First Advisor

Scott F. Burns

Term of Graduation

Winter 1996

Date of Publication

3-18-1996

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.) in Geology: Geohydrology

Department

Geology

Language

English

Subjects

Groundwater recharge -- Oregon -- Deschutes River Watershed -- Computer simulation, Groundwater – Oregon -- Deschutes River Watershed – Management, Soil percolation -- Computer simulation, Water resources development

Physical Description

1 online resource (xii, 86, [14] pages)

Abstract

All surface water in the Middle Deschutes River basin of Oregon has already been allocated. Growth in the basin has put pressure on the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) to grant an increasing number of groundwater permits. The OWRD is concerned that the allocation of too much groundwater will cause adverse effects on other groundwater users and surface water supplies and ultimately lead to groundwater depletion. For this reason, the U.S. Geological Survey is presently undertaking the first in-depth study of the groundwater resources of the basin.

As part of this USGS study, I estimated recharge rates and their distribution to the groundwater system for the entire Middle Deschutes River Basin for a 1962 to 1994 water year study period using the USGS Deep Percolation Model (DPM) and the ARC/INFO Geographic Information System (GIS). The average annual recharge rates for the basin range from a high of over 3,480 mm (137 inches) in the Three Sisters area of the Cascade Divide, to a low of 0 mm (0 inches) in the dry eastern parts of the basin, with a mean of 280 mm (11 inches) for the whole basin.

In addition to groundwater recharge, the other main water budget variables estimated by the DPM include precipitation, actual evapotranspiration, and surface runoff. The augmented DPM average annual precipitation of the basin ranges mainly from a high of 5,207 mm (205 inches) in the Three Sisters area to a low of 178 mm (7 inches) in the eastern part of the basin with a mean of 719 mm (28.3 inches). The PRISM model (Precipitation-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model) precipitation data used by the DPM ranged from a high of 3,835 mm (151 inches) to a low of less than 279 mm (less than 11 inches).

Comments

A research project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Geology: Geohydrology.

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/43210

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