Compilation of Geologic, Hydrologic, and Ground-Water Flow Modeling Information for the Spokane Valley—Rathdrum Prairie Aquife
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Prepared in cooperation with the Idaho Department of Water Resources and the Washington Department of Ecology Compilation of Geologic, Hydrologic, and Ground-Water Flow Modeling Information for the Spokane Valley—Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer, Spokane County, Washington, and Bonner and Kootenai Counties, Idaho 117 O 30' 116 O 45' R.42E. R.43E. R.44E. R.45E. R.46E. R.6W. R.5W. R.4W. R.3W. R.2W. R.1W. R.1E. R.2E. T.33N. Pend Priest Sandpoint T.57N. T.32N. P E N D Oreille River Newport B O N N E R River T.56N. T.31N. O R E I L LE Oreille Pend C O T.55N. T.30N. R.40E. C O Lake R.41E. T.29N. T.54N. 48O Athol Bayview River T.53N. T.28N. S T E V E N S C O IDAHO WASHINGTON Spokane T.52N. T.27N. C O K O O T E N A I Little Hayden Hayden C O T.51N. O Post 47 45' Lake S P O K A N E C O T.26N. Falls River Coeur Spokane d'Alene T.50N. T.25N. S H O N E Spokane Coeur T.49N. T.24N. d'Alene Lake T.48N. Scientific Investigations Report 2005–5227 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Cover: Photograph of the Spokane River and the Washington Water Power bridge looking downstream (to the northwest) from the Post Falls Dam in Post Falls, Idaho. (Photograph taken by Sue Kahle, U.S. Geological Survey, November 9, 2005.) Compilation of Geologic, Hydrologic, and Ground-Water Flow Modeling Information for the Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer, Spokane County, Washington, and Bonner and Kootenai Counties, Idaho By Sue C. Kahle, Rodney R. Caldwell, and James R. Bartolino Prepared in cooperation with the Idaho Department of Water Resources and the Washington Department of Ecology Scientific Investigations Report 2005-5227 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior Gale A. Norton, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey P. Patrick Leahy, Acting Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2005 For sale by U.S. Geological Survey, Information Services Box 25286, Denver Federal Center Denver, CO 80225 For more information about the USGS and its products: Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov/ Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report. Suggested citation: Kahle, S.C., Caldwell, R.R., and Bartolino, J.R., 2005, Compilation of geologic, hydrologic, and ground-water flow modeling information for the Spokane Valley—Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer, Spokane County, Washington, and Bonner and Kootenai Counties, Idaho: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2005-5227, 64 p. iii Contents Abstract ……………………………………………………………………………………… 1 Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………… 2 Purpose and Scope ……………………………………………………………………… 4 Description of Study Area ……………………………………………………………… 4 Acknowledgments ……………………………………………………………………… 7 Previous Investigations ……………………………………………………………………… 7 Geologic Information ………………………………………………………………………… 8 Pre-Tertiary Geology …………………………………………………………………… 8 Tertiary Geology ………………………………………………………………………… 8 Quaternary Geology ……………………………………………………………………… 10 Geologic Units …………………………………………………………………………… 12 Bedrock ………………………………………………………………………………… 13 Surface Geophysics ………………………………………………………………… 13 Seismic Refraction …………………………………………………………… 14 Seismic Reflection …………………………………………………………… 15 Gravity ………………………………………………………………………… 15 Microgravity ………………………………………………………………… 16 Hydrologic Information ……………………………………………………………………… 17 Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer ……………………………………………… 17 Areal Extent ………………………………………………………………………… 17 Aquifer Thickness ………………………………………………………………… 19 Hydraulic Properties ……………………………………………………………… 19 Ground-Water Occurrence and Movement ………………………………………… 20 Ground-Water Levels ……………………………………………………………… 21 Lake Levels ………………………………………………………………………… 21 Aquifer Boundaries ………………………………………………………………… 22 Water-Budget Components ……………………………………………………………… 23 Recharge and Underflow—How Ground Water Enters the Aquifer ……………… 23 Valley Floor …………………………………………………………………… 24 Precipitation …………………………………………………………… 24 Applied Irrigation Water and Canal Seepage …………………………… 24 Septic-System Effluent ………………………………………………… 24 Inflow from Tributary Basins, Adjacent Uplands, and Subsurface …………… 24 Spokane River ………………………………………………………………… 24 Discharge—How Ground Water Leaves the Aquifer ……………………………… 35 Withdrawals From Wells ……………………………………………………… 35 Spokane River ………………………………………………………………… 35 Little Spokane River …………………………………………………………… 35 Evapotranspiration …………………………………………………………… 35 Underflow to Long Lake ……………………………………………………… 35 iv Ground-Water/Surface-Water Interactions …………………………………………… 39 Conceptual Model of Ground-Water/Surface-Water Interactions ………………… 39 Spokane River ……………………………………………………………………… 39 Previous Investigations of SVRP Aquifer