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Sierra Valley Aquifer Delineation and Ground Water Flow

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Sierra Valley Aquifer Delineation and Ground Water Flow Sierra Valley Aquifer Delineation and Ground Water Flow Prepared for Randy Wilson, Director Plumas County Planning Department 520 Main Street, Quincy, CA 95971 530-283-7011 and Sierra Valley Groundwater Management District Loyalton, CA By Burkhard Bohm Hydrogeologist CHG lic. #337 Plumas Geo-Hydrology PO Box 1922, Portola, CA 96122 530-836-2208 Final Report December 27, 2016 Page 1 of 69 Table of Contents 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 6 Previous work conducted in SV ................................................................................... 6 Scope of the current study ........................................................................................... 7 2. Groundwater Recharge Areas in Sierra Valley ......................................................... 8 Groundwater recharge area defined ............................................................................ 8 Aerial contributions of groundwater recharge ............................................................... 8 Ground water recharge centers ................................................................................... 9 Defining groundwater recharge centers in the Sierra Valley watershed .................... 10 3. Aquifer delineation ................................................................................................. 13 Background ............................................................................................................... 13 Geologic setting of the SVB ....................................................................................... 13 Structural Geology of the SVB ................................................................................ 13 Stratigraphy of SVB sediments ............................................................................... 14 Deep and shallow aquifers in Sierra Valley ............................................................ 15 Conceptual model of SVB hydrogeology .................................................................... 16 Sierra Valley hydrostratigraphic units ..................................................................... 17 Valley fill aquifer parameters .................................................................................. 18 Bedrock aquifer parameters ................................................................................... 19 Aquifer properties .............................................................................................. 19 Aquifer delineation ..................................................................................................... 20 Objectives .............................................................................................................. 20 Aquifers and depth to bedrock identified by means of drilling reports ..................... 21 Aerial photo intepretation ........................................................................................... 22 General .................................................................................................................. 22 Methodology .......................................................................................................... 23 Page 2 of 69 Results of aerial photo interpretation ...................................................................... 24 SVB structural geology and groundwater flow ........................................................... 24 Results of aquifer delineation ..................................................................................... 27 Depth to bedrock .................................................................................................... 27 Faults ..................................................................................................................... 28 The Chilcoot sub-basin as a recharge area ............................................................ 29 Potential significance of structural elements for groundwater modeling .................. 29 4. Groundwater Flow Based on Light Stable Isotopes and Chemistry ........................ 30 Study Objective ......................................................................................................... 30 Types of data collected .............................................................................................. 30 Sierra Valley upland waters .................................................................................... 30 Sierra Valley Basin aquifer waters .......................................................................... 30 Stream waters ........................................................................................................ 31 Concepts and assumptions in tracer data Interpretation ............................................ 31 The basics of stable light isotope hydrology ........................................................... 31 Concepts of isotope data interpretation .................................................................. 32 Concepts of geochemical data interpretation .......................................................... 33 Data collection ........................................................................................................... 34 Field data and sample collection ............................................................................ 34 Literature data ........................................................................................................ 34 Lab analysis ........................................................................................................... 34 Sample location maps and sample identification codes ............................................. 34 NOTE ........................................................................................................................ 37 Overview: isotopes in valley floor wells, upland springs and streams ......................... 38 Key Observations: .................................................................................................. 38 Searching for possible groundwater sources outside the Sierra Valley watershed . 39 Page 3 of 69 Isotope composition and well location .................................................................... 40 Central valley floor well characteristics ................................................................... 42 Groundwater mixing in the central trench wells ...................................................... 44 Indications of groundwater mixing in the central valley floor wells .......................... 46 Evaporation and irrigation return flow......................................................................... 48 Summary of central and northern valley floor well chemistry ...................................... 49 Geothermal effects on groundwater chemistry ........................................................... 49 Stream waters of northern Sierra Valley .................................................................... 50 Streams and groundwater recharge in southern Sierra Valley ................................... 51 Streamflow ............................................................................................................. 51 Groundwater recharge ........................................................................................... 52 The Little Truckee River Diversion ............................................................................. 53 Recharge areas – a preliminary assessment ............................................................. 54 Isotopic provenances and recharge areas .............................................................. 54 Recharge in the N and NW basin periphery ........................................................... 56 Recharge in the NE periphery ................................................................................ 57 Discussion and Conclusions ...................................................................................... 58 Further Recommendations: ....................................................................................... 59 5. The Sierra Valley Water Balance ........................................................................... 60 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 60 The components of the water balance ....................................................................... 62 Recharge areas ......................................................................................................... 62 Methods to prepare preliminary recharge estimates .................................................. 62 Hydrologic balance discharge method .................................................................... 63 Chloride mass balance method .............................................................................. 63 Chloride in precipitation .......................................................................................... 65 Page 4 of 69 Ground water chloride data .................................................................................... 65 Refined Maxey-Eakin method ................................................................................ 65 6. Bibliography ........................................................................................................... 66 Page 5 of 69 Previous work conducted in SV Groundwater data have been collected
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