Changes in ground-water withdrawals, water levels, and quality of water occurred in the artesian aquifers of the Sevier Desert, Utah during 1963-81. Ground-water withdrawals increased from an average of 9,500 acre-feet (11.7 cubic hectometers) per year between 1951 and 1963 to an average of 27,500 acre-feet (33.9 cubic hectometers) per year between 1964 and 1981. Most of the increased withdrawal was from the deep artesian aquifer. Water levels declined as much as 19 feet (5.8 meters) in the deep artesian aquifer and as much as 13 feet (4.0 meters) in the shallow artesian aquifer between 1963 and 1981. The declines probably are due to increased ground-water withdrawals for irrigation and municipal use. Quality of water in parts of the shallow artesian aquifer is deteriorating. The deterioration probably is the result of recharge of poor quality from the overlying water-table aquifer. A digital-computer model was constructed to predict water-level changes resulting from changes in recharge and discharge for 20 years (1981-2000) at one-half, one, and two times the 1977-79 average rate. The model computer water-level declines of more than 80 feet (24 meters) in the deep artesian aquifer with withdrawals twice the 1977-79 average, declines of more than 40 feet (12 meters) if withdrawals were equal to the 1977-79 average, and declines of more than 15 feet (4.6 meters) if withdrawals were one-half the 1977-79 average. Computer water-level declines after 20 years in the shallow artesian aquifer were more than 50 feet (15 meters) at two times the 1977-79 average rate, more than 15 feet (4.6 meters) at the 1977-79 average, and less than 4 feet (1.2 meters) at one-half the 1977-79 average. The model also was used to predict the effects of approximate changes in ground-water withdrawals related to the Intermountain Power Project. Water-level declines in the deep artesian aquifer of more than 15 feet (4.6 meters), and only small changes in water levels in the shallow artesian aquifer after 20 years. These changes are in addition to changes computed for 20 years of withdrawals at the 1977-79 rate. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗

USGS1983

Nevada - basic data for thermal springs and wells as recorded in Geotherm; Part A

GEOTHERM, a computerized information system now off-line, was used to maintain data on the geology, geochemistry and hydrology of geothermal sites primarily within the United States. The system was proposed at the First Geothermal Implementation Conference in New Zealand in 1974 (Swanson, 1977) and was active until 1983. The primary mission was to provide a broad informational framework for the Geothermal Research Program (Duffield and Guffanti, 1981). GEOTHERM was used to support national geothermal assessments--in 1978 (Muffler, 1979) and 1982 (Reed, 1983). It was however a public system and provided data to both public and private sectors. A detailed discussion on databases in GEOTHERM and a general scheme of how the information system operated can be found in Bliss and Rapport (1983). This report on Nevada is one of a series intended to preserve the data collected for GEOTHERM and make the data available to the public. This report will give summaries and sources of records for Nevada. The complete records for Nevada can be found in a companion report, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 83-433B, which is issued as MICROFICHE ONLY. States with significant geochemical data for geothermal fluids will be covered in individual reports such as this. A report will also be issued to cover miscellaneous data collected for sites in the central and eastern United States. The data presented this series is also available as a data file on the internationally-available General Electric Mark III service, a timeshare network. Those interested in accessing that system should contact the Energy Resource Center, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma 73070. It is anticipated that a portion of the data will also be available on magnetic tape from the National Technical Information Service, U. S. Department of Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161. It will not be available until after the completion of the open-file series.

Nevada↗

USGS1983