Publications

A 2-1/2 year study of the Columbia Plateau in Washington was begun in March 1982 to define spatial and temporal variations in dissolved sodium in the Columbia River Basalt Group aquifers and to relate these variations to the groundwater system and its geologic framework. This report describes the geologic framework , including the vertical and areal extent of the major basalt units...

The effects of storage, diversion, return flow, and meteorological variables on water temperature in the Yakima River, in Washington State, were simulated, and the changes in water temperature that could be expected under four alternative-management scenarios were examined for improvement in anadromous fish environment. A streamflow routing model and Lagrangian streamflow temperature...

The volcanic eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980, triggered mudflows that deposited upwards of 15 ft of sediment in the channels of the lower Toutle and Cowlitz Rivers. The major population areas along the lower Cowlitz River (Kelso, Longview,Lexington, and Castle Rock) were not flooded, but the channel capacity of the river was seriously reduced and the potential for unusually...

No abstract available.

An investigation of the lower Stehekin River was conducted to study the effects on flood elevations and velocities from four bank protection and flood prevention measures that are being contemplated as a means of reducing erosional losses of river bank property. These measures are: bank armoring, armored revetment levees, spur dikes, and redevelopment of old cutoff channels. The banks at...

The U.S. Geological Survey began a 4-year study of the regional aquifer system underlying the Columbia Plateau, in central and eastern Washington, northern Oregon, and northwestern Idaho in October 1983, as part of the Regional Aquifer System Analysis program. The study will describe the geohydrology, geochemistry, and quality of water in the Columbia River Basalt Group, the Miocene...

An unusually high oceanic tide on December 15, 1977, caused flooding of lowlying, nearshore parts of western Washington, including several areas in the Puget Sound region. At Seattle, the December 15 high tide of 14.8 feet above MLLW (mean lower low water datum; 8.55 feet above the National Geodetic Vertical Daltum of 1929, or NGVD) was 0.1 foot higher than the 100-year high tide. At...

During the period October 1977-March 1979, four wells were added to a network of wells in central Washington State to provide information on potential sources of ground-water supplies from aquifers in the Columbia River Basalt Group and supplemental ground-water data for water-management purposes where they cannot be obtained by other means. Two were drilled in the Yakima River canyon...

A one-dimensional sediment-transport computer model was used to study the effects of an outburst of Spirit Lake on the Columbia River. According to the model, flood sediment discharge to the Columbia from the Cowlitz would form a blockage to a height of 44 feet above the current streambed of the Columbia River, corresponding to a new streambed elevation of -3 feet, that would impound the...

Miocene basaltic aquifers of the Columbia Plateau are the principal source of water for agricultural, domestic, and municipal use in Washington State. Irrigation with groundwaters with relatively high sodium concentrations has been cause for concern in recent years, because of the tendency of such waters to reduce soil permeability. Chemical reactions involving groundwater and the...

A preliminary investigation of the effects of reservoir storage and canal diversion on the flow of the Yakima River at Union Gap , Washington indicates that those effects are measurable and substantial--on the average causing a reduction of roughly one-quarter from the unregulated flow. Preliminary computations of the unregulated flow of the Yakima River at Parker (near Union Gap) for...

The quality of water in major aquifers in southwestern Washington was addressed in terms of inorganic-constituent, trace-metal, and fecal-coliform concentrations. Results of this assessment indicate that the groundwater in southwestern Washington can be characterized as soft to moderately hard with a low concentration of dissolved solids. Nitrate was the only constituent found at...