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University of Nevada Reno Delineation of \ Subsurface Flow in The

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University of Nevada Reno Delineation of \ Subsurface Flow in The University of Nevada Reno Delineation of Subsurface Flow in the Upper Meadow Valley Wash Area \ Southeastern Nevada A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Hydrology and Hydrogeology by David H. Emme <'' December 1986 UNIVERSITY Of NEVADA LIBRARY i MINES LIBRARY Ttizsi's A I 5 The thesis of David. H. Emme is approved: f University of Nevada Reno December 1986 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Mike Dettinger and Jim Thomas of the U-S-_ Geological Survey for suggesting this project and providing critical comments through its course. Committee members Mike Campana, Roger Jacobson and Ed Wagner deserve thanks for serving on my graduate committee. Particular gratitude is extended to Mike ^ Campana for serving as committee chairman and providing continuous support and encouragement through a frustrating experience. Excellent critical review by Roger Jacobson is also appreciated, although receiving this review prior to my thesis defense would have been appreciated even more. Finally, thanks go out to friends who remained friends and to my parents for providing support for too many years. ABSTRACT The study area is located within the Great Basin carbonate rock province, which contains regionally extensive aquifer systems. Panaca Spring discharges approximately 8000 acre-feet/year from carbonate rocks in the study area. Results of simple mixing calculations, using chloride concentration and S D to weight recharge estimates, suggest that sources of regional flow lie to the north in Lake Valley and Patterson Wash. Three scenarios were proposed to describe groundwater flow conditions in Lake Valley and Patterson Wash: 1) a well mixed, single layer system; 2) a two layer, local and regional system with upward vertical leakage; and 3) a two layer system with downward vertical leakage. The latter scenario yields a match of predicted flow rate, 5 D and chloride concentration with that observed at Panaca Spring, and appears to adequately describe local groundwater flow conditions in Patterson Wash. This two layer scenario requires that regional recharge be derived from carbonate mountain blocks and local recharge from volcanic terrain. Since most of the estimated regional flow is accounted for by discharge at Panaca Spring substantial interbasin transfer does not appear likely. TABLE of CONTENTS Tag1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.. ABSTRACT....... LIST of FIGURES.... LIST of TABLES...... INTRODUCTION Objectives and Scope. Setting......... Previous Work... Methods and Procedures GEOLOGY General Statement.... Hydrostratigraphic Units.... Structure....... HYDROLOGY General Statement...... Surface Water.... Groundwater...... AQUEOUS GEOCHEMISTRY General Statement........ Major Constituent Geochemistry.. Chloride Balance....... Deuterium Balance.... DISCUSSION.......... CONCLUSIONS.............. RECOMMENDATIONS....... REFERENCES............. APPENDIX 1. Summary of well data, U.S. Geological Survey unpublished data.................................... 78 APPENDIX 2. Location and physical characteristics of samples collected in the Meadow Valley Wash Area................... 81 V APPENDIX 3. Analyses of major constituents in mg/1, Meadow Valley Wash Area................... APPENDIX 4. Log IAP/KT with respect to calcite and dolomite,calculated by WATEQF(Plummer et al., 1976) APPENDIX 5. Stable isotope data for the Meadow Valley Wash Area............ 89 LIST of FIGURES Page 1. Location of the study area within the carbonate rock province of Nevada, after Winograd and Friedman (1972). 2 2. Location map of the study area. ^ 3. General geologic map of the study area, after Tschanz and Pampeyan (1970). 12 4. General map of major structures, compiled from Ekren et al (1970)’ R°Wley 8t a1, <1978) and Tschanz and Pampeyan 5. Comparison of water levels in two observation wells (USGS unpublished data) and estimated annual pumpage in Panaca Valley (Nevada State Engineer's office, unpublished data) . ’ j_g 6. Water levels, in feet above sea level, within the study area (U.S. Geological Survey, unpublished data). 22 7. Location of ground water and surface water sample sites. 25 8 ‘ Trilinear plot of ground water samples from the study area.26 9. Chloride versus calcium for groundwater samples in the study area, compared to an arbitrary 1:1 line. 28 10. Chloride versus bicarbonate for groundwater samples in the study area, compared to an arbitrary 1:1 line. 29 11. Chloride versus magnesium for groundwater samples in the study area, compared to an arbitrary 1:1 line. 30 12. Chloride versus sulfate for groundwater samples in the study area, compared to an arbitrary 1:1 line. 32 13. Chloride versus sodium for groundwater samples in the study area, compared to an arbitrary 1:1 line. 33 14. Del Oxygen-18 versus del Deuterium for groundwater and surface water samples in the study area. 36 15. Chloride versus del Deuterium for groundwater samples in Lake Valley. 