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Sandra J. Owen-Joyce

Publications and source records attributed to Sandra J. Owen-Joyce.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2021

Preliminary geohydrologic assessment of Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, Altar Valley, southeastern Arizona

The Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge is located in the southern part of Altar Valley, southwest of Tucson in southeastern Arizona. The primary water-supply well at the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge has experienced a two-decade decrease in groundwater levels in the well, as have other wells in the southern part of Altar Valley. In part to understand this trend, a study was undertaken by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to summarize what is known about the geohydrologic system on the refuge and analyze groundwater-level trends and precipitation-groundwater correlations. In addition, available data were compiled where possible on the climate, land cover, soils, geology, and hydrology to provide a foundation for future modeling of the system. Altar Valley is a sedimentary basin bounded by a mixture of Paleozoic to Tertiary sedimentary, volcanic, granitic, and metamorphic rocks. The valley fill is undifferentiated Tertiary to Quaternary sediments underlain by middle Miocene to Pliocene rocks that consist of moderately to strongly consolidated conglomerate and sandstone. Surface water, when present in the predominantly ephemeral streams of the valley, flows from south to north. Arivaca Creek has a cienega (or wetland) where groundwater surfaces before it flows as a short perennial reach out of Arivaca Basin. Groundwater maps compiled between 1934 and 2016 showed groundwater flowing from south to north. Before the 1980s, temporal patterns of groundwater levels in wells in Altar Valley varied substantially from one well to another. In the mid-1980s, comparatively high levels of precipitation occurred: the 1980s median value was 15.3 inches, whereas the median for the period of record was 13.2 inches. In addition, apparently corresponding groundwater level increases were seen in nearly all wells studied. After this initial increase, two different groundwater-level trends began to be observed in two spatially distinct sets of wells: in the northern part, groundwater levels were relatively steady, whereas in the southern part, groundwater levels declined from 10 to 20 feet between 1990 and 2019. Annual groundwater pumpage declined substantially in the northern part of the valley beginning in the early 1980s, but it began to increase again in the 1990s. Pumpage in the southern part has remained low and relatively steady compared to the northern part. Although the precise reasons for the declining groundwater levels in the southern part remain unclear, groundwater levels may be affected by factors such as climate cycles, long-term drought, and temperature-induced declines in recharge, resulting in increased evapotranspiration. Preliminary analyses of two wells, one selected from each part of the valley, using linear regression and lag correlation to investigate correlation between annual precipitation and groundwater levels, showed a maximum correlation at a lag of about 17 years in the southern part of the valley and about 25 years in the northern part, indicating that, although variable sources and traveltimes of recharged water may be needed to propagate to each location, the strongest correlation at each well is with precipitation that was recharged 17 and 25 years prior to the groundwater response in that well. Assuming a constant flow of groundwater from the southern to the northern part of the valley, a decrease in recharge is expected to lead to a decrease in aquifer storage. As to the comparatively stable groundwater levels in the northern part, pumpage is still only about one-half what it was in the early 1980s, even though pumpage has increased there since the 1990s. Water levels in most wells in the northern part were drawn down prior to the decrease in pumping in the early 1980s, possibly owing to a combination of pumping and the nearly 20-year midcentury drought that occurred between 1940 and 1960. Water levels were in the process of recovering when the increase in pumping occurred in the 1990s. Because the water levels were recovering (increasing) instead of remaining static, the increased pumping may have only limited the recovery rather than causing a decrease in water levels, as a new quasi-equilibrium state may have been reached. Additional possible causes for the stable groundwater levels include (1) upgradient aquifer transmissivity that was high enough to offset pumping, (2) a low-permeability barrier, such as bedrock or clay, at the north end of the valley that caused groundwater pooling, (3) higher lateral inflow of groundwater in the northern part of the valley, (4) a delay in the effect of storage declines propagating from the south, or (5) some combination thereof.

Arizona↗
USGS2013

Potential depletion of surface water in the Colorado River and agricultural drains by groundwater pumping in the Parker-Palo Verde-Cibola area, Arizona and California

Water use along the lower Colorado River is allocated as “consumptive use,” which is defined to be the amount of water diverted from the river minus the amount that returns to the river. Diversions of water from the river include surface water in canals and water removed from the river by pumping wells in the aquifer connected to the river. A complication in accounting for water pumped by wells occurs if the pumping depletes water in drains and reduces measured return flow in those drains. In that case, consumptive use of water pumped by the wells is accounted for in the reduction of measured return flow. A method is needed to understand where groundwater pumping will deplete water in the river and where it will deplete water in drains. To provide a basis for future accounting for pumped groundwater in the Parker-Palo Verde-Cibola area, a superposition model was constructed. The model consists of three layers of finite-difference cells that cover most of the aquifer in the study area. The model was run repeatedly with each run having a pumping well in a different model cell. The source of pumped water that is depletion of the river, expressed as a fraction of the pumping rate, was computed for all active cells in model layer 1, and maps were constructed to understand where groundwater pumping depletes the river and where it depletes drains. The model results indicate that if one or more drains exist between a pumping well location and the river, nearly all of the depletion will be from drains, and little or no depletion will come from the Colorado River. Results also show that if a well pumps on a side of the river with no drains in the immediate area, depletion will come from the Colorado River. Finally, if a well pumps between the river and drains that parallel the river, a fraction of the pumping will come from the river and the rest will come from the drains. Model results presented in this report may be considered in development or refinement of strategies for accounting for groundwater pumping in the river aquifer connected to the Colorado River in the study area.

Arizona;California↗
USGS2008

Update of the Accounting Surface Along the Lower Colorado River

The accounting-surface method was developed in the 1990s by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation, to identify wells outside the flood plain of the lower Colorado River that yield water that will be replaced by water from the river. This method was needed to identify which wells require an entitlement for diversion of water from the Colorado River and need to be included in accounting for consumptive use of Colorado River water as outlined in the Consolidated Decree of the United States Supreme Court in Arizona v. California. The method is based on the concept of a river aquifer and an accounting surface within the river aquifer. The study area includes the valley adjacent to the lower Colorado River and parts of some adjacent valleys in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah and extends from the east end of Lake Mead south to the southerly international boundary with Mexico. Contours for the original accounting surface were hand drawn based on the shape of the aquifer, water-surface elevations in the Colorado River and drainage ditches, and hydrologic judgment. This report documents an update of the original accounting surface based on updated water-surface elevations in the Colorado River and drainage ditches and the use of simple, physically based ground-water flow models to calculate the accounting surface in four areas adjacent to the free-flowing river.

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2002

Hydrologic conditions in the Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge and Planet Valley, Arizona, 2000

During a period of sustained base-flow conditions in the Bill Williams River below Alamo Dam in west central Arizona from March to July 2000, the channel of the river through Planet Valley was dry, and the water table sloped almost due west parallel to the main slope of the flood plain. Water from the river infiltrated into the channel bottom at the head of Planet Valley, moved downgradient in the subsurface, and reappeared in the channel about 0.3 mile downstream from the east boundary of the Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge. A river aquifer in hydraulic connection with the Bill Williams River was mapped from a point 6.3 miles upstream from Highway 95 to the upstream end of Planet Valley. Formations that make up the river aquifer in Planet Valley are younger alluvium, older alluviums, and fanglomerate. Total thickness of the river aquifer probably is less than 200 feet in the bedrock canyons to as much as 1,035 feet in Planet Valley. The purpose of this study was to investigate the current hydrologic conditions along the Bill Williams River, which included an inventory of wells within the river aquifer of the Colorado River and in Planet Valley, and to determine the configuration of the water table. A map shows the elevation and configuration of the water table from the east end of Planet Valley to the confluence of the Bill Williams River with Lake Havasu.

Arizona↗
USGS2000

Identifying wells downstream from Laguna Dam that yield water that will be replaced by water from the Colorado River, Arizona and California

This report summarizes a comprehensive study and development of the method documented in Owen-Joyce and others (2000). That report and one for the area upstream from Laguna Dam (Wilson and Owen-Joyce, 1994) document the accounting-surface method to identify wells that yield water that will be replaced by water from the Colorado River. Downstream from Laguna Dam, the Colorado River is the source for nearly all recharge to the river aquifer. The complex surface-water and ground-water system that exists in the area is, in part, the result of more than 100 years of water-resources development. Agriculture is the principal economy and is possible only with irrigation. The construction and operation of canals provides the means to divert and distribute Colorado River water to irrigate agricultural lands on the flood plains and mesas along the Colorado and Gila Rivers, in Imperial and Coachella Valleys, and in the area upstream from Dome along the Gila River. Water is withdrawn from wells for irrigation, dewatering, and domestic use. The area downstream from Laguna Dam borders additional areas of agricultural development in Mexico where Colorado River water also is diverted for irrigation.

