Effect of Irrigation Pumping on 

Desert Pupfish Habitats in 

Ash Meadows, Nye County, Nevada 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 927 

Effect of Irrigation Pumping on 

Desert Pupfish Habitats in 

Ash Meadows, N ye County, Nevada 

ByW.W. DUDLEY, JR., and J.D. LARSON 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 927 

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON: 1976 
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

THOMAS S. KLEPPE, Secretary 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

V. E. McKelvey, Director 

Dudley, W. W. 

Effect of irrigation pumping on desert pupfish habitats in Ash Meadows, Nye County, Nevada. 

(Geological Survey Professional Paper 92 7} 

Bibliography: p. 

Supt. of Docs. No.: I 19.6:927 

1. Deirls Hole pupfish. 2. Irrigation-Environmental aspects-Nevada-Nye Co. 3. Water table-Nevada-Nye Co. 4. Fishes, 

Fresh-water-Nevada-Nye Co. 

I. Larson, J. D., joint author. II. Title. III. Series: United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 92 7. 

QL638.C96D82 597'.53 75-619366 

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office 

Washington, D.C. 20402 

Stock Number 024-001-02825-5 
CONTENTS 

Abstract .............................................. . 

Introduction 

Purpose:~~~~~: ~d·~~~~~~tt~~:::::::::::::::::::::: Location system ................................... . 

Acknowledgments ................................. . 

Regional setting ....................................... . 

Physiography ...................................... . 

Climate ........................................... . 

Hydrogeology ..................................... . 

Regional aquifer system ......................... . 

Local aquifer system ............................ . 

Page 

1 

1 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

5 

5 

5 

9 

Hydrologic features of Ash Meadows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 

Devils Hole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 

Physical features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 

Water-level fluctuations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 

Spring discharge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 

Wells and drill holes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 

Results of aquifer tests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 

Pumping records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 

Water-table configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 

Water quality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

Chemistry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

General character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

Lithium ...................................... 27 

Boron ........................................ 27 

Silica ........................................ 27 

Nitrate ...................................... 27 

Chemical stability of Devils Hole and King Pool . . . 27 

Quality for irrigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 

Quality for domestic use. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 

Observed effects of pumping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 

Effect on Devils Hole water level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 

Impact of individual wells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 

Page 

Observed effects of pumping-Continued 

Effect on spring discharge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 

Big Spring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 

Jack Rabbit Spring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 

Point of Rocks Springs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 

Collins Spring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 

Crystal Pool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 

Five Springs area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 

Purgatory Spring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 

Longstreet Spring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 

Rogers Spring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 

Soda Spring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 

Fairbanks Spring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 

Other springs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 

Other sources of water ·capture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

Eff~c~ ~f water-ta~le dep~h . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

Definition of pumpmg umts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

Capture of evapotranspiration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 

Recharge by infiltration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 

Overdraft of local subsystem in 1971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 

Source of overdraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 

Safe yield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 

Examination of alternative causes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 

Movement of ground water in Ash Meadows area. . . . . . . . . . . 42 

Nature of the regional flow system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 

Flow in the local subsystem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 

Evidence from water chemistry and temperature . . . 43 

Evidence from hydraulic testing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 

Geologic evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 

Role of travertine beds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 

Structural control.......................... 47 

Paths of spring discharge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 

Synthesis of flow near Devils Hole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 

Development with minimum impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 

Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 

m 
IV CONTENTS 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

FIGURE 1. Index map showing location of Ash Meadows area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

2. Graph showing monthly lowest water levels in Devils Hole, percentage of natural 

rock ledge submerged, and estimated pumpage from wells in Ash Meadows, 1965 to mid-1972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

3. Map showing topography of Ash Meadows and vicinity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 

4. Map showing generalized hydrogeology and boundary of the Ash Meadows 

ground-water system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 

5. Generalized geological section along flow path approaching Ash Meadows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 

6. Devils Hole hydrograph for July 6-14, 1971, showing fluctuations caused by 

earth tides and seismic events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 

7. Map showing location of wells and springs in the Ash Meadows area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 

8. Graph showing water levels and pumping histories of wells in southern 

Ash Meadows during March 1971. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 

9. Type-curve analyses of drawdown and recovery measurements during 

tests of well1, March 1971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 

10. Map showing generalized contours of water-table altitude in the Ash Meadows area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 

11. Map showing locations of sampling points and distribution of dominant and 

selected minor constituents of water samples from the Ash Meadows region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 

12. Diagram showing classification of irrigation water from Ash Meadows 

sources by conductivity and sodium-adsorption ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 

13. Graphs showing mean daily water levels in Devils Hole and observation 

well17S/50-36dd and estimated pumping from wells in Ash Meadows during 1971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 

14. Segments of the 1972 hydrograph of observation well17S/51-31dd, showing effects of wells 1, 2, 3, and 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 

15. Graph showing mean daily water levels in Devils Hole and approximate monthly 

pumpage from wells in southern Ash Meadows, late 1970 through early 1973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 

16. Graphs showing discharge of selected springs in Ash Meadows, January-October 1971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 

17. Map showing location of the spring line and pumping units in Ash Meadows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 

18. Sketches showing comparison of the effects on spring discharge and the water level in the 

regional aquifer when pumping is (A) close to and (B) remote from the spring.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 

19. Schematic illustration showing concentration of flow in a carbonate aquifer from many 

paths oflow permeability into a few highly permeable conduits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 

20. Diagram showing percentage reacting values of dominant ions in water samples 

from wells and springs in Asb Meadows and vicinity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 

21. Graph showing transmissivities plotted against storage coefficients calculated 

from aquifer tests in southern Ash Meadows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 

22. Map showing generalized degrees of hydraulic connection among Devils Hole, production 

wells, and observation wells in southern Ash Meadows ............ , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 

23. Map showing lineations and possible faults in Ash Meadows and vicinity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 

24. Sketch maps showing conceptual models of dominant and diffused flow in the 

vicinity of Devils Hole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 

TABLES 

Page 

TABLE 1. Major stratigraphic units in the vicinity of Ash Meadows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 

2. Records of springs in Ash Meadows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 

3. Records of selected wells and drill holes in Ash Meadows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 

4. Aquifer-test data for selected wells in Ash Meadows ............................................. · · · · · · · · · · · · 20 

5. Estimated withdrawals in acre-feet from electrically pumped wells operated by Spring Meadows, 

Inc., in Ash Meadows, January 1969-January 1972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 

6. Chemical analyses of water samples from Ash Meadows and vicinity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 

7. Comparative analyses of samples taken at different times from Devils Hole and King Pool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 

8. Estimated capture of water pumped from wells and overdraft from pumping units in 1971. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 
CONVERSION TABLE 

ENGLISH-METRIC EQUIVALENTS 

inch (in) 

inch (in) 

foot (ft) 

foot (ft) 

mile (mi) 

acre 

acre 

English unit 

square mile (mi2) 

gallon (gal) 

cubic foot (ft3) 

acre-foot (acre-ft) 

acre-foot (acre-ft) 

gallon per minute (gal/min) 

acre-foot per day (acre-ft/d) 

acre-foot per year (acre-ft/yr) 

cubic foot per day per foot 

width of aquifer (ft 2/d) 

gallon per minute per foot drawdown 

in well {gal min·lft-1) 

degrees Fahrenheit 

Length 

= 

= 

= 

= 

= 

Area 

= 

= 

= 

Volume 

= 

= 

= 

= 

Discharge 

25.40 

2.54 

30.48 

0.3048 

1.609 

4.047X 103 

4.047x 10·3 

2.590 

3.785 X10-3 

2.832 X10-2 

1.234x103 

1.234 x10-6 

= 5.451 

= 1.234X103 

= 1.234x103 

Transmissivity 

Metric equivalent 

millimetres (mm) 

centimetres (em) 

centimetres (em) 

metre(m) 

kilometres (km) 

square metres (m2) 

square kilometre (km2) 

square kilometres (km2) 

cubic metre (m3) 

cubic metre (m3) 

cubic metres (m3) 

cubic kilometres (km 3

) 

cubic metres per day (m3 /d) 

cubic metres per day (m3 /d) 

cubic metres per year (m3 /yr) 

= 9.291 X 10-2 cubic metre per day per metre 

Specific Capacity 

= 17.88 

Temperature 

width of aquifer (m2/d) 

cubic metres per day per metre 

drawdown in well (m3d- Lm-1) 

= 1.8 X degrees Celsius (°C)+32° 

v 

EFFECT OF ffiRIGATION PUMPING ON DESERT PUPFISH 

HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

By W. W. DUDLEY, JR. and J.D. LARSON 

ABSTRACT 

The Ash Meadows area, at the southern tip of the Amargosa 

Desert in southern Nevada, discharges ground water collected 

over several thousand square miles of a regional flow system 

developed in Paleoioic carbonate rocks. Water moves westward 

across fault contacts from the bedrock into poorly interconnected 

gravel, sand, and terrestrial-limestone aquifers in the upper few 

hundred feet of the basin sediments at Ash Meadows. 

A small pool in Devils Hole, which is a collapse depression in 

Cambrian limestone, and numerous springs in the adjacent desert 

valley contain rare fish species of the genus Cyprinodon, faunal 

remnants of Pleistocene lakes. The Devils Hole pupfish, C. diabolis, 

is the most endangered of the several surviving species that have 

evolved since the post-pluvial isolation of their ancestors. This 

population feeds and reproduces on a slightly submerged rock 

ledge. Recent irrigation pumping has nearly exposed this ledge. 

Correlation of pumping histories with the stage in Devils Hole 

allows identification of several wells that affect the pool level most 

severely. Some springs that are habitats for other species of 

Cypn'nodon have reduced discharge because of pumping. 

Hydraulic testing, long-term water-level monitoring, water 

quality, and geologic evidence aid in defining the principal flow 

paths and hydraulic interconnections in the Ash Meadows area. 

INTRODUCTION 

Devils Hole, a starkly scenic collapse depression in 

limestone hills in the southeastern part of the 

Amargosa Desert, Nye County, Nevada (fig. 1), was 

incorporated by Presidential Proclamation into the 

Death Valley National Monument in 1952. In a warm 

pool 50 ft ( 15 m) below the land surface surrounding 

this exposed cavern lives a unique species of desert 

pupfish, Cyprinodon diabolis. The Devils Hole 

pupfish, less than 1 in. (about 2 em) long, evolved from 

late Pleistocene ancestors left isolated in this former 

limestone spring when the level of the pluvial lakes of 

the Death Valley area receded. 

To the west of these hills and their alluvial apron 

lies Ash Meadows, a linear area of many oases and salt 

meadows watered by dozens of springs, several of 

which discharge an even flow of more than 500 

gal/min (2,700 m3 /d). Additional species of the genus 

Cypr!nodon inhabit these springs and the outlet 

channels below them. Residents of the valley before 

the mid-1960's used the natural springflow for 

irrigation downslope. The springs of Ash Meadows are 

the principal discharge points for the Ash Meadows 

ground-water system, shown on figure 1 to integrate 

the subsurface drainage from a large area of southern 

Nevada. The westward overflow from the Ash 

Meadows discharge contributes to water in the 

adjacent regional system, the Pahute Mesa groundwater system. 

In 1967 a ranching corporation, Spring Meadows, 

Inc.,l began acquiring large acreages in Ash 

Meadows, much of it distant or upslope from the 

springs. The antici~ated development of about 12,000 

acres (about 50 km ) in crops for cattle feed, together 

with the need for water distant from large springs, 

spurred intensive development of a well field between 

1967 and 1970. Coincident with the expansion of the 

agricultural enterprise and increasing withdrawal of 

water from the valley, the water level in Devils Hole 

began to decline in 1968 (fig. 2). As the pool receded, a 

slightly submerged rock ledge upon which C. diabolis 

feeds and propagates began slowly to be exposed to 

the air. A water level of 2.2 ft (0.67 m) below an 

arbitrary reference point (copper washer) was defined 

in 1970 by the National Park Service as covering 100 

percent of this shelf. The relationship of shelf 

coverage to water level shown in figure 2 is no longer 

valid, for removal of debris in 1972 has increased the 

area covered at a given water level. 

Government and private conservationists and 

biologists, forecasting the extinction of this 

endangered species, called for action by the Federal 

Government. In 1969, a Desert Pupfish Task Force 

was formed within the U.S. Department of the 

Interior; it was composed of representatives from the 

National Park Service, the Bureau of Land 

lA subsidiary of the Farm Land Company; Spring Meadows, Inc., became Cappaert 

Enterprises in 1972. 

1 
2 EFFECT OF PUMPING ON PUPFISH HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Bureau 

of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, and the Geological 

Survey. After reviewing initial reports by the 

< 

l> 

r 

r 

~ 

NEVADA 

D Beatty 

0 10 

Geological Survey (Worts, 1963; G .F. Worts, written 

commun., 1969) and the University of Nevada's 

Desert Research Institute (G.W. Fiero and G.B. 

Las • Vegas 

20 30 MILES 

0 10 20 30 KILOMETRES 

FIGURE 1.-Location of Ash Meadows area. 
INTRODUCTION 3 

Maxey, written commun., 1970), the Task Force 

directed the Geological Survey to begin a study 

focused on the cause or causes of the decline of the 

Devils Hole water level and the discharge of the 

springs in Ash Meadows. The investigation, resulting 

in this report, was financed jointly by the five member 

agencies of the Departmental Task Force. 

In August 1971 the United States filed a civil suit in 

the United States District Court, Las Vegas, Nev., 

seeking to enjoin Spring Meadows, Inc., from 

1.2 

"' ~"' -- " /"... 

pumping certain wells that had known or suspected 

effects on Devils Hole. An agreement between the 

parties resulted in terminating pumping from three 

wells. The suit was reactivated in June 1972, and 

hearings in July 1972 and in April, May, and June 1973 

resulted in a series of orders from the Court. These 

orders restricted pumping to the degree necessary to 

maintain the water level in Devils Hole at a stage 

judged sufficient for the .continued survival of C. 

diabolis. On June 5, 1973, the Court appointed a 

- 0.4 

1.4 

1.6 

IJ ..,~ "" \ ''r'\ v \ 1/\ 

1.8 

~a:: ..Jw 2.0 w::r: 

>en 

Wc:t ...J;: 2.2 a:: a:: ww 

~a. ;:a. 0 2.4 

1-u 

en;: 

wo ;:..J 2.6 Ow ..Jco 

~I- ::r:w 2.8 1-W 

zu.. 

oz 

~- 3.0 

3.2 

3.4 

3.6 

3.8 

\ \ -

PERCENTAGE OF \ '-

- SHELF COVERED 

0 50 100 

J \ ~ 

~-- -- 1969:92 percent--- ____ y \ 1-

1-

HOLE-'\ v DEVILS 

f- \ -

f- v ~ 

\ \ I '-

r-

---"I \ 1-------- -- 1970:46 percent -- ------ (\ - v \ I \ - - , ____ ------ -- 1971:21 percent --- ------~----- ~--- ~ 

- \ V-- - JUNE 19rr, 15perc•n• - - --- - -

J ' 

0.5 

0.6 a:: _;w 

w::r: >U'l w<! 

..J~ 

a:: a:: 

0.7 ww 1-0. <!0. 

;:o u 

I-;: 

cno w..J 

0.8 ;:w 

gco 

>-en ...JW ::r:O:: 

1-1-

zw 

0.9 0~ 

~~ 

1.0 

1.1 

1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 

YEAR 

0 en 

w::r: 

NO DATA 

0::1- 1-z 

0.5 ~wo CD~~ 

::>0 Ul-0:: 

1.0 uw 

wa. 

::r: 

1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 

ESTIMATED PUMPAGE 

FIGURE 2.-Monthly lowest water levels in Devils Hole, percentage of natural rock ledge submerged, and estimated pumpage from wells 

in Ash Meadows, 1965 to mid-1972. 
4 EFFECT OF PUMPING ON PUPFISH HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

Special Master to regulate pumping in Ash Meadows. 

Defendants' appeal of the District Court decision was 

rejected in 197 4 by the United States Court of Appeals 

for the Ninth Circuit (San Francisco, California). 

In June 1975 the United States Supreme Court 

agreed to review during its 1975-76 term the earlier 

decisions of the District and Ninth Circuit Courts in 

this case, entitled United States of America v. Francis 

Leo Cappaert et al. Because of the decision's conflict 

with state-assigned water rights, briefs supporting 

the ranch's appeal to the Supreme Court were filed by 

Nevada and jointly by Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, 

Montana, New Mexico, and Wyoming. 

PURPOSE, SCOPE, AND ORGANIZATION 

The primary objective of this investigation is to 

establish the degree to which controllable causes, such 

as local pumping, have lowered the pool level in Devils 

Hole and decreased the flow of springs in the Ash 

Meadows area. Inherent in this objective is the 

evaluation of possible alternative causes, such as 

distant pumping in the past, natural and man-made 

earthquakes, or climatic changes. 

Secondary purposes, required as intermediate steps 

in reaching the primary objective, are to increase the 

knowledge of the local hydrogeology and to 

understand the hydraulics of the relationship among 

pumping, water levels, and spring discharge. 

However, the hydrogeologic investigation conducted 

during the course of this study was limited to the 

collection of data required to fulfill the primary 

objective. It is not intended to serve as a complete 

hydrogeologic description of the Ash Meadows area. 

The basic data assembled during this study to meet 

these objectives are presented in the section 

"Hydrologic Features of Ash Meadows." Under the 

heading "Observed Effects of Pumping," these data 

are correlated and interpreted in terms of the primary 

objective. Finally, in the section "Movement of 

Ground Water in Ash Meadows Area," the secondary 

purposes are fulfilled by an interpretation of local 

geologic controls on ground-water movement and by 

consideration of alternative development of water 

supplies. 

A companion study, requested by the Departmental 

Pupfish Task Force and conducted by the University 

of Nevada's Center for Water Resources Research, 

also examines the Ash Meadows area from the 

standpoint of ground-water management to allow 

development with a minimum of environmental 

impact. Bateman, Mindling, Naff, and Joung (1972) 

have reported results of the initial year of this study. 

From September 1970 through October 1971, data 

on water levels, spring discharges and pumpage were 

intensively gathered by the Geological Survey. It was 

necessary to continue a less intensive data-collection 

program after October 1971 to complete records for 

the 1971 pumping season. The Geological Survey has 

continued to monitor selected observation points in 

order to provide basic data and interpretations for use 

in the continuing litigation (Larson, 1973 and 197 4). 

LOCATION SYSTEM 

Township, range, and section are used throughout 

this report for locating features and for indexing wells 

and springs. Townships south and ranges east, both in 

increments of approximately 6 mi (9.65 km), are 

referenced to the Mount Diablo baseline and meridian, 

respectively. The term township is also used to 

describe an area approximately 6 mi (9.65 km) on each 

side, which is subdivided into 36 sections, ideally of 1 

mi2 (2.59 km2) each. 

Within a section, points are located according to the 

quarter-section (160-acre or 0.648 km2) in which they 

fall. Where greater precision is needed to distinguish 

between closely grouped points, locations are given to 

the nearest 40 or 10 acres (0.162 or 0.040 km2) by 

further subdividing quarter-sections. As an example 

of the notation in standard use, the southeast quarter 

of the southwest quarter of the northwest quarter of 

section 10, township 17 south and range 50 east is 

abbreviated as SE1

/4SW1/4NW1/4 Sec. 10, T. 17 S., R. 

50 E. 

Index numbers lead with the grosser location and 

progress toward the more precise. The letters a, b, c, 

and d are applied in counterclockwise manner to the 

quarters, beginning in the northeast quarter. A 

feature located in the 10-acre (0.040-km 2) square of 

the example above, therefore, is indexed as 

17S/50E-10bcd. Since only east ranges are referenced 

to the Mount Diablo meridian, the notation 

17S/50-10bcd is an acceptable abbreviation. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

Mr. B.L. Barnett, manager of the Spring Meadows 

Ranch, cooperated graciously in allowing access to 

ranch properties and by providing flumes and 

recorders to monitor certain springs. 

Unpublished lithologic, hydraulic, and chemical data 

were provided by Ed L. Reed and Associates, 

Midland, Texas. 

REGIONAL SETriNG 

PHYSIOGRAPHY 

Ash Meadows lies within the Great Basin, a 

subdivision of the Basin and Range physiographic 

province, and is typical of this large region of the 

southwestern United States. Although geologically 
REGIONAL SETTING 5 

complex in detail, the Great Basin is characterized by 

widespread uniformity of its geologically young 

structural features. Normal faults of large 

displacement isolate northerly-trending mountain 

ranges among broad, alluvium-filled valleys. Although 

low divides commonly occur between valleys, forming 

closed drainages, Ash Meadows is drained by Carson 

Slough, a through-flowing tributary of the Amargosa 

River, which terminates in Death Valley. 

The boundaries of Ash Meadows are poorly defined, 

but the name is generally applied to the gently sloping 

terrane, watered by numerous springs, within the 

southeastern part of the Amargosa Desert. The area, 

depicted in figure 3, lies roughly between altitudes 

2,100 ft (640 m) and 2,400 ft (730 m). On the east a 

segmented group of low hills provides local relief 

ranging from about 500 ft (150 m) in the north to about 

900ft (270m) in the central region near Devils Hole. 

In the southern part and to the east of Jack Rabbit 

Spring and Big Spring, a prominent range borders the 

area with relief of about 2,000 ft (600 m). 

The western boundary of Ash Meadows corresponds to the western limit of the low salt meadows in 

the Carson Slough bottomland. Fairbanks Spring 

defines the northern limit, and Bole Spring is 

approximately the southern limit. As thus defined, 

Ash Meadows lies wholly in Nevada and within the 

townships T. 17 and 18 S., R. 50 E. and T. 18 S., R. 51 

E. 

The higher slopes bordering the eastern hills are 

composed of dissected alluvial fans and pediments cut 

on older Quaternary lakebeds. Dense non-marine 

limestone beds, including the fossil effluent of now 

extinct springs, form a resistant westward-sloping 

planar divide in much of the interchannel area. At 

some locations, particularly north of Fairbanks 

Spring, these beds form prominent buttes. 

Between altitudes 2,325 ft (709 m) and 2,175 ft ( 663 

m), dozens of springs and small seeps discharge a total 

of about 11,000 gal/min (60,000 m3 /d), about 3,000 

gal/min (16,000 m3/d) of which is from Crystal Pool 

(18S/50-3adb) alone. Dense to moderate growths of 

mesquite occur at the springs and near the outlet 

channels below. Mixed with the mesquite, and 

extending farther from the channels, is a cover of 

saltbush, ranging from healthy to sparse. Salt grass 

forms a luxurious growth where the spring channels 

empty into poorly drained flatlands, particularly along 

the flood plain of Carson Slough. 

CLIMATE 

Because the National Weather Service does not 

maintain weather stations in Ash Meadows, climatic 

parameters were extrapolated from the published 

records for Beatty, Lathrop Wells, and Boulder City, 

Nevada, and from those for Death Valley, California. 

The mean annual temperature at Ash Meadows is 

approximately 18.5°C (65°F), as estimated from the 

15.5°C (60°F) mean at Beatty and about l8°C (64°F) 

at Lathrop Wells. Annual precipitation probably 

averages between 3 and 4 in. (about 75 to 100 mm) and 

pan evaporation is probably about 100 in. (2,500 mm) 

per year. 

HYDROGEOLOGY 

Table 1 shows the wide variety and great thickness 

of rocks that occur regionally in southeastern Nevada. 

Upper Precambrian and Paleozoic (Cambrian through 

Permian) rocks are primarily marine in origin, having 

been deposited in widespread but shallow seas. The 

pressure and heat resulting from deep burial and later 

tectonic forces transformed the sediments into dense 

limestone, dolomite, argillite, and sandstone. 

During several tectonic episodes the Paleozoic and 

older rocks were folded, fractured, and thrust over 

each other to form now-extinct mountain ranges. 

Mesozoic rocks, if ever deposited in this area, were 

removed by erosion along with thousands of feet of 

Paleozoic rocks. 

The present topography of the Great Basin began 

its development in the Tertiary Period. Volcanism 

became widespread, and the region was broken by 

northerly-trending normal faults that transect older 

structural patterns. The landscape changed to one of 

narrow, abruptly rising, isolated mountain ranges and 

hills that shed their debris into broad basins. 

Depositional environments became individualized, and 

the resulting stratigraphy is unique in individual 

areas. Exposures of Tertiary rocks in the Ash 

Meadows area, described by Denny and Drewes 

(1965), are probably Oligocene and younger and are 

predominantly clastic sediments with lesser amounts 

of limestone and tuff. At and near the N~vada Test 

Site, north of Ash Meadows, great thicknesses of 

volcanic tuff and lava were deposited in Tertiary time. 

Consequently, the Tertiary and Quaternary Systems 

are described in table 1 only for the limited area of Ash 

Meadows. 

REGIONAL AQUIFER SYSTEM 

Figure 4 shows the distribution of rocks over an 

area of several thousand square miles. The Paleozoic 

and older rocks are subdivided into four 

hydrostratigraphic units, (table 1) as defined by 

Winograd and Thordarson (1975). The aquifers are 

composed predominantly of limestone and dolomite 

which transport water freely through fractures that 

have been enlarged by dissolution of the carbonate 
6 EFFECT OF PUMPING ON PUPFISH HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

T. 17 s. 

T.IS S. 

0 I MILE l!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiil 

0 2 KILOMETRES 

i!!!!!!!!!!!!!liiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Contour interval 200feet(61 metres) 

{Supplementary contours, 40 feet or 12 metres) 

Bose from U.S. Geological Survey, 

Ash Meadows, 1:62,500 

FIGURE 3.-Topography of Ash Meadows and vicinity. 
REGIONAL SETTING 7 

TABLE 1.-Major stratigraphic units in the vicinity of Ash Meadows, Nye County, Nev. 

[Lithology, thickness, hydraulic characteristics, and distribution of Tertiary and Quaternary described for the limited Ash Meadows area only; adapted in part from Denny and Drewes (1965). Older units described for entire Ash Meadows ground-water basin; adapted from Winograd and Thordarson (1975). T, transmissivity, in feet squared per day) 

System Stratigraphic Lithology 

unit 

Quaternary Valley fill, Gravel, sand and mudundifferentiated flows; channel and alluvial fan deposits. Local 

spring deposits 

(travertine.) ----------

Alluvial and (?) lacustrine 

silt, clay and limestone; 

local peat and spring 

deposits. 

Tertiary Undifferentiated Moderately to well indurated siltstone; lesser 

tuff, sandstone, conglomerate and lime- stone. Siliceous where 

altered by thermal 

springs. 

Permian(?) and Tippipah Limestone Limestone. 

Pennsylvanian 

Mississippian Eleana Formation Argillite with lesser 

and Devonian sandstone, quartzite, 

and conglomerate; minor 

limestone. 

Devonian Devils Gate Limestone Limestone and dolomite; 

Nevada Formation 

minor quartzite and 

shale. 

