Comparison and evaluation of ground water quality in Surprise Valley and Alturas Basin using Thornthwaite's evapotranspiration model

Abstract

A quarter of a century ago, the California Department\ud of Water Resources undertook an investigation of ground\ud water basins in northeastern California. For more than\ud two decades, California Department of Water Resources\ud Bulletin 98, Northeastern Counties Ground Water Investigation,\ud 1 was the major source of information on the area. At\ud the same time, ground water quality studies2 were also\ud completed for both the Surprise Valley and Alturas Basin\ud in Modoc County, California. Twenty years later three investigations of northeastern\ud California's ground water were conducted by the Department\ud of Water Resources to update and supplement the\ud original reports. These were Northeast Counties Ground\ud Water Update, 1982, Alturas Basin Ground Water Quality\ud Study, 1986, and Surprise Valley Ground Water Quality\ud Study, 1986. These reports were spawned from concern\ud over then-recent increases in ground water pumping in\ud the areas, declining water levels in wells, and possible impacts\ud on water quality