Objectives

A watershed-based understanding of the quantity and hydrology of water resources in the Walker River Basin is necessary to evaluate alternatives for supplemental flows. Currently, there are large unknowns in some portions of the hydrologic system, including ungaged tributaries, evapotranspiration (ET) losses from riparian vegetation, the water-budget for Walker Lake, and interactions between surface water (streams and rivers, canals, drains) and ground water.

This study is designed to further constrain these unknowns so that the consequences of water management alternatives to Walker Lake can be better predicted. Specific objectives are:

1. Quantify the volume of streamflow and determine the percentage of that streamflow for valleys in the watershed;
2. Determine ET losses from natural and agricultural vegetation and the lake surface;
3. Develop an improved water budget for Walker Lake; and
4. Develop the capability to predict how changes in irrigation practices in and below Mason Valley will affect flows in the lower Walker River.