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USGS1965

Summary of floods in the United States during 1960

This report describes the most outstanding floods in the United States during 1960. No major floods occurred during the year, although two floods caused severe damage the first in March and April in eastern Nebraska and adjacent areas, and the second in September in Puerto Rico. Unseasonal rains in mid-March caused extensive flooding in north-central Florida. Several thousand persons were evacuated from their homes, and damage to homes, roads, and crops was extensive. The most widespread flooding ever known in Nebraska occurred late in March and early in April as a result of rapid melting of a heavy snow cover. Most of the flood damage, estimated at about $3 million, was to roads and bridges. The flood area extended into South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Wisconsin. Snowmelt in April supplemented by rains and later heavy rains in early May caused severe flooding in northern Wisconsin and in Michigan Upper Peninsula. The most destructive flood of the year was in eastern Puerto Rico as the result of hurricane Donna. More than one hundred persons died, and considerably more than one hundred persons were injured; property damage was f.bout $7 million. Hurricane Donna also caused severe flooding as it passed over Florida and along the Atlantic coastline. In addition to these floods mentioned, 31 others of lesser magnitude were significant enough to report in this annual summary.

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS1965

Hydrologic conditions near Glendo, Platte County, Wyoming

The Glendo area of Platte and Carbon Counties, Wyo., about 250 square miles in extent, is in the Great Plains physiographic province. It is bordered on the west by the Laramie Range and on the east by the Hartville uplift. The North Platte River and Horseshoe and Middle Bear Creeks are the principal streams that drain the area. Gentle to steep hills, which lie between 4,450 and 6,360 feet above sea level, characterize the topography. Approximately 7,600 acres of land is cultivated in the Horseshoe Creek valley and 1,000 or more acres in the Cassa Flats of the North Platte River and Middle Bear Creek valleys. The average annual precipitation of 13.15 inches and the streamflow diverted for irrigation from Horseshoe Creek and the North Platte River are usually inadequate to sustain crops during the entire growing season. Sedimentary rocks, which underlie about 99 percent of the Glendo area, range in age from Cambrian(?) to Recent and in thickness from about 3,000 to 4,700 feet. Beds of Paleozoic and Mesozoic age dip steeply away from the Laramie Range and the Hartville uplift to form a large syncline, which is interrupted by the Elkhorn anticline in the central part of the area. Beds of Tertiary and Quaternary age that were deposited over the older structural features and later were partly removed by erosion have dips of less than 6 ? . The 'Converse sand' of local usage at the top of the Hartville Formation of Mississippian(7), Pennsylvanian, and Permian age, the White River Formation of Oligocene age, and the flood-plain deposits of Recent .age are the most important aquifers in the Glendo area. The Hartville Formation consists predominantly of hard limestone and dolomite and of lesser amounts of sandstone and shale ; its thickness ranges from 850 to 1,050 feet throughout most of the area. The 'Converse sand' is an artesian aquifer consisting of fine- to medium-grained porous sandstone having an average thickness of about 80 feet. Recharge to the Hartville Formation is mainly from seepage of surface water from Glendo Reservoir and Spring Creek; ground water is discharged from the formation to the overlying White River Formation and the alluvium in the North Platte River valley near Cassa and to four wells in the Horseshoe Creek valley. Flowing wells yielding from a few gallons per minute to 175 gpm (gallons per minute) or more from the 'Converse sand' can probably be located in an area from ? mile to 1? miles wide and about 4? miles long in the lower Horseshoe Creek valley. The depth to the 'Converse sand' in this area depends upon the topographic relief and distance from the outcrop and ranges from 250 to about 1,000 feet. The discharge induced by pumping a well in the aquifer in the 'Converse sand' would probably amount to about 2 gpm per foot of drawdown. Values of 2,000, 2,100, and 10,300 gpd (gallons per day) per ft for the coefficient of transmissibility of the 'Converse sand' were obtained from aquifer tests at three wells. The chemical analyses of samples from the Hartville Formation ('Converse. sand' included) indicate that the water in the formation is of fairly good quality and adequate for domestic, stock, and irrigation uses, although the fluoride content is low and the water is hard. The White River Formation is composed of as much as 575 feet of fractured siltstone and claystone, and the flood-plain deposits include up to 65 feet of silt, sand, and gravel. Precipitation is the main type of recharge to the rocks of Tertiary age. Recharge to the alluvium in the valleys of Horseshoe Creek and the North Platte River occurs mainly by seepage of ground water from. underlying beds, by infiltration of irrigation water, and by infiltration of streamflow as bank storage. Ground water is discharged naturally from the area by seepage to streams, by underflow, and by evapotranspiration and artificially by wells. In 1961, the total discharge from 38 wells in the White River and Arikaree Formations and 2

