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Geothermal resources in the Banbury Hot Springs area, Twin Falls County, Idaho

Water Supply Paper 2186
By:  and 
https://doi.org/10.3133/wsp2186

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Abstract

Thermal water 30.0 degrees to 72.0 degrees Celsius is produced from 26 wells and 2 springs in the vicinity of Banbury Hot Springs near Buhl, Idaho. Thermal water is used for residence heating, catfish and tropical fish production, greenhouse operation, swimming pools, and therapeutic baths. In 1979, 10,300 acre-feet of thermal water was utilized; heat discharged convectively from the geothermal system was about 1.1 x 107 calories per second. Decline in artesian head and discharge apparent in recorder charts from two wells may represent seasonal fluctuations or may reflect reservoir response to development of the resource. The thermal waters sampled are sodium carbonate or bicarbonate in character and slightly alkaline. Mixing of hot (72 degrees Celsius) water with local cooler ground water can be shown from various relations among stable isotopes, chloride, and enthalpy. On the basis of concentration of tritium, the age of most of the water sampled is at least 100 years and perhaps more than 1,000 years. Some water (33 degrees Celsius) may be as young as 29 years. On the basis of silica, sodium-potassium-calcium, and sulfate-water geothermometers, the best estimate of the maximum reservoir temperature for the thermal water is between 70 degrees and 100 degrees Celsius.

Suggested Citation

Lewis, R., Young, H.W., 1982, Geothermal resources in the Banbury Hot Springs area, Twin Falls County, Idaho: U.S. Geological Survey Water Supply Paper 2186, v, 27 p. :ill. ;28 cm., https://doi.org/10.3133/wsp2186.

Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Geothermal resources in the Banbury Hot Springs area, Twin Falls County, Idaho
Series title Water Supply Paper
Series number 2186
DOI 10.3133/wsp2186
Year Published 1982
Language ENGLISH
Publisher United States Dept. of the Interior, Geological Survey : [For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O.],
Description v, 27 p. :ill. ;28 cm.
Additional publication details