Investigation of the Geology and Hydrology of the Upper and Middle Verde River Watershed of Central Arizona: a Project of the Arizona Rural Watershed Initiative

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Prepared in cooperation with the ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES and YAVAPAI COUNTY Investigation of the Geology and Hydrology of the Upper and Middle Verde River Watershed of Central Arizona: A Project of the Arizona Rural Watershed Initiative

The upper and middle Verde River of the Verde River study area (Parker test the effects of various scenarios of watershed in west-central Arizona is an and Flynn, 2000). The objectives of water-resources development. In 2001, area rich in natural beauty and cultural the RWI investigations are to develop: Yavapai County became an additional history and is an increasingly popular (1) a single database containing all cooperator in the upper and middle destination for tourists, recreationists, hydrogeologic data available for the Verde River RWI investigation. and permanent residents seeking its combined areas, (2) an understanding temperate climate. The diverse terrain of of the geologic units and structures in the region includes broad desert valleys, each area with a focus on how geology upland plains, forested mountain ranges, influences the storage and movement of narrow canyons, and riparian areas along ground water, (3) a conceptual model perennial stream reaches. The area is that describes where and how much predominantly in Yavapai County, which water enters, flows through, and exits in 1999 was the fastest-growing rural the hydrogeologic system, and (4) a �� county in the United States (Woods numerical ground-water flow model that �� and Poole Economics, Inc., 1999); by can be used to improve understanding �� 2050, the population is projected to more of the hydrogeologic system and to test than double. Such growth will increase demands on water resources. The domestic, industrial, and recreational �� interests of the population will need �� to be balanced against protection of riparian, woodland, and other natural areas and their associated wildlife and aquatic habitats. Sound management � �

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decisions will be required that are based � � �� on an understanding of the interactions �

� between local and regional aquifers, � �

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surface-water bodies, and recharge and � discharge areas. This understanding �� must include the influence of climate, �� geology, topography, and cultural �

�� development on those components of the �� hydrologic system. � � � � � �� In 1999, the U.S. Geological � � � � � � � � � � � �� Survey (USGS), in cooperation with � � � �� the Arizona Department of Water � �� Resources (ADWR), initiated a regional �� investigation of the hydrogeology of the � �� upper and middle Verde River watershed. � ��

� � The project is part of the Rural Watershed � � �� Initiative (RWI), a program established �� by the State of Arizona and managed by � � � �� the ADWR that addresses water supply � �� issues in rural areas while encouraging � �� participation from stakeholder groups � � � �� in affected communities. The USGS is �� performing similar RWI investigations on the Colorado Plateau to the north and in the Mogollon Highlands to the east Figure 1. Location of the upper and middle Verde River study area.