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS1965

Ground-water resources of Pavant Valley, Utah

Pavant Valley, in eastern Millard County in west-central Utah, is in the Great Basin section of the Basin and Range province. The area of investigation is 34 miles long from north to south and 9 miles wide from east to west and comprises about 300 square miles. Agriculture, tourist trade, and mining are the principal industries. The population of the valley is about 3,500, of which about half live in Fillmore, the county seat of Millard County. The climate is semiarid and temperatures are moderate. Average normal annual precipitation in the lowlands is estimated to range from 10 to 14 inches. Precipitation is heaviest during the late winter and spring, January through May. The average monthly temperature at Fillmore ranges from 29 ° F in January to 76 ° F in July; the average annual temperature is 52 ° F. Because of the aridity, most crops cannot be grown successfully without irrigation. Irrigation requirements were satisfied for about 60 years after the valley was settled by diverting streams tributary to the valley. Artesian water was discovered near Flowell in 1915. By 1920 flowing artesian wells supplied about 10 percent of the irrigation water used in the valley, not including water from the Central Utah Canal. The Central Utah Canal was constructed in 1916 to convey water to the Pavant Valley from the Sevier River. Especially since 1916, the quantity of surface water available each year for irrigation has changed with the vagaries of nature. The total percentage of irrigation water contributed by ground water, on the other hand, gradually increased to about 15 percent in 1945 and then increased rapidly to 45 percent in 1960; it will probably stabilize at about 50 percent.

Utah↗
USGS1965

Water resources of the Humboldt River Valley near Winnemucca, Nevada

This report, resulting from studies made by the U.S. Geological Survey as part of the interagency Humboldt River Research Project, describes the qualitative and quantitative relations among the components of the hydrologic system in the Winnemucca Reach of the Humboldt River valley. The area studied includes the segment of the Humboldt River valley between the Comus and Rose Creek gaging stations. It is almost entirely in Humboldt County in north-central Nevada, and is about 200 miles downstream from the headwaters of the Humboldt River. Agriculture is the major economic activity in the area. Inasmuch as the valley lowlands receive an average of about 8 inches of precipitation per year and because the rate of evaporation from free-water surfaces is about six times the average annual precipitation, all crops in the area (largely forage crops) are irrigated. About 85 percent of the cultivated land is irrigated with Humboldt River water; the remainder is irrigated from about 20 irrigation wells. The consolidated rocks of the uplifted fault-block mountains are largely barriers to the movement of ground water and form ground-water and surface-water divides. Unconsolidated deposits of late Tertiary and Quaternary age underlie the valley lowlands to a maximum depth of about 5,000 feet. These deposits are in hydraulic continuity with the Humboldt River and store and transmit most of the economically recoverable ground water. Included in the valley fill is a highly permeable sand and gravel deposit having a maximum thickness of about 90-100 feet; it underlies the flood plain and bordering terraces throughout most of the project area. This deposit is almost completely saturated and contains about 500,000 acre-feet of ground water in storage. The Humboldt River is the source of 90-95 percent of the surface-water inflow to the area. In water years 1949-62 the average annual streamflow at the Comus gaging station at the upstream margin of the area was 172,100 acre-feet; outflow at the Rose Creek gaging station averaged about 155,400 acre-feet. Accordingly, the measured loss of Humboldt River streamflow averaged nearly 17,000 acre-feet per year. Most of this water was transpired by phreatophytes and crops, evaporated from free-water surfaces, and evaporated from bare soil. Inasmuch as practically no tributary streamflow normally discharges into the river in the Winnemucca reach and because pumpage is virtually negligible during the nonirrigation season, gains and losses of streamflow during most of the year reflect the close interrelation of the Humboldt River and the groundwater reservoir. An estimated average of about 14,000 acre-feet per year of ground-water underflow moves toward the Humboldt River from tributary areas. Much of this water discharges into the Humboldt River; hovever, some evaporates or is transpired before reaching the river. More than 65 percent of the average annual flow of the river horn-ally occurs in April, May, and June owing to the spring runoff. The stage of the river generally rises rapidly during these months causing water to move from the river to the ground-water reservoir. Furthermore, the period of high streamflow normally coincides with the irrigation season, and much of the excess irrigation water diverted from the river percolates downward to the zone of saturation. The net measured loss of streamflow in April-June, which averaged about 24,000 acre-feet in water years 1949-62, was about 7,000 acre-feet more than the average annual loss. The estimated net average annual increase of ground water in storage during these months in this period was on the order of 10,000 acre-feet. Following the spring runoff and the irrigation season, normally in July, some of the ground water stored in the flood-plain deposits during the spring runoff begins to discharge into the river. In addition, ground-water inflow from tributary areas again begins to discharge into the river. Experiments utilizin

