Identification and Analysis of Points of Diversion along the Lower Colorado River in Support of Decree Accounting Active
In the United States, the Colorado River Compact of 1922 apportions the waters of the Colorado River between the upper basin States and the lower basin States (U.S. Congress, 1948, p. A17-A22). The requirement for participation of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) is stated in Article V. Water in the lower Colorado River is apportioned among the States of California, Arizona, and Nevada by the Boulder Canyon Project Act of December 21, 1928 (U.S. Congress, 1948, p. A213-A225) and confirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court decree, 1964, Arizona v. California in terms of consumptive use. The decree is specific about the responsibility of the Secretary of the Interior to account for consumptive use of water from the mainstream; consumptive use is defined to include "water drawn from the mainstream by underground pumping."
The Decree requires the identification of the users of Colorado River water and publication of the quantities of diversion and consumptive use stated for each diverter, point of diversion, and State. The BOR (1965-2004) publishes an annual report that contains records of diversions and consumptive use of water by individual water users. Much of the hydrologic information contained in the annual report is furnished by the USGS (Condes de la Torre, 1982, p. 5-7). A method is available for identifying wells that yield water that will be replaced by water from the river and wells that yield water that will be replaced by water from precipitation or inflow from adjacent tributary valleys (Wilson and Owen-Joyce, 1994; Owen-Joyce and others, 2000).
Accounting for the consumptive use of Colorado River water withdrawn from the river aquifer by wells requires that updated information for each well within the boundary of the river aquifer between the northeast end of Lake Mead to the international boundary with Mexico (see map) be collected in order to apply the accounting-surface method, which is used to identify those wells that yield water that will be replaced by water from the river.
Implementation of the method to identify wells along the lower Colorado River that yield water that will be replaced by water from the river will enable the Secretary of the Interior to fulfill a responsibility to account for consumptive use of water from the mainstream by underground pumping. The updated data set will provide the needed framework from which to investigate other hydrologic concerns and produce interpretative hydrologic products such as more current water-level maps in areas where sufficient data are available and maps that show zoned areas where static-water levels are, for example, more than 50 feet above the accounting surface needed for management decisions.
Objective
Present accounting for consumptive use of Colorado River water is incomplete because the existence and location of all points of diversion is not known. Of the more than 4,000 wells previously identified between 1960 and 1993, information such as the ownership, elevation of water level, use of water, disposal of unconsumed water, and well construction information generally require updating. A precise position is required for all new sites in addition to those previously identified in order to assure that the correct site is revisited for future data collection. River pumps are a direct diversion of water from the mainstream of the Colorado River and need to be included in accounting for diversions under the Decree and for consumptive use.
The objective of this work is to identify and locate wells that have the potential to pump water that will be replaced by water from the Colorado River and river pumps that pump directly from the mainstream; and to acquire, record, and store for future retrieval, the data and information needed to determine or "presume" if a well is pumping water that will be replaced by water from the Colorado River and therefore included in the accounting of Colorado River water use mandated by the Decree. USGS will identify sites in the area from the mouth of the Grand Canyon at Lake Mead to the southerly international boundary with Mexico that exist within the river aquifer as defined in the accounting surface methodology reports (Wilson and Owen-Joyce, 1994; Owen-Joyce and others, 2000).
Approach
Identify, locate, collect required data, and enter into the Geological Survey National Water Information System (NWIS) (or successor) database wells with the potential to pump water that will be replaced by water from the Colorado River, along with data necessary to determine or "presume" if these wells are indeed pumping water that will be replaced by water from the Colorado River, and data which will assist in estimating the type and quantity of water use. River pumps will be identified and located; required data will be collected in a manner similar to wells. A photograph of each well and river pump will also be recorded and stored in a database for future retrieval to assist in returning to the well or river pump. Data collected will be used in the analysis required to determine or "presume" if the well is pumping water that will be replaced by water from the Colorado River, the type of water use, and assist with estimating the magnitude of water use.