U.S. Department of the Interior USGS Fact Sheet 059-02 U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Geological Survey Physical Setting of the land in Yavapai County is publicly 2,500 ft thick in some parts of Chino owned—38 percent by the U.S. Forest Valley. Lacustrine sediments and The upper and middle Verde River Service, 24.6 percent by the State of volcanic rocks are interbedded with watershed covers an area of about Arizona, 11.6 percent by the Bureau of the basin fill. From the headwaters 5,000 square miles southwest of Land Management, and less than 0.5 area to Clarkdale, the river flows in a Flagstaff, Arizona (fig. 1). Perennial percent by other public agencies. Private narrow canyon incised into Paleozoic streams in the area include the Verde owners account for one-quarter of the rocks that contains little or no alluvium River, which begins approximately land ownership, and the Yavapai-Prescott (Owen-Joyce and Bell, 1983; Ostenaa 2 miles southeast of Paulden, and its Tribe owns less than 0.5 percent (Arizona and others, 1993). tributaries: Beaver Creek, Oak Creek, Department of Commerce, 2002). The predominant structural features and Sycamore Creek. The Verde River of the watershed are northwest- to valley ranges in elevation from about Geology north-trending normal faults that 4,200 ft at its headwaters to about 3,000 include the Big Chino fault along ft near Camp Verde at the downstream The upper and middle Verde River the northeast margin of Chino Valley boundary of the study area. The valley watershed lies in the Transition and the Verde fault zone along the is surrounded by discrete mountain Zone between the Basin and southwest side of the Verde River ranges and upland areas, including the Range Physiographic Province to Valley. Many other subparallel Black Hills, the Juniper Mountains, the the south and southwest and the faults are associated with the main Santa Maria Mountains, Big Black Mesa, Colorado Plateau to the north and faults. These Cenozoic faults are the and the Colorado Plateau, that range in northeast. The uplands surrounding primary influence on the present-day elevation from about 6,000 to more than the valley generally consist of topography in the region. Structurally 7,800 ft. The average annual precipitation Precambrian intrusive, volcanic, significant folds generally are not ranges from less than 12 inches on the and metamorphic rocks overlain present in the area; the Mormon lower valley floors to about 30 inches by Paleozoic sedimentary strata Mountain anticline northeast of at higher elevations. Most precipitation and capped by Cenozoic volcanic Sedona has a maximum dip of occurs during summer monsoons and rocks (fig. 2). Sparse outcrops of 4 degrees, but is noteworthy because winter frontal storms. Average annual Mesozoic rocks appear above the it forms a ground-water divide (Owen- temperatures range from a minimum of Paleozoic sequence in the upper Joyce and Bell, 1983). 41° F to a maximum of 73° F. Vegetation parts of Sycamore Creek and Oak consists of semiarid grassland in the Creek canyons. Various components Hydrology lower elevations, a mix of grassland, of the Paleozoic sequence and the plains, and chaparral in elevations from Cenozoic volcanics may be partly or The major streams in the upper part of about 3,500 to 5,000 ft, and chaparral, entirely absent, leaving a patchwork the Verde River watershed are the Verde piñon pine, juniper, and ponderosa pine of exposed outcrops throughout the River (perennial below its confluence forests at the higher elevations. uplands (Krieger, 1965; Owen-Joyce with Granite Creek); Big Chino Wash In 2000, the population of Yavapai and Bell, 1983; Ostenaa and others, (ephemeral); Williamson Valley Wash, County, excluding Prescott Valley and 1993). Walnut Creek, and Granite Creek (all with the half of Prescott that is outside the The Chino Valley and the Verde perennial flow in their upper reaches and study area, was estimated to be 118,000. River valley, from Clarkdale to ephemeral farther downstream); and Pine About 50 percent of the population lives Camp Verde, are relatively broad Creek and Partridge Creek (intermittent). in the incorporated towns of Prescott, and are composed of late Cenozoic In the middle Verde River watershed, Sedona, Cottonwood, Camp Verde, basin fill and alluvium underlain by the major streams are the Verde River, Chino Valley, Clarkdale, and Jerome Paleozoic sedimentary rocks (fig. 2). Sycamore Creek, Oak Creek, Beaver (Arizona Department of Economic The fill ranges from fine grained to Creek (all perennial), and Hell Canyon Security, 2001). Nearly three-quarters coarse grained and is greater than (ephemeral).

EXPLANATION

VERDE FORMATION TERTIARY REDWALL LIMESTONE MISSISSIPPIAN

VOLCANIC ROCKS TERTIARY MARTIN FORMATION DEVONIAN TOROWEAP FORMATION METAMORPHIC AND PRECAMBRIAN PERMIAN IGNEOUS ROCKS WEST COCONINO SANDSTONE EAST FAULT—Arrows indicate BLACK SUPAI FORMATION PERMIAN–PENNSYLVANIAN direction of movement HILLS

er COLORADO PLATEAU erde Riv

V ? V ? F erde Zone ault

Modified from Twenter and Metzger (1963) and Owen-Joyce and Bell (1983)

