Chloride concentrations and stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen in surface water and groundwater in and near Fish Creek, Teton County, Wyoming, 2005-06

Fish Creek, an approximately 25-kilometer long tributary to the Snake River, is located in Teton County in western Wyoming near the town of Wilson. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Teton Conservation District, conducted a study to determine the interaction of local surface water and groundwater in and near Fish Creek. In conjunction with the surface water and groundwater interaction study, samples were collected for analysis of chloride and stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen in water. Chloride concentrations ranged from 2.9 to 26.4 milligrams per liter (mg/L) near Teton Village, 1.2 to 4.9 mg/L near Resor’s Bridge, and 1.8 to 5.0 mg/L near Wilson. Stable isotope data for hydrogen and oxygen in water samples collected in and near the three cross sections on Fish Creek are shown in relation to the Global Meteoric Water Line and the Local Meteoric Water Line. Introduction Fish Creek, an approximately 25-kilometer long tributary to the Snake River, is located in Teton County in western Wyoming near the town of Wilson (figs. 1 and 2). The Fish Creek drainage is located along the southwestern margin of a structural basin known as Jackson Hole. Fish Creek’s drainage area includes part of the southern extent of the Teton Range and the southwestern part of the Jackson Hole valley, and is 183 square kilometers (km2) at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamflow-gaging station, Fish Creek at Wilson, Wyo. (station 13016450; fig. 2) (Swanson and others, 2002). Public concern about nuisance growths of aquatic plants in Fish Creek has been increasing in recent years. To more fully understand the hydrologic system and its possible relation to aquatic life in the stream, the USGS, in cooperation with the Teton Conservation District, conducted a study to determine the interaction of local surface water and groundwater in and near Fish Creek (Wheeler and Eddy-Miller, 2005; Eddy-Miller and others, 2009). To accomplish this, three streambed cross sections were established at Teton Village, Resor’s Bridge, and Wilson (fig. 2), with the cross sections selected to represent upstream, mid-section, and downstream locations, respectively (Eddy-Miller and others, 2009). Each cross section had five wells constructed from 3.2-centimeter (cm; 11⁄4-inch) diameter galvanized pipe with eight, 0.6-cm diameter holes drilled into the bottom of the pipe to act as a screen. All three sites had two wells on the left bank (looking downstream by protocol), which represented the eastern side of the stream, one in the center of the stream, and two on the right bank, which represented the western side of the stream (fig. 3; table 1). In conjunction with the surface water and groundwater interaction study, samples were collected for analysis of chloride and stable isotopes of hydrogen (2H, deuterium; and 1H) and oxygen (18O and 16O) in water. Purpose and Scope The purpose of this report is to present the chloride concentration data and the hydrogen and oxygen isotope data collected from the surface water and groundwater in and near Fish Creek in 2005 and 2006. Graphs showing the stable isotope data for hydrogen and oxygen in relation to the Global Meteoric Water Line (GMWL; Clark and Fritz, 1997) and to the Local Meteoric Water Line (LMWL; Benjamin and others, 2004) also are presented. No interpretation of the data is presented. Acknowledgments The authors gratefully acknowledge the generous assistance of landowners near Fish Creek, Wyo. , who provided access to their property for this study. Also acknowledged are Marisa Cox and Doug Choy, USGS, for water-quality and stable isotope analyses. James E. Constantz, Katharine Foster, Lisa Binder, and Janet Carter, USGS, are acknowledged for their reviews of this report. Figure 1. Location of Fish Creek as part of the Jackson Hole valley, Wyoming. EXPLANATION Approximate boundary of Jackson Hole Water-quality sampling site outside study area boundary Grand Teton National Park Yellowstone National Park WYOMING Study area Approximate area of figure 2 (study area) 110°45’ 110°30’ ID A H O W Y O M IN G Base modified from U.S. Census Bureau, 2001, 1:100,000 Lambert Conformal Conic projection Standard parallels 43°N and 44°N Central meridian 110°30′W North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83) Jackson Moran