Ground Water in the 

Midvale and Council Areas 

Upper Weiser River Basin 

Idaho

| GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1779-Q

I

* Prepared in cooperation with the 

| U. S. Bureau of Reclamation
Ground Water in the 

Midvale and Council Areas 

Upper Weiser River Basin 

Idaho

By EUGENE H. WALKER and H. G. SISCO

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1779-Q

Prepared in cooperation with the 

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON * 1964
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

Thomas B. Nolan, Director

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

Washington, D.C. 20402
CONTENTS

Page

Abstract______--_-____________________________________________ Ql

Introduction.. ________________________________________________ 1

Geographic features_________________________________________ 3

Geology and ground water________________________________________ 6

Elements of the areal geology________-__-__-_______-__-_-_______ 6

Midvale area___________________________________________ 7

Basalt of Teritiary age-_--_-__--_-___------_____-_---___--_ 7

Sedimentary deposits of Tertiary age_________________________ 10

Sedimentary deposits of Quaternary age____________________ 12

Council area.______________________________________________^._ 14

Basalt of Tertiary age_________________________________. 15

Sedimentary deposits of Tertiary age________________^ 16

Sedimentary deposits of Quaternary age____________________ 17

Chemical quality of ground water_______________________________ 18

Summary ______________________________________________ 21

Records of wells_________________________________________________ 22

References__________________________________________________ 26

ILLUSTRATIONS

FIGURE 1. Index map of the Weiser River basin, Idaho, showing the

Midvale and Council areas___________________________ Q2

2. Sketch showing well-numbering system___________________ 3

3. Map of the Midvale area, upper Weiser River basin, Idaho,

showing location of inventoried wells___________________ 8

4. Geologic logs of representative wells in the Midvale area,

Idaho_________________________________ 9

5. Map of the Council area, upper Weiser River basin, Idaho,

showing location of inventoried wells___________________ 14

6. Geologic logs of representative wells in the Council area, Idaho. 16

7. Chemical character of typical ground waters of the Midvale and

Council areas, Idaho_______--_______-_____---_--------- 20

in
IV CONTENTS

TABLES

Page 

TABLE 1. Average monthly temperature and precipitation at Cambridge

and Council, Idaho, 1931-55___________________ Q4 

2. Chemical analyses of representative samples of ground water

from the Midvale and Council areas, Idaho__________ 19

3, 4. Records of wells, upper Weiser River basin, Idaho:

3. Midvale area_________ _ ______ _ ________ 23

4. Council area.________________________ 25
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES

GROUND WATER IN THE MIDVALE AND COUNCIL AREAS, 

UPPER WEISER RIVER BASIN, IDAHO

By EUGENE H. WALKER and H. G. Sisco

ABSTRACT

The Midvale and Council areas are two broad parts of the Weiser River valley 

in Washington and Adams Counties, near the western border of Idaho. Stockraising and hay production are the principal types of farming, though some diversified farming is done in the Midvale area. There is a deficiency of surface water 

for irrigation, and very little rain falls in summer.

The lowlands are underlain by sedimentary deposits, mostly silt and clay, of 

late Tertiary age, that accumulated in basins on a terrain of warped and faulted 

basalt flows having sedimentary interbeds. The Columbia River Basalt, of 

Miocene age, forms the uplands that surround the lowland areas. Some sand and 

gravel, deposited in stream channels and alluvial fans, and fine-grained lake beds, 

all of Quaternary age, are in the lowlands.

The basalt is the best aquifer. It occurs beneath the lowlands at depths ranging 

from a few feet to many hundreds of feet. Known yields from the basalt are as 

much as a few hundred gallons a minute; yield increases with greater penetration 

of the basalt below water level. Most wells in basalt in the Midvale area flow 

at the surface.

Thin beds of sand in the deposits of Tertiary age beneath the Midvale area 

yield an ample supply for farm use, and at places might yield enough for supplemental irrigation of small acreages. In the Council area the sedimentary deposits 

of Tertiary age contain little sand and are not adequate as a source of water.

Thin sheets of sand and gravel of Quaternary age are a water source for a number of domestic wells in both the Midvale and Council areas.

The quality of ground water in both areas is satisfactory for all common uses. 

Hardness averages about 70 parts per million. The shallow waters are mainly 

the calcium magnesium bicarbonate type; the deeper waters tend to be the sodium 

bicarbonate type, owing at least partly to base exchange with clayey materials.

