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Jena Huntington

Jena Huntington is a Hydrologist in the Northern Nevada Hydrologic Studies Unit.

Jena Huntington started her hydrology career with the U.S. Geological Survey constructing and calibrating groundwater models. Her work since has included basin water budgets, groundwater flow, evapotranspiration, geothermal and basin-fill aquifer connectivity, groundwater quality at the local, basin, and regional scales, and localized surface water quality. Jena's experience sampling groundwater quality has lead her to join the national groundwater quality instructors team where she helps teach water quality field methods.

Education
M.S. in Hydrogeology, University of Nevada, Reno, 2006
B.S. in Geoscience, Northland College, 2003

Employment
2003 - 2005 Research Assistant, University of Nevada, Reno
2005 - 2006 SCEP student, U.S. Geological Survey, Carson City, NV
2006 - Present Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Carson City, NV

Professional Memberships
National Groundwater Association (NGWA)
American Geophysical Association (AGU)
Nevada Water Resources Association (NWRA), Board Member 2016 - Present

Media Highlights

Nevada Wells Test Positive for Polonium: Geotimes Article

Nevada Division of Forestry works to eliminate wildfire risk: Nevada Appeal Article

Agencies Prepare Forest to Withstand Wildfire: 2News TV Interview

 

Science and Products

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lake basin with rocks in foreground and trees in the right

Lake Tahoe Water Quality Shorezone Monitoring

USGS Nevada Water Science Center (NVWSC) is sampling for Volitile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in 2019 in order to confirm previous data collection efforts at Lake Tahoe. The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) requested sampling in targeted locations and at times when petroleum constituents are most likely to be detected in the lake.
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Nevada Water Science Center
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Lake Tahoe Water Quality Shorezone Monitoring

USGS Nevada Water Science Center (NVWSC) is sampling for Volitile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in 2019 in order to confirm previous data collection efforts at Lake Tahoe. The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) requested sampling in targeted locations and at times when petroleum constituents are most likely to be detected in the lake.
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Carson River, Nev.

Science in the Carson River Basin

The Carson River begins in the Sierra Nevada as the East Fork and West Fork of the Carson River. These two forks come together in the Carson Valley, not far from Carson City, Nev. The river then flows through the Carson River Basin until its terminus at the Carson Sink. The Carson River is a popular recreation spot with rafters, hikers, and fishermen.
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Nevada Water Science Center
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Science in the Carson River Basin

The Carson River begins in the Sierra Nevada as the East Fork and West Fork of the Carson River. These two forks come together in the Carson Valley, not far from Carson City, Nev. The river then flows through the Carson River Basin until its terminus at the Carson Sink. The Carson River is a popular recreation spot with rafters, hikers, and fishermen.
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Scientist services an automatic sampler, in the snow, that has been installed at the gaging station on Clear Creek in Nevada.

Monitoring Sediment and Water Quality in Clear Creek

Clear Creek is a small alpine stream that begins near Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada. The creek flows roughly parallel to U.S. Highway 50 and discharges to the Carson River near Carson City, Nevada. The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) is concerned about how historical and ongoing development in the Clear Creek drainage basin has/is affecting Clear Creek and its sediment-transport...
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Nevada Water Science Center
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Monitoring Sediment and Water Quality in Clear Creek

Clear Creek is a small alpine stream that begins near Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada. The creek flows roughly parallel to U.S. Highway 50 and discharges to the Carson River near Carson City, Nevada. The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) is concerned about how historical and ongoing development in the Clear Creek drainage basin has/is affecting Clear Creek and its sediment-transport...
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Maps of estimated nitrate and arsenic concentrations in basin-fill aquifers of the southwestern United States

Human-health concerns and economic considerations associated with meeting drinking-water standards motivated a study of the vulnerability of basin-fill aquifers to nitrate contamination and arsenic enrichment in the southwestern United States. Statistical models were developed by using the random forest classifier algorithm to predict concentrations of nitrate and arsenic across a model grid repre
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Water Resources, New Mexico Water Science Center, Arizona Water Science Center, Utah Water Science Center, Nevada Water Science Center
Wild horses in northern Nevada
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USGS scientists collecting water-quality samples from a municipal well in Nevada
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Filter Total Items: 17

Basis for technical guidance to evaluate evapotranspiration covers

This report provides technical guidance to evaluate evapotranspiration (ET) cover design criteria with emphasis on applications to long-term disposal sites such as Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 (UMTRCA) sites. Water balance covers, also known as ET covers, reduce percolation by storing precipitation then allowing vegetation to cycle it back to the atmosphere. For long-term (o
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Water Resources, Nevada Water Science Center

Evapotranspiration covers at uranium mill tailings sites

Waste isolation is a key strategy for mitigating risk from municipal solid waste (MSW) and hazardous waste streams. Conventional covers at MSW facilities are designed for a 30-yr post-closure period where compacted soils and geosynthetics are used to minimize percolation into buried waste. Recently, evapotranspiration (ET) covers have shown beneficial use for MSW management. Evapotranspiration cov
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Water Resources, Nevada Water Science Center

Early warning pesticide monitoring in Nevada’s surface waters

A pesticide is a substance, or mixture of substances, used to kill or control insects, weeds, plant diseases, and other pest organisms. Commercial pesticide applicators, farmers, and homeowners apply about 1.1 billion pounds of pesticides annually to agricultural land, non-crop land, and urban areas throughout the United States. Although intended for beneficial uses, there are also risks associate
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Water Resources, Nevada Water Science Center

