Geology topics

Dennis A. Clark

Publications and source records attributed to Dennis A. Clark.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2023

Groundwater chemistry and hexavalent chromium

Water samples collected by the U.S. Geological Survey from more than 100 wells between March 2015 and November 2017 in Hinkley and Water Valleys, in the Mojave Desert 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California, were analyzed for field parameters, major ions, nutrients, and selected trace elements, including hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI). Water from most wells was alkaline and oxic. The pH ranged from 6.9 in water-table wells near recharge areas along the Mojave River to 9.4 in deeper wells farther downgradient in the northern subarea. Hexavalent chromium concentrations measured by ion chromatography using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Method 218.6 and a version of that method used for detection of Cr(VI) concentrations as low as 0.06 micrograms per liter (μg/L), produced results comparable to field speciation with subsequent analyses by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy (coefficient of determination, R 2 , of 0.97). Hexavalent chromium concentrations ranged from less than the study reporting level of 0.10 to 2,500 μg/L. The highest concentrations were within the October–December 2015 (Q4 2015) regulatory Cr(VI) plume downgradient from the Hinkley compressor station. Hexavalent chromium concentrations outside the Q4 2015 regulatory Cr(VI) plume were as high as 11 μg/L. Hexavalent chromium concentrations in water from most wells were distributed in a narrow redox potential and pH band within the overlapping chromate ion, CrO 4 2− (aqueous) , and manganese-3, Mn(III) (solid) , stability fields. The redox potential of water from some wells completed in carbonate-rich mudflat/playa deposits approached the more oxic manganese-4, Mn(IV) (solid) , stability field. However, Cr(VI) concentrations in porewater pressure-extracted from Mn(IV)-containing deposits in the eastern subarea did not exceed 3.3 μg/L, and porewater does not appear to be a source of Cr(VI) concentrations greater than this concentration in water from wells in the eastern subarea. On the basis of comparison with California-wide data, Cr(VI) concentrations at the measured pH were higher than expected for uncontaminated water from wells (1) within the Q4 2015 regulatory Cr(VI) plume, (2) within the eastern subarea nominally crossgradient from the Hinkley compressor station and upgradient from the Q4 2015 regulatory Cr(VI) plume, and (3) from shallow wells in the northern subarea downgradient from the leading edge of the Q4 2015 regulatory Cr(VI) plume. Hexavalent chromium concentrations in alkaline water from wells in the northern subarea of Hinkley Valley and in Water Valley were within ranges expected for uncontaminated water elsewhere in California given their pH and trace-element composition. Hexavalent chromium concentrations were higher than expected on the basis of selected trace-element concentrations that co-occur with Cr(VI) in water from wells within the Q4 2015 regulatory Cr(VI) plume and from wells in the eastern and northern subareas near the plume margins. Hexavalent chromium concentrations did not exceed 4 μg/L in water from domestic wells sampled in Hinkley and Water Valleys and were generally within ranges expected for uncontaminated groundwater given their pH and trace-element composition. Interpretations derived from Cr(VI) and pH, and from Cr(VI) and selected trace-element concentrations collected between March 2015 and November 2017 were used within a summative-scale analysis to determine the Cr(VI) plume extent (chapter G). However, Cr(VI) background concentrations (chapter G) were calculated from regulatory data collected from selected wells between April 2017 and January 2018.

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USGS2023

Predevelopment water levels, groundwater recharge, and selected hydrologic properties of aquifer materials, Hinkley and Water Valleys, California

