WATER INFORMATlON BULLETIN NO. I6 A RECONNAISSANCE OF THE WATER RESOURCES IN THE PORTNEUF RIVER BASTN, IDAHO by R.F. Norvitch and A.L. Lawn United States GeologicaI Survey Prepared by the United States Geological Survey in Cooperation with Idaho Department of Reclamation Published by Idaho Department of Reclamation R. Keith Higinson State Reclamation Engineer CONTENTS Page Abstract .................................................... 1 Introduction ................................................2 Purpose and scope ..........................................2 Previous studies ........................................... 7 Acknowledg~nenlts .........................................-4 Numbering systcrn .......................................... 4 Use ot' metric units ..........................................4 Physiography ................................................h Topography and landforms ...................................h Drainage ..................................................7 Uppervalley .............................................7 Lower valley .............................................8 Climate ...................................................8 Gcologic units and their water- bearing characteristics ................11 Wa tcr resources .............................................1 6 Sources ..................................................16 Groundwater ............................................. IS Water-level fluctuations .................................. 19 Well and aquifer charactcrjstics .............................23 Springs ................................................24 Surface water .............................................31 Floods ..................................................39 Quality or water .............................................40 Useofwafer ................................................45 Ground-water irrigation ....................................45 AboveTopaz ...........................................45 BelowTopaz ...........................................47 Surface- water irrigation ....................................47 Municipal and industrial scrpplies .............................. 48 CONTENTS.. continued Page Interrelation of surface and ground water and the effects of pumping wells .........................................50 Recommendations for future studies ............................-51 Waterbudget .............................................51 Water- table [napping .......................................52 Hydrology of aquifers .....................................-53 Irrigation system ..........................................53 Geologic mapping and deep test drilling .........................54 Special problems ..........................................54 Summary ..................................................54 References cited .............................................56 ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1 . Indcx and topographic nap of Portneuf River basin ........... In pocket 2 . Diagram showing the well- numbering system .......................5 3 . Distribution of precipitation on the Portneuf Kiver basin .............. 9 4 . Graph sl~owingaverage monthly ten~perat~ircand precipitation at McCammon . Grace. and Pocatcllo ...........................13 5 . Map showing the gc:cncralizcd gcology of the Portneuf River basin .............................................. -14 6 . Geohydrologic sections of Marsh C'r eek valley and Portneuf Valley ........................................... 15 7 . Map showing con tours on t l~cwatcr fahlc in fall I '468 and locations of wclls and springs .................................I7 8 . Hydrographs of observation wells .............. ; ................-22 9 . Map of the stream drainage systtln~. location of measuring sites, and selected stream ..discharge data ........................32 Figure I'agr 10. Graphs showing annual monthly mtan discliarges at selected gaging stations ..................................... -53 I 1. Graph showing flow duratiotl cutves for selected gaging stations ...........................................-34 17. Graph showing flow-duration curve of daily flow, Portneuf River at Topaz, during irrigation season (May 1-Sept. 30) .........-36 13. Graph showing Eow-flow frequency curves. Portneuf River at Topaz, during irrigation season (May l -Sept. 30) ............... .37 14. Graph showing high -flow frequency curves, Portneuf River at Topaz, during irrigation season (May I-Sept. 30) ...............-38 15. Graph showing the magnitude and frequency of floods on the Partneuf River at Topaz .................................... .41 I. Map showing khemica1 characteristics of water from selected wells, springs, and streams, and the location of sample collection sites ........................................... .42 17. Diagram for the classification of irrigation waters ...................44 18. Map of Portneuf River basin showing generalized extent of irrigated lands ............................................ .46 TABLES Table 1. Description and wa ter-bearing cllaracteristics of geologic units .........12 2. Characteristics of flowing wells in the vicinity of Arimo ..............20 3. Chemical analyses of water .................................... .21 4. Records of weILs ............................................ .25 5. Selected data on n~unicipalwater supplies .....................: ...49 A RECONNAISSANCE OF THE WATER RESOURCES 1N THE PORTNEUF RIVER BASIW. IDAHO ABSTRACT The part ol' ttlc Portneuf River basin dcscsibed includes an area sf al~ntlt1 .I60 stluitrc il~ilesin soutlicastern Idaho. It lies on the CoIumh~aRiver sidu of t11c divide betwrtn the Columbia River hasin and the Great Basif1 drainages. Thc ;lveraso nnuual water supply of tlne basin is estitniited to he sligIltly more than 1.2 million acre fcrt, Precipitation otl the basin contributes about 1.2 million acre-feet, importation [sf wattr from tfae ~rijacentBear River basin contributes about 0.0 14 nlillion ;rcre- feet and 311 unknown amount is contributed by underflow from the Bear River hasin. Tllc major ;~i]uifersin tIlc basin are the Salt Lake Formation of Tertiary age and the ;~ll~wizhi~~and basalt of Quaternary age. Recent geophysical work suggests that the cenlral part of Gem and Portneuf Vallcys, on the eastern side of ttie basin, is a structrlral trough (graben) that Iliay cor~tairras much as 8.000 feet of sediments. These srdiinentary deposits tnay contain a trcn~cndousvolurnc. ot'ground water in storage. Tlie nulor use of' watcr is Ibr irrigation. About 13.500 acres are irrigated with grut~nd . water. Gross pumpage is about 30,000 acre-feqt per irrigation season and the average consumptive irrigation retluircrnunt is about 1.1 acre-feet per acre. Thus, annual net putnpage for irrigation a ahout 14.800 acre- feet. There is no evidence to date that the atllrifers are hcing over- developed hy 13u1nping. Ko~~ghly91,300 acre'- Feet of xurhuc water is distributed snnl~allyto irrigate about 20.000 acres of land. An apparcnr loss in streamflow t'rom Portneuf River and Marsh Creek ol' about 87 cubic fcet per second (63.000 acre. feet per year) occurs somewhere betwctn the gaging at;llions ;it Topaz and McCarnnion and the gaging station at Pvcatello which is otll nf Illc urca 01' study. ProbahIy the I'ortncuf River is perched above thrt water table, 31 least in Zhc reach from Inkom to the Portncul- Gap and sollie distanct: bcyvnil. thus faciIitt~tingth~s Iuss. Major ]terns {jn whIc3.1 t~~tul-cwork should focus r'nr a more cniiipreliznsivc wrltcr -resources cvdli~ation01' thc basil1 arc. (1) wi~terhi~dp~t, (2) hydrologic rnappillg, (3) hydrology of ;~cluifcrs,(41 irrig;!tion sysicrn, (5)geologic mapping. ailtl ((3) special prohlenis. INTRODUCTION This report presents the res~~ltsof a reconnaissance of the water resources in tlae part of the Portneuf River basin that lies upstream from the Portneuf Gap. The area of study includes about 1 ,160 square miles. and. cxccpt for a srrralt area in Gem Valley, is bounded by surface-drainage divides in the surro~rnding highlands, figure 1. Because both the surface- and ground-water divides across Gem Valley are somewhat nebulous, the boundary in the valley was drawn on the hydrologic-areas boundary adopted by the Idaho Department of Reclamation. T11c southeastern boundary of the area lies along the dividz between the Columbia River basin and Ihe Great Basin. The area. as described above. will subsequently be referred to in this report as "tile Portneuf River basin" or "the basin". Purpose and Scope This hydrologic reconnaissance of the Portneuf River basin was made by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Idatla Department of Reclamation. It is part of an overall program to evaluate the water resources in the State so that an orderly optimum development of those resources can be attained. The primary purpose of this report is to present and discuss the hydroIogic data collected during this reconnaissance. In addition. hydrologic: problems that have resulted from use of the water resources are pointed out, and the scope required of some future project aimed at describing more fully the water resources of the basin is presented. The work accomplished during this reconnaissance, made in the period July 1968 to June 1969, consisted of (1) a partiaT it~vcntoryof water wells in the basin; (2) establishment of new stream-gaging sites and ground-water observation wells: (3) geoIogic and hydroIogic mapping; (4) mapping of areas irrigated with ground water; (5) an evaluation of the