INTRODUCTION

This report describes the ground-water resources of the Midvale 

and Council areas, which are two of the broader basins in the drainage 

of the Weiser River, near the western margin of Idaho (fig. 1). The 

Midvale area is in Washington County and the Council area in Adams 

County. The economy of these areas is based almost entirely on

Qi
Q2 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES

\ 

Weiser River

drainage boundary

Base from US. Geological 

Survey 1:500,000 scale 

mop of Idaho

FIGTJKE 1. Index map of the Weiser River basin, Idaho, showing the Midvale and Council areas.

agriculture. Additional supplies of water for irrigation would be of 

great value to parts of the areas where productivity is limited by 

inadequate supplies of surface water and the typically small amount 

of summer rainfall.

This study was made by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation 

with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The inventory of wells was 

made by H. G. Sisco, and E. H. Walker studied the geology and 

prepared the report.
GROUND WATER, UPPER WEISER RIVER BASEST, IDAHO Q3

The data on the occurrence of ground water in the areas were derived 

mostly from the records of wells, obtained through interviews with 

landowners and well drillers. Drillers' logs of typical wells were 

obtained from well drillers and from the files of the Idaho Department 

of Reclamation. Water samples were collected for analysis to show 

the chemical character of the ground waters.

The well-numbering system used in Idaho by the Geological Survey 

indicates the location of wells in the official rectangular subdivisions 

of the public lands. The first two segments of a number designate 

the township and range. The third segment gives the section number 

and is followed by two letters and a numeral, which indicate, respectively, the quarter section, the 40-acre tract, and the serial number of 

the well within the tract. Quarter sections are lettered a, b, c, and d 

in counterclockwise order from the northeast quarter of each section 

(fig. 2). In the quarter sections, 40-acre tracts are lettered in the 

same manner. Thus weU 13N-4W-13dbl is in the NWKSE^ sec. 13, 

T. 13 N., R. 4 W., and it is the first well visited in that tract.

6

7

18

19

30

31

5

8

17

20

29

32

4

9

16

21

28

33

10

15

22

27

34

2

11

14

23

26

35

1

12

P^ S13§:

^^

24

25

36

^~ 

T. 

13 

N.

-13-

dbl 

b c

R.4W. 13N-4W-13dbl

FIGURE 2. Sketch showing well-numbering system.

GEO GRAPHIC FEATURES

The segment of the Weiser River basin that includes the Midvale 

and Council areas consists largely of uplands that are underlain by 

flows of the Columbia River Basalt. The Weiser River crosses the 

resistant basalt in narrow valleys. The broader lowlands, such as 

the Midvale and the Council areas, have developed where relatively 

soft sedimentary materials filled structural basins in the basalt 

terrane. The Council area lies near the headwaters of the Weiser 

River, in Adams County, and the Midvale area is about 25 airline 

miles to the southwest, in Washington county.

The floor of the elongate valley of the Council area covers about 16 

square miles. The Weiser River flows southward along the west side 

of the valley, and drops from an elevation of about 3,040 feet at the
Q.4 CONTKIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES

head of the valley to about 2,900 feet at the lower end, 9 miles to the 

south. The west side of the valley is bordered by gentle slopes that 

rise to an upland a few hundred feet above the valley floor. The east 

side of the valley is enclosed by the steep slopes of the mountains of 

the Payette National Forest, which reach an elevation of 8,126 feet 

in Council Mountain.

The Midvale area is a rudely circular lowland of about 30 square 

miles. The lowland is enclosed by gentle slopes that rise a few hundred 

feet to a dissected upland. A border of the lowland can be drawn only 

approximately, for a gradual transition occurs through alluvial fans 

on the lowland to slopes cut on basalt or sedimentary deposits.

Two topographic divisions of the Midvale area are readily recognized. The Middle Valley is an extensive lowland on the east side of 

the Weiser River. It is a terrace separated from the fairly narrow 

flood plain by a bluff 30-50 feet high. A slightly higher surface, 

sometimes called the Shoe Peg Valley, occupies most of the lowland 

area west of the Weiser River.

The elements of the climate of the two areas are shown by tables of 

average monthly precipitation and temperature at Council and at 

Cambridge, which is 8 miles north of Midvale in another wide part 

of the Weiser River valley (table 1). Very little precipitation falls in 

summer. The sum of the precipitation in July and August averages 

only 0.70 inch at Council and 0.39 inch at Cambridge. Annual 

precipitation averages 27.14 inches at Council and 19.39 inches at 

Cambridge.

TABLE 1. Average monthly temperature and precipitation at Cambridge and Council,

Idaho, 1981-55

[From records of U.S. Weather Bureau]

Month

February _____________

March ..._..__.___...___________________

April.. ________ .... _____ . ...

May 

July 

August-.. ___________ . ........

September _____ _____

October . ____________

November ____________

Temperature, in degrees 

Fahrenheit

Cambridge

22. 6 

27.5 

37. 8 

49.4 

57. 5 

63.9 

74.6 

71.7 

61.3 

50.2 

36.4 

28. 1

48. 4

Council

24.9 

29. 2 

37.3 

48.3 

56. 5 

62.6 

72. 6 

70. 4 

61. 6 

50.8 

37.2 

29. 0

48.4

Precipitation, in inches

Cambridge

2.83 

2. 55 

1.95 

1.47 

1.23 

1.41 

.23 

. 16 

.58 

1.34 

2.59 

3.05

19.39

Council

3.86 

3.31 

2.75 

2. 16 

1.92 

1. 87 

.39 

.31 

.84 

2. 10 

3.33 

4.30

27. 14
GROUND WATER, UPPER WEISER RIVER BASIN, IDAHO Q5

The average monthly temperature at Council and at Cambridge is 

much the same. Both areas have a milder climate, less extremes of 

heat and cold, than do many other intermontane valleys of southern 

Idaho.

The soil of the Mid vale and Council areas consists mostly of loess, 

at least to the depth of the plough furrow. Loess forms a pervasive 

cover, except on slopes and knolls that are being actively eroded or on 

recently formed flood plains and alluvial fans. In most of the lowland 

areas the loessial soil is underlain by alluvial gravel or sand; in a few 

places, however, it is underlain by the basalt lavas or by lake beds of 

clay, silt, or fine-grained sand.

Loessial soil is thickest on those older surfaces that are little eroded. 

The loess on the high bench land of the Midvale area is at least 3 feet 

thick, but it is not more than a foot thick on the low terrace above the 

flood plain of the Weiser River.

In the Council area, loessial soil more than a foot thick is confined 

to small areas on the gentler parts of the older alluvial fans. The 

soil through the steeper parts of the extensive alluvial fans of the 

Council area becomes gravelly at a depth of a few inches. The prevailingly reddish color of the soil reveals the presence of much finegrained slope wash derived by decomposition of basalt.

Both the Midvale and the Council areas have been settled for several 

generations, and almost all the lowlands are used for farming. There 

is only one village in each area: Midvale, having a population of 211, 

and Council, having a population of 827.

The Midvale area, due to its greater size and superior soil, is better 

for farming than the Council area. The land is used chiefly for the 

production of small grains and hay, although some sweet corn, 

potatoes, and clover seed are grown. In addition, beef cattle and 

sheep are raised; these are pastured in the uplands and mountains 

during the summer.

The low Middle Valley part of the Midvale area has an adequate 

supply of surface water for irrigation from the Weiser River. The 

higher land of the Shoe Peg Valley has a meager supply from the 

several small drainages that empty onto the bench. Some water is 

stored in small reservoirs. Most of the area is necessarily dry-farmed. 

Dryfarming is being extended onto the gentler slopes surrounding the 

Midvale lowland wherever there is a thick mantle of water-retentive 

loessial soil.

In the Council area the principal farming activity is stock raising 

and the attendant production of hay and management of pasture land. 

Only a small portion of the land is used for small grains, and row crops 

are raised primarily for local use. Some fruit, mainly apples, is grown
Q6 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES

in a number of small orchards, which are concentrated on the upper 

parts of the alluvial fans on the east side of the valley.

Much timber is cut in the forests of the mountains surrounding the 

Council area, and there is a large lumber mill at Council.

GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATER

ELEMENTS OF THE AREAL. GEOLOGY

The oldest formations exposed in the area are the lava flows of the 

Columbia River Basalt and the associated sedimentary materials. 

The sedimentary beds were assigned to the Payette Formation by 

Kirkham (1930). The Columbia River Basalt is generally considered 

to be of Miocene age (Ross, 1956, p. 85). In this area, however, there 

is evidence that basalt flows not readily distinguishable from those of 

the Columbia River Basalt continued to erupt in Pliocene time. 

Therefore, all the basalt lavas and associated sedimentary beds are 

referred to as being of Tertiary age.

The basalt crops out in the hills and mountains and is well exposed 

in canyons such as the one immediately north of the Midvale area. 

Individual sheets of lava range in thickness from a few to about 50 

feet. Most of the lava is dense but intricately broken by many 

joints and irregular cracks. There are also zones of fragmental lava, 

and these are probably the main water-bearing zones.

The sedimentary materials interbedded with the lava flows apparently were deposited chiefly in lakes. They consist mostly of clay 

and silt and sporadic beds of sand; gravel is uncommon.

The basalt lavas and associated lake beds were warped and faulted 

at some time late in the Tertiary Period. Apparently a landscape 

of considerable relief was created. Erosion then proceeded to reduce 

much of the highlands to a surface of low relief. Some deposits of 

clay and silt and stray thin beds of sand accumulated in lowlands at 

this time. These deposits may be equivalent to the Idaho Formation of Savage (1961, p. 13), of late Pliocene and early Pleistocene 

age. In this report these deposits are grouped with the late Tertiary 

sedimentary deposits interbedded with the basalt lavas, and both are 

referred to as deposits of Tertiary age; they are similar, and no 

boundary is designated in well logs.

During the Pleistocene Epoch, the area was uplifted and the major 

topographic features are the result of differential erosion. The 

Weiser River has cut only narrow valleys across areas of resistant 

basalt, but during the same time has opened out wide lowlands on 

areas underlain by the soft lake beds.

The details of topography on the lowland areas show that the 

valley deepening was accomplished in several stages. For example, 

the Shoe Peg Valley section of the Midvale area represents a valley
GROUND WATER, UPPER WEISER RIVER BASIN, IDAHO Q7

floor that was widened when the Weiser River was flowing at a level 

70 or more feet higher than at present. This surface was mantled 

with alluvial-fan and stream gravels. The river next cut downward 

several tens of feet and then cut laterally to form the flats of the 

Middle Valley. The river, now entrenched below the Middle Valley 

surface, is forming a new flood plain. A generally similar sequence 

occurred in the Council area, though the indications are less obvious. 

The successive steps in downcutting, valley widening, and spreading 

of gravel sheets are probably related to late substages of glaciation, 

which affected the regimen of streams in the region.

MIDVALE AREA

The topographic features and approximate limits of the Midvale 

area and the location of the wells inventoried are shown in figure 3.

Ground water in the Midvale area is obtained from the basalt and 

the lake beds of Tertiary age that underlie the entire area and from the 

sand and gravel of Pleistocene age that mantle the basalt and lake 

beds at low altitudes. Most of the wells bottom in the lake beds of 

Tertiary age and produce from thin beds of sand. However, the 

basalt is the best aquifer. A small percentage of the shallow wells 

derive water from the sand and gravel of Pleistocene age.

The ground water in the area originates from local precipitation on 

the lowland and the surrounding higher land. Some water moves 

for many miles through pervious zones in the basalt lavas, especially 

at depth, but it is unlikely that much water moves into or out of the 

area through the rocks.

BASALT OF TERTIARY AGE

The basalt lavas no doubt underlie all of the Midvale area at depth. 

Basalt is exposed on the slopes of the northern, western, and southern 

margins of the lowland area. The gentler slopes on the east side of 

the lowland are underlain by lake beds of Tertiary age, but even here 

the basalt occurs not far below the surface; for example, well 13N3W-10cdl at the Midvale Cemetery entered basalt at a depth of 

205 feet (fig. 4).

Information from scattered wells shows that the depth to basalt 

increases inward from the margins of the lowland. Well 13N-4Wllcdl, close to the edge of the lowland, entered basalt at a depth of 

only 59 feet. Well 13N-4W-13bal, a mile farther east, was still in 

lake beds at a depth of 185 feet. Well 14N-4W-36ddl, a mile away 

from the hills, was in lake beds through its total depth of 178 feet.

At Midvale, 1% miles from the east side of the valley, the first 

basalt was penetrated at a depth of 510 feet in well 13N-3W-8cc3.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES

R.4W. R.3W.

