Chemical quality of ground water in the Dos Palos-Kettleman City area, San Joaquin Valley, California
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Abstract
The Dos Palos-Kettleman City area of this report includes approximately 1,350 square miles on the central-western side of the San Joaquin Valley, California. Large-scale farming operations in the area have used ground water as the major source of irrigation water for nearly three quarters of a century. In 1968, completion of the San Luis Canal part of the California Aqueduct, made surface water available to farmers. In time the widespread use of this imported water may cause chemical-quality changes in the native ground water. To document conditions prior to any possible changes, 361 samples of ground water were taken before deliveries of surface water were begun. The data will serve as a base to which future investigations can be compared. To establish any trends, the results were compared to earlier chemical data for the area. The results indicated that only minor changes in chemical quality had occurred between 1951 and 1968.
Water from an upper water-bearing zone is markedly different from water in a lower water-bearing zone. Water in the upper zone is of various chemical types, and the concentration of dissolved solids increases from east to west across the area.
Water in the lower zone is a sodium sulfate type and is fairly consistent throughout the zone.
Study Area
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Chemical quality of ground water in the Dos Palos-Kettleman City area, San Joaquin Valley, California |
| Series title | Open-File Report |
| Series number | 71-39 |
| DOI | 10.3133/ofr7139 |
| Year Published | 1971 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Description | 45 p. |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| City | Dos Palos, Kettleman City |
| Other Geospatial | San Joaquin Valley |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |