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Title: Method for estimating ground-water return flow to the Colorado River in the Palo Verde-Cibola area, California and Arizona

Abstract

Ground-water return flow to the Colorado River was estimated as the residual in water budgets for the areas that drain in the subsurface to the river in Palo Verde and Cibola Valleys, California and Arizona. Two ground-water drainage areas in each valley were delineated using average annual water-table altitudes in the shallow alluvial aquifer that underlies Palo Verde and Cibola Valleys. Surface-water diversions from and returns to the Colorado River were measured. Consumptive use was estimated using a water budget for the area drained by drainage ditches in Palo Verde Valley and was adjusted for the unequal distribution of vegetation types on either side of the ground-water divide. Cibola Valley had no drainage ditches in 1981, and consumptive use was estimated using vegetation types, empirically determined consumptive use, and acreages. Vegetation data were obtained from crop records, crop mapping, and Landsat satellite imagery. A 1-year period was used because river-surface altitudes, ground-water heads, and irrigation-water deliveries follow a 1-year cycle and changes in ground-water storage are probably negligible at the end of the 1-year period. Estimates of ground-water return flow using data from 1981 were 23,900 acre-feet from Palo Verde Valley and 5200 acre-feet from Cibola Valley. 14 refs., 11more » figs., 9 tabs.« less

Authors:
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Geological Survey, Tucson, AZ (USA)
OSTI Identifier:
5602546
Report Number(s):
USGS/WRI-84-4236
ON: TI85901580
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
58 GEOSCIENCES; 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; COLORADO RIVER; DRAINAGE; GROUND WATER; LIQUID FLOW; AQUIFERS; ARIZONA; CALIFORNIA; IRRIGATION; WATER USE; FEDERAL REGION IX; FLUID FLOW; HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS; NORTH AMERICA; OXYGEN COMPOUNDS; RIVERS; STREAMS; SURFACE WATERS; USA; WATER; 580100* - Geology & Hydrology- (-1989); 520500 - Environment, Aquatic- Site Resource & Use Studies- (-1989)

Citation Formats

Owen-Joyce, S J. Method for estimating ground-water return flow to the Colorado River in the Palo Verde-Cibola area, California and Arizona. United States: N. p., 1984. Web.
Owen-Joyce, S J. Method for estimating ground-water return flow to the Colorado River in the Palo Verde-Cibola area, California and Arizona. United States.
Owen-Joyce, S J. 1984. "Method for estimating ground-water return flow to the Colorado River in the Palo Verde-Cibola area, California and Arizona". United States.
@article{osti_5602546,
title = {Method for estimating ground-water return flow to the Colorado River in the Palo Verde-Cibola area, California and Arizona},
author = {Owen-Joyce, S J},
abstractNote = {Ground-water return flow to the Colorado River was estimated as the residual in water budgets for the areas that drain in the subsurface to the river in Palo Verde and Cibola Valleys, California and Arizona. Two ground-water drainage areas in each valley were delineated using average annual water-table altitudes in the shallow alluvial aquifer that underlies Palo Verde and Cibola Valleys. Surface-water diversions from and returns to the Colorado River were measured. Consumptive use was estimated using a water budget for the area drained by drainage ditches in Palo Verde Valley and was adjusted for the unequal distribution of vegetation types on either side of the ground-water divide. Cibola Valley had no drainage ditches in 1981, and consumptive use was estimated using vegetation types, empirically determined consumptive use, and acreages. Vegetation data were obtained from crop records, crop mapping, and Landsat satellite imagery. A 1-year period was used because river-surface altitudes, ground-water heads, and irrigation-water deliveries follow a 1-year cycle and changes in ground-water storage are probably negligible at the end of the 1-year period. Estimates of ground-water return flow using data from 1981 were 23,900 acre-feet from Palo Verde Valley and 5200 acre-feet from Cibola Valley. 14 refs., 11 figs., 9 tabs.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/5602546}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1984},
month = {Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1984}
}

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