A new reportfrom the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) finds that ground water levels have dropped in parts of the Wood River Valley.
USGS hydrologist Jim Bartolino’s team looked at changes in ground water and surface water between 2006 and 2012.
Bartolino says there are two distinct parts to the aquifer under the valley.
At the north end of the valley, which includes Ketchum, Hailey and Sun Valley, hydrologists didn’t see big changes in water amounts. But in the aquifer under the southern, agricultural end of the valley, they found some pretty big drops in water levels, as much as 20 feet in some places.
Bartolino says that’s not a good thing, but nothing to panic about.
“With water moving back and forth between surface water and ground water, if you drop ground water levels enough, you will start affecting stream flows,” he says that would be cause for alarm. “And in fact, we’re starting to see signs that that may be happening.”
So far changes to Wood River Valley streams aren’t enough to cause concern, Bartolino says.
Now scientists from the USGS and the Idaho Department of Water Resources are using Bartolino’s data to create a water flow computer model. It will allow planners to consider various scenarios. Those could include what happens if water use increases or what could happen if the drought that Bartolino blames for the aquifer drop continues for a long time.
Find reporter Adam Cotterell on Twitter @cotterelladam
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