Ground Water in the Alluvium of Kings River Valley Humboldt County, Nevada
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Ground Water in the Alluvium of Kings River Valley Humboldt County, Nevada ? GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1619-L Prepared in cooperation with the State of Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources I'. 'Y 20 19b> Ground Water in the Alluvium of Kings River Valley Humboldt County, Nevada By C. P. ZONES CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1619-L Prepared in cooperation with the State of Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1963 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Thomas B. Nolan, Director For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D.C. CONTENTS Page Abstract__ _ _____________________________________________________ LI Introduction. ______ _______________________________________________ 2 Purpose and scope of the investigation. __________________________ 2 Location and extent of the area.________________________________ 2 Numbering system for wells and springs._________________________ 4 Geographic features______________________________________________ 4 Landforms and drainage______________________________________ 4 Mountains_ _ ____________________________________________ 5 Piedmont slopes and valley floor----____---___---__-__---_-_- 5 Streams __________________________________________________ 6 Climate ______________________________________________________ 7 Cultural features ______________________________________________ 8 Geologic sketch___________________________________________________ 9 Previous geologic investigations- _ _______________________________ 9 Late Tertiary and Quaternary geologic history ____________________ 9 Sediments of the valley fill____________________________________ 9 Water-bearing character of the rocks_________________________________ 11 Rocks of the mountain ranges___________________________________ 11 Younger and older alluvium. ___________________________________ 11 Ground water_____________________________________________________ 12 Occurrence and movement______________________________________ 12 Recharge._-___-_-_____--_____-__--______________________-_-_- 14 Discharge ____________________________________________________ 18 Evaporation and transpiration__ ____________________________ 18 Springs__ _______________________________________________ 19 Underflow to the Quinn R,iver_______________________________ 20 Pumpage._ _______________________________________________ 20 Inventory ____________________________________________________ 21 Ground water in storage________________________________________ 22 Chemical quality of ground water.__________________________________ 22 Water for irrigation____________________________________________ 22 Salinity hazard___________________-_-_____-________-______- 22 Sodium (alkali) hazard.____________________________________ 24 Bicarbonate ion___________________________________________ 24 Boron_ _________________________________________________ 25 Water for domestic use_________________________________________ 25 Classification and interpretation of analyses_________-__-_---___-__ 26 Water for irrigation________________________________________ 27 Water for domestic use______________________--__-__-__---__ 28 Development of ground water________________________________________ 29 Tables of selected well data_-__--_-_______-___________---___--_---_- 29 References________________________________________________________ 38 IV CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS Page PLATE 1 Map of Kings River Valley, Nev., showing location of wells and springs and areal extent of phreatophytes_______ [In pocket] FIGURE 1 Map of Nevada showing areas covered by previous ground- water reports and by the present report_________________ L3 2. Map showing water-level contours before the beginning of heavy pumping in 1958-____________--___-__---_--_---_- 14 3. Map showing water-level contours in January 1959___________ 15 4. Map showing water-level contours in September and October 1959-._-________--__________-__-_-_-_---___---____ 16 5. Classification of irrigation water.-______-____---_-----_--__ 23 TABLES TABLE 1. Yield, drawdown, and specific capacity of wells in Kings River Valley, Humboldt County, Nev__________________________ L12 2. Chemical analyses and classification of water in Kings River VaUey_________________________________________ 26 3. Record of wells in Kings River Valley_____________________ 30 4. Drillers'logs of wells in Kings River Valley..________________ 32 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES GROUND WATER IN THE ALLUVIUM OF KINGS RIVER VALLEY, HUMBOLDT COUNTY, NEVADA BY C. P. ZONES ABSTRACT Kings River Valley is an intermontane valley in the Great Basin section of the Basin and Range physiographic province. The valley is drained by the Kings River, a tributary of the Quinn River, which forms the southern boundary of the valley. The climate is arid to semiarid, and precipitation on the floor of the valley is less than 5 inches annually. The valley is bordered by mountain ranges composed principally of volcanic rocks of Miocene and Pliocene age. The mountains were uplifted by faulting and tilting. Material eroded from the uplands has filled the intermontane basin of the Kings River with at least 800 and possibly several thousand feet of alluvium. The alluvium is saturated nearly to the level of the valley floor, and the ground water in storage in the uppermost 100 feet of saturation amounts to several hundred thousand acre-feet. The ground-water reservoir is recharged principally by streams that drain the bordering mountain ranges. Ground water moves from the areas of recharge toward the axis of the valley and southward. A small quantity of ground water is discharged by evaporation on the flood plain of the Quinn River, but under natural conditions most of the ground water is transpired by plants that send their roots either to the water table or to the capillary fringe above it. A small amount of ground water is discharged by springs. The average annual ground- water discharge under natural conditions is equal to the average annual re- charge and is estimated to be about 15,000 acre-feet per year. The chemical quality of the ground water in the northern and central parts of the valley is good, and the water is suitable for most uses. In contrast, the dissolved solids and the proportion of sodium to calcium and magnesium are greater in the southern part of the valley. Some of the water near the south end of the valley is of poor quality for irrigation. Water from the Kings River and small perennial streams and springs has been used for many years for irrigation or domestic purposes. Only recently have large wells been drilled for irrigation. In 1958 the total annual pumpage from irrigation wells was about 17,000 acre-feet; in 1959 it was somewhat greater. In both years some of the pumped water returned to the ground-water reservoir by percolation through the overlying sediments. It may not be economically feasible to intercept by wells and use for con sumption, the approximate 15,000 acre-feet of ground water that is now being discharged by evapotranspiration. Furthermore, some ground-water movement LI L2 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES away from the irrigated areas is necessary to maintain a satisfactory salt balance. INTRODUCTION PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE INVESTIGATION The U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, State of Nevada, is conducting a statewide study to evaluate the ground-water resources of Nevada. As part of the cooperative program, a valley-by-valley reconnaissance of ground-water conditions is being made in northwestern Nevada between lat 41° and 42° N., and long 118° and 120° W. This report presents the results of a study of one of the valleys Kings River Valley which is part of the larger project. The purpose of this study is: (1) To determine the nature and extent of the aquifers, (2) to evaluate the occurrence and movement of ground water, including the sources of recharge and discharge, (3) to estimate the average annual recharge to the aquifers, (4) to estimate the quan tity of ground water that can be developed perennially, and (5) to determine the chemical quality of the ground water and its suitability for irrigation and domestic use. Fieldwork was done during parts of December 1958 and June, Au gust, and October 1959. It consisted principally of inventorying the wells and springs, making aquifer tests, and mapping the area of vegetation that consumes ground water. In addition, a brief study was made of the physiographic features of the area and of the char acter of the water-bearing materials. The investigation was under the supervision of 0. J. Loeltz, district engineer for Nevada of the Ground Water Branch, U.S. Geological Survey. G. T. Malmberg assisted the writer in the field. LOCATION AND EXTENT OF THE AREA Kings River Valley is almost entirely in Humboldt County in northwestern Nevada, but a very small part of the area within the drainage basin extends north into Oregon (fig. 1). The valley trends approximately north. It is bordered by the Trout Creek Mountains on the east and by the Kings River Range on the west. The merging of the two mountain ranges delimits the north end of the valley and the Quinn River forms the south boundary. The floor of Kings River Valley is about 25 miles long and averages 4 to