3g vii Page 16. Chloride versus del Deuterium for Panaca Valley sites and Caliente thermal water. 17. Spatial distribution of chloride concentration, in mg/1, within the study area. 18. Division of sub-drainages and associated chloride concentrations in Patterson Wash. 19. Spatial distribution of deuterium, permil, in the study area. 55 viii LIST of TABLES Page 1. Surface water data for upper Meadow Valley Wash. Data is derived from continuous record except as noted. 18 2. Summary of spring flow measurements, compiled bv Garside and Schilling (1979). ' 21 3. Reconnaissance water budget for the Meadow Valley Wash area, after Rush (1964) and Rush and Eakin (1963). 46 4. Summary of chloride balance calculations for Patterson Wash. 48 5. Summary of chloride balance calculations for Patterson Wash, assuming a two layer system with a vertical gradient. 50 6. Deuterium balance calculations for inflows to regional and local flow systems within the study area. 63 INTRODUCTION Objectives and Scope The upper Meadow Valley Wash area lies within the miogeosynclinal carbonate rock province of eastern and southern Nevada (Figure 1). The enormous thickness of these Paleozoic rocks coupled with development of secondary porosity, in the form of fractures and solution openings, favors regional groundwater flow. Large discharge springs issuing from carbonate outcrops demonstrate the occurrence and movement of water within these rocks. Development of water resources contained in the carbonate rocks has been proposed by a variety of interests. Prior to development, flow system boundaries need to be delineated and interaction with overlying aquifer systems described. The relative paucity of data representing flow in the carbonate system makes the task difficult. Recharge mechanisms are poorly understood and discharge observations are confined to widely scattered springs and few wells. Within the upper Meadow Valley Wash area, a definite bias exists in available data toward basin fill systems rather than a carbonate system. In fact all wells in the study area are completed in basin fill and there may only be one major spring that can be cogently defined as a carbonate discharge area. Given OREGON DAHO Figure 1. Location of the study area within the carbonate rock province of Nevada, after Winograd and Friedman (1972). available sampling points strict delineation of the carbonate flow system is impossible. Instead, objectives of the study are to develop a refined conceptual model that describes potential sources of deep circulating groundwater and the degree of interaction between this flow and shallower basin fill aquifers. Interpretations are based on a synthesis of historical geochemical, geologic and hydraulic data, supplemented by stable isotope and geochemical data collected specifically for this study. Setting Upper Meadow Valley Wash, as defined for this project, encompasses approximately 2000 square miles of southeastern Nevada. The area is composed of several small basins connected by a common drainage system that forms Meadow Valley Wash. Sub-basins include: Patterson Wash, Spring Valley, Dry Valley, Panaca Valley and Clover Valley (Figure 2). Lake Valley, though topographically closed, is also included in the study area since water level data indicates a gradient to the south (Rush, 1964). Topographically, the area is characterized by valley floors ranging from altitudes of 4000 feet near Caliente to 6000 feet in Spring and Lake Valleys. Mountainous divides defining the perimeter of the area range from approximately 6000 feet in the Clover Mountains to nearly 11000 feet in the Schell Creek Range of Lake Valley. Recognize that the topographic divide defining the study area may not reflect a groundwater divide but serves to Scholl Creek Range Figure 2. Location map of the study area delimit the scope of the project. Hydrologic boundaries will be evaluated in a subsequent section. There are three small communities in the area, each having populations of fewer than 1000 residents: Pioche, Panaca and Caliente. Pioche has historically been the center for a substantial mining district, though agriculture is the chief industry of the area. Climate ranges from semi-arid in the valleys to sub-humid in the mountains. Precipitation is dependent on altitude with measured average annual values ranging from 9 inches at Caliente to 16 inches in the mountains east of Caliente (Rush, 1964). Precipitation can result from Pacific storms or Great Basin low pressure systems. Since Pacific storms are generally moisture deficient upon reaching eastern Nevada, Great Basin lows are the chief
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