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Verde River Basin Water-Resources Primer

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Verde River Basin Water-Resources Primer Verde River Basin Water-Resources Primer —Understanding Our Water and Our Verde River Basin— Verde River Basin Partnership vrbp.org Cover photograph: Water flowing over red sandstone in Wet Beaver Creek, Coconino National Forest. Courtesy of: Derek von Briesen. Verde River Basin Water-Resources Primer Understanding Our Water and Our Verde River Basin 2015 Verde River Basin Partnership www.vrbp.org 2 2 Intent and Acknowledgements The idea for this Water-Resources Primer stemmed initially from a series of PowerPoint presentations given by retired U.S. Geological Survey geologist Ed Wolfe to Watershed Steward classes at The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension of Yavapai County. The Primer’s intended purpose is to provide well-explained, documented source material for interested citizens, public decision makers, teachers, and presenters of water-resource information that is germane, in particular, to the Verde River Basin. Chapters 1 through 7 and Chapter 9 were written by Ed Wolfe. Jeanmarie Haney, biohydrologist with The Nature Conservancy, wrote Chapter 8. Chapters were reviewed variously by members of the Verde River Basin Partnership Educational Outreach Committee, the Partnership’s Board of Directors, and hydrogeologist colleagues elsewhere in Arizona. Special thanks are owed to Edessa Carr and Bill Meyer. Edessa, a geologist as well as the organizer and leader of the Watershed Stewards Program in Yavapai County, offered many critical suggestions through much of the writing, including suggesting the creation of Chapter 4, A Hydrology Tool Box. Bill Meyer, a retired U.S. Geological Survey groundwater hydrologist, has been both mentor for and collaborator with Ed Wolfe since they became acquainted more than a decade ago. Many thanks are owed to Bill for sharing his hydrologic expertise with Ed and the Partnership. Special thanks to Marianne Davis for editing and posting the individual Primer Chapters 1 through 6 on the Partnership website as they were completed, and especially for her expert help in enhancing the quality of many of the figures. Special thanks, too, to Heather Hermen for the cover design, design of the headers for the individual Chapters, and for successfully and efficiently undertaking the daunting task of turning the collection of Primer chapters into this book under pressure of a tight deadline. This publication has been printed single sided for note taking purposes. 3 3 Table of Contents Page Chapter 1: Introduction .......................................................................... 8 The Richness of the Verde River ............................................................. 10 Sources of Verde River Streamflow .......................................................... 11 Is Year-Round Flow of the Verde River at Risk? ............................................ 11 Can We Sustain Our Treasured Verde River? ............................................... 12 Chapter 2: The Global Water Cycle ........................................................... 13 Chapter 3: Groundwater ........................................................................ 17 Groundwater Recharge ........................................................................ 18 Aquifers and the Water Table ................................................................ 20 Groundwater Movement ....................................................................... 22 Chapter 4: A Hydrology Tool Box ............................................................. 31 Water-Table Maps ............................................................................... 32 Characterizing Confined Aquifers, Potentiometric Surfaces, and Artesian Wells .... 35 Applications of Geologic Observations and Wells for Monitoring and Evaluating Groundwater Resources ........................................................................ 36 Geologic Properties of Aquifer Rocks and Sedimentary Deposits ..................... 36 Measurement of Hydraulic Heads within Aquifers ...................................... 37 Historic Records of Water-Level Change ................................................. 37 Aquifer Tests .................................................................................. 38 Groundwater Chemistry ..................................................................... 38 Streamflow Measurements .................................................................... 39 Streamgage Measurements ................................................................. 40 Seepage Runs.................................................................................. 40 Geophysical Tools ............................................................................... 41 Seismology ..................................................................................... 41 Regional Gravity and Magnetic Surveys ................................................... 43 Precise Gravity Measurements for Storage-Change Analysis .......................... 44 Numerical Groundwater Models .............................................................. 44 Chapter 5: Regional Hydrogeologic Framework in the Upper and Middle Verde River Watersheds ........................................................................................ 46 Geologic Setting ................................................................................. 47 4 4 Regional Hydrologic Setting ................................................................... 49 Alluvial Basins ................................................................................... 50 General Relation: Geology and Groundwater in the Upper and Middle Verde River Watersheds ....................................................................................... 54 Chapter 6: Occurrence and Flow of Groundwater and Surface Water in the Upper and Middle Verde River Watersheds .......................................................... 56 What is a watershed? ........................................................................... 57 The Upper and Middle Verde River Watersheds and Their Administrative Groundwater Sub-basins ........................................................................................ 60 Prescott Active Management Area ......................................................... 61 Verde River Groundwater and Surface-Water Systems ................................. 61 Groundwater Flow ......................................................................... 61 Base Flow along the Verde River ........................................................ 64 Annual Streamflow, Base Flow, and Runoff along the Verde River ................ 64 Seasonality of Base Flow along the Verde River ...................................... 65 Irrigation Diversions ....................................................................... 67 Chapter 7: Pumping and Its Effect on Groundwater and Streamflow In the Upper and Middle Verde River Watersheds ............................................................... 74 Streamflow Depletion: A Consequence of Groundwater Pumping ...................... 75 Streamflow Depletion in Action: Del Rio Springs, Little Chino Wash, Sullivan Lake, and the Uppermost Verde River .............................................................. 78 Streamflow Depletion: Looking Ahead in the Verde Valley .............................. 84 Potential Effects of Groundwater Pumping or Artificial Recharge on Streamflow and Groundwater-Dependent Vegetation in the Verde Valley ........................ 84 Human Effect on Base Flow in the Verde Valley)........................................ 95 Change in Base Flow—1910 Through 2005 ................................................ 96 Forward-Looking Simulations - 2006 Through 2109 ..................................... 98 Human Effect on Depth to Groundwater in the Verde Valley .......................... 100 Conclusions and Inferences .................................................................. 100 Chapter 8. The Verde River Ecosystem – Riparian and Aquatic Habitat ............ 103 Native Fish in Arizona ......................................................................... 108 Verde River Plants and Animals.............................................................. 109 Verde River Water Needs ..................................................................... 111 Riparian Trees and Groundwater ......................................................... 112 5 5 Wetland Plants and Groundwater ........................................................ 115 Native Wildlife .............................................................................. 115 Fish ............................................................................................ 116 Finding Balance ................................................................................ 117 Chapter 9: Perennial Flow of the Verde River: Is It At Risk? .......................... 119 Potential Future Groundwater Demand in the Upper and Middle Verde Watersheds .. 120 Potential New Water Demand in the Little Chino Sub-basin ........................ 120 Potential New Water Demand in the Big Chino Sub-Basin ........................... 121 Potential New Water Demand in the Verde Valley Sub-basin ....................... 123 Summary of Potential Water Demands In the Upper and Middle Verde River Watersheds .................................................................................. 123 The Role of Pumping From Wells in Meeting Water Demand in the Upper and Middle Verde River Watersheds
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