Arizona;California↗
USGS2000

Method to identify wells that yield water that will be replaced by water from the Colorado River downstream from Laguna Dam in Arizona and California

Accounting for the use of Colorado River water is required by the U.S. Supreme Court decree, 1964, Arizona v. California. Water pumped from wells on the flood plain and from certain wells on alluvial slopes outside the flood plain is presumed to be river water and is accounted for as Colorado River water. The accounting-surface method developed for the area upstream from Laguna Dam was modified for use downstream from Laguna Dam to identify wells outside the flood plain of the lower Colorado River that yield water that will be replaced by water from the river. Use of the same method provides a uniform criterion of identification for all users pumping water from wells by determining if the static water-level elevation in the well is above or below the elevation of the accounting surface. Wells that have a static water-level elevation equal to or below the accounting surface are presumed to yield water that will be replaced by water from the Colorado River. Wells that have a static water-level elevation above the accounting surface are presumed to yield river water stored above river level. The method is based on the concept of a river aquifer and an accounting surface within the river aquifer. The river aquifer consists of permeable sediments and sedimentary rocks that are hydraulically connected to the Colorado River so that water can move between the river and the aquifer in response to withdrawal of water from the aquifer or differences in water-level elevations between the river and the aquifer. The subsurface limit of the river aquifer is the nearly impermeable bedrock of the bottom and sides of the basins that underlie the Yuma area and adjacent valleys. The accounting surface represents the elevation and slope of the unconfined static water table in the river aquifer outside the flood plain of the Colorado River that would exist if the river were the only source of water to the river aquifer. The accounting surface was generated by using water-surface profiles of the Colorado River from Laguna Dam to about the downstream limit of perennial flow at Morelos Dam. The accounting surface extends outward from the edges of the flood plain to the subsurface boundary of the river aquifer. Maps at a scale of 1:100,000 show the extent of the river aquifer and elevation of the accounting surface downstream from Laguna Dam in Arizona and California.

Arizona;California↗
USGS1996

An accounting system for water and consumptive use along the Colorado River, Hoover Dam to Mexico

An accounting system for estimating and distributing consumptive use of water by vegetation to water users was developed for the Colorado River to meet the requirements of a U.S. Supreme Court decree and used with data from calendar year 1984. The system is based on a water-budget method to estimate total consumptive use by vegetation which is apportioned to agricultural users by using percentages of total evapotranspiration by vegetation estimated from digital-image analysis of satellite data.

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS1994

Accounting for consumptive use of Lower Colorado River water in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah

In the Colorado River valley between the east end of Lake Mead and the international boundary with Mexico (see figure), the river is the principal source of water for agricultural, domestic, municipal, industrial, hydroelectric-power generation, and recreational purposes. Water is stored in surface reservoirs and in the river aquifer---permeable sediments and sedimentary rocks that fill the lower Colorado River valley and adjacent tributary valleys. The hydraulic connection between the river and the river aquifer, overbank flow prior to building of the dams, and infiltration as the reservoirs filled allowed the sediments and sedimentary rocks to become saturated with water from the river. Ratios of isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen in water from wells indicate that most of the water in the river aquifer beneath the flood plain and in many places beneath the adjacent alluvial slopes originated from the river. The water table in the river aquifer extends from the river, beneath the flood plain, and under the alluvial slopes until it intersects bedrock. Precipitation in the surrounding mountains and inflow from tributary valleys also contribute small quantities of water to the river aquifer. Consumptive use of river water in the valley results from evapotranspiration by vegetation (crops and phreatophytes) on the flood plain, pumpage from wells to meet domestic and municipal needs, and pumpage from the river for export to areas in California, Arizona, and Nevada outside of the river valley. Most crops are grown on the flood plain; in a few areas, land on the adjacent terraces has been cultivated. Crops were grown on about 70 percent of the total vegetated area in 1984. Phreatophytes---natural vegetation that obtains water from the river aquifer---covered the remaining vegetated areas on the uncultivated flood plain. Most of the water used for irrigation is diverted or pumped directly from the river and reservoirs. Most of the water used for domestic and municipal purposes is pumped from wells on the flood plain, on adjacent alluvial slopes, and in tributary valleys. River water also is delivered to Mexico in accordance with an international treaty.

Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah↗
USGS1992

Accounting System for Water Use by Vegetation in the Lower Colorado River Valley

The Colorado River is the principal source of water in the valley of the Colorado River between Hoover Dam and the international boundary with Mexico (fig. 1). Agricultural, domestic, municipal, industrial, hydroelectric-power genera-tion, and recreation are the primary uses of river water in the valley. Most of the consumptive use of water from the river occurs downstream from Davis Dam, where water is diverted to irrigate crops along the river or is exported to interior regions of California and Arizona. Most of the agricultural areas are on the alluvium of the flood plain; in a few areas, land on the alluvial terraces has been cultivated. River water is consumed mainly by vegetation (crops and phreatophytes) on the flood plain. Crops were grown on 70.3 percent of the vegetated area classified by using 1984 digital image satellite data. Phreatophytes, natural vege-tation that obtain water from the alluvial aquifer, covered the remaining vegetated areas on the uncultivated flood plain. Most of the water used for irrigation is diverted or pumped from the river. In some areas, water is pumped from wells completed in the alluvial aquifer, which is hydraulically connected to the river.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1990

