HYDROLOGIC INVESTIGATIONS ATLAS 730-B
Ground Water Atlas of the United States -
Segment 1 California Nevada
By Michael Planert and John S. Williams
Introduction:
California and Nevada compose Segment 1 of the Ground Water Atlas of
the United States. Segment 1 is a region of pronounced physiographic
and climatic contrasts. From the Cascade Mountains and the Sierra Nevada
of northern California, where precipitation is abundant, to the Great
Basin in Nevada and the deserts of southern California, which have the
most arid environments in the United States, few regions exhibit such
a diversity of topography or environment.
Since the discovery of gold in the mid-1800's, California has experienced
a population, industrial, and agricultural boom unrivaled by that of
any other State. Water needs in California are very large, and the State
leads the United States in agricultural and municipal water use. The
demand for water exceeds the natural water supply in many agricultural
and nearly all urban areas. As a result, water is impounded by reservoirs
in areas of surplus and transported to areas of scarcity by an extensive
network of aqueducts.
 |
Unlike California, which has a relative abundance of
water, development in Nevada has been limited by a scarcity of recoverable
freshwater. The Truckee, the Carson, the Walker, the Humboldt, and
the Colorado Rivers are the only perennial streams of significance
in the State. The individual basin-fill aquifers, which together
compose the largest known ground-water reserves, receive little
annual recharge and are easily depleted. Nevada is sparsely populated,
except for the Las Vegas, the Reno -- Sparks, and the Carson City
areas, which rely heavily on imported water for public supplies.
|
Although important to the economy of Nevada, agriculture has not been
developed to the same degree as in California due, in large part, to a
scarcity of water. Some additional ground-water development might be possible
in Nevada through prudent management of the basin-fill aquifers and increased
utilization of ground water in the little-developed carbonate-rock aquifers
that underlie the eastern one-half of the State. The potential problem
of withdrawals in excess of natural recharge, however, will require careful
management of ground-water withdrawals.
Ground Water Atlas of
the United States |
