Groundwater Availability
Groundwater Availability
One of the scientific strengths of the WA WSC is the sophisticated hydrologic analyses we provide to better assess water availability across Washington State, including watershed to regional-scale assessments of groundwater availability; development of computer models to simulate groundwater flow for current and potential future conditions; and compilation of detailed groundwater use data. The tools and information we produce help our partners more effectively manage and allocate groundwater and surface-water resources.
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Lower Bonaparte Springs
The Issue: The Confederated Colville Tribes are concerned with maintaining and enhancing endangered summer steelhead fish stocks in the Okanogan River and its tributaries. One Okanogan River subbasin of particular interest is Bonaparte Creek where almost 50 percent of the summer steelhead captured in 2008 were of natural rather than hatchery stock. The Colville Tribes are working to ensure enough...
Eastbank Aquifer near Rocky Reach Dam
Ground water from the Eastbank Aquifer system in north-central Washington is a regional water supply for about 50,000 people, as well as for a fish hatchery operated by the Chelan County Public Utility District (PUD). The fish hatchery compensates for salmon and steelhead lost in the operation of two hydroelectric projects on the Columbia River owned by the PUD. The fish hatchery needs relatively...
San Juan County
Aquifers of the San Juan Islands, which are the principal source of fresh water, are commonly intruded by seawater at near-shoreline locations (less than one mile from the shore). Because the demand for ground water has escalated in recent years due to population growth and is expected to continue, the progression of seawater intrusion and areas most susceptible to future seawater intrusion must...
PNW Tribal Water Resources Assessment
Native American Tribes in western Washington need comprehensive water data in order to protect, restore, and manage their water resources. To understand the factors affecting water quality and quantity on a regional scale, the data must be collected and managed through a systematic, coordinated approach. To help the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (NWIFC) to design a coordinated scientific...
Colville River Basin
The Colville River Basin is a 1,007-square-mile area located in Stevens County in northeastern Washington. Following the guidelines of Washington's Watershed Management Act of 1998, water-resource planning in the basin is being conducted within a Water Resources Inventory Area (WRIA). Local citizens representing a wide range of water resource interest groups, together with local, state, and...
GW/SW Interactions
Knowing the interactions of ground water and river water can help reduce the fluctuation of water supplies in alluvial (sediment-deposit) river basins. To develop general principles of these interactions in order to identify and analyze them, the USGS is reviewing the results of the numerous studies of these interactions in Pacific Northwest basins. The review will describe common geologic aspects...
Methow River Basin
The Methow River Basin, located in North Central Washington in Okanogan County, is well known for its natural beauty, wildlife, outdoor recreation, and rural lifestyle. The Methow River and its tributaries are home to upper Columbia summer steelhead and spring Chinook salmon, which are both listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and bull trout, which is listed as threatened...
Island County
Island County consists of two major islands, Whidbey and Camano, and lies in northern Puget Sound, north of Seattle. Whidbey Island has an area of about 165 square miles and Camano Island an area of about 45 square miles, for a total area of about 210 square miles. Ground water is the primary source of water on the islands, and the ground-water system is fairly well understood, due in part to...
Water Resources Inventory Area 1 Watershed Management
In recent years, increased use of ground- and surface-water supplies in watersheds of Washington State has created concern that insufficient in-stream flows remain for fish and other users. In response, the Washington State legislature passed the Watershed Management Act of 1998 (ESHB 2514; see also Ch.90.82 RCW - Watershed Planning), which encourages and provides some funding for local watershed...
Puget Sound-Willamette Trough
More than 70 percent of the population of Washington and Oregon resides in the Puget Sound-Willamette Trough, which stretches north-south on the western side of the Cascade Range. The area is one of the principal regional ground-water systems in the Nation, but little is known about the quantity and quality of the ground water, the regional flow system, or the interaction of the system with...
Pierce County Groundwater
The rapid growth of population in the Tacoma-Puyallup area in Pierce County has placed increasing demands on the ground-water resource. Most domestic water needs are met by wells completed in the several hundred feet of glacial deposits that underlie the area, and about 9,000 persons are served by a single spring on the southwestern side of Puyallup. Most of the population relies on individual...