Ely Springs 

Dolomite 

Ordovician Eureka Quartzite 

Pogonip Group 

Nopah Formation Limestone and dolomite. 

Dunderberg Shale 

Member forms lower 

200feet. 

Bonanza King Limestone, dolomite, and 

Formation minor siltstone. 

Cambrian 

Carrara Formation Limestone with minor r- __ s~~.._ ______ 

Siltstone and argillite 

with minor limestone. 

Za~~skie Quartzite, sandstone, 

uartzite siltstone, and minor 

Wood Canyon limestone. 

Formation 

Stirling 

Precambrian Quartzite 

Johnnie 

Formation 

lAs defined by Winograd and Thordarson (1975). 

minerals. The aquitards2 contain only minor 

thicknesses of soluble rocks and are composed chiefly 

of clastic rocks that impede the flow of ground water. 

Because of their geometric distribution (fig. 4), the 

aquitards function most importantly to restrict lateral 

ground-water flow, thus determining the boundaries 

2 An aquitard is a body of rock that has low but measurable hydraulic conductivity 

and, therefore, impedes the flow of ground water. Where an aquitard is in stratigraphic 

juxtaposition to an aquifer and retards ground-water movement from the aquifer, it 

functions as a confining bed, as defined by Lohman and others (1972). The more specific 

term, confining bed, is preferred by the Geological Survey where both the hydraulic and 

stratigraphic conditions warrant its use. 

Thickness Hydraulic Distribution 

(feet) characteristics 

1,000± Discontinuous, linear Eastern one-third of Ash 

local aquifers. Meadows, adiacent to 

T ranges from less than carbonate hil s. 

100 to 20,000 or more. 

-----r-------------------- 2,000± Aquitard; Tless than 100 Throu~hout western two- where tested. thir s of Ash Meadows. 

Interbedded beneath eastern one-third. 

2,000± Aquitard; untested, butT Crops out in southwestern 

probably less than 100. Ash Meadows. Beneath 

Quaternary elsewhere in 

Ash Meadows. 

3,600 Upper carbonate Limited areas to northeast Ill 

aquiferl in Ash Meadows ground- :.c 

Tas much as 10,000. water basin. .. 

= Ql 

u 

8,000± Upper clastic West-central part of .., 

~ aquitard Ash Meadows ground- .., water basin. Beneath "C 

younger units = .., Tless than 70. elsewhere. Ill 

8,000± ~ 

Lower carbonate Regionally distributed 0 

aquifer 1 "C 

over Ash Meadows .., ~und-water basin. Ql 

Fractured aquifer with sest outcrops in =s 

Tas much as 100,000. ~ecter Ranf: and ~ 

Solution enlargement ercury Val ey. < 

of fractures near Ash Possibly beneath .5 

Meadows discharge area Tertiary in northern .. and Jirobably where or western Ash = are y restricted Meadows. ~ 

upf:adient in the ..c 

< 

2,000± 

As Meadows ground- -------------....___ water basin. 

Crops out in hills bordering 

Ash Meadows on east. 4,500 Beneath Tertiary in Ash 

Meadows and beneath younger units through- out Ash Meadows 

1,000 ground-water basin. 

----

1,000 Lower clastic 

aquitard 1 Crops out in anticlinal core 

in hills east of southern 

Ash Meadows. Forms 9,000+ T generally less than southern edge of Ash 

100. Restricts Meadows ground-water 

ground-water basin in Spring Mounmovement. tains. Locally crops out 

or present beneath younger units elsewhere. 

of the Ash Meadows ground-water system. 

The lower clastic aquitard includes upper 

Precambrian and lowermost Cambrian clastic rocks 

that have generally low permeabilities. Above this 

unit is the lower carbonate aquifer, composed of about 

15,000 ft (4,600 m) of limestone and dolomite, 

interbedded with minor thicknesses of siltstone, 

argillite, and shale of Cambrian, Ordovician, and 

Devonian age. Drill holes penetrating the lower 

carbonate aquifer show its transmissivity (hydraulic 

conductivity times thickness) to be highly variable. 
8 EFFECT OF PUMPING ON PUPFISH HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

0 25 50 MILES 1 

0 25 50 75 KILOMETRES 

EX PLANATION 

QUATERNARY D Alluvium, lake beds,and minor volcanic rocks 

TERTIARY 

- Lake beds and bedded tuff in Ash Meadows 

ITIIIIIIJ] Tuff, rhyolite, and associated volcanic rocks 

MESOZOIC (Minor-- not shown ) 

-

-

PALEOZOIC 

Undifferentiated rocks above lower 

clastic aquitard 

Upper clastic aquitard 

~ Lower carbonate aquifer 

PALEOZOIC (CAMBRIAN)- PRECAMBRIAN 

~ Lower clastic aquitard 

Contact 

• • • • • Thrust fault 

------ Approximate boundary of Ash Meadows 

ground-water system 

Approximate direction of ground-water flow 

A'>--------iA' Trace of section shown in figure 5 

FIGURE 4.-Generalized hydrogeology and boundary of the Ash Meadows ground-water system. Adapted from 

Carlson and Willden, 1968; Denny and Drewes, 1965; and Winograd and Thordarson, 1975. 
REGIONAL SETTING 9 

Where they are not fractured, these carbonate rocks 

have low transmissivities, but throughout the region 

the unit is broken by fractures and faults that often 

are enlarged by solution. Transmissivities of almost 

100,000 ft2/d (almost 10,000 m2/d) have been 

measured in U.S. Geological Survey wells penetrating 

only about 300 ft (approximately 100 m) of the 

Bonanza King and Carrara Formations at a site about 

8 mi (13 km) northeast of Ash Meadows (Johnston, 

1968). 

The rocks exposed in most of the hills on the east 

side of Ash Meadows, and those in which Devils Hole 

is formed, are of the Bonanza King Formation (Denny 

and Drewes, 1965). 

Above the lower carbonate aquifer there is an 

8,000-ft (2,400-m) thickness of Mississippian and 

Devonian argillite interbedded with coarser elastic 

rocks and occasional thin limestone of the Eleana 

Formation. This unit, designated by Winograd and 

Thordarson (1975) as the upper elastic aquitard, 

displays transmissivities generally less than 70 ft2/d 

(6m2/d), even where penetrated for several hundred 

feet. The Tippipah Limestone (Permian (?) and 

Pennsylvanian) occurs at scattered localities but has 

been removed by erosion over most of the area. 

Where present beneath the water table, however, it is 

highly transmissive and was defined by Winograd and 

Thordarson (1975) as the upper carbonate aquifer. 

Although no Paleozoic rocks above the lower part of 

the Nopah Formation (table 1) are known in Ash 

Meadows and the hills on its east border, Denny and 

Drewes ( 1965) identified carbonate rocks with minor 

interbeds of chert and elastics in the southern Funeral 

Mountains (between Ash Meadows and Death Valley) 

as probably Silurian and younger. Consequently, the 

rocks above the Nopah Formation in the lower 

carbonate aquifer, and younger units, may occur 

beneath the Tertiary System in Ash Meadows. 

The highly transmissive lower carbonate aquifer is 

widely distributed beneath the ranges and basins 

lying to the northeast of Ash Meadows. Recharge to 

the aquifer moves through fractures and fault zones, 

which form a conduit system so permeable that it acts 

as a gigantic drain for about 4,500 mi2 (about 12,000 

km2) (Winograd and Thordarson, 1975). The flow 

system encompassed by this area (fig. 4) discharges at 

the numerous springs in Ash Meadows and is 

therefore known as the Ash Meadows ground-water 

system. Walker and Eakin (1963) estimated the 

natural spring discharge of the system to be about 

17,000 aere-ft per year (about 21 million m3 per year). 

LOCAL AQUIFER SYSTEM 

Scattered exposures of Tertiary sediments occur 

near the Nevada-California State boundary in western 

Ash Meadows (fig. 4) (Denny and Drewes, 1965). 

Except for local occurrences of coarse fanglomerates, 

the Tertiary rocks are chiefly lacustrine in origin and 

composed of claystone, siltstone, and fine-grained 

sandstone (Denny and Drewes, 1965). Similar 

lithologies are expected to underlie the Quaternary 

valley-fill sediments beneath most of the Ash 

Meadows area, but they have not been recognized in 

drill holes, possibly because of their similarity to lower 

Quaternary sediments. No productive aquifers are 

known within the lower Cenozoic section. 

During pluvial periods in the Pleistocene Epoch the 

Death Valley region was occupied by widespread, 

interconnected lakes. While ancestral forms of present 

pupfish species spread throughout the region, 

sediments similar to those of the Tertiary System 

were deposited in the Ash Meadows basin. The lake 

levels fluctuated in response to long-term climatic 

changes, causing now-buried shoreline facies to 

migrate back and forth laterally. Alluvial deposits 

above the shoreline consisted of channel gravels and 

sand, mudflow debris, peat, and travertine from 

numerous springs. Caliche formed at several times 

and is commonly encountered in drill holes in the 

eastern part of Ash Meadows. 

The origin of massive beds of continental limestone 

in the upper Cenozoic section is not well known, but 

they probably resulted from redeposition of carbonate 

minerals dissolved from the Paleozoic rocks by ground 

water. While the travertine and caliche attest to the 

carbonate load in the ancient spring discharge, a more 

uniform and widespread environment is required to 

explain the massive limestones. Possibly the lake 

occupying the Ash Meadows basin became sufficiently 

concentrated to precipitate carbonate minerals. More 

likely, however, large ponds became periodically 

isolated above the shoreline during periods of lake 

recession. 

The shifting shoreline facies and varied materials 

deposited above the shoreline resulted in a highly 

complex local system of aquifers. The most productive 

aquifers are the channel gravels and travertine beds, 

but these occur in narrow linear and discontinuous 

patterns. Moderate production is possible from sand, 

but the ancient shoreline environment apparently 

provided only local accumulations of beach and dune 

sand. Where it is well fractured, the continental 

limestone yields water freely, but dense, unproductive sections are commonly penetrated. 

