Ground-water quality and geochemistry of Las Vegas Valley, Clark County, Nevada, 1981-83: Implementation of a monitoring network

Book · Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:6707107

Dettinger, M D

The quantitative investigations of groundwater quality and geochemical conditions in the valley would include the establishment of data collection networks on a valley-wide scale that differ substantially from existing networks. The valley-wide networks would have a uniform areal distribution of sampling sites, would sample from all major depth zones, and would entail repeated sampling from each site. Groundwater in the northern half of the valley generally contains 200 to 400 mg/L of dissolved solids, and is dominated by calcium, magnesium, and bicarbonate ions, reflecting a chemical equilibrium between the groundwater and the dominantly carbonate rocks in the aquifers of this area. The intermediate to deep groundwater in the southern half of the valley is of poorer quality. The poorest quality groundwater in the valley is generally in the lowland parts of the valley in the first few feet beneath the water table, where dissolved solids concentrations range from 2,000 to > 7,000 mg/L, and probably reflects the effects of evaporite dissolution, secondary recharge, and evapotranspiration. The most common water quality constraint on potential groundwater use is the high salinity. No evidence of large-scale contamination of deep groundwater was found in this study. 39 refs., 15 figs., 5 tabs.

• OSTI ID: 6707107
• Resource Relation: Related Information: USGS Water Resources Investigation Report 87-4007
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
GROUND WATER
CONTAMINATION
NEVADA
WATER POLLUTION
ACID CARBONATES
AQUIFERS
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
HYDROLOGY
MAGNESIUM
MONITORING
SALINITY
SULFATES
ALKALINE EARTH METALS
ELEMENTS
FEDERAL REGION IX
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
METALS
NORTH AMERICA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
USA
WATER
540320* - Environment
Aquatic- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)