Well, geologic log 

given in report

Well , chemical 

analysis of water

FIGUBB 3. Map of the Midvale area, upper Weiser Eiver basin, Idaho, showing location of inventoried wells.

Well 13N-3W-6bbl, about 2 miles northwest of Midvale, is reported to be 357 feet deep. This well may have entered the basalt, 

but unfortunately all record of formations penetrated has been lost.

Water in the basalt is commonly under enough pressure to rise in 

wells and flow at the surface. Water rises to the land surface in well 

13N-3W-10cdl, at an elevation of about 2,650 feet in the Midvale 

Cemetery, which is on a low bench on the eastern margin of the 

valley.
GROUND WATER, UPPER WEISER RIVER BASIN, IDAHO Q9

14N-4W-36ddl 13N-4W-13bal 13N-3W-10cdl

flows record

50-

100-

150 -ISSs

13N-4W-13bal 

Well

Water 

level

50-

100-

150-

178-

14N-3W-29abl

185-^

50 -

100 -SS=

50

100-

143

-Water 

level.

13N-3W-6aal

 Water 

level

150-

200-

250-

50-5i5l 

59

300 

13N-3W-8bdl 324

Well 

flows

13N-3W-8cc3

Well

flows

600 gpm

100-^^

200-^^

No record

300

600

tSgfZ- Water 

level 700-

13N-4W-llcdl 13N-3W-28abl

No record

800

50- 

68

Water 

level

45

'& - Water 

level

EXPLANATION

Gravel or boulders Basalt

400-JB===

500-Si=?

ti

iniivnti

900

Clay or shale Sand 

FIGURE 4. Geologic logs of representative wells in the Midvale area, Idaho.

The artesian pressure increases with depth in the basalt. The 

Midvale town well 3 (13N-3W-8cc3) flowed about 10 gpm (gallons 

a minute) when the well was about 800 feet deep; the driller reported
Q10 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES

that the head was low, although no exact measurement was made. 

When deepened to 963 feet, the well penetrated a water-bearing zone 

that produced a flow of 600 gpm under a pressure of 155 pounds at 

the surface. This pressure is equivalent to a head of about 360 feet. 

The elevation of the land surface at the well is about 2,550 feet, and 

static water level therefore is at an elevation of about 2,910 feet. 

This is only a few hundred feet below the broad uplands around the 

Midvale area, where water enters the basalt lavas.

The reported yields of wells known to penetrate the basalt, which 

presumably derive most of their water from basalt, are given below.

Well

13N-4W-llcdl _ ......

13N-3W- 8cc2. __________

8cc3_ _________

lOcdl. _ ......

28bbl ________

Depth (ft)

68

521

963

320

45

Yield (gpm)

360

318

600 (flow)

25

6

Drawdown (ft)

47

110

Specific capacity 

(gpm per foot of 

drawdown)

6. 8

. 2

The available information shows that properly constructed wells 

penetrating the basalt a sufficient distance will yield several hundred 

gallons of water a minute, but the information does not permit an 

estimate of the potentialities of the basalt as an aquifer in terms of 

yield to wells per foot of drawdown. The yield may approximate 

that which Newcomb (1959, p. 14) found for many wells in basalt in 

the State of Washington. There the yield in wells 10-12 inches in 

diameter having drawdowns of 50-100 feet averaged a little more 

than 1 gpm for each foot of penetration of water-saturated basalt.

SEDIMENTARY DEPOSITS OF TERTIARY AGE

Sedimentary deposits of Tertiary age occur everywhere beneath 

the lowlands of the Midvale area and also underlie some of the slopes 

on the east side of the Middle Valley. The thickness of sedimentary 

deposits above the basalt ranges from zero where the basalt crops 

out in the lower slopes to at least 510 feet in the Midvale village well. 

The total thickness of the sedimentary deposits is greater than the 

thickness above the first basalt met in a well, because more sedimentary strata are between lava flows.

Exposures and well logs (fig. 4) show that clay, silt, and finegrained sand predominate in the sedimentary deposits. Beds of 

coarser grained sand occur sporadically.

In exposures, the fine-grained beds consist of alternate layers of 

silty clay and fine-grained sand, each a fraction of an inch to several 

inches thick. Some well records report heavy clay of various colors, 

such as black, blue, or red. A bed of this heavy clay is reported at
GROUND WATER, UPPER WEISER RIVER BASIN, IDAHO Qll

depths of 60-80 feet at a number of places beneath the surface of the 

Middle Valley. The clay is said to have a strong smell and to contain 

fragments of wood and other organic material.

