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The source, discharge, and chemical characteristics of water from Agua Caliente Spring, Palm Springs, California

December 1, 2011

Agua Caliente Spring, in downtown Palm Springs, California, has been used for recreation and medicinal therapy for hundreds of years and currently (2008) is the source of hot water for the Spa Resort owned by the Agua Caliente Band of the Cahuilla Indians. The Agua Caliente Spring is located about 1,500 feet east of the eastern front of the San Jacinto Mountains on the southeast-sloping alluvial plain of the Coachella Valley. The objectives of this study were to (1) define the geologic structure associated with the Agua Caliente Spring; (2) define the source(s), and possibly the age(s), of water discharged by the spring; (3) ascertain the seasonal and longer-term variability of the natural discharge, water temperature, and chemical characteristics of the spring water; (4) evaluate whether water-level declines in the regional aquifer will influence the temperature of the spring discharge; and, (5) estimate the quantity of spring water that leaks out of the water-collector tank at the spring orifice.

Publication Year 2011
Title The source, discharge, and chemical characteristics of water from Agua Caliente Spring, Palm Springs, California
DOI 10.3133/sir20115156
Authors Justin Brandt, Rufus D. Catchings, Allen H. Christensen, Alan L. Flint, Gini Gandhok, Mark R. Goldman, Keith J. Halford, Victoria E. Langenheim, Peter Martin, Michael J. Rymer, Roy A. Schroeder, Gregory A. Smith, Michelle Sneed
Publication Type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Series Title Scientific Investigations Report
Series Number 2011-5156
Index ID sir20115156
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization California Water Science Center