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Research about Washington

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Washington.

At least 1,549 records · Page 86Linked to original sources
USGS1978

Sediment transport by the White River into Mud Mountain Reservoir: Washington, June 1974-June 1976

This reconnaissance evaluation of the sediment transport by the White River into the Mud Mountain Reservoir, in Washington, during the period June 1974-June 1976 showed that the river transported 430,000 tons of suspended sediment into the reservoir during the first year of the study and 1,400,000 tons in the second year. Daily mean suspended-sediment concentrations generally were less than 500 milligrams per liter; the highest daily mean concentration was 6,200 milligrams per liter on December 1, 1975. A good relation exists between daily suspended-sediment discharge and daily mean water discharge except during periods of runoff from glacial melt. Data from samples obtained by the use of the Helley-Smith bedload sampler indicate that the bedload measured using the sampler is about 4 percent of the suspended-sediment discharge. Potential deposition in the reservoir was estimated at 750 acre-feet during the 2 years of study. (Kosco-USGS)

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USGS1978

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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USGS1978

Inventory of land use and land cover of the Puget Sound region using Landsat digital data

Landsat multispectral scanner digital data from four bands were analyzed using computers to produce land use and land cover information of the Puget Sound region, Wash., for use by agencies in that area. The data were first geographically registered to map coordinates. This registration enabled samples of known land cover types to be digitized from the maps. Samples of the same land cover were grouped together and then subdivided by cluster analysis into spectrally similar classes. Spectral categories were associated with specific land cover classes and used to determine spectral signatures for classification of the entire region. Reclustering and reclassification techniques were developed and then employed to minimize certain classification errors. The classified data were displayed in color using a film recorder. This color image was enlarged photographically to a 1:100000 scale to match new base maps of the region. Although the result resembles a conventional polygonal land use and land cover map, certain image-like qualities remain and yield additional information about the landscape.

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USGS1977

Preliminary assessment of the water resources of the Tulalip Indian Reservation, Washington

In 1974 about 30 percent of the nearly 600 acre-feet of water used on the Tulalip Indian Reservation was obtained from a surface-water reservoir, while nearly 70 percent was obtained from ground-water sources. Domestic use accounted for about 93 percent of total water use. Nutrient (phosphorus) concentrations measured in most surface-water samples were less than the maximum limit recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, whereas the recommended maximum limit for total coliform bacteria was never exceeded. Ground water is withdrawn from aquifers in unconsolidated deposits. Shallow aquifers, which provide about 45 percent of the total ground-water supply, are tapped by about 250 wells and yield 5 to 20 gallons per minute to 30- to 42-inch diameter dug wells. Deeper aquifers yield about 55 percent of the ground-water supply to about 125 wells that are mostly between 100 and 150 feet deep. Yields are generally at least 20 gallons per minute to 6- to 8-inch wells, and several wells have yields exceeding 300 gallons per minute. Water in the shallow aquifers generally had an excessive concentration of dissolved iron, often exceeding the recommended maximum limit of 0.30 milligram per litre, and total coliform bacteria in water from six wells exceeded 1 colony per 100 millilitres of water. Some wells in the deeper aquifers yield water with dissolved iron and (or) manganese concentrations exceeding the recommended maximum limit of 0.30 and 0.05 milligram per litre, respectively. Although many deep coastal wells bottom far below sea level, only two wells indicated local saltwater intrusion. An aquifer underlying the central plateau and an artesian aquifer in the northeastern part of the reservation appear to offer the best potential for development of additional ground-water supplies.

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USGS1977

Quality of surface and ground waters, Yakima Indian Reservation, Washington, 1973-74

This report describes the quality of the surface and ground waters of the Yakima Indian Reservation in south-central Washington, during the period November 1973-October 1974. The average dissolved-solids concentrations ranged from 48 to 116 mg/L (milligrams per liter) in the mountain streams, and from 88 to 372 mg/L in the lowland streams, drains, and a canal. All the mountain streams contain soft water (classified as 0-60 mg/L hardness as CaC03), and the lowland streams, drains, and canal contain soft to very hard water (more than 180 mg/L hardness as CaC03). The water is generally of suitable quality for irrigation, and neither salinity nor sodium hazards are a problem in waters from any of the streams studied. The specific conductance of water from the major aquifers ranged from 20 to 1 ,540 micromhos. Ground water was most dilute in mineral content in the Klickitat River basin and most concentrated in part of the Satus Creek basin. The ground water in the Satus Creek basin with the most concentrated mineral content also contained the highest percentage composition of sulfate, chloride, and nitrate. For drinking water, the nitrate-nitrogen concentrations exceeded the U.S. Public Health Service 's recommended limit of 10 mg/L over an area of several square miles, with a maximum observed concentration of 170 mg/L. (Woodard-USGS).

