Helena, Montana September 1988 DEPARTMENT of the INTERIOR
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GEOHYDROLOGY OF THE FLATHEAD INDIAN RESERVATION, NORTHWESTERN MONTANA By Steven E. Slagle U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Water-Resources Investigations Report 88-4142 Prepared in cooperation with the CONFEDERATED SALISH AND KOOTENAI TRIBES and the U.S. BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS Helena, Montana September 1988 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR DONALD PAUL MODEL, Secretary U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Dallas L. Peck, Director For additional information Copies of this report can be write to: purchased from: District Chief U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Geological Survey Books and Open-File Reports Section 428 Federal Building Federal Center, Bldg. 810 301 South Park, Drawer 10076 Box 25425 Helena, MT 59626-0076 Denver, CO 80225-0425 CONTENTS Page Abstract ................................... 1 Introduction ................................. 2 Purpose and scope. ............................. 2 Location and general features of the area ......... ... 2 Climate. .................................. 4 Previous investigations. .......................... 4 System for specifying geographic locations ................. 7 Methods of investigation ........................... 7 Well inventory ............................... 7 Water-level monitoring ........................... 7 Seismic-refraction surveys ......................... 9 Test drilling. ............................... 9 Aquifer testing. .............................. 9 Water-quality sampling ........................... 9 Geology. ................................... 9 Precarabrian rocks. ............................. 10 Precambrian and TertiaryC?) igneous rocks. ................. 10 TertiaryC?) and Quaternary rocks and deposits. ............... 12 Hydrology. .................................. 13 Valley-fill aquifers ............................ 13 Lithologic distribution. ......................... 13 Mission Valley ............................. 13 Little Bitterroot River valley-Big Draw area .............. 15 Camas Prairie basin. .......................... 16 Jocko and lower Flathead River valleys ................. 17 Aquifer properties ............................ 18 Mission Valley ............................. 19 Little Bitterroot River valley-Big Draw area .............. 19 Camas Prairie basin. .......................... 24 Jocko and lower Flathead River valleys ................. 26 Ground-water movement. .......................... 26 Mission Valley ............................. 26 Little Bitterroot River valley-Big Draw area .............. 30 Camas Prairie basin. .......................... 32 Jocko and lower Flathead River valleys ................. 32 Recharge and discharge .......................... 34 Mission Valley ............................. 34 Little Bitterroot River valley-Big Draw area .............. 39 Camas Prairie basin. .......................... 41 Jocko and lower Flathead River valleys ................. 44 Summary of recharge and discharge components .............. 45 Bedrock aquifers .............................. 46 Aquifer properties ............................ 46 Ground-water movement. .......................... 47 Recharge and discharge .......................... 52 Ground-water quality ............................ 52 Water-use standards. ........................... 52 Valley-fill aquifers ........................... 55 Bedrock aquifers ............................. 55 III CONTENTS Continued Page Summary. ................................... 56 Selected references. ............................. 59 Supplemental information ........................... 64 PLATES Plate 1. Map showing generalized geology and depth to top of Belt Supergroup, Flathead Indian Reservation, northwestern Montana. ..... In pocket 2. Map showing altitude and configuration of the water surface of valley-fill aquifers, Flathead Indian Reservation, northwestern Montana ...........................In pocket ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1. Map showing location of study area. ................ 3 2. Map showing mean annual precipitation ............... 5 3. Graphs showing mean monthly precipitation at Poison Kerr Dam and Saint Ignatius. ......................... 6 4. Graphs showing mean monthly air temperature at Poison Kerr Dam and Saint Ignatius. ......................... 6 5. Diagram showing system of specifying location of wells, test holes, and springs ........................... 8 6-13. Hydrographs showing water-level fluctuations in: 6. Shallow wells in the Mission Valley .............. 28 7. Deep wells in the Mission Valley. ............... 29 8. A well in the central Little Bitterroot River valley. ..... 31 9. A well in the southern Little Bitterroot River valley ..... 