Figure 5 shows the hydrogeologie framework of the 

Ash Meadows discharge area. Faults near the eastern 

edge of Ash Meadows have interrupted the continuity 

of the lower carbonate aquifer sufficiently to 

terminate the regional flow system. Ground water 
10 EFFECT OF PUMPING ON PUPFISH HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

~~~ oct A"-> 

FEET ~:~ 

ASH 

MEADOWS 

A' 

4000 ul 2ooo~-.~-r--~~~~~~~---------r~~====~~F1~r 

METRES 

1000 

500 

SEA LEVEL 

2000 

4000 

SEA LEVEL 

500 

1000 

1500 

6000 ~~~~~La~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~L 

0 2 4 6 8 10 MILES r-~~~~--~~--~--~ 

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 KILOMETRES 

VERTICAL EXAGGERATION APPROX. X 2.5 

EXPLANATION 

Quaternary lake beds and alluvium 

li j j j ~ ~ j ~ ~ ~~ Tertiary lake beds and bedded tuff 

~ Paleozoic undifferentiated 

1--1--.: ___.___-,--; ---11 Paleozoic lower carbonate aquifer 

~1-~/,.:_>:j_., Paleozoic (Cambrian) and Precambrian 

lower clastic aquitard 

I Fault, arrow indicates direction 

of relative movement 

FIGURE 5.-Generalized geologic section along flow path approaching Ash Meadows. Modified from Winograd and Thordarson, 1975. 

moves up and westward into the complex local 

aquifers to discharge at the springs. Later in this 

report it is convenient to refer to the regional aquifer 

or regional flow subsystem and the local aquifers or 

local flow subsystem. The term "subsystem" is used to 

emphasize that the regional lower carbonate aquifer is 

the source of virtually all water discharged from the 

local subsystem in Ash Meadows. 

HYDROLOGIC FEATURES OF ASH MEADOWS 

DEVILS HOLE 

PHYSICAL FEATURES 

The present configuration of Devils Hole has 

resulted from solution enlargement of a fault zone in 

the Bonanza King Formation and from subsequent 

collapse of the roof and walls into the cavern. The pool 

is oriented along the direction of strike of the fault, 

about N. 40° E. Beneath the water level the cavern 

system follows the 70° SE dip of the fault and is open 

to a depth of at least 300ft (90 m), the present limit of 

exploration. The width of the tabular cavern opening 

is as much as 20ft (6 m). Several "rooms" have been 

discovered both to the northeast and to the southwest 

along the strike (Worts, 1963). 

Collapse of the roof and walls has left rock rubble 

that partly obscures the solution opening above the 

pool surface. A block of limestone about 10 ft (3 m) 

wide and at least 20 ft ( 6 m) long is wedged into the 

opening at the southwest end of the pool, forming the 

floor of the shelf upon which the Devils Hole pupfish 

feed and reproduce. 

Above the pool the hanging (overhead or southeast) 

wall of the fault has a discontinuous crust of secondary 

carbonate minerals where the cotttinued sloughing of 

rock fragments has not exposed fresh rock. This 

coating is particularly well preserved at the entrance 

to Devils Hole, about 30 ft (9 m) above the pool 

surface. The walls of the cavern opening beneath the 

water are almost continuously encrusted. 

Several formerly sustained pool levels above the 

present stage are marked by horizontal depositional 

rings of calcite or dolomite. On the walls of a small 

room isolated by a "keystone" block at the northeast 

end of the pool a travertine ledge about a foot wide 

marks the pre-1969 sustained level of about 1.2 ft (0.37 

m) below the copper washer used as the water-level 

reference. 

WATER-LEVEL FLUCTUATIONS 

The Geological Survey has recorded the water level 

in Devils Hole intermittently since 1956, but the 

record prior to 1962 is discontinuous. A copper washer 

was placed on the cavern wall in 1962 as a reference 

for water-level measurements. With respect to this 

reference, records prior to 1962 may be in error by 

about 0.3 ft (9 em). Between 1962 and 1968, however, 

the water level (fig. 2) was very stable. The seasonal 
HYDROLOGIC FEATURES OF ASH MEADOWS 11 

changes of mean daily levels (about 0.2 ft or 6 em) 

were small compared with the monthly changes of 

water level, which ranged from 0.3 to 0.5 ft (9 to 15 

em). Daily fluctuations were frequently as great as the 

monthly differences. 

The stage of the pool in Devils Hole fluctuates in 

response to several stimuli. Constant variation of the 

tidal forces exerted on the Earth's crust by the Moon, 

and to a lesser degree by the Sun, cause elastic 

deformation of the carbonate aquifer, resulting in 

continuous changes in its storage volume. Figure 6 

shows the cyclic changes in water level that result 

from the tidal forces. The strongest of the several 

components of the tidal forces has a periodicity of 

approximately 1 day and causes the large diurnal 

change of water level. Superimposed on this is a 

semi-diurnal change that gradually modifies the shape 

of the daily hydrograph. 

The pattern of reinforcement and interference of 

various tidal components results in a peak daily 

amplitude about every 2 weeks, followed by gradually 

diminishing amplitudes for about 1 week and then 

increasing during the second week to a new maximum 

amplitude. The biweekly maxima of daily amplitudes 

are generally between 0.3 ft (9 em) and 0.4 ft (12 em). 

Daily mean levels tend to be about 0.2 ft ( 6 em) to 0.25 

ft (7 .6 em) above the daily low. 

Changes in barometric pressure affect the water 

level in Devils Hole to a lesser degree. A barometric 

high may suppress the stage by as much as 0.1 ft (3 

em), while a low may increase it by a similar amount. 

Superposition of this irregular stimulus on the cyclic 

tidal changes causes day-to-day changes in the mean 

daily level of as much as 0.2 ft (6 em). This natural 

variabiltiy has hindered short-term definition of the 

pool level which, in turn, has prevented precise 

regulation of the level by modifying pumping 

schedules. 

1- 2.7 

Wa: Ww U.:c z(J) 2.8 

-<t 

a:3 

wa: 2.9 1-W 

<(0.. 

QU 

3~ 3.0 

1-3 

:co 1---l 3.1 o..w 

wco 

0 

3.2 

6 

Nuclear explosion 

"Miniata" 

46 mi (74 km) NNE 

M = 5.3 

7 8 

Earthquake 

central Chile 

5,500 mi (8,850 km) SSE 

M = 7.5 

9 JULY 10 

Short-term fluctuations of the water level result 

commonly from high winds, which cause local changes 

of air pressure at the pool surface. The hydrograph 

trace is frequently "noisy" because of winds. 

Seismic events, including natural earthquakes and 

nuclear explosions at the Nevada Test Site north of 

Ash Meadows, cause cyclic, short-term fluctuations of 

the water level in Devils Hole. Figure 6 shows three 

responses that are typical of most in the record. The 

Miniata nuclear explosion generated a response 

having a total amplitude of about 0.1 ft (3 em). Both of 

the earthquakes recorded on the hydrograph 

produced responses that were greater in amplitude 

and in duration. The water level continued to oscillate 

for about an hour after the initial reaction to the 

Chilean earthquake. About 2 hours of oscillation 

followed the New Ireland earthquake. 

Cooper, Bredehoeft, Papadopulos, and Bennett 

(1965) have explained the relationship between 

seismically induced changes in the fluid pressure in 

aquifers and the water-level response in a well. The 

geometry of .Devils Hole is such that its reaction is 

similar to that of a well. As in response to variations in 

earth tides, the magnitude of the imposed stresses and 

the mechanical properties of the aquifer are the first of 

several parameters affecting the water-level reaction. 

Because the seismic stresses change rapidly and time 

is required to move water in and out of the "well", 

however, the hydraulic properties of the aquifer and 

the geometry of the "well" also influence hydroseismic 

response. The interaction of the hydraulic and 

geometric factors with the frequency of the seismic 

waves results in varying ratios of change in water 

level to change in aquifer fluid pressure, according to 

Cooper, Bredehoeft, Papadopulos, and Bennett (1965). 

For seismic waves having short periods (high 

frequency) this amplification factor is less than unity. 

For very long-period stimuli, such as earth tides, the 

11 

Earthquake 

New Ireland region 

6,900 mi (11,000 km) WSW 

M = 7.8 

12 13 14 

(I) 

w 

C:a: 

0.85 1-w W:C :2:(1) 

z<X: 

-3 

a:' a: 

0.90 ww 

f-0.. 

<to.. 

38 

o:;: 

1-o 

0.95 :C-1 1-W o..CO 

w 

0 

FIGURE 6.-Devils Hole hydrograph for July 6-14, 1971, showing fluctuations caused by earth tides and seismic event. (M is the Richter 

magnitude of seismic event, as reported by the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Earthquake Information Center.) 
12 EFFECT OF PUMPING ON PUPFISH HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

water-level change is the same as the pressure 

change, or the amplification factor is 1. Certain wave 

periods, however, combine with the hydraulic and 

geometric parameters to produce resonance, resulting 

in an amplification factor greater than 1. The test 

wells 8 mi (13 km) northeast .of Devils Hole respond 

most efficiently to wave periods of about 30 seconds. 

The sustained and relatively large reactions of 

Devils Hole to the distant earthquakes shown on 

figure 6 suggest that the many factors combined to 

produce resonance in the system. On several occasions 

the response of Devils Hole has been sufficiently great 

to dislodge the float on the U.S. Geological Survey 

recorder monitoring the water level. The Alaskan 

earthquake on July 30, 1972, and the Mexican earthquake on January 30, 1973, both dislodged the float, 

causing gaps in the hydrograph. 

Figure 6 illustrates that no permanent change in the 

Devils Hole water level resulted from the 

hydroseismic responses. Examination of hundreds of 

responses on the long-term hydrograph shows the lack 

of permanent effects. 

SPRING DISCHARGE 

The large springs of Ash Meadows, in addition to 

their value as pupfish habitats and an economic 

resource, have long been of interest to hydrologists. 

The origin of the discharge and controls upon the 

locations of the springs have been discussed by Hunt 

and Robinson (1960), Loeltz (1960), Winograd (1962, 

1963, 1971), Walker and Eakin (1963), Hughes (1966), 

and Winograd and Thordarson (1975). It is the 

concensus of these authors that the regional lower 

carbonate aquifer transports most of the spring 

discharge to Ash Meadows from beyond the 

boundaries of the topographic drainage basin. 

The topographic setting of the major springs in Ash 

Meadows is shown in figure 3. Their relationship to 

outcrops of the Paleozoic carbonate rocks is presented 

in figure 7. With the exception of the Davis Springs 

and nearby springs in sections 11 and 12ofT. 18 S., R. 

50 E., the springs fall into a northern group around 

the upper Carson Slough drainage, a central group in 

the vicinity of Devils Hole, and a southern group at 

and south of the Point of Rocks area (fig. 7). 

Table 2, based on data from Walker and Eakin 

(1963) and supplemented during the present study, 

lists the springs yielding most of the water discharged 

in Ash Meadows. The reported measurements show 

· considerable variability; the contrast between early 

reported flows and those measured by the Geological 

Survey after 1950 is particularly apparent. 

Some of the apparent variability of spring flows may 

result from slight differences in measurement 

technique or instruments and in choice of metering 

locations. The smaller springs, in addition, are quite 

sensitive to changes in the condition of the orifice by 

cave-ins, trampling by stock, or cleaning of the orifice. 

Examination of table 2 was done, with particular 

reliance on Geological Survey measurements made 

during 1953 and 1962, to determine the typical 

discharge of each spring. Addition of these flows 

reveals a probable total spring flow of about 10,700 

gal/min (58,300 m3/d) for Ash Meadows before 

development of ground water by wells. Of this total 

discharge about 35 percent occurs in the northern 

group of springs. The central group, dominated by the 

2,900 gal/min (15,800 m3/d) flow of Crystal Pool, 

accounts for about 28 percent, and about 30 percent is 

discharged at Point of Rocks and from the springs to 

the south. The remaining 7 percent represents flow 

from Davis Springs and the numerous small seeps 

between Crystal Pool and Point of Rocks area. Some 

of this scattered minor discharge may represent 

secondary emergence of the flow from other springs 

that infiltrated to shallow aquifers in the local 

subsystem. 

The discharges of the major springs are uniform 

throughout the year under natural conditions. 

Consequently the average natural spring flow of 

approximately 10,700 gal/min (58,000 m3/d) yields 

about 17,000 acre-ft (21 million m:8) annually, which 

agrees with the conclusion of Walker and Eakin 

(1963). 

WELLS AND DRILL HOLES 

Since 1961 about 40 holes reportedly have been 

drilled in the Ash Meadows area. Figure 7 shows the 

locations of the Spring Meadows production wells and 

certain other wells and drill holes that are of special 

interest. Drillers' logs filed with the Office of the State 

Engineer, Carson City, Nev., and an unpublished 

report by Ed L. Reed and Associates (written 

commun., 1967) were used to compile table 3. 

Although most of the wells are between 200 ft (60m) 

and 700ft (215m) deep, two holes (18S/50-11dd and 

18S/50-12db) were drilled to about 1,000 ft (305 m) 

without encountering productive zones. The "Remarks" column in table 3 reveals that most of the 

productive wells penetrate travertine or continental 

limestones of the local aquifer system. Only five drill 

holes (17S/50-14cac; 17S/50-23bbl; 17S/50-23bb2, 

also called well7; 18S/51-7bdb, also called well13; and 

18S/51-7dbl) penetrated Paleozoic rocks. Well7 is the 

only one of these that produces significant discharge. 

Although well13 is only about 1,000 ft (305m) west of 

an outcrop of Paleozoic rocks, these rocks were 

penetrated at a depth of 815 ft (248 m). 
! 

J 

140 

HYDROLOGIC FEATURES OF ASH MEADOWS 

Fairbanks ) Spring&. Soda - '\ S p r i n g /.-" 

·''- ,..,. 

Spring 

Longstreet 

Spring.._. 

614cac 

EXPLANATION 

4• Production well 

IOo Other well 

14cac6 Flowing well 

~ Spring 

~ Paleozoic outcrop 

. ':/:). )/ ~~g~?ng ~M ~ arsh 

.. 

••• • .r 

T.l7 S. 

T. 18 s. 

0 

0 

School ~~ Spring 

.6 

,Jt Crystal 

Pool 

2 Ml LES 

2 KILOMETRES 

Collins 

Spring~ 

o9 

,_ Davis 

-ve Springs 

Point of Rocks 

Springs 

King Pool I• 'i •17 

4 • ' •2.t 7db2 ~ 

wu.i 

0-

L()L() 

0:::0::: 

tJack Rabbit 

( Spring 

,.,eBig Spring 

FIGURE 7.-Location of wells and springs in the Ash Meadows area. 

13 
14 EFFECT OF PUMPING ON PUPFISH HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

TABLE 2.-Records of springs in Ash Meadows, Nye County, Nev. 

[Data before 1963 from Walker and Eakin (1963). Data below dashed lines collected by 

the authors. Method and, where indicated, date unknown for data from Ed L. Reed 

and Associates (written common., 1967). QTs, quarternary and (or) Tertiary alluvial 

and lake sediments; aquifers are gravel, sand, travertine, or "fresh-water limestone." 

QTst, travertine or "fresh-water limestone" outcrops at spring. Pzc, Paleozoic lime- stone or dolomite; CM, Price current meter in outlet channel; CM/CM, difference of current-meter measurements in channel below and above spring flow entry; PF(6), 

Standard Parshall Flume with throat size in inches; VW90, 90° V-notch weir; CW18, 

18-inch Cipolletti weir; Vol, volumetric measurement with stopwatch; Obs, observed; 

RW, rectangular weir. m, measured by the U.S. Geological Survey; others reported. 

Cs, specific conductance in micromhos per centimetre at 25° Celsius] 

Location 

index 

and name 

17S/50-9ad 

Fairbanks 

17S/ 

50-lObed 

Soda 

17S/ 

50-14cac 

Flowing 

well 

("Purgatory 

Spring," 

USBSFW) 

17S/50-15ab 

Rogers 

17S/50-2lac 

Cold 

17S/ 

50-22aba 

Longstreet 

17S/50-22ac 

McGillivary 

Water- Method of 

bearing measure- Flow Temp 

unit ment (gal/min) (°C) (°F) Date Remarksl. 

QTst 00 00 00 00 00 • 2,360 1910 

00 • 00 00 00 00 2,040 7/14/23 • 0 •••• 0 ••• 0 1,760 8/16/46 . . . . . . . . . . . ml,660 28 82 2/1/53 • 0. 0 •• 0 •• 0. 1,700 6/?/61 . . . . . . . . . . . m1,720 27 81 7/23/62 Cs=650 

-~:-J~1."580-~-:--i2)--r~~~~ 

1 m1,430 (2) Low flow. 

QTs ........ 00 • m85 22 72 2/l/53 

Pzc 

QTst 

QTs 

QTst 

QTs 

• 0. 0 ••• 0 •• 0 87 6/?/61 . . . . . . . . . . . m79 23 73 7/31/62 Cs=:725 

--------------------· 

m65 5/21/71 

PF2 22 72 

mO 23 73 (3) 

Obs 50 9/1/66 

High flow. 

10170-8/71 

Low flow. 

Reed 

(1967). 

VW90 { m23 34.5 94 

m9 

High flow. 

2/71-12/71 

Low flow. 

PF6 

Obs 

PF3 

Reported 

PF9 

CM 

PF9 

Reported 

Obs 

675 

m715 

665 

m735 

29 

28 

12/24/23 

84 12/1/53 

6/?/61 

82 7/29/62 Cs=650 

m570 

{

m590 28.5 83 2/21/71 

28.5 83 2/24/71 WellS 

pumped2 

days. 

m590 

80 

m73 

1,260 

ml,240 

1,270 

m1,040 

1,250 

ml,040 

19.5 

26.5 

28 

28 

ml,030 27 

m1,110 

m940 

ml,040 

m1,130 27 

m1,070 

m940 28 

m1,060 

ml,130 

m995 

m980 

155 

mO 

67 

80 

82 

82 

3/15/71 

9/1/66 

3/27/21 

2/3/53 

6/?/61 

7/29/62 

1965 

10/22/70 

81 11/6/70 

11/23/70 

4/2/71 

4/15/71 

81 5/20/71 

7/15171 

82 9/9/71 

10/8/71 

10/16171 

11/1/71 

11/20171 

Reed (1967). 

Stable flow 

10170-

4/71. 

Cs=640 

Reed (1967). 

1965 Reed (1967). 

9/30/70 Water level 

5ft below 

outlet. No 

flow in 

1971. 

TABLE 2.-Records of springs in Ash Meadows, Nye County, 

Nev. -Continued 

Location 

index 

and name 

17S/50-23bl 

17S/ 

50-23bb1 

Unnamed 

(at Five 

Springs 

area) 

17S/ 

50-23bb2 

Unnamed 

(at Five 

Springs 

area) 

17S/50-23b 

Unnamed 

(8seeps at Five 

Springs) 

17S/50-35al 

Scruggs? 

17S/ 

50-35acc 

Scruggs 

17S/ 

50-35bl 

Unnamed 

17S/ 

50-35dl 

School 

18S/ 

50-3adb 

Crystal 

Pool 

lBS/50-lca 

Collins 

18S/50-11d1 

Davis 

18S/50-11d2 

Davis 

Waterbearing 

unit 

QTs 

QTs 

QTs 

QTs 

QTs 

QTs 

QTs 

QTs 

QTst 

QTs 

QTs 

QTs 

18S/50-11d3 QTs 

Davis 

18S/50-12cl QTs 

Method of measurement 

PF3 

Vol 

Vol 

PF3 

Flow Temp 

(gal/min) (C0 ) (F0 ) Date 

m115 

m195 

{

m75 

mO 

\

m60 

mO 

m35 

m90 

m140 

m60 

m17 

m25 

m6 

34.5 94 2/3/53 

34.5 94 7/23/62 

34.5 94 

32 90 2/17/71 

2/17/71 

0 0. 2/16/71 

33 91 2/3/53 

33.5 92 7/24/62 

28.5 83 7/23/62 

32 90 1/31/53 

34.5 94 7/24/62 

•• 0 • 0 ••• 0 • 0 3,070 4/1!59 •••••••• 0 • 0 m2,820 31.5 89 l/31!53 

Remarks1 

Cs=650 

Same as 23bb1 and 

(or)23bb2 

below? 

High of 

record. 

10170-9171 

Low of 

record. 

Well7on . 

Well7on. 

Combined 

flow. 

Two springs 

combined? 

Cs=640 

Northern of 

twoorifiCE:s. 

Steady 

flow 

recorded 

11/70-2/71 

Cs=620 

Cs=620 

•••••••••• 0 2,980 6/?/61 ........... m2,820 33 91 7/29/62 Cs=650 

RW 3,290 3/3/67 Reed (1967). 

---------------------

{ 

2,940 2/22/71 High of 

PF24 (3) 32 90 

1,670 9/1/71 

VW90 {(2) m10 

m5 

m720 23.5 74 2/2/53 

m395 25 77 7/25/62 

m175 23.5 74 2/2/53 

m5 7/25/62 

m38 21 70 2/2/53 

m30 22 72 7/25/62 

m52 23 73 2/2/53 

mll 26.5 80 7/25/62 

record. 

10/70-11/71 

Low of 

record. 

High of 

record. 

2/71-12/71 

Low of 

record. 

(Sept. 

1971). 

Cs=750 

Cs=725 
HYDROLOGIC FEATURES OF ASH MEADOWS 15 

TABLE 2.-Records of spring in Ash Meadows, Nye County, 

Nev. -Continued 

Location 

index 

and name 

18S/50-12dc 

Sink 

188/ 

51-7dbb 

King Pool 

18S/51-7d2 

Indian Rock 

18S/51-7d3 

18S/51-7d4 

18S/51-7d5 

18S/51-7dba 

Point of 

Rocks. 

Indian 

Rock, 

Indian 

Seeps 

18S/51-18bc 

JackRabbit 

18S/51-19ac 

Big; 

(Deep; 

Ash 

Meadows) 

Waterbearing 

unit 

QTs 

QTst 

QTst 

QTs 

QTs 

QTs 

QTs, 

Pzc, 

and 

QTst 

QTst 

QTst 

18S/51-29b1 QTs 

Unnamed 

18S/51-30ab QTs 

Bole 

18S/51-30d1 QTs 

Last Chance 

Method of measurement 

Obs 

Obs 

Reported 

Flow Temp (gal/min) (C0 ) (F0 ) Date 

25 9/1166 

mO . . . . . . 3/2/71 

2,130 

m1,250 31.5 89 

685 

m1,080 32 90 

1,500 

7/17/43 

1/31/53 

6/?/61 

7/25/62 

(?) 

Remarks1 

Reed (1967). 

Water level 

3ft below 

outlet. No 

flow in 

1971. 

Cs=675 

Reed (1967). 

-----{ .:.~-32-oo-~j~~-~i~:t-· 

m1,230 11/23/70 

CM!CM m1,360 12/8/70 

m1,160 12/29/70 

m1,230 1/12/71 

135 

m69 32 90 

3/31/50 

1/31/53 

6/?/61 

7/25/62 

120 

m22 33.5 92 

m345 32 

300 

m380 33 

m19 34 

m2 34 

90 1/31153 

6/?/61 

91 7/26/62 

93 7/26/62 

93 7/26/62 

Cs=640 

Cs=645 

Cs=650 

Cs=650 

. . . . . . . . . . . m420 32 90 7/27/62 Totalof7d2, 

34 93 7d3, 7d4, 

and 7d5, 

--------------------- 90 

93 

5/17171 

8/10171 

. . . . . . . . . . . m500 28 82 2/1/53 

High of 

record. 

10/70-9/71 

Low of 

record. 

Totalof2 

flumes. 

. . . . . . . . . . . 640 . . . 6/?/61 . . . . . . . . . . . m585 . . . 7/27/62 Cs=675 

Reported 600 (?) Reed (1967). 

--~-{~~~·~-~-ww;-~~: mO (3) Lowof 

record. 

•. . . . . . . . . . . 1,120 1916 . . . . . . . . . . . m1,060 28.5 83 2/2/53 . . . . . . . . . . . 1,080 6/?/61 . . . . . . . . . . . m1,040 7/19/62 . . . . . . . . . . . m1,040 7/26/62 . . . . . . . . . . . 28.5 83 8/27/62 Cs=700 

-----{ ;i.04o------(2)- i~;;--

record. 

CW18 28.5 83 1171-10171 

m920 (2) Low of 

record. 

m1 22 72 7/28/62 Cs=790 

m12 22 72 7/27/62 

m1 20 68 7/28/62 Cs=575 

~Highs and lows of record determined from continuous records over period indicated. 

Discharge steady or changes gradually; high or low flow occurs for sustained 

pe£ods. Discharge variable and responsive to pumping or other causes; high or low occurs commonly during period of record. 

RESULTS OF AQUIFER TESTS 

Aquifer tests of the production wells, some 

adequately controlled and some made during normal 

ranch operations, were conducted during February, 

March, and April 1971. Several of the wells were 

examined during more than one cycle of drawdown 

and recovery, particularly in southern Ash Meadows, 

where interference from other wells nearby (fig. 8) 

required constant surveillance from the field party in 

order to reconstruct usable data. 

Additional tests conducted during 1967 by E.L. 

Reed, a consultant to the ranch, were analyzed by 

Reed (written commun., 1967) and by R.H. Johnston 

of the Geological Survey (written commun., 1967). 

Drawdown measurements (the difference between 

depths to water before and during pumping) in the 

1971 tests were hampered in many of the pumped 

wells by water cascading down the casing from 

shallow aquifers intersected above the pumping 

levels. The use of float switches and shields on 

electrical probes aided in measuring pumping levels 

but the aeration and mixture with oil from pump 

columns resulted in a foamy mixture of water, air, and 

oil in several wells. Calculations of specific capacities 

(well yield, in gallons per minute, per foot of 

drawdown) were affected, for drawdowns in these 

shallow aquifers should not be computed from the 

pumping levels in the wells; but rather from the 

depths at which the cascading water enters the wells. 

Because the relative contributions of these zones are 

not known, all hydraulic parameters computed from 

drawdowns in wells that had cascading inflow are 

inaccurate to some degree. 

Type curves compiled by Lohman (1972) from 

several sources were used to re1ate the timedrawdown data to transmissivities and storage 

coefficients. The data were matched most successfully 

to curves prepared by Lohman from Boulton's (1963) 

equation which describes ground-water flow when the 

yield from storage in the aquifer is delayed. Figure 9 

shows time-drawdown data from three wells observed 

during testing of well1 and the matches of these data 

to delayed-yield type curves. Although the matches 

are satisfactory, the wide range of calculated 

transmissivities suggests that analyses based on 

radial-flow equations are not widely applicable to 

wells in Ash Meadows. Rather, they reflect the 

inhomogeneity and complexity of the local aquifers. 

Table 4 summarizes the observations during the 

pumping tests and hydraulic parameters calculated 

from the draw down data. Note that wells 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 

and 8 were observed to lessen the discharge of one or 

more springs. The rapid effect of well2 on Jack Rabbit 
16 EFFECT OF PUMPING ON PUPFISH HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS. NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

TABLE 3. -Records of selected we Us and driU holes in Ash Meadows, Nye County, Nev. 

[Includes wells or holes drilled before June 1971, and selected, s!Pificant data after 

June 1971. Sources, in addition to this study, are drillers' logs filed with the State 

Engineer, Carson City, Nevada, by September 1970, and Ed L. Reed and Associates 

(written commun., 1967). e, estimated from topographic map and (or) field inspection, 

generally accurate to +5 feet. Leaders ( ........ ) indicate no information available or not applicable. m, measured by the Geological Survey; f, flows (discharge in gallons per 

minute, if known); p, well not pumping at time of measurement, but is or might be 

affected by earlier pumping or pumping of other wells; w, "first water," as reported on driller's log and may not be static level. C, commercial, excluding agricultural irrigation; 

Obs, the Geological Survey maintained water-level recorder on well in 1971 and (or) 

1972; S, stock watering; U, use abandoned or suspended in 1971 or before. Lithologies in 

quotes are from driller's log; others are from sample studies by Ed L. Reed and 

Associates (written commun., 1967)) 

Well 

number Owner and Date 

and owner':\ completed location number (Mo-Yr) 

17S/49 G. Swink 

3dd 

1966 

17S/50 G.C. Hanks 12-63 

6cd 

17S/50 Nye 01-67 

9dd County 

Land 

Co. (Reed 

11) 

17S/50 Spring 06-68 

10cda Meadows, 

Inc. 

17S/50 Spring 1968 

10cdd Meadows, 

Inc., 8 

17S/50 Spring 06-68 

14cac Meadows, 

Inc. 

17S/50 Nye 03-62 

15aca County 

Land Co. 

(Reed 2) 

17S/50 G. Swink 04-66 

16aa (Reed 4) 

17S/50 G. Swink 06-66 

16dd (Reed 5) 

17S/50 Nye 02-67 

17dd County 

Land Co. 

(Reed 12) 

17S/50 D.G. Tren- 03-64 

19aa ary 

17S/50 Spring 04-70 

21aal Meadows, 

Inc. 

17S/50 Spring 05-71 

21aa2 Meadows, 

Inc. 

17S/50 Spring 06-68 

21ac? Meadows, 

Inc. 

See footnotes at end of table. 

Casing 

Land- Perforsurface Depth ated altitu~e Dept~ Diameter range zone (feet) (feet) (inches) (feet) (feet) 

e2190 

e2260 

e2265 

703 14-1/2 0-460 38-436 

400 12-3/4 0-400 200-390 

278 14 

12 

0-144 12-278 

134-278 

Water level4 ProductionS 

Below 

land Yield Draw- Temperasurface Date (gal/ down ture Date 

(feet) (Mo-Yr) min) (feet) (°C/°F) (Mo-Yr) 

3 07-66 .... 

w85 12-63 .... 

w3 01-67 .... 

e2270 157 6-5/8 0-157 7-157 f(15) 06-68 

02-71 

10-71 

22/72 06-68 

e2260 

e2360 

e2310 

e2250 

e2255 

e2210 

e2185 

e2240 

e2240 

e2240? 

92 6-5/8 

497 16 

700 14 

602 14 

10 

558 14 

12 

100 14 

500 16 

500 16 

m6 

mf(lO) 

m3 02-71 m900 > 140 

m1 04-71 

0-92 0-92 f(70 06-68 

1970-

1972 

f(m20 

tom8)p 

0-186 0-480 f(25) 03-6? 150 

175-480 f( < ,5) 1971 

0-641 46-640 

0-502 60-497 

492-602 

12 03-67 

15 08-66 150 >. i38 

(10 hrs) 

12 06-66 

15 03-67 137 > 164 

w7 01-67 

21170 02-71 

34/93 1970-

1972 

03-62 

19.5/67 1971 

08-66 

18/64 03-67 

0-280 28-558 

270-558 11 03-67 110 209 19.5/67 03-67 

(1 hr) 

0-100 15-100 15 03-64 "cool'' 03-64 

0-500 99-500 22 04-70 500 143 "cold" 04-70 

0-300 0-300 m17 05-71 < 300 >200 19.5/67 05-71 

202 6-5/8 0-202 0-202 8 06-68 

Status or 

use 

u 

Ir,D 

lr,U 

Ir,Obs 

Ir 

Ir,U 

lr,U 

u 

lr,U 

u 

lr,D 

u 

u 

Remarks, lithology 

and aquifer 

identification 

(depth ranges in feet2) 

"Limestone" [travertine?), 

0-14. Mainly "clay with 

limestone" and "clayey 

sand and gravel." 

"Sand" and "gravel," 85-

95, water-bearing during drilling. Production 

from "limestone," 287-

290, 327-340, 374-392. 

Aquifers are "crevice" in 

limestone (92 feet) and 

"gravel and sand," 225-

255. 

"Sand and gravel," 0-20. 

Production from "hard, 

porous lime," 112-157. 

Well deepened to unknown depth in 1971. 

Aquifers not identified. 

Water cascades from 56 

feet when pumping. 

Chemical sample, table 

