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Results for “Groundwater for Sustainable Development”

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At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
USGS2011

Waste isolation and contaminant migration - Tools and techniques for monitoring the saturated zone-unsaturated zone-plant-atmosphere continuum

In 1976 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began studies of unsaturated zone hydrology next to the Nation’s first commercial disposal facility for low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) near Beatty, NV. Recognizing the need for long-term data collection, the USGS in 1983 established research management areas in the vicinity of the waste-burial facility through agreements with the Bureau of Land Management and the State of Nevada. Within this framework, the Amargosa Desert Research Site (ADRS; http://nevada.usgs.gov/adrs/) is serving as a field laboratory for the sustained study of water-, gas-, and contaminant-transport processes, and the development of models and methods to characterize flow and transport. The research is built on multiple lines of data that include: micrometeorology; evapotranspiration; plant metrics; soil and sediment properties; unsaturated-zone moisture, temperature, and gas composition; geology and geophysics; and groundwater. Contaminant data include tritium, radiocarbon, volatile-organic compounds (VOCs), and elemental mercury. Presented here is a summary of monitoring tools and techniques that are being applied in studies of waste isolation and contaminant migration.

Conference Paper↗
USGS2018

Clarifying regional hydrologic controls of the Marañón River, Peru through rapid assessment to inform system-wide basin planning approaches

We use remote sensing to enhance the interpretation of the first baseline dataset of hydrologic, isotopic and hydrochemical variables spanning 620 km of the upper Marañón River, in Andean Peru, from the steep alpine canyons to the lower lying jungle. Remote, data-scarce river systems are under increased hydropower development pressure to meet rising energy demands. The upstream-downstream river continuum, which serves as a conduit for resource exchange across ecosystems, is at risk, potentially endangering the people, environments, and economies that rely on river resources. The Marañón River, one of the final free-flowing headwater connections between the Andes and the Amazon, is the subject of myriad large-scale hydropower proposals. Due to challenging access, environmental data are scarce in the upper Marañón, limiting our ability to do system-wide river basin planning. We capture key processes and transitions in the context of hydropower development. Two hydrologic regimes control the Marañón dry-season flow: in the higher-elevation upper reaches, a substantial baseflow is fed by groundwater recharged from wet season rains, in contrast to the lower reaches where the mainstem discharge is controlled by rain-fed tributaries that receive rain from lowland Amazon moisture systems. Sustainability of the upper corridor’s dry-season baseflow appears to be more highly connected to the massive natural storage capacity of extensive wetlands in the puna (alpine grasslands) than with cryospheric water inputs. The extent and conservation of puna ecosystems and glacier reservoirs may be interdependent, bringing to bear important conservation questions in the context of changing climate and land use in the region. More generally, this case study demonstrates an efficient combined remote sensing and field observation approach to address data scarcity across regional scales in mountain basins facing imminent rapid change.

Marañón River↗
USGS2013

Geodatabase compilation of hydrogeologic, remote sensing, and water-budget-component data for the High Plains aquifer, 2011

The High Plains aquifer underlies almost 112 million acres in the central United States. It is one of the largest aquifers in the Nation in terms of annual groundwater withdrawals and provides drinking water for 2.3 million people. The High Plains aquifer has gained national and international attention as a highly stressed groundwater supply primarily because it has been appreciably depleted in some areas. The U.S. Geological Survey has an active program to monitor the changes in groundwater levels for the High Plains aquifer and has documented substantial water-level changes since predevelopment: the High Plains Groundwater Availability Study is part of a series of regional groundwater availability studies conducted to evaluate the availability and sustainability of major aquifers across the Nation. The goals of the regional groundwater studies are to quantify current groundwater resources in an aquifer system, evaluate how these resources have changed over time, and provide tools to better understand a systems response to future demands and environmental stresses. The purpose of this report is to present selected data developed and synthesized for the High Plains aquifer as part of the High Plains Groundwater Availability Study. The High Plains Groundwater Availability Study includes the development of a water-budget-component analysis for the High Plains completed in 2011 and development of a groundwater-flow model for the northern High Plains aquifer. Both of these tasks require large amounts of data about the High Plains aquifer. Data pertaining to the High Plains aquifer were collected, synthesized, and then organized into digital data containers called geodatabases. There are 8 geodatabases, 1 file geodatabase and 7 personal geodatabases, that have been grouped in three categories: hydrogeologic data, remote sensing data, and water-budget-component data. The hydrogeologic data pertaining to the northern High Plains aquifer is included in three separate geodatabases: (1) base data from a groundwater-flow model; (2) hydrogeology and hydraulic properties data; and (3) groundwater-flow model data to be used as calibration targets. The remote sensing data for this study were developed by the U. S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science Center and include historical and predicted land-use/land-cover data and actual evapotranspiration data by using remotely sensed temperature data. The water-budget-component data contains selected raster data from maps in the “Selected Approaches to Estimate Water-Budget Components of the High Plains, 1940 Through 1949 and 2000 Through 2009” report completed in 2011 ( http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2011/5183/ ). Federal Geographic Data Committee compliant metadata were created for each spatial and tabular data layer in the geodatabases.

Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, ↗
USGS1995

Water management by early people in the Yucatan, Mexico

The Yucatan Peninsula is a coastal plain underlain by permeable limestone and receives abundant rainfall. Such hydrogeologic conditions should provide major supplies of water; however, factors of climate and hydrogeology have combined to form a hydrologic system with chemical boundaries that limits the amount of fresh water available. Management of water resources has long had a major influence on the cultural and economic development of the Yucatan. The Mayan culture of the northern Yucatan developed on extensive use of groundwater. The religion was water oriented and the Mayan priests prayed to Chac, the water god, for assistance in water management, primarily to decrease the severity of droughts. The Spaniards arrived in 1517 and augmented the supply by digging wells, which remained the common practice for more than 300 years. Many wells now have been abandoned because of serious problems of pollution. A historical perspective of a paper such as this provides insight into the attitudes concerning water of early people and perhaps provides insight into current attitudes concerning water. Hydrogeologists possess the expertise to generate relevant information required by water managers to arrive at management programs to achieve sustainable development. ?? 1995 Springer-Verlag.

Yucatan Peninsula↗
USGS2003

Sustainable Land Use Requires Attention to Ecological Signals

This case study details the difficulties of landscape management, highlighting the challenges inherent in managing natural resources when multiple agencies are involved, when the land users have no incentive for conservation, and when government agencies have too few resources for effective management. Pumping of groundwater from the aquifer of La Costa de Hermosillo in the state of Sonora, Mexico, began in 1945 and developed so quickly that by the late 1950s salinity intrusion from the Gulf of California was occurring in the wells. In the 1970s, the irrigatable land in La Costa peaked at 132,516 ha and the extracted volume of water from the aquifer peaked at around 1.14 billion cubic meters annually. By the 1980s, 105 wells of the total of 498 were contaminated with seawater and, therefore, identified for closure. At present La Costa de Hermosillo still represents 15% of the total harvested land, 16% of the total annual production, and 23% of the gross agricultural production of the state of Sonora. However, there are approximately 80,000 ha of abandoned fields due to salt water intension, lack of water and/or lack of credit available to individual farmers. This unstable situation resulted from the interplay of water management policies and practices, and farm-land policies and practices. While government agencies have been able to enforce better water use for agricultural production, there remains a significant area that requires restoration from its degraded state. For this piece of the ecosystem management puzzle, government agencies have thus far been unable to affect a solution.

Environmental Management↗
USGS2020

Seismic evaluation of shallow-depth structure, faulting, and groundwater variations across the Dos Palmas Preserve, Riverside County, California

Introduction Dos Palmas Preserve is a Colorado Desert oasis and wetland in Riverside County, California, located near the base of the Orocopia Mountains and northeast of the Salton Sea. The original source of water for the oasis was artesian springs that developed at the base of the Orocopia Mountains, but more abundant water supplies were later provided to Dos Palmas Preserve when the Coachella Canal was built and water seeped from unlined parts of the canal. As a result of this abundant water supply in a desert setting, Dos Palmas Preserve, managed by the Bureau of Land Management, is now a wildlife preserve that became home to multiple plants, fowl, insects, rodents, reptiles, and bats, including some endangered and threatened species. More recently, sections of the Coachella Canal have been lined, resulting in a reduction of water seepage and threatening the sustainability of parts of Dos Palmas Preserve. Faults usually act as barriers to groundwater flow and Dos Palmas Preserve is only a few kilometers from the active trace of the San Andreas Fault, where splays of the fault trend through the area. Additionally, numerous closely spaced faults that have been mapped at the surface northwest of Dos Palmas Preserve are believed to extend southward into the Dos Palmas Preserve, where they are covered by alluvium. Thus, evaluation of the subsurface lithology and structure is needed to determine how the current allocation of water from the Coachella Canal affects various parts of Dos Palmas Preserve. To better understand the distribution of the shallow lithology, faulting, and groundwater in Dos Palmas Preserve, the U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with the Bureau of Land Management, conducted a seismic survey across the northern part of Dos Palmas Preserve. The seismic survey was designed to “map” the upper part of the aquifer system and to more precisely locate faults that may affect groundwater flow in Dos Palmas Preserve. In this report, we present seismic velocity and reflection images of the shallow subsurface and relate those images to interpretative structures and stratigraphy that may affect groundwater at Dos Palmas Preserve.

California↗
USGS2011

A water-budget model and assessment of groundwater recharge for the Island of Hawai'i