The layers of coarser sand and silty sand are rusty colored in 

outcrops and are partially cemented by iron oxide. Such beds of 

sand are usually no thicker than 5 feet. However, about 40 feet of 

sand was reported between depths of 35 and 75 feet in well 13N-3W10cd2 at the Midvale Cemetery, which is on a bench on the eastern 

side of the valley.

Groundwater in these deposits comes wholly from the beds of 

sand, which are frequent enough that practically all wells yield at 

least enough water for domestic purposes.

The water is confined in the beds of sand and rises in wells. Water 

flows from many wells that are within about half a mile of the edge 

of the lowland. Farther toward the center of the lowland the pressure 

declines below land surface, but in few wells is water level more than 

10 feet below the surface. Greater depths to water are due to local 

topography: well 14N-4W-36ddl is on a low hill and the water level 

is reported to be about 30 feet below land surface; well 13N-3W-6ddl 

is near the east edge of the Shoe Peg Valley and the water level is 

reported to be 50 feet below land surface.

Most wells in the sedimentary deposits of Tertiary age provide 

supplies adequate for domestic use, for watering of lawns and gardens, 

and for watering of stock in winter. The measured or estimated 

yields of a number of wells, and the drawdown during pumping for 

some wells, reported by well owners or drillers, are given below.

Well

14N-4W-36ddl__ __ _ _ __ __

14N-3W-19ddl.____. _ .._._. ___

13N-4W-llcd2-_ _ . _ _ _

13bal __ ____ __ _ _

14dal-__---_ ..__..-.__.__

13N-3W- 3bb2_---_- ____ _-.__.__

3bcl._._ _ ._ __ ._...._

3dcl_. ___ .._.._. _ .__

6bbl__. ._________._._...

10cdl._ _ ______ _ ______

10cd2--_----_.-_- __ ___.

Yield 

(gpm)

27

10

30

70

72

13

13

8

20

50

25

50

Drawdown 

(ft)

14

8

18

62

4

5

11

110

Specific capacity 

(gpm per foot of 

drawdown)

1.9

1.3

3.9

1. 2

3.3

2.6

. 7

.2

The average of the eight values for specific capacity is 1.9 gpm per 

foot of drawdown.

These values for specific capacity show that the sedimentary deposits of Tertiary Age can yield enough water for irrigation of small
Q12 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES

acreages. The two cemeteries in the area, the larger of which covers 

about 4 acres, are currently being irrigated with ground water from 

the sedimentary deposits.

The common domestic wells have 6-inch casing. Casing may extend 

to the bottom of the hole and be perforated. However, a number of 

wells are uncased at depth, indicating that the lake beds tend to 

stand without caving into holes. Well 14N-4W-36ddl, used to 

irrigate the Keithley Creek Cemetery, is cased to 55 feet and is an 

open 8-inch hole below that depth. The principal irrigation well 

(13N-3W-10cd2) at the Midvale Cemetery, a 12-inch gravel-packed 

well, also contains 6-inch casing.

Wells designed specifically to produce irrigation supplies would be 

more efficient than any of the foregoing except the 12-inch gravelpacked well (13N-3W-10cd2) and would have higher specific capacities. The lifts of ground water should not be too great at moderate 

rates of pumping. The development of ground water for irrigation 

will depend on economic factors such as the cost of wells and irrigation 

equipment and the value to the farmer of increased crop yields.

SEDIMENTARY DEPOSITS OF QUATERNARY AQE

Sheets of sand and gravel of Quaternary age occur at fairly shallow 

depth in the lowland terraces. Where these deposits are in the zone 

of saturation, they can supply small to fairly large amounts of water.

Sand and gravel is widespread on the Shoe Peg Valley. The 

deposits are mantled by loess and are exposed in streams, readouts, 

and steep bluffs. The gravels represent several episodes of deposition 

on alluvial fans and in stream channels.

The oldest gravel forms low ridges and knolls above the general 

level of the Shoe Peg Valley. It represents the remnants of once 

extensive alluvial fans, now almost wholly removed during erosion of 

the bench to its present level. These deposits are of no consequence 

for water supply because they occupy small areas and are above water 

level.

