Many freshwater ecosystems are sustained by a continuous supply of clean groundwater. For example, groundwater may provide late season baseflow to rivers or a sustained high water table in wetlands. These ecosystems, termed GDEs, often are affected by management activities that reduce, interrupt, or contaminate their groundwater supply, including groundwater...
The City of Florence, local stakeholders, and partner agencies recently formed the Siuslaw Estuary Partnership (SEP) to address threats to drinking water quality and fish and wildlife habitat in the lower Siuslaw watershed. The Sole Source Dunal Aquifer within the lower Siuslaw watershed, which supplies the City ’s drinking water,...
The study area lies north-northeast of Crater Lake National Park and is covered by 2 to 3 m of pumice deposited during the climactic eruption of Mount Mazama approximately 7700 years before present. The pumice deposit hosts unconfined, seasonally connected, perched aquifers that support groundwater dependent ecosystems at points of...
The Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA) and the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement (KHSA) forged between Klamath River Basin stakeholder groups in California and Oregon, when successfully implemented, will lead to the largest dam removal project in history. After a decade of intense legal and social conflict among disparate interests in...
Over the last decade hydrologic monitoring efforts in the Upper Klamath Basin (UKB) of Oregon have increased in response to the continued strain on surface water and groundwater to meet competing biological and agricultural demands. The Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) increased its stream gaging network from three to ten...
Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) aquifers are commonly thought to be relatively flat lying, laterally extensive, and mostly confined, and therefore not likely to be directly connected to surface water. However, many of the CRBG units in south-central Washington and north-central Oregon were deposited within evolving synclinal structures of the...
Climate change will continue to profoundly affect water supply and aquatic ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest. Changes such as warmer air temperatures, increases in the proportion of winter rain versus snow, reduced spring snowpack, and earlier snowmelt all affect streamflow. The response to these climate impacts includes earlier runoff peaks,...
Spatial patterns of summer streamflow in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon vary dramatically between the geologically distinct High and Western Cascade regions. A key control is the partitioning of water input between a fast-draining shallow subsurface flow network (Western Cascades) versus a slow-draining deeper groundwater system (High Cascades). These differences...
Numerous sources of water resource data for Oregon can be found if one knows where to look. Traditional providers such as the US Geological Survey (USGS), the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), and the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) have made great strides in recent years to make historical and...
The Klamath Basin is rich in history, culture, and biological diversity. Upper Klamath Lake is fed primarily by the Williamson and Sprague rivers. Below the lake’s outlet, the Klamath River begins a 263 mile journey, cutting through both the Cascade and Coast mountain ranges to the Pacific Ocean. The Basin...
Chiloquin Dam, located on the Sprague River in southern Oregon, was removed in August of 2008. The processing of the sediment stored behind the dam (composed primarily of sand and fines) and the resulting bedform changes have been examined using repeat cross section surveys, yearly bathymetric surveys, and surface sediment...
Oregon’s stream gaging network was last evaluated in 1970 by the U.S. Geological Survey. Water management and scientific-related needs have changed significantly since 1970, including the recognition of instream water rights and implications of climate change on water resources. The Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) has recently undertaken an evaluation...
Climate change due to global warming could induce more frequent droughts in the Willamette River Basin because less snowfall in winter and earlier snowmelt due to temperature increase may lead to decreases in spring and summer streamflow. This study examines possible changes in drought risk using two drought indices, Standardized...
In an effort to reduce suspended solids and organic carbon loading and to increase long-term groundwater recharge rates at Orange County Water District’s spreading basins, a pilot project was conducted to evaluate riverbed filtration as a technology to treat river water prior to groundwater recharge. A shallow under-channel lateral drain...
The Joint Water Commission (JWC) in Forest Grove, Oregon completed a greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory of all the direct and indirect emissions associated with the daily operations of its 75 MGD conventional water treatment plant. Currently, very few water and wastewater facilities have completed a greenhouse gas inventory to date....
In 2008 the U.S. Geological Survey began a Global Change study that evaluated the watershed scale response to climate change in selected basins across the United States. Fourteen basins for which the Precipitation Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) had been calibrated and evaluated were selected as study sites. PRMS is a...
Climate changes. That’s what climate does. It is a natural and dynamic process. The National Weather Service (NWS) recognizes on-going climate change by publishing new figures for average climate every ten years. Climate averages for precipitation, temperature, and other weather parameters are computed on a 30 year basis but only...
Drought events are usually characterized by their duration, severity, and intensity which are calculated based on different indices for drought recognition. Streamflow Drought Index (SDI) used in hydrological droughts is applied in this study to calculate drought variables of historical events in Upper Klamath River basin in Oregon. Historical extreme...
Effects of climate change in the Cascade Range will likely include more rain, less snow, and earlier snowmelt in the Cascade Range as compared to present conditions. These changes, in turn, will affect the timing of runoff, groundwater recharge, and groundwater discharge to spring-fed streams. This hydrologic response needs to...