Background
Protecting and managing the Navajo water resources is
crucial for the welfare of the entire Navajo Nation, which, during the last
decade, has suffered impacts from extreme drought. At present, the Navajo
Nation operates 209 hydroclimate gages in several
environmental networks through the stewardship of the Navajo Department of
Water Resources (NDWR). The networks include stream gages, automated weather
stations, snow surveys, recording and non-recording precipitation
gauges. The data from these networks
are critical to Navajo Nation resource and drought planning, its economy, and
to those groups with whom they may wish to partner in data sharing. At present, the network is too large for
NDWR to adequately maintain; moreover, some stations nay provide redundant
data or have records of inferior quality.
Project Goals
The primary task of this project is to assess the current
NDWR hydroclimatic networks and their status in the
context of the other networks in the region.
There are five steps in accomplishing this:
- characterization
of the primary objectives of NDWR and surrounding networks;
- site
visits and interviews with NDWR staff to determine the major operation,
maintenance, and data communication issues;
- geographic
information system (GIS) analysis of the existing station locations and
the appropriate station density based on terrain, needed data types,
proximity to population centers, and the needs and objectives of the
NDWR and the other regional networks;
- evaluation of the NDWR data
collection, reporting, communication, and integration needs;
- evaluation of historical data quality,
record continuity, and record keeping methods.
These analyses, conducted with guidance from the NDWR
staff, will identify the appropriate number and location of weather stations,
precipitation and streamflow gauging networks for a
revised NDWR network.
A secondary task of this
project is to assess the feasibility of establishing a community data
network, integrating NDWR and other regional network data, in order to
improve drought and flood monitoring and planning, and agricultural and
livestock management. The project team will organize a workshop, including
the Navajo Nation and potential data sharing partners, such as the USGS,
National Weather Service, and others. Coordination of the various data
sources would greatly enhance knowledge of Navajo Nation hydroclimatic
conditions, as well as improving statewide drought forecasting and response,
and hazard forecasting. Environmental network assessment in a mountainous
arid region will also provide useful information to the National Integrated
Drought Information System (NIDIS) for national drought monitoring.
Workshop
The
project team convened a regional data workshop on October
9, 2007,
at Northern Arizona University’s Applied Research &
Development facility. The goals of the workshop included:
1) sharing information about the
objectives of the various networks in the area
2) discussing the benefits of an
integrated regional network to NDWR and its potential partners
3) assessing requirements and needs
for integrating data
4) developing recommendations for database
hardware and software, quality control procedures, and data sharing
protocols.
Click here
for access to the workshop
agenda, list of participants, and presentations given by the participants and
the project team.
The main
outcomes of workshop discussions are as follows:
Key data needs
·
Additional real-time data (1-hour minimum resolution), as well as high
quality observations for drought monitoring
·
Drought prediction at smaller spatial scales than current NOAA
Seasonal Drought Outlook
·
Recharge, groundwater, and potential evapotranspiration
·
Data facilitation through existing efforts, such as MesoWest, AHIS, or CUAHSI
Key opportunities
·
Develop a master plan of short- and long-term needs, based on current
and anticipated technologies; clearly articulate partner needs
·
Leverage resources through multiagency
partnerships
·
Automate existing sites by making use of Internet connectivity at
Navajo Nation Chapter Houses and other key locales
·
Use pilot programs, such as the Northern Arizona Mesonet,
to build parts of enhanced networks
Follow-up
·
Investigate possibilities for using Law Enforcement Telecommunications
System bandwidth for data communication
·
Initiate an invitation-only e-mail forum to share ideas
·
Develop a working group to maintain momentum
·
Put together a matrix of entities that collect data in the region;
delineate which ones make their data available through the Internet
Send comments or questions to gmgarfin@email.arizona.edu
Page last updated: January 3, 2008
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Project Progress
As of
January, 2008, investigators have completed project tasks, and a final report
has been delivered to Navajo Nation DWR and AWI. This presentation
illustrates some of the issues and potential solutions.
Presentations
February,
2007
CLIMAS
Team Meeting, Tucson, Arizona
Assessment of the Navajo Nation Hydroclimatic Network; Presenter: Gregg Garfin, University of Arizona
March 31,2007
Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science Annual Meeting, Flagstaff, Arizona
Evaluating Navajo Nation’s Hydroclimate Network: Preliminary Report; Presenter: Gregg Garfin, University of Arizona
August 27, 2007
CUAHSI-Arizona
Hydrologic Information System Science Meeting, Tempe, Arizona
Navajo Nation’s Hydroclimate Network; Presenter: Gregg Garfin, University of Arizona
October 9, 2007
Navajo Nation Hydroclimatic Data
Workshop, Flagstaff, Arizona
· Navajo Nation Climate and Weather Monitoring Overview; Presenter: Jolene Tallsalt-Robertson,
Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources
· Spatial Distribution of Precipitation on the Navajo Nation and Gauge
Density;
Presenter: Gregg Garfin (on behalf of Nancy Selover, Arizona State University)
· Navajo Nation Hydroclimate Network Density; Presenter: Paul Heinrich, Northern Arizona University
· The State of Surface Water Gauging in the Navajo Nation; Presenter: Aregai Tecle, Northern Arizona University
· Northern Arizona MesoNet
(NAM);
Presenter: Diana Anderson, Northern Arizona University
October 31, 2007
9th
Biennial Conference on Colorado Plateau Research, Flagstaff, Arizona
Session
on Tribal Lands of the Colorado Plateau
· Spatial Distribution of Precipitation on the
Navajo Nation and Gauge Density; Presenter: Nancy J. Selover,
Arizona State University
·
The State of
Stream Flow Measurement, Data Quality and Adequacy in
the Navajo Nation. Presenter: Aregai Tecle, Northern Arizona University
December 12, 2007
AWI Team
Presentation to the Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources, Window Rock, Arizona
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