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R. L. Ireland

Publications and source records attributed to R. L. Ireland.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Evaluation of the potential for artificial ground-water recharge in eastern San Joaquin County, California — Phase 2

In response to the increasing demand on water supplies and declining water levels in eastern San Joaquin County, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Joaquin County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, is evaluating the potential for artificially recharging the aquifer system in eastern San Joaquin County, Calif. Phase 1 of this study evaluated the geologic and hydrological conditions in the area and selected 20 drill sites in three areas of high potential for artificial recharge of the aquifer system. In phase 2, test holes were drilled. This report is on phase 2, and summarizes the data collected during the drilling and evaluates the suitability of the drilled areas for their potential for artificial recharge. Two areas seem to have a fair potential for artificial recharge of the aquifer system using the basin-spreading method: (1) The flood plain area along the Mokelumne River north of Lockeford, and (2) an area northeast of Linden along the Calaveras River. (USGS)

California

Land subsidence in the San Joaquin Valley, California, as of 1980

Land subsidence due to ground-water overdraft in the San Joaquin Valley began in the mid-1920 's and continued at alarming rates until surface was imported through major canals and aqueducts in the 1950 's and late 1960's. In areas where surface water replaced withdrawal of ground-water, water levels in the confined system rose sharply and subsidence slowed. In the late 1960 's and early 1970 's water levels in wells recovered to levels of the 1940 's and 1950 's throughout most of the western and southern parts of the Valley, in response to the importation of surface water through the California aqueduct. During the 1976-77 drought data collected at water-level and extensometer sites showed the effect of heavy demand on the ground-water resevoir. With the ' water of compaction ' gone, artesian head declined 10 to 20 times as fast as during the first cycle of long-term drawdown that ended in the late 1960's. In the 1978-79 water levels recovered to or above the 1976 pre-drought levels. The report suggests continued monitoring of land subsidence in the San Joaquin Valley. (USGS)

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