A younger sheet of alluvial material underlies large parts of the 

Shoe Peg Valley. It lies upon silty or clayey lake beds that are 

probably of Tertiary age, and it is usually covered by a few feet of 

loess. This sheet consists of alternate beds of rounded pebble gravel 

and poorly sorted sand. Apparently, it was deposited by small 

tributaries that flowed across the bench to join the Weiser River.

The thickness of the main sheet of sand and gravel on the Shoe Peg 

Valley ranges from zero against higher ground to some unknown 

maximum that probably does not exceed 30 feet. The gravel is 

reported to be 16 feet thick in well 13N-4W-laal, which is about 2 

miles northwest of Midvale.
GROUND WATER, UPPER WEISER RIVER BASIN, IDAHO Q13

Some ground water is perched in the gravel upon the underlying 

silty and clayey lake beds. This perched condition is demonstrated 

by the small seeps at the base of the alluvial deposits exposed in 

stream cuts and in the bluff that terminates the bench on the west 

side of the Weiser Kiver.

The gravel sheet supplies water to a few shallow wells where 

topography favors the accumulation of a perched body of water at 

least a few feet thick. Well 13N-4W-laal, which is 18 feet deep, has 

furnished a reliable domestic supply for decades. The owner reports 

that water level fluctuates from a depth of about 15 feet in autumn 

and winter to ground surface in spring.

The youngest gravel upon the Shoe Peg Valley forms small and 

thin alluvial fans near the base of the hill slopes. These alluvial fans 

are of no consequence as a source of water because they are generally 

above water level, and any water entering them rapidly drains out 

downslope.

A sheet of water-bearing gravel is found at shallow depth under the 

Middle Valley, the broad terrace on the east side of the Weiser River. 

The gravel is exposed in the bluffs that separate the Middle Valley 

from the flood plain of the Weiser River. Excellent exposures on the 

east side of the river about half a mile south of Midvale show a sheet 

of sand and gravel about 10-15 feet thick. Silt and fine sand, probably 

of late Tertiary age, underlie the sheet of gravel. The sand and gravel 

is about 14 feet thick in well 13N-3W-8bdl (fig. 4), which is a short 

distance east of the Weiser River and half a mile north of Midvale. 

Only about 10 feet of graved is in the cut made by Beaver Creek in the 

Middle Valley terrace in the center of section 17.

Ground water occurs everywhere in the gravel of Middle Valley. 

The water table is high enough in the gravels that subirrigation can 

be practiced in some places, and drainage ditches are necessary to 

lower the water level beneath part of the valley. 

 The source of the water is precipitation, water that seeps from the 

main canal on the east side of the valley and from distributary canals, 

and percolation from irrigated fields. The water probably moves 

westward to southwestward on a gradient of somewhat less than 25 

feet per mile, which is about the gradient of the land surface due west. 

It is discharged as seeps along the bluffs above the flood plain of the 

river.

The gravels can yield fairly large amounts of water where they are 

saturated through most of their thickness. Well 13N-3W-3bd2, 15 

feet deep and 4 feet in diameter, reportedly is pumped by a tractor 

motor for irrigation. This well is a short distance from the main 

canal on the east side of the Middle Valley and may receive most of its 

water by infiltration from the canal.

716-815 W 2
Q14 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES

COUNCIL AREA

The topographic features of the Council area and the location of 

wells inventoried in this study are shown in figure 5. A principal 

topographic feature of this area is the broad slope on alluvial fans that 

occupies about two-thirds of the lowland. Bottom land along the 

Weiser River occupies a belt less than a mile wide on the west side of 

the lowland.

R.I W. R. IE.

Well, geologic log 

given in report

Well, chemical 

analysis of water

FIGURE 5. Map of the Council area, upper Weiser River basin, Idaho, showing location of

Inventoried wells.
GROUND WATER, UPPER WEISER RIVER BASIN, IDAHO Q15

Ground water is developed in the Council area from the basalt, the 

sedimentary deposits of Tertiary age, and the gravel of Pleistocene age. 

Although the gravel of Pleistocene age is the most used aquifer in the 

area, the basalt is the most prolific aquifier, as it also is in the Midvale 

area. Only a few wells derive water from the sedimentary deposits 

of Tertiary age.