Estimates of consumptive use and ground-water return flow and the effect of rising and sustained high river stage on the method of estimation in Cibola Valley, Arizona and California, 1983 and 1984

In Cibola Valley, Arizona, water is pumped from the Colorado River to irrigate crops and to maintain wildlife habitat. Unused water percolates to the water table and, as groundwater, moves downgradient into areas of phreatophytes, into a drainage ditch, out of the flood plain, and back to the river. In 1983 and 1984, groundwater return flow was negligible because in most of Cibola Valley the river lost water to the aquifer. Evapotranspiration was used as an approximation for consumptive use by vegetation. Evapotranspiration was calculated as the sum of the products of the area of vegetation types and water-use rate by vegetation type. Evapotranspiration was estimated to be 70,100 acre-ft in 1983 and 62,600 acre-ft in 1984. These estimates may be in error because of the effect of sustained inundation on the rate of water use by phreatophytes. The effects cannot be quantified and therefore adjustments to rates calculated for dry-surface conditions could not be made. The method of estimating consumptive use of water by vegetation and groundwater return flow is affected by changing conditions during years of rising and sustained high river stage caused by flood-control releases at Parker Dam. Most of the bank storage that will return to the river when the high river stage subsides did not originate as irrigation water. High river stage caused some areas to be flooded directly or raised groundwater levels above the land surface. No crops could be grown in flooded fields. The decreased depth to water and inundation with fresh water resulted in new phreatophyte growth in some areas. In some areas that were flooded, many phreatophytes died. Changes in the inundated and flooded areas throughout the years made it difficult to estimate the evaporation losses from the increased water surface. (USGS)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1989

Field conditions at the Maricopa Agricultural Center, Pinal County, Arizona, June 16, 1989

Field conditions were documented during the SPOT satellite overpass of the Maricopa Agricultural Center, Pinal County, Arizona, on June 16, 1989. Crop types were mapped and photographed for each demonstration farm field, and irrigation, cultivation, and orientation of rows are described. Field and photographic descriptions are presented in tabular and graphic form. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗
USGS1989

Field conditions at the Maricopa Agricultural Center, Pinal County, Arizona, September 28, 1989

Field conditions were documented during the Landsat and SPOT satellite overpasses of the Maricopa Agricultural Center, Pinal County, Arizona, on September 28, 1989. Crop types were mapped and photographed for each demonstration farm field, and irrigation, cultivation, and orientation of rows are described. Field and photographic descriptions are presented in tabular and graphic form. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗
USGS1988

Field conditions at the Maricopa Agricultural Center, Maricopa County, Arizona, June 13, 1988

Field conditions were documented during the Landsat satellite overpass of the Maricopa Agricultural Center, Maricopa County, Arizona, on June 13, 1988. Crop types were mapped and photographed for each demonstration farm field. Field conditions described include irrigation, cultivation, and orientation of rows. Field and photographic descriptions are presented in tabular form. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗
USGS1988

Estimates of consumptive use and ground-water return flow using water budgets in Parker Valley, Arizona and California, 1981-84

Annual water budgets were used to estimate consumptive use by vegetation and groundwater return flow in Parker Valley, Arizona and California. Consumptive use by vegetation was estimated to be 482,800 acre-ft in 1981, 432,000 acre-ft in 1982, 413,500 acre-ft in 1983, and 420,900 acre-ft in 1984 on the Arizona side of the Colorado River, and 45,400 acre-ft in 1984 on the California side of the river. Groundwater return flow from the area north of Tyson Wash in Arizona was estimated to be 0 acre-ft in 1981, 1983, and 1984 and 1,900 acre-ft in 1982. Water budget estimates of consumptive use by vegetation were compared to estimates of evapotranspiration. Estimates of evapotranspiration were from 1% less to 9% higher than estimates of consumptive use by vegetation in the area north of Tyson Wash. The percentage differences in the two estimates were within the measurement errors of the two major measured components in the water budget regardless of differences in year-to-year conditions. Estimates of consumptive use of Colorado River water calculated as measured diversions minus return flows were consistently lower than estimates of consumptive use by vegetation. Estimates of consumptive use of Colorado River water were from 18 to 37% lower than estimates of consumptive use by vegetation variations in tributary inflow, river stage, and induced seepage from the river to replace groundwater transpired by phreatophytes are not accounted for in the calculation. (USGS)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