Geology topics

Kenneth L. Walters

Publications and source records attributed to Kenneth L. Walters.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS1979

Water resources of the Lower Elwha Indian Reservation, Washington

The Lower Elwha Indian Reservation covers 372 acres at the mouth of the Elwha River in Clallam County, Washington. The land of the reservation is used principally for residential purposes and growing forage for cattle. The population of the reservation is largely dependent upon fisheries resources for its economic health. This study was made to assess the availability and suitability of ground water on the reservation for domestic use and for fish propagation, to determine the streamflow characteristics of the Elwha River and Bosco Creek, and to determine the chemical and physical quality of the area's surface and ground waters. Existing wells on the reservation range in depth from about 30 to about 80 feet, and produce water of excellent chemical quality. Properly constructed wells in favorable locations on the reservation should be capable of large yields, up to 5,000 gallons per minute. Intrusion of seawater into the aquifers of the reservation has not occurred. However, if massive quantities of ground water are withdrawn, intrusion could occur. The Elwha River, which flows along the western margin of the reservation has a mean annual flow of about 1,500 cubic feet per second (ft 3 /s). The recorded minimum daily discharge was 10 ft 3 /s, and the maximum was 41,600 ft 3 /s. The river floods the lower parts of the reservation annually, and extensive flooding is common. Water in the Elwha River is of excellent chemical quality, and its recorded temperature has ranged from 36° to 64°F. Bosco Creek, the only other stream on or adjacent to the reservation, has an estimated mean annual flow of 1.1 ft 3 /s.

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USGS1972

Test observation well near Almira, Washington: description and preliminary results

A 750-foot test-observation well drilled bear Almira, Wash., is one of several drilled to date (1971) in selected areas if the State. The test wells provide information on ground-water conditions where large-scale pumping from wells is rapidly increasing or ids expected to increase, but where data available from existing wells are incomplete and fail to provide adequate guidance for management of the area;s ground-water resources. The upper 60 feet of the Almira well has a 10-inch casing below this depth the well is uncased in basalt. Four major aquifer zones are penetrated by the well. Geophysical logging during drilling provided data on hole diameter, water resistivity (mineralization) and temperature, and natural radiation of the rock units. These data supplemented the driller's log as a basis for final selection of the aquifers to be monitored. Two pumping tests showed that (1) when the well was 546 feet deep and was pumped at a rate of about 510 gpm (gallons per minute) for 9 1/2 hours, the specific capacity was 92 gpm per foot of drawndown; and (2) at the final 750-foot depth, with all four aquifers contributing water and the well being pumped at a rate of 525 gpm for 24 hours, the specific capacity was 96 gpm per foot of drawdown. Water from the well when drilled to its final depth of 750 feet is slightly warmer and somewhat more mineralized than when the well was only 546 feet deep. Four piezometer pipes were installed in the well so that each reflected the head in a specific aquifer zone that is hydraulically isolated from the other aquifer zones by cement seals. The maximum difference in water levels between the uppermost and lowermost aquifers after the zones were isolated was 180 feet; the difference may increase somewhat as the heads in the aquifers continue to adjust after isolation. An access pipe also was provided for an instrument to measure the geothermal gradient. The data that have been obtained from the test-observation well and that which will be available from it in the future are expected to provide invaluable guidance for management of the ground-water resources.

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USGS1972

Test-observation well near Odessa, Washington: description and preliminary results

The test-observation well drilled near Odessa, Wash., provides information on the area's aquifer characteristics which is not otherwise available from existing deep irrigation wells. The information is of value to the State of Washington Department of Ecology in its management decisions in this area where heavy ground-water withdrawals have resulted in increasing annual water-level declines. The 10-inch well is 750 feet deep and penetrates six aquifer zones (A through F) in basalt. The upper 60 feet of the well is cased while the remainder of the hole is open in the basalt. The well was test pumped during drilling and showed specific capacities of (1) 0.65 gpm (gallon per minute) per foot of drawdown when at the 258-foot depth and open to aquifers A and B. (2) 0.62 gpm per foot of drawdown when at the 540-foot depth and open to aquifers A through D, and (3) 22 gpm foot of drawdown when at full 750-foot depth and open to all six aquifers. To supplement the driller's log of the well, borehole geophysical logging provided information on natural gamma radiation, water temperature and resistivity, downhole movement (via flowmeter) of the water, and borehole diameter (via caliper log). Upon completion of the well each aquifer zone was isolated from the others by cement seals, and piezometer pipes were installed to each zone to allow definition of the vertical hydraulic gradient and an estimate of the vertical ground-water movement in the area, along with chemical-quality sampling of the various zones and monitoring of any changes in water quality with time. The initial measurements of water levels showed that the levels generally decrease with aquifer depth, with about 200 feet of head difference existing between the uppermost and lowermost aquifer zones. Another pipe, installed for providing thermometer access, permits recording the geothermal gradient with depth in the well, and provides another basis for estimating vertical ground-water movement in the area. Prior to isolation of the various aquifer zones, the composite water level was recovering from the cessation of pumping at the end of the 1970 irrigation season. On April 6, 1971, this composite water level had begun declining, presumably as a result of p[umping of an irrigation well 1 mile to the northwest, By May 6, after the aquifer zones had been isolated and piezometer pieces installed, water levels in aquifers E and F had declined 11 feet in 15 days, in response to pumping for irrigation in the area. Water levels in aquifers B, C, and D declined somewhat, but mostly in response to the draining of these aquifers to deeper aquifers down the many deep-well boreholes in the area.

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USGS1963

Geology and ground-water resources of northwestern King County, Washington

King County, in the west-central part of the State of Washington, includes about 2,135 square miles. The eastern part of the county lies in the Sierra-Cascade Mountains province and the remainder is in the Puget Trough of the Pacific Border province. The area covered by the present investigation is almost entirely within the Puget Trough and includes about 450 square miles.

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