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Research about Maricopa County, Pinal County, Arizona

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Maricopa County, Pinal County, Arizona.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Evaluation of ground-water recharge along the Gila River as a result of the flood of October 1983, in and near the Gila River Indian Reservation, Maricopa and Pinal Counties, Arizona

Flow in the Gila River from the flood of October 1983 infiltrated the stream channel and recharged the groundwater system along the Gila River floodplain from Ashurst-Hayden Dam to the confluence with the Salt River. Changes in groundwater levels from January 1983 to March 1984 confirmed the occurrence of recharge to the groundwater system. The average water level change for 74 wells was +24.2 ft. The water-level rise was greatest in the reach from river mile 15 to river mile 22, where the average water level change for 10 wells was +59.4 ft. The average water level increase for 28 miles from river mile 40 to river mile 71 was +14.2 ft. Estimates of recharge from January 1983 to March 1984 ranged from 440,000 to 640, 000 acre-ft. A water budget method and a water level change method were used to estimate the recharge to the aquifer. At least 46% to 66% of the recharge was the result of streamflow infiltration from the Gila River during October 1983 to February 1984. The increase in aquifer storage was one to two times greater than the quantity of groundwater pumped from the Gila River Indian Reservation during the 10 years preceding the flood.

Arizona

Geohydrologic conditions in the Vekol Valley, Pinal and Maricopa Counties, Arizona-1983

Vekol Valley is a north-trending valley in south-central Arizona. The valley includes 270 mi 2 and is bounded by the Table Top and Vekol Mountains on the east, the Sand Tank and Maricopa Mountains and the White Hills on the west, and the Both and Haley Hills on the north. The climate is semiarid and precipitation occurs as local summer thunderstorms and regional winter storms. The average annual precipitation is 7 to 8 in., and the potential evaporation rate is about 10 times that of the average annual rainfall (Sells and Hill, 1974, p. 7, 44). Storm runoff occurs mainly as sheetflow and floods of short duration. Although some runoff is diverted into catchment tanks for use by livestock, runoff is not used for irrigation or public supply. Vekol Valley is underlain by a thick sequence of basin sediments, sedimentary rocks, and volcanic rocks. The surrounding mountains are composed of crystalline and volcanic rocks, which also underlie the basin sediments to form the sides and bottom of the basin. The valley is divided into a northern part and a southern part by a bedrock outcrop of crystalline rocks between the White Hills on the west and the Table Top Mountains on the east (R. P. Wilson, 1979, p. 8). The northern part is about 90 mi 2 (J. R. Marie and K. J. Hollett, U.S. Geological Survey, written commun., 1984) and the southern part is about 180 mi 2 . The hydrologic data on which this map is based are available, for the most part, in computer-printout form and may be consulted at the Arizona Department of Water Resources, 99 East Virginia, Phoenix, and the U.S. Geological Survey offices in: Federal Building, 301 West Congress Street, Tucson , and 3788 North 16th Street, Suite E, Phoenix. Material from which copies can be made at private expense is available at the Tuscon and Phoenix offices of the U.S. Geological Survey.

Arizona

Simulative models for the analysis of ground-water flow in Vekol Valley, the Waterman Wash area, and the Bosque area, Maricopa and Pina Counties, Arizona

Simulative ground-water flow models for Vekol Valley, the Waterman Wash area, and the Bosque area were developed for use in evaluating alternatives for developing a ground-water supply for the Ak-Chin Indian Community. The hydraulic properties of the basin-fill deposits used in the models were estimated primarily from aquifer tests made by the U.S. Geological Survey. Annual recharge to Vekol Valley and the Waterman Wash area is negligible in comparison to the quantity of water in storage and the quantity proposed to be pumped. The models are based on a three-dimensional, block-centered, finite-difference scheme. The Vekol Valley model was calibrated for steady-state onditions, and the Waterman Wash area model was calibrated for steady-state and transient conditions. The sensitivity of calibrated heads to changes in transmissivity was also investigated. An uncalibrated storage-depletion model was developed for the Bosque area. Simulated water levels for steady-state conditions average within 5 feet of measured values for Vekoi Valley and within 6 feet for the Waterman Wash area. Simulated water levels for transient conditions in the Waterman Wash area average within 8 feet of measured values for 15 years of analysis and within 15 feet for 24 years. Water-level declines simulated by the Waterman Wash area model average within 17 feet of those measured during the 24-year period, 1951-75.

Arizona