Hydrologic and geophysical data were collected to support updates to an existing groundwater-flow model of Hinkley Valley, California, in the Mojave Desert about 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. These data provide information on predevelopment (pre-1930) water levels, groundwater recharge, and selected hydrologic properties of aquifer materials. A predevelopment groundwater-level map, drawn using water-level measurements from 48 wells collected as early as 1918, showed groundwater movement from recharge areas along the Mojave River to evaporative discharge areas near the margin of Harper (dry) Lake in Water Valley. During predevelopment conditions, depth to water ranged from near land surface along the Mojave River to above land surface near Harper (dry) Lake, consistent with flowing wells in Water Valley at that time. Depths to water in much of Hinkley Valley downgradient from the Lockhart fault were less than 20 feet below land surface. By 2017, water-level declines as a result of agricultural pumping, were as much as 60 feet near the Hinkley compressor station. Areal recharge from infiltration of precipitation on the valley floor is negligible. Average annual recharge as infiltration of runoff from upland drainages to Hinkley and Water Valleys averages 64.7 acre-feet per year. In most years recharge does not occur; in years when it occurs, recharge to Hinkley Valley is typically about 296 acre-feet. In contrast, average recharge as infiltration of streamflow from the Mojave River from 1931 to 2015 was between 13,400 and 17,100 acre-feet per year; in some years recharge from the Mojave River exceeded 100,000 acre-ft. Estimates of predevelopment groundwater movement through Hinkley Gap and groundwater discharge to Harper (dry) Lake ranged from 570 to 1,900 and 820 to 2,460 acre-feet per year, respectively; at the time of this study in 2017, groundwater movement through Hinkley Gap was estimated to be about 83 acre-feet per year. Hydraulic-conductivity values estimated from slug-test data for 95 monitoring wells ranged from less than 0.1 to 680 feet per day (ft/d); values generally decreased with depth. Median hydraulic-conductivity values calculated from nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data for Mojave River alluvium and near-shore lake deposits were 73 and 11 ft/d, respectively; median hydraulic-conductivity values for locally derived alluvium and weathered bedrock were 6 and 2 ft/d, respectively. Hydraulic-conductivity values, estimated from NMR data for formerly saturated deposits overlying the 2017 water table, were as high as 300 ft/d near the Hinkley compressor station. Downgradient from the Hinkley compressor station, formerly saturated deposits had hydraulic-conductivity values of about 150 ft/d, which were higher than values in saturated material. Coarse-textured, permeable material in formerly saturated deposits above the 2017 water table may have allowed groundwater, released from the Hinkley compressor station that may have contained Cr(VI), to move rapidly downgradient. The Lockhart fault is an impediment to groundwater flow within Hinkley Valley. Groundwater-flow directions from horizontal point-velocity probe data were deflected to the west on the upgradient side of the fault compared to the nominal direction of groundwater flow estimated from water-level data. Younger groundwater was present on the upgradient and downgradient sides of the fault, and older groundwater with unadjusted carbon-14 ages as old as 5,650 years before present was in water from wells within splays of the Lockhart fault, consistent with limited groundwater movement across the fault. As a result, groundwater and Cr(VI) released from the Hinkley compressor station moved to the northwest along the downgradient side of the fault. Coupled well-bore flow and depth-dependent water-quality data show water from wells C-01 and IW-03 within the Q4 2015 (October–December 2015) regulatory Cr(VI) plume was yielded from thin layers within the aquifer that are composed of well-sorted lake-margin (beach) deposits that likely have high lateral and longitudinal connectivity. Collectively, data show highly permeable deposits above the regional water table and thin permeable deposits within saturated portions of the upper aquifer that may have conducted groundwater and Cr(VI) downgradient when releases from the Hinkley compressor station first occurred.

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USGS2016

Regional water table (2014) in the Mojave River and Morongo Groundwater Basins, southwestern Mojave Desert, California

Data for static water-levels measured in about 610 wells during March-April 2014 by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Mojave Water Agency (MWA) , and other local water districts were compiled to construct a regional water-table map . This map shows the elevation of the water table and general direction of groundwater movement in and around the Mojave River and Morongo groundwater basins. Water-level measurements recorded by the USGS and MWA staff were measured and compiled according to the procedures described in the Groundwater Technical Procedures of the U.S. Geological Survey ( Cunningham and Schalk, 2011 ). Water-level data submitted by cooperating local water districts were collected by using procedures established by the corresponding agency, and compiled according to the procedures described in the Groundwater Technical Procedures of the U.S. Geological Survey ( Cunningham and Schalk, 2011 ). All data were compared to historical data for quality-assurance purposes. Water-level contours from the 2012 water-level map ( Teague and others, 2014 ) were used as a guide to interpret and shape the 2014 water-level contours in areas where 2014 water-level data were not available; these contours are shown as dashed (approximate) on the water-table map. In addition to being available on the interactive map , 2014 water-level data and contours are shown for the entire area of the Mojave River and Morongo groundwater basins on Plate 1 . Water-level data for 2014 are accessible through the website by clicking the 2014 Sites button on the Data Downloads page .

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USGS2015

Storage and mobilization of natural and septic nitrate in thick unsaturated zones, California

Mobilization of natural and septic nitrate from the unsaturated zone as a result of managed aquifer recharge has degraded water quality from public-supply wells near Yucca Valley in the western Mojave Desert, California. The effect of nitrate storage and potential for denitrification in the unsaturated zone to mitigate increasing nitrate concentrations were investigated. Storage of water extractable nitrate in unsaturated alluvium up to 160 meters (m) thick, ranged from 420 to 6600 kilograms per hectare (kg/ha) as nitrogen (N) beneath undeveloped sites, from 6100 to 9200 kg/ha as N beneath unsewered sites. Nitrate reducing and denitrifying bacteria were less abundant under undeveloped sites and more abundant under unsewered sites; however, δ 15 N–NO 3 , and δ 18 O–NO 3 data show only about 5–10% denitrification of septic nitrate in most samples—although as much as 40% denitrification occurred in some parts the unsaturated zone and near the top of the water table. Storage of nitrate in thick unsaturated zones and dilution with low-nitrate groundwater are the primary attenuation mechanisms for nitrate from septic discharges in the study area. Numerical simulations of unsaturated flow, using the computer program TOUGH2, showed septic effluent movement through the unsaturated zone increased as the number and density of the septic tanks increased, and decreased with increased layering, and increased slope of layers, within the unsaturated zone. Managing housing density can delay arrival of septic discharges at the water table, especially in layered unsaturated alluvium, allowing time for development of strategies to address future water-quality issues.

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USGS2015

Hydrogeologic data and water-quality data from a thick unsaturated zone at a proposed wastewater-treatment facility site, Yucca Valley, San Bernardino County, California, 2008-11

The Hi-Desert Water District, in the community of Yucca Valley, California, is considering constructing a wastewater-treatment facility and using the reclaimed water to recharge the aquifer system through surface spreading. The Hi-Desert Water District is concerned with possible effects of this recharge on water quality in the underlying groundwater system; therefore, an unsaturated-zone monitoring site was constructed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to characterize the unsaturated zone, monitor a pilot-scale recharge test, and, ultimately, to monitor the flow of reclaimed water to the water table once the treatment facility is constructed. In June and July 2008, a borehole (YVUZ-5) was drilled by the USGS through the unsaturated zone in the vicinity of the proposed wastewater-treatment facility site by using an overburden drilling method. In addition to a variety of unsaturated-zone instrumentation, an observation well screened near the water table was installed in the borehole. The drilling procedures, lithologic and geophysical data, construction details, physical properties of unsaturated alluvial deposits, and instrumentation installed in YVUZ-5 are described in this report. Core material was analyzed for bulk-density, porosity, effective porosity, volumetric water content, residual water content, saturation, effective saturation, matric-potential, and saturated hydraulic conductivity. Concentrations of soluble anions, including bromide, chloride, fluoride, sulfate, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, and orthophosphate, in unsaturated-zone sediment and dissolved in unsaturated-zone water were determined by analyzing water extracted from drill-cutting material. A 0.1-acre pilot-scale infiltration pond was constructed in the vicinity of YVUZ-5. Water was applied to the pond over a period of about 8 months and allowed to infiltrate into the underlying unsaturated zone. Data were collected on chemical and isotopic composition of the groundwater, unsaturated-zone water, and infiltration pond water before, during, and after infiltration of water from the constructed pond. Selected drill cuttings and core samples collected during drilling were analyzed for the presence or absence of denitrifying and nitrate-reducing bacteria. Water levels in the observation well ranged from about 367 to 370 feet below land surface during the period of the study. Measured saturated hydraulic conductivity of core material ranged from 2.1 to 11.0 feet per day. Average vertical infiltration rates in the pilot-scale infiltration pond ranged from 0.7 to 2.4 feet per day. Both denitrifying and nitrate-reducing bacteria were present in drill cutting material in most probable numbers ranging from below detection limits to 2,400,000 for denitrifying and to 93,000 for nitrate-reducing bacteria.

