GROUND-WATER PUMPING STREAMFLOW DEPLETION UPPER CLARK FORK BASIN AND IN THE UPPER CLARK FORK BASIN ELOISE KENDY Hydrogeologist Clark Fork Symposium Missoula, MT April 1, 2005

Low streamflows… CONFLICTS Habitat reduction; stressed fisheries Decreased or expensive power generation Decreased agricultural production Recreation impacts CONFLICTS Mike Roberts, Hydrologist, Montana DNRC WRB

Water Closures, Compacts, and Controlled Areas Montana DNRC March 2004 Controlled ground-water areas Montana Supreme Court order Dept. ordered Milk River closures Compact closures Legislative closures Administrative rule closures

Upper Clark Fork River Basin Closure MCA § 85-2-336 EXCEPTIONS Applications for: 1. GROUND WATER Remedial action Stock use 4. Water storage Power generation at existing dams

New ground-water permits since basin closure NUMBER of PERMITS GPM (CFS) ACRES (Sections) UPPER MISSOURI 321 38,482 (86) 7,298 (11.4) UPPER CLARK FK 10 1,386 (3) 27 (0.04) TETON 1 270 (0.6) unknown

Avoiding regulation: Individual wells DNRC PERMIT CRITERIA No permit application required for <35 gpm, <10 ac-ft/yr DEQ SUBDIVISIONS No impact assessment for domestic wells http://www.crowchief.com/lots.html

Winter et al, USGS Circular 1139, fig. 3 Ground water and surface water are connected. Winter et al, USGS Circular 1139, fig. 3

Basin Closures EXCEPTION for new GROUND-WATER appropriations ...where “Ground Water” is defined as: Upper Missouri, Teton Upper Clark Fork Mussel- shell, Milk “Water that is beneath the land surface or beneath the bed of a stream, lake, reservoir, or other body of surface water and that is not immediately or directly connected to surface water” (MCA § 85-2-329, 340, 342) or “not substantially or directly connected to surface water” (MCA § 85-2-337) or “any ground water” (DNRC orders)

Effects of ground-water pumping Pre-pumping Water-right application 1 CAPTURED TRIBUTARY GROUND WATER CONE OF DEPRESSION Water-right application 2 INDUCED SURFACE-WATER INFILTRATION Alley et al, 1999, USGS Circular 1186, fig. 13

Streamflow depletion: The inevitable consequence of ground-water withdrawal. Fuyang Basin, North China Plain (Kendy, 2002) See also: WATER FOLLIES by R. Glennon CHINA

Converting from flood to sprinklers: A solution? Decreased streamflow withdrawals, but..... Increased crop yields, increased irrigated acres Increased evapotranspiration (consumption) Decreased return flows Decreased streamflow Mike Roberts, Hydrologist, Montana DNRC WRB

EFFICIENCY Field-scale: 50% Basin-scale: 100% Field-scale vs. basin-scale irrigation efficiency Because of return flow, water use can be inefficient at the field scale, yet highly efficient at the basin scale. 50 AF 25 AF 100 AF 12.5 AF 50 AF 6.25 AF 25 AF EFFICIENCY Field-scale: 50% Basin-scale: 100% 12.5 AF 6.25 AF . . . Keller et al, 1996, IWMI Research Report 3, fig. 2.

Solutions Solutions Basin closure enforcement Water right trading Recharge treated wastewater Basin closure enforcement Water right trading Conjunctive management High flow Divert surface water into recharge basins Low flow Use ground water Monitoring well USGS Circular1247 (2003)

Summary Ground water and surface water are connected. Ground-water consumption reduces streamflow. Ground-water exception to basin closures encourages ground-water consumption. Stabilizing water consumption is the key to sustaining streamflow. Conjunctive management Is essential.

For Further Info…. Winter, T.C., Harvey, J.W., Franke, O.L., and Alley, W.M., 1998, Ground Water and Surface Water: A Single Resource. U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1139. http://water.usgs.gov/pubs/circ/circ1139/ 1-888-ASK-USGS (1-888-275-8747) Glennon, Robert, 2002, Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping and the Fate of America’s Fresh Waters. Island Press. FREE!! Eloise Kendy, Ph.D. (406) 495-9910 ek65@cornell.edu