Discharge, sediment, and water chemistry in Clear Creek, western Nevada, water years 2013–16

Clear Creek is a small stream that drains the eastern Carson Range near Lake Tahoe, flows roughly parallel to the Highway 50 corridor, and discharges to the Carson River near Carson City, Nevada. Historical and ongoing development in the drainage basin is thought to be affecting Clear Creek and its sediment-transport characteristics. Previous studies from water years (WYs) 2004 to 2007 and from 20
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Water Resources, Nevada Water Science Center

Budgets and chemical characterization of groundwater for the Diamond Valley flow system, central Nevada, 2011–12

The Diamond Valley flow system consists of six hydraulically connected hydrographic areas in central Nevada. The general down-gradient order of the areas are southern and northern Monitor Valleys, Antelope Valley, Kobeh Valley, Stevens Basin, and Diamond Valley. Groundwater flow in the Diamond Valley flow system terminates at a large playa in the northern part of Diamond Valley. Concerns relating
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Water Resources, Nevada Water Science Center

Discharge, suspended sediment, bedload, and water quality in Clear Creek, western Nevada, water years 2010-12

Clear Creek is a small stream that drains the eastern Sierra Nevada near Lake Tahoe, flows roughly parallel to the U.S. Highway 50 corridor, and discharges to the Carson River near Carson City, Nevada. Historical and ongoing development in the drainage basin is thought to be affecting Clear Creek and its sediment-transport characteristics. A baseline study from water years 2004–07 collected and ev
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Water Resources, Nevada Water Science Center

Groundwater discharge by evapotranspiration, Dixie Valley, west-central Nevada, March 2009-September 2011

With increasing population growth and land-use change, urban communities in the desert Southwest are progressively looking toward remote basins to supplement existing water supplies. Pending applications by Churchill County for groundwater appropriations from Dixie Valley, Nevada, a primarily undeveloped basin east of the Carson Desert, have prompted a reevaluation of the quantity of naturally dis
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Water Resources, Nevada Water Science Center

Hydrogeologic framework and occurrence, movement, and chemical characterization of groundwater in Dixie Valley, west-central Nevada

Dixie Valley, a primarily undeveloped basin in west-central Nevada, is being considered for groundwater exportation. Proposed pumping would occur from the basin-fill aquifer. In response to proposed exportation, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation and Churchill County, conducted a study to improve the understanding of groundwater resources in Dixie Valley. The
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Water Resources, Nevada Water Science Center

Predicted nitrate and arsenic concentrations in basin-fill aquifers of the Southwestern United States

The National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is conducting a regional analysis of water quality in the principal aquifer systems across the United States. The Southwest Principal Aquifers (SWPA) study is building a better understanding of the susceptibility and vulnerability of basin-fill aquifers in the region to groundwater contamination by synthesiz
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Water Resources, New Mexico Water Science Center, Utah Water Science Center, Nevada Water Science Center, Arizona Water Science Center

Effects of natural and human factors on groundwater quality of basin-fill aquifers in the southwestern United States-conceptual models for selected contaminants

As part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program, the Southwest Principal Aquifers (SWPA) study is building a better understanding of the factors that affect water quality in basin-fill aquifers in the Southwestern United States. The SWPA study area includes four principal aquifers of the United States: the Basin and Range basin-fill aquifers in California, N
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Water Resources, Nevada Water Science Center, Utah Water Science Center, Arizona Water Science Center, New Mexico Water Science Center

Conceptual understanding and groundwater quality of selected basin-fill aquifers in the Southwestern United States

The National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program of the U.S. Geological Survey has been conducting a regional analysis of water quality in the principal aquifer systems in the southwestern United States (hereinafter, “Southwest”) since 2005. Part of the NAWQA Program, the objective of the Southwest Principal Aquifers (SWPA) study is to develop a better understanding of water quality in basin-
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Water Resources, Utah Water Science Center, New Mexico Water Science Center, Arizona Water Science Center, Nevada Water Science Center

Southwest principal aquifers regional ground-water quality assessment

The National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program of the U.S. Geological Survey is conducting a regional analysis of water quality in the principal aquifers in the southwestern United States. The Southwest Principal Aquifers (SWPA) study is building a better understanding of the susceptibility and vulnerability of basin-fill aquifers in the region to ground-water contamination by synthesizing
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Water Resources, Utah Water Science Center

Non-USGS Publications**

Shanafield, Margaret, Jennifer Johnson, Emile Sawyer, Jena Green, Jason Assam, Hesham Becket, Scott Brown, William Carlos, DeEtta Fosbury, Darren Meadows, Michael Meinert, Brian Rasmussen, Gitane Royce, Chad Stein, Kurt Unger, Mervin Wright, David Hunkup, Dominic Wolf, Rick Susfalk, and Scott W. Tyler, 2005, Analysis of Hungry Valley Groundwater Pumping and Management, Washoe County, Nevada: Journal of Nevada Water Resources, vol. 2, no.2, p. 1-14.
Thodal, C.E., and Green, J.M., Ground-water quality and flow responses from storm-water detentions basins—Best Management practices, South Lake Tahoe, California, Journal of Nevada Water Resources, vol. 4, no.1, p. 18.

**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.

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