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S. W. West

Publications and source records attributed to S. W. West.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1975

Summary appraisals of the nation's ground-water resources – Rio Grande region

The Rio Grande is an interstate and international stream which begins in high mountains of Colorado, flows across New Mexico, and forms the boundary between Texas and Mexico. Precipitation ranges from 8 inches (20 em) to more than 30 inches (76 em), but irrigation is required for growing crops throughout the region. The population of the region has been increasing rapidly, from 750,000 in 1929 to 1,700,000 in 1970, and it is expected to increase to 2,500,000 by 2020. The basic economy of the region was agricultural until recent years. Since 1950, the mining and petroleum industries have increased much more rapidly than agriculture. Annual precipitation on the region is about 86 million acre-feet (110,000 hm 3 ); however, all but 4 million acre-feet (4,900 hm 3 ) is returned to the atmosphere by evapotranspiration. The ground-water reservoirs contain an aggregate of 5,800 million acre-feet (7,200,000 hm 3 ) of fresh and slightly saline water in storage, which could be withdrawn through wells. In contrast, the surface reservoirs have a combined storage capacity of only 18 million acre-feet (22,000 hm 3 ). Thick deposits of valley fill in stream and intermontane valleys comprise the principal ground-water reservoirs. In most areas they are capable of yielding large supplies of water to wells. In some areas, limestone constitutes major aquifers. Withdrawal of ground water in the region in 1970 was 2.7 million acre-feet (3,300 hm 3 ), of which 88 percent was used for irrigation. About 53 percent of the water withdrawn was consumed. Ground water has been "mined" in some areas, and severe declines in water levels have resulted. The loss of water by evapotranspiration in wetlands and phreatophyte areas is 2.5 million acre-feet (3,100 hm 3 ) per year. In comparison, about 3. 7 million acre-feet (4,600 hm 3 ) per year of surface water and ground water is consumed by man's activities. Salvage of water lost to noneconomic evapotranspiration in wet and phreatophyte-infested areas offers the greatest possibility of improving the effective water supply in the region. Salvage of half the water lost would increase the effective supply by 1.2 million acre-feet (1,500 hm 3 ) per year. The usable water supply could be increased tremendously by drawing on the large reserve of ground water in storage, but this withdrawal could affect the flow of streams in some areas. The region appears to offer several possibilities for utilizing underground space for purposes other than the withdrawal of water, such as waste disposal, artificial recharge, water-quality control, and development of geothermal energy. Planners for ground-water management should have detailed information on the physical parameters that affect ground water, so improved management would be possible.

Colorado, New Mexico, Texas↗
USGS1957

Feasibility of ground-water features of the alternate plan for the Mountain Home project, Idaho

