project location and history• Agronomic and engineering challenges• Dust control measure description and
implementation
Project LocationIntroduction
• Photo/map that shows location andsize of project
• CH and LADWP logos
Owens Lake, c. 1900
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
Owens Lake, CA
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
Salt crust covers the Playa from 50-100 years of saline shallow groundwater evaporation
Reduced, cracking, clay subsoil
Spring salt bloom on lakebed
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
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
Los Angeles Aqueduct
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
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.
Subsurface Drip Irrigated Saltgrass (Distichlis spicata)
Tillage and planting profile
Drip tubing
Transplant
Bed surfaceReclaimed zone
Depth of tillage
Fertilizer placement
Pre-plant roto-tillage
5 feet
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)
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
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
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)
Water Treatment and Fertigation
Saltgrass After Establishment
Vegetated Playa Surface
Vegetation in row exceeds 50% cover quickly
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
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
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