The Project Abstract has been expanded to be the basis of an interim report.  The expansion is shown in blue text.

 

Water Quality Chemistry of the Santa Cruz River

Robert Dryja and Randy Gaylor

Definition of the problem

The Santa Cruz River on the south side of Espanola flows for approximately fourteen miles from the Santa Cruz Reservoir to the Rio Grande.  This river presently has a limited flow due to drought and the redirection of its water for irrigation and pumping from privately owned wells.   Approximately 400 homes have been built within ¼ mile of the river.   These homes vary in age and all use septic tanks/fields to dispose of residential sewage. 

The low flow of the river combined with adjacent sewage seepage suggests that pollution levels increase as the river water moves to the Rio Grande.  The problem is to determine if indeed significant pollution is present and if it is increasing along the fourteen miles and where it may be occurring.

A number of factors influence the movement of ground water. For example, groundwater may move toward the river as a result of flowing downhill.  However, well pumping may influence water to flow away from the river through the ground.  In effect there is a two way interaction of water from septic fields and water being pumped for home usage.  This situation may be further complicated depending on what kinds of soils and rocks exist at different points along the river.  Ponds may also store water at different locations.

Why is it important, the purpose of the project or what results you hope to get

The Santa Cruz may meet the legal requirements for being identified as an “impaired” river if it is indeed significantly polluted.  If impaired, then Environmental Protection Agency funding could be made available to assist in correcting the problem.

One requirement is to show the patterns of flow surface water and groundwater.  Although individual points may be source of local pollution, the points may or may not contribute to the possible pollution in the river.  A major purpose of the project is to create a model based on actual available data.    

How you plan to work on it, plan of action or methods you hope to get.

The EPA is about to start a water quality assessment of the Santa Cruz River.  The team will collaborate with them to gather data.  They then will make a computational model showing the movement of pollution depending varying water flow and varying sources of pollutions along the river.

The computational model will be designed to show the possible direction of surface and ground water flow in the areas adjacent to the river.  There will be two variations of the model created.  One variation will provide a vertical slice into the ground while the second variation presents a topographic map perspective.

Computational Model V: A vertical cross section of ground water movement

 

The following is a partially completed StarLogo image of a vertical cross section.  It is meant to be analogous to display models often seen in nature centers or schools.  These physical display models permit water to permit water to percolate through different kinds of sand and encounter different kinds of blockages.  Water also can be pumped from these physical models. When completed, the StarLogo model similarly will show the movement of water through soils of or less porosity and the direction of ground water flow when pumped from the ground.

 

A particular issue is preparing well documented and easily understood code for the StarLogo model. A copy of the code prepared to date is presented in Appendix A. 


 

Screen Shot of StarLogo Image

 

The brown border presents the sides of a hydrology model cross section

While the turquoise board represents the surface.

 

 


Computational Model T: A topographic map showing surface water movement

 

To be done

 

References Available on Internet

 

“Santa Cruz Recreation Area” http://www.nm.blm.gov/recreation/taos/santa_cruz_lake.htm

 

“Cundiyo topographic map”, http://sar.lanl.gov/maps_by_name.html

 

“Espanola topographic map”, http://sar.lanl.gov/maps_by_name.html

 

Peter F. Ffolliott. Leonard F. DeBano and Daniel G. Neary “Riparian Areas of the Southwestern United States: Hydrology, Ecology, and Management” CRC Press

 

Michael O'Donnell and Jonathan Rademaekers, “Water Use Trends in the Southwestern United States 1950-1990” , U. S. Geological Survey 


StarLogo Code for Computational Model: V

 

Observer

 

; =================  Startup Procedure  ====================

to startup                                                                                              ; startup gets called when the program is first loaded

            clear-graphics                                                                           ; set patches on screen to black

            define-edges                                                                             ; define the edges of the graphics canvas

            draw-tank                                                                                ; call the procedure that draws the tank outline

            draw-surface                                                                            ; call the procedure that draws the surface outline

ask-turtles

            [

            setc white                                                                                 ; makes background white

            ]

 

end                              

 

; =================  Variables  ====================

globals [screenedgeleft screenedgeright screenedgetop screenedgebottom]        ; variables which will hold the screen coordinates

globals [tankcolor]                                                                                ; variable which will hold the color for the ground

 