6. Pumping test, table 4. 

Aquifer is "fractured dolomite" (Paleozoic), 25-92. 

Drilled on travertine 

spring mound. Developed as pupfish refuge 

and named "Purgatory 

Spring" in 1972. 

Aquifers are "limestone," 

0-40; 100 feet "sand and 

gravel," 125-405. 

Aquifers not identified. 

Possibly "gravel and 

sand," 50-65; "hard 

lime," 172-184; "sand 

and lime," 309-347. 

Aquifers not identified. 

No productive aquifers. 

Chemical sample, table 

6. Pumping test, table 4. 

Aquifer is "fine sand to coarse gravel," 84-95. 

Water cascaded from 180 

feet during test. Water 

carried sand. 

Probably 17S/50-21ca, 

providinf small domestic 

supply o poor quality. 
Well 

number Owner and Date 

and owner':'!. completed location number (Mo-Yr) 

17S/50 Spring 06-68 

21bb Meadows, 

Inc. 

17S/50 Spring 06-68 

23bb1 Meadows, 

17S/50 Spring 07-70 

23bb2 Meadows, 

Inc., 7 

17S/50 Spring 06-68 

28ca Meadows, 

Inc. 

17S/50 Nye 01-62 

29ad County 

(Reed 1) 

Spring Meadows, 

Inc., 10 

17S/50 Nye 10-66 

36dd County 

Land Co. 

17S/51 Spring 

31dd Meadows, 

Inc. 

18S/50 u.s. 09-70 

2aa Bureau 

of Land 

Management 

18S/50 Nye 03-66 

3aa Count;r 

Land Co. 

(Reed 3) 

Spring 

Meadows, 

Inc. 

18S/50 Nye 08-66 

5aa County 

Land Co. 

(Reed 7) 

18S/50 Spring 

llaa Meadows, 

Inc., 9 

18S/50 Nye 10-66 

lldd County 

Land Co. 

(Reed 8) 

18S/50 Spring 1971 

12db Meadows, 

Inc. 

18S/50 Ash 06-65 

25ab Meadows 

Lodge 

HYDROLOGIC FEATURES OF ASH MEADOWS 

TABLE 3.-Records of selected wells and driU holes in Ask Meadows, Nye County, Nevada 

Casing 

Land- Perforsurface Depth ated altitu~ Dept~ Diameter range zone (feet) (feet) (inches) (feet) (feet) 

e2210 202 6-5/8 0-202 7-202 

e2345 90 6-5/8 0-90 0-90 

Water level4 ProductionS 

Below 

land Yield Draw- Temperasurface Date (gal/ down. ture Date 

(feet) (Mo-Yr) min) (feet) (°C/°F) (Mo-Yr) 

5 06-68 

06-68 

02-71 

24.5/76 06-68 

e2345 140 14 0-100 0-100 f(30) 07-70 500 90 07-70 

m40 34.5/94 02-71 

e2180 

2171 

2405 

2418 

e2320 

e2205 

2140 

e2240 

e2240 

e2270 

2200 

200 

530 

m471 

248 

>252 

none 

16 

16 

12 

516 14 

670 14 

960 14 

1,000 ± 16 

267 12 

8-5/8 

6-5/8 

f(20) 02-71 m530 

0-514 150-500 9 01-62 2,000 

w22 11-61 

mf(5) 06-62 

12 03-67 1,375 

0-248 48-248 48 03-67 900 

mp51 :09-71 

m50 02-72 

0-

91 

19.5/67 

136 19.5/67 

(10 hrs) 

39 33.5/92 

01-62 

06-62 

03-67 

03-57 

m63 02-72 m4 7 25.5!78 03-71 

mp65 06-72 

51 09-70 40 

60 

103 

(2hr) 

>198 

(1-1/2 

0-516 0-516 f(37) 

0.570 60-530 f(5) 

0-852 210-840 

0-

0-50 80-267 

0-120 

0-267 

f(5) 

mp21 

f(15) 

f 

m12 

6 

hr) 

03-66 1,000 130 31.5/89 

m900 (3 hr) 

> 220 31.5/89 

m1370 120 

hr) 

08-66 

03-67 200 225 23.5/74 

02-71 

02-67 190 >" 433 30.5/87 

02-71 

03-71 

06-65 24 

(11/2 hr) 

>85 

09-70 

09-70 

03-66 

04-71 

08-71 

03-67 

02-57 

06-65 

Status or 

use 

u 

Ir,D, 

u 

Ir 

u 

Ir 

Ir,U 

Ir,U 

Obs 

See 

re- marks 

Ir,U 

u 

s 

u 

u 

c 

17 

Remarks, lithology 

and aquifer 

identification 

(depth ranges in feet2) 

Log shows "hard porous 

lime," 0-55, 85-202. 

Aquifer is "fractured dolomite" (Paleozoic), 50-90. 

:·Hard, porous lime," 

0-12, is probably travertine. 

10 feet west of 23bbl. 

Penetrates Paleozoic 

"black limestone," 48-

140. Chemical sample, 

table 6. Pumping test, 

table 4. 

Test hole only "hard lime," 

24-28; rest is "peat," 20-

24, and clay. 

"First water in fractured 

lime at 22 feet." Aquifers are "sand" or "sand 

and gravel," 245-250, 

280-320, 338-342, 415-

490; "fractured lime," 

140-200. Chemical sample, table 6. Pumping 

test, table 4. 

900 feet east of Devils 

Hole. Aquifer is gravel. 

100-248; possibly also 

"lime," 6-100, [travertine?]. Chemical sample, 

table 6. Pumping test, 

table 4. 

No log on record 9/70. Obs 

in 1972. Affected by 

pumping 11/z miles to the 

south. Chemical sample, 

table 6. 

No log on reeord 9/70. 

Pumped to supplement 

flow of pupfish sanctu- ary at School Spring 

(17S/50-35dl). 

"White lime" and "sticky 

lime" for entire depth. 

Tools dropped several 

times during drilling. 

Owner said mud appeared in Crystal Pool. 

Water cascades from 

about 50 feet. Chemical 

sample, table 6. Pumping test, table 4. 

Welded cap. Chemical 

sample, table 6. Pumping test, table 4. 

No log on record, 9/70. 

Pumps intermittently to pressure tank. 

Clay and marl in upper 300 

feet; clayey and cement- ed sand and gravel, 300-

700. Chemical sample, 

table 6. Pumping test, 

table 4. 

Abandoned in 1971. 

8-5/8 casing cemented to 50 feet. 
18 EFFECT OF PUMPING ON PUPFISH HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

TABLE 3.-Records of selected weUs and driU holes in Ash Meadows, Nye County, Nevada-Continued 

Casing 

Well Land- Perfornumber Owner and Date surface Depth a ted 

locanatd1

_

0

n ~:;:b;~\ co(Mmo-plyetred) altitu~e Depth Diameter range zone (feet) (feet)3 (inches) (feet) (feet) 

18S/51 Spring 1970 

6aa1 Meadows 

Inc., 12 

18S/51 Spring 1970 

6aa2 Meadows, 

Inc. 11 

18S/51 Spring 02-70 

7bbb Meadows, 

Inc., 5 

18S/51 Nye 1966 

7bdb County 

Land Co. 

(Reed 9) 

Spring 

Meadows, 

Inc., 13 

18S/51 Spring 08-69 

7ca Meadows, 

Inc., 4 

e2435 

e2450 

2320 

e2340 

e2295 

12 0- 0-

12 0- 0-

500 16 0-500 139-500 

818 14 0-468 132-467 

500 16 0-500 100-500 

Water level4 

Below 

land 

surface Date 

(feet) (Mo-Yr) 

76 

mp81 

m76 

95 

mp97 

m95 

24 

m25 

f(20) 

43 

98 

112 

m27 

6 

mll 

05-70 

03-71 

05-71 

05-70 

03-71 

05-71 

20-70 

03-71 

1966 

05-70 

07-70 

09-70 

03-71 

08-69 

03-71 

ProductionS 

Yield Draw-

(gal/ down 

min) (feet) 

m60 

m57 

75 

Tempera- ture Date 

(°C/°F) (Mo-Yr) 

25.5/78 01-71 

25.5/78 01-71 

1,500 > 1,600 110 ± 30.5/87 02-70 

03-71 

285 

e200 

1,200 

m900 

253 

(3br) 

180 

31.5/89 

31.5/89 

30.5/87 

03-67 

03-71 

08-69 

03-71 

18S/51 Spring ,07-69 e2320 395 16 0-395 155-395 15 07-69 

7daa Meadows, 

Inc., 1 

18S/51 Spring 05-69 e2315 

7dac Meadows, 

Inc.,2 

18S/51 Spring 12-69 

7dad Meadows, 

e2315 

Inc., 3 

188/51 Nye County 12-66 e2320 

7db1 Land Co-

(Reed 9A) 

188/51 Spring 04-69 e2315 

7db2 Meadows, 

Inc. 

18S/51 Spring 02-72 e2320 

Scbl Meadows, 

Inc .• 16 

188/51 Spring 03-72 e2320 

8cb2 Meadows, (?) 

Inc. 17 

300 16 

780 

72 

16 

12 

0-300 

0-490 

475-780 

60-300 

10-780 

282 14-3/4 0-242 40-282 

10-1/4 240-282 

495 16 

?-500 16 0-? 

mp10 03-71 m1,600 

16 05-69 

m8 03-71 m1,200 

f(75) 

pf(t) 

f 

12-69 

04-71 

02-72 

10 04-69 

12 02-72 

13 03-72 

1,200 

1,200 

300 

m50 28!82 03-71 

70 ± 26.5/80 04-71 

141 

150 ± 29.5/85 

180 

12-69 

03-71 

04-69 

Status 

Remarks, lithology 

and aquifer 

identification 

(depth ranges in feet2) or 

use 

lr,U No log on record 9/70. 

Pump removed in 1971. 

lr,U Do. 

lr,U Water cascades. Aquifer not identified, but log 

shows "limestone," 155-

210, 235-290; "gravel," 

405-460; rest is clay. 

Chemical sample, table 

6. Pumping test, table 4. 

Ir Collapsed below casing. 

Paleozoic limestone at 815 feet. Water in 

"white lime" at 35 feet 

during drilling. Chemical 

sample, table 6. Pumping test, table 4. 

lr,U No aquifer identified. Wa- ter cascades from 100 

feet. Log shows "limestone" 92-230, 268-290, 

320-370; "gravel," 370-

385; "sandstone," 385-

470. Chemical sample, 

table 6. Pumping test, 

table 4. 

Ir Probable aquifers are "brown limestone," 170-

178; "broken brown 

lime," 225-350. Chemical 

sample, table 6. Pumping test, table 4. 

Ir Probably aquifers are "caliche," 54-63 (cascadin'-

water); "loose caliche,' 

203-209, 216-224 (tools 

fell free). Chemical 

sample, table 6. Pumping test table 4. 

Ir A'luifers probably are • white lime," 242-255; 

"brown limestone," 635-

690; or "red sandstone," 

690-715. Minor cascading water from 12 feet. 

Chemical sample, table 

6. Pumping test, table 4. 

Limestone gravel, 55-60; 

dark dense, siliceous 

[Paleozoid]limestone, 

65-72. No production test. 

Obs Driller noted water from 

"limestone," 15-30; 

"brown clar,." 65-70; 

"limestone, ' 145-160; 

and "loose caliche," 160-

183. 

Ir 

Low yield well. (Also 

called Well No. 1A). 

Ir High-yield well, possibly 

about 3,000 gal/min. 

1 Spring Meadows, Inc., (1968-71; Cappaert Enterprises in 1972) purchased holdings 

of Guerdon Industries, Nye County Land Co., and George Swink, Spring Meadows, 

Inc., well numbers are those labeled on pumps during summer 1971. Where "Reed" 

numbers are given, his data (written commun., 1967) are used to supplement drillers' 

loi(S and production records. 

3 Reported by driller except where noted. 

4 Static level except where noted. 

5 Production data before 1971 from driller's log or Reed (written commun., 1967). 

"2 Altitude referenced to mean sea level, to nearest foot. 

Drawdown is in feet below static level and, where known, is followed by the duration of 

pumping before measurement. 
0 I I 

OBS. WELL 18S/51·7db2-~------

10 WELL 41-. 

20 

WELL 2 1----- 2 

WELL 3 I ~ 

ILl 

ILl WELL 5 - I LL 

;e; 30 

rr.· 

ILl 

~ 3: :10 0 

~ 

::z: 

~ 50 ll. 

ILl 

0 WELL / I 

60 

4 

70 

HYDROLOGIC FEATURES OF ASH MEADOWS 

'-'~ 7db2 

!':__ ~3 --t--

/:v "' ----2 

~'I r-.... 

1 I 

I 

I 

I I I I 

I 

I 

I \ I 

I 

I 

....... I 

I 

1\ I 

I 

........ K I 

4 3 I 

r-- I 

I 

3 

19 

0 

en 

ILl 

rr. 

~ 

ILl 

:::E 

~ 

9 ~ 

ILl 

~ 

<{ 

I 

I 

I 

20 

3: 

0 

~ 

::z: 

~ 

ll. 

ILl 

0 

~----W·E-LL._I._ ...... P.um·p·o·n~~ .... Pu·m~p o~~-

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

fw 

w 10 LL 

~ 8 

>-' 6 a: 

w 

> 4 0 

(.) 

w 

a: 

a: 

0 2 z 

s: 

0 

0 

s: 

<( 1 

~0.8 

0.6 

0.4 

0.2 

0.1 

1 

WELL 3 

----- --- _ _._.,._llllllj _____ ----- ----- -----r----- ----- ----- ---- ----- ---- ----- WELL 4 ----- ____ ...._ __ WELL 13 

9 10 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 

MARCH 1971 

FIGURE 8.-Water levels and pumping histories of wells in southern Ash Meadows during March 1971. 

I - j-= Match point where: 

4 'TTTs/0 = 1 at indicated drawdown, and 

4 Tt/r2 sl = 1 at indicated time 

20 

0 

riB Value identifies specific curve 

in family of type curves presented 

by Boulton (1963) 

4min. 

I 

r/8=3.0 

Delayed-yield type curve 

13 min. 

I - - 3.9 ft 

I r/8 = 1.9 

Observation well 18 S/51-7 db 

drawdown March 15 

T-;::i 27,000 --

T = transmissivity, ft2 /d; 

s = drawdown in observation well; 

Q = pumping rate; 

t =time; 

r = distance from observation well to 

pumped well; 

S = storage coefficient. 

10 

8 

6 

2 

C/) 

w 

a: 

fw 

:ii: 

~ 

~ a: 

w 

> 

1 8 

0.8 ~ 

0.6 ~ 

z 

s: 0.4 0 

0 

~ a: 

0.2 Cl 

0.1 

0.08 

0.06 

0.04 

10 100 1000 10,000 

TIME SINCE WELL 1 STARTED OR STOPPED PUMPING, IN MINUTES 

FIGURE 9.-Type-curve analyses of drawdown and recovery measurements during tests of welll, March 1971. 
20 EFFECT OF PUMPING ON PUPFISH HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

TABLE 4.-Aquijer-test data for selected wells in Ash Meadows, Nye County, Nev. 

[f, flows; discharge in gallons per minute in parentheses were reported or measured. d, pumping level still declining at end of test. e, estimated from insufficient data or from specific 

capacity; includes effect of well-entry losses, which reduces apparent value. r, recovery-phase solution; others calculated from drawdown data) 

Elapsed Depth to waterl Specific Well time Discharge Static Pumping capaci~2 Well Trans~ssivity3 Storage Date of test tested (hours) (gal/min) (feet) (feet) (gal min· ft·1) observed (ft /d} coefficient and remarks 

17S/50- 0.3 3 ~140 <6 same e350 Feb. 23-25, 1971. Large 

lOcdd 4 1,280 part of discharge cas- (wellS) 27 980 caded from 60 feet. 

48 ~ 900 150 

17S/50- 4,800 6xto·3 1,200 feet from pumped 

10cda well. 

Other effects.-Rogers Spring (17S/50-15ab) flow decreased from 590 to 555 gal/min. Soda Spring (17S/50-10bcd) flow decreased from 40 to 4 gal/min. Pumping has no measure- able effect on Fairbanks Spring (17S/50-9ac) or well 17S/50-14ca. 

178/50- 110 8 d220 0.4 same r30 March 1, 1967. Data from 

17dd E.L. Reed4. Negative 

boundary at sr.utes during recover . 

17S/50- 4 1,400 f(6) d148 10 same 610 March 6, 1967. Data from 29ad E.L. Reed4. 

178/50- 22.5 537 f(20) 38 14 same e3,700 Feb. 17-18, 1971. Paleozoic 

23bb2 carbonate aquifer. (well7) 

17S/50- 4,300 3-30 minute interval. 

23bb1 3,500 

90-400 minute interval. 

Other effects. -Flow of numerous springs within 500 feet of pumped well stopped or decreased during test. Well17S/50-14ca decreased in flow from 24 to 21 gal/min. Total loss 

of natural discharge during test was about 170 gal/min. Pumping had no measurable effect on Longstreet Spring (17S/50-22aba). 

17S/50-

36dd 

18S/50-

3aa 

(well6) 

2.7 

1 

120 

170 

900 

1,300 

900 

860 

48 87 

>22o 

>220 

23 same 

same 

Other effects.-Crystal Pool (18S/50-3adb) flow decreased from 2,930 to 2,480 gal/min after 170 hours of pumping. 

18S/50-

5aa 

18S/50-

lldd 

188/51-

Thbb 

(well5) 

1.5 200 

1.5 190 

9 1,800 

f(5) d >225 

f(15) d433 

25 78 

<0.8 same 

<.0.4 same 

20 same 

18S/51- 18,000 

7bdb 

(well13) 

18S/51- 19,000 

7ca ± (well4) 

r27,000 

r24 

6,000 

r6,000 

2x1o-3 

3x10·2 

March 10, 1967. Data from 

E.L. Reed4. Positive 

boundary after 60 minutes of recovery. 

April 8-16, 1971. Large 

part of discharge cascaded from about 50 

feet. 

March 18, 1~7. Data from 

E.L. Reed. 

Feb. 28, 19674 Data from 

E.L. Reed . Negative 

boundary at 10 minutes 

during recovery; positive boundary at 60 

minutes. 

March 22, 1971. Part of 

discharge cascaded from 

about 42 feet. Measured 

in annulus outside slotted casing. Negative 

boundary at 20 minutes. 

Solutions show delayed 

yield, partial penetration, or other evidence of 

poor hydraulic connection. 

Othereffects.-Pumping had no measurable effect on wells 18S/51-7daa (well1), 18S/51-7dac (well2), 18S/51-7dad (well3), 18S/51-7db2, or 18S/51-12db; no measurable effects on spring flows. 

18S/51-

7bdb 

(well13) 

18S/51-

7ca 

(well4) 

3 

1 

4 

31 

45 

285 

1,400 

1,280 

1,000 

890 

f(20) 254 

11 >120 

1.1 same r82 

same r800 

March 3, 1967. Dat4 from 

E.L. Reed, 19674. Recovery data showed negative boundary at 10 

minutes. 

March 4-5 and 6-8, 1971. 

Obstruction prevented measurement below 120 

feet. Negative boundary at 60 minutes during re- covery. 

Othereffects.-Wells 18S/51-7bbb (well5). 18S/51-7daa (well1), 18S/51-7dac (well2),18S/51-7dad (well3), and 18S/51-7db2 were observed. Solutions for all showed delayed yield, 

partial penetration or other evidences of poor hydraulic connection. 
HYDROLOGIC FEATURES OF ASH MEADOWS 21 

TABLE 4.-Aquifer-test data for selected weUs inAshMead'Jws, Nye County, Nev. -Continued 

Elapsed Depth to water1 Specific 

Well time Discharge Static Pumping Well 

tested (hours) (gal/min) (feet) (feet) 

capacitr' 2 

(gal min- ft-1) observed Trans~ssivity3 Storage 

(ft /d) coefficient 

Date of test and remarks 

18S/51- 500 1,650 3 56 31 same 

7daa 

(well1) 24 1,650 10 56 same 

18S/51-

7dac 

(well2) 

18S/51-

7dad 

(well3) 

18S/51-

7db2 

e8,300 

14,000 

(see remarks) 

13,900 

8,700 

27,000 

4x1o-2 

1x1o-3 

6x1o-4 

February, 1971. 

March 8-9, 1971, after 2-

day shutdown. Negative 

boundary after 20 minutes. Apparent transmissivity for rest of 24-

hour test was 8,800 rt2;d 

March 8-9, 1971. All solutions show delayed 

yield, partial penetration or other evidence of 

poor hydraulic connection. 

Other effects.-Pumping had no measurable effect on wells 18S/51-7daa (well1), 18S/51-7dac (well2), 18S/51-7dad (well3), 18S/51-7db2, or 18S/51-12db; no measurable effects 

on spring flows. 

18S/51- 20 1,200 8 70 <71 same April 5-6, 1971. Large part 

7dac 220 1,000 of discharge cascaded 

(well2) from about 60 feet. 

18S/51- 4,500 3x1o-3 Solutions show delayed 

7daa yield or partial penetra-

(well1) tion. 

18S/51- 12,700 3x1o-2 

7db2 

Other effects.-Discharge of Jack Rabbit Spring ( 18S/51-18bc) began to decline within minutes after pumping started; declined from 410 gal/min to 310 gal/min after 1 day and to 

180 gal/min after 9 days of pumping. Well3 (18S/51-7dad) also affected, but cascading water and oil prevented accurate measurement. No effect on wellS (18S/51-7bbb). 

18S/51-

7dad 

(well3) 

2 

54 

190 

1,200 

1,150 

1,000 

20 ~170 

(see remarks) 

same 

18S/51-

7daa 

(well1) 

e1,600 

r5,900 

18,300 3x1o-4 

March 9-18, 1971. Minor 

part of discharge cas- cades from 12 feet. 

Static level affected by 

nearby pumping during 

test. Well has natural 

flow. 

Drawdown-phase solution, 

March 9, 1971. Well 1 

also pumping, but near 

steady state. 

18S/51- 21,000 5x1o-4 Recovery-phase solution, 

7db2 March 18, 1971. 

Other effects.-Wel12 (18S/51-7dac) drawdown about 1 foot in 480 minutes. Discharge of Point of Rocks springs (18S/51-7dba) declined sligh,tly. No effect on Jack Rabbit Spring 

(18S/51-18bc) or well 5 (18S!7bbb). 

1 Static depth to water at start of pumping. 

2 Gallons per minute discharge per foot of drawdown (pumping level minus sta1 

level) in the well; effects of well-entry loses are included. 

3 Cubic feet per day per foot width of aquifer under unit hydraulic gradient. 

Spring is particularly interesting because of the 

distance between them, about 1 mi (1.6 km). 

Complete discussion of the transmissivities and 

storage coefficients reported in table 4 will be 

deferred to a later section of the report. It should be 

re-emphasized here, however, that the inhomogeneity 

of the aquifer system and the errors inherent in 

measuring drawdown in wells with cascading water 

together make these data meaningless for quantitative applications. 

PUMPING RECORDS 

With the exception of minor use in watering 

shrubbery at Ash Meadows Lodge, all irrigation 

withdrawals of underground water in Ash Meadows 

4 Unpublished consultant's report to Spring Meadows, Inc., dated June 1967 by Ed L. 

Reed and Associates, Midland, Texas. 

5 Negative boundary indicates area of lower transmissivity within area of influence of 

pumped well. Positive boundary may indicate area of higher transmissivity within area 

of influence. 

are made by the Spring Meadows Ranch. Water from 

eight major wells, supplemented by three smallcapacity wells and, where feasible, the flow of several 

springs, is used to irrigate more than 3,000 acres (12 

krn.2) of crops. This pumping rate reached a peak of 

about 1,000 acre-ft (1.2 million m3) per month in both 

1970 and 1971. Detailed records of the pumpage were 

not maintained after 1971. 

Those wells with field numbers 1 through 8, and 13, 

were active during 1971 until September, when wells 

4, 5, and 6 were turned off by agreement with the 

Federal Government. Late in 1971 well 10 and 

unnumbered well 17S/50-10cda were pumped 

intermittently. Wells 16 and 17 were drilled and began 

production in 1972. Wells 9, 11, 12, and 17S/51-31dd 
22 EFFECT OF PUMPING ON PUPFISH HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

have produced only minor quantities. The other wells 

shown in figure 7 were not pumped during this study, 

but injection of water from King Pool into well 

17S/50-36dd began on June 30, 1973, in an effort to 

support the water level in Devils Hole while litigation 

is continuing. 

For 1969 and 1970 there are no accurate discharge 

records. Records were to have been obtained by the 

use of accumulating discharge meters during the 1971 

irrigation season. However, coarse detritus carried in 

the discharge stream eventually fouled these meters. 

During the spring of 1971, through frequent repair 

and exchange of meters, the field party was able to 

use the meters to obtain typical pumping rates for the 

main wells in the field. These were supplemented by 

current-meter measurements in irrigation ditches and 

by trajectory measurements of the discharge from 

open pipes. 

Electrical-power-consumption meters were read at 

least monthly from September 1970 through 

December 1971. The frequency of readings was 

weekly during the summer of 1971; during February 

to June 1971, most meters were read several times 

each week. Rates of power consumption were 

correlated with measured pumping rates and used to 

reconstruct the pumping history of each well in the 

field. During 1971, when discharges were well 

documented, the average error in the reported 

withdrawals probably is no greater than 10 percent. 

Because of varying lift, pump condition, and well 

efficiency, the withdrawals estimated for previous 

years may be in error by as much as 20 percent. 

Table 5 gives the estimated monthly withdrawals 

from individual wells that produced more than 200 

gal/min (1,100 m3 /d) during 1969, 1970, and 1971. 

These data show that the preponderance of pumping 

has been in the vicinity of Point of Rocks, or sec. 7, T. 

18 S., R. 51 E. 

WATER-TABLE CONFIGURATION 

Water flowing southwestward to Ash Meadows in 

the regional lower carbonate aquifel" is confined by the 

less permeable Cenozoic sediments that overlie the 

carbonate rocks. The potentiometric head in the lower 

carbonate aquifer and in the confined aquifers of the 

local subsystem increases with depth. Consequently, 

the water level in deep wells rises above that in 

shallow wells, and commonly the deeper wells flow 

without pumping. This is the condition expected in 

discharge areas, where flow has an upward component 

or at least the potential for upward flow exists. 

The water table is thus somewhat lower than water 

levels in the wells would indicate, but it is generally 

TABLE 5.-Estimated withdrawals in acre-feet from eledricaUy 

pumped weUs operated by Spring Meadows Inc., in Ask 

Meadows, Nye County, Nev., January 1969-January 1972 

January ... . February .. . March ..... . 

0 

0 

0 

April....... 0 

May........ 0 

June....... 160 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

July........ 150 0 0 0 

0 

6 

August..... 91 0 0 

September. . 33 91 0 

October. . . . . 140 66 0 140 

November... 130 90 0 110 

December. . . 17 32 0 9 

1969 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 0.7 

0 110 

0 0 

0 0 

0 0 

0 0 

0 

0 

0 

0 0.7 

0 110 

0 0 

~ ~ 40 200 

0 0 0 41 190 

40 0 .1 55 190 

0 0 82 53260 

20 0 0 55420 

14 0 97 53 490 

15 0 .7 34 110 

Total 720 280 0 260 0 90 0 290 330 2,000 

1970 

January .. 0 4 0 0 0 

0 

0 

February .. . 0 .8 0 37 

March ..... . 0 .1 0 13 

April....... 8 56 

May........ 200 74 

June....... 190 80 

July........ 180 83 

August . . . . . 210 120 

September.. 190 110 

October ..... November .. December ... 

200 130 

190 100 

81 120 

54 76 0 

120 62 340 

110 120 330 

76 120 240 

160 120 300 

160 110 270 

110 

45 

12 

80 

120 

70 

290 

270 

120 

0 0 

0 0 

0 0 

0 

0 

25 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

27 0 120 

26 0 69 

26 25 15 

4 

0 

0 

2 140 

14 140 

0 60 

Total 1,500 880 850 930 2,100 110 40 540 

1971 

January..... 0 0 32 15 73 0 0 0 

February . . . 190 0 0 34 130 0 7 9 

March...... 150 0 49 39 44 0 56 0 

April....... 120 65 

May........ 150 29 74 43 49 

0 39 120 

30 39 0 

60 32 20 

June........ 240 87 81 120 95 9 44 89 

July . . . . . . 210 110 160 100 120 ·140 74 

64 

13 

89 

85 

20 

August . . . . . 210 130 160 77 

September. . 200 130 150 120 

October..... 200 130 160 

November... 180 120 160 

December. . . 200 65 140 

0 

0 

0 

120 180 135 141 

0 

0 

0 

0 43 31 

0 59 48 

0 54 90 

Total 2,000 870 1,200 490 790 450 480 480 

1972 

January . . . . 100 0 0 0 0 

1 Pumping stopped on September 9, 1971. 2 Well8 assumed pumping, January 25-31, 1972. 

0 

0 4 

0 38 

0 14 

0 190 

0 800 

0 750 

0 850 

0 1,000 

0 910 

0 

0 

0 

960 

870 

460 

0 6,900 

0 120 

0 370 test 340 

0 420 

0 440 

10 770 

18 1,000 

20 1,000 

20 630 

1 570 

0 560 

0 560 

71 6,900 

higher than the altitudes of discharging springs. Using 

the altitudes of the springs as lower limits and of the 

static water level in wells as upper limits for the 

water-table altitude, together with topography and a 

few precise data points such as Devils Hole, it is 

possible to construct an approximate contour map of 

the configuration of the water table. Figure 10 shows 

this configuration for the Ash Meadows region. 
HYDROLOGIC FEATURES OF ASH MEADOWS 

116° 15' 

Wf==~====~=T==========~==~====r========7~====.rr======7==============r==~~========~r===========~36°30' 

EXPLANATION l: 

11-2180-WATER-TABLE CONTOURii Shows altitude of water table. 

li 

" " " " !! 

!I 

Contour interval 20 feet 

(6metres). Datum is mean 

sea level. 

II o~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiill M I L E 

I 0 2 KILOMETRES ! 

: Contour 1nterval 200 feet (61 metres) j 

I (supplementary ~~~tours ,40 fe~-~~12 metres) I 

Bose from U S Geological Survey, 

Ash Mea dews, I: 62,500 

FIGURE 10.-Generalized contours of water-table altitude in the Ash Meadows area. 

23 
24 EFFECT OF PUMPING ON PUPFISH HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

Except in the northeast quarter of the area these 

contours show a continuation of the southwestward 

horizontal component of flow existing in the regional 

aquifer. Within the group of limestone hills bordering 

Ash Meadows on the east, however, there is 

mounding of the water table and consequent flow to 

the north and northeast also. Faults and joints that 

rupture the lower carbonate aquifer have apparently 

provided paths for upward flow. Except beneath these 

hills and the steep alluvial slopes that border them, 

the water table conforms to the land surface quite 

well. In most of the area along Carson Slough south of 

Fairbanks Spring, encompassing the western 

one-third of the area in figure 10, the water table is at 

the land surface. 

WATER QUALITY 

TEMPERATURE 

Tables 2 and 3 give the temperatures of water from 

the springs and wells in the Ash Meadows area. The 

water in Devils Hole remains quite constant at about 

33.5°C (92°Fto93°F). Well7, drill hole 17S/50-14cac, 

and one spring at Point of Rocks discharge water from 

the lower carbonate aquifer at a temperature of 

34.5°C (94°F). This is 15.5°C (28°F) higher than the 

mean annual air temperature, which ground water 

. tends to approach, and indicates that the water 

emerging from the regional aquifer has circulated 

deeply before being forced up along fault zones. 

Springs close to the regional source (fig. 7) are 

commonly a few degrees cooler but still much warmer 

than the mean annual temperature. Springs located 

0.5 mi (0.8 km) or more from the outcrops of Paleozoic 

rocks generally have temperatures below 28.5°C 

(83°F), but Crystal Pool discharges water at 

32°C (90°F), indicating a rapid rate of flow from the 

regional aquifer to the spring. The small discharge of 

Cold Spring (19.5°C or 67°F) apparently spends 

enough time in transit to approximate the mean 

annual temperature. 

Water from the ·wells is generally somewhat cooler 

and less predictable than that from the natural 

discharge points, that is, the springs. Well 8, although 

it is comparable in discharge to the major springs 

around it, discharges water at 21°C (70°F), about 6°C 

( 10°F) cooler than the spring flow. In the Point of 

Rocks area wells 1, 2, 3, and the flowing observation 

well18S/51-7db2, respectively, have temperatures of 

28°' 26.5°' 29.5°' and 30.5°C (82°' 80°' 85°' and 

87°F), which again underscores the complexity of the 

local flow subsystem. The variability in temperatures 

of water pumped from different wells indicates that 

the wells, even where close to one another, produce 

from different aquifers that vary in their degree of 

adjustment to the mean annual temperature. 

CHEMISTRY 

The locations and general chemical character of 

water samples collected during this and previous 

studies are shown in figure 11. An arbitrary number 

has been assigned each location and date of sampling 

to minimize space requirements. Table 6 gives the 

identification and complete analyses of the samples, as 

recorded in the files of the Geological Survey and, 

where noted, by Ed L. Reed and Associates (written 

commlin., 1967). 

Winograd and Thordarson (1975) have discussed the 

