Water Resources of the Basin and Range Carbonate-Rock Aquifer System, White Pine County, Nevada, and Adjacent Areas in Nevada and Utah

Bright, Daniel J.; Knochenmus, Lari A.

doi:10.3133/sir20075261

Cited by 9 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 29 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The Spring Valley groundwater flow system is one of 39 major groundwater flow systems that have been identified in the Great Basin (Harrill and Prudic 1998). The geology and hydrogeology of the Great Basin including Spring Valley has been the subject of numerous investigations (Clancy 1968; Hose and Blake 1970; Hose et al 1976; Hess and Mifflin 1978; Prudic et al 1993; Nichols 2000; Lopes and Evetts 2004; Pavelko 2007; Bright et al 2008; SNWA 2009a, 2011).…”

Section: Spring Valley Hydrogeologic Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the case of Spring Valley, more than a dozen estimates of unappropriated perennial yield have been published since 1965 ranging from 70,000 to 90,000 AFA (86 to 111M m 3 /year) (Rush and Kazmi 1965; Watson et al 1976; Dettinger 1989; Brothers et al 1994; Harrill and Prudic 1998; Nichols 2000; Epstein 2004; Flint et al 2004; Bright et al 2008; SNWA 2009a, 2011). In 2007, the State Engineer established a value of 80,000 AFY (99M m 3 /year) (NSE 2007).…”

Section: Spring Valley Hydrogeologic Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Urban Thirst and Rural Water: The Saga of the Southern Nevada Groundwater Development Project

Jones,

Mayo

2023

Groundwater

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In 1989, the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) launched the Southern Nevada Groundwater Development Project – a bold plan to construct a series of deep wells in east‐central Nevada to pump groundwater and send it to the Las Vegas region through 300 miles of pipeline. Before starting work on the project, SNWA conducted an environmental impact study and secured water rights in the valleys. Applications for additional new water rights were filed with Nevada State Engineer on the basis of uncaptured evapotranspiration. The SNWA spent decades and millions of dollars studying the hydrogeology of the region and developing computer models to demonstrate that the project would not have an unduly negative impact on the ecology or water users in the region. The project was opposed by environmental groups, native American tribes, and existing water rights holders. One of the protestants was the Cleveland Ranch in Spring Valley. Using the SNWA's own groundwater model, the ranch argued that the project would result in substantial harm to the ranch's water rights which included springs, wells, and a stream, and that the project would result in perpetual groundwater mining, which is forbidden by Nevada state policy. The Nevada State Engineer approved the project, but the decision was eventually reversed by Seventh District Court, which sided with the ranch and ruled that the project would never be sustainable and is therefore not compatible with Nevada policy. The project was formally abandoned in 2020.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

show abstract

Section: Spring Valley Hydrogeologic Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Spring Valley Hydrogeologic Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban Thirst and Rural Water: The Saga of the Southern Nevada Groundwater Development Project

Jones,

Mayo

2023

Groundwater

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

550-Year Reconstruction of Streamflow Variability in Spring Valley, Nevada

Strachan

Biondi

Leising

2012

J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Spring Valley, Nevada, is one of several areas proposed for the pumping and export of groundwater to Las Vegas by the Southern Nevada Water Authority. Long-term annual-to-decadal variability of water supply in the region is not well understood, so tree-ring records were used to develop a longer baseline of variability in streamflow and drought episodes. Long-lived (up to about 600 years), climatically sensitive single-leaf pinyon pine (Pinus monophylla) trees within the Cleve Creek watershed provided a 550-year (1458-2007) tree-ring chronology that was compared to water-year mean monthly runoff from USGS gauge 10243700. Using a proxy record from within the watershed under study increased confidence in the statistical relationships used for streamflow reconstruction. Linear correlation between the tree-ring chronology and the streamflow record over 34 years of overlap was 0.73, explaining 53% of the instrumental variance. After comparison with multiple linear regression and linear regression with transformed data, the line of organic correlation (LOC) method was used to develop a streamflow reconstruction with water-year resolution from 1458 to 2007. During these 550 years, a total of 257 wet and dry episodes were quantified according to their duration, magnitude, and peak. The longest episode was 1848-1855 (an 8-year wet spell); the greatest magnitude belonged to the drought of the mid-1600s (1652-1655); the three highest peaks all corresponded to dry episodes, 1506-1508, 1590, and 1933-1936. Using a numerical scoring rule, the 1930s drought (1933-1936) was in eighth position, making it one of the most remarkable episodes in the past half millennium. This result is not entirely consistent with recent dendroclimatic reconstructions for the eastern Sierra, suggesting that regional drought severity varies by locality within the Great Basin. Evaluating the responses of trees at multiple elevations to various local climate and hydrological parameters through in situ monitoring will help refine tree-ring reconstructions of past ecohydrological conditions.

show abstract

Estimation of unsaturated zone traveltimes for Rainier Mesa and Shoshone Mountain, Nevada Test Site, Nevada, using a source-responsive preferential-flow model

Ebel¹,

Nimmo²

2009

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Water Resources of the Basin and Range Carbonate-Rock Aquifer System, White Pine County, Nevada, and Adjacent Areas in Nevada and Utah

Cited by 9 publications

References 29 publications

Urban Thirst and Rural Water: The Saga of the Southern Nevada Groundwater Development Project

Urban Thirst and Rural Water: The Saga of the Southern Nevada Groundwater Development Project

550-Year Reconstruction of Streamflow Variability in Spring Valley, Nevada

Estimation of unsaturated zone traveltimes for Rainier Mesa and Shoshone Mountain, Nevada Test Site, Nevada, using a source-responsive preferential-flow model

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About