Concern surrounding increasing demand for groundwater on the Island of Hawaiʻi, caused by a growing population and an increasing reliance on groundwater as a source for municipal and private water systems, has prompted a study of groundwater recharge on the island using the most current data and accepted methods. For this study, a daily water-budget model for the entire Island of Hawaiʻi was developed and used to estimate mean recharge for various land-cover and rainfall conditions, and a submodel for the Kona area was developed and used to estimate historical groundwater recharge in the Kona area during the period 1984–2008. Estimated mean annual recharge on the Island of Hawaiʻi is 6,594 million gallons per day, which is about 49 percent of mean annual rainfall. Recharge is highest on the windward slopes of Mauna Loa, below the tradewind inversion, and lowest on the leeward slopes of Kohala and Mauna Kea. Local recharge maxima also occur on (1) windward Kohala, with the exception of the northern tip, (2) windward Mauna Kea below the tradewind inversion, (3) windward Kīlauea, (4) the middle elevations of southeastern Mauna Loa, and (5) the lower-middle elevations of leeward Mauna Loa and southwestern Hualālai, in the Kona area. Local recharge minima also occur on (1) Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, above the tradewind inversion, (2) the northern tip of Kohala, (3) leeward Kīlauea, (4) the southern tip of Mauna Loa, and (5) the northwestern slopes of Mauna Loa and Hualālai. In 18 of the 24 aquifer systems on the island, estimated mean annual recharge for baseline conditions was higher than the recharge estimates used in the 2008 State of Hawaiʻi Water Resource Protection Plan (2008 WRPP). Baseline conditions for this study were 2008 land cover and mean annual rainfall from the period 1916–1983. Estimates of recharge for the Māhukona, Waimea, and Hāwī aquifer systems, however, were between 29 and 38 percent lower than the 2008 WRPP estimates, mainly because of much higher evapotranspiration estimates in this study compared to the 2008 WRPP. For the drought simulation (1991–95 rainfall), the estimates of recharge for these three aquifer systems were only 15 to 33 percent of the sustainable yields (maximum allowable pumping rates) set by the 2008 WRPP. This may be cause for concern, as these areas are experiencing a rapid growth in development and a related growth in water demand. Recent projections of change in rainfall owing to effects of ongoing climate change generally indicate a slight increase in islandwide rainfall, and estimates of annual recharge in the late 21st century are higher than baseline estimates for every aquifer system, except ʻAnaehoʻomalu. On average, these aquifer-system recharge estimates are higher by about 8 percent compared to baseline estimates. In the Kona area, estimated groundwater recharge during the period 1984–2008 was highest during 2004–8 and lowest during 1999–2003, with the 1999–2003 recharge being about 50 percent of the 2004–8 recharge. These extremes in recharge coincided with the periods of lowest and highest mean rainfall, respectively. No seasonal pattern in recharge is discernible. Spatially, the highest recharge occurred in a belt about 4 miles wide running parallel to the coast about 2 miles inland. The sensitivity of recharge estimates to input parameters is related to the climate and land-cover conditions of the particular area of study. For the wet, forested areas characteristic of the windward side of the island, recharge was most sensitive to the ratio of runoff to rainfall. For the dry, grassland areas characteristic of the northwestern leeward side of the island, recharge was most sensitive to root depth. For the Kona area, characterized by moderate rainfall and a wide variety of land cover, recharge was most sensitive to the pan coefficient and canopy-evaporation rates in

Hawai'i↗
USGS2011

Selected approaches to estimate water-budget components of the High Plains, 1940 through 1949 and 2000 through 2009

The High Plains aquifer, underlying almost 112 million acres in the central United States, is one of the largest aquifers in the Nation. It is the primary water supply for drinking water, irrigation, animal production, and industry in the region. Expansion of irrigated agriculture throughout the past 60 years has helped make the High Plains one of the most productive agricultural regions in the Nation. Extensive withdrawals of groundwater for irrigation have caused water-level declines in many parts of the aquifer and increased concerns about the long-term sustainability of the aquifer. Quantification of water-budget components is a prerequisite for effective water-resources management. Components analyzed as part of this study were precipitation, evapotranspiration, recharge, surface runoff, groundwater discharge to streams, groundwater fluxes to and from adjacent geologic units, irrigation, and groundwater in storage. These components were assessed for 1940 through 1949 (representing conditions prior to substantial groundwater development and referred to as "pregroundwater development" throughout this report) and 2000 through 2009. Because no single method can perfectly quantify the magnitude of any part of a water budget at a regional scale, results from several methods and previously published work were compiled and compared for this study when feasible. Results varied among the several methods applied, as indicated by the range of average annual volumes given for each component listed in the following paragraphs. Precipitation was derived from three sources: the Parameter-Elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model, data developed using Next Generation Weather Radar and measured precipitation from weather stations by the Office of Hydrologic Development at the National Weather Service for the Sacramento-Soil Moisture Accounting model, and precipitation measured at weather stations and spatially distributed using an inverse-distance-weighted interpolation method. Precipitation estimates using these sources, as a 10-year average annual total volume for the High Plains, ranged from 192 to 199 million acre-feet (acre-ft) for 1940 through 1949 and from 185 to 199 million acre-ft for 2000 through 2009. Evapotranspiration was obtained from three sources: the National Weather Service Sacramento-Soil Moisture Accounting model, the Simplified-Surface-Energy-Balance model using remotely sensed data, and the Soil-Water-Balance model. Average annual total evapotranspiration estimated using these sources was 148 million acre-ft for 1940 through 1949 and ranged from 154 to 193 million acre-ft for 2000 through 2009. The maximum amount of shallow groundwater lost to evapotranspiration was approximated for areas where the water table was within 5 feet of land surface. The average annual total volume of evapotranspiration from shallow groundwater was 9.0 million acre-ft for 1940 through 1949 and ranged from 9.6 to 12.6 million acre-ft for 2000 through 2009. Recharge was estimated using two soil-water-balance models as well as previously published studies for various locations across the High Plains region. Average annual total recharge ranged from 8.3 to 13.2 million acre-ft for 1940 through 1949 and from 15.9 to 35.0 million acre-ft for 2000 through 2009. Surface runoff and groundwater discharge to streams were determined using discharge records from streamflow-gaging stations near the edges of the High Plains and the Base-Flow Index program. For 1940 through 1949, the average annual net surface runoff leaving the High Plains was 1.9 million acre-ft, and the net loss from the High Plains aquifer by groundwater discharge to streams was 3.1 million acre-ft. For 2000 through 2009, the average annual net surface runoff leaving the High Plains region was 1.3 million acre-ft and the net loss by groundwater discharge to streams was 3.9 million acre-ft. For 2000 through 2009, the average annual total estimated groundwater pumpage volume from two soil-water-balance models ranged from 8.7 to 16.2 million acre-ft. Average annual irrigation application rates for the High Plains ranged from 8.4 to 16.2 inches per year. The USGS Water-Use Program published estimated total annual pumpage from the High Plains aquifer for 2000 and 2005. Those volumes were greater than those estimated from the two soil-water-balance models. Total groundwater in storage in the High Plains aquifer was estimated as 3,173 million acre-ft prior to groundwater development and 2,907 million acre-ft in 2007. The average annual decrease of groundwater in storage between 2000 and 2007 was 10 million acre-ft per year.

