Conceptual Evaluation of Ground-Water Flow and Simulated Effects of ChangingIrrigation Practices on the Shallow Aquifer in the Fallon and Stillwater Areas, Churchill County, Nevada

摘要

The Newlands Project was built in the early 1900's to supply water for irrigatingland in the Carson Desert near Fallon, Nevada. Recently, environmental groups and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have made efforts to purchase agricultural water rights in the area. Local residents who use the shallow aquifer as a water supply are concerned because of potential effects on the quantity and quality of domestic water and of recharge reduction caused by the purchase of agricultural water rights. In December 1996, the U.S. Geological Survey began a study with the Bureau of Reclamation to estimate potential effects on water levels, flow, and water quality in the shallow aquifer from changing irrigation practices in the Newlands Project area. The shallow aquifer generally extends from the water table to a depth of 50 feet below land surface. The aquifer is characterized by abrupt changes in lithology and water quality, both vertically and horizontally.