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USGS1977

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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USGS1977

Preferred stream discharges for salmon spawning and rearing in Washington

Stream discharges preferred by salmon for spawning were determined from relationships between discharge and spawnable area at 84 study reaches on 28 streams in Washington. Preferred discharges for spawning were found statistically equivalent for chinook, pink and chum salmon. Regression equations developed for estimating discharges preferred by these species for spawning at other stream sites had standard errors of estimate of 40 percent where a relationship with toe-of-bank channel width was used, and 55 percent where basin drainage area was used. Similarly, equations for estimating the preferred discharge for spawning by sockeye and coho salmon (also statistically equivalent) had standard errors of 48 percent using channel width and 61 percent using drainage area. In general, the discharges preferred for spawning by salmon ranged in magnitude from about 0.3 to 11 times the median monthly mean discharges for September and October and about 0.1 to 6 times the median monthly means for November and December--the four months when spawning is greatest. Stream discharges preferred by salmon for rearing were determined from relationships between discharge and wetted perimeter at the study reaches. Those discharges ranged from about 0.7 to 4 times the median monthly mean discharge for September, when low flows are usually most limiting on the rearing capacity of streams. Equations developed for estimating preferred rearing discharges at other stream sites had standard errors of 57 percent using channel width and 81 percent using drainage area. Peak-unit spawnable area, or maximum area per unit length of channel that has preferred water depths and velocities, was similar for the five salmon species. Equations developed for estimating that area at other sites had standard errors of 27 percent using channel width and 47 percent using drainage area. In general, reducing discharge below the preferred spawning discharge by 25, 50, and 75 percent had the effect of reducing spawnable area by about 5, 15, and 40 percent of the peak-unit spawnable area.

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USGS1977

Geology of the Midnite uranium mine area, Washington — Maps, description, and interpretation

Bedrock geology of about 12 km 2 near the Midnite mine has been mapped at the surface, in mine exposures, and from drilling, at scales from 1:600 to 1:12,000 and is presented here at 1:12,000 to provide description of the setting of uranium deposits. Oldest rocks in the area are metapelitic and metacarbonate rocks of the Precambrian (Y) Togo Formation. The chief host for uranium deposits is graphitic and pyritic mica phyllite and muscovite schist. Ore also occurs in calc-silicate hornfels and marble at the western edge of a calcareous section about 1,150 m thick. Calcareous rocks of the Togo are probably older than the pelitic as they are interpreted to be near the axis of a broad anticline. The composition and structural position of the calcareous unit suggests correlation with less metamorphosed carbonate-bearing rocks of the Lower Wallace Formation, Belt Supergroup, about 200 km to the east. Basic sills intrusive into the Togo have been metamorphosed to amphibolite. Unmetamorphosed rocks in the mine area are Cretaceous(?) and Eocene igneous rocks. Porphyritic quartz monzonite of Cretaceous age, part of the Loon Lake batholith, is exposed over one third of the mine area. It underlies the roof pendant of Precambrian rocks in which the Midnite mine occurs at depths of generally less than 300 m. The pluton is a two-mica granite and exhibits pegmatitic and aplitic textural features indicative of water saturation and pressure quenching. Eocene intrusive and extrusive rocks in the area provide evidence that the Eocene surface was only a short distance above the present uranium deposits. Speculative hypotheses are presented for penesyngenetic, hydrothermal, and supergene modes of uranium emplacement. The Precambrian Stratigraphy, similar in age and pre-metamorphic lithology to that of rocks hosting large uranium deposits in Saskatchewan and Northern Territory, Australia, suggests the possibility of uranium accumulation along with diagenetic pyrite in carbonaceous muds in a marine shelf environment. This hypothesis is not favored by the author because there is no evidence for stratabound uranium such as high regional radioactivity in the Togo. A hydrothermal mode of uranium emplacement is supported by the close apparent ages of mineralization and plutonism, and by petrology of the pluton. I speculate that uranium may have become enriched in postmagmatic fluids at the top of the pluton, possibly by hydrothermal leaching of soluble uranium associated with magnetite, and diffused outward into metasedimentary wall rocks to create an aureole about 100 m thick containing about 100 ppm uranium. Chemistry of the hydrothermal process is not understood, but uranium does not appear to have been transported by an oxidizing fluid, and the fluid did not produce veining and alteration comparable to that of base-metal sulfide deposits. Uranium in the low-grade protore is believed to have been redistributed into permeable zones in the Tertiary to create ore grades. Geologic and isotopic ages of uranium mineralization, and the small volume of porphyritic quartz monzonite available for leaching, are not supportive of supergene emplacement of uranium.

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USGS1977

Seepage tests on No Name Creek, Colville Indian Reservation, Washington, May 12-13, 1977

To gain information for a water-management situation, a seepage test was performed on May 12-13, 1977, on a reach of No Name Creek on the Colville Indian Reservation in north-central Washington. On May 13, injection of a concentrated brine at the head of the test reach permitted chloride-concentration data to be combined with the discharge measurements made to define the pattern of gain and loss along the reach. Equations describing discharge and chloride mass balance were used to determine this pattern of gain and loss. The seepage tests showed that the streamflow gain of at least 0.58 cfs from springflow contributions was offset by losses of at least 0.59 cfs over the same reach. (Woodard-USGS)