The USGS project manager attends meetings at Reclamation’s request to provide technical and scientific coordination with Reclamation staff, other agencies, and the public. Under the supervision of the project manager, the USGS will send trained technicians into the field to,
- coordinate with appropriate permitting agencies as needed to obtain locations of known permitted well sites;
- visit identified potential well sites and collect data at wells that have been drilled or record that no well has yet been drilled;
- investigate areas for signs of development that indicate water use, and identify and collect data at wells and/or river pumps in use in those areas;
- photograph each well/river pump and measure water levels in wells in the areas where the accounting surface was developed and access is possible;
- enter wells and river pumps into the Geological Survey NWIS database (or successor database) without creating duplicate sites in the database;
- determine when data collection for all sites in an area is completed and identify (with input from Reclamation) subsequent areas for data collection, and plan effective strategies to meet project objectives;
- determine (with input from Reclamation) wells to be instrumented for continuous water-level data collection, purchase equipment as needed, construct and install instrument protective housing at well sites, collect and process data, store data in NWIS;
- continue to collect, process, and store data from wells already instrumented for continuous water-level data collection;
- prepare maps showing altitude of the water table and areas where the water table is more than 50 feet above the accounting surface after precise differential GPS data collection is completed; maps will be published on the web and merged with the data on the interactive web page;
- prepare an interactive web page to visibly display the data collected and merge with the accounting surface maps developed previously in cooperation with Reclamation;
- report progress to Reclamation, coincident with Geological Survey project reviews and create annual work plans for the coming year with input from Reclamation.
Below are publications relevant to this project.
Update of the Accounting Surface Along the Lower Colorado River
An accounting system for water and consumptive use along the Colorado River, Hoover Dam to Mexico
Method to identify wells that yield water that will be replaced by Colorado River water in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah
Accounting for Consumptive Use of Lower Colorado River Water in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah
Determining the source of water pumped from wells along the lower Colorado River
Accounting System for Water Use by Vegetation in the Lower Colorado River Valley
Lower Colorado River Accounting System (LCRAS) computer program and documentation
Estimates of consumptive use and ground-water return flow and the effect of rising and sustained high river stage on the method of estimation in Cibola Valley, Arizona and California, 1983 and 1984
Evapotranspiration estimates using remote-sensing data, Parker and Palo Verde valleys, Arizona and California
Estimates of consumptive use and ground-water return flow using water budgets in Parker Valley, Arizona and California, 1981-84
Estimates of consumptive use and ground-water return flow using water budgets in Palo Verde Valley, California
Comparison of estimates of evapotranspiration and consumptive use in Palo Verde Valley, California
Estimates of average annual tributary inflow to the lower Colorado River, Hoover Dam to Mexico
- Overview
In the United States, the Colorado River Compact of 1922 apportions the waters of the Colorado River between the upper basin States and the lower basin States (U.S. Congress, 1948, p. A17-A22). The requirement for participation of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) is stated in Article V. Water in the lower Colorado River is apportioned among the States of California, Arizona, and Nevada by the Boulder Canyon Project Act of December 21, 1928 (U.S. Congress, 1948, p. A213-A225) and confirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court decree, 1964, Arizona v. California in terms of consumptive use. The decree is specific about the responsibility of the Secretary of the Interior to account for consumptive use of water from the mainstream; consumptive use is defined to include "water drawn from the mainstream by underground pumping."
The Decree requires the identification of the users of Colorado River water and publication of the quantities of diversion and consumptive use stated for each diverter, point of diversion, and State. The BOR (1965-2004) publishes an annual report that contains records of diversions and consumptive use of water by individual water users. Much of the hydrologic information contained in the annual report is furnished by the USGS (Condes de la Torre, 1982, p. 5-7). A method is available for identifying wells that yield water that will be replaced by water from the river and wells that yield water that will be replaced by water from precipitation or inflow from adjacent tributary valleys (Wilson and Owen-Joyce, 1994; Owen-Joyce and others, 2000).
Accounting for the consumptive use of Colorado River water withdrawn from the river aquifer by wells requires that updated information for each well within the boundary of the river aquifer between the northeast end of Lake Mead to the international boundary with Mexico (see map) be collected in order to apply the accounting-surface method, which is used to identify those wells that yield water that will be replaced by water from the river.
Implementation of the method to identify wells along the lower Colorado River that yield water that will be replaced by water from the river will enable the Secretary of the Interior to fulfill a responsibility to account for consumptive use of water from the mainstream by underground pumping. The updated data set will provide the needed framework from which to investigate other hydrologic concerns and produce interpretative hydrologic products such as more current water-level maps in areas where sufficient data are available and maps that show zoned areas where static-water levels are, for example, more than 50 feet above the accounting surface needed for management decisions.
