Periodic releases from an upstream dam cause rapid stage fluctuations in the Colorado River near Austin, Texas. These daily pulses modulate fluid exchange and residence times in the hyporheic region, where biogeochemical reactions are pronounced. We installed two transects of wells perpendicular to the river to examine in detail the reactions occurring in this zone of surface-water and groundwater exchange. One well transect recorded physical water level fluctuations and allowed us to map hydraulic head gradients and fluid movement. The second transect allowed for water sample collection at three discrete depths. Samples were collected from 12 wells every 2 hours for a 24-hour period and were analyzed for nutrients, carbon, major ions, and stable isotopes. The results provide a detailed picture of biogeochemical processes in the bank environment during low flow/drought conditions in a regulated river. Findings indicate that a pulse that causes a change in river stage of approximately 16-centimeters does not cause significant mixing in the bank. Under these conditions, the two systems act independently and exhibit only slight mixing at the interface. / text

The Fish Creek-Vallecito section is the most stratigraphically complete and structurally intact Neogene exposure in the Salton Trough, and thus provides a useful reference section for regional stratigraphie revision and historical interpretation of the early Gulf of California and Colorado Delta. The section comprises a marine sequence (Imperial Formation) bracketed by nonmarine units (Split Mountain and Alverson Formations below, Palm Spring Formation and Canebrake Conglomerate above). Recognition of distinct suites of locally-derived and Colorado River-derived sediment, combined with sedimentological evidence, led to revision of this sequence in terms of informal members and geneticstratigraphic units: (1) pre-rift braided-stream deposits (2) syn-rift fanglomerates and volcanics, with local pre-marine evaporites; (3) pre-deltaic marine units, deposited primarily as small fan deltas; a progradational sequence of the ancestral Colorado delta, consisting of (4) an upward-shoaling marine sequence, and (5) a nonmarine deltaplain sequence; (6) lacustrine units; and (7) locally-derived basinmargin alluvium that interfingers with (4), (5) and (6). Neogene palinspastic base maps for paleogeographic mapping were based on displacement histories for the Pacific-North American plate boundary and its constituent faults. The tectonic-sedimentary history consists of: (1) early to middle Miocene rifting that propagated southward from southern California to the Gulf mouth; (2) northward marine transgression of the rift basin, reaching southern California by the late Miocene; (3) development of the San Andreas-Gulf of California transform boundary by inboard transfer of intraplate slip; (4) earliest Pliocene initiation of the lower Colorado River and Delta by rapid epeirogenic uplift of the Bouse Embayment; and (5) late Pliocene or Pleistocene transpressive uplift in the western Salton Trough caused by outboard transfer of slip from the San Andreas fault. The stratigraphic succession in the western Salton Trough resulted largely from tectonic transport through a series of paleoenvironments anchored to the North American plate by the entry point of the Colorado River.

From the Proceedings of the 1976 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Assn. and the Hydrology Section - Arizona Academy of Science - April 29-May 1, 1976, Tucson, Arizona / An environmental impact statement (EIS) is meant to be a predictor of the consequences of actions on the environment. However, uncertainties in the statements make it difficult to determine the reliability of the predictions and thus the consequences of the actions. Hence, use of an EIS could be counter-productive if the inherent uncertainties are not recognized and considered in its evaluation. Examination of several EIS's from a systems viewpoint is used to expose the following sources of uncertainty: (1) the identification of the components of the system, (2) the natural uncertainty of the inputs to the system and of the transformation functions producing the output, (3) uncertainties in the modeling of the system due to limitations of sample, economic and technological data. The above viewpoint is used to analyze the Colorado River Salinity Control Project EIS. Uncertainties are identified and classified and means for assessing and incorporating their effect on the environmental impact assessment are discussed.

As the demand for water increases across the southwestern United States, the region's utilization of and dependence on water stored in groundwater aquifers has risen in kind. The Coconino Aquifer (C-aquifer) underlies much of the southwestern Colorado Plateau and is a primary source of groundwater in northeastern Arizona. One of the largest commercial users of water from the C-aquifer in Apache County, Arizona, is Springerville Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant owned and operated by Tucson Electric Power. The area surrounding the power plant, located between the cities of Springerville and St. Johns, Arizona (the Springerville-St. Johns area), is geologically complex: it contains the Cedar Mesa anticline, an underlying CO2 reservoir, extensive travertine deposits, and several faults, including the Coyote Wash fault. The Coyote Wash fault and Cedar Mesa anticline play a significant role in the relationships between the St. Johns CO2 gas field, groundwater flow, and the travertine deposits. Yet, the interaction between the structures and the effect they have on groundwater flow is poorly constrained. By mapping the subsurface geology utilizing borehole records and by creating a groundwater model of the area, this study determined that the Cedar Mesa anticline acts as a partial horizontal barrier to groundwater flow, whereas the Coyote Wash fault does not act as such a barrier. Particle tracking for the model indicates that despite the reduced water volume in the aquifer after decades of groundwater extraction, flow still occurs across the hinge of the Cedar Mesa anticline, accelerated by active pumping wells located west of the anticline axis. The model indicates that prior to the activation of the pumping wells, outflow from the C-aquifer would have occurred with greater frequency to Lyman Lake and along the extent of the Little Colorado River located downstream from the lake. The study also identified a zone of high hydraulic conductivity located between the Cedar Mesa anticline and the Coyote Wash fault that continues west of the Coyote Wash fault and may align with the Buttes anticline. This model of groundwater flow conditions improves the understanding of the complex subsurface geology and groundwater flow dynamics in the area.