31 10. A well in Big Draw. ...................... 32 11. Wells in Camas Prairie basin. ................. 33 12. A well in the upper Finley Creek valley ............ 34 13. Wells in the lower Finley Creek and Jocko River valleys .... 35 14. Hydrogeologic section of the Flathead River valley near Dixon ... 38 15. Hydrogeologic section of the lower Little Bitterroot River valley. ............................. 42 16. Map showing generalized altitude and configuration of the potentiometric surface of aquifers in the Belt Supergroup .... 49 17. Conceptual model of flow systems in aquifers of the Belt Supergroup. ........................... 50 18. Hydrographs for wells completed in aquifers of the Belt Supergroup. ........................... 50 TABLES Table 1. Generalized description of geologic units ............. 11 2. Specific capacity of wells in Mission Valley. ........... 20 3. Summary of aquifer tests in Mission Valley. ............ 22 IV TABLES Continued Page Table 4. Specific capacity of wells in the Little Bitterroot River valley-Big Draw area. ...................... 23 5. Summary of aquifer tests in the Little Bitterroot River valley-Big Draw area. ...................... 24 6. Specific capacity of wells in the Camas Prairie basin ....... 25 7. Summary of aquifer tests in the Camas Prairie basin ........ 25 8. Specific capacity of wells in the Jocko and lower Flathead River valleys ............................. 27 9. Summary of recharge and discharge components for valley-fill aquifer systems within the Flathead Indian Reservation. ..... 46 10. Specific capacity of wells completed in the Belt Supergroup .... 48 11. Records of inventoried wells, springs, and test holes ....... 65 12. Records of water level in monitoring wells. ............ 90 13. Logs of wells and test holes ................... 113 14. Physical properties and primary-constituent concentrations in ground water .......................... 128 15. Trace-element concentrations in ground water ........... 137 16. Summary of selected physical properties and chemical constituents in water from wells and springs ................. 146 17. Summary of selected trace elements in water from wells and springs ............................. 150 CONVERSION FACTORS The following factors can be used to convert inch-pound units in this report to metric (International System) units. Multiply inch-pound unit By_ To obtain metric unit acre 0.4047 hectare acre-foot (acre-ft) 1,233 cubic meter acre-foot per acre (acre-ft/acre) 0.3048 cubic meter per square meter acre-foot per year (acre-ft/yr) 1,233 cubic meter per year cubic foot per day (ft^/d) 0.02832 cubic meter per day cubic foot per second (ft^/s) 0.028317 cubic meter per second foot (ft) 0.3048 meter foot per day (ft/d) 0.3048 meter per day foot per mile (ft/mi) 0.1894 meter per kilometer foot squared per day (ft^/d) 0.09290 meter squared per cUse.y gallon per day (gal/d) 0.003785 cubic meter per day gallon per minute (gal/min) 0.06309 liter per second gallon per minute per foot 0.2070 liter per second per meter [(gal/min)/ft] gallon per minute per foot per 0.6791 liter per second per meter foot f(gal/min)/ft/ft] per meter inch (in.) 25.4 millimeter mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer square foot (ft^) 0.09290 square meter square mile (mi^) 2.590 square kilometer Temperature can be converted to degrees Celsius (°C) and degrees Fahrenheit (°F) by the equations: °C = 5/9 (°F - 32) °F = 9/5 (°C) + 32 Sea level: In this report "sea level" refers to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD of 1929) A geodetic datum derived from a general adjustment of the first-order level nets of both the United States and Canada, formerly called "Sea Level Datum of 1929." VI GEOHYDROLOGY OF THE FLATHEAD INDIAN RESERVATION, NORTHWESTERN MONTANA By Steven E. Slagle ABSTRACT The ground-water system in parts of the Flathead Indian Reservation has a large potential as a source of irrigation water for many areas that cannot be served economically by surface canal systems. The geohydrology of the area was studied to provide information that could be used by the Confedera ted Salish and Kootenai Tribes to formulate ground-water development plans. The reservation encompasses an area of about 1,950 square miles charac terized by mountains and structurally controlled valleys in northwestern Mon tana. Mean annual precipitation ranges from about 11 to 16 inches in the valleys to almost 100 inches in the Mission Mountains. The entire reservation is drained by the Flathead River and its tributaries. Parts of the reserva tion are irrigated by a complex system of canals that substantially alters the natural drainage system. Bedrock in the area, which underlies the valleys and forms the surround ing mountains, consists of slightly metamorphosed carbonate and fine-grained clastic rocks of the Precambrian Belt Supergroup. Igneous rocks are present at the surface in two small areas of the