Upper Humboldt Water Resources

Elko County officials and citizens are concerned about growing demands for ground water within the county and demands for ground water that are occurring elsewhere in the state. Since the Humboldt River is fully appropriated, any additional water needed to support growth in the upper Humboldt River Basin will have to come from ground water. County and state water-resource managers need information that will enable them to make informed decisions regarding future use and development of the water resources of the upper Humboldt River Basin.

Objectives

Develop an improved understanding of the water resources within the upper Humboldt River Basin. Specific, long-term objectives are to (1) define the hydrogeologic framework of the area; (2) describe the occurrence and movement of ground water in and between the eight hydrographic areas that comprise the basin; (3) define interactions of ground water and streamflow; (4) refine water budgets; and (5) define surface-water and ground-water quality. The study will be conducted in phases because of fiscal constraints. Phase one will be done in federal fiscal years 2007-08 and will address the first two specific objectives listed above. Subsequent phases would address the remaining three objectives.

Strategy and Approach

The phase one approach will be to (1) use existing geologic data and studies to compile a map of the study area that shows the extent of hydrogeologic units and combined thickness of basin-fill deposits and volcanic rocks; (2) acquire and analyze lithologic and geophysical logs for water wells, geothermal wells, and oil and gas wells; (3) measure water levels in wells in the spring of 2007 and develop a map showing water-level altitudes and directions of ground-water flow; and (4) use water-level altitudes and aquifer cross sections from the hydrogeologic map to make estimates of subsurface flow within and between hydrographic areas.

Additional Information

Additional information about the Humboldt River basin is available from the USGS Humboldt River Basin Assessment web site.

Relevance and Benefits

The proposed study is relevant to issues one, six, and seven of the Nevada Water Science Center Science Plan. These three issues address the need to refine water budgets and to better understand evapotranspiration and regional ground-water systems. The study also is consistent with a goal of the USGS Strategic Plan, which is to provide water-resource managers with accurate, reliable, and impartial scientific information. The work will benefit the cooperators and other water-resources agencies by providing information necessary for sound resource development and management decisions.

Publications

Humboldt River Basin Bibliography: List of USGS Nevada WSC publications about the Humboldt River Basin, including cooperative State publications.

USGS Publications Warehouse Humboldt River Basin Bibliography: List of publications from all USGS disciplines.