chemistry of }Vater in southern Nevada in detail. To 

reiterate their work here would not further the stated 

objectives, but selected samples show the general 

chemical framework of the Ash Meadows area. 

On the left map of figure 11, s~mple 6, from Army 

well1 along U.S. Highway 95 near the Nevada Test 

Site, shows a clear dominance of calcium plus 

magnesium over sodium. This chemical character and 

the position of Army well 1 within the Ash Meadows 

flow system suggest that its water is typical of 

relatively recent recharge from the Spring Mountains. 

Comparison of the analysis of this sample with that of 

Devils Hole water (sample 42 in table 6) shows that 

additions of all major constitutents, and particularly of 

sodium, are made to the water before its arrival at the 

discharge area. Water pumped from two wells 

penetrating carbonate rocks northeast of Devils Hole 

(sample 3 from the Geological Survey tracer site and 

sample 54 from a private well) are more similar 

chemically to Devils Hole water. 

GENERAL CHARACTER 

With the exception of Big Spring all major springs 

in Ash Meadows, those discharging about 500 gal/min 

(2,700 m3/d) or more, and Devils Hole show great 

uniformity in chemical character. Sodium is typically 

41 plus or minus 3 percent of the total cations, and 

calcium dominates magnesium only slightly. Potassium, strontium, and lithium are minor constituents of 

all samples. 

Among these natural discharge points the 

bicarbonate ion is about 70 percent of total anions, 

followed by sulfate (about 20 percent), chloride (about 

8 percent), and fluoride (less than 2 percent). 

Samples from well J-12 (sample 0) and Ash Tree 

Spring (sample 9) are shown in figure 11 and in table 6 

to illustrate the character of water from the volcanic 

terrane of the Pahute Mesa ground-water system, 

which is contiguous to the western boundary of the 

Ash Meadows system (Rush, 1970; and Winograd and 

Thordarson, 1975). As shown on the left side of figure 

11, the samples differ from those in the Ash Meadows 

system by lower dissolved solids, dominance of sodium 
HYDROLOGIC FEATURES OF ASH MEADOWS 25 

over other cations, and greater concentrations of silica 

and nitrate. The ratio of calcium to magnesium is 

about 2:1 in the Pahute Mesa system, whereas it is 

between 3:2 and 1:1 in the Ash Meadows system. 

This uniform chemical picture of the Ash Meadows 

flow system changes when the wells and smaller 

springs are considered. The longer period of residence 

in local aquifers results in enrichment of sodium to 

dominance among the cations, as shown on the right 

side of figure 11. Sulfate, and chloride to a lesser 

degree, become relatively more important among the 

anions. Water from wells 1 and 3 (samples 78 and 84 

respectively) have anion compositions of about 30 

116°15' 

R49E R R R52 R 

--T-------r------ ------t------ 100 I I I 1!t : + : : I I I 

I I I I I I I I 

---+--------+----- ___ ,1_ ------j_ ----

I I I I 

I I I I I Lathrop Wells 1 I 

I TI5S 

TI6S 

0 4 6 MILES 

0 2 4 6 KILOMETRES 

percent bicarbonate, 50 percent sulfate, and 20 

percent chloride. The enrichment of both sulfate and 

chloride is greatest among all the samples in the water 

from well 2 (sample 81) and in the 1970 sample (96a) 

from Jack Rabbit Spring. In these samples 

bicarbonate is only about 10 percent while sulfate and 

chloride are increased to about 60 percent and almost 

30 percent respectively. Jack Rabbit Spring is 

particularly interesting because sample 96, taken in 

1966 before development of the well field, was 

virtually identical in character to water from the other 

major natural discharge points. A decrease of 2°C 

(3.5°F) in temperature accompanied the change in 

116°20' 

R 50 E 

?f-0,9~ IIQ z~ ~,ooa4 

1--

027 

~4-

30't) ~ 

TI7 <r~ 

R51E 

0 3MILES 

~--~~~~~----~ 

0 3 KILOMETRES 

EXPLANATION 

Sampling points 

e Well in Paleozoic carbonat~ rocks 

0 Well in valley fill 

0,. Spring 

96 Water sample number il'l.toble.6 

FIGURE H.-Locations of sampling points and distribution of dominant and selected minor constituents of water samples from the Ash 

Meadows region. 
26 EFFECT OF PUMPING ON PUPFISH HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

TABLE 6. -Chemical analyses of water samples from Ash Meadows and vicinity, Nye County, Nev. 

(Analyses by the U.S. Geological Survey except as noted in first column; R, reported by Ed L. Reed and Associates (written commun., 1967); e, estimated from partial data; ... ,not reported) 

Location· 

Water 8/E-Sec. 

Total 

hardness as 

Milligrams per litre 

Cations 

Millieguivalents per litre 

Percent of total cations or anions 2 

_____ A_n_io_n_s _____ SARa sample and Date Temp Dis. no. index Source Mo.-Yr. (°C/°F) sol.1 CaCOa Si02 Li HC03

4 80 B NOa Ca Mg Na K Total 4 Cl F Total 

0 14S/50- Well 04-69 26.5/80 205 

06(J12) J -12 

3 16S/51- Tracer ! 02-68 30.5/87 400 

27baa2 well2 

6 16S/53- Army 04-69 30.5/87 308 

05bl welll 

9 17S/49- Ash Tree 07-70 22/72 282 

35dd Spring 

12 17S/50- Fairbanks 11-66 27/81 424 

09adc Spring 

15 17S/50- Soda 11-66 23/73 488 

lObed Spring 

18 17S/50- WellS 10-70 21!70 430 

lOcdd 

21 17S/50- Rogers 11-66 28/82 412 

15ab Spring 

24 17S/50- Well 08-62 19.5/67 447 

15ad 

R27 17S/50- Well14 03-67 19.5/67 838 

17dd 

30 17S/50- Long- 11-66 28/82 419 

22aba street 

Spring 

33 17S/50- Spring 10-70 33.5/92 376 

23bbc 

36 17S/50- We117 10-70 34.5/94 393 

23bb2 

39 17S/50- WelllO 08-62 19.5/67 733 

29add 

42 17S/50- Devils 12-66 33.5/92 423 

36dc Hole 

45 17S/50- Well 03-67 33.5/92 432 

36dd 

48 17S/51- Well 01-61 23173 372 

Olal 

51 17S/51- Well 03-71 25.5/78 435 

31ddd 

54 17S/52 Well 04-58 28/82 342 

08cl 

R57 18S/50- Well6 03-67 31!88 416 

03aa 

60 18S/50- Crystal 11-66 33/91 432 

03adb Pool 

R63 18S/50- Well 04-67 23.5/74. 792 

05aa 

R66 18S/50- Well 02-67 30.5/87 412 

69 

11d 

18S/51-

07bbb 

Well5 10-70 31.5/89 335 

R72 18S/51- Well13 03-67 30.5/87 410 

07bdb 

75 18S/51-

07caa 

Well4 10-70 30.5/87 428 

78 18S/51- Weill 10-70 28/82 883 

07daa 

46 

188 

202 

56 

199 

161 

100 

205 

209 

248 

199 

190 

190 

28 

225 

199 

180 

130 

176 

190 

184 

22 

126 

190 

192 

210 

300 

81 18S/51- Well2 10-70 26.5/80 2160 690 

07dac 

84 18S/51- Well3 10-70 29.5/85 617 270 

07dad 

56 0.04 0.13 9.7 0.70 0.21 1.74 0.14 2.80 1.92 0.46 0.18 0.11 2.83 2.6 

22 .08 

20 .04 

76 .07 

22 .09 

35 .10 

31 .14 

28 .09 

23 .10 

22 .09 

22 .08 

22 .08 

25 7.5 62 5.0 99.6 68 16 6.4 3.9 94.3 

.27 < .1 2.25 1.48 2.70 .20 6.66 4.65 1.33 .59 .11 6.68 2.0 

34 22 41 3.0 99.5 70 20 8.8 1.6 100 

.20 1.1 2.20 1.81 1.57 .15 5.76 4.23 1.06 .37 .06 5.74 1.1 

38 31 27 2.6 99.5 74 18 6.4 1.0 99.7 

.28 6.7 .75 .35 2.39 .23 3.74 2.56 .73 .19 .14 3.73 3.2 

20 9.4 64 6.1 99.5 69 20 5.1 3.8 97.1 

.51 < .1 2.40 1.56 3.00 .20 7.19 4.92 1.56 .48 .09 7.05 2.1 

33 22 42 2.8 99.6 70 22 6.8 1.3 100.0 

.99 < .1 1.80 1.40 4.61 .26 8.10 5.41 1.94 .76 .11 8.22 3.6 

22 17 57 3.2 99.6 66 24 9.2 1.3 100.0 

.5 1.10 .90 4.78 .38 7.21 4.85 1.54 .62 .11 7.13 4.7 

15 12 66 5.3 99.3 68 22 8.7 1.5 99.9 

.31 < .1 2.35 1.73 3.00 .20 7.31 4.95 1.62 .59 .08 7.24 2.1 

.28 

.26 

32 24 41 2.7 99.6 68 22 8.1 1.1 100.0 

.9 2.50 1.65 2.91 .24 7.30 5.00 1.64 .65 .06 7.36 2.0 

34 23 40 3.3 100.3 68 22 8.8 .82 99.6 

9.31 

e65 

e14.35 9.51 3.16 1.58 e.1 e14.35 5.9 

e66 e22 ell e1 

.4 2.40 1.56 3.00 .20 7.19 4.92 1.56 .48 .09 7.06 2.1 

33 22 42 2.8 99.6 70 22 6.8 1.3 99.9 

.3 2.25 1.56 3.13 .21 7.18 4.41 1.71 .56 .09 6.77 2.3 

32 22 44 2.9 99.6 65 25 8.3 1.3 100.0 

.1 2.25 1.56 3.13 .21 7.18 4.61 1.67 .56 .09 6.93 2.3 

31 22 44 2.9 99.6 67 24 8.1 1.3 100.0 

67 .14 1.4 < .1 .14 .24 10.87 .38 11.81 8.10 2.19 .73 .17 11.19 27.6 

22 .09 

24 .08 

18 

22 .12 

18 

25 .09 

22 

23 .08 

23 .09 

23 .12 

23 .19 

24 .12 

1.2 2.0 92 3.2 98.4 72 20 6.5 1.5 100.0 

.32 .2 2.50 1.97 2.83 .19 7.52 5.08 1.58 .56 .08 7.30 1.9 

33 26 38 2.5 99.6 70 22 7.7 1.1 100.0 

.29 < .1 2.30 1.65 3.00 .22 7.20 4.93 1.60 .56 .09 7.18 2.1 

32 23 42 3.1 99.6 69 22 7.8 1.3 100.0 

< .1 1.95 1.65 3.00 .26 6.86 5.74 1.10 .17 .03 7.04 2.4 

28 24 44 3.8 99.8 82 16 2.4 .2 100.6 

< .1 1.50 .99 5.22 .16 7.91 5.13 1.87 .54 .08 7.62 4.7 

19 13 66 2.0 100.0 68 25 7.1 1.0 101.1 

< .1 1.70 1.81 2.65 .18 6.34 4.49 1.31 .59 .06 6.45 2.1 

27 29 42 2.8 100.8 70 20 9.1 .93 100.0 

3.05 

e44 

e6.93 4.65 1.60 .59 e0.1 

e67 e23 e8.5 e1.4 

e6.93 2.2 

.31 < .1 2.00 1.65 .313 .22 7.03 4.56 1.69 .62 .09 6.96 2.3 

.3 

2.6 

28 23 45 3.1 99.6 66 24 8.9 1.3 100.0 

2.20 1.56 

31 22 

2.54 1.73 

32 22 

10.35 

e95 

4.39 

e63 

3.04 .21 

43 3.0 

3.09 

e44 

3.39 .21 

43 2.7 

e10.89 1.74 3.54 1.18 e0.1 4e10.89 22.0 

e16 e33 ell el.O 

e7 .00 4.98 1.33 .59 e.1 e7 .00 3.9 

e71 e19 e8.4 e1.4 

7.04 3.51 

99.6 61 

69 

1.64 

28 

23 

.56 

9.7 

7.8 

.08 

1.4 

1.1 

7.14 

adj:5 

1.9 

e7.02 4.98 1.35 .59 e.lO e7.02 2.22 

e71 e19 e8.4 e1.4 

7.90 4.80 

99.6 65 

68 

1.73 

23 

22 

.71 

9.6 

9.0 

.09 

1.2 

1.1 

7.37 2.3 

adj.s' 

7.1 2.99 2.96 7.40 .28 13.68 4.31 6.87 2.68 .08 14.05 4.3 

22 22 54 2.0 99.6 31 49 19 .57 99.2 

27 6.99 6.75 17.40 .49 31.75 3.97 19.5 8.46 .07 32.09 6.6 

22 21 55 1.5 99.6 12 61 26 .22 99.7 

5.6 2.94 2.47 5.66 .23 11.35 3.00 4.79 2.14 .09 10.11 3.4 

26 22 50 2.0 99.6 30 47 21 .89 99.1 
HYDROLOGIC FEATURES OF ASH MEADOWS 27 

TABLE 6.-Chemical analysis of water samples from Ash Meadows and vicinity, Nye County, Nev. -Continued 

Milligrams per litre 

Location Total 

hardness as CaC03 Si02 Li B N03 

Water S/E-Sec. 

sample and Date Dis. Tern~ no. index Source Mo.-Yr.(°C/0 ) soil 

87 188/51- Ind. Rk_ 11-70 33.5/92 412 203 22 .09 .35 .2 

07dbal Spring 

90 18S/51- Many 10-70 31!88 340 200 22 .08 .2 

07dba springs 

93 18S/51- King 11-66 32/90 408 208 22 .09 .30 .2 

07dbb Pool 

93a do do 10-70 32/90 371 190 22 .08 .3 

96 18S/51- Jack Rab _ 11-66 28/82 412 200 22 _08 .38 .1 

18dbd Spring 

96a do do 10-70 25.5/78 2140 800 24 _21 29 

99 18S/51- Big 11-66 28.5/83 480 190 28 .12 .44 _2 

19acb Spring 

102 18S/51- Bole 07-62 22172 500 173 1.0 

30a Spring 

1 Dissolved-solids residue on evaporation at 180°C. 

2 Missing percentage of cations is mainly Sr: minor Li. 

Missing percentage of anions is mainly N03: minor P04. 

3 Sodium-adsorption ratio. 

chemistry. The 1970 samples from Jack Rabbit Spring 

and well2 have almost five times the dissolved-solids 

concentration of the water from the lower carbonate 

aquifer. These results confirm the close hydraulic 

relationship shown between well 2 and Jack Rabbit 

Spring during the pumping tests of 1971. 

LITffiUM 

The lithium concentration in water from the lower 

carbonate quifer ranges between 0.08 and 0.10 mg/1, 

but well 2 and Jack Rabbit Spring have about 0.2 

mg/1. Wells 1 (sample 78), 3 (sample 84), 8 (sample 

18), 10 (sample 39), and well17S/51-32dd (sample 51) 

have lithium concentrations ranging from 0.12 to 0.14 

mg/1. Big Spring (sample 99) also has 0.12 mg/1 and 

Bole Spring (sample 102) has 0.17 mg/1 lithium. All 

samples have lithium concentrations greater than 0.10 

mg/1 also contained more than 50 percent sodium in 

their total cation concentration. Well J .. 12 (sample 0) 

and Ash Tree Spring (sample 9) have only about 0.04 

mg/1 and 0.07 mg/1, respectively. 

BORON 

Boron analyses were made for only a few of the 

samples. Water in the regional aquifer, as indicated by 

Devils Hole and most of the major springs, has boron 

concentrations ranging between 0.26 and 0.38 mg/1. 

Big Spring (sample 99) is slightly enriched in boron, 

having 0.44 mg/1. The highest boron concentration 

observed (1.4 mg/1) is in sample 39 from well 10. 

Boron is the only constituent detected for which 

Fairbanks Spring (sample 12, 0.51 mg/1) differs from 

the water in the regional aquifer. Nearby Soda Spring 

(sample 15) has about 1 mg/1 boron. 

SILICA 

Silica is generally present with concentrations less 

Cations 

Ca Mg Na K 

2.30 1.73 2.96 .19 

32 24 41 2.6 

2.25 1.65 3.04 .21 

31 23 42 2.9 

2.40 1.73 2.91 .18 

33 24 40 2.5 

2.25 1.56 3.04 .20 

32 22 43 2.8 

2.23 1.75 2.96 .20 

32 24 41 2.8 

7_98 7.81 18.27 .54 

23 22 53 1.6 

2.20 1.56 4.22 .22 

27 19 51 2.7 

1.90 1.56 4.61 .24 

23 19 55 2.9 

Millieguivalents per litre 

Percent of total cations or anions 2 

____ A_n_io_ns ____ ,SAR3 

Total 

7.22 

99.4 

7.18 

99.6 

7.25 

99.6 

7.08 

99.6 

7.17 

99.6 

34.73 

99.6 

8.25 

99.4 

8.32 

99.9 

Hco34 

4.98 

69 

3.65 

62 

69 

4.98 

69 

4.56 

67 

68 

4.92 

69. 

2.75 

8.5 

5.21 

64 

5.01 

61 

804 

1.62 

22 

1.54 

26 

21 

1.58 

22 

1.64 

24 

23 

1.62 

23 

20.40 

63 

2.19 

27 

2.35 

29 

Cl 

.59 

8.1 

.59 

10 

8.2 

.59 

8.1 

.56 

8.2 

7.9 

.56 

7.8 

8.75 

27 

.71 

8.7 

.76 

9.3 

F 

.08 

1.1 

.08 

1.4 

1.1 

Total 

7.27 2.1 

100.0 

5.86 2.2 

... 5 

adj. 

.11 7.26 2.0 

1.5 100.0 

.08 6.84 2.2 

1.2 ... 5 

1.1 adj. 

.08 7.18 2.1 

1.1 100.0 

.09 32.46 6.5 

.27 98.6 

.07 8.18 3.1 

.9 100.0 

.05 8.17 3.5 

-61 99.9 

4 4.33 meq/1 C03 (40 percent) in sample 63; no C03 in other samples. 

5 Anions adjusted to same meq/1 as cations, assuming precipitation of CaCOa from 

anion sample before analysis. 

than 25 mg/1. Samples from the Pahute Mesa groundwater system (samples 0 and 9) show 2 to 3 times this 

concentration, as does welllO (sample 39). 

NITRATE 

Nitrate is a minor constituent of most samples, 

being generally less than 0.5 mg/1. The highest 

concentrations are in water from the 1970 sample (96a) 

of Jack Rabbit Spring (29 mg/1) and from well 2 (27 

mg/1, sample 81). Wells 1, 3, and 4 (samples 78, 84, 

and 75) have moderate concentrations (2.6 to 7.1 

mg/1), as do the samples (0 and 9) from the Pahute 

Mesa flow system. 

CHEMICAL STABILITY OF DEVILS HOLE 

AND KING POOL 

The change noted above in the quality of water from 

Jack Rabbit Spring raises the question of whether the 

chemistry of Devils Hole has also changed. In 

addition, water from King Pool was compared to that 

of Devils Hole before injection into well 17S/50-36dd 

was begun. Samples taken in June 1973 were analyzed 

by Southwestern Laboratories, Midland, Texas, and 

reported to the authors by Ed L. Reed and Associates 

(written commun., July 1973). In table 7 these 

analyses are compared to each other as well as to 

earlier analyses of each source by the Geological 

Survey. 

Table 7 shows that the samples are all very 

similar chemically. The exceptions are a tenfold 

increase in nitrate in water from both sources and a 

possible slight increase in chloride. It is highly 

probable that differences in analytical technique, 

which are particularly critical in anion analysis, 

account for these apparent increases. The nitrate 

content could also result from reactions on organic 

materials in the unfiltered samples taken in 1973. 
28 EFFECT OF PUMPING ON PUPFISH HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

TABLE 7.-Comparative analyses of samples taken at different 

times from Devils Hole a:nd King Pool 

[Southwestern Laboratory (SWL) data from Ed L. Reed and Associates, written commun., July 1973] 

Devils Hole KiagPool 

Date 

sampled .. 1-22-53 12-9-66 6-15-63 11-21-66 10-4-70 6-14-73 

Laboratory . USGS USGS SWL USGS USGS SWL 

Diss. sopds (mg/1) ... 425 423 398 408 371 389 

Major cations [mg/1) 

Ca ........ 51 50 48 48 45 47 

Mg ........ 21 24 24 21 19 25 

Na ........ 66 65 69 67 70 65 

Major anions [mg/1) 

HC03····· 311 310 304 304 ~8 300 

so4 ....... 79 76 80 76 79 77 

Cl. ........ 22 20 25 21 20 25 

F ......... 1.6 1.6 1.4 2 1.5 1.4 

N03 ....... .5 .2 2.9 .2 .3 2.7 

Minor ions (mg/1) 

B ......... .38 .32 .08 .30 .08 

Fe (total) .. .04 . 00 < .05 .00 .09 <.05 

Se ........ .005 <.005 

As ........ .01 < .01 

Mo ........ < .01 <.05 .03 <.Ol < .05 

1Dissolved solids by Geological Survey determined as residue upon evaporation at 180°C; Southwestern Laboratory values are calculated. 

2Imbalance in total cations and anions indicates precipitation of HC03 ion before 

analysis of anion sample. 

QUALITY FOR IRRIGATION 

The suitability of water for irrigation decreases as 

either the conductivity or the sodium -adsorption ratio 

(SAR) increases. The U.S. Department of Agriculture 

classification of irrigation waters is shown in figure 12; 

descriptions of the use of these classes given below are 

from Bateman, Mindling, Naff, and Joung (1972, p. 

42-43): 

The classification of irrigation waters with respect to SAR is 

based primarily on the effect of exchangeable sodium on the 

physical condtion of the soil. Sodium-sensitive plants may, 

however, suffer injury as a result of sodium accumulation in plant 

tissues when exchangeable sodium values are lower than those 

effective in causing deterioration of the physical condition of the 

soil. 

Low-Sodium Water [Sl] can be used for irrigation on almost all 

soils with little danger of the development of harmful levels of 

exchangeable sodium. However, sodium-sensitive crops such as 

stone-fruit trees and avocados may accumulate injurious 

concentrations of sodium. 

Medium-Sodium Water [S.2] will present an appreciable sodium 

hazard in fine-textured soils having high cation-exchangecapacity, expecially under low-leaching conditions, unless gypsum 

is present in the soil. This water may be used on coarse-textured or 

organic soils with good permeability. 

High-Sodium Water [S3] may produce harmful levels of 

exchangeable sodium in most soils and will require special soil 

management-good drainage, high leaching, and organic matter 

additions. Gypsiferous soils may not develop harmful levels of 

exchangeable sodium from such waters. Chemical amendments 

may be required for replacement of exchangeable sodium, except 

that amendments may not be feasible with waters of very high 

salinity. 

Very High-Sodium Water [mJ is generally unsatisfactory for 

irrigation purposes except at low and perhaps medium salinity, 

where the solution of calcium from the soil or use of gypsum or 

other amendments may make the use of these waters feasible. 

Sometimes the irrigation water may dissolve sufficient calcium 

from calcareous soils to decrease the sodium hazard appreciably, 

and this should be taken into account in the use of Cl-83 and Cl-S4 

waters. For calcareous soils with high pH values or for 

non-calcareous soils, the sodium status of waters in classes Cl-S3, 

Cl-84, and C2-S4 may be improved by the addition of gypsum to 

the water. Similarly, it may be beneficial to add gypsum to the soil 

periodically when C2-S3 and C3-S2 waters are used. 

Low-Salinity Water [Cl] can be used for irrigation with most 

crops on most soils with little likelihood that soil salinity will 

develop. Some leaching is required, but this occurs under normal 

irrigation practices except in soils of extremely low permeability. 

Medium-Salt"nity Water [C.2] can be used if a moderate amount of 

leaching occurs. Plants with moderate salt tolerance can be grown 

in most cases without special practices for salinity control. 

High-Sak"nity Water [C3] cannot be used on 80ils with restricted 

drainage. Even with adequate drainage, special management for 

salinity control may be required and plants with good salt tolerance 

should be selected . 

Very High Salt"nity Water [C-4] is not suitable for irrigation under 

ordinary conditions, but may be used occasionally under very 

special circumstances. The soils must be permeable, drainage must 

be adequate, irrigation water must be applied in excess to provide 

considerable leaching, and very salt-tolerant crops should be 

selected. 

Boron, although required in small amounts for 

proper plant nutrition, is toxic to some plants in larger 

quantities (Walker and Eakin, 1963). The boron 

hazard presented by Ash Meadows waters cannot be 

evaluated completely because of the limited number of 

analyses made. Well 10, however, with 1.4 mg/1 

boron, presents a high hazard to sensitive crops and a 

low hazard only to very tolerant crops (Scofield, 1936). 

Water from Big Spring and Fairbanks Spring may be 

moderately harmful to sensitive crops. 

The conductivities and sodium-adsorption ratios for 

sources of irrigation water in Ash Meadows are 

plotted in figure 12. Well10 (sample 39), rated C3-S4, 

has little value for crop production, and contemplated 

use should also consider the boron hazard noted 

above. With some precautions the water from well 2 

(sample 81) or Jack Rabbit Spring (sample 96a), rated 

C4-S2, can be used to a limited degree. The Spring 

Meadows Ranch mixes well 2 water with that from 

wells 1 and 17 and applies it mainly to fields that are 

heavily treated with gypsum. Class C3-S1 water from 

wells 1 and 3 and from Big Spring and Bole Spring is 

used successfully to irrigate bermuda grass, which is 

relatively tolerant of salt (Bateman, Mindling, Naff, 

and Joung, 1972). Alfalfa is irrigated by wells 1, 3, and 

17, but, wherever possible, it is mixed with King Pool 

water (class C2-S1) to reduce the salinity hazard. No 

analysis of water from well 17 is available, but 

hydraulic considerations suggest that it is similar to 

water from wells 1 and 3. 

The remaining irrigation sources fall within class 
OBSERVED EFFECTS OF PUMPING 29 

C2-Sl. Except for application on the poorly drained 

land along Carson Slough, this water is of moderately 

good quality. 

QUALITY FOR DOMESTIC USE 

With few exceptions the water sources in Ash 

Meadows do not exceed concentrations recommended 

by the U.S. Public Health Service (1962) for any 

chemical constituent other than fluoride. All samples 

reported from Ash Meadows exceed the recommended 

limit for fluoride (0.8 mg/1 under the existing temperature) by a factor of 2 or more. Dental fluorosis 

and discoloration may occur in the teeth of children 

raised here. Recommended maximum concentrations 

of sulfate and chloride are exceeded in wells 1 and 2 

and in the 1970 sampling of Jack Rabbit Spring. 

OBSERVED EFFECTS OF PUMPING 

The effects of pumping were monitored during 1971 

and 1972 by water-level recorders in Devils Hole, in 

several observation wells, and in flumes and weirs 

100 500 

26 

~ 

<l 

t 

(I) 

Q 

~ 

<l 

~ 18 

0 

r:t: z 

<l 0 

N 

<( ~ 

Q. X r:t: 

0 2 (I) 

::) 0 

<( 0 I 0 

C/) ~ 

::) 

0 

0 

(I) 

0 

Cl C2 C3 C4 

installed in most of the major springs. (See table 2.) 

Moderately detailed records of pumpage from the 

production wells in 1971 were reconstructed from 

electrical-meter readings, discharge measurements, 

and frequent observations of whether or not they 

were pumping. 

Because gaps in the hydrograph of Devils Hole had 

occurred before, well 17S/50-36dd was instrumented 

in January 1971 as a precaution against lost record. 

An excellent correlation was established between the 

depths to water in this well and in Devils Hole, which 

is about 900ft (275m) west of the well. 

EFFECT ON DEVILS HOLE WATER LEVEL 

During the aquifer tests of the individual production 

wells, no effects on the water level in Devils Hole were 

discernable. Daily fluctuations of the pool (as much as 

0.5 ft or 15 em) would easily have masked any changes 

due to pumping. 

The correlation between gross pumpage from the 

well field and the water level in Devils Hole, however, 

30 SAMPLE IDENTIFICATION 

Class C2-Sl Class C3-Sl 

a Soda Spring g Well 1 

b Well 8 i Well 3 

c Well 7 m Big Spring 

e Observation well n Bole Spring 

17S/51-3ldd 

20 f Well 5 Class C3-S4 

j Point of Rocks 

spring group d Well 10 

* Fairbanks Spring 

* Rogers Spring Class C4-S2 

* Longstreet Spring 

* Devils Hole h Well 2 

* Observation well k Jack Rabbit 

17S/50-36dd Spring (1970) 

10 * Well 6 

* Crystal Pool 

* Well 13 

* Well 4 

* King Pool 

* Jack Rabbit 

Spring (1966) 

100 250 750 2250 5000 

CONDUCTIVITY ( micromhos /em at 25°C) 

SALINITY HAZARD~ 

FIGURE 12.-Classification of irrigation water from Ash Meadows sources by conductivity and sodium-adsorption ratio. Classification 

diagram from U.S. Salinity Laboratory Staff (1954). 
30 EFFECT OF PUMPING ONPUPFISH HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

is evident in figure 2. The pumpage records in table 5 

indicate that the decline of water level in June and 

July 1969 must have resulted from well 1 or well 13 

unless other wells were pumped without electrical 

power, in which case no record of this pumping is 

available. The significantly greater decline from 

August through November 1969 correlates with 

additional pumping from wells 2 and 4 and lesser· 

withdrawals from wells 6 and 8. 

The 1970 pumping season provides even less insight 

into the effects of individual wells. Pumping began 

near the end of April, with wells 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 

operating at or near their capacities, and the water 

level in Devils Hole began a relatively uniform decline 

until pumping was curtailed in December 1970. 

Moderate reductions in the use of wells 3 and 5 may be 

responsible for the decreased rate of drop in July. 

Reduced production from wells 4 and 6 may account 

for the leveling of the hydrograph in October. 

In 1971, however, the pumping history was more 

varied, and individual wells could be evaluated more 

-a: Ww 

--' I mP.tres feet 

~ ~ 0.6 2.0 

oo::: 

--' 2.2 

> ffi 0.7 

~ lt 2.4 Nv lVlt:! ~ ~Jv' '\,-~ /\ 

easily. Figure 13 shows the mean daily water levels 

computed from the hydrographs of Devils Hole and 

well 17S/50-36dd and the pumping history reconstructed from the detailed field observations. The 

observation well shows greater response than does 

Devils Hole to the pumping of some wells and thus 

allows subtle deviations of the Devils Hole hydrograph 

to be detected. 

Although the early February 1971 decline in the 

well and Devils Hole might be attributed to either well 

1 or well 4, their recovery, beginning about February 

10, correlates only with the shutdown of well 4. The 

effects of well 5 can be detected from the period 

mid-March to mid-April, from the 0.1 ft (3 em) 

recovery of the observation well in late May, and from 

the smaller recovery in late June. Limited use of well 

6 continued to prevent identification of its effects. 

The pumping histories of wells 7, 8, and 13 varied 

sufficiently that their effects, if significant, should 

have been detectable; the hydrographs show no 

apparent reaction to these wells. Considering their 

feet metres 49.2 15.0 --' --' 

49.4 Woo 3=w 15.1 a: 49.6 Zt-

-w 

lr:::E -

z8 0.8 2.6 

a:::: 

w 0 2.8 

IV '\/ .., v~., -"'~ / "\.. 1\ ~DEVILS HOLE 

49.8 we 15.2 1-z 

50.0 ~<t !;:(..J 

::: ~ 0.9 3.0 v v ~, \h.. 

\ ..........._ 

~ ~ ~.M II. - _,./I lAM ,. •.. 

Well 17S/50-36dd.!\ / - 'W\ W\Y ~ 

\ I ~ I -~ w 

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 

1-

50.2 ow 15.3 1-W 

II&.. 

50.4 t-Z 

a..- 15.4 w..; 50.6 0-o 

>-\0 

50.8 :::!'r 15.5 <tO 

51.0 QIO ........ zoo 

15.6 <t~'--

51.2 w-

:::E 

La.. 

ooo lLI 3.2 I a: 1.0 I-ta..w 3.4 

~:::E 

~~ 1.1 3.6 

<[<X 3.8 01--

zlLI 1.2 4.0 <ti.LI 

WLL. 

:::EZ 

1971 

FIGURE 13.-Mean daily water levels in Devils Hole and observation well 17S/50-36dd and estimated pumping from wells in Ash 

Meadows during 1971. Dashed segments in upper hydrograph denote extrapolation through periods of no data. 
OBSERVED EFFECTS OF PUMPING 31 

distances from Devils Hole (except for well13), their 

small to moderate discharges, and the chemistry of 

the water from well 8, this observation was to be 

expected. 

On August 4, 1971, the senior author submitted to 

the U.S. District Court, Las Vegas, Nev., an affidavit 

stating his opinion that, among all wells of the field, 

wells 4, 5, and 6 had the most direct effects on the 

water level in Devils Hole. This conclusion was based 

on their yields and closeness to Devils Hole, the 

similarity in chemistry and temperature of their 

waters to that of Devils Hole, and the correlations of 

pumping history with the hydrograph discussed 

above. In late August, the Federal Government and 

the ranch reached an agreement to shut down wells 4, 

5, and 6, and the immediate recovery beginning on 

September 9, 1971, is apparent on figure 13. The 