No description available.

No description available.

From the Proceedings of the 1971 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Assn. and the Hydrology Section - Arizona Academy of Science - April 22-23, 1971, Tempe, Arizona / The Colorado River is the only major stream in the U.S. whose water supply is fully utilized. This distinction has brought the Colorado more than its share of controversy, within states, between states and between nations. The Colorado River compact, whose purpose was to equitably apportion the waters between the upper and lower basins and to provide protection for the upper basin through water reservation, was ratified by all states except Arizona, in 1923. Arizona finally ratified it in 1944. The history of controversies and negotiation concerning the compact are outlined through the supreme court decision on march 9, 1964, which entitled California to 4.4 maf, Nevada to 0.3 maf and Arizona to 2.8 maf, of the first 7.5 maf available in the lower Colorado. Unfortunately, the court did not attempt to establish priorities in the event of shortage. The problem is complicated by an international treaty of 1944, guaranteeing Mexico 1.5 maf annually, except in years of unusual circumstances. Because Senator Connally of Texas was then chairman of the senate foreign relations committee and because the treaty allocated twice as much Colorado River water to Mexico as it was then using, it was argued that this treaty represented a tradeoff to Mexico, giving it less water from the Rio Grande in exchange for more water from the overburdened Colorado. Problems of inter-basin water transfer studies, uniform Colorado basin water quality standards and central Arizona project planning are discussed.

From the Proceedings of the 1971 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Assn. and the Hydrology Section - Arizona Academy of Science - April 22-23, 1971, Tempe, Arizona / Southwestern rivers are few in numbers and low in discharge. The physiographic and climatic reasons for this are discussed. To the east of the 100th meridian, rainfall is reliable and agriculture is stable; while to the west, there is a chronic deficit of water, droughts are frequent and lifestyles must be accordingly adjusted. Dam building results in greatly increased silting behind the dam in both the river and its tributaries and accelerated channel erosion below the dam. Total flow must also decrease due to withdrawals and increased evaporation from reservoirs. The correction of apparent errors in measuring the virgin flow of the Colorado River now indicates that this flow is about 15 maf/yr. Current legal allocations total 17.5 maf/yr of river water, including the central Arizona project (cap), which will withdraw 1.2 maf/yr. While the river is being dammed and overallocated beyond all reason, the water table is being mined at the alarming rate of 20 ft/yr. In central Arizona, it has dropped to about 250 ft below the surface, and even if all withdrawals ceased immediately, it would take many centuries of of desert rains before it would return to its former level of 50 ft. The cap water will cancel only about 1/2 of this overdraft annually. A glance at the phoenix area today shows that rain follows neither the farmers plow nor the subdividers bulldozer.

From the Proceedings of the 1972 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Assn. and the Hydrology Section - Arizona Academy of Science - May 5-6, 1972, Prescott, Arizona / Increased useer intensity of the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park and Monument required the national park service and the Colorado River outfitters association to adopt new policies to improve the quality of river trips and to protect the river. This study was undertaken to gain a greater awareness and understanding of visitor expectations, perceptions, interactions, satisfactions and dissatisfactions by analysis of response to a questionnaire mailed to a random sample of 2,622 past river runners from which a 65 percent return was received. Analysis of individual question tabulation and multivariate data-cluster analysis were performed. Users found crowding or user density to be at least tolerable. The largest group of runners were average in wilderness or other activities, and low relative to less strenuous activities. A large group of runners had relatively little experience in the wilderness. A large group of runners enjoyed the trip, desired more regulations, and were moderate about taking more trips. A large group rated the trip as a wilderness adventure which provided the opportunity to 'get away'. Cluster analysis is shown to be a useful tool of policy-making institutions.

From the Proceedings of the 1974 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Assn. and the Hydrology Section - Arizona Academy of Science - April 19-20, 1974, Flagstaff, Arizona / A summary is given of interrelated, technical and institutional events concerning the Colorado River which took place between the United States and Mexico from 1849 to 1974 with emphasis on the 1961-1974 period. Until the treaty of 1944, Mexico had had no guarantee of a specific annual quantity of water, but in the years after 1945, when a guarantee of 1.5 million acre-feet per year was established, more than that amount was available for use. Salinity problems arose, and in 1965 an agreement for a 5-year plan for alleviating the technical and political difficulties surrounding the salinity question was made. In 1973 it was agreed that the United States would build, within approximately 5 years, a facility for desalting the saline drainage water entering Mexico. Fulfillment of the technical provisions for this agreement requires, in any event, the timely provision of federal funds to construct and operate the physical works. The several states should receive assurance that their rights and those of their respective water users will not be impaired within the legal operation of the agreement.