Developing environmental flow

recommendations for a river with

limited data: Rio Patuca, Honduras
TOPICS
1. Goals
2. Area description
3. Problem definition
4. Activities
1. Hydrological analysis
2. Field trips
3. Environmental flows workshops
5. Next steps
6. Lessons learned
 Patuca Watershed
• Longest River in
Honduras and undammed

• 2,4 million hectares

• Upstream land use for

cattle ranching and forest
clearing for pastures

• Lower watershed heavily

forested with 3 reserves:
Patuca National Park,
Tawahka and Rio Platano
Biosphere Reserves

• Undocumented fish
diversity, possible
endemism
 Downstream communities
•Below the dam site are
numerous Tawahka and
Miskito communities
•Roadless area; river is
primary transportation
route
•River fisheries are
substantial source of
protein
•Sediment deposition
increases fertility of
floodplain agricultural
fields
 Information sources for developing
environmental flow recommendations
Typical approach: Patuca River:
¾ Hydrological data ¾ Hydrological data
¾ Literature reviews
z 30 years of daily flow
z Simulated ‘with-dam’ flows
¾ Workshops with
¾ No studies or data sets
scientists familiar
with the river ¾ Few or no scientists familiar
with the Patuca
Communities and
Traditional Ecological Knowledge
•Communities have the most at stake
•Communities have knowledge not
available elsewhere
Hydrological analysis
Developed and analysis using IHA
software (Index of Hydrological
Alteration)

Simulated dam operation in the

riverine processes

Floods will remain unchanged with

the dam operation

Declined 10% of the high-flow pulses

during the wet season

Elevated low flows during dry season

(Feb.-May)
 Field trips down Patuca River

One in wet season (Sept);

one in dry season (May)

Interviews: socioeconomic and

a survey to collect Traditional
Ecological Knowledge (TEK)
Sample questions:
• What are the most important fish to your
community?
• For each fish species:
• a. How do you catch them?
• b. Where do you catch them (looking for
riverine habitat descriptions, like channel
margins, side channels, etc.)
• c. At what time of year do you catch them?
 Field trips down Patuca River
• Drawing maps of
communities, river features,
and resources (agriculture,
fish, etc.)

•Community members help

annotate cross-sectional
surveys (e.g., location of
highest flow from past wet
season; height of Hurricane
Mitch)
 Field trips down Patuca River
•Developing species lists and
describing fish ecology
through sampling and
interviews with fishermen
 First workshop
¾ Scientists, water LR & MR
habitat size/
structure Nest
managers and Adults feed in
pools and run
establishment by
male; courtship Availability of
Food nesting space
government agency availability habitats
Establishment
of mating pair;

staff Free roaming

Stable dry
season flows
nest defense

Egg
young feed
Timing of wet fertilization
¾ Developed initial set and refuge in
shallows season onset and guarding

of environmental flows Bank habitat

size/structure
based on field tour Young roam
w/ parents

data, conceptual and feed

models, and Pool habitat

Food
availability

size/structure
hydrological analysis
 Figure 1. Recomendaciones para los caudales
ambientales, Rio Patuca 800-2000 cms; 12 dias, cada ano
•Sediment transport
•Maintain channel form and
habitats (including for navigation)
• Create floodplain topography
Inundacion • Provide fish access to the
floodplain
•Disperse tree seeds

“mid” humedo pulsos

4 pulsos cada ano
entre 200 and 900 cms 7 dias
“early” humedo •Fish migration and access
pulsos pequenos; to habitat
Pulsos 2 pulsos cada ano
entre 125 and 170 cms,
7 dias “late” humedo
•Migration/spawning cue pulsos pequenos;
for fish, other 2 pulsos cada ano
aquatic species and entre 125 and 170 cms,
reptiles 7 dias
•Tree germination •Fish migration and
•Create sandy beaches access to habitat
for reptiles

Low Flows
Increase from 40 to 100 cms 100 cms
•Reduce gold extraction •Maintain sandy banks for reptiles
•Adult fish feeding and egg development Decline from 100
to 70 cms
Decline from 70 to 40 cms •Maintain sandy
• Maintain levels for transportation banks for reptiles
•Adult fish feeding and egg development

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
 Figure 2. Example hydrograph with possible flow
events within the EFC windows

Inundacione

2,000 Inundacion

1,500
Flow(cms)
(cfs)

1,000
Flow

mid humedo pulses

“mid”-
humedo “late”-humedo
500 “early”-humedo pulsos
pulsos
pulsos
early humedo pulse late humedo small pulses

0
Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov
 Second workshop
¾ August, 2007
¾ 12 members of downstream communities
(Tawahka and Miskito villages)
 Workshop structure
¾ Presentations
¾ Opportunity for community members to
share concerns and frustrations
¾ Three working groups: fish, agriculture,
and transportation
¾ Various techniques for
discussing flow levels
Techniques for discussion of flow levels

Depicting seasonal flow levels

on community maps
Techniques for discussion of flow levels

Q (cms)
2000
High flow of October,
2006 provided good
sediment deposition
1500 on fields

1000

500

0
0-Jan 18-Jul 3-Feb

Describing specific months or specific

years during which flows were preferable
Techniques for discussion of flow levels

Annotating photos for river stage

 Mucho lodo, mala para
machacas y otros,
Pimienta (20 de Mayo) buscan caños, no pican
El máximo nivel para en el río, pero los caños
los peces. Limpia el son buenos (Jun, Jul y
canal. Duración 1 Oct 2006). Duración 1-3
semana (Jul y Oct. meses
2006)
MITCH!!!

Sobre pesca
(Mar, Abr,
May)—
MARCA
PELIGRO (20
Mayo 2007)

Aprovechar, y
conservar (Dic,
Ene 2006)
bueno para
Línea reptiles también
máxima para poner
huevos
en verano
(Ago - Dic
2006)
 Pimienta (Mayo 20, 2007)

MITCH!!!

El máximo nivel para

los peces. Limpia el
Mucho lodo, mala para canal. Duración 1
machacas y otros, semana (Jul y Oct.
buscan caños, no pican 2006)
en el río, pero los caños
son buenos (Jun, Jul y Cuyameles,
Oct 2006). Duración 1-3 tepemechines
meses inician
Un nivel que no movimientos (20
afecta a los peces Mayo 2007)
Agosto – Sep/ Dic -
Ene 2006). Nivel mínimo invier (Ago, 2006).
 Techniques for discussion of flow levels

Identifying sites on river where low flows

hinder boat traffic
 Next steps
¾ Translating community descriptions of important flow stages
into seasonal and event discharge ranges
¾ Working with dam engineers and operators to implement flow
regime. Government of Honduras will enforce?
¾ Continued capacity building program on e-flows
¾ Continued outreach with communities
¾ Support government to incorporate e-flows into official
licensing processes for infrastructure development
¾ Support government to develop a sustainable hydro energy
strategy based on this work
 Lessons learned
¾ Communities have wide range of priorities;
preferences may conflict with conservation of
biodiversity
¾ Communities have fundamental understanding of
river hydrology and ecology; primary challenge is
developing common vocabulary
¾ Specific knowledge of flow-ecology linkages varies
by flow type (e.g., what occurs during floods is
somewhat unknown, for obvious reasons)
Thanks