Publications

This data report presents groundwater information collected and analyzed as part of the U.S. Geological Survey 's Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System Analysis study. The information was gathered from July 1982 through September 1985 in the part of the aquifer system in central and eastern Washington, and north-central and eastern Oregon. The report consists of three volumes: volume...

Immediately after the devastating May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens, a program was initiated by the U.S. Geological Survey to study the streamflow and sediment characteristics of streams impacted by the eruption. Some of the data gathered in that program are presented in this report. Data are presented for two key sites in the Toutle River basin: North Fork Toutle River near Kid...

Three domestic wells that withdraw groundwater from an alluvium-filled trough cut into granite were found to be contaminated with the organic solvents tetrachloroethene, trichloroethene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, and 1 ,2-trans-dichloroethene. The suspected source of contamination is a nearby septic-tank sludge disposal area. There is concern that the affected aquifer is tributary to the...

Vertical profiles of high suspended-sediment concentrations and high velocities in stream near Mount St. Helens were measured between January 1981 and May 1986 at seven gaging stations. Data-collection methods are described and the numerical data are tabulated and plotted. Values for the exponent of the sediment-distribution equation were computed for several sand-size ranges using the...

Strip mining for coal in southwestern Washington may be affecting the water quality of streams. To investigate these possible effects, five streams were selected for study of water quality in each of the two coal bearing areas: the Centralia-Chehalis coal district, and Kelso-Castle Rock coal area. In the Centralia-Chehalis coal district, three of the streams have drainage basins in which...

No abstract available.

Regression models to predict baseflow alkalinity from basin hydrogeology were developed and verified for headwater streams on the Laurel Hill anticline in southwestern Pennsylvania. Predicted baseflow alkalinities were then used to estimate sensitivity to acidification and presence of trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) populations for 61 headwater streams. Sensitivity classifications were...

No abstract available.

In April 1986, the U.S. Geological Survey began the National Water Quality Assessment program to: (1) provide a nationally consistent description of the current status of water quality, (2) define water quality trends that have occurred over recent decades, and (3) relate past and present water quality conditions to relevant natural features, the history of land and water use, and land...

A recent evaluation of groundwater and material in the blockage impounding Castle Lake shows that the blockage is potentially unstable against failure from piping due to heave and internal erosion when groundwater levels are seasonally high. There is also a remote possibility that a 6.8 or greater magnitude earthquake could occur in the Castle Lake area when groundwater levels are...

In 1982 groundwater was sampled at over 100 sites in the southeastern-south central region of Washington and analyzed for pH, specific conductance, and concentrations of fecal-coliform bacteria, major dissolved irons, and dissolved iron, manganese, and nitrate. Twenty percent of the samples were analyzed for concentrations of dissolved aluminum, arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, cooper...

Records of regulated daily mean discharge for 52 water years, 1926-77, at 13 stream gaging stations were adjusted for changes in storage contents in five reservoirs and flows diverted in 58 canals to estimate effects of reservoir storage and canal diversion on streamflow in the Yakima River at Union Gap and near Parker, Washington. Estimated composite error of computed unregulated...