Objective
Present accounting for consumptive use of Colorado River water is incomplete because the existence and location of all points of diversion is not known. Of the more than 4,000 wells previously identified between 1960 and 1993, information such as the ownership, elevation of water level, use of water, disposal of unconsumed water, and well construction information generally require updating. A precise position is required for all new sites in addition to those previously identified in order to assure that the correct site is revisited for future data collection. River pumps are a direct diversion of water from the mainstream of the Colorado River and need to be included in accounting for diversions under the Decree and for consumptive use.
The objective of this work is to identify and locate wells that have the potential to pump water that will be replaced by water from the Colorado River and river pumps that pump directly from the mainstream; and to acquire, record, and store for future retrieval, the data and information needed to determine or "presume" if a well is pumping water that will be replaced by water from the Colorado River and therefore included in the accounting of Colorado River water use mandated by the Decree. USGS will identify sites in the area from the mouth of the Grand Canyon at Lake Mead to the southerly international boundary with Mexico that exist within the river aquifer as defined in the accounting surface methodology reports (Wilson and Owen-Joyce, 1994; Owen-Joyce and others, 2000).
Approach
Identify, locate, collect required data, and enter into the Geological Survey National Water Information System (NWIS) (or successor) database wells with the potential to pump water that will be replaced by water from the Colorado River, along with data necessary to determine or "presume" if these wells are indeed pumping water that will be replaced by water from the Colorado River, and data which will assist in estimating the type and quantity of water use. River pumps will be identified and located; required data will be collected in a manner similar to wells. A photograph of each well and river pump will also be recorded and stored in a database for future retrieval to assist in returning to the well or river pump. Data collected will be used in the analysis required to determine or "presume" if the well is pumping water that will be replaced by water from the Colorado River, the type of water use, and assist with estimating the magnitude of water use.
The USGS project manager attends meetings at Reclamation’s request to provide technical and scientific coordination with Reclamation staff, other agencies, and the public. Under the supervision of the project manager, the USGS will send trained technicians into the field to,
- coordinate with appropriate permitting agencies as needed to obtain locations of known permitted well sites;
- visit identified potential well sites and collect data at wells that have been drilled or record that no well has yet been drilled;
- investigate areas for signs of development that indicate water use, and identify and collect data at wells and/or river pumps in use in those areas;
- photograph each well/river pump and measure water levels in wells in the areas where the accounting surface was developed and access is possible;
- enter wells and river pumps into the Geological Survey NWIS database (or successor database) without creating duplicate sites in the database;
- determine when data collection for all sites in an area is completed and identify (with input from Reclamation) subsequent areas for data collection, and plan effective strategies to meet project objectives;
- determine (with input from Reclamation) wells to be instrumented for continuous water-level data collection, purchase equipment as needed, construct and install instrument protective housing at well sites, collect and process data, store data in NWIS;
- continue to collect, process, and store data from wells already instrumented for continuous water-level data collection;
- prepare maps showing altitude of the water table and areas where the water table is more than 50 feet above the accounting surface after precise differential GPS data collection is completed; maps will be published on the web and merged with the data on the interactive web page;
- prepare an interactive web page to visibly display the data collected and merge with the accounting surface maps developed previously in cooperation with Reclamation;
- report progress to Reclamation, coincident with Geological Survey project reviews and create annual work plans for the coming year with input from Reclamation.
- Publications
Below are publications relevant to this project.