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USGS1977

Ground-water resources of the North Beach Peninsula, Pacific County, Washington

The anticipated water demand of 425 million gallons per year for the North Beach Peninsula, Pacific County, Wash., can be met by properly developing the ground-water supplies of the area's water-table aquifer. Of the approximately 77 inches of precipitation on the peninsula, an estimated 23 inches is lost to evapotranspiration, and approximately 36 inches is discharged by the water-table aquifer into the ocean and bay. The remaining water either runs off the surface or is leaked to a deeper aquifer that ultimately discharges to the ocean. In some areas of the peninsula, particularly those that are low lying and covered with poorly permeable soils, runoff is promoted by an artificial drainage system developed to alleviate waterlogging. In these areas, it is estimated that natural discharge through the aquifer would be less than that of the artificial drainage system. By a conservative estimate, at least 12 inches of the water that discharges naturally through the aquifer is available for additional development. This quantity of water is approximately equivalent to 860,000 gallons per day or 320 million gallons per year per mile of peninsula length. Under specified idealized conditions wells spaced at least 1,000 feet apart along the major axis of the peninsula and pumped at average rates of no more than 80 gallons per minute would ensure that water-level declines do not exceed 6 feet near the wells and 1 foot at the shoreline, thereby preventing seawater intrusion. Lowering of the water table may be beneficial in reducing waterlogging problems, but care must be taken not to lower the levels near cranberry bogs, which require a shallow water table. Treatment of the otherwise good quality water for iron may be required, as about 75 percent of the well water sampled from the aquifer had iron concentrations in excess of limits recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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USGS1977

Water resources of the Chehalis Indian Reservation, Washington

Ground water beneath the 6.6-square-mile Chehalis Indian Reservation, Wash., most of which lies on a flood plain, occurs in the alluvial and terrace sand and gravel deposits. Supplies available within the depth zone of water-level fluctuations are estimated to be between 20 and 60 times that being pumped at the time of the 1975 study. Seasonal water-level changes in wells obtained during the study ranged between about 3 and 10 feet and averaged 7 feet, and the average fluctuation of water levels in three oxbow lakes was about 6 feet. Chemical analysis of ground water shows it is suitable for most uses and that to date there are no serious problems of ground-water pollution. Surface-water quality also is considered generally good. Flooding of reservation land by the Chehalis and Black Rivers occurs annually, generally during periods of heavy rainfall in winter. The largest known flood of the Chehalis River, recorded on January 22, 1972, had an estimated discharge of 53,000 cubic feet per second. Flood-frequency analysis indicates that about 70 percent of the reservation would be flooded during a 50-year flood. Low flows generally occur in August and September. The lowest flow of Willamette Creek (the only stream entirely on the reservation) during 1975 was about 0.45 cubic foot per second, recorded in August. (Woodard-USGS).

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USGS1977

Water resources data for Washington, water year 1976: Vol. 1 - Western Washington

Water resources data for the 1976 water year for Washington, consist of records, of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; stage, contents, and water quality of lakes and reservoirs; and water levels in wells and springs. This report, in two volumes, contains discharge records for 248 gaging stations; stage only records for 3 gaging stations; stage and contents for 44 lakes and reservoirs; water quality for 124 stations, and 8 lakes; and water levels for 108 observation wells. Also included are 172 crest-stage partial-record stations. Additional water data were collected at various sites, not part of the systematic data collection program and are published as miscellaneous measurements. These data represent that part of the National Water Data System operated by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State and Federal agencies in Washington.

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USGS1977

Water resources data for Washington, water year 1976, Vol. 2 - Eastern Washington

Water resources data for the 1976 water year for Washington consist of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; stage, contents, and water quality of lakes and reservoirs; and water levels of ground water. This report contains discharge records for 248 gaging stations; stage only records for 3 gaging stations; stage and contents for 44 lakes and reservoirs; water quality for 123 gaging stations, 1 partial-record station, and 7 lakes; and water levels for 108 observations wells. Also included are 172 crest-stage partial-record stations and 1 low-flow partial-record station. Additional water data were collected at various sites, not involved in the systematic data collection program, and are published as miscellaneous measurements. These data represent that part of the National Water Data System collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State and Federal agencies in Washington.

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USGS1977

Use of infrared imagery in bank-storage studies

The use of thermal infrared imagery as a reconnaissance tool to identify bank seepage was investigated at Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake in northeastern Washington. The banks of the lake are generally composed of glacial lacustrine sediments deposited when the Cordilleran ice sheet dammed the Columbia River at least three times during the Pleistocene. The existence of a significant amount of bank storage was suspected. An airborne scanner having a spectral coverage of 8.5 to 11 micrometres and continuous filmstrip output was used in two test flights of March 27 and April 24, 1973. These flights were made during the reservoir drawdown when groundwater flow was from the banks to the reservoir and the ground water was warmer than the lake. The imagery shows temperatures in the lake ranging from 5° to 13° C. The lighter tones of the imagery show lake circulation patterns and extensive areas of bank seepage, spring discharge, stream inflow, and subsurface discharge which are all distinguishable from the darker tones of the colder lake surface. Bank seepage and ground-water discharge generally are evident where unconsolidated glacial sediment rather than bedrock is present.

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