Bittmann et al. (2025) Influence of Urbanization and Climate on Surface Water Diversions in a Semi‐Arid Basin

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-12-01
• Authors: Bridget Bittmann, Kendra E. Kaiser, Michael J. Poulos, Allison Simler‐Williamson, Alejandro N. Flores
• DOI: 10.1111/1752-1688.70074

Research Groups

Information not available in the provided abstract.

Short Summary

This study examined temporal trends in canal diversions to irrigation districts experiencing varying urbanization levels in the Lower Boise River Basin, finding that urbanization negatively impacted total diversion volumes, while interannual variability was more strongly correlated with climate variables.

Objective

• To examine temporal trends in canal diversions to irrigation districts that have undergone varying degrees of urbanization in the Lower Boise River Basin.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Lower Boise River Basin (LBRB), southwest Idaho.
• Temporal Scale: Temporal trends over an unspecified period.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Bayesian autoregressive generalized linear mixed models.
• Data sources: Canal diversions, urbanization data, climate variables (precipitation, temperature, evapotranspiration).

Main Results

• Urbanization had a negative effect on total irrigation diversion volumes.
• Interannual variability in diversions was more correlated to climate variables than urbanization, which showed no effect at that scale.
• Increased precipitation and temperature led to decreased irrigation diversions over time, though these effects were small.
• Increased evapotranspiration was associated with increased diversion volumes.
• The direction and magnitude of urban and climate effects varied from other urban water usage studies.

Contributions

• Quantified the specific impacts of urbanization and climate variables on canal diversions in a rapidly urbanizing arid/semi-arid region.
• Highlighted the heterogeneity in urban and climate effects on water usage compared to existing literature, emphasizing the need for further review and exploration of different model structures across scales.
• Suggested the importance of considering heterogeneity and uncertainty for adaptive water management.

Funding

Information not available in the provided abstract.

Citation

@article{Bittmann2025Influence,
  author = {Bittmann, Bridget and Kaiser, Kendra E. and Poulos, Michael J. and Simler‐Williamson, Allison and Flores, Alejandro N.},
  title = {Influence of Urbanization and Climate on Surface Water Diversions in a Semi‐Arid Basin},
  journal = {JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1111/1752-1688.70074},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/1752-1688.70074}
}