High Plains Aquifer↗
USGS2021

Substrate particle-size distribution, dissolved-oxygen concentrations, sediment temperatures, and groundwater/surface-water exchange in shoreline spawning habitat of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) of Lake Ozette, Western Washington

Sockeye salmon ( Oncorhynchus nerka ) spawn at beaches along Lake Ozette’s shoreline and within its tributary streams including Umbrella Creek and Big River in western Washington. The tributary-spawning aggregate of the Lake Ozette sockeye salmon population has been increasing from very low abundance through hatchery supplementation, but the beach-spawning aggregate has decreased from the early 20th century resulting in an Endangered Species Act listing of the Lake Ozette sockeye salmon population as “Threatened” in 1999. Among several factors inhibiting the recovery of beach spawning sockeye salmon, the quality of spawning habitat in beaches and low dissolved-oxygen concentrations in beach gravels during incubation were identified as important limitations on the recovery of this population. Proliferation of primarily native near-shore vegetation during the 20th century, as a result of alterations in the lake hydroperiod, accompanied by fine-grained sediment deposition was hypothesized as a potential cause of low rates of water circulation and dissolved-oxygen concentrations in beach spawning gravels. The potential for shoreline vegetation removal to restore spawning habitat function, including dissolved-oxygen concentrations, was evaluated in this report by measuring continuous dissolved-oxygen concentrations with data-logging dissolved-oxygen sensors, by measuring particle-size distribution of beach sediment, and by estimating groundwater/surface-water exchange using vertical sediment temperature profiles at three shoreline sampling areas. These sampling areas included an area of current spawning devoid of shoreline vegetation, an adjacent vegetated area, and an adjacent treatment area where a 3-meter-wide swath of existing above-ground vegetation was removed in 2018 prior to the study. Substrate particle-size distributions, dissolved-oxygen concentrations, sediment temperatures, and groundwater/surface-water exchange were compared among the three shoreline sampling areas. Median grain size (D 50 ) of sediment varied at sampling stations from medium sand fine to coarse gravel. The coarsest sediment generally occurred in the current spawning area that was devoid of vegetation; whereas the vegetated shoreline and the shoreline where above-ground vegetation was removed were characterized by finer sediment. Removal of above-ground vegetation resulted in increased D 50 at the most shoreward station at the treatment sampling area from 8.2 millimeters in 2018 to 21.6 millimeters in 2019 but other changes in substrate particle-size distribution in the treatment area were negligible. Increased grain size from 2018 to 2019 at this site suggests that while higher wave energy was allowed to mobilize sediment in the backshore area of the treatment area and winnow fine sediment during the winter, residual root structure in the treatment area may have limited the ability of wave energy to mobilize sediment after removal. During the November 2018 to March 2019 incubation period for sockeye salmon, dissolved-oxygen concentrations at the depth of sockeye salmon egg pockets (15–25 centimeters) within all three shoreline sampling areas were less than 1 milligram per liter throughout the deployment time (October 2018—May 2019) and below the threshold to sustain sockeye salmon embryo development (3 milligrams per liter). In addition, the similarity of dissolved-oxygen concentrations among all three shoreline sampling areas indicates that above-ground vegetation removal did not increase subsurface dissolved-oxygen concentrations. Groundwater/surface-water exchange measured from sediment temperature profiles were variable both within and across shoreline sampling areas. At the most lakeward stations, groundwater discharge to the lake ranged from 0.25 to 0.007 meter per day and was highest at the control station and lowest at the vegetated station. However, in general, the differences in groundwater/surface-water exchange across the three shoreline sampling areas were negligible. Collectively, these results suggest the process of removing above-ground vegetation had little effect on subsurface dissolved-oxygen concentrations and groundwater/surface-water exchange during the study period, but limitations of the study design, including retention of below-surface root cohesion after above-ground vegetation removal, too narrow of a band of vegetation removal, and a limited duration of the monitoring period, may have pre vented wave energy from winnowing fine-grained sediment along the shoreline and altering subsurface dissolved-oxygen concentrations during the study period. Response of the substrate particle-size distribution, groundwater/surface-water exchange, and subsurface dissolved-oxygen concentrations to shoreline vegetation removal that includes root-zone removal over a larger extent and longer periods than the 7-month study period from October 2018 to May 2019, however, remain unknown and warrant further investigation.

Washington↗
USGS2012

A science plan for a comprehensive assessment of water supply in the region underlain by fractured rock in Maryland

