The Denver Basin Aquifer Framework

Each year, at least 7.8 trillion gallons of water are drawn up from the Ogalla Aquifer to irrigate the crops planted on the High Plains. These cros are the main food sourrce for our entire country. Tragically, irrigation is depleting the aquifer faster than it can replenish itself, and that is the problem. In fact, only the tiniest fraction of the water is ever replaced in the Ogallala Aquifer. If the water were ever fully depleted, the aquifer would need 6,000 years to refill naturally (Zwingle 83). The only way the Ogalla can be replenished is by water seeping down through the layers of soil until it reaches the aquifer. This water comes from the small amount of precipitation in the region, as well as from streams, reservoirs, canals, and irrigation (McGuire and Sharpe).

The upper basin states (including Colorado) were allocated a much greater percentage of the water than the lower basin states, while the upper basin states were developing at a much slower rate than those in the lower basin, notably California. Nevada (as of 1997) anticipated being unable to rely just on this water by 2015, while in 1997 California was already exceeding its originally allocated supply by diverting unused water from the upper basin states (Arizona.edu, 1997). It goes without saying that this legislation from the early twentieth century is not going to be sufficient in coming years as the development of these regions has progressed at a much faster rate than originally anticipated, and it is the responsibility of state and federal governments, water management companies, as well as appeals from farmers and non-farming residents alike to come to an agreement on how to apportion water and how to implement secondary hydration plans due to the rapidly declining resource that the once-magnificent Colorado River was able to supply us

One of the largest geographic physical structures in the United States is the Colorado River. Human activity and its interaction with this great river have an interesting history. The resources provided by the river have been used by humans, and caused conflict for human populations as well. One of these conflicts is water distribution, and the effects drought conditions have played in this distribution throughout the southwestern region. Major cities such as Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, and other communities in the southwest depend on the river. It provides water for over 20 million people, irrigation for 2 million acres of land, four thousand megawatts of hydroelectric energy, and over twenty million annual visitors for

Warmer temperatures in Arizona in river has been leading to more evaporation. The water that is being used by plants and soil experience evapotranspiration which has accounted for a loss of at least half-million acre-feet of water annually.

Webb (2003) conducted numerical analysis of source-water dynamics of stream-bounded alluvial aquifers, along the Ohio River in northern panhandle of West Virginia, with consideration of lateral infiltration of groundwater from bedrock aquifer. However, the author did not verify her model to the field data. On the other hand, Kozar and McCoy (2004) presented groundwater-surface water interaction and simulation of groundwater flow in the alluvial aquifers from the northern panhandle of West Virginia without considering recharge form adjacent bedrock and leakage from overlying tributary streams. Although, Bader et al., (1997) and Unthank (1999) independently identified that the alluvium along the Ohio River, West Virginia and Kentucky respectively is recharged by the following means: (1) precipitation on the flood plain, (2) inflow from fractures in the bedrock beneath and adjacent to the alluvium, (3) inflow from tributary streams through gravel deltas and bedding-plane partings, and (4) induced inflow from the river. Water flowing in tributary streams can percolate through the deltas to the gravel under the clay-silt layer (Grain, 1966). Unthank (2013) updated model and reran it which generated significant difference between measured water levels and model-computed water levels in the aquifer. The author concluded that more accurate and site-specific estimates of field parameters, refined model geometry, and additional numerical method improve

The Colorado River Basin starts in the Rocky Mountains and cuts through 1500 miles of canyon lands and deserts of seven US states and two Mexican states to supply a collection of dams and reservoirs with water to help irrigate cropland, support 40 million people, and provide hydroelectric power for the inland western United States [1,2]. From early settlement, rights over the river have been debated and reassigned to different states in the upper and lower basin; however, all the distribution patterns lead to excessive consumption of the resource. In 1922, the seven US states signed into the Colorado River Compact, which outlined the policy for the distribution rights to the water [3], however, this compact was written during an exceptionally