An early plan of the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation proposed to irrigate 183,000 acres on the arid Snake River Plain south of Boise, Idaho (Mountain Home project) with Boise River water. That water would have been replaced to the Boise Valley with water imported from the Payette River. An alternate plan, proposed in 1953, would divert water from the Boise River to the plain; part of the water would be replaced by pumping ground water in the Boise valley and by importing water from the Snake River. Pumping of ground water in the Boise Valley also would help to drain waterlogged land. The present report evaluates the feasibility of the alternate plan in relation to geology and the occurrence and quality of ground water. The mean annual temperature at Boise is 50.8 ? F and there is an average of 172 days between killing frosts. The annual evaporation rate from open-water surfaces in the area is about 33 inches. Runoff in the Boise River is chiefly from precipitation on mountain slopes at altitudes above 3,000 feet, east of Boise Diversion Dam. The surface-water supply of the Boise Valley is more Than ample for the valley, owing to large upstream storage and regulatory dams and reservoirs. The valley also contains a large volume of ground water in storage, and the perennial rate of recharge is large. The computed consumptive depletion of surface water in the valley is nearly 600,000 acre-feet a year. Apparent depletion, computed from adjusted runoff at Notus, is 1,070,000 acre-feet. The difference of 470,000 acre-feet represents ground-water underflow and ungaged surface outflow from the area east of Notus. After the beginning of irrigation, around the turn of the century, the water table in the Boise Valley rose steadily; the amount of rise at some places was as much as 140 feet. Shallow perched zones of saturation were created locally. More than 100,000 acres of Boise Valley land now is waterlogged or threatened with waterlogging, despite the presence of more than 325 miles of surface drains. Successful operation of the alternate plan would depend, not only on providing adequate water to replace that exported from the Boise Valley, but also on satisfactory drainage of waterlogged land. That is, water management in the valley would have to couple economical pumping of irrigation water with effective drainage by pumping. The average of recorded yearly diversions from the Boise River is 1,280,000 acre-feet of live water (natural flow in a stream) and 201,000 acre-feet cf recycled water. Gross diversions of record in some recent single years of ample water supply reportedly exceeded 1,800,000 acre-feet. Ground water, on the other hand is used on a relatively small scale, yearly pumpage being only about 150,000 acre-feet. The feasibility of exporting 600,000 acre-feet of Boise River water would depend on the availability of replacement water in the Boise Valley and on the availability of the required surface water in the South Fork of the Boise River at the proposed point of diversion to the Mountain Home project. In 6 of the 20 years, 1931-50, recorded diversions of live and return water from th2 Boise River exceeded the live flow at the Boise Diversion Dam by 3,865 to 107,640 acre-feet. Moreover, although the average residual discharge in the river post Notus was 701,000 acre-feet, in most years some river reaches above Notus were dry at times, owing to diversion of all water from the river. Much of the flow past Notus is surface waste and effluent ground water, which averages about 422,000 acre-feet a year. The total of potential yearly ground water recharge in the Boise Valley, derived from precipitation, incoming underflow, and infiltration of irrigation water, is about 554,000 acre-feet in the feasible exchange-pumping area and areas tributary thereto. Identified and estimated consumptive depletion of ground water in the valley is about 230,000 acre-feet a year, but not all that depletion is within the exchange are

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS1955

Feasibility of ground-water features of the alternate plan for the Mountain Home Project, Idaho: abstract and summary

On the arid Mountain Home Plateau of Idaho more than 400,000 acres of arable land is largely unused except for grazing. The Boise Valley, adjoining on the north, was reclaimed from similar land and irrigated with Boise River water. The productivity of about 100,000 acres of the valley land is lowered or threatened, however, by an ever-rising water table, caused to rise by infiltration of excess irrigation water. Surface drains alleviate the drainage problem but areas of water-logging, alkaline land, and inferior vegetation continue to spread.

Idaho↗
USGS1955

Ground-water and drainage problems in the Whitney terrace area, Boise, Idaho

Ground-water levels in the Whitney terrace area, after many years of rise owing to downward percolation of water from irrigated land, became nearly stabilized by 1935. Strong seasonal water-level fluctuations of 8 to 10 feet, however, are common in the Boise Valley. In recent years, the Whitney terrace has been changing rapidly from a farming to an urban community. The 3,200-acre area now has about 15,000 inhabitants and the land area is about 35-percent occupied by urban developments. Population trends indicate that urban expansion will continue. Coincident with the change from rural to urban conditions on the Whitney terrace, the patterns of water use were drastically altered. The amount of irrigated land has decreased but the amount of ground-water recharge from irrigation and yard water may have increased. Liquid sewage effluent disposed in the ground also has increased the yearly volume of recharge. The estimated average yearly amount of recharge from all sources now is about 2.4 acre-feet per acre. Full urban development of the area may increase recharge from all sources to about 3.3 acre-feet per acre. Ground-water and drainage problems can be relieved by reducing excessive recharge to the ground-water reservoir. Reduction can be accomplished by economical use of water by individuals, establishment of a water-tight public sewage system to transport all sewage to a central plant outside of the area, and by drainage works. These measures would cause a net decline of ground-water levels in the area. They can be undertaken separately or collectively.

Idaho↗