Scientific Investigations Report 2006–5205
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Scientific Investigations Report 2006–5205
Previous pumpage estimates were for the study area, part of the study area, and the entire three-county (Benton, Kittitas, and Yakima Counties) area that is larger than the study area. The estimates are not directly comparable but do provide information about the growth in pumpage and the range of estimates.
Kinnison and Sceva (1963) first estimated pumpage for the Yakima River Basin for 1953 and stated that the pumpage probably experienced “little change” by about 1961, although population in the three-county area increased from about 210,000 to about 228,000 during that time and ground-water rights increased from about 66,000 acre-ft to about 116,000 acre-ft (67 percent of which was for public water supply). Total pumpage was estimated at 51,665 acre-ft (16.8 Bgal) with irrigation accounting for 23,900 acre-ft (7.8 Bgal) or 46 percent of the total. Industrial pumpage was estimated at 14,600 acre-ft (4.8 Bgal), municipal supply at 7,800 acre-ft (2.5 Bgal), and domestic pumpage at 5,365 acre-ft (1.7 Bgal).
Laird and Walters (1967) estimated that total pumpage in 1965 was about 138,800 acre-ft (45.2 Bgal) for the three-county area with irrigation accounting for 57 percent (79,200 acre-ft or 25.8 Bgal) of the total. Municipal pumpage was about 46,000 acre-ft (15 Bgal) and industrial was 13,470 acre-ft (4.4 Bgal). For 1970, Parker (1971) estimated the total pumpage, excluding self-supplied domestic pumpage, for the three counties as 132,233 acre-ft (43.1 Bgal). Irrigation accounted for 81,300 acre-ft (26.5 Bgal) or about 61 percent of the total. In 1970, the self-supplied industrial pumpage was estimated to be 10,440 acre-ft (3.4 Bgal) and the municipal pumpage was estimated to be 40,553 acre-ft (13.2 Bgal). Dion and Lum (1977) estimated municipal, industrial, and agricultural pumpage for 1975 by Washington State Water Resource Inventory Areas that compose the study area. Municipal, industrial, and agricultural use estimates for 1975 were 24,600 acre-ft (8.01 Bgal), 13,100 acre-ft (4.26 Bgal,) and 5,250 acre-ft (1.71 Bgal), respectively, and totaled 42,950 acre-ft (13.99 Bgal). Municipal estimates for 1965, 1970, and 1975 were for systems serving more than 100 people and the industrial estimates included only self-supplied ground water.
Ground-water pumpage was next estimated for most of the study area as part of the USGS’s Regional Aquifer-System Analysis Program (Cline and Knadle, 1990; Cline and Collins, 1992, 1993). Estimates were for the part of the basin underlain by the Columbia River Basalt Group. Cline and Collins (1993) summarized estimates for the three counties and these estimates included some areas outside of the basin boundaries. Estimates were for selected years from 1945 through 1984. For 1984, pumpage (principally agricultural) was estimated to be about 83,280 acre-ft (27.1 Bgal); separate estimates for different uses were not made.
In 2003, the Tri-County Watershed Resource Agency (TCWRA), representing the initiating governments involved in developing a watershed plan for the Yakima River Basin, published estimates of ground-water pumpage for 2000 (Tri-County Water Resource Agency, 2003). Methods used were based on water-rights documents, demographic data from the U.S. Census Bureau (U.S. Census Bureau, 2004), public water system data compiled by the Washington State Department of Health, and data collected for the largest municipal water suppliers in the basin. The TCWRA estimated total ground-water pumpage as 660,630 acre-ft (215 Bgal), which included standby/reserve rights (described in a later section). Most of this pumpage, about 529,567 acre-ft (172 Bgal), was irrigation pumpage. However, the irrigation pumpage estimate reported by TCWRA is the same as the reported total appropriated water for all permits and certificates. This total value is slightly greater than the value presented in this report due to apparent differences in the water-right database obtained from WaDOE. Excluding the large municipalities and self-supplied domestic pumpage, estimates were based on the maximum amount of water that can be used for each right. The amount actually used is typically less than the allowable amount. The TCWRA estimate for public water systems was about 74,700 acre-ft (24.3 Bgal).
Lane (2004) estimated withdrawals for 2000 for the entire three-county area. The estimated total withdrawal was 166,143 acre-ft (54 Bgal) of which 54 percent (about 90,000 acre-ft) was for irrigation. Total pumpage for domestic use was estimated to be 56,308 acre-ft (18.3 Bgal) and industrial withdrawals accounted for about 19,819 acre-ft (6.5 Bgal). Lane’s total was only 25 percent of the total estimated by TCWRA for the study area in 2000.
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Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological
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