WSP10396

• File Number: 8056
• Description: Drought Preparedness
• State: CO
• Basin: Statewide
• Date: 1/1/1964
• Author: USGS
• Title: General Effects of Drought on Water Resources on the Southwest
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

rHH~359

CONTENTS

Abstract___________________________________________
Introduction_ _ __ __ _ _ __ _____ _ __ _ ___ _ ___ __ ___ __ ____ __
Soil water, by H. E. Thomas_________________hnnn
Ground water, by H. E. Thomasn_________________n
Ground-water discharge_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Ground-water storage_ _ _____ _________ ________ ___
Natural streamflow, by J. S. Gatewood and Alfonso
Wilson__________________________________________
Analysis of regional rulloff__nnu_nnnn______
Streamflow variability _______________________
Streamflow expressed in units of standard devia-
tion_____________________________________
Regional runoff characteristics____________________
Streamflow as indicated by tree rings______________
Problems of correlation______________________
Results of correlation studies_________________

Page
B1
1
2
4
5
6

Quality of water, by L. R. Kister____u___________uu
Quality of surface water_______u__________u____
Dissolved solids in stream wateru_____u_____
Quality of ground water_______________u________
Economic and related e~ects, by J. S. Gatewood and
Alfonso Wilson________ _________________ ______n__

Texas_________________________________________
New Mexico_ _ _ __________________n____ ________
Colorado_ _ _ _ _ u _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
lJtah__________________________________________
Nevada________________________________________
Arizona________________________________________
California__u _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Allocation of water, by H. E. Thomas________u_______
References citedu_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __
Index_____________________________________________

7
15
17

17
27
31
32
34

ILLUSTRATIONS

Page
Areas where annual runoff was less than the median, 1942-56_________________________________________ In pocket
Yearly runoff of six selected streams_ __ _____u____ __________________ ________u____uu________________ B14
Ratio of 5-year progressive average runoff to long-term mean runoff of six selected streams____u____________ 15
Frequency of yearly runoff of six selected streamsuuu_u____________________uu__________u__________ 16
Drainage basins for which streamflow records were used in studies of regional runoff___uu_______________u 18
Yearly runoff, in logarithmic standard-deviation units, of selected streams__ _________uu_______h_u______ 26
Yearly runoff in Pacific Border zone_____________u_________________________uu________u____________ 28
Yearly runoff in the Sonoran Border zone_________________________________u_u____u__________________ 29
Yearly runoff in the Colorado Plateau_________u______________________________u_________u_u________ 30
Yearly runoff in the Great Plains_____________u_________________h____u__h____u___________________ 32
Yearly runoff, dissolved solids, and suspended-sediment load of the Colorado River near Grand Canyon, Ariz.,
1926-57___________________________________________________________________________c________.____ 37
Double-mass analysis of runoff versus sediment, Colorado River at Grand Canyon, Ariz., 1926-57_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 39
Weighted average chloride in water from Pecos River near Malaga, N. Mex., and near Red Bluff, N. Mex.,
1938-55_________________________________________________________________________________________ 39
Discharge-chloride relationship, Pecos River near Red Bluff, N. Mex. (water years 1938-55)_______________u 40
Yearly fluctuations of selected reservoirs during drought__u__________u_____u__________________________ 44

PLATE 1.
FIGURE 1.
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7.
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11.
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TABLES

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B36
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41

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42
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Page

TABLE 1. Yearly runoff adjusted for storage and diversion to show approximate natural flow at selected gaging stations
in the Southwest__________________________~______________________________________________________ B8
2. Streamflow-variability index, in logarithmic units, for selected gaging stations in the SouthwesL________u____ 19
3. Yearly runoff on basis of 1904-53 median runoff at selected gaging stations in the Southwest_________________ 20
4. Adjustments for converting yearly logarithmic standard-deviation units computed on basis of the period 1930-53
to those computed on basis of the base period 1904-53_ _ __ ______________________ u________________ __ __ 25
5. Summary of product-moment correlations of yearly runoff for stations in each hydrologic region of the Southwest,
water years 1930-53_ _ _ _ ___________ _________ _ __ ___u______u__u___u_____________________________ 27
6. Correlation of tree-ring indices with yearly runoff for hydrologic regions and the standard error of estimate of
yearly and meaD runoff based on tree-ring indices______________uu_______________~________________u 34
7. Relation of means of tree-ring indices for 1904-53 to those for 1800-1953 and for longer periods for several hydro-
logic regions of the SouthwesL __ __ ______ _uu_ ____ __ __ _u________ _u ____ __ _____ ___ __ __ _ __ n ___ _____ 35

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