Groundwater and Surface Water Interactions
Groundwater and Surface Water Interactions
As part of most groundwater assessments we conduct hydrologic analyses to better understand and quantify the connections between groundwater and surface water. We conduct intensive site-scale investigations to better understand the exchange of surface water and groundwater; and we integrate that information into computer models that simulate the connections over larger scales. The tools and information provided help our partners more effectively allocate new water resources while limiting conflicts between new and old water-right holders and instream flows.
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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...
Yakima River Temperature Model
In the Yakima and Naches Rivers, water temperature is often a limiting factor in the survival of salmon during spawning and rearing. The Bureau of Reclamation uses a computer model to assess the effects of reservoir-management scenarios on temperatures and the success of salmon restoration. To provide the daily maximum and long-term water temperature data needed by the model, the Bureau of...
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...
White River Videography
The quantity and quality of instream habitat is one of many factors affecting aquatic organisms such as anadromous and non-anadromous salmonids. The measurement and assessment of instream habitat has been the focus of many habitat monitoring and restoration projects throughout the State of Washington. On-the-ground habitat monitoring is extremely important for specific variables and specific...