Understanding Effects of Groundwater Pumping on Streams in the Willamette Basin, Oregon
Thursday, September 8, 2016: 9:20 a.m.
Nora Herrera
,
Oregon Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Portland, OR
Erick Burns
,
Oregon Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Portland, OR
Terrence Conlon
,
Oregon Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Portland, OR
Limited streamflow during summer, a growing population, and agricultural needs are increasing the demand for groundwater in the Willamette Basin. Greater groundwater use could, however, diminish streamflow and create seasonal and long-term declines in groundwater levels. To better understand this problem, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) cooperated to develop a conceptual and quantitative understanding of the groundwater-flow system of the Willamette Basin with an emphasis on the Central Willamette subbasin.
This cooperative study resulted in a final report that describes numerical models of the regional and local groundwater-flow systems and evaluates the effects of pumping on groundwater and surface-water resources. The models described can be used to evaluate spatial and temporal effects of pumping on groundwater, base flow, and stream capture.
The results from this study may be used to identify areas in the Willamette Basin where more data is needed to better understand groundwater and surface-water interactions. The scenarios in this study consider only changes in pumping as a cause of changes to groundwater levels, base flow, and stream capture. Other factors, such as climate change or changes in water-use patterns can also affect the hydrologic system. This study and the modeling tools it provides can be used as a starting point for climate and water-withdrawal optimization studies, water management and policy discussions, and strategies to help avert future water scarcity in the Willamette Basin.
Nora Herrera, Oregon Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Portland, OR
Nora Herrera’s research interests center on groundwater flow, and groundwater and surface water interactions in the West, and in particular, the Willamette River Basin, Oregon. After earning a degree in Geology & English from Portland State University, and a M.S. degree in Hydrogeology from Mackey School of Mines at the University of Nevada, Reno, she has spent the past 20 years at U.S. Geological Survey Water Science Centers in Nevada and Oregon.
Erick Burns, Oregon Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Portland, OR
Erick Burns has a diverse professional background, including house painter, sailor, bartender, nuclear power plant operator, teacher, barrista, and hydrogeologist. In 1992, he returned to early interests in geology and the natural world that arose from growing up in the desert. He obtained a Geology degree from Northern Arizona University in 1994 followed by a M.S. degree in Hydrologic Sciences from the University of Nevada – Reno in 1996, and a M.S. degree in Applied Mathematics and a PhD in Bioresource Engineering from Oregon State University in 2004. His research interests are diverse, including: study of coupled groundwater and heat flow, regional groundwater flow modeling, the use of geostatistical methods to understand trends and predictive uncertainty, the use of imperfect data to reduce uncertainty in water resource management, and the use of process thermodynamics to understand non-ideal behavior of fluids in soils. During his 15 years as a practicing hydrogeologist, Erick has worked as a consultant, a regulator, a university researcher and educator, and since 2006, he has served as a project hydrogeologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, conducting groundwater and heat flow studies across a variety of scales and terrains.
Terrence Conlon, Oregon Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Portland, OR
Terrence Conlon has more than 25 years of experience with the USGS conducting water resource studies in Wisconsin and Oregon. His focus is on understanding groundwater hydrology, including the interactions of groundwater and surface waters, in areas experiencing competing water demands. He has experience using geophysics, process-based models, and a wide range of data to improve the understanding of groundwater conditions and the effects of changes to land use, climate, and water use on water resources. In his current role as a supervisory hydrologist, he oversees a wide range of studies in groundwater and surface-water availability.