observation well recovered 0.5 ft (15 em) within 1 

week and 0. 7 ft (21 em) by the end of September. The 

change in Devils Hole was equally encouraging, 

recovering almost 0.2 ft (about 5 em) by the end of the 

month. This rate compared favorably with the rapid 

drawdown of 0.3 ft (9 em) in a 20-day period during 

heavy pumping of the field in June and July 1971. The 

variability in the mean daily hydrograph levels, which 

had diminished during the summer drawdown, 

returned in late September. 

In October 1971 the hydrographs of Devils Hole and 

well17S/50-36dd resumed slow and parallel declines. 

It became evident that the cessation of pumping for 

wells 4, 5, and 6 had produced only about 0.2 ft (6 em) 

of recovery in Devils Hole and that continued pumping 

of wells 1, 2, or 3 was lowering the water level. 

The recorder in Devils Hole malfunctioned in midDecember 1971, but the recorder in well 17S/50-36dd 

continued to operate. On December 20, wells 2 and 3 

were shut down, and a slow recovery of the water 

level began in the observation well. In January 1972, 

well 1 stopped pumping, and the recovery in well 

17S/50-36dd increased in rate. 

Analysis of the data collected through January 1972 

showed that wells 7, 8, and 13 had no detectable effect 

on the water level in Devils Hole; wells 1, 4, and 5 had 

significant effects; and either well 2 or· well 3, or both, 

had a measurable effect. 

No direct hydraulic data pertinent to the effect of 

well 6 had been obtained before it was abandoned. 

However, reduction of the discharge records of 

Crystal Pool during the late summer of 1971 show that 

about 90 percent of the well 6 discharge was 

compensated by reduction of the flow of Crystal Pool. 

Because observation well 17S/50-36dd did not 

respond as clearly to pumping in the Point of Rocks 

area as it did to use of wells 4 and 5, an alternative 

62.9 r---------------,---~ 

Wells I and 2 on 

I 

\ 

\ 

\ 

63.6 Ll4---------------;::2=-9 ;-1 --~6 

FEBRUARY MARCH 

APRIL MAY 

1/) 

11.1 

a:: 19.25 1- 11.1 wu 

::!:;;! 

za:: 

-:::> 

r:£1/) 

wo 

t-Z 

<f<l ;::.J 

o3: 

t-0 

19.30 J: j:;:J 

19.35 

t-ID 

0. 

w 

0 

FIGURE 14.-Segments of the 1972 hydrograph of observation well 

17S/51-31dd, showing effects of wells 1, 2, 3, and 17. Dashed 

segments in upper hydrograph denote extrapolation through 

periods of no data. 

path of influence was sought. Well17S/51-31dd (fig. 7) 

was equipped with a water-level recorder in January 

1972, and subsequently provided an expressive 

hydrograph. Figure 14 shows the drawdown produced 

by wells 1, 2, and 3 in February and March 1972. 

Two new wells ( 16 and 17 on fig. 7) were completed 

about 2 mi (3.5 km) southeast of Devils Hole in the 

spring of 1972. Well16 proved to be of low yield, but 

well 17 produced about 2,500 gal/min (about 14,000 

m3/d). Well17 began production in early May 1972. 

Its effect on the new observation well 17S/51-31dd 

was immediate and significant (fig. 14). By the end of 

June 1972, the water level in well 17S/51-31dd had 

dropped about 1ft (30 em) to 65.5 ft (20m) below the 
32 EFFECT OF PUMPING ON PUPFISH HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

2.0~--~--~--~--~--~--~--~--~~~--~--~--~--r---.---.---r--. 

/Acre-feet per month pumped from (/) 1- weHs 1, 2,3,4, 5 and 13 LIJ 

LIJ 0.7 a: LIJ 

340 (I acreMft = 1,234 m3 ) 1- u... LIJ 

z 355 .. 630 ~ 

~a: 2.5 ~a: O:.LIJ 0.8 - ~ LIJ 

LIJ:r a::r 

~~ LIJCI) 

3:3: ~~ ~a: oa: 

t-LIJ 0.9 OLIJ 

Cl. 1-I:L 

l:Cl. :r~ 1-0 

a.u tu 

LIJ w~ c:;: 1.0 co >-0 ..J 

..J..J ~LIJ -LIJ _Ill 

~al 3.5 <{ 

c 530 0 

z 58 t 1.1 z ~ -~---~ <{ 

LIJ Acre-feet per month pumped from/ 780 705 620 LIJ 

:.\i :.\i 

wells 1,2,3,16and 17 670 

1.2 

4.0 

Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May June ··July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr 

FIGURE 15.-Mean daily water levels in Devils Hole and approximate monthly pumpage from wells in southern Ash Meadows, late 1970 

through early 1973. Dashed segments denote extrapolation through periods of no data. 

land surface. As with pumping from wells other than 4 

and 5 in the Point of Rocks area, the effect of well17 at 

Devils Hole is sluggish and not readily apparent. 

Figure 15 shows the mean daily levels in Devils Hole 

and the approximate monthly pumpage from the Point 

of Rocks area from late 1970 through midMMay 1973. 

The effect of well17 in early May 1972 is visible. 

Although the 1972 pumping history was less varied 

than that in 1971, the total amounts pumped were 

almost the same: 5,500 acre-ft (6.8 million m3) in 1971 

and 5,600 acre-ft (6.9 million m3) in 1972. Figure 15 

illustrates that, on the average, the declines for the 2 

years are nearly parallel, the hydrograph for 1972 

being about 0.5 ft (15 em) below that for 1971. In late 

March 1973, wells 1, 2, 3, and 17 were turned on, and 

the resulting decline in April (fig. 15) is the steepest of 

record. 

IMPACT OF INDIVIDUAL WELLS 

Evaluation of the effects of individual wells is a 

subjective process. Although wells 4 and 5 produce 

sharp responses in well 17S/50-36dd and discernible 

responses in Devils Hole, the longer-term records 

suggest that they have less effect than wells 1 and 17. 

The authors assign the following probable effects to 

individual wells. 

Wells 1 and 17. -These wells produce the greatest 

drawdown in Devils Hole during sustained pumping. 

Their high yields contribute substantially to their 

effects. 

Wells 9, 4, and 5.-These wells produce significant 

drawdowns in Devils Hole. The effects of wells 4 and 5 

arrive more sharply at Devils Hole than do those of 

other wells, but the September 1971 recovery 

suggests that the magnitude may be somewhat less 

than· that produced by the higher yields of wells 1 and 

17. 

Wells 2, 6, 19, and 16.-These wells have only small 

effects on the water level of Devils Hole. The 

discharges of wells 2 and 6 are largely compensated by 

reduced spring flow; wells 13 and 16, although near 

wells having greater impact, produce only minor 

yields. 

Wells 7 and 8.-These wells have no presently 

detectable effects on Devils Hole. 

WeU 9. -Because of its location, just more than 1 

mi (2 km) southwest of Devils Hole, well 9 is a 

potential threat to the Devils Hole water level. 

Through mid-1973, however, it has been used only 

intermittently to water stock. Table 3 (location 

18S/50-11aa) shows that no production test was 

reported, so the potential impact of well 9 cannot be 

evaluated. 

Wells 10, 11, 12, and 14.-There are not sufficient 

hydraulic observations to evaluate these wells, but 

their remoteness, small yield, and chemical character 

suggest little or no effect on Devils Hole. 

EFFECT ON SPRING DISCHARGE 

Documenting the reduction of spring discharge, and 

the consequent threat to pupfish habitats other than 

Devils Hole, was an important objective of this 

investigation. Moreover, that part of the total 

pumpage that is diverted from natural discharge by 
OBSERVED EFFECTS OF PUMPING 33 

springs to artificial discharge by nearby wells 

generally affects only details of the local flow 

subsystem but has little effect on the regional system, 

including Devils Hole. 

Reductions of spring discharges were noted during 

aquifer tests of some of the wells (table 4). Additional 

data were gained by detailed observation during the 

1971 pumping season. Figure 16 shows the 1971 

springflow data for four springs in the southern half of 

Ash Meadows. 

BIG SPRING 

The hydrograph of Big Spring during 1971 (fig. 16) 

shows that the discharge declined slowly from 1,040 

gal/min (5,700 m3/d) in January to 920 gal/min (4,900 

m3/d) by mid-October. Although past measurements 

(table 2) are not significantly different from the 

January 1971 flow, the decline began in June, which 

was the beginning of heavy and sustained pumping. In 

December 1972, the discharge of Big Spring again 

reached a low of 900 gal/min (4,800 m3/d), indicating 

that during 1972 there possibly was a slight 

accumulated effect of pumping on the discharge of Big 

Spring. 

1500 

1000 Big Spring/ 

500 

0 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY 

JACK RABBIT SPRING 

The documented effect of well 2 on the flow of Jack 

Rabbit Spring, and the consistency of the 

water-quality data with the hydraulic observations, 

has been discussed earlier in this report. When 

compared with the 1971 pumping history of well 2 in 

figure 13, the hydrograph in figure 16 demonstrates 

this relationship clearly. At several times, such as in 

mid-April, the hydrograph provided a more detailed 

record of the pumping periods than did electric-meter 

readings and field observations. 

The greatest discharge of Jack Rabbit Spring in 

1971 occurred on May 11 and was 425 gal/min (2,320 

m3 I d), but the hydrograph suggests that continued 

recovery would have increased this to at least 450 

gal/min (2,450 m3/d). This discharge is about 100 

gal/min (545m3/d) less than previous (1953 and 1962) 

Geological Survey measurements (table 2) and 

indicates an effect accumulated during several years 

of pumping. 

The expressiveness of the hydrograph in March 

1971 shows that well1 also affects Jack Rabbit Spring, 

I 

~ 6000 

r- 4000 

I 2000 

JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT 0 

2000 w 400r------------=~~~w-~--~~~~------------------------------------~ ~ 

~ ~ 

~ 0 

z ~ 

~ ~~~:~ of .. ~ocks Spri:g~---... _1" .. -:. ___ ... _ 1500 ~ 

~ 300r,r---~--------------4-~--------~-4H+'='~~=-·--~~~~-~-~---------------~ w 

a: (J'J ~ 

z w g Jack Rabbit Spring ~ 

~ u 

~ 200F---------------------~~------------~~--~~r-~------------------~ 1000 ~ 

~ u 

w ~ ~ w ~ 100r---------------------------------------~~-H~~+-------~--~4r---.-r500 ~ U I (J'J u 0 ~ 

0 

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT 

: : : . : 

MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT O 

I I I 

Collins Spring/ 

JAN FEB MAR APR 

FIGURE 16.- Discharge of selected springs in Ash Meadows, January-October 1971. 
34 EFFECT OF PUMPING ON PUPFISH HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

although to a much smaller degree than does well 2. In 

early July a 2-day period of recovery is not as rapid as 

those typically caused by well 2 and apparently 

correlates with the temporary shutdown of well 3, 

shown in figure 13. Using the degree to which the 

chemistry of the discharges of wells 1 and 3 approach 

the unique chemistry of water from well 2 and Jack 

Rabbit Spring as an indication of relative effect, the 

capture of springflow by well 1 is probably about 50 

gal/min (270 m3Jd), and that by well 3 may be about 

25 gal/min (135 m3 /d). Well 2 intercepts the 

remaining 350 gal/min (1,900 m3d) under the 

pumping conditions of 1971, but it probably is capable 

of capturing the entire discharge if pumped for 

sustained periods without interference from other 

wells. 

POINT OF ROCKS SPRINGS 

The group of small springs at Point of Rocks, 

designated collectively as 18S/51-7 dba on table 2, was 

gaged by 6-inch Parshall flumes on each of two 

alternate diversion paths carrying their total 

discharge. In figure 16 the recorded flow is 

surperimposed on the hydrograph of the responsive 

Jack Rabbit Spring. 

The record in figure 16 shows a pattern similar to 

that of Jack Rabbit Spring, although the variations 

are less distinct. The fluctuations during March on 

both hydrographs correlate with a period of 

intermittent pumping of well1. In late April irrigation 

was severely curtailed and did not resume until 

mid-May. The recovery of the Point of Rocks group is 

evident, and the flow also reached the 1971 high 

during this shutdown. This maximum discharge was 

385 gal/min (2,100 m 3jd), about 35 gal/min (190 

m3/d) lower than the reported 1962 flow (table 2). 

Because of the difficulty of measuring the combined 

discharge of this group of springs, however, the 

8-percent difference may not be significant. 

After September 9, 1971, when pumping from wells 

4, 5, and 6 ended in accordance with the agreement 

between the ranch and the Federal Government, 

there was no distinguishable recovery of these 

springs. Water leaking from a rubber irrigation line 

distributing water from well 1 made the Point of 

Rocks record unreliable after mid-October and may be 

responsible for the apparent increase of flow 

beginning on September 15; a change in the diversion 

path also occurred on this date. 

Difficult channel conditions and the presence of a 

pump in King Pool, also commonly called Point of 

Rocks Spring in the literature, prevented continuous 

measurement of its discharge. Current-meter 

measurements were made upstream and downstream 

from its entry into a nearby irrigation ditch. Because 

the flow of the Point of Rocks spring group usually 

was channelled into King Pool, further correction was 

required. The probability for significant measurement 

errors was high, but the flows shown in table 2 

indicate that this spring was not affected by pumping 

in 1970 nor by the following recovery. 

COLLINS SPRING 

The small flow of Collins Spring, located 0. 75 mi ( 1.2 

km) south of Devils Hole in SE1/4, sec. 1, T. 18 S., R. 

50 E., declined about 5 gal/min (27 m3Jd) in 1971 (fig. 

16). Although the quantity of loss was small, it did 

represent a 50-percent reduction of flow. The decline 

began in July and was recovered after wells 4, 5, and 6 

stopped pumping in September, 1971. The pumping 

history of well 6 (fig. 13), 1.6 mi (2.6 km) west of 

Collins Spring, provides an apparent correlation with 

this reduction. 

CRYSTAL POOL 

In April 1971, Crystal Pool declined 450 gal/min 

(2,450 m3 /d) in flow after well6 had pumped at a rate 

of 900 gal/min (4,900 m3 /d) for 1 week. The well 

apparently developed itself by caving in May, and the 

discharge rate was increased to 1,370 gal/min (7,470 

m3/d). After 2 months of sustained pumping of well6, 

the flow of Crystal Pool declined to 1,670 gal/min 

(9,100 m3Jd), a loss of 1,270 gal/min (6,920 m3Jd). The 

total volume of lost springflow could not be compared 

with the total pumpage because the discharge of 

Crystal Pool was diverted around the flume before 

recovery was completed. The interception of Crystal 

Pool flow is estimated at 90 percent of the pumpage of 

well 6 for seasons of combined intermittent and 

sustained pumping. 

FIVE SPRINGS AREA 

East of Longstreet Spring, in NW1/4, sec. 23, T. 17 

S., R. 50 E., a total of 170 gal/min (925 m3Jd) is 

discharged from a number of small springs and seeps 

(table 2). The springs are within 500 ft (150 m) of 

exposures of Paleozoic limestone, and well 7 (table 3), 

which is in the middle of the spring group, penetrated 

the limestone at a depth of 48ft (14.6 m). The 34.5°C 

(94 °F) temperature of well 7 water is the same as that 

of the largest spring, which discharges 75 gal/min ( 408 

m3/d). 

Pumping of well 7 at 530 gal/min (2, 900 m 3 I d) stops 

most of the spring flow within 1 hour, and sustained 

pumping captures the entire 170 gal/min (925 m3Jd). 

PURGATORY SPRING 

During sustained pumping of well 7, a loss of 12 

gal/min ( 65 m 3 I d) was measured in the discharge of 

flowing well 17S/50-14cac. Drilled into a travertine 

spring mound about 0. 75 mi (1.2 km) north of well 7, 

this flowing well normally discharges 20 gal/min (110 
OBSERVED EFFECTS OF PUMPING 35 

m 3 I d) from the Paleozoic limestone penetrated from 

25ft (7.6 m) to 92ft (28m). In 1972 it was developed as 

a refuge for Cyprinodon diabolis and named "Purgatory Spring." 

LONGSTREET SPRING 

The location of well 7, about 0.5 mi ( 0.8 km) east of 

Longstreet Spring (fig. 7), suggests that it might 

reduce spring flow significantly. However, only about 

360 gal/min (1,960 m3Jd) of the well 7 discharge is not 

compensated by reduced flow of other springs. 

Measured discharges of Longstreet Spring (178/50-22 

aba in table 2) show a variability of about± 10 percent, 

but comparison with the pumping history of well 7, 

shown on figure 13, reveals no correlation. The spring 

discharge is 7°C (13°F) cooler than that of well 7, 

indicating that the effect of the well, if any, would be 

manifested subtly over a long period of time, rather 

than arriving sharply in a short period. There is, of 

course, a possibility that the November 1971 

measurements of Longstreet Spring show some 

impact of well 7, but subsequent curtailment of the 

observation program prevented further documentation. 

ROGERS SPRING 

The 1971 measurements of Rogers Spring 

(17S/50-15ab in table 2) show about a 20-percent 

reduction from earlier Geological Survey measurements. Whether the orifice has been changed 

physically during reworking of the outlet channel 

system or by traffic on the road immediately adjacent 

to the spring, or whether this decrease is due to 

pumping, cannot be stated with certainty. During the 

aquifer test of well 8 in February 1971, however, 

Rogers Spring decreased in flow from 590 gal/min (3, 

215 m3Jd) to 555 gal/min (3, 025 m3/d). The loss was 

fully recovered within a few days after the aquifer test 

was completed. 

SODA SPRING 

Soda Spring (17S/50-10bcd in table 2) has also 

apparently lost about 20 percent of its earlier reported 

discharge, on the basis of highest flow measured in 

1971. This 65-gal/min (355-m3 /d) flow was completely 

captured during periods of sustained pumping of well 

8 in 1971. 

FAIRBANKS SPRING 

The measurements reported in table 2 for Fairbanks 

Spring (17S/50-9ad) suggest a lesser reduction of flow 

(an average of about 10 percent) than is apparent for 

Rogers Spring and Soda Spring. Although the 

discharge of Fairbanks Spring decreased from a 

maximum of 1,580 gal/min (8,600 m3 /d) to a minimum 

of 1,430 gal/min (7,800 m3/d) during 1971, the decline 

was gradual and could not be correlated with pumping 

histories. Moreover, during the pumping test of well 

8, no reduction of flow was evident on the continuous 

record of discharge through the Parshall flume. 

OTHER SPRINGS 

Several other springs reported in table 2 and 

located on figure 3 were observed but not examined in 

detail. Ed L. Reed and Associates (written commun., 

1967) reported that McGillivary Spring (17S/50-22ac) 

flowed 155 gal/min (845 m3Jd), but it was not flowing 

when visited in September 1970. The condition of the 

outlet channel, however, indicated that it had flowed 

in the past, and the reported discharge was 

compatible with the size of the channel. 

Cold Spring (17S/50-21ac) had a stable flow during 

the observed period of October 1970 through April 

1971, when pumped diversion for a domestic supply 

ended the record. The flow was about the same as 

reported earlier by Ed L. Reed and Associates 

(written commun., 1967). 

Three small springs west of Devils Hole in sec. 35, 

T. 17 S., R. 50 E. continued to flow during 1970 and 

1971. The lack of earlier data prevents identification of 

pumping effects, if any. One of these, School Spring 

(17S/50-35d1), is developed as a pupfish sanctuary, 

and its flow has been supplemented by well 

18S/50-2aa. The minor flow of School Spring, 

however, was within the range reported earlier (table 

2) and is so small that it is highly sensitive to changes 

in the orifice. 

Several springs in the vicinity of the former Davis 

Ranch (18S/50-11d and 12c) could not be measured 

because of irrigation-ditch patterns, but their 

combined flow appears smaller than those reported for 

1962 in table 2. The 1962 flows were also smaller than 

those reported for 1953. 

Two conical former spring orifices occur in sec. 12, 

T.18 S., R. 50 E. east of the Davis Ranch (fig. 3). Sink 

Spring has a channel indicating former discharge and 

was reported by Ed L. Reed and Associates (written 

commun., 1967) to have flowed 25 gal/min (135 m3Jd). 

Hatchery Spring has no earlier record and the outlet 

has been destroyed by agricultural leveling. During 

1971 the orifice was a pond with a level about 4 ft 

(1.2 m) below the surrounding land. The pond declined 

slightly (about 0.1 ft or 3 em) during aquifer tests of 

well 5, about 0.6 mi (1 km) to the north, and it has 

sufficient permeability to accept minor irrigation 

tail water. 

It is difficult to state with certainty whether 

pumping has reduced the flow of these springs in sees. 

11 and 12, T. 18 S., R. 50 E. The records for 1953 and 

1962 suggest that natural phenomena, such as gradually evolving diversion of flow to other springs or 

deterioration of orifice condition, might be responsible 

for the declines. However, it is evident that the water 
36 EFFECT OF PUMPING ON PUPFISH HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

table has declined at Sink Spring and Hatchery 

Spring. An alternative explanation is that the 

discharge of King Pool formerly infiltrated sufficiently 

to raise the water table and to allow secondary springs 

to erupt. Diversion of King Pool water for irrigation 

would have caused the decline of this recharge mound 

and subsequent decay of the secondary spring flow. 

It is estimated that the total loss of spring discharge 

in 1971 not identified as caused by a specific well was 

between 250 gal/min (1,360 m3fd) and 400 gal/min 

(2,180 m3fd). The average of 325 gal/min (1, 770m3 /d) 

is considered by the authors to be the best estimate. 

OTHERSOURCESOFWATERCAPTURE 

The effects of agricultural pumping on the local 

hydrologic subsystem and adjacent regional system 

may be reduced by three factors in addition to the 

diversion of spring discharge. These factors are: 

1. infiltration of pumped water to the ground-water 

reservoir; 

2. reduction of evapotranspiration by lowering the 

water table locally around the wells; and 

3. reduction of evapotranspiration by clearing 

fields. 

For these factors to be effective in making the net 

well-field discharge less than the gross pumpage, 

however, they must act at positions in the system that 

retard a general and sustained lowering of the water 

table in the well field. 

EFFECT OF WATER-TABLE DEPTH 

Ash Meadows can be divided (fig. 17) into eastern 

and western sections having significantly different 

hydrologic characteristics. From the highlands of the 

Paleozoic outcrops, where the water table is generally 

from a few tens to many tens of feet beneath the land 

surface, the land slopes westward more steeply on the 

average than does the water table. The springs that 

occur close to the hills in eastern Ash Meadows are 

generally warm, 32°C (90°F) or higher, and relatively 

small. The exceptions are King Pool, which discharges 

about 1,200 gal/min (6,500 m3 /d), and Longstreet 

Spring, with a similar discharge but the significantly 

lower temperature of 27°C (81 °F). Around the spring 

orifices and along the outlet channels phreatophytes 

and evaporation consume the total discharge of all the 

springs except Longstreet Spring and King Pool. 

The westward slopes of the land surface and the 

water table in eastern Ash Meadows intersect 

generally along a line connecting the other major 

springs (fig. 17). West of this spring line the water 

table is at or within a few feet of the land surface, and 

recharge water applied to the land by irrigation or by 

spring flow from eastern Ash Meadows is generally 

rejected by the shallow ground-water reservoir. 

Instead, it evaporates, is consumed by the dense 

phreatophyte growths, or runs off to Carson Slough. 

The spring line, if defined only on the basis of 

rejected recharge, should be carried eastward to King 

Pool between Crystal Pool and Jack Rabbit Spring, as 

shown in figure 17. The former discharge of the Davis 

Springs, however, favors the westward position of the 

line for stratigraphic reasons. Exploratory drilling 

indicates that the valley-fill sediments are much less 

permeable in western Ash Meadows than are those 

east of the spring line. With the exception of well10, 

which produces a moderate discharge of very poor 

quality, productive wells are confined to eastern Ash 

Meadows. Evidence presented later suggests that 

faults define the spring line, but this conclusion is not 

necessary to support the observation that none of the 

factors compensating well discharge can be effective 

in western Ash Meadows. Because of the proximity of 

the water table to the land surface, no reduction of 

consumptive water use nor application of additional 

water can raise the water table significantly west of 

the spring line. The spring line, therefore, is 

effectively a hinge about which the water table in 

eastern Ash Meadows may rotate, but along the line 

and to the west the water table may not build up. 

In addition to reduced spring flow, the infiltration of 

pumped water and salvage of evapotranspiration in 

eastern Ash Meadows may be deducted from gross 

pumpage to determine the net withdrawal of ground 

water in excess of natural discharge. 

DEFINITION OF PUMPING UNITS 

Figure 17 shows further divisions of eastern Ash 

Meadows into five pumping units. Unit A, which 

extends northward into the wide valley east of Devils 

Hole, contains production wells (1, 2, 3, 16, and 17) 

that are variable in chemical quality and, where not 

compensated by reduced spring flow, produce a slow 

but persistent drawdown in Devils Hole. Unit B has 

two major wells (4 and 5) producing water of quality 

very similar to that of Devils Hole. Drawdown from 

pumping these wells arrives distinctly at Devils Hole. 

The separation of unit C from unit B may arise only 

from the lack of data from unit C. The discharge of 

well 6 is compensated by reduced flow from Crystal 

Pool, and no other wells exist in the unit. Water 

temperature and quality in this unit, however, 

suggest a close hydraulic relationship with the lower 

carbonate aquifer. Consequently, future wells would 

probably lower the water level in Devils Hole. 

Unit D has only one well (well 7) and minor spring 

discharge (about 170 gal/min or 925 m3jd). This 
I 

j 

140 

T.l7 S. 

T.IS S. 

0 

0 

OBSERVED EFFECTS OF PUMPING 

Unit EXPLANATION 

E Production well 

Other well 

Flowing well 

Spring 

Paleozoic outcrop 

Marsh 

C~ns , ~Springe .__~ Uriit 

'o9 B ..... ,, \ ....... __ __ 

® 

!. Davis 

-ve Springs 

'" 

SpriRIJ line ~ 2 Ml LES 

2 Kl LOMETRES 

5 

u.iw 

0-

1010 

a: a: 

\ U~t ~ \ s· s · 19 pnng 

FIGURE 17.-Location of the spring line and pumping units in Ash Meadows. 

37 
38 EFFECT OF PUMPING ON PUPFISH HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

discharge is similar in temperature and chemistry to 

Devils Hole water. 

The temperature of discharge from both wells and 

springs in pumping unit E suggests that the 

probability of significant effects on Devils Hole is 

remote. However, the close chemical similarity of the 

spring discharge to Devils Hole water points clearly to 

the lower carbonate aquifer as the regional source, 

and it would be imprudent to rule out completely an 

eventual effect of increased pump age from this unit. 

CAPTURE OF EVAPOTRANSPIRATION 

Reduction in the use of water by phreatophytes 

within the cone of depression around the wells is 

difficult to establish because of the complexity of the 

hydraulics in this area. Field examination indicates 

that it is small compared to the other sources of water 

capture, for phreatophytes are only sparsely distributed near most of the wells. Eradication of 

phreatophytes to clear fields east of the spring line, 

however, is potentially a significant factor affecting 

the net withdrawal from the Ash Meadows discharge 

area at the 1971 stage of ground-water development. 

Wells 1, 2, and 3, as a group or singly, dry up 20-30 

acres (80,000-120,000 m.2) of seepage that evaporates 

and supports dense mesquite and saltgrass growth 

below the spring group at Point of Rocks. Not more 

than 150 acre-ft (190,000 m3) was captured in pumping 

unit A in 1971. The actual amount is probably less, as 

the drawdown over this area at the peak of the 

pumping season was not more than a few feet, and 

water was still within reach of the mesquite. 

In unit B, wells 5 and 13 are situated on relatively 

