Technical Memorandum (Task 8B) Effects of Exempt Wells on Baseflows Washougal
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TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM 11 (TASK 8B) WRIA 27/28 W ATERSHED PLAN EFFECT OF EXEMPT W ELLS ON BASEFLOW WASHOUGAL RIVER W ATERSHED PREPARED FOR: WRIA 27/28 PLANNING UNIT PREPARED BY: P ACIFIC GROUNDWATER GROUP LOWER COLUMBIA FISH RECOVERY BOARD DECEMBER 2003 FINAL JM0301.02 T ABLE O F C ONTENTS 1.0 Introduction And Purpose Of Study ........................................................................................................1 2.0 Summary Of Findings..................................................................................................................................1 3.0 Study Area.......................................................................................................................................................3 4.0 Data Sources....................................................................................................................................................3 5.0 Study Approach .............................................................................................................................................4 5.1 Conceptual Model of Capture of Surface Water by Groundwater Withdrawals ............................. 4 5.2 Methods........................................................................................................................................................ 5 6.0 Hydrogeology..................................................................................................................................................6 6.1 Geology........................................................................................................................................................ 6 6.1.1 Older Rocks............................................................................................................................................7 6.1.2 Troutdale Formation............................................................................................................................7 6.1.3 Boring Lava............................................................................................................................................8 6.1.4 Pleistocene Flood Deposits.................................................................................................................8 6.1.5 Recent Alluvial Deposits......................................................................................................................9 6.2 Principal Aquifers....................................................................................................................................... 9 7.0 Baseflow..........................................................................................................................................................10 7.1 Sub-Basin Delineations........................................................................................................................... 10 7.2 Unit-Area Baseflow................................................................................................................................. 10 8.0 Exempt Wells ................................................................................................................................................12 8.1 Number of Well Logs.............................................................................................................................. 12 8.2 Developed Parcels .................................................................................................................................... 12 8.3 Number Of Exempt Wells ....................................................................................................................... 13 9.0 Exempt Well Withdrawal, Consumptive Use, And Return Flow...................................................14 10.0 Capture Of Surface Water By Exempt Wells......................................................................................14 10.1 Streambed Elevations At Sub-Basin Outlets ....................................................................................... 14 10.2 Well Completion Elevation .................................................................................................................... 15 10.3 Identification Of Capture Basins For Exempt Wells .......................................................................... 15 10.3.1 Wells Withdrawing From Bedrock Aquifer...............................................................................15 10.3.2 Wells Withdrawing From Sedimentary Aquifers......................................................................15 10.4 Capture Estimates..................................................................................................................................... 16 11.0 References ......................................................................................................................................................18 12.0 Glossary..........................................................................................................................................................20 PAGE I WRIA 27/28 EXEMPT WELL STUDY DECEMBER 2003 L IST O F TABLES Table 1. Summary of Sub-Basin Names, Area, Low Baseflow, Mapped Wells, and Stream Capture Potential. Table 2. Comparison of Number of Well Logs and Developed Parcels By Sub-basin. Table 3. Summary of Sub-Basins, Outlet Elevations, and Downgradient Sub-Basins L IST O F FIGURES Figure 1. Washougal River Sub-basins and Number of Wells Figure 2. Surficial Geology Figure 3. Hydrogeologic Cross Section A-A’ Figure 4. Hydrogeologic Cross Section B-B’ Figure 5. Hydrogeologic Cross Section C-C’ Figure 6. Sub-Basin Outlets and Stream Gage Locations Figure 7. Estimated Lowest Mean Monthly Baseflow. Figure 8. Well Density and Depth Distribution. PAGE II WRIA 27/28 EXEMPT WELL STUDY DECEMBER 2003 SIGNATURE This report was prepared and reviewed by the undersigned and approved for release. Laura Strauss, LHG Staff Hydrogeologist Washington State Hydrogeologist No. 1002 Linton Wildrick, LHG Associate Hydrogeologist Washington State Hydrogeologist No. 321 PAGE III WRIA 27/28 EXEMPT WELL STUDY DECEMBER 2003 1.0 Introduction And Purpose Of Study The WRIA 27/28 Planning Unit is developing a watershed plan for Water Resource Inventory Areas (WRIAs) 27 and 28 under the auspices of the Watershed Planning Act. This report de- scribes one of the investigations of the Washougal River basin. Specifically, the committee wishes to better understand the magnitude of exempt well effects on baseflow in the river and its tributaries. For the current study, the Lacamas Creek watershed was included as part of the Washougal sub-basin, although it was identified as a separate sub-basin by the Planning Unit. A well is considered to be “exempt” from the need for a permit if it provides stock water, irriga- tion of lawn or non-commercial garden not exceeding ½ acre, single or group domestic uses, or industrial uses, so long as the groundwater withdrawal does not exceed 5,000 gallons per day (gpd). An exempt well is, in effect, automatically awarded a water right with a priority date for the day that the well construction was completed. Exempt water use typically varies seasonally, with higher usage during the dry summer months for irrigation of lawns, gardens, and other cultivation. In areas where domestic wells are numer- ous, it is conceivable that the cumulative withdrawals of many exempt wells could capture a sig- nificant portion of baseflow1 during the dry season. For example, a large number of shallow wells withdrawing from an unconfined aquifer that discharges directly to a small stream could reduce the streamflow in a matter of hours or days. If the withdrawals peak during low flow pe- riods, when the flow is mostly or entirely baseflow, the combination of the greatest rate of cap- ture with the lowest streamflow could be detrimental to instream habitat. This report presents an examination of the potential effects of exempt wells in the Washougal River Watershed, Clark and Skamania Counties, Washington. 2.0 Summary Of Findings This report presents the most thorough study of the hydrologic effects of exempt wells for any area in Washington. The analysis used readily available geologic, topographic, hydrologic, and well construction data to estimate how much baseflow would be captured by exempt wells within the Washougal River Basin. Baseflow is streamflow that originates as groundwater discharge through springs and seeps. Wells are concentrated in some parts of the watershed and absent in others (Figure 1). Obvi- ously, some streams or reaches of streams could be affected much more than others. Therefore, we analyzed the effects by sub-watersheds, which we refer to as sub-basins (not be confused with the sub-basins delineated by the WRIA 27/28 Planning Unit). Geology often has a profound influence on baseflow. Therefore, starting with the sub-basin de- lineation by Clark County GIS for Clark County and Dept. of Natural Resources for Skamania § 1 See Glossary for definitions of technical terms. WRIA 27/28 EXEMPT WELL STUDY DECEMBER 2003 PAGE 1 County, we further sub-divided a couple more areas so that either bedrock or unlithified sedi- mentary units dominated the surficial geology (Figure 2). The lowest average monthly baseflow (i.e., lowest average for any month) for each sub-basin was estimated from data for three streamflow gages in the watershed. These estimates range from 0.4 to 11.8 cfs (Table 1). The number of exempt wells in each sub-basin was