The fractured rock region of Maryland, which includes land areas north and west of the Interstate 95 corridor, is the source of water supply for approximately 4.4 million Marylanders, or approximately 76 percent of the State's population. Whereas hundreds of thousands of residents rely on wells (both domestic and community), millions rely on surface-water sources. In this region, land use, geology, topography, water withdrawals, impoundments, and other factors affect water-flow characteristics. The unconfined groundwater systems are closely interconnected with rivers and streams, and are affected by seasonal and climatic variations. During droughts, groundwater levels drop, thereby decreasing well yields, and in some cases, wells have gone dry. Low ground-water levels contribute to reduced streamflows, which in turn, can lead to reduced habitat for aquatic life. Increased demand, over-allocation, population growth, and climate change can affect the future sustainability of water supplies in the region of Maryland underlain by fractured rock. In response to recommendations of the 2008 Advisory Committee on the Management and Protection of the State's Water Resources report, the Maryland Department of the Environment's Water Supply Program, the Maryland Geological Survey, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Monitoring and Non-Tidal Assessment (MANTA) Division, and the U.S. Geological Survey have developed a science plan for a comprehensive assessment that will provide new scientific information, new data analysis, and new tools for the State to better manage water resources in the fractured rock region of Maryland. The science plan lays out five goals for the comprehensive assessment: (1) develop tools for the improved management and investigation of groundwater and surface-water resources; (2) characterize factors affecting reliable yields of individual groundwater and surface-water supplies; (3) investigate impacts on nearby water withdrawal users caused by groundwater and surface-water withdrawals; (4) assess the role of streamflow and water withdrawals on the ecological integrity of streams; and (5) improve understanding of the distribution of water-quality conditions in fractured rock aquifers. To accomplish these goals, accurate data collection, review, and analysis are needed, including the study of "Research Watersheds" that can provide detailed information about the potential effects that climate change and water withdrawals may have on groundwater, streamflow, and aquatic life. The assessment planning started in 2009 and is being conducted with close interagency coordination. A Fractured Rock Aquifer Information System is currently (2012) undergoing initial development. Other major tasks that will be performed include the development of work plans for each science goal, the estimation of daily streamflow at ungaged streams, and the design and implementation of Research Watersheds. Finally, scenarios will be modeled to evaluate current water allocation permitting methodologies, investigate effects on nearby water withdrawal users caused by groundwater and surface-water withdrawals, and assess the potential impacts of climate change on water resources. Desktop and Web-based tools will be developed in order to meet the diverse research needs of the assessment. These tools, including the Fractured Rock Aquifer Information System will be continuously improved during the assessment to store relevant groundwater and surface-water data in spatially referenced databases, estimate streamflows, locate higher-yielding wells, estimate the impacts of withdrawals on nearby users, and assess the cumulative impacts of withdrawals on the aquatic resource. Tools will be developed to serve the needs of many audiences, including water resource managers, water suppliers, planners, policymakers, and other scientific investigators.

Maryl↗
USGS2025

Completion summary for monitor wells NRF-17 and NRF-18 at the Naval Reactors Facility, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)—in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the Naval Reactors Laboratory Field Office that supports operations for the Naval Reactors Facility (NRF) located at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL)—drilled and constructed well NRF-17 (formerly borehole USGS 151) and well NRF-18 (formerly borehole USGS 152) for stratigraphic framework analyses and water-quality monitoring at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) near the NRF, in southeastern Idaho. Borehole USGS 151 was continuously cored from about 48 to 1,070 feet (ft) below land surface (BLS); rotary drilled from approximately 1,070 to 1,720 ft BLS; and re-drilled to complete construction as a monitor well NRF-17, completed to 461 ft BLS. Borehole USGS 152 was continuously cored from approximately 19 to 1,259 ft BLS; rotary drilled from approximately 1,259 to 1,630 ft BLS; and re-drilled to complete construction as a monitor well NRF-18, completed to 450 ft BLS. Geophysical data were examined with photographed core material to record lithologic descriptions and to suggest zones where groundwater flow was anticipated. Basalt flows varied from highly fractured to dense, with high-to-low vesiculation. Well NRF-17 generally was constructed in mostly dense basalt (greater than 75 percent), and well NRF-18 was constructed in primarily fractured and (or) vesicular basalt. In well NRF-17, the well capacity is directly affected by the limited amount of fractured basalt, which serves as the primary pathway for groundwater. This effect was observed during the pumping test conducted after the well's final construction. Single-well aquifer tests were done at wells NRF-17 and NRF-18 to provide estimates of transmissivity and hydraulic conductivity after final well construction and initial well development. Estimated values of transmissivity and hydraulic conductivity for well NRF-17 were 8.81 feet squared per day (ft 2 /d) and 1.04×10 -2 feet per day (ft/d), respectively. Estimated values of transmissivity and hydraulic conductivity for well NRF-18 were 4.77×10 3 ft 2 /d and 5.61 ft/d, respectively. The NRF-17 pump test resulted in 19.41 ft of measured drawdown at a sustained average pumping rate of 3.3 gallons per minute (gal/min). The NRF-18 pump test resulted in 0.55 ft of measured drawdown at a sustained average pumping rate of 31.0 gal/min. Water-quality samples collected from the two wells were analyzed for cations, anions, metals, nutrients, volatile organic compounds, stable isotopes, and radionuclides. Water samples for select inorganic constituents showed concentrations consistent with signatures from tributary valley groundwater with influences from ephemeral surface-water recharge from the Big Lost River. Water-quality samples analyzed for stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen are consistent with signatures from tributary valley groundwater and surface-water recharge inputs to the aquifer. No measured water-quality results were greater than their respective maximum contaminant levels for public drinking-water supplies. Inorganic and nutrient water-quality results for well NRF-17 and well NRF-18 suggest the groundwater in this area is potentially affected by industrial wastewater disposal.