high ground that is only sparsely covered with 

vegetation and are assigned no capture of evapotranspiration. The effect of well 4 is less certain, 

although none can be demonstrated. The clearing of 

phreatophytes from nearby fields probably has made 

this a moot point. 

About 10 acres (40,000 m2) of dense mesquite and 

grasses between well 6 and Crystal Pool, and thus not 

watered by the emergent flow of Crystal Pool, may be 

affected by pumping. Together with seepage at the 

ground surface on about 2 acres (8,000 m2), a potential 

gain of about 60 acre-ft (74,000 m3) per year exists 

here. Under the pumping conditions of 1971, the net 

withdrawal from unit C was probably compensated 

entirely by salvage from spring discharge and 

evapotranspiration. 

The dense growth of mesquite, saltgrass, saltbush, 

and other phreatophytes in pumping unit D below the 

springs in the vicinity of well 7 probably are watered 

entirely by recycling of the spring water. 

Consequently the salvage is taken into account under 

spring-flow reduction. 

Well 8 has minor acreages of salt grass and meadow 

grass within its possible zone of influence in unit E. 

Most of this, however, merely intercepts surface 

water in channels on its way to the low meadows west 

of the spring line. 

The clearing of fields causes a substantial reduction 

of evapotranspirative withdrawal east of the spring 

boundary. The coverage of phreatophytes on this land 

was estimated by comparison with nearby 

undeveloped land. Water-use rates were estimated 

with the assumption that only transpiration was 

stopped; evaporation from the soil should have 

remained the same or increased beyond the cones of 

depression of the wells. 

The fields east and southeast of wells 1 and 3 that 

have been cleared and are partly planted with 

Bermuda grass were, in the natural state, covered 

with sparse saltgrass, mesquite, and healthy 

sagebrush. Based on rates of use estimated by F .E. 

Rush (written commun., 1970) for southern Clark 

County, Nev., the average rate of use for dense 

coverage of such vegetation would be on the order of 5 

ft (1.5 m) per year (an abbreviated form of acre-feet 

per acre per year). A generous estimate of the natural 

cover density is 20 percent, and the height of growth 

was probably less than optimum. Consequently the 

salvaged evapotranspiration does not exceed 1ft (0.3 

m) per year over the approximately 600 acres (2.4 

million m ?.) of cleared land. The maximum annual 

salvage of 600 acre-ft (740,000 m3) is assigned to 

pumping in unit A, which in 1971 provided all well 

water applied to these fields. 

An additional 48 acres (194,000 m2) at wells 1, 2, 

and 3 was probably more densely covered with 

mesquite, sagebrush, and saltgrass. An estimated use 

rate of 3 ft (0.9 m) of water over this area suggests a 

saving of about 150 acre .. ft (185,000 m 3) each year. 

Combined with the fields to the east, about 750 acre-ft 

(925,000 m3) per year can be deducted from pumpage 

in Unit A that is applied there. 

Between Point of Rocks and the Davis Springs in 

pumping unit B, about 220 acres (890,000 m2) formerly 

supported luxurious growths of mesquite and willows 

along the discharge channel of King Pool and 

moderately dense mesquite, sagebrush, saltbush, and 

saltgrass away from the channel. This area probably 

has been dried by diversion of King Pool water, but, to 

avoid underestimating salvage, a ground-water 

consumption rate of 2ft (0.6 m) is applied to the 200 

acres (810,000 m2) having moderate cove.rage, and a 

saving of 400 acre-ft (494,000 m3) might have been 

achieved by clearing of these fields. Although the 

discharge of wells 4, 5, and 13, combined with the flow 

of King Pool is more than adequate to irrigate this 
OBSERVED EFFECTS OF PUMPING 39 

acreage, pumpage from Unit A was used to 

supplement King Pool after wells 4 and 5 were shut 

down in September, 1971. The addition of wells 16 and 

17 in 1972 created a surplus of water in unit A (at the 5 

acre-ft per acre or 1.52 m3jm2 per year alloted by the 

State Engineer for southern Nevada), and diversion to 

unit B continued. 

All fields that have been cleared of phreatophyte 

growth and watered from pumping unit C (well6) are 

in western Ash Meadows. Therefore, no salvage is 

allotted from clearing fields in unit C. 

About 60 acres (240,000 m2) between Longstreet 

Spring and well 7 in unit D were formerly covered 

with a moderate growth of mesquite, sagebrush, and 

saltgrass. This is believed to have been watered by 

spring flow emerging near well 7 and completely 

captured by pumping of that well. Even if this is in 

error, not more than 300 acre-ft (370,000 m3) is saved 

annually. 

Fields cleared east of the spring line in unit E are 

restricted to about 100 acres (405,000 m2) of sandy 

uplands west and northwest of Longstreet Spring. 

The pre-agriculture coverage of these fields is not 

known, but phreatophytic use of water away from the 

outlet channels of Longstreet Spring and the former 

McGillivary Spring is believed to have been minor. 

RECHARGE BY INFILTRATION 

Early in 1971 about 200 acre-ft (250,000 m3) pumped 

from well1 into a leaky reservoir northeast of Point of 

Rocks infiltrated with little evaporative loss. An 

estimated 30 percent of the 130 acre-ft (160,000 m3) 

pumped from well 8 into a reservoir on Carson Slough 

east of Rogers Spring also re-entered the 

ground-water reservoir. This recycled water is not 

considered in the following estimate of infiltration 

through irrigated fields. 

Recharge from precipitation at elevations below 

4,000 ft (1,220 m) in the arid basins of southern 

Nevada is negligible, according to Maxey (1968). 

Walker and Eakin (1963) estimated the annual 

recharge to the Amargosa Desert from precipitation 

falling within the topographic drainage basin to be 

about 1,500 acre-ft (1.85 million m3), all of this 

occurring in zones having 8 in (200 mm) or more of 

precipitation per year. Soil saturation by the more 

intense application of irrigation water, however, may 

destroy capillary forces in the formerly unsaturated 

zone, thus allowing infiltration to occur in zones 

having less than 8 in (200 mm) of applied moisture. 

No direct observations are available for use in 

selecting the percentage of water applied that might 

infiltrate in fields east of the spring line. Visual 

_ estimates of tail water runoff and the probable use by 

crops and evaporation from the soil suggest that not 

more than 30 percent of the pumped water re-enters 

the local ground-water system. This is thought by the 

writers to be an upper limit and probably 

unrealistically high. 

The total pumpage from unit A that was applied to 

fields east of the spring line in 1971 was 3,870 acre-ft 

(4.8 million m3). If a rate of one-fourth of the pumpage 

is used, almost 1,000 acre-ft (1.2 million m3) would 

have infiltrated. About 40 percent of the pumpage 

from unit B was transported west of the spring line, 

resulting in a net useful infiltration of 18 percent of 

gross pumpage, or about 240 acre-ft (300,000 m3). All 

withdrawals from units C (well 6) and E (well 8) are 

applied west of the spring line. About 150 acre-ft 

(180,000 m3) of the discharge of well 7 is recovered in 

unit D. 

OVERDRAFT OF LOCAL SUBSYSTEM IN 1971 

The possible sources of salvage of pumped water are 

summarized by well and by pumping unit in table 8. 

Subtracting these savings, including the long-term 

declines in Big Spring and the springs in unit B, from 

gross pumpage gives the 1971 overdraft (excess of 

total discharge over natural discharge) for each 

pumping unit. The estimated overdrafts for units A 

and B are minimum values, for all salvages were 

estimated at their upper limits. 

The net pumpage shown for unit E may be high, for 

the long-term reduction of the flows of the springs has 

not been subtracted. If the apparent long-term 

decreases in Fairbanks, Soda, Rogers, Longstreet, 

and McGillivary Springs, as shown in table 2, are 

TABLE B.-Estimated capture of water pumped from weUs and 

overdraft from pumping units in 1971 

Gross Percent captured from 

Pumping Well pumpa~ 

unit no. (aere-ft)~ Springs Drawdown2 IniDtration3 

A...... 1 1,800 6.7 3.9 30 

A . . . . . . 2 870 45 3.4 30 

A...... 3 1,200 4.6 4.2 30 

Transpiration captured by clearing fields ............ . Long-term spring flow decline ...................... . Overdraft from unit A ....................... : .. 

B ....... 4 490 18 

B ....... 5 790 18 

B ....... 13 70 18 

Transpiration captured by clearing fields ............ . Long-term spring flow decline ...................... . Overdraft from unit B ......................... . 

c ....... 6 450 90 10 

D ...... 7 480 33 30 

E ...... 8 440 ·20 

Capture of transpiration and long-term spring flow .... . Overdraft from units C, D, and E ............... . 

1,070 

190 

740 

-750 

~ 

1,150 

400 

650 

60 

-400 

-280 

490 

0 

180 

350 

_.:0.._ 

530 

1Rounded to nearest 10 acre-ft. Inmtration beneath reservoirs deducted from 

pumpage of wells 1 and 8. 

2Evapotranspiration captured by drawdown zone around well. 

33() percent of water applied east of spring line assumed to inmtrate. 
40 EFFECT OF PUMPING ON PUPFISH HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

accurate, they total about 570 gal/min (3,100 m3/d) or 

920 acre-ft/yr (1.1 million m3/yr). This is more than 

twice the average annual pumpage from well 8 and 

significantly greater than combined pumpage from 

wells 7 and 8 that is not otherwise compensated by 

observed reductions of spring discharge. Obviously 

pumping from wells operated by the Spring Meadows 

Ranch has not salvaged the entire long-term 

reduction, and it is unlikely that it has salvaged a 

significant part. 

The overdraft during 1971 from units A and B was 

at least 1,580 acre-ft (1.9 million m3) or a 9-percent 

additional load on the total discharge from the Ash 

Meadows ground-water system. Because of the liberal 

estimates of salvage, the overdraft might have been 

twice that amount. 

SOURCE OF OVERDRAFT 

Lohman (1972, p. 63), in summarizing C.V. Theis' 

(1940) discussion of the source of water derived from 

wells, stated: 

Prior to development by wells, aquifers are in a state of dynamic 

equilibrium, in that over long periods of time recharge and 

discharge virtually balance. Discharge from wells upsets this 

balance by producing a loss from storage, and a new state of 

dynamic equilibrium cannot be reached until there is no further loss 

from storage. This can only be accomplished by: 

1. Increase in recharge (natural or artificial). 

2. Decrease in natural discharge. 

3. A combination of 1 and 2. 

As of 1972, based on annual low water levels in Devils 

Hole, the upset of this balance produced by pumping 

in Ash Meadows was still producing a loss in storage, 

and equilibrium had not been re-established. The 

easily salvaged flow of Jack Rabbit Spring and the 

reduction of phreatophytic use of water, the two most 

significant sources of salvaging pumping from units A 

and B, have been realized fully or almost fully. The 

decline of the water table, and of potentiometric head 

in the confined aquifers at depth, must continue until 

additional natural discharge is captured, or until the 

4,500-mi2 (about 12,000-km2) Ash Meadows groundwater system expands its boundaries to capture 10 to 

20-percent more recharge. In either case water levels 

throughout the local subsystem and in the adjacent 

lower carbonate aquifer, including Devils Hole, must 

continue to fall. 

Figure 18 illustrates that not all reduction of spring 

discharge is effective in reducing the threat to the 

Devils Hole pupfish. Wells that affect springs easily 

(fig. 18A) may indeed salvage the spring flow. In the 

complex geologic setting of Ash Meadows, however, 

more remote pumping may find that its easiest path of 

communication with the spring (fig. 18B) is along a 

longer but more permeable path through the regional 

lower carbonate aquifer. In this case the reduction of 

spring flow may help prevent an overdraft in the 

overall regional system but, nevertheless, it produces 

drawdown in Devils Hole. 

Although figure 18 is schematic and generalized, it 

is closely similar to conditions presently believed to 

exist in Ash Meadows. The spring shown is similar to 

Crystal Pool, and the well in figure 18A represents 

well 6, which probably did not affect the water level in 

Devils Hole. In figure 18B the remote diversion of 

water is similar to the effects of the wells in unit A (1, 

2, 3, 16, and 17). The late 1971 and later effects of 

pumping these wells strongly suggest that their 

recent apparent influence (E.L. Reed, oral commun., 

1973) on the flow of Crystal Pool has been transmitted 

northward into the regional aquifer east of Devils Hole 

and then west to Crystal Pool. To reduce the flow of 

Crystal Pool, which lies on the spring line, or the 

"hinge" for the eastern Ash Meadows water table, it 

must first lower the water table in the lower 

carbonate aquifer, thereby causing drawdown in 

Devils Hole. 

SAFE YIELD 

As pointed out by Lohman (1972), the term "safe 

yield", or its close equivalent "perennial yield", has as 

many definitions as definers. He credits Meinzer with 

probably having first defined safe yield as "the rate at 

which the ground water can be withdrawn year after 

year, for generations to come, without depleting the 

supply***" (Meinzer, 1920, p 330). Since 1920 the 

term has been redefined innumerable times and with 

such a wide variety of meanings that it no longer has 

meaning. All of these ultimately reduce to the "grass 

roots" definition of Lohman (1972, p. 62), who has 

stated that safe yield is "the amount of ground water 

one can withdraw without getting into trouble." 

According to this definition, even a planned period 

of mining ground water from storage to develop the 

economic base for importing water later, as proposed 

by Maxey (1968), would be compatible with the 

safe-yield concept provided that all parties affected by 

the overdraft had previously agreed. However, as 

small ground-water systems attempt to establish a 

new equilibrium under heavy pumping stresses, they 

may expand their boundaries so as to injure water 

rights existing in adjacent systems. When only the 

availability of water for domestic, industriai or 

agricultural use is considered, still the decision for a 

planned overdraft may not be a local one. 

In an era of environmental concern, where the 

supply for immediate human use is increasingly 

subordinated to sustained use for generations to come, 

Meinzer's (1920) original definition of safe yield seems 
OBSERVED EFFECTS OF PUMPING 41 

to be becoming increasingly appropriate again. 

Walker and Eakin (1963, p. 28) defined perennial 

yield as "the maximum amount of water that can be 

withdrawn from the ground-water system for an 

indefinite period of time without causing a permanent 

depletion of the stored water or causing a 

deterioration in the quality of the water." They 

further estimate that the perennial yield of the 

Amargosa Desert, of which Ash Meadows is a part, as 

3. Diversion from local 

6. Spring level 

falls 

sto.pped; flow in aquifer 

may reverse 

2. Spring position controlled by 

fault or stratigraphic change 

A. 

tentatively about 24,000 acre-ft (30 million m3) per 

year. Of this "about 17,000 acre-ft [21 million m3] can 

be obtained by full development of the springs at Ash 

Meadows. The remaining amount would be available 

for development by wells largely in the area 

northwest and northeast of the springs." (Walker and 

Eakin, 1963, p. 29.) Note that the total discharge of 

the Ash Meadows area, as defined in this report, is 

limited essentially to the spring discharge. 

levels decline 

6. Elevation of 

spring discharge 

nearly constant 

4. Water elevation and gradient 

reduced 

-----

2. 

B. 

FIGURE lB.-Comparison ofthe effects on spring discharge and the water level in the regional aquifer when pumping is (A) close to and (B) 

remote from the spring. 
42 EFFECT OF PUMPING ON PUPFISH HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

EXAMINATION OF ALTERNATIVE CAUSES 

The possibility that other causes have produced the 

drawdown in Devils Hole is very remote, but it should 

be examined briefly. 

Pumping from the Ash Meadows ground-water 

system at the Nevada Test Site totalled about 20,000 

acre-ft (25 million m3) from 1951 through 1971 

(Claassen, 1973), an average of about 1,000 acre-ft 

(1.25 million m3) annually. Most of this has been 

produced from wells in the lower carbonate aquifer or 

in overlying Cenozoic units that are sources of 

recharge to the regional flow system. Production 

records and periodic water-level measurements 

presented by Claassen (1973), however, show that the 

peak production was in the early to mid-1960's and 

that there is not yet a measurable effect on water 

levels in the regional aquifer beneath the Nevada Test 

Site. The water levels in Geological Survey 

experimental wells located between the Nevada Test 

Site and Ash Meadows (sampling point 3 on fig. 11) 

remained stable from 1966, when measurements 

began, through 1969. By September 1973, however, 

the levels had declined about 1ft (30 em), suggesting 

that the drawdown at Ash Meadows had spread at 

least 8 mi (13 km) to the northeast. These wells are 

developed in the Bonanza King Formation, the 

limestone in which Devils Hole is formed. 

The stability of water levels in the lower carbonate 

aquifer cited above also discounts long-term 

reductions of recharge as a possible cause. In addition, 

according to the U.S. Fish and.Wildlife Service Desert 

Game Range (Refuge Manager, oral commun., 1971), 

the Spring Mountains, during the winter of 1968-69, 

received their heaviest precipitation in 40 years. 

Figure 2 shows no effect of this on the Devils Hole 

hydrograph. 

Elastic changes of the aquifer storage volume by 

earthquakes and nuclear explosions have been 

recorded by the hundreds as short-term, oscillating 

water-level changes in Devils Hole, but permanent 

offsets of the stage record have not been observed. 

Most effective in precluding these other factors as 

causes for the decline in Devils Hole and the reduction 

of spring discharge, except for those springs in 

pumping unit E, is the positive correlation of the 

Devils Hole hydrograph and recorded spring flows 

with the detailed pumping record obtained in 1971 and 

generalized pumping schedules since 1967. 

The reduced flow of the large springs in northern 

Ash Meadows (pumping unit E) indicates the 

possibility that pumping in the Amargosa Farms area 

northwest of Ash Meadows has diverted some water 

from the Ash meadows ground-water system into the 

Pahute Mesa system (fig. 4). If this is in fact true, it 

illustrates that the dynamic equilibrium in groundwater flow is not confined to a single flow system. In 

its effort to re-establish equilibrium by capturing 

enough additional recharge to satisfy overdrafts, a 

ground-water system will expand its boundaries, 

thereby passing the overdraft on to its neighbors. 

Measurements of the springs in northern Ash 

Meadows have not been frequent enough to define the 

variations in discharge. Estimates of pumping in the 

Amargosa Farms area, abstracted by the Office of the 

Nevada State Engineer (written commun., 1970), 

show that pumping reached its maximum in the 

mid-1960's and has declined to a minor amount since 

then. The effect on the Ash Meadows ground-water 

system may indeed be recovering now, but only 

additional years of measurements can verify this. 

MOVEMENT OF GROUND WATER 

IN ASH MEADOWS AREA 

NATURE OF THE REGIONAL FLOW SYSTEM 

Local details of the flow system and actual rates of 

movement are difficult to establish in carbonate 

aquifers. Although the hydrogeology approaches a 

level of homogeneity when considered on a gross 

scale, it appears quite capricious as the area of 

observation is decreased. 

The irregular development of secondary permeability by chemical solution is responsible for this 

unpredictability. Three factors are dominant in 

controlling the geometry of solution-channel growth. 

The first is the areal pattern of recharge. Second is the 

position and orientation of structural discontinuities 

(faults and joints), which initially provide a secondary 

permeability that is commonly several orders of 

magnitude greater than that in the primary 

interstices. The third is the position of the discharge 

area, for the drain system which develops must 

eventually deliver the water where it can be expelled 

from the system. 

The existing paths of fracture permeability receive 

seepage from the far reaches of the basin and focus it 

upon the discharge area. This geometric requirement 

provides a corollary that the flow must become larger 

and more concentrated along the paths from the 

recharge areas to the discharge points. Consequently, 

the paths tend to combine into fewer but more open 

conduits as they approach the discharge area. Because 

the ability of fractures to transmit water increases 

approximately as the square of their width, the more 

open fractures grow into conduits much more rapidly 

than the smaller ones. The result is that flow is 

concentrated into a few master conduits at the 

discharge areas (fig. 19) and in places within the basin 
MOVEMENT OF GROUND WATER IN ASH MEADOWS AREA 43 

Very 

high low Ron9e of permeability 

------- Ground-water divides within basin 

Path of g reo test hydroul ic connection between A and 8 

FIGURE 19.-Concentration of flow in a carbonate aquifer from 

many paths of low permeability into a few highly permeable 

conduits. 

where flow is constricted to narrow zones by geologic 

conditions. 

In this sense, even artesian flow systems in 

carbonate rocks resemble surface river systems particularly those in which rock-fracture systems affect 

the geometry, although ground-water systems 

are three-dimensional. One distinct and very 

important difference, however, is that surface 

drainages are discrete entities, in which tributary 

branches contribute to the flow of only one trunk. In a 

ground-water flow system the master conduits may 

share secondary trunks, which in turn share lesser 

tributaries. Because the smaller tributaries are not 

discrete to a single subsystem, hydraulic interference 

between subsystems is to be expected. Interference 

effects are usually difficult., if not impossible, to 

predict in detail; however, they may require 

transmission upgradient in the first subsystem to the 

point where there is good hydraulic connection with an 

adjacent subsystem. 

Figure 19 shows schematically, in two dimensions 

only, how the easiest path of communication between 

conduits leading to different discharge points may be 

much longer on the map than the mere distance 

between the points. Because numerous paths of 

varying hydraulic conductivity are available, the 

effect of pumping at point A will be dispersed and will 

arrive at point B in a complex manner. 

Although schematic in intent, this illustration is 

similar in important ways to the hydraulic geometry in 

the vicinity of the Ash Meadows springs and the flow 

, path approach from the east. The upward movement 

of warm water at Ash Meadows from deep within the 

regional system, however, adds the three-dimensional 

aspect that further complicates the natural system. 

FLOW IN THE LOCAL SUBSYSTEM 

The development of the Spring Meadows well field, 

and the observed effects of pumping, provided an 

opportunity that was not available for earlier workers 

to examine some of the details of flow in the local 

subsystem. The complexity of the local aquifers has 

been mentioned several times previously in this 

report. In this section the water-quality data, the 

hydraulic-test data, and the observed effects of 

pumping will be combined with geologic observations 

to explain the pattern of flow from the regional aquifer 

to the points of discharge by springs. 

EVIDENCE FROM WATER CHEMISTRY AND 

TEMPERATURE 

Percentages of the major chemical constituents of 

the water samples are shown in table 6 and on the 

quadrilateral plot in figure 20. 'Starting with the 

sample ( 6) from Army well 1 near the Nevada Test 

Site, most of the analyses show a progressive 

enrichment in sodium over the sum of calcium and 

magnesium and a lesser enrichment of other anions 

(mainly sulfate) over bicarbonate plus carbonate. 

Sample 6 Is thought to represent the chemical quality 

of water shortly after entering the flow system from 

the Spring Mountains. By the time it is released to the 

local subsystem, however, the composition has 

evolved to that of Devils Hole (sample 42) and the 17 

samples represented by the bold circle in figure 20. 

Where the water is forced to travel considerable 

distances to points of discharge after release from the 

regional aquifer, its composition follows essentially 

the same progression through sample 60 (Crystal 

Pool) and sample 99 (Big Spring) to sample 102 (Bole 

Spring). It is significant, however, that the 1966 

sample (96) from Jack Rabbit Spring and the samples 

from all springs except Soda Spring (sample 15) in 

pumping unit E of northern Ash Meadows fall in the 

bold circle although they are distant from outcrops of 

the lower carbonate aquifer. 
44 EFFECT OF PUMPING ON PUPFISH HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

It is instructive to examine the samples represented 

by the bold circle. They fall into five groups, identified 

by general location and temperature. 

Two of the samples are from wells developed in the 

lower carbonate aquifer at depths of about 600 ft (180 

m) several miles northeast and east of Ash Meadows: 

Sample 3, Geological Survey tracer well 2, 30.5°C 

(87°F); 

Sample 54, well17S/50-08cl, 28°C (82°F). 

Four of the samples are from three large springs and 

one slightly flowing well in northern Ash Meadows: 

Sample 12, Fairbanks Spring, 27°C (81°F); 

Sample 21, Rogers Spring, 28°C (82°F); 

Sample 24, well17S/50-15ad, 19.5°C (67°F); 

Sample 30, Longstreet Spring, 28°C (82°F). 

Nine samples are from springs and wells in or very 

close to the outcrops of Paleozoic carbonate rocks: 

Sample 33, spring 17S/50-23bbc, 33.5°C (92°F); 

Sample 36, well 7, 34.5°C (94°F); 

Sample 45, well 17S/50-36dd, 33.5°C (92°F); 

Sample 69, well 5, 31.5°C (89°F); 

Sample 72, welll3, 30.5°C (87°F); 

Sample 75, well 4, 30.5°C (87°F); 

EXPLANATION 

(DISSOLVED SOLIDS, IN 

MILLIGRAMS PER LITRE) 

Diameter 

of eire le 

78 Sample number on 

table 6 

0 

FIGURE20.-Percentage reacting values of dominant ions in water 

samples from wells and springs in Ash Meadows and vicinity. 

Sample 87, Indian Rock Spring, 33.5°C (92°F); 

Sample 90, Point of Rocks spring group, 31°C 

(88°F); 

Sample 93, King Pool, 32°C (90°F). 

The last two samples in the grouping are: 

Sample 57, well 6, 31 °C (88°F); 

Sample 96, Jack Rabbit Spring (1966), 28°C (82°F). 

The first group appears to represent water which 

has adjusted to a state of equilibrium with the 

carbonate aquifer and which follows shallow flow 

paths toward northern Ash Meadows. By the time it 

arrives at Ash Meadows the water is at a temperature 

of 28°C (82°F). Where it can escape at high rates 

through a short and permeable path, such as at 

Longstreet and Rogers Springs, it emerges at the 

surface essentially unchanged in temperature or 

chemistry. The larger discharge of Fairbanks Spring 

probably has a much longer path through Cenozoic 

deposits, for it cools slightly and adds a slight amount 

of boron not present in the other samples. 

The largest group of water samples, taken from and 

near the Paleozoic rocks, display an equally stable 

composition, but their greater temperatures indicate 

approach to Ash Meadows through the deeper part of 

the regional flow system. Where it is discharged at 

high velocities through a path of even more than a mile 

(about 2 km) in length, such as at Crystal Pool and well 

