Available Water Supply of the Las Vegas Ground-Water Basin Nevada
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Available Water Supply of the Las Vegas Ground-Water Basin Nevada GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1780 Prepared in cooperation with Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Available Water Supply of the Las Vegas Ground-Water Basin Nevada By GLENN T. MALMBERG GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1780 Prepared in cooperation with Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources UNITED STATES bERNjNf PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1965 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, D.C. 20402 - CONTENTS Page Abstract_____________ ____________________ 1 Introduction....____________________________________ 2 Location of the area_________________._________________________ 2 Purpose and scope of the investigation.._______________________ 4 Previous investigations_____________________________________ 5 Well-numbering system____________________________ 6 Acknowledgments. __________________________________________ 8 Geography... _________________________________ 8 Physical features.______________________________________ 10 Mountains____________________________________ 10 Alluvial fans____________________________________ 11 Basin lowlands_________________________________ 12 Climate. __ _ ________________________ 13 Culture.. _______.___-__________________________ 17 Geology...______________ ______________________ 18 Previous geologic investigations.____________________ 18 Rocks of the mountain ranges____________________________ 19 Occurrence and distribution_______________________________ 19 Water-bearing character____________________________ 19 Sediments of the valley fill_________________________ 20 Tertiary deposits.___________ _______ ________ 20 Muddy Creek formation___ ______ _ 20 Alluvial deposits of Pliocene (?) and Pleistocene (?) age __________ 21 Pleistocene lake beds_________________________________ 23 Recent alluvium_______________________________________ 23 Water-bearing character____________________________ 23 Ground-water hydrology._____________________________________ 25 General principles.________________________________________ 25 Artesian water______________________________________ _____ 30 Area of artesian flow___________________________ ___ 30 Piezometric surface_.____________-________________ ___ 30 Fluctuations of artesian pressure__________________ ___ 32 Annual fluctuations____________________________ ____ 32 Long-term fluctuations_______-_________________ 34 Recharge________________________________________ _ 36 Source. _________________________________.,------_- _ 36 Estimates of recharge___._____--__-________--__ _____ 38 Consumptive use of water by phreatophytes under natural conditions.._ _________ _____ _ 39 Ground-water underflow ..-.-- _______________ 40 Recharge from precipitation..______________ ____ 48 Summary of recharge estimates.. __ _______ 57 m IV CONTENTS Ground-water hydrology Continued Artesian water Continued Page Discharge._______________________________________________ 58 Natural discharge__-_--____-------_--_-------_________ 58 Springs_________________________________________ 59 Seeps and drains._________________________________ 61 Artificial discharge___________________________________ 62 Net draft on the artesian aquifers_______________________ 64 Near-surface water.___________________________________________ 65 Water-level fluctuations._________________________________ 66 Recharge_________________________________________________ 68 Estimate of recharge____________________-__-_-_________ 70 Discharge. _________________________________ _________ 72 Evaporation __________________________________________ 72 Transpiration by phreatophytes.________________________ 73 Phreatophyte areas_____-__________________________ 73 Consumptive use of water by phreatophytes-_________ 74 Upward leakage__________~________________________ 78 Artificial discharge___________________________________ 82 Summary of discharge from the near-surface reservoir. _____ 83 Summary of total discharge in the Las Vegas basin._______________ 83 Water budget in 1955_________.___-_..___________ 83 Relation between reservoir storage and water-level fluctuation_____ 84 Effects of ground-water development___________________________ 87 Maximum development on a perennial-yield basis.________________ 90 Quality of the ground water_________.________________________ 91 Temperature____________________________________________ 102 Dissolved-solids content----_____-____--_____-_----_____-___ 102 Source and significance of dissolved solids.________________ 103 Subsidence of the land surface_____________________________________ 106 Selected references.