Idaho↗
USGS2014

HydroClimATe: hydrologic and climatic analysis toolkit

The potential consequences of climate variability and climate change have been identified as major issues for the sustainability and availability of the worldwide water resources. Unlike global climate change, climate variability represents deviations from the long-term state of the climate over periods of a few years to several decades. Currently, rich hydrologic time-series data are available, but the combination of data preparation and statistical methods developed by the U.S. Geological Survey as part of the Groundwater Resources Program is relatively unavailable to hydrologists and engineers who could benefit from estimates of climate variability and its effects on periodic recharge and water-resource availability. This report documents HydroClimATe, a computer program for assessing the relations between variable climatic and hydrologic time-series data. HydroClimATe was developed for a Windows operating system. The software includes statistical tools for (1) time-series preprocessing, (2) spectral analysis, (3) spatial and temporal analysis, (4) correlation analysis, and (5) projections. The time-series preprocessing tools include spline fitting, standardization using a normal or gamma distribution, and transformation by a cumulative departure. The spectral analysis tools include discrete Fourier transform, maximum entropy method, and singular spectrum analysis. The spatial and temporal analysis tool is empirical orthogonal function analysis. The correlation analysis tools are linear regression and lag correlation. The projection tools include autoregressive time-series modeling and generation of many realizations. These tools are demonstrated in four examples that use stream-flow discharge data, groundwater-level records, gridded time series of precipitation data, and the Multivariate ENSO Index.

Techniques and Methods↗
USGS1989

Water-resources appraisal of the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation in South Dakota

The water resources within the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation consist of streams, lakes, wetlands, and groundwater stored in alluvium and glacial outwash deposits. Streamflow may cease during dry periods and during the winter. Lakes and ponds within the reservation are found predominantly within an internally drained basin. Dissolved-solids concentrations in the lakes generally range from 500 to 10,000 mg/L. Dissolved-solids concentrations in the streams generally ranging from 500 to 1 ,000 mg/L. However, nutrient concentrations tend to be larger than natural background levels in both lakes and streams and indicate unidentified sources of nutrients that effect the quality of water. Major development of surface-water resources is hindered by the lack of storage capacity within the numerous lakes, the lack of sustained streamflow, and the lack of suitable sites for construction or reservoirs. Water within the Coteau des Prairies, a glacial upland, occurs in outwash deposits. The sand and gravel deposits in the Coteau may be as thick as 70 ft. The quality of water from these aquifers generally is suitable for most uses, with calcium, magnesium, and bicarbonate the dominant ions. Water in sand and gravel deposits within the Red River and Minnesota River lowlands tends to have larger concentrations of dissolved solids than the sand and gravel deposits in the Coteau des Prairies. The quality of water in these deposits tends to be more mineralized than water in the sand and gravel deposits in the Coteau des Prairies. The regional flow of groundwater generally is to the east towards the Minnesota and Red River basins and west in the Coteau des Prairies. (USGS)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS2017

Nutrient processes at the stream-lake interface for a channelized versus unmodified stream mouth

Inorganic forms of nitrogen and phosphorous impact freshwater lakes by stimulating primary production and affecting water quality and ecosystem health. Communities around the world are motivated to sustain and restore freshwater resources and are interested in processes controlling nutrient inputs. We studied the environment where streams flow into lakes, referred to as the stream-lake interface (SLI), for a channelized and unmodified stream outlet. Channelization is done to protect infrastructure or recreational beach areas. We collected hydraulic and nutrient data for surface water and shallow groundwater in two SLIs to develop conceptual models that describe characteristics that are representative of these hydrologic features. Water, heat, and solute transport models were used to evaluate hydrologic conceptualizations and estimate mean residence times of water in the sediment. A nutrient mass balance model is developed to estimate net rates of adsorption and desorption, mineralization, and nitrification along subsurface flow paths. Results indicate that SLIs are dynamic sources of nutrients to lakes and that the common practice of channelizing the stream at the SLI decreases nutrient concentrations in pore water discharging along the lakeshore. This is in contrast to the unmodified SLI that forms a barrier beach that disconnects the stream from the lake and results in higher nutrient concentrations in pore water discharging to the lake. These results are significant because nutrient delivery through pore water seepage at the lakebed from the natural SLI contributes to nearshore algal communities and produces elevated concentrations of inorganic nutrients in the benthic zone where attached algae grow.

Water Resources Research↗
USGS2018

Simulation of groundwater flow and analysis of projected water use for the Rush Springs aquifer, western Oklahoma