6, it changes little in character. If the discharge 

velocity is somewhat less or if the local aquifer is 

shallower, the water cools but still retains its basic 

chemical composition, as did the discharge of Jack 

Rabbit Spring before development of the well field. 

Figure 20 also illustrates that the three samples (27, 

39, and 63) taken from west of the spring line (fig. 17) 

are enriched in sodium, but not in sulfate, with respect 

to the composition of water in the carbonate rocks. 

This tends strongly to support the reliance placed by 

the authors on the function of this line in the earlier 

discussions of water salvage and pumping overdraft 

from Ash Meadows. 

Sample 15 from Soda Spring, sample 18 from well8, 

and sample 27 from the unused well14 group closely 

with the samples from the Pahute Mesa groundwater system, although the latter are lower in total 

dissolved solids. The silica contents of Soda Spring, 

well8, and welllO (sample 39) further indicate that, 

west of the spring line and along the spring line in 

pumping unit E, water typical of the Pahute Mesa 

system may be mixed during discharge with that 

typical of the Ash Meadows system. Waters of the 

different compositions may in fact come from discrete 

aquifers at different depths. If this is the case, the 

subsurface flow paths may indeed resemble a 

multi-level freeway interchange. 
MOVEMENT OF GROUND WATER IN ASH MEADOWS AREA 45 

There remain five samples that require discussion. 

With their temperatures these are: 

Sample 51, well17S/51-31dd, 25.5°C (78°F); 

Sample 78, well 1, 28°C (82°F); 

Sample 81, well 2, 26.5°C (80°F); 

Sample 84, well 3, 29.5°C (85°F); and 

Sample 96a, Jack Rabbit Spring (1970), 25.5°C 

(78°F). 

Water from the low-yield well17S/51-31dd is very 

similar in composition to the samples from the Pahute 

Mesa system (fig. 20). Its chemistry is apparently 

determined primarily by the silicate minerals in the 

lower clastic aquitard, which crops out in the unnamed 

range east of the well. 

The close similarity between the samples from well 

2 and Jack Rabbit Spring in recent years has been 

discussed earlier. Examining the nature of the change 

in Jack Rabbit Spring, however, may provide some 

insight into the reason for the change. Dividing the 

total ion concentration (in milliequivalents per litre) of 

the 1970 sample with that of the 1966 sample reveals 

that the total ion concentration increased by a factor of 

4.8. The enrichment factor for individual ions can 

similarly be determined and then divided by 4.8 to 

give the relative enrichment factors following: 

Ca 0. 73 Na 1.3 HCOa 0.21 F 0.24 

Mg .93 K .56 SO 4 2.6 NO a 60 ± 

Sr .94 Li .48 Cl 3.2 

It is evident that among the cations sodium has been 

enriched by the greatest factor and that this has been 

essentially at the expense of calcium. The contents of 

potassium and lithium are too small to have 

contributed significantly. Among the anions, nitrate, 

chloride, and then sulfate have become relatively 

more abundant, with a large loss of bicarbonate. 

The samples of typical water in Ash Meadows are 

nearly saturated with respect to the bicarbonate ion, 

as indicated in table 6 by the common loss of 

bicarbonate from unacidized anion samples. Analyses 

for calcium in these anion samples showed an 

attendant loss of calcium. Bicarbonate could not have 

been enriched as the character of Jack Rabbit Spring 

water changed, and the 1970 analysis shows that it is 

still saturated. There are at least two possible sources 

of this contamination that are consistent with the 

agricultural activities. The first is connection, by 

the drilling of well 2, of an aquifer containing brackish 

water with the aquifer connecting well 2 with Jack 

Rabbit Spring. The brackish-water aquifer would 

have to be of higher potentiometric head to cause flow 

up the well bore and displace the normal water in the 

Jack Rabbit aquifer. Secondly, the addition of gypsum 

and fertilizers by infiltrating irrigation water could 

explain the increase of sulfate and nitrate and the 

small decrease of calcium relative to that of 

bicarbonate. This would not, however, explain the 

enrichment of sodium and chloride. It is entirely 

possible that both mechanisms have acted simultaneously. 

The compositions (fig. 20) and temperatures of 

water from wells 1 and 3 suggest mixing of normal 

carbonate waters with that from the now-contaminated Jack Rabbit aquifer. 

EVIDENCE FROM HYDRAULIC TESTING 

Although the transmissivities and storage coefficients determined from type-curve solutions of 

drawdown and recovery data were given in table 4, 

there was little discussion other than to caution 

against using them quantitatively. For evaluating the 

aquifers quantitatively, they appear to have little use 

in this area. Although the deeper aquifers in the local 

subsystem are artesian and probably well confined by 

thick, relatively impermeable lakebeds, the shallow 

zones were obviously being partly dewatered 

whenever cascading occurred in the wells. 

For wells of these depths (300-800 ft, or 100-250 m) 

and lithology, storage coefficients greater than l0-4 

would be uncommon if the aquifers were indeed 

confined and not dewatered. On the other hand, if 10 

percent of the discharge came from unconfined or 

dewatered aquifers having a porosity of 20 percent, an 

effective storage coefficient, SefF (0.9) (10-4) + (0.1) 

(0.20-Sr), might be determined, where Sr is the 

specific retention, or the porosity resisting gravity 

drainage within the period of observation. Because Sr 

rarely exceeds a few hundredths except in clays, it is 

evident that storage coefficients will generally be 

dominated by the unconfined portion. 

An alternate explanation is required if we assume 

that the transmissivity is concentrated primarily in 

confined aquifers with intercalated clay and silt beds. 

The quality of the data matches with the delayed-yield 

type curves (or with those for partial penetration 

which give almost identical results) suggests that this 

assumption may be justified. Although well 1 drew 

down as much as 70 ft (21 m) during the March 1971 

tests, the casing is not perforated above a depth of 155 

ft (47 m). It is highly unlikely, therefore, that 

dewatering occurred except in the immediate vicinity 

of well3, which had minor cascading from a zone 12ft 

(3. 7 m) beneath the surface during testing of well 1. 

The large storage coefficient of 4 x 10· 2 determined 

from observations in well 2 apparently reflects a lack 

of good hydraulic connection between the two wells. 

The effect of pumping arrived later than it would have 

in a homogeneous, extensive aquifer. Because the 
46 EFFECT OF PUMPING ON PUPFISH HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

cone of depression grows preferentially along paths of 

the greatest hydraulic conductivity, the drawdown at 

poorly connected observation wells is correspondingly 

low, resulting in transmissivities that are too high. 

This, in turn, adds to the error in the storage 

coefficient. 

Transmissivities calculated from pumping-well 

data, or estimated from specific capacities, do not 

exceed 8,800 ft2/d (820 m2/d). This suggests that 

falsely high transmissivity values, resulting from the 

lack of hydraulic isotropy, were calculated from 

observation-well data. Transmissivities determined 

from measurements in pumped wells are affected by 

well losses and are usually considered inferior to those 

calculated from measurements in observation wells. 

However, this generalization is true only where 

aquifers are continuous and uniform between the 

pumped well and observation wells. Because of the 

complexity of the local aquifer system in Ash 

Meadows, pumped-well data probably provide the 

more realistic estimates of transmissivity. 

Because of the varied pumping histories of wells in 

southern Ash Meadows in 1971, it was possible at 

certain times to use nonpumping production wells as 

observation wells during pumping tests of other 

production wells. Also, observation well17S/50-7db2 

(fig. 7) provided data during tests of production wells 

1, 2, 3, and 4. Figure 21 presents a graphical method 

for testing the consistency of the aquifer-test data in 

table 4 and for recognizing degrees of hydraulic 

connection or isolation. Transmissivities determined 

from pumped wells are plotted on the right side of the 

graph; no estimates of storage coefficients were made 

from pumped-well data. The remaining data points 

represent transmissivities and storage coefficients 

resulting from observations in nonpumping wells 

(lower numbers) during pumping of wells 1 through 5 

(upper numbers). Where pairs of wells were observed, 

first with one pumping and then with the other 

pumping, the data points are connected. No 

implication of a relationship between transmissivity 

and storage coefficient is intended in this illustration. 

As an example of the use of figure 21, consider the 

data gained from wells 1, 2, and 3. The transmissivity 

calculated from well 3 data during pumping of well 1 

was about the same as that determined from 

measurements in the pumped well. Apparently this 

means that the major transmissivity in well1 is in the 

same aquifer as that in well 3. When well 3 was 

pumped, however, a significant part of discharge came 

LOG SCALE en m2/d ..J 

l/7db2. 

3/1 .3/7db2 

2/1 

EXPLANATION 

3/ I denotes data from observations in 

well I during pumping of well 3 

Lines connect data from pairs of wells 

alternately pumped and observed 

e417db2 

.4/3 

e411 

5/4 

1/2 

104 ~-3:0 

w 

oz 

wa..:E 

~~ 

:::>W 

0..1-

w ~0 

01-

a::o 

u..z 

0 

103 w en zt-

-z ::Ew 

a::-

w~ 

I-LL. 

wu.. 

Ou.J 

0 

enu 

~w 

1-f!> 

-<( 

~a:: 

102 C/) 0 

cnt-

~~ 

en 

50 500L-------------~L-------------~--------------~ 1 o-4 10-3 10-2 I0- 1 

500 50 ~ a:: 

1-

STORAGE COEFFICIENT 

FIGURE 21.-Transmissivities plotted against storage coefficients calculated from aquifer tests in southern Ash Meadows. 
MOVEMENT OF GROUND WATER IN ASH MEADOWS AREA 47 

from a zone not penetrated by well1, and the drawdown in well 1 was less than it would have been if 

the entire discharge came from the aquifer that wells 1 

and 3 mutually draw upon. This resulted in a falsely 

high calculated transmissivity. The value determined 

from well3 alone when it was pumped may be closer to 

the true value. The range of transmissivities in this 

interplay is from 5,900 ft 2/d (550 m2Vd) to 18,000 

ft2/d (1,700 m2/d), or within a factor of about 3. The 

storage coefficients are reasonable if some dewatering 

is considered. Consequently, the degree of hydraulic 

connection, considered in the context of this complex 

aquifer system, is classed "good." 

Similar analyses of other data in figure 21, combined 

with the observed long-term effects of pumping in 

1971 and 1972 as described earlier in this paper, lead 

to a general and largely intuitive classification of the 

degree of hydraulic communication among various 

wells and Devils Hole (fig. 22). The degree of isolation 

of well2 within a triangular array of wells having good 

connections is consistent with its unique tie to Jack 

Rabbit Spring. 

The implications as to the usefulness of 

mathematical models of this complex system are 

obvious. Through a long process of trail and error and 

the introduction of many poorly justified assumptions, 

it would be possible to reproduce effects that have 

been observed. Predicting the effects of changing the 

magnitude or, more importantly, the points of 

applications of pumping stresses must usually meet 

with failure. 

GEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE 

ROLE OF TRAVERTINE BEDS 

It has been stated or implied at several places 

earlier in this report that travertine beds, and some of 

the more massive continental limestones for the 

purposes of this discussion, are the dominant local 

aquifers. There are three lines of evidence supporting 

this belief. 

First, among the productive wells and test holes, 

only three (well 5, well 10, and observation well 

17S/50-36dd) have production from gravel, according 

to the drillers' logs (table 3). The aquifers in well 5 

were not identified, but the log shows more 

"limestone" than gravel. Moreover, frequent 

dismantling of the discharge meter on well 5 during 

1971 showed the mechanism to be immobilized by 

flakes of a calcareous, light brown, crystalline mineral 

about the size of coarse sand and believed to be 

travertine. All other productive wells and test holes in 

Ash Meadows have a dominant lithology variously 

described as "limestone," "lime," "caliche," and 

"travertine." 

N 

t 

Sec. 36 

DEVILS 

HOLE 

12 

R.50E. R.51E, 

HYDRAULIC CONNECTION 

Good 

---- Fair 

Moderate 

Poor 

Ol-------r-----'Y2 MILE 

0 5 KILOMETRE 

31 

8 

FIGURE 22.-Generalized degrees of hydraulic connection among 

Devils Hole, production wells, and observation wells in southern 

Ash Meadows. 

Secondly, drilling records show that dropping of the 

drilling tools in these beds is not uncommon, attesting 

to the conduit permeability of the travertines. Among 

the wells in which the tools dropped were well 2 and 

well 6, both of which when pumped produce 

immediate effects on springs. 

Most convincing, however, is examination of the 

lithology occurring at the major springs, loci of almost 

all of the natural discharge. Without exception among 

the springs discharging 400 gal/min (2,200m3 /d) or 

greater, these carbonate beds crop out in or on the 

sides of the spring pools. At many of the springs (King 

Pool, Crystal Pool, and Fairbanks Spring are the 

clearest examples) the water can be seen to issue from 

the travertine. 

STRUCTURAL CONTROL 

An additional feature of the travertine beds is that 

they rarely occur west of the springs except in 

southernmost Ash Meadows. At several of the major 

springs they are terminated abruptly at the eastern 

walls of the conical spring pools. Big Spring, Crystal 

Pool, and Rogers Spring demonstrate this particularly 

well. Fairbanks Spring is an exception in that the 

travertine is terminated at the north side of the spring 
48 EFFECT OF PUMPING ON PUPFISH HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

pool. These observations leave little room for doubt 

that the springs are fault controlled. 

Gravity data presented by Healey and Miller (1971) 

show that the valley-fill deposits are thickest in two 

localities. The first is centered about 1 mi (1.6 km) 

southeast of Big Spring. Big Spring lies within the 

gravity low, while the northern limit is approximately 

at Jack Rabbit Spring. Crystal Pool is at the 

southeastern limit of the second gravity low, which 

extends in an elliptical pattern to the northwest, its 

northeastern side corresponding with the spring line. 

With the observed truncation of the travertine at 

Crystal Pool and the linearity of the 2,200-ft (670-m) 

contour to the northwest, the gravity data indicate 

that a persistent, high-angle fault controls the spring 

line. It may be tectonic, bounding down-faulted blocks 

beneath Ash Meadows. Greater compaction of the 

thick lake beds in the gravity lows could also provide 

the strain necessary for non-tectonic compaction 

faults. 

The topography of Ash Meadows and the hills to the 

east display numerous lineations that suggest an 

extensive network of faults, some of them displacing 

the youngest deposits. Figure 23 shows this pattern, 

perhaps carried to the extreme but useful in 

explaining certain peculiarities of the ·hydrologic 

system. 

The fault defining the Devils Hole cavern, which 

strikes N. 40° E., can be extended with little stretch 

of the imagination to explain the offset of the 

segmented hills east of Devils Hole. The 

southwestward extension is less certain, for the offset 

of the 2,200-ft (670-m) contour between Davis Springs 

and Crystal Pool is of the opposite sense of movement 

(right-lateral rather than left-lateral). A fault that is 

subparallel to this might explain the southward twist 

of the topography on the east side of Point of Rocks 

and the apparent isolation of King Pool from the wells 

in unit A. A fault having the same general orientation 

southeast of Longstreet Spring provides explanation 

for the apparent (on the basis of temperature) 

hydraulic isolation of pumping unit E from areas to the 

south. The sharp contrast between water in the "Five 

Springs" area, including well 7, and water from 

Longstreet Spring supports the hypothesis of a major 

fault. 

The gravity data presented by Healey and Miller 

(1971) show that the topographic high represented by 

the hills extends northwestward in the shallow 

subsurface. 

The northwest-trending fault shown west of Cold 

Spring, in the northwest corner of the map, is inferred 

on the basis of a narrow, linear dune that is held by 

phreatophytes (largely salt cedar), presumably 

watered by the greater permeability of the fault. 

PATHS OF SPRING DISCHARGE 

Two widely separated points along the discharge 

path of Jack Rabbit Spring are known. These are the 

spring itself and travertine beds penetrated by well 2, 

probably those at a depth of about 60 ft ( 18 m). Jack 

Rabbit Spring, then, discharges through a shallow, 

linear conduit system in travertine that is terminated 

at the spring by a fault. 

The setting of Crystal Pool is almost as clear, 

although well 6 is much closer to the spring. It is 

possible that the travertine beds at Crystal Pool were 

draped over the land surface by an ancestral spring 

issuing from Devils Hole, thus providing a permeable 

path for discharge when the water level declined. 

On the basis of their temperatures and chemistry, 

Big Spring, Bole Spring, and Fairbanks Spring are 

thought to discharge through long paths in local 

aquifers, probably at relatively shallow depth. 

Rogers and Longstreet Springs, because of their 

proximity to the gravity high, may discharge along 

faults vertically from the carbonate rocks, as proposed 

most recently by Winograd (1971). The chemical and 

temperature data neither confirm nor dispute this 

interpretation. 

SYNTHESIS OF FLOW NEAR DEVILS HOLE 

The water-table map (fig. 10) presented earlier 

implies that the deep southwestward flow in the lower 

carbonate aquifer is forced upward along faults that 

segment the hills east of Ash Meadows. This produces 

a mound of unconfined water which discharges 

laterally into the shallower local aquifers. Water 

confined in the deep local aquifers is given a high 

potentiometric head by communication with the faults 

defining the southwestern boundary of the hills. 

The most active flow paths of the local subsystem 

are those in the shallow aquifers feeding the springs of 

southern Ash Meadows. Figure 24A shows 

conceptually the horizontal component of this rising, 

confined flow in the regional aquifer and its 

subsequent discharge to warm springs close to the 

hills or alternate discharge to local aquifers supplying 

the outlying springs. 

Under the stresses of pumping (fig. 248) the system 

changes little in pattern. Pumping of wells 4 and 5 

produces a significant change along the range front 

between Devils Hole and Point of Rocks. The reality of. 

this flow path, which may in fact be along the 

boundary faults close to the hills, is borne out by the 

distinct response of observation well 17S/50-36dd (900 

ft or 275m east of Devils Hole) to pumping of wells 4 
MOVEMENT OF GROUND WATER IN ASH MEADOWS AREA 

116°20' 116° 15' 

rrr======~~======~~====~==~.======rr====================~=-=-=-=---==---=-~==========~36°30 

'i 0 I MILE 

:1 0 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!lliiiiiiiiiiiOiiiiiiiiiiii 2 K I L 0 MET RES ~ 

I I ~'--P 

,I Contour 1nterval 200 feet (61 metres l ! r;:_ \ 11 (supplementary contours ,40 ~::~--~~~etres) ~"' i 

Bose from U S Geolog1cal Survey, 

Ash Meadows, I 62,500 

FIGURE 23.-Lineations and possible faults in Ash Meadows and vicinity. 

49 
50 EFFECT OF PUMPING ON PUPFISH HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

t 

I 

Jl 

; 

~\ •':· ... , 

Cryst<i'tPool 

/ 

I 

."o Davts "<> 

Springs ,.J) 

N 

1 

0 

0 

I MILE 

I KILOMETRE 

o Jock Rabbit 

f" Spring 

A. Natural flow system 

f 

l 

t 

t 

v 

N 

0 I MILE 

I I I 

0 I KILOMETRE 

.Psink 4 

' Spring 

9 Jack Rabbit 

/ Spring 

8. Flow system modified by pumping wells 1-6 and 17. 

FIGURE 24.-Conceptual models of dominant and diffused flow in the vicinity of Devils Hole. 

and 5. The small arrows on figure 24 represent 

diffused flow through fractures and joints that are not 

enlarged significantly by solution. 

The greatly increased diversion to pumping unit A, 

however, captures water that otherwise would rise 

near Devils Hole and thus allows a relaxation or 

lowering of the pool in Devils Hole. Whether this flow 

path remains in the lower carbonate aquifer beneath 

the valley north of the well field, or rises in the 

northern part of the valley to flow south through local 

aquifers, is unimportant. The response of observation 

well 17S/51-31dd to pumping in unit A and the 

diffused but significant effect on Devils Hole 

adequately confirm this general flow path. Diffused 

flow through minor faults and joints supplies some of 

the smaller springs, but it is evident that two or three 

master conduits expel most of the water to discharge 

points in southern Ash Meadows. 

DEVELOPMENT WITH MINIMUM IMPACT 

The discussion above makes it clear that pumping 

from units A and B has a very high probability of 

affecting Devils Hole significantly. New wells in unit 

C, unless compensated by further reducing the flow of 

Crystal Pool, also carry a high risk. It is difficult to 

evaluate the impact on Devils Hole of developing 

additional supplies from unit D. Moreover, ~o 

productive aquifers other than the lower carbonate 

aquifer have been found in unit D, and the lack of 

major springs suggests that none occur at relatively 

shallow depth. 

Development west of the spring line would have less 

effect on Devils Hole, but the low productivity of the 

sediments and poor quality of the water preclude 

western Ash Meadows as a significant and useable 

source of irrigation water. 

This process of elimination leaves only pumping unit 

E, the northern part of the ranch property and of the 

Ash Meadows discharge area. The temperature of the 

significant discharge from Longstreet, Rogers, and 

Fairbanks Springs suggests a long and shallow 

approach path from the northeast and east. Whether 

one, two or three master conduits in the lower 
CONCLUSIONS 51 

carbonate aquifer feed these. springs is not important. 

There is no evidence presently (August 197 4) available 

which would indicate that such conduits are in close 

communication with those in the deeper aquifer 

supplying areas to the south. 

Exploratory drilling in unit E has been quite 

extensive and almost completely without success. 

Moreover, if the master eonduit(s) is eventually 

discovered and found to be very shallow, sufficient 

drawdown may not be available to increase 

significantly the gradient toward the discharge area. 

Compensation of well discharge by decreased spring 

flow would be the result. 

If a few tens of feet of drawdown could be induced 

without dewatering the conduit or conduits, the total 

discharge of unit E might be increased greatly. 

Because the better farmland is in the south, export of 

most of this water would be necessary. 

Note, however, that overdraft pumping is inherent 

in this, and the ground-water basin, again thrown into 

nonequilibrium, would attempt to readjust. Whether 

the new balance would be achieved by northwestward 

growth of the Ash Meadows ground-water system to 

capture a part of the Pahute Mesa system, or whether 

it would be achieved by reducing flow to and water 

levels in the southern part of the Ash Meadows 

discharge area, cannot be predicted. If the former 

occurs, water rights within the Pahute Mesa system 

may be injured, thus initiating another water-rights 

dispute. 

In a classic paper describing types of carbonate 

aquifers, the frustrations of investigating them were 

stated by W. B. White (1969, p 15): "Carbonate 

aquifers have long posed a headache for hydrologists 

because of the localized characters of the 

ground-water flow and the lack of response to 

standard techniques for aquifer evaluation." The 

evidence presented in this study indicates that the 

aquifers in the local subsystem at Ash Meadows are no 

less capricious than the paths of flow in the carbonate 

aquifer that supplies them. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The Ash Meadows discharge area is geologically and 

hydraulically very complex in detail. It can, however, 

be divided into two gross units by a line defining the 

western limit of significant spring discharge which, 

over much of its path, coincides with a persistent highangle fault cutting the youngest strata beneath the 

valley floor. 

There is no evidence at the present time that 

withdrawals of ground water to the west of the spring 

line would produce drawdown in the Paleozoic 

carbonate rocks nor diminish the flow of major 

springs. However, production from this area does not 

appear feasible because of the low productivity of the 

aquifers and poor quality of the water. 

The quality and quantity of water produced east of 

the spring line are generally suitable for irrigation. 

Used together with pumping-test and temperature 

data within the framework of observed and inferred 

geologie features, chemical data confirm that the 

regional lower carbonate aquifer is the source of the 

discharge at Ash Meadows and allows delineation of 

flow paths in the local discharge area. Most if not all of 

the larger springs remote from outcrops of the 

regional aquifer are supplied by shallow and linear 

travertine aquifers. 

Pumping from the shallow aquifers in eastern Ash 

Meadows south of Crystal Pool (units A and B on fig. 

17) caused the 2.5-ft (0.75-m) decline observed 

between 1968 and 1972 in the pool level in Devils Hole. 

All wells in sees. 7 and 8, T. 18 S., R. 51 E., draw 

water from the lower carbonate aquifer by lowering 

the water table and potentiometric surface in the local 

aquifers, thus inducing more flow from the east. Of all 

the wells in units A and B, only well 2, which totally 

captured the flow of Jack Rabbit Spring, was 

significantly compensated by reduced spring flow. 

Liberal estimates of additional salvage of water 

from springs, by infiltration of irrigation water, and 

by clearing of phreatophytes, still resulted in an 

estimated overdraft in 1971 from units A and B of 

more than 1,500 aere-ft (1.85 million m3), or an 

increase of almost 10 percent in the total discharge 

from the Ash Meadows ground-water basin. 

Well 6 in pumping unit C captured most of its 

discharge from nearby Crystal Pool and had little 

effect on water levels elsewhere. In unit D well 7, the 

only well producing directly from the lower carbonate 

aquifer, also was largely compensated by reduced 

spring flow. Additional wells in units C and D would 

have a greater probability of affecting Devils Hole. 

Fairbanks, Rogers, and Longstreet Springs 

responded little or not at all to pumping of well 8 in 

unit E, although the well captured the total flow of 

Soda Spring. Spring discharge in unitE has declined 

on a sustained basis in comparison to pre-1963 

records. Pumping from the Amargosa Farms area to 

the northwest may have been responsible for these 

declines. 

The only area for developing additional water in 

Ash Meadows with possibly only a slight impact on 

Devils Hole is in pumping unit E. Adjustment of the 

regional flow system to new pumping stresses in this 

area may occur as expansion of the boundary of the 

Ash Meadows ground-water system into the adjacent 

Pahute Mesa system. 
52 EFFECT OF PUMPING ON PUPFISH HABITATS IN ASH MEADOWS, NYE COUNTY, NEVADA 

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,:,u.s. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1976-677-340/80