Water-Table Levels and Gradients, Nevada, 1947-2004

Abstract

An examination of water tables at three sites suggests it may be possible to estimate the water table where data are sparse. Kyle Canyon, in Las Vegas Valley, has few domestic wells compared to Pine Nut Creek, in Carson Valley. Vicee Canyon, in Eagle Valley, has two production wells and is the most developed of the three sites. The initial water tables at Vicee Canyon and Kyle Canyon had similar shapes and were nearly parallel to land-surface altitude. Linear regression of water-table altitude with land-surface altitude from both sites had a slope of 0.89 and an r-squared of 0.97. If this relation is valid for other hydrogeologic settings, then water-table levels in undeveloped areas could be estimated from a few measurements. Recent (2000-2004) water tables at Pine Nut Creek and Vicee Canyon are similar and are not parallel with land-surface altitude, suggesting that pumping has changed the linear relation. At Vicee Canyon, pumping has reversed the gradient so that ground water flows from the valley floor toward the mountain front. The non-linear relation would depend on the amount of pumpage, making it difficult to estimate watertable levels in developed areas. This study used existing data to characterize gradients. A study specifically designed to characterize gradients may result in stronger correlations that could be used to estimate gradients and the water table where few data exist.

How do vegetation bands form in dry lands? Insights from numerical modeling and field studies in southern Nevada, USA

“…The climate of the area is characterized by a mean annual precipitation of approximately 150 mm yr −1 based on long‐term climate data from Beatty, NV (elevation of 1008 m above sea level (asl)). Measurements of groundwater table depths in the study region are sparse, but in Lida Valley (location of sites 2 and 3) and nearby Stonewall Flat (site 4), the depth to the groundwater table is more than 70 m [ Lopes et al , 2006]. Vegetation bands in our study sites parallel topographic contour closely and in some cases change orientation by more than ninety degrees over distances of a few hundred meters as the fluvial valleys they occupy change direction.…”

The vulnerability of springs and phreatophyte communities to groundwater level declines in Oregon and Nevada, 2002–2021

“…Loss of access to groundwater can lead to transitions of phreatophyte communities to ones with less ecological value. For example, black greasewood is the largest groundwater-dependent ecosystem by area in Nevada and is a good indicator of the presence of shallow groundwater (Lopes et al, 2006), and this phreatophyte is naturally fire-resistant but can transition to weedy, fire-prone vegetation if access to groundwater is lost (Provencher et al, 2020).…”

Continental‐Scale Geographic Trends in Barometric‐Pumping Efficiency Potential: A North American Case Study

“…We used a geologically homogenous subsurface with a porosity of 30% and rock matrix permeability of 1e−16 m 2 , which is within the typical range of sandstone, limestone, and tuff (Freeze & Cherry, 1979;INTERA, 1983). We used a depth to the water table of 100 m which is very deep for water table depths in North America (greater than 80 m; Fan et al, 2013;Miguez-Macho et al, 2008), but this depth occurs at least in the western United States (Lopes et al, 2006;SGMA GW, 2020;Snyder, 2008) and is within the range affected by barometric pumping (Neeper, 2002). Future analyses can refine our results by including water table depths, although considering that water table depths can vary significantly even at one location, this will require a much larger effort than our study.…”