Abstract
AbstractBasalts are a major source of ground water throughout the Columbia River Plateau region of the Pacific Northwest. Development and management of ground water in these basalts are complicated by the spatial variability of the hydrologic characteristics of the deep, stratified lava flows, but new irrigation developments and municipal and industrial water needs are placing increasingly larger demands on the ground‐water resource. Water management decisions are aided by individual basin studies that contribute to greater understanding of the regional ground‐water system. A distributed‐system multiple‐storage model for the Deschutes River Basin, Oregon, reveals the magnitude of spatial differences in ground‐water recharge, storage, and discharge for this watershed. Input‐output analysis elucidates the functional characteristics of the basin groundwater system, and it identifies the presence and magnitude of interbasin linkages in the ground‐water system. Implementation of ground‐water development strategies based on storage and transmission characteristics simulated by the model demonstrates that basin or regional perspectives are necessary to fully utilize ground‐water storage in basalts.
Published Version
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