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N. P. Dion

Publications and source records attributed to N. P. Dion.

25 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Environmental features, general hydrology, and external sources of nutrients affecting Wilderness Lake, King County, Washington

A water budget prepared for Wilderness Lake, a candidate for lake-quality restoration, indicates that of the 530 acre-feet of water that enters the lake each year, 170 acre-feet is from precipitation and 360 acre-feet is from groundwater inflow. An equal amount leaves the lake, and of this, 380 acre-feet is by surface runoff, 8 acre-feet is by groundwater seepage, and 140 acre-feet is by evaporation. Based on these amounts of inflow and outflow, the theoretical water-renewal time of the lake is calculated to be 2.6 years. The annual contributions of nitrogen and phosphorus to the lake from precipitation, natural ground water, and septic-tank leachate are about 920 kilograms nitrogen and 38 kilograms phosphorus. Nitrogen and phosphorus contributions from other sources were not assessed but could be significant. (Woodard-USGS)

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Preferred and observed conditions for sockeye salmon in Ozette Lake and its tributaries, Clallam County, Washington

Ozette River and Ozette Lake and its tributaries in Washington have many of the water-quality and stream-hydraulic characteristics that are generally supportive of good sockeye salmon production. Ozette Lake is a large, deep lake and a natural rearing area and for young sockeye. In the summer of 1976 water temperatures preferred for the growth of young sockeye (45-68 degrees Fahrenheit) occurred between about 200 feet of depth and the water surface, or generally in the zone of steep temperature gradient. Dissolved-oxygen concentrations in excess of 8.0 milligrams per liter at all depths throughout the year provided an adequate supply of oxygen for sockeye production. In comparison with eight other sockeye-producing lakes in Washington and Alaska, the concentrations of zooplankton in Ozette Lake appear adequate to support the rearing of sockeye salmon. In Big River and Umbrella Creek, tributaries to Ozette Lake, the streambed areas with gravels suitable for spawning were calculated to be about 39,000 and 31 ,000 square yards, respectively. If those areas were completely utilized they would accommodate about 13,000 and 10,000 spawning sockeye females, respectively. (Woodard-USGS)

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Municipal, industrial, and irrigation water use in Washington, 1975

An assessment of water use in 1975 in the 39 counties and 62 Water Resource Inventory Areas of Washington, indicated that 2.49 trillion gallons of water was used for municipal, industrial, and irrigation purposes. That amount represents a 10-percent increase over a similar water-use assessment in 1965, but a slight decrease from that of 1970. Total municipal water use, which includes municipally supplied industrial water, was 283 billion gallons. Industry used 442 billion gallons, of which 121 billion gallons was from municipal systems and 321 billion gallons was from self-supplied systems. Of the 604 billion gallons of water used for municipal and industrial supplies, 145 billion gallons was ground water, 444 billion gallons was fresh surface water, and 14.8 billion gallons was saline surface water. A compilation of statewide industrial use as categorized by SIC (Standard Industrial Classification, as used nationwide) shows that the four classifications with greatest water use--SIC 26 (Paper and Allied Products), SIC 24 (Lumber and Wood Products), SIC 28 (Chemicals and Allied Products), and SIC 20 (Food and Kindred Products)--accounted for about 65 percent of the total water used in industrial processes. In 1975, 5.79 million acre-feet of irrigation water (1,890 billion gallons) was applied to 1.52 million acres. This water was 95 percent surface water and 5 percent ground water. About 97 percent of the irrigation water was applied in eastern Washington, to about 94 percent of the irrigated acreage in the State.

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A method for the relative classification of lakes in the State of Washington from reconnaissance data

The classification system developed allows a rapid assessment of the eutrophic potential and condition of more than 750 Washington lakes and reservoirs. The potential for nutrient enrichment from natural sources is evaluated on the basis of the interactions of physical and hydrologic factors that play a role in controlling the trophic condition of lakes, such as: (1) mean depth, (2) volume, (3) bottom slope, (4) shoreline configuration ratio, (5) ratio of drainage area to volume, (6) altitude, and (7) water-renewal time. The potential for nutrient enrichment from cultural sources is evaluated on the basis of (1) total phosphorus loading from nonpoint sources and point sources, (2) volume of water per nearshore home, and (3) percentage of shore developed. Total phosphorus loading for the lakes is calculated using criteria based on phosphorus exports from various nonpoint sources in the lake basin. Indicators of eutrophication and water quality are evaluated from phosphorus and nitrogen concentrations, specific conductance, dissolved-oxygen depletion in the hypolimnion, Secchidisc visibility, fecal-doliform bacteria, and the abundance of rooted aquatic plants. The classification system, applied to seven Washington lakes, shows that a high enrichment potential from natural and (or) cultural factors is a good indicator of eutrophication and water-quality conditions for the lake.

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Characteristics of streamflow and ground-water conditions in the Boise River Valley, Idaho

The quantity, quality, and distribution in time of streamflow in Boise River below Lucky Peak Lake are drastically affected by storage reservoirs, diversions for irrigation, and by domestic, industrial, and agricultural wastes. Reservoirs usually fill during the nonirrigation season, and streamflow for several miles below Lucky Peak Lake is very low, sometimes less than 10 cubic feet per second (0.28 cubic meters per second). On November 18-19, 1971, when the gates at Lucky Peak Dam were closed, inflow to the Boise River in the study reach totaled 1010 ft 3 /s. Practically all inflow was discharged ground water. During the growing season, several thousands of ft 3 /s are released from Lucky Peak Lake, but diversions reduce the flows to near zero below some large diversion points in the study reach. Characteristics of streamflow are described by duration curves, duration hydrographs, and low-flow and high-flow frequency curves. Water released from Lucky Peak Lake is of excellent quality. Dissolved solids are usually less than 80 milligrams per liter. Discharged ground water increases the dissolved solids in the river downstream to 400 milligrams per liter or more when dilution from Lucky Peak Lake is slight. Other measures of water quality likewise show the deterioration in a downstream direction in the study reach.

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Availability of ground water for large-scale use in the Malad Valley-Bear River areas of southeastern Idaho: an initial assessment

Five areas within the Bear River drainage of southeastern Idaho offer potential for further development of ground water--the valley north of Bear Lake, north of Soda Springs, Gem Valley, Cache Valley in Idaho, and Malad Valley in Idaho. Saturated deposits north of Bear Lake are too fine-textured to yield large quantities to wells; the areas north of Soda Springs and in Gem Valley would provide large yields, but at the expense of current beneficial discharge. Northern Cache Valley has small areas of high yield in the northwestern part, but total annual yield would be only about 20,000 acre-feet and seasonal water-level fluctuation would be large. Malad Valley contains a large aquifer system within valley fill underlying about 75 square miles. The aquifer system is several hundred feet thick, and contains about 1.8 million acre-feet of water in storage in the top 300 feet of saturated thickness. Average annual recharge to the valley-fill aquifer is about 64,000 acre-feet. Lowering of the water level 100 feet uniformly over the valley area would theoretically yield about 300,000 acre-feet from storage and salvage a present-day large nonbeneficial discharge. Sufficient water to irrigate all lands in a planned project near Samaria could be pumped with a maximum 200-foot pumping lift and then delivered by gravity flow. Such pumping would cause water-level lowering of a few feet to a few tens of feet in present artesian areas, and would cause many present-day artesian wells to cease flowing at land surface. Chemical-quality problems in Malad Valley seem not to be sufficient to prohibit development and use of the ground-water resource.

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