Groundwater is water that seeps through the ground and gets stored in aquifers. The supply of groundwater is always changing because it is constantly used and replenished. The groundwater supply replenishes and grows due to rain and snow melt and can decrease due to things like droughts and heavy usage. Depending on the type of surface of the ground as much as 20 percent of the rain and snow melt can seep into the ground or as little as 5 percent (Raymond, 1988). Areas where as much as

440). The main way for most aquifers to be recharged is through surface runoff. The rainfall sinks into the ground and percolates or accumulates to a common place (usually an aquifer). Yet this process takes lots of time. Scientists believe it may take centuries to refill some of the deeper aquifers. Water travels especially slow underground. It could take water up to 500 years to travel 15 meters. Aquifers are depended on for roughly 40% of California’s water supply. This number can escalate to 60% during droughts such as the one that just occurred.

As Texas continues to increase in urbanization, the amount of water needed for municipal and industrial uses will increase significantly. More than half the water in Texas comes from underground. Aquifers in some areas of the state are being consumed faster than they can be filled again. Having a sustainable and efficient groundwater management policy is important to ensure that the future water demands will be satisfied.

Groundwater is the largest and most available usable source of drinking water in the state. There is a vast and mysterious system of caves and natural springs in North Central Florida. The cave system within the aquifer is one of the most amazing parts. The caves are remarkable in many ways. They are among the deepest and longest in the world, let alone the U.S. Another amazing aspect of the system is the purity of the water. The springs collectively produce billions of gallons of crystal clear water per day. The whole system stems from the Florida Aquifer that rests under the entire state. When most people think of Florida, they think of the weather and the beaches, but its the springs and the whole water

The Edwards Plateau is a plethora of various plant and animal species as well as picturesque landscapes making it a prime source of natural studies. But one thing in particular sticks out: the Edward Aquifer. It is the sole source of drinking water for the over million population of the city of San

Now, what is an aquifer and what is it used for? Aquifers are an aquifer is a body of saturated rock through which water can easily move (isu.edu). In order for a well to be productive, it must be drilled into an aquifer (isu.edu). Rocks such as granite and schist are generally poor aquifers because they have a very low porosity (isu.edu). However, if these rocks are highly fractured, they make good aquifers (isu.edu). A well is a hole drilled into the ground to penetrate an aquifer (isu.edu). One aquifer, called the Ogallala aquifer, produces one-fifth of the nations freshwater to crops in the mid-west (washingtonpost.com). But there is a problem, it is starting to dry up (washingtonpost.com). As a result, the aquifer is slowly getting depleted, with the water table dropping by as much as two feet per year in some counties (washingtonpost.com). And once they drain, it could take hundreds or thousands of years for those ancient aquifers, which were first formed millions of years ago, to fully recharge with rainfall (washingtonpost.com). Researchers found that 30 percent of the Kansas portion of the Ogallala Aquifer has already been pumped out, and another 39 percent will get used up in the next half-century at existing rates (washingtonpost.com). Kansas, clearly, is on the fast track to depletion (washingtonpost.com). As a result, agricultural production is likely to

A mass curve and double mass curve were created for the Red Deer basin at Drumheller in 1964. Precipitation data was collected from the city of Drumheller, which is approximately 0.6 km from the river measurement. On average the greatest amount of precipitation occurred in May, June, and July, but there was a large spike in precipitation in the month of September. The lowest amount of precipitation occurred in January, February and October. The double mass curve for this basin has a large gradual increase. Runoff for this basin is always greater than precipitation, but there is an area of large run off and storage during the end of the curve. This could be due to the large amount of precipitation that occurred in September, and storage

The Colorado Basin, which begins in the Rocky Mountains and ends just south of the U.S./Mexico border into the Gulf of California, provides a significant amount of water for farms throughout areas of the Southwest.

The Denver Water Board will provide a specific look at a rapidly growing system of water supply. What does planning look like to support the growing population. This will shed light on how well a single city is keeping up with water demands. How will the supply stay constant and will that supply keep the quality that people are used to? This will also look at our recreational