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For more information on the USGS-the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment-visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1-888-ASK-USGS.For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod/.Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner.Suggested citation: Prudic, D.E, Sweetkind, D.S., Jackson, T.R., Dotson, K.E., Plume, R.W., Hatch, C.E., and Halford, K.J. 2015, Evaluating connection of aquifers to springs and streams, Great Basin National Park and vicinity, Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1819, 188 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/pp1819. ISSN 2330-7102 (online) iii AcknowledgmentsThe study was developed cooperatively among the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the University of Nevada, Reno. The National Park Service, as the lead agency, prepared and submitted a proposal for funding through the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act Round 8-Conservation Initiatives category for White Pine County.Many people assisted with the design, oversight, management, data collection, and data verification for this project. First and foremost, we wish to acknowledge the numerous contributions of William P. (Bill) Van Liew, Hydrologist from the National Park Service, Water Resources Division, for his ongoing efforts to understand the hydraulic connection of groundwater in the Great Basin National Park with the groundwater in Snake and Spring Valleys and how pumping in the valleys might affect surface and groundwater resources in the park. Bill also was assigned the task of oversight and project management. Robert Boyd, of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and James Prieur, of Southern Nevada Water Authority, spent many hours in the design of the project and in coordination with ongoing data collection by other agencies. Gary Karst, Hydrologist at Lake Mead National Recreation Area, spent many hours in the removal of fiber-optic cable from Lehman Creek and assisting in the oversight of the drilling of test wells at two places: one next to Snake Creek and the other next to Baker Creek.Andrew Ferguson, former Great Basin National Park Superintendent, oversaw support of the project. This included providing personnel for helping with the permits, providing logistical support for the semi-annual public meetings, obtaining previously collected data, and assisting with data collection. Acknowledgements are extended to park personnel Gretchen Baker (Ecologist) and Benjamin Roberts (Chief of Natural Resources) for their guidance and help in obtaining permits, providing d...

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One of the great challenges faced by water-resources scientists is providing reliable water-quality information to guide the management and protection of the Nation's water resources. That challenge is being addressed by Federal, State, interstate, and local water-resources agencies and by academic institutions. Many of these organizations are collecting water-quality data for a host of purposes, including compliance with permits and water-supply standards; development of remediation plans for specific contamination problems; operational decisions on industrial, wastewater, or water-supply facilities; and research to advance our understanding of water-quality processes. In fact, during the past two decades, tens of billions of dollars have been spent on water-quality data-collection programs. Unfortunately, the utility of these data for present and future regional and national assessments is limited by such factors as the area! extent of the sampling network, the frequency of sample collection, the varied collection and analytical procedures, and the types of water-quality characteristics determined. To address this deficiency, the Congress appropriated funds for the U.S. Geological Survey, beginning in 1986, to test and refine concepts for a National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program that, if fully implemented, would: 1. Provide a nationally consistent description of water-quality conditions for a large part of the Nation's water resources; 2. Define long-term trends (or lack of trends) in water quality; and 3. Identify, describe, and explain, as possible, the major factors that affect observed water-quality conditions and trends. As presently envisioned, a full-scale NAWQA Program would be accomplished through investigations of a large set of major river basins and aquifer systems that are distributed throughout the Nation and that account for a large percentage of the Nation's population and freshwater use. Each investigation would be conducted by a small team that is familiar with the river basin or aquifer system. Thus, the investigations would take full advantage of the region-specific knowledge of persons in the areas under study. Four surface-water projects and three groundwater projects are being conducted as part of the pilot program to test and refine the assessment methods and to help determine the need for and the feasibility of a full-scale program. An initial activity of each pilot project is to compile, screen, and interpret available data to provide an initial description of water-quality conditions and trends in the study area. The results of this analysis of available data are presented in individual reports for each project. The pilot studies depend heavily on cooperation and information from many Federal, State, interstate, and local agencies. The assistance and suggestions of all are gratefully acknowledged.