Water Availability

Water availability has been and remains the major long-term water issue in Washington. The earliest concerns centered on finding engineering solutions to provide water for municipal, hydropower, and agricultural uses. In the 1940s the focus shifted to development of ground water, which today provides about 1,500 cubic feet per second of water for use in the State. From the mid 1960s to early 1980s, senior water rights and environmental constraints became increasingly important and water-availability issues fell into three quantity-oriented categories: (1) limits on ground-water use, (2) recognition that the surface-water sources no longer could support increased development; and (3) needs for additional water. From the early 1980s to the present it also became more widely recognized that the interaction between ground water and surface water affect water availability and that water has been over-allocated in some basins.

The approach to water availability has shifted from development of water resources to integrated natural-resource management that recognizes the strong linkages between land management, resource management, and water management. Reconciliation of current water needs must include consideration these topics.

Availability of water under a range of climatic conditions, including low-flow years and throughout the seasonal cycles in average years
Accounting for the seasonality of water needs, because instream flows, stream-corridor habitat, riparian vegetation, species diversity, ground water-surface water interactions, land-use effects, the Endangered Species Act, and climate variability are now intertwined with water availability
The increasing role of environmental constraints in water availability

Participation of the USGS in water-availability analyses over the years has varied with the changes in focus. The USGS collects streamflow data in Washington at more than 250 sites and compiles and stores water-use data. From the 1800s to the mid 1980s we conducted large-scale water-resource assessment studies that were related to water availability, including several county-wide studies and the USGS Regional Aquifer System Analysis (RASA) programs in the Columbia and Puget Sound Basins. More recently, USGS scientists conducted and participated in watershed analyses in the Methow and Colville River Basins and developed methods to estimate recharge to island ground-water systems. Modeling and data management tools and a decision support system for managing water in river basins were applied by the USGS to the Yakima River Basin and can be used to address many water-resource questions concerning water availability. The USGS, working cooperatively with the Washington State Department of Ecology, conducted a modeling study to evaluate the effects of various hypothetical ground-water withdrawal scenarios on surface-water bodies that led to a better understanding of the relation between ground water and surface water in Puget Sound and Spokane River watersheds.

