Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

Understanding Aquifer Water Retention Dynamics Using Groundwater Head Relaxation Time

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/p5548085s

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  • Diking and channelizing in the Toppenish Creek basin, associated with irrigated agricultural development, has altered its natural ecosystem function and hydraulic processes. We seek to answer two research questions: if surface waters are diverted for aquifer recharge in the winter, will this water be available for ecosystem function in the late summer months? If so, how long does additional stored water remain in the shallow subsurface aquifer? Flood waters no longer overtop the creek’s banks, spread out, and recharge the shallow aquifer. Restoring Toppenish Creek to its pre-development functionality is important to obtain summer baseflow to spring-fed and creeks, create a habitat for aquatic species and wildlife, and increase the availability of traditional foods and medicines. The Yakama Nation operates the Toppenish Fan Shallow Aquifer Recharge Project, which diverts excess creek waters, after fulfilling local water rights, into an alluvial ditch network for aquifer recharge. To understand groundwater storage dynamics, we fit an exponential decay function to the measured post-recharge receding groundwater head observations in wells located in the project area. We found that half of the applied water leaves the observation well area ranging from 30 to 63 days, with all but four wells showing less than 1% annual storage carryover in the aquifer and the final well showing less than 2% carryover. Although little inter-annual storage occurs now, late 19th-century surveys show the alluvial aquifer fed numerous springs and ecosystems that sustained the Yakama Nation.
  • Keywords: Aquifer Storage Dynamics, Managed Aquifer Recharge, Yakama Nation
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