1 D3. The Hydrology of Volcanic Terranes I: Celebrating the Scientific Curiosity of Ken Lite and Marshall Gannett

Wednesday, 15 May 2019
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Room C125-126

LESSONS LEARNED FROM TWO DECADES OF GROUNDWATER MONITORING IN THE UPPER KLAMATH BASIN

Paper number: 1-8
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 10:00 AM – 10:20 AM

Authors

Abstract

Competing demands for limited water in the upper Klamath Basin of Oregon and California can make it difficult to balance the needs of farmers, ranchers, municipalities, and tribes with those necessary to sustain fish and wildlife. Groundwater is an important part of this limited resource. To monitor changes in groundwater levels, including declines related to groundwater pumping, a monitoring network of wells was established throughout the basin in the early 2000’s, and has been monitored quarterly for nearly two decades. Water-level data collected from this network have been used in reports detailing the groundwater hydrology of the upper Klamath Basin, and in a report relating changes in groundwater level to groundwater pumping on the Bureau of Reclamation Klamath Project. These investigations showed that the groundwater resources of the upper Klamath Basin are impacted by climate and pumping. Using the earlier comprehensive studies for context, this talk evaluates trends in groundwater during the last 20 years. Questions considered include: How have groundwater levels responded to changes in basin-wide water management during this period? How have groundwater levels responded to climate and changes in pumping? Has the monitoring illuminated new questions and challenges to be resolved?

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 51, No. 4

doi: 10.1130/abs/2019CD-329776

© Copyright 2019 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.