Figure 2. Schematic diagram of the study area showing a generalized west to east cross section. The Arizona Supreme Court’s 2000 The water that comprises the 113˚00' definition of subflow as underground upper and middle Verde River water associated with a stream could have hydrologic system enters the system EXPLANATION implications for the many owners of wells as precipitation, predominantly in the higher elevations and upper reaches WELL completed in the alluvium or the Verde Formation, depending on the ADWR’s of the watershed. In the upper part SPRING eventual interpretation of the ruling. of the watershed, precipitation enters the subsurface through the soil and 35˚30' 112˚30' fractures in the rock, and in the mountainous areas, it emerges a short distance later as springs. These springs 112˚00' are the headwaters of such drainages as Pine Creek, Walnut Creek, Partridge Creek, and Williamson Valley Wash. The creeks typically flow for some distance in the stream channel before the water percolates down to the water table, a process known as recharge. 35˚00' 111˚30' The ground water then flows through R the basin-fill sediments and volcanic rde iver Ve rocks of such valleys as Chino Valley, Sedona Williamson Valley, and Little Chino Valley, emerging again downstream as a second set of springs near, or in, the Verde River, comprising the base flow of the river. Farther downstream in the 0 10 MILES watershed, springs fed by preci-pitation Camp Verd10e MILES 0 10 KILOMETERS Prescott recharge on the Colorado Plateau 34˚30' 0 10 KILOMETERS and other high elevations contribute additional base flow to the perennial Figure 3. Location of wells and springs in the study area. stream reaches. Water Use The USGS National Water The NWIS database contains infor- Information System (NWIS) ground- mation for about 150 springs in the The primary use of surface water water database lists more than 2,000 upper and middle Verde River watershed in the Verde River watershed is wells in the study area (fig. 3). About 75 (fig. 3); roughly half discharge from irrigation; many irrigation ditches percent of these wells are completed in Cenozoic formations and half from downstream from the USGS formations of Cenozoic age: typically Paleozoic rocks (particularly limestone streamflow-gaging station near the Verde Formation in the middle Verde formations) or, in a few instances, from Clarkdale divert water from the River watershed, and volcanic rocks or Precambrian rocks. More than half the Verde River. Ground water (including basin-fill sediments or both in the upper springs discharge less than 10 gpm, and springs) is the source of all domestic watershed. The remaining wells are approximately 80 percent discharge water use and serves municipal, completed in Paleozoic sedimentary less than 100 gpm. The largest springs industrial, and additional irrigation rocks, with the exception of a few wells in the study area are Page Springs, demands. Ground water is supplied by that are completed in Precambrian which discharges about 10,000 gpm, private water companies serving from granite or gneiss. Well production and Del Rio Springs, which discharges a few to many thousands of customers varies widely within each of the major about 900 gpm (fig. 4). and by a few public water companies. water-bearing formations, ranging from In addition, hundreds of private a few tens to more than 1,000 gallons wells are known to exist throughout per minute (gpm), depending locally the watershed. The ADWR (2000) on the degree of fracturing, faulting, surveyed 59 private and municipal and (or) solution channel development. water companies in the upper and The depth to water is less than 200 ft in middle Verde River watershed. It is approximately 80 percent of the wells; estimated that in 1997, the combined about 50 percent of these have depths to total annual water pumped by private water of less than 55 ft. In some areas of and municipal water providers the middle Verde watershed, the water was greater than 14,000 acre-feet. table is above land surface and wells Annual water demand for human use flow naturally; however, water-table from combined surface-water and declines in recent years have reduced ground-water resources in their area the number of such wells. The recent of investigation was estimated to be alluvium adjacent to the Verde River 69,160 acre-feet, of which 67 percent in the middle Verde River watershed was for agricultural use, 20 percent is in most places hydraulically was for municipal use, 9 percent connected to the Verde Forma- was for private industrial use, and tion (Owen-Joyce and Bell, 1983). Figure 4. Discharge from Del Rio Springs. 4 percent was for domestic use. Table 1. Values for selected water chemistry properties in the upper and middle Verde 5. Spatial relations among elevations River watershed of streams, springs, ground water in [μS/cm, microsiemens per centimeter; mg/L, milligrams per liter; USEPA, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; MCL, Maximum Contaminant level; SMCL, Secondary Maximum Contaminant level; N, number of analyses; R, wells, and geologic features will be range; Mn, mean; Md, median] used to construct conceptual models of Specific Dissolved Arsenic, ground-water flow. conductance solids dissolved pH (μS/cm) (mg/L) (mg/L) 6. Regional features outside the water- USEPA shed boundaries will be evaluated to MCL 0.05 determine external influences on the SMCL 6.5–8.5 500 hydrogeologic system.

Wells 623 6.20– 7.56/ 999 8– 698/ 563 91– 380/ 231 <.001– 0.019/ 9.00 7.50 18,000 500 4,810 380 0.22 0.012 —Betsy Woodhouse, Marilyn E. Flynn, Springs 91 6.30– 7.40/ 127 98– 536/ 107 87– 325/ 30 <.001– 0.019/ 8.90 7.43 1,620 471 1,260 276 0.14 0.006 John T.C. Parker, and John P. Hoffmann Streamflow 354 6.40– 8.18/ 362 35– 495/ 305 32– 281/ 151 <.002– 0.015/ 9.15 8.20 1,060 500 651 1,280 0.024 0.017 Selected References