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS1965

Geology and water resources of Portage County, Wisconsin

Portage County has abundant resources of generally good quality water and, although water problems exist locally, depletion or general scarcity of water is not likely in the foreseeable future. The county receives annually about 31 inches of precipitation, of which about 21 inches is lost as evaportranspiration. The average annual water yield is about 10.6 inches and consists of about 10.3 inches of runoff to streams, about 0.2 inch of water which leaves the county as underflow, and about 0.1 inch of water which is used consumptively. The surface-water resources include 104 lakes, about 110 miles of streams that discharge about 600 cfs (cubic feet per second) to the Wisconsin, Waupaca, and Little Wolf Rivers, and the Wisconsin River which has an average flow of about 2.400 cfs. Extensive deposits of outwash sand and gravel, sandy till, and alluvium release annually about 460 cfs of ground water to the streams. The principal source of ground water is thick deposits of glacial drift that occur over all but the northwestern part of the county. Although as much as 100 feet of sandstone underlies the drift in the southern part, it is not an important aquifer. Impermeable crystalline rocks of Precambrian age underlie all the aquifers and limit the downward movement of water. The county has been divided into areas having similar geologic and hydrologic conditions. These areas are here named the "sand-plain province," the "drift province," and the "drift-crystalline-rock province." The sand-plain province and the eastern part of the drift province have the greatest potential for development of large ground-water supplies. Wells yielding 1,000 to 2,000 gpm (gallons per minute) can be developed in the sand-plain province and wells yielding about 500 gpm can be developed in the drift province. Nearly all the communities in the county have water resources adequate for future expansion. An exception to this is Junction City where only a limited supply of poor quality water is readily available. Additional supplies can be developed from ground water in the Mill Creek area or from the Wisconsin River. In the sand-plain and drift provinces, ground-water runoff is about 9 inches a year and surface runoff is about 1 inch a year and of short duration. In the drift-crystalline-rock province, however, ground-water runoff is about 2 inches a year and surface runoff is about 8 inches a year and varies greatly in rate of flow. Surface and ground water are closely interrelated throughout the county and constitute a single resource. Streams, lakes, and marshes are the visible part of the ground-water surface and ground water moves slowly and continuously toward these surface points of discharge. Pumping for irrigation has temporarily lowered water levels in the vicinity of wells but has not lowered regional water levels. Pumpage has intercepted and utilized some of the recharge that would have been rapidly discharged from the aquifer, but it has not materially depleted the flow of streams. The 1955-59 decline in water levels and lake stages is attributed to a deficiency in precipitation and not to the increased pumpage from irrigation wells. To prevent excessive declines in water levels, high-capacity wells should be adequately spaced about 2,500 feet between wells pumping 1,000 gpm for 90 days. In the Stevens Point area, heavy pumping of wells near the Plover River induces recharge to ground water and thus reduces local declines in the water level. The chemical quality of ground water is generally good, but, locally, hard water and undesirable amounts of iron require treatment.

Wisconsin↗
USGS1966

Fluvial sediment in the little Arkansas River basin, Kansas

Characteristics and transport of sediment in the Little Arkansas River basin in south-central Kansas were studied to determine if the water from the river could be used as a supplemental source for municipal supply or would provide adequate recharge to aquifers that are sources of municipal and agricultural water supplies. During periods when overland 1low contributed a significant amount to streamflow, the suspended sediment in the Little Arkansas River at Valley Center averaged about 85 percent of clay, about 13 percent of silt, and about 2 percent of sand. The average annual suspended-sediment discharge for the water years 1958, 1959, 1960, and 1961 was about 306,000 tons, and about 80 percent of the load was transported during 133 days of the 1,461-day period. The average daily water discharge of 352 cubic feet per second for the period 1958-61 was more than the long-term (i}9-year) average of 245 cfs; therefore, the average annual sediment load for 1958-61 was probably greater than the average annual load for the same long-term period. Studies of seepage in a part of the channel of Kisiwa Creek indicated that an upstream gravel-pit operation yielded clays which, when deposited in the channel, reduced seepage. A change in plant operation and subsequent runoff that removed the deposited clays restored natural seepage conditions. Experiments by the Wichita Water Department showed that artificial recharge probably cannot be accomplished by using raw turbid water that is injected into wells or by using pits. Recharge by raw turbid water on large permeable areas or by seepage canals may be feasible. Studies of chemical quality of surface water at several sites in the Little Arkansas River basin indicate that Turkey. Creek is a major contributor of chloride and other dissolved solids to the Little Arkansas River and that the dissolved-solids content is probably highest during low-flow periods when suspended-sediment concentration is low. Data collected by the Wichita Water Department indicate that chloride concentrations are diminishing with time at sampled locations. and they receive recharge from rainwater and snowmelt moving through overlying alluvium and from storage in the De Chelly sandstone which encloses the east half of the diatreme. The quality of water from all areas is suitable for domestic use. However, special treatment may be necessary to make the water suitable for pulp processing.

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS1972

Fluvial sediment in Hocking River subwatershed 1 (North Branch Hunters Run), Ohio

From May 1956 to May 1962, Hocking River subwatershed 1 of Upper Hocking River Pilot Watershed had an average annual sediment yield from its contributing area of 0.94 square mile of 1,195 tons per square mile. Annual suspended-sediment yield at the outlet, expressed in tons per acre-foot of outflow, decreased from 0.45 in the 1957 water year to 0.10 in the 1962 water year, reflecting a decrease in sediment yield from the 1.04-squaremile drainage area above detention structure 1.

Water Supply Paper↗