________________________________________________ 111 ILLUSTRATIONS [Plates are in separate volume] PLATE 1. Map of the Las Vegas ground-water basin, Clark, Nye, and Lincoln Counties, Nevada. 2-6. Maps of part of Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, showing: 2. Approximate area of artesian flow. 3. Piezometric surface in February 1955. 4. Piezometric surface in September 1955. 5. Changes in the piezometric surface between February 1955 and February 1956. 6. Changes in the piezometric surface between February 1944 and February 1956. CONTENTS Maps of part of Las Vagas Valley, Nevada, showing: PLATES 7-13. 7. Approximate piezometric surface in 1912. 8. Approximate altitude of the water table in the near-surface reservoir in February 1956. 9. Types, distribution, and approximate areal densities of phreatophytes in 1955. 10. Approximate area of phreatophytes before ground-water development. 11. Approximate area and areal densities of phreatophytes and areas in cultivation in 1912. 12. Changes in the land-surface altitude, 1935 to 1940-41. 13. Changes in the land-surface altitude, 1935-50. FIGURE 1. Index map of Nevada showing area of this report._____ 3 2. Sketch showing well-numbering system___-___--______ 7 3. Graph showing annual precipitation and cumulative departure from average precipitation at Las Vegas___ 15 4. Graph showing annual precipitation at four storage gages and at Las Vegas, and annual departure from 1947-52 average...------------------------- __.-- _. 16 5. Diagrammatic east-west section across Las Vegas Valley showing the principal zones of aquifers, direction of ground-water movement, and general geology of the valley fill.--__-_____-.._____-___----- 28 6. Hydrographs of three artesian wells for 1955.----------- 33 7. Hydrographs showing water-level fluctuations in remote parts of Las Vegas Valley.------------------------- 37 8. Graphs showing discharge, recharge, precipitation, and ground-water-level changes.------------------------ 51 9. Graph of estimated annual natural recharge from pre cipitation to the three principal zones of artesian aquifers __---___-____-_-______-_---__-------_--___ 56 10. Diagram showing approximate disposition of ground- water discharged in Las Vegas ground-water reservoir. 64 11. Hydrographs of wells in near-surface ground-water reservoir in western part of Las Vegas Valley.__.__-__ 66 12. Hydrograph of well in near-surface ground-water reservoir in eastern part of Las Vegas Valley._-__-------_--_-_ 67 13. Chart showing estimated runoff in Las Vegas Wash in 1955. 71 14. Chart showing the approximate decrease in upward leakage resulting from reduction of artesian head_____---_---_ 81 15. Three graphs showing relation between recharge, discharge, and artesian head in wells in Las Vegas Valley._______ 86 16. Profiles across Las Vegas Valley showing land subsidence resulting from ground-water withdrawals___-----_____ 109 17. Diagram comparing land subsidence at bench marks P169 and A166 with change in piezometric surface. -____-_ 110 VI CONTENTS TABLES Page TABLE 1. Annual precipitation at stations in the Las Vegas basin. _____ 14 2. Snow-course data from four stations in the Spring Mountains. 17 3. Calculated constants for formations in Las Vegas Valley----. 42 4. Coefficients of transmissibility used for computing underflow into Las Vegas Valley in 1912______________-_--_-_--_ 45 5. Estimated underflow into Las Vegas Valley in 1912__------ 46 6. Estimated under flow into Las Vegas Valley in February 1955. 48 7. Annual precipitation and computed effective average rate of precipitation at Las Vegas____________________________ 54 8. Discharge of springs and drains in the Las Vegas ground-water basin-_-_--__________________-_______-_-_--__-------_ 60 9. Estimated net draft on the artesian aquifers of the Las Vegas ground-water basin___________________-____------_--_ 63 10. Approximate recharge to the near-surface reservoir in the Las Vegas basin from infiltration of waste water from wells and springs, 1955------------------------------------- 72 11. Consumptive-use factor at Las Vegas, Nev_______-_-------_ 75 12. Consumptive-use coefficients for phreatophytes-_____------- 75 13. Estimated rates of consumptive use of water by phreatophytes in the Las Vegas basin under optimum conditions --------- 76 14. Equivalent acreage of phreatophytes at 100-percent areal density, and consumptive use by phreatophytes in the Las Vegas ground-water basin, 1955-- ----------------------- 77 15. Estimated upward leakage in the Las Vegas Basin, 1955-.--- 79 16. Estimated equivalent of acreage of phreatophytes of 100- percent areal density, and consumptive use by phreatophytes in the Las Vegas ground-water basin, 1906______-_------_ 80 17. Estimated equivalent acreage of phreatophytes of 100-percent