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation and the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, (1) quantified the groundwater resources of the Rush Springs aquifer in western Oklahoma by developing a numerical groundwater-flow model, (2) evaluated the effects of estimated equal-proportionate-share (EPS) pumping rates on aquifer storage and streamflow for time periods of 20, 40, and 50 years into the future, (3) assessed the uncertainty in the EPS scenario results, and (4) evaluated the effects of (a) projected groundwater-use rates extended 50 years into the future and (b) sustained hypothetical drought conditions over a 10-year period on stream base flow and groundwater in storage. The Rush Springs aquifer is an important source of water for municipal and irrigation use by many communities and agricultural users in the study area. The study area is composed of about 4,970 square miles (3,181,003 acres) of Rush Springs aquifer bedrock deposits located in 14 counties. The study area also includes the alluvium and terrace deposits of the Canadian and Washita Rivers, as well as alluvium along the Little Washita River, Deer Creek, and a number of smaller tributaries of the Washita River that overlie the bedrock. A numerical groundwater-flow model of the Rush Springs aquifer was constructed by using MODFLOW with the Newton solver. Groundwater flow was simulated for January 1979–December 2015 by using monthly stress periods, and an initial steady-state stress period was configured to represent mean annual inflows and outflows. The model was calibrated to groundwater-level observations at selected wells, monthly base flow at nine streamgages, stream seepage as estimated for the conceptual water budget, and Fort Cobb Reservoir stage. The EPS scenarios for the Rush Springs aquifer were run for periods of 20, 40, and 50 years. The 20-, 40-, and 50-year EPS pumping rates under normal recharge conditions were 0.82, 0.49, and 0.43 acre-foot per acre per year, respectively. Given the 2,954,545-acre aquifer area used for the EPS scenarios, the 20-year rate corresponds to an annual yield of about 2,422,727 acre-feet per year. Groundwater storage at the end of the 20-year EPS scenario was about 13,321,000 acre-feet, or about 31,516,437 acre-feet (70 percent) less than the starting EPS scenario storage. This decrease in storage was equivalent to a mean groundwater-level decline of about 152 feet. Water availability under the EPS pumping rate was primarily from the western area of the model. Saturation was sustained though the entire EPS scenario where the aquifer was sufficiently thick or a shallow hydraulic gradient was present. Fort Cobb Reservoir stage was below the dead-pool stage after about 5 years of 20-year EPS pumping. An uncertainty analysis was conducted to assess the uncertainty in the EPS scenario results. An ensemble of 400 random sets of possible parameter values was performed for the uncertainty analysis by using a multivariate normal distribution centered on the calibrated parameter values. The parameter bounds for the uncertainty analysis were determined by using the posterior covariance matrix, which allows for the incorporation of knowledge gained during the calibration process as well as observation uncertainty and the correlation between estimated parameters. The uncertainty results indicate a 95-percent confidence interval for the 20-year EPS pumping rate between 0.73 and 0.95 acre-foot per acre per year. Projected 50-year pumping scenarios were used to simulate the effects of selected well withdrawal rates on groundwater storage of the Rush Springs aquifer. The effects of well withdrawals were evaluated by comparing changes in groundwater storage between four 50-year scenarios using (1) no groundwater use, (2) mean groundwater use for the study period (1979–2015), (3) increasing groundwater use, and (4) groundwater use at the 2015 rate. The increasing-use scenario assumed a 38-percent increase in pumping over 50 years on the basis of 2010–60 demand projections for western Oklahoma. Simulated groundwater storage changes ranged between an increase of 6.3 percent for the scenario with no groundwater use, and 0.9 percent for the scenario with 2015 groundwater-use rates. For the Fort Cobb Reservoir surface watershed, simulated groundwater storage changes ranged between an increase of 23.6 percent for the scenario with no groundwater use and a decrease of 4.0 percent for the increasing groundwater-use scenario. Groundwater-level changes were generally greater in areas with a large concentration of groundwater wells and groundwater use such as the Fort Cobb Reservoir surface watershed. A hypothetical 10-year drought scenario was used to simulate the effects of a prolonged period of reduced recharge on the Rush Springs aquifer groundwater storage and Fort Cobb Reservoir stage and storage. Drought effects were quantified by comparing the results of the drought scenario to those of the calibrated numerical model. To simulate the hypothetical drought, recharge in the calibrated numerical model was reduced by 50 percent during the simulated drought period (1983–1992), and upstream inflows to the Canadian and Washita Rivers and associated tributaries were reduced by 37 percent. Groundwater storage at the end of the hypothetical drought period in December 1992 was about 42,983,000 acre-feet, or about 3,525,000 acre-feet (7.6 percent) less than the groundwater storage of the calibrated numerical model. This change in groundwater storage is equivalent to a mean groundwater-level decline of 15.8 feet. Simulated mean base-flow declines at the Canadian and Washita River streamgages were between 39 and 59 percent during the drought period. The minimum stage in Fort Cobb Reservoir at the end of the hypothetical drought period was 1,311 feet, indicating a storage capacity of only 10 percent of active conservation pool storage. The Fort Cobb Reservoir storage declines mostly resulted from reduced base flows in Cobb, Lake, and Willow Creeks upstream from the reservoir.

Oklahoma↗
USGS2017

Forecasting the probability of future groundwater levels declining below specified low thresholds in the conterminous U.S.

We present a logistic regression approach for forecasting the probability of future groundwater levels declining or maintaining below specific groundwater-level thresholds. We tested our approach on 102 groundwater wells in different climatic regions and aquifers of the United States that are part of the U.S. Geological Survey Groundwater Climate Response Network. We evaluated the importance of current groundwater levels, precipitation, streamflow, seasonal variability, Palmer Drought Severity Index, and atmosphere/ocean indices for developing the logistic regression equations. Several diagnostics of model fit were used to evaluate the regression equations, including testing of autocorrelation of residuals, goodness-of-fit metrics, and bootstrap validation testing. The probabilistic predictions were most successful at wells with high persistence (low month-to-month variability) in their groundwater records and at wells where the groundwater level remained below the defined low threshold for sustained periods (generally three months or longer). The model fit was weakest at wells with strong seasonal variability in levels and with shorter duration low-threshold events. We identified challenges in deriving probabilistic-forecasting models and possible approaches for addressing those challenges.

