Scientific Investigations Report 2006–5116
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Scientific Investigations Report 2006–5116
Surface water in the Yakima River Basin, in south-central Washington (fig. 1) is under adjudication and the amount of surface water available for appropriation is unknown, but there are increasing demands for water for municipal, fisheries, agricultural, industrial, and recreational uses. These demands must be met by ground-water withdrawals and/or by changes in the way water resources are allocated and used. On-going activities in the basin for enhancement of fisheries and obtaining additional water for agriculture may be affected by ground-water withdrawals and by rules implemented under the Endangered Species Act for salmonids that have been either listed or are proposed for listing in the late 1990s. An integrated understanding of the ground-water flow system and its relation to the surface-water resources is needed in order to implement most water-resources management strategies in the basin. In order to obtain this understanding, a study of the Yakima River Basin aquifer system began in June 2000. The study is a cooperative effort of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), the Yakama Nation (YN), and the Washington State Department of Ecology (WaDOE).
The objectives of the study as a whole are to fully describe the ground-water flow system and its interaction with and relation to surface water, and to integrate this information into a management tool—a numerical model. The conceptual model of the flow system and the results of the study will be used to guide and support actions taken by management agencies with respect to ground-water availability and to provide information to other stakeholders and interested parties. The numerical model will be developed as an integrated tool for short-term to long-term management activities, including the testing of potential management strategies.
The study includes three phases. The first phase includes (1) project planning and coordination, (2) compiling, documenting, and assessing available data, and (3) initial data collection. The second phase consists of data collection to support the following Phase 2 work elements: (1) mapping of hydrogeologic units, (2) estimating ground-water pumpage, (3) developing estimates of ground-water recharge, (4) assessing ground water-surface water interchanges, and (5) constructing maps of ground-water levels. Together, these five elements provide the information needed to describe the ground-water flow system, the conceptual model, and provide the building blocks for the hydrogeologic framework. In the third phase, six structural basin models and one regional model of the ground-water flow system will be constructed in order to integrate the available information. The numerical models will be used to gain a further understanding of the flow system and its relation to surface water, and to test management strategies. The models will be developed and maintained in such a fashion that it will be available and open to others.
The results from selected work elements will be described in a series of reports. The Introduction and Description of Study Area sections of this report are common to all reports.
For more information about USGS activities in Washington, visit the USGS Washington Water Science Center home page.
U.S.
Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological
Survey
Persistent URL: https://pubs.water.usgs.gov/sir20065116
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