Water Quality 4. What is the shape of the alluvial Arizona Department of Commerce, 2002, basins; what are the hydrologic properties accessed April 22, 2002, at URL Data for surface-water and ground- of the material that fills them; and what http://www.dc.state.az.us/ water quality in the upper and middle geologic structures control ground-water Arizona Department of Economic Security, Verde River watershed are variable, as flow into and out of them? 2001, accessed January 19, 2001, at shown in the summary of selected water- 5. Can the ground-water sources and URL http://www.de.state.az.us/links/ quality information from the USGS recharge areas of springs that contribute economic/webpage/index.html/ database (table 1). Surface and ground base flow to the Verde River be more Arizona Department of Water Resources water have exceeded some of the U.S. accurately identified? 2000, Verde River Watershed Study: Environmental Protection Agency’s 6. How much water is lost to Phoenix, Arizona, v.p. (USEPA) Primary and Secondary evapotranspiration in various parts of the Krieger, M.H., 1965, Geology of the Prescott Maximum Contaminant Levels. The watershed? and Paulden Quadrangles, Arizona, U.S. Arizona Department of Water Quality 7. How has human use of water Geological Survey Professional Paper (ADEQ) is currently developing a resources affected the hydrogeologic 467, Washington, D.C., 127 p. water-quality improvement plan to system, and how and where might it Ostenaa, D.A., Schmischal, U., King, C.E., address turbidity in the Verde River affect the system in the future? Jr., and Wright, J.W., 1993, Groundwater from Sycamore Creek to Oak Creek. study of the Big Chino Valley: Bureau of The ADEQ also is monitoring fecal Possible Approaches Reclamation, Denver, Colorado, v.p. coliform and e. coli concentrations in Owen-Joyce, S.J., and Bell, C.K., 1983, Oak Creek, and nitrogen and phosphorus The first 2 years of the project Appraisal of Water Resources in the concentrations in the Verde River and have been devoted to the design and upper Verde River Area, Yavapai and Oak Creek. Ground-water quality population of the regional database, the Coconino Counties, Arizona: Arizona has exceeded Secondary Maximum installation of equipment for long-term Department of Water Resources Contaminant Levels for dissolved solids monitoring of water-level elevations, Bulletin 2, 219 p. and pH in some wells and springs and collection of new data to supplement Parker, J.T.C., and Flynn, M.E., 2000, throughout the region, particularly in the existing data. The collection of new Investigation of the geology and hydrology wells open to the Verde Formation data will continue for the duration of of the Mogollon Highlands of central and Cenozoic basin fill. In the Camp the project. These data will be used in Arizona: A project of the Arizona Rural Watershed Initiative: U.S. Geological Verde/Rimrock area, ground water from the development of interpretive models, Survey Fact Sheet 159–00, 4 p. some wells in the Verde Formation and which will be refined as additional data alluvium has exceeded the Maximum are available. Data collection efforts Twenter, F.R., and Metzger, D.G., 1963, Contaminant Level for arsenic. include the following: Geology and ground water in Verde Valley—the Mogollon Rim Region, Arizona: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin Remaining Questions 1. Analyses of isotopes and hydro- 1177, 132 p., 1 plate. chemistry of surface-water, ground- Although much is known about the water, and spring samples, will be used to Woods and Poole Economics, Incorporated, 1999, 1999 Arizona state profile report: upper and middle Verde River watershed, evaluate ground-water flow paths. Washington, D.C., 220 p. many questions about the hydrogeologic 2. Geophysical and geological investi- system remain. These questions include: gations will provide information about the geometry of the basins, basin boundaries, 1. Where are the primary recharge and structures that affect where and how areas, and how much recharge is rapidly ground-water flows through the occurring? subsurface. For further information, contact: 2. Where are the ground-water divides 3. Sensitivity analyses will be used to John Hoffmann that mark the boundaries between ground determine what kinds of data are most U.S. Geological Survey, WRD water that flows toward the Verde River valuable in describing the ground-water 520 North Park Avenue, Suite 221 and ground water that flows away from flow system in the watershed. Tucson, Arizona 85719-5035 it? 4. Analyses of precipitation data, vege- 3. Where is the water going in sections tation extents and diversity, and soil or rock E-mail: [email protected] or visit of the Verde River in which streamflow cover will enable estimates of recharge home page http://az.water.usgs.gov decreases in the downstream direction? and evapotranspiration to be made.