Journal of the American Water Resources Associatio↗
USGS2013

Integrating seismic-reflection and sequence-stratigraphic methods to characterize the hydrogeology of the Floridan aquifer system in southeast Florida

The Floridan aquifer system (FAS) is receiving increased attention as a result of regulatory restrictions on water-supply withdrawals and treated wastewater management practices. The South Florida Water Management District’s Regional Water Availability Rule, adopted in 2007, restricts urban withdrawals from the shallower Biscayne aquifer to pre-April 2006 levels throughout southeast Florida. Legislation adopted by the State of Florida requires elimination of ocean outfalls of treated wastewater by 2025. These restrictions have necessitated the use of the more deeply buried FAS as an alternate water resource to meet projected water-supply shortfalls, and as a repository for the disposal of wastewater via Class I deep injection wells and injection of reclaimed water. Some resource managers in Broward County have expressed concern regarding the viability of the FAS as an alternative water supply due to a lack of technical data and information regarding its long-term sustainability. Sustainable development and management of the FAS for water supply is uncertain because of the potential risk posed by structural geologic anomalies (faults, fractures, and karst collapse structures) and knowledge gaps in the stratigraphy of the system. The integration of seismic-reflection and borehole data into an improved geologic and hydrogeologic framework will provide a better understanding of the structural and stratigraphic features that influence groundwater flow and contaminant transport.

Florida↗
USGS2011

Geologic framework and hydrogeology of the middle Carson River Basin, Eagle, Dayton, and Churchill Valleys, West-Central Nevada

Changes in land use and water use and increasing development of water resources in the middle Carson River basin may affect flow of the river and, in turn, affect downstream water users dependent on sustained river flows to Lahontan Reservoir. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation, began a study in 2008 of the middle Carson River basin, extending from Eagle Valley to Churchill Valley. Various types of geologic and hydrologic data were compiled from previous studies, collected for this study, and compiled and analyzed to provide a framework for development of a numerical model of the groundwater and surface-water flow systems of the basin. Geologic units that are assumed to have similar hydrologic characteristics were grouped into hydrogeologic units comprised of consolidated rocks of pre-Cenozoic age that underlie a unit of consolidated volcanic rock and semi-consolidated sediments of Tertiary age. The principal aquifer in the study area is comprised of unconsolidated sediments of Quaternary age. The Quaternary sediments include alluvial fan, fluvial, and lake sediments, and were grouped into a basin-fill hydrogeologic unit that overlies the pre-Cenozoic and Tertiary hydrologic units. The thickness of the combined section of Tertiary volcanic and sedimentary rocks and Quaternary basin-fill deposits previously was estimated to range from zero where pre-Cenozoic rocks are exposed to greater than 10,000 feet in the Bull Canyon subbasin, and greater than 6,000 feet on the western side of Churchill Butte and beneath the Desert Mountains. The thickness of Quaternary basin-fill sediments was estimated using gravity data and lithologic descriptions from driller’s logs. The most permeable parts of basin-fill sediments are greater than 1,000 feet thick in the Carson Plains subbasin, greater than 800 feet and 600 feet thick in the western and northeastern parts of the Stagecoach subbasin, and greater than 1,000 feet and 800 feet thick in the northern and southern parts of Churchill Valley, respectively. The distribution of aquifer properties was estimated for basin-fill sediments using slug-test and aquifer test data, and the lithologic descriptions of previously mapped geologic units. Slug-test data show hydraulic conductivity is greater than 10 to greater than 100 feet per day for fluvial sediments near the flood plain, less than 10 feet per day for basin-fill sediments outside the flood plain, and less than 1 foot per day for consolidated rocks. Estimates of transmissivity exceed 20,000 feet squared per day near the Carson River in Dayton, Churchill, and western Lahontan Valleys and in the northern part of the Stagecoach subbasin, and exceed 10,000 feet squared per day in the western part of Churchill Valley. A transmissivity of 90,000 feet squared per day was estimated from results of an aquifer test in the Carson Plains subbasin, indicating that permeable gravel and cobble zones at depths greater than 400 feet supplied water to the pumping well. Estimates of specific yield ranged from less than 1 to 2 percent for most consolidated rocks, from 1 to 15 percent for semi-consolidated Tertiary sediments, and from 10 to 40 percent for unconsolidated basin-fill sediments. Water-level altitude maps based on measurements at about 300 wells in 2009 show water levels have declined as much as 70 feet since 1964 on the northwestern side of Eagle Valley, about 10 feet since 1995 near Dayton in the Carson Plains subbasin, and from 5 to 10 feet since 1982 in the western and northeastern parts of the Stagecoach subbasin and the northwestern part of Churchill Valley. The declines are likely the result of municipal and agricultural pumping. The maps show a groundwater divide between the Carson Plains and Stagecoach subbasins, and a continuous hydraulic gradient between the Stagecoach subbasin and Churchill Valley. Groundwater flow directions are uncertain beneath parts of the boundary of Churchill Valley. The altitude of the top of pre-Cenozoic rocks shows thick sections of saturated Tertiary rocks and sediments south of the Dead Camel Mountains and beneath the eastern part of the Desert Mountains through which groundwater flow between Churchill Valley, Mason Valley, and Lahontan Valley may take place. North of Lahontan reservoir, beneath the Dead Camel Mountains, and beneath the southern part of Adrian Valley, the altitude of pre-Cenozoic rocks indicates groundwater flow between the three valleys is minimal. Streamflow measurements, supported by data on the deuterium content and specific conductance of surface-water samples, indicate a loss of Carson River streamflow in the Riverview subbasin, streamflow gains in the Moundhouse subbasin and the eastern part of the Carson Plains subbasin, and streamflow losses in the Bull Canyon subbasin. Comparisons of fluctuations in groundwater levels to those in stream stage in the Carson Plains subbasin indicate that streamflow lost to infiltration from the Carson River, from irrigation ditches, and from irrigated fields is an important source of groundwater recharge. Fluctuations in groundwater levels compared with the stage of Lahontan Reservoir in Churchill Valley indicate losses to infiltration from the reservoir during high stage and groundwater seepage to the reservoir during low stage.

Nevada↗