Links to projects related to: Water Availability
SUBASE Bangor Characterization of the Geohydrology, Ground-Water Flow System, and Ground-Water Quality of SUBASE Bangor - Completed FY2003 Water Resources of the Kitsap Peninsula and Adjacent Islands - Completed FY1980
Chambers-Clover Model Characterization and Numerical Simulation of the Water Resources in the Chambers-Clover Creek Watershed, Pierce County, Washington
Chamokane Framework and Model Characterization and Numerical Simulation of the Water Resources in the Chamokane Creek Basin, Stevens County
Chehalis Watershed Chehalis Seepage
Chimacum GW Model Evaluation of Potential Hydrologic Effects of Future Ground-Water Withdrawals in the Chimacum Creek Basin, Jefferson County
Columbia Basin GWMA Nitrate trends in ground water of the Columbia Basin Ground Water Management Area - Completed FY2004 Columbia Basin Ground-Water Management Area (GWMA) - Completed FY2001
Columbia Plateau Ground-Water Availability Characterizing the hydrologic status of the Columbia Plateau ground-water system, identifying trends in ground-water storage and use, and quantifying ground-water availability.
Colville River Basin Water Resources of the Unconsolidated Ground-Water System of the Colville River Basin - Completed FY2004 Numerical Simulation of the Ground-Water Flow System of the Colville River Basin, Stevens County, Washington - Completed FY2004
Cook and McCalla Basins Watershed Analysis of the Cook and McCalla Basins - Completed FY1995
Dungeness Aquifer Delineation in the Dungeness River Basin - Completed FY1995 Hydrogeologic Assessment of the Dungeness River Basin - Completed FY1999 Relation Between the Dungeness River and the Shallow Aquifer in the Sequim-Dungeness Area, Clallam County, Washington - Completed FY2002
Eastbank Aquifer near Rocky Reach Dam Assessment of Ground-Water Temperatures near Rocky Reach Dam, Douglas County
Howard A. Hanson Reservoir Estimating Runoff-Season Inflows to the Howard A. Hanson Reservoir, Green River - Completed FY2002
Island County Ground-Water Recharge Characteristics of Island County - Completed FY2003
Evapotranspiration at Klamath Marsh and Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge Estimating Evapotranspiration at Klamath Marsh, Oregon, and Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, California - Completed FY1999
Lummi Indian Reservation Ground-Water Resources of the Lummi Indian Reservation, Phase II - Completed FY1996
Methow River Basin Surface-Water Hydrology in the Methow River Basin - Completed FY2003 The Unconsolidated Aquifer and its Interaction with Surface Water - Completed FY2003 Monitoring Water Resources and Simulating Water Management Alternatives - Completed FY2003 Analyzing Aquifer and Streamflow Characteristics for Artificial Recharge in the Methow River Basin - Completed FY2003
Mid-Columbia Habitat Mapping Inactive Side Channels for Habitat Protection and Enhancement of Tributaries in the Mid-Columbia River Basin
Water Resources Inventory Area 1 Watershed Management Water-Quantity Analysis of Water Resources Inventory Area 1, Nooksack River Basin- Part 1: Data Assessment - Completed FY2001
Pacific Northwest Tribal Water Resources Pacific Northwest Tribal Water Resources Technical Assessment - Completed FY2005
Potholes Reservoir Simulation of Unregulated Runoff and Irrigation Return Flows into Potholes Reservoir
Direct Recharge Direct Recharge from Precipitation through Glacial Till in the Puget Sound Lowland - Completed FY1997
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Ground-Water Flow in the Vicinity of Dry Docks at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard - Completed FY1998
Puget Sound-Willamette Trough Puget Sound-Willamette Trough Regional Aquifer System Analysis (RASA) - Completed FY2001
Puyallup Streamflow Trends Trends in Streamflow in the Lower Puyallup River Basin, and Comparisons to Instream Flows and Water Use - Completed FY2004
Quilcene Bay Hydrologic Assessment of the Quilcene Bay Area and Chimacum Creek Basin, WRIA 17, Jefferson County - Completed FY2004
Quinault Indian Reservation Watershed Analysis of the Quinault River Basin - Completed FY1999 Channel and Floodplain Processes, Quinault Indian Reservation - Completed FY2002
Salmon River Watershed Analysis Salmon River Watershed Analysis - Completed FY2003
San Juan County Assessment of Seawater Intrusion into the Aquifers of the San Juan Islands, San Juan County - Completed FY2002 Estimates of average monthly ground-water recharge, precipitation, and runoff on Lopez, San Juan, Orcas, and Shaw Islands, San Juan County, WA
Skagit Ground Water Model Potential Effects of Increased Ground-Water Withdrawals on Streamflows in the Lower Skagit River Basin, Skagit County, Washington
Enhancing Snow Hydrology Models Enhancing Snow Hydrology Models with Data Assimilation of Active and Passive Microwave Remote Sensing
Spokane Valley - Rathdrum Prairie Spokane Valley - Rathdrum Prairie Hydrologic Study - Completed FY2007
Swinomish Water Resources Water Resources of the Swinomish River Basin - Completed FY1999
Pierce County GW Ground-Water Resources of the Tacoma-Puyallup Area - Completed FY2000
Thurston County GW Conceptual and Numerical Models of the Ground-Water System of Thurston County - Completed FY1999
Water Resources of the Tulalip Indian Reservation Water Resources of the Tulalip Indian Reservation, Snohomish County - Completed FY2004
Tule Lake Growing-Season Evapotranspiration from Selected Fallow Agricultural Lands of the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge, California - Completed FY2002
Evapotranspiration Long-Term Evapotranspiration Network - Completed FY1997 Estimating Actual ET Using Bowen Ratio and Penman Combination Methods - Phase II, Washington - Completed FY1997
Glaciers and Snowpack Glacier and Snowpack, Washington and Alaska
Ground-Water Records Collection of Basic Ground-Water Records, Washington
Hydrologic Urban Indicator Hydrologic Indicators of Urban Development in Western Washington Streams - Completed FY2002
NWIFC Water Assessment Tribal Assessment of Water Resources in Western Washington
Precipitation Records Collection of Basic Precipitation Records, Washington
Rain-on-Snow Events Magnitude and Frequency of Water Available for Runoff During Rain-on-Snow Events at Selected Sites in Washington State - Completed FY1996
Surface-Water Records Collection of Basic Surface-Water Records, Washington
Upstream Boundaries Upstream Boundaries for the State of Washington Shoreline Management Act of FY 1971 - Completed FY2003
Water Use Collection and Compilation of Water-Use Data, Washington
GW Recharge Evaluating Recharge Parameter Sensitivities in the Deep Percolation Model and the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System, Washington - Completed FY2004
Whatcom County Ground-Water Resources of Portions of the Lower Nooksack and Upper Sumas River Basins - Completed FY1992 Study of Fumigant-Derived Compounds in Shallow Ground Water, Whatcom Co., WA - Completed FY1999
Yakima Watershed and River Systems Management Program Yakima Watershed and River System Management Program (WARSMP) - Completed FY2002