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Leslie Bostwick Laird

Publications and source records attributed to Leslie Bostwick Laird.

3 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1975

A general outline of the water resources of the Toppenish Creek basin, Yakima Indian Reservation, Washington

Increasing demands for water supplies, plans for irrigating new lands, proposals to divert water from the Yakima River by users downstream from the reservation, and ground-water problems have made an accounting of the overall availability of water very important to water management on the reservation. This report, which broadly outlines the water resources of the Toppenish Creek basin, has been developed as part of the cooperative study by the Tribal Council of the Yakima Indian Nation and the U.S. Geological Survey. Precipitation averages about 20 inches a year over the basin but only about 2 inches fall during the April-September growing season. However, diversions from the Yakima River make the Toppenish Creek valley one of the best agricultural areas in the State. Ground water in the basin occurs in three distinct units: the basalt, old valley fill deposits, and young valley fill deposits. Each unit is capable of yielding more than 1,000 gallons per minute to properly constructed wells. Water levels in wells tapping the young valley fill are higher under present (1974) irrigation conditions than they were in the past, but some water-level declines have occurred in the old valley fill in response to pumping. Water levels in the basalt wells in some areas have been lowered as much as 80 feet by pumping during the past 15 years. Some additional pumping in these areas can be allowed without lowering the water level more than a few feet if the amount of pumpage and spacing of wells are carefully controlled. The young valley fill in the eastern part of the lower valley is the best source of ground water in the basin. The zones of coarse sand and gravel to depths of about 150 feet in this area can produce large quantities of water. Irrigation water, from the Yakima River which seeps into the ground, yearly builds up this ground-water supply. About 120,000 acre-feet of water goes into temporary storage each irrigation season in the young valley fill.

Washington↗
USGS1952

Water resources of the Detroit area, Michigan

The water used for all purposes in the Detroit area is obtained from three sources: Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River, their tributary streams and inland lakes, and ground water. During 1950 Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River provided 2,896 million gallons per day (mgd), or 98.3 percent of the total usage of 2,949 mgd. Tributary streams and inland lakes supplied about 10 mgd, or 0.3 percent, and ground water contributed43 mgd, or 1.4 percent of the total. These rates of use represent the following percentages of the total supply available from each source: From Lake St. Clair and Detroit River, 2.5 percent; from tributary streams, 1.2 percent; from ground water, probably about 15 percent. Of the above total usage, about 2,500 mgd was raw water that was drawn directly from the Detroit River by adjacent industrial plants, used for cooling, processing, and other similar purposes, and immediately returned to the river. Of the remaining 449 mgd, 383 mgd was drawn from Lake St. Clair by the Detroit Department of Water Supply and, after purification, was distributed for domestic and commercial use throughout Detroit and its environs; 23 mgd was obtained from additional surface stream supplies; and 43 mgd was derived from wells. An abundant supply of raw water may be obtained from the Detroit River. The practicability of its utilization at any particular site is beyond the scope of this report. The Detroit Department of Water Supply can supply potable water of good quality and in any reasonable quantity anywhere in the area which it serves. Throughout the remainder of the Detroit area the Detroit Department of Water Supply can supply any normal demand, if distribution and storage facilities are provided. In outlying areas where the main source of supply is ground water and tributary streams, the water is hard and contains greater amounts of dissolved solids. There will be no serious shortage of water supplies at their source in the foreseeable future although local shortages owing to lack of adequate distribution systems will occur.

Michigan↗