and Spokane River Interactions ………… 40 Previous Ground-Water Flow Modeling ……………………………………………………… 45 Bolke and Vaccaro (1981) ……………………………………………………………… 45 Model Boundaries ………………………………………………………………… 45 Aquifer Properties ………………………………………………………………… 45 Ground-Water/Surface-Water Interaction ………………………………………… 45 Ground-Water Withdrawal ………………………………………………………… 45 Precipitation ……………………………………………………………………… 46 Evapotranspiration ………………………………………………………………… 46 Model Calibration…………………………………………………………………… 46 CH2M HILL (1998) ………………………………………………………………………… 46 Model Boundaries ………………………………………………………………… 46 Aquifer Properties ………………………………………………………………… 47 Ground-Water/Surface-Water Interaction ………………………………………… 47 Ground-Water Withdrawal ………………………………………………………… 47 Precipitation ……………………………………………………………………… 47 Irrigation …………………………………………………………………………… 47 Septic Systems …………………………………………………………………… 48 Model Calibration…………………………………………………………………… 48 Buchanan (2000) ………………………………………………………………………… 48 Model Boundaries ………………………………………………………………… 48 Aquifer Properties ………………………………………………………………… 48 Ground-Water/Surface-Water Interaction ………………………………………… 48 Ground-Water Withdrawal ………………………………………………………… 48 Recharge ………………………………………………………………………… 49 Model Calibration…………………………………………………………………… 49 Golder Associates, Inc. (2004) …………………………………………………………… 49 Model Boundaries ………………………………………………………………… 49 Overland Flow ……………………………………………………………………… 49 Unsaturated Flow …………………………………………………………………… 49 Saturated Flow ……………………………………………………………………… 49 Channel Flow ……………………………………………………………………… 50 Ground-Water Withdrawal ………………………………………………………… 50 Meteorological Data ……………………………………………………………… 50 Evapotranspiration ………………………………………………………………… 50 Irrigation …………………………………………………………………………… 50 Model Calibration…………………………………………………………………… 50 Data Needs …………………………………………………………………………………… 51 Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………… 51 Selected References ………………………………………………………………………… 52 v Plates [In pocket] Plate 1. Map showing areal distribution of ground-water and surface-water measurement sites, Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie aquifer, Washington and Idaho, 2005 Plate 2. Map showing simplified surficial geology, generalized hydrogeologic sections, and surface geophysical transects, Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie aquifer, Washington and Idaho Figures Figure 1. Map showing location of the Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie aquifer, Spokane County, Washington, and Bonner and Kootenai Counties, Idaho ………………… 3 Figure 2. Map showing generalized land cover or land use in the Spokane Valley– Rathdrum Prairie area, Washington and Idaho …………………………………… 5 Figure 3. Map showing average annual precipitation based on 30 years of record, 1961–90, in the Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie area, Washington and Idaho … 6 Figure 4. Map showing extent of glacial ice and glacial lakes in northern Washington, Idaho, and parts of Montana ……………………………………………………… 11 Figure 5. Map showing boundary of the Sole Source Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie aquifer, other study area extents, and generalized directions of ground-water flow, Washington and Idaho ……………………………………………………… 18 Figure 6. Map showing locations of long-term and project-related lake-stage measurement sites, Washington and Idaho ……………………………………… 22 Figure 7. Map showing water-table altitude and monitoring wells in part of the Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie aquifer between Post Falls, Idaho, and Spokane, Washington ……………………………………………………………………… 41 Figure 8. Map showing location of gaging stations, streamflow measurement sites in September 2004, and reach characteristics in the Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie, Washington and Idaho …………………………………………………… 43 vi Tables Table 1. Geologic timescale with simplified geologic units of the study area ……………… 9 Table 2. List of surficial geologic mapping available in the Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie area, Spokane County, Washington, and Bonner and Kootenai Counties, Idaho ……………………………………………………………………………… 12 Table 3. Summary statistics for 1,190 wells completed in the Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie aquifer and surrounding basin-fill aquifers ……………………………… 19 Table 4. Summary of historical or project-related lake stage data collection sites for lakes along the margins of the Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie aquifer, Washington and Idaho …………………………………………………………… 21 Table 5. Published water budgets for the Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie aquifer ……… 23 Table 6. Estimates of total recharge, land-surface recharge, and evapotranspiration for the Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie aquifer ………………………………………… 25 Table 7. Estimates of seepage from lakes into the Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie