A study of the geomorphology of rivers draining Mount Rainier, Washington, was completed to identify sources of sediment to the river network; to identify important processes in the sedimentdelivery system; to assess current sediment loads in rivers draining Mount Rainier; to evaluate if there were trends in streamflow or sediment load since the early 20th century; and to assess how rates of sedimentation might continue into the future using published climate-change scenarios. Rivers draining Mount Rainier carry heavy sediment loads sourced primarily from the volcano that cause acute aggradation in deposition reaches as far away as the Puget Lowland. Calculated yields ranged from 2,000 tonnes per square kilometer per year [(tonnes/km 2)/yr] on the upper Nisqually River to 350 (tonnes/km 2)/yr on the lower Puyallup River, notably larger than sediment yields of 50-200 (tonnes/km 2)/yr typical for other Cascade Range rivers. These rivers can be assumed to be in a general state of sediment surplus. As a result, future aggradation rates will be largely influenced by the underlying hydrology carrying sediment downstream. The active-channel width of rivers directly draining Mount Rainier in 2009, used as a proxy for sediment released from Mount Rainier, changed little between 1965 and 1994 reflecting a climatic period that was relatively quiet hydrogeomorphically. From 1994 to 2009, a marked increase in geomorphic disturbance caused the active channels in many river reaches to widen. Comparing active-channel widths of glacier-draining rivers in 2009 to the distance of glacier retreat between 1913 and 1994 showed no correlation, suggesting that geomorphic disturbance in river reaches directly downstream of glaciers is not strongly governed by the degree of glacial retreat. In contrast, there was a correlation between active-channel width and the percentage of superglacier debris mantling the glacier, as measured in 1971. A conceptual model of sediment delivery processes from the mountain indicates that rockfalls, glaciers, debris flows, and main-stem flooding act sequentially to deliver sediment from Mount Rainier to river reaches in the Puget Lowland over decadal time scales. Greater-than-normal runoff was associated with cool phases of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Streamflow-gaging station data from four unregulated rivers directly draining Mount Rainier indicated no statistically significant trends of increasing peak flows over the course of the 20th century. The total sediment load of the upper Nisqually River from 1945 to 2011 was determined to be 1,200,000±180,000 tonnes/yr. The suspended-sediment load in the lower Puyallup River at Puyallup, Washington, was 860,000±300,000 tonnes/yr between 1978 and 1994, but the long-term load for the Puyallup River likely is about 1,000,000±400,000 tonnes/yr. Using a coarse-resolution bedloadtransport relation, the long-term average bedload was estimated to be about 30,000 tonnes/yr in the lower White River near Auburn, Washington, which was four times greater than bedload i...

Two models were used to estimate groundwater recharge to the Yakima River Basin aquifer system, Washington for predevelopment (estimate of natural conditions) and current (a multi-year, 1995-2004, composite) land-use and landcover conditions. The models were the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) and the Deep Percolation Model (DPM) that are contained in the U.S. Geological Survey's Modular Modeling System. Daily values of recharge were estimated for water years 1950-98 using previously developed PRMS-watershed models for four mainly forested upland areas, and for water years 1950-2003 using DPM applied to 17 semiarid to arid areas in the basin. The mean annual recharge under predevelopment conditions was estimated to be about 11.9 in. or 5,450 ft 3 /s (about 3.9 million acre-ft) for the 6,207 mi 2 in the modeled area. In the modeled areas, recharge ranged from 0.08 in. (1.2 ft 3 /s) to 34 in. (2,825 ft 3 /s). About 97 percent of the recharge occurred in the 3,667 mi 2 area included in the uplandarea models, but much of this quantity is not available to recharge the bedrock hydrogeologic units. Only about 1.0 in., or 187 ft 3 /s (about 0.14 million acre-ft), was estimated to occur in the 2,540 mi 2 area included in the semiarid to arid lowland modeled areas. The mean annual recharge to the aquifer system under current conditions was estimated to be about 15.6 in., or 7,149 ft 3 /s (about 5.2 million acre-ft). The increase in recharge is due to the application of irrigation water to croplands. The annual quantity of irrigation was more than five times the annual precipitation for some of the modeled areas. Mean annual actual evapotranspiration was estimated to have increased from predevelopment conditions by more than 1,700 ft 3 /s (about 1.2 million acre-ft) due to irrigation.

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Cover: The elevation-contour map surveyed in 1956 (contours in red) drawn on a copy of the October 24, 1944, map sheet (contours in black) of the bed of Alder Lake near the mouth of the Nisqually River in Alder Lake near Elbe, Washington. (Courtesy of Tacoma Public Utilities, Tacoma Power.

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Although often overlooked, groundwater is increasingly important to all our lives. Groundwater is the Nation's principal reserve of freshwater. It provides one-half of our drinking water and is essential to U.S. food production while facilitating business and industry in promoting economic wellbeing. Groundwater also is an important source of water for sustaining the ecosystem health of rivers, wetlands, and estuaries throughout the country. Large-scale development of groundwater resources with accompanying declines in groundwater levels and other effects of pumping have led to concerns about the future availability of groundwater to meet all our Nation's needs. The depletion of groundwater to satisfy the country's thirst and the compounding effects of recent droughts emphasize the need for an updated status of the Nation's groundwater resources. Assessments of groundwater resources provide the science and information needed by the public and decision makers to evaluate water availability and its effects on the water supply, as well as, to manage and use the water resources responsibly. Adding to this already complex task of resource assessment is the analysis of potential future effects due to climate variability, which can further exacerbate an already challenging situation. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is conducting large-scale multidisciplinary regional studies of groundwater availability, such as this study of the Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System. These regional studies are intended to provide citizens, communities, and natural resource managers with (1) improved information and knowledge of the status of the Nation's groundwater resources, (2) how changes in land use, water use, and climate have affected those resources, and (3) tools to forecast how these resources may change in the future. Over time, the findings from these individual regional groundwater assessments of principal aquifers can be scaled up to a national synthesis and scaled down to provide information relevant to issues of local concern. This national scale groundwater assessment directly supports the USGS National Water Census.

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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://store.usgs.gov.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. DatumsVertical coordinate information is referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88).Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83).Altitude, as used in this report, refers to distance above the vertical datum. Simulated inflow to the model area for the 2005-2012 period from precipitation and secondary recharge was 585,323 acre-feet per year (acre-ft/yr) (93 percent of total simulated inflow ignoring changes in storage), and simulated inflow from stream and lake leakage was 43,905 acre-ft/yr (7 percent of total simulated inflow). Simulated outflow from the model primarily was through discharge to streams, lakes, springs, seeps, and Puget Sound (594,595 acre-ft/yr; 95 percent of total simulated outflow excluding changes in storage) and through withdrawals from wells (30,761 acre-ft/yr; 5 percent of total simulated outflow excluding changes in storage). AbbreviationsSix scenarios were formulated with input from project stakeholders and were simulated using the calibrated model to provide representative examples of how the model could be used to evaluate the effects on water levels and stream baseflows of potential changes in groundwater withdrawals, in consumptive use, and in recharge. These included simulations of a steady-state system, no-pumping and return flows, 15-percent increase in current withdrawals in all wells, 80-percent decrease in outdoor water to simulate effects of conservation efforts, 15-percent decrease in recharge from precipitation to simulate a drought, and particle tracking to determine flow paths.Changes in water-level altitudes and baseflow amounts vary depending on the stress applied to the system in these various scenarios. Reducing recharge by 15 percent between 2005 and 2012 had the largest effect, with water-level altitudes declining throughout the model domain and baseflow amounts decreasing by as much as 18 percent compared to baseline conditions. Changes in pumping volumes had a smaller effect on the model. Removing all pumping and resulting return flows caused increased water-level altitudes in many areas and increased baseflow amounts of between 1 and 3 percent.