; =================  Observer Procedures  ====================

 

to define-edges                                                                         ; defines the coordinate boundaries of the graphics canvas

            setscreenedgeleft -40                                                                ; the x-coordinate of the left edge

            setscreenedgeright 40                                                               ; the x-coordinate of the right edge

            setscreenedgetop 25                                                                 ; the y-coordinate of the top edge

            setscreenedgebottom -40                                                          ; the y-coordinate of the bottom edge

end

 

to draw-tank                                                                                        ; this procedure will use a temporary invisible turtle to draw a tank outline

clear-turtles                                                                                          ; clears and kills any turtles that may have pre-existed

settankcolor brown                                                                               ; sets the variable named "tankcolor" to "brown" -- now when "tankcolor" is mentioned, brown will be assumed

create-and-do 1                                                                                   ; creates 1 turtle which will do what follows inside the square brackets

            [                                                                                               ; this is the opening square bracket for the "create-and-do" command; the closing bracket is several lines below

             setshape invisible-turtle                                                            ; pick the invisible shape so we don't see the turtle that's drawing the ground

                                                                                                            ; see Windows - Shape Chooser to find the invisible-turtle shape in the first slot

            setxy screenedgeleft screenedgetop                                           ; Invisible turtle starts at left side of tank outline

            setheading 180                                                             ; Invisible turtle faces down (180 degrees)

            repeat 60                                                                                  ; Invisible turtle will repeat 60 stampings           

                        [

                        stamp tankcolor                                                            ; Stamps the tankcolor

                        forward 1                                                                     ; Takes 1 step forward

                        ]

             

             setheading 90                                                                         ; Turn the turtle to face a heading of 90 degrees (i.e. East) -- going to move right across the screen

             repeat 80                                                                                 ; Will repeat 80 stampings

                        [

                        stamp tankcolor                                                            ; Stamp the ground under the turtle's current location to the "groundcolor"

                        forward 1                                                                     ; Now move the invisible turtle forward one patch

                        ]                                                                                   ; Everything in the brackets repeats until it has been done 50 times

            setheading 0                                                                             ; Invisible turtle now faces up (0 degrees)                                                                                 

            repeat 61                                                                                  ; Invisible turtle will repeat 61 times in order to be level with left side

                        [

                        stamp tankcolor                                                            ; Stamps the tankcolor

                        forward 1                                                                     ; Takes 1 step forward

                        ]

            die                                                                                            ; Invisible turtle dies and disappears (it has done its job, we're through with it)

]                                                                                                           ; this is the closing square bracket from the "create-and-do" command several ;lines above 

end

 

to draw-surface                                                                                    ; Procedure to draw surface of ground

clear-turtles                                                                                          ; clears and kills any turtles that may have pre-existed

settankcolor brown                                                                               ; sets the variable named "tankcolor" to "brown" -- now when "tankcolor" is mentioned, brown will be assumed

create-and-do 1                                                                                   ; creates 1 turtle which will do what follows inside the square brackets

            [

            setshape invisible-turtle                                                 ; create 1 new turtle which will the what follows inside the square brackets

            setxy screenedgeleft + 1 screenedgetop - 4                               ; Invisible turtle starts at left side of tank outline 4 steps from top of edge 

            settankcolor 85                                                             ; Tank color is changed to a turqoise color

            setheading 90                                                                           ; Invisible turtle goes due east, (90 degree reading)

            repeat 27                                                                                  ; Repeats 27 times

                        [

                        stamp tankcolor                                                            ; Stamps turqoise color

                        forward 1                                                                     ; 1 step at a time

                        ]

            setheading 135                                                             ; Invisible turtle now changes direction to be going down hill at 45

                                                                                                            ; degree angle (90 + 45 degrees)

            repeat 15                                                                                  ; Repeats 15 times

                        [

                        stamp tankcolor                                                            ; Stamps the tankcolor

                        forward 1                                                                     ; Takes 1 step forward

                        ]

            setheading 45                                                                           ; Invisible turtle now changes direction again to be going up hill

            repeat 15                                                                                  ; at 45 degrees

                        [

                        stamp tankcolor                                                            ; Stamps the tankcolor             

                        forward 1                                                                     ; Takes 1 step forward

                        ]

            Setheading 90                                                                           ; Invisible turtle once again goes east on 90 degree bearing.

            repeat 31                                                                                  ; Repeats 31 times in order to reach the edge of the tank

                        [

                        stamp tankcolor                                                            ; Stamps the tankcolor 

                        forward 1                                                                     ; Takes 1 step forward

                        ]

            die                                                                                            ; The invisible turtle is no longer needed-- kill off.

            ]

 

end