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USGS2012

Groundwater data for selected wells within the Eastern San Joaquin Groundwater Subbasin, California, 2003-8

Data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey from 2003 through 2008 in the Eastern San Joaquin Groundwater Subbasin, 80 miles east of San Francisco, California, as part of a study of the increasing chloride concentrations in groundwater processes. Data collected include geologic, geophysical, chemical, and hydrologic data collected during and after the installation of five multiple-well monitoring sites, from three existing multiple-well sites, and from 79 selected public-supply, irrigation, and domestic wells. Each multiple-well monitoring site installed as part of this study contained three to five 2-inch diameter polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-cased wells ranging in depth from 68 to 880 feet below land surface. Continuous water-level data were collected from the 19 wells installed at these 5 sites and from 10 existing monitoring wells at 3 additional multiple-well sites in the study area. Thirty-one electromagnetic logs were collected seasonally from the deepest PVC-cased monitoring well at seven multiple-well sites. About 200 water samples were collected from 79 wells in the study area. Coupled well-bore flow data and depth-dependent water-quality data were collected from 12 production wells under pumped conditions, and well-bore flow data were collected from 10 additional wells under unpumped conditions.

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USGS2011

Regional water table (2010) in the Mojave River and Morongo Groundwater basins, southwestern Mojave Desert, California

Since 1992, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Mojave Water Agency (MWA), has constructed a series of regional water-table maps for intermittent years in a continuing effort to monitor groundwater conditions in the Mojave River and Morongo groundwater basins. The previously published data, which were used to construct these maps, can be accessed on the interactive map. The associated reports describing the groundwater conditions for the Mojave River groundwater basin for 1992 (Stamos and Predmore, 1995), the Morongo groundwater basin for 1994 (Trayler and Koczot, 1995), and for both groundwater basins for 1996 (Mendez and Christensen, 1997); for 1998 (Smith and Pimentel, 2000), for 2000 (Smith, 2002), for 2002 (Smith and others, 2004), for 2004 (Stamos and others, 2004), for 2006 (Stamos and others, 2007), and for 2008 (Stamos and others, 2009) can be accessed using this web site. Mapping of water-level contours and water-level change were combined in an interactive map. This interactive map may be customized to your needs and viewed at a scale that is appropriate for the data.

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USGS2009

Data from a Thick Unsaturated Zone Underlying Two Artificial Recharge Sites along Oro Grande Wash in the Western Part of the Mojave Desert, near Victorville, San Bernardino County, California, 2001-2006

This report presents data on the physical and hydraulic properties of unsaturated alluvial deposits and on the chemical and isotopic composition of water collected at two recharge sites in the western part of the Mojave Desert, near Victorville, California, from 2001 to 2006. Unsaturated-zone monitoring sites were installed adjacent to the two recharge ponds using the ODEX air-hammer and air rotary method to depths of about 460 feet and 269 feet below land surface. Each of the two unsaturated-zone monitoring sites included a water-table well, matric-potential sensors, and suction-cup lysimeters installed in a single bore hole. Drilling procedures, lithologic and geophysical data, and site construction and instrumentation are described. Core material was analyzed for water content, bulk density, water potential, particle size, and water retention. The chemical composition of leachate from almost 400 samples of cores and cuttings was determined. Water from suction-cup lysimeters also was analyzed for chemical and isotopic composition. In addition, data on the chemical and isotopic composition of groundwater from the two water-table wells are reported along with chemical and isotopic composition of the surface water in the recharge ponds.