Update of the Accounting Surface Along the Lower Colorado River
The accounting-surface method was developed in the 1990s by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation, to identify wells outside the flood plain of the lower Colorado River that yield water that will be replaced by water from the river. This method was needed to identify which wells require an entitlement for diversion of water from the Colorado River and need to beAuthorsStephen M. Wiele, Stanley A. Leake, Sandra J. Owen-Joyce, Emmet H. McGuireFilter Total Items: 41An accounting system for water and consumptive use along the Colorado River, Hoover Dam to Mexico
An accounting system for estimating and distributing consumptive use of water by vegetation to water users was developed for the Colorado River to meet the requirements of a U.S. Supreme Court decree and used with data from calendar year 1984. The system is based on a water-budget method to estimate total consumptive use by vegetation which is apportioned to agricultural users by using percentagesAuthorsSandra J. Owen-Joyce, Lee H. RaymondMethod to identify wells that yield water that will be replaced by Colorado River water in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah
Accounting for the use of Colorado River water is required by the U.S. Supreme Court decree, 1964, Arizona v. California. Water pumped from wells on the flood plain and from certain wells on alluvial slopes outside the flood plain is presumed to be river water and is accounted for as Colorado River water. A method was developed to identify wells outside the f1ood plain of the lower Colorado RiverAuthorsRichard P. Wilson, Sandra J. Owen-JoyceAccounting for Consumptive Use of Lower Colorado River Water in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah
In the Colorado River valley between the east end of Lake Mead and the international boundary with Mexico (see figure), the river is the principal source of water for agricultural, domestic, municipal, industrial, hydroelectric-power generation, and recreational purposes. Water is stored in surface reservoirs and in the river aquifer---permeable sediments and sedimentary rocks that fill the lowerAuthorsSandra J. Owen-Joyce, Richard P. WilsonDetermining the source of water pumped from wells along the lower Colorado River
No abstract available.AuthorsRichard P. Wilson, Sandra J. Owen-JoyceAccounting System for Water Use by Vegetation in the Lower Colorado River Valley
The Colorado River is the principal source of water in the valley of the Colorado River between Hoover Dam and the international boundary with Mexico (fig. 1). Agricultural, domestic, municipal, industrial, hydroelectric-power genera-tion, and recreation are the primary uses of river water in the valley. Most of the consumptive use of water from the river occurs downstream from Davis Dam, where waAuthorsSandra J. Owen-JoyceLower Colorado River Accounting System (LCRAS) computer program and documentation
No abstract available.AuthorsB. K. von Allworden, Sandra J. Owen-Joyce, John D. Sandoval, Lee H. RaymondEstimates of consumptive use and ground-water return flow and the effect of rising and sustained high river stage on the method of estimation in Cibola Valley, Arizona and California, 1983 and 1984
In Cibola Valley, Arizona, water is pumped from the Colorado River to irrigate crops and to maintain wildlife habitat. Unused water percolates to the water table and, as groundwater, moves downgradient into areas of phreatophytes, into a drainage ditch, out of the flood plain, and back to the river. In 1983 and 1984, groundwater return flow was negligible because in most of Cibola Valley the riverAuthorsSandra J. Owen-JoyceEvapotranspiration estimates using remote-sensing data, Parker and Palo Verde valleys, Arizona and California
In 1981 the U.S. Geological Survey established an experimental project to assess the possible and practical use of remote-sensing data to estimate evapotranspiration as an approximation of consumptive use of water in the lower Colorado River flood plain. The project area was in Parker Valley, Arizona. The approach selected was to measure the areas covered by each type of vegetation, using remote-sAuthorsLee H. Raymond, Kelly V. RezinEstimates of consumptive use and ground-water return flow using water budgets in Parker Valley, Arizona and California, 1981-84
Annual water budgets were used to estimate consumptive use by vegetation and groundwater return flow in Parker Valley, Arizona and California. Consumptive use by vegetation was estimated to be 482,800 acre-ft in 1981, 432,000 acre-ft in 1982, 413,500 acre-ft in 1983, and 420,900 acre-ft in 1984 on the Arizona side of the Colorado River, and 45,400 acre-ft in 1984 on the California side of the riveAuthorsSandra J. Owen-JoyceEstimates of consumptive use and ground-water return flow using water budgets in Palo Verde Valley, California
Palo Verde Valley, California, is an agricultural area in the flood plain of the Colorado River where irrigation water is diverted from the river and groundwater is discharged to a network of drainage ditches and (or) the river. Consumptive use by vegetation and groundwater return flow were calculated using water budgets. Consumptive use by vegetation was 484,000 acre-ft in 1981, 453,600 acre-ft iAuthorsSandra J. Owen-Joyce, Steven L. KimseyComparison of estimates of evapotranspiration and consumptive use in Palo Verde Valley, California
Estimates of evapotranspiration and consumptive use by vegetation in Palo Verde Valley, California, were compared for calendar years 1981 to 1984. Vegetation types were classified, and the areas covered by each type were computed from Landsat satellite digital-image analysis. Evapotranspiration was calculated by multiplying the area of each vegetation type by a corresponding water use rate adjusteAuthorsLee H. Raymond, Sandra J. Owen-JoyceEstimates of average annual tributary inflow to the lower Colorado River, Hoover Dam to Mexico
Estimates of tributary inflow by basin or area and by surface water or groundwater are presented in this report and itemized by subreaches in tabular form. Total estimated average annual tributary inflow to the Colorado River between Hoover Dam and Mexico, excluding the measured tributaries, is 96,000 acre-ft or about 1% of the 7.5 million acre-ft/yr of Colorado River water apportioned to the StatAuthorsSandra J. Owen-Joyce