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USGS2007

Anza-Terwilliger hydrogeologic structures in Riverside County, California

This digital geospatial dataset documents the fault traces in the Anza and Terwilliger area of southwest Riverside County, California, that were modified from Moyle (1971) by Woolfenden and Bright (1988, figure 8). The fault information is used to help assess ground-water level changes in the area of Anza and Terwilliger between 2004 and 2005.

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USGS2004

Regional water table (2004) and water-level changes in the Mojave River and Morongo ground-water basins, Southwestern Mojave Desert, California

The Mojave River and Morongo ground-water basins are in the southwestern part of the Mojave Desert in southern California. Ground water from these basins supplies a major part of the water requirements for the region. The continuous population growth in this area has resulted in ever-increasing demands on local ground-water resources. The collection and interpretation of ground-water data helps local water districts, military bases, and private citizens gain a better understanding of the ground-water flow systems, and consequently, water availability. During March and April 2004, the U.S. Geological Survey and other agencies made almost 900 water-level measurements in about 740 wells in the Mojave River and Morongo ground-water basins. These data document recent conditions and, when compared with historical data, changes in ground-water levels. A water-level contour map was drawn using data from 500 wells, providing coverage for most of the basins. In addition, 26 long-term (as much as 74 years) hydrographs were constructed which show water-level conditions throughout the basins, 9 short-term (1992 to 2004) hydrographs were constructed which show the effects of recharge and discharge along the Mojave River, and a water-level-change map was compiled to compare 2002 and 2004 water levels throughout the basins. The water-level change data show that in the Mojave River ground-water basin, more than one half (102) of the wells had water-level declines of 0.5 ft or more and almost one fifth (32) of the wells had declines greater than 5 ft. between 2002 and 2004. The water-level change data also show that about one tenth (17) of the wells compared in the Mojave River ground-water basin had water level increases of 0.5 ft or more. Most of the water-level increases were the result of stormflow in the Mojave River during March 2004, which resulted in recharge to wells in the floodplain aquifer mainly along the river in the Alto subarea and the Transition zone, and along the river east of Barstow. In the Morongo ground-water basin, nearly one half (55) of the wells had water-level declines of 0.5 ft or more, and about one tenth (13) of the wells had declines greater than 5 ft. The Warren subbasin, where artificial-recharge operations in Yucca Valley (pl. 1) have caused water levels to rise, had water-level increases of as much as about 97 ft since 2002.

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USGS2000

Data from a thick unsaturated zone underlying Oro Grande and Sheep Creek washes in the western part of the Mojave Desert, near Victorville, San Bernardino County, California

This report presents data on the physical properties of unsaturated alluvial deposits and on the chemical and isotopic composition of soil water and soil gas collected at 12 monitoring sites in the western part of the Mojave Desert, near Victorville, California. Sites were installed using the ODEX air-hammer method. Seven sites were located in the active channels of Oro Grande and Sheep Creek Washes. The remaining five sites were located away from the active washes. Most sites were drilled to a depth of about 100 feet below land surface; two sites were drilled to the water table almost 650 feet below land surface. Drilling procedures, lithologic and geophysical data, and site construction and instrumentation are described. Core material was analyzed for water content, bulk density, water potential, particle size, and water retention. The chemical composition of leachate from almost 1,000 subsamples of cores and cuttings was determined. Water extracted from selected subsamples of cores was analyzed for tritium and the stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen. Water from suction-cup lysimeters and soil-gas samples also were analyzed for chemical and isotopic composition. In addition, data on the chemical and isotopic composition of bulk precipitation from five sites and on ground water from two water-table wells are reported.

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