BASALT OF TERTIARY AGE

Basalt forms the hill and mountain slopes that enclose the valley 

and also crops out as low hills in the lowland. The boundary between the basalt and valley-filling alluvial deposits is indicated by a 

dashed line (fig. 5).

A flow of basalt proba,bly occurs at shallow depth beneath the 

lower part of the Council area. Well 16N-lW-10dbl, half a mile 

north of Council, penetrated about 55 feet of basalt between depths of 

45 and 100 feet (fig. 6), and low hills of basalt rise above the alluvial 

deposits farther north.

Basalt was first entered at a depth of 220 feet in the Council municipal well (16N-lW-14ba2), which is high on the alluvial fans close to 

the eastern mountain front. Ground surface is about 200 feet higher 

here than at well 16N-lW-10dbl. The old valley floor, carved on 

the basalt and the sedimentary deposits of Tertiary age, may have a 

surface of fairly low relief under the cover of alluvial deposits.

Depth to water in the basalt depends on topographic situation. 

Water stands within a few tens of feet of the surface in wells that 

penetrate the basalt in the lower parts of the area. The depth to 

water increases eastward beneath the alluvial fans and is reported to 

be 200 feet below the surface in the Council municipal well 2 (16NlW-14ba2). No wells tapping basalt yielded a flow of water at the 

surface.

The basalt is the best aquifer in the area. All the domestic and 

stock wells that penetrate the basalt provide satisfactory supplies. 

Well 16N-lW-10dbl provides enough water for a large sawmill; the 

water probably comes mostly from basalt rather than from the finegrained sediments which also were penetrated.

The yields of five wells that produce from the basalt are given below.

Well

17N-lW-14cbl__...................._......

15ab2.._.._--___-._____-_.__.-..___

27dcl.___--__-___ _ __ ___

16N-lW-14bal L-. ......................

14ba2 2............................

Yield (gpm)

25

10

6

135

150

Drawdown (ft)

48

Specific capacity 

(gpm per foot of 

drawdown)

3

1 Council municipal well 1.

2 Council municipal well 2.
Q16 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES

17N-lW-14cbl 16N-lW-10dbl 16N-lW-14ba2

Water 

level

100

17N-lW-34abl

 VVater 

level

16N-lW-3ddl

50-

-Water 300- 

level

350-

EXPLANATION 

Gravel or boulders Basalt

200-

250-1=^

1

MM

Dug; no 

record

Loose rock

50- :=^^5

100-

Soft 

brown 

rock

200-

250-

300-

350-

381-

tt

No record

No 

record

 Water 

level

Clay or shale Sand

FIGTTBE 6. Geologic logs of representative wells in the Council area, Idaho.

The Council municipal well 2, which has a specific capacity of 3 

gpm per foot of drawdown, penetrates about 160 feet of basalt below 

the water level. The yield of 150 gpm is therefore close to the 1 gpm 

per foot of penetration of basalt that Newcomb (1959, p. 14) found as 

an average for wells in the Columbia River Basalt in parts of Oregon.

SEDIMENTARY DEPOSITS OF TERTIARY AGE

Thick sedimentary deposits of Tertiary age occur beneath the area, 

interbedded with the basalt lava, as shown by the log of well 16N-
GROUND WATER, UPPER WEISER RIVER BASIN, IDAHO Q17

lW-10dbl (fig. 6) at the Boise-Cascade lumber mill, about half a 

mile north of Council. Outcrops of these deposits were not found 

during the short time spent in the area. The well log shows the deposits to be mainly blue, brown, and red clay. No distinct beds of 

sand were reported by the driller. The nature of the "soft brown 

rock" the driller reported between depths of 135 and 200 feet is 

unknown.

No wells were found which produce water from the sedimentary 

deposits of Tertiary age. If the log of well 16N-lW-10dbl is representative in showing no beds of sand, very little water can be obtained from these deposits.

SEDIMENTARY DEPOSITS OF QUATERNARY AGE

Sedimentary deposits of Quaternary age underlie all of the Council 

lowland except the low hills where basalt crops out. These 

deposits are the principal source of water for domestic wells.

The entire 220 feet of sedimentary material shown above the basalt 

in the log of well 16N-lW-14ba2 (fig. 6) is probably of Pleistocene 

age. This log shows what are almost certainly alluvial gravels 

mixed with fine-grained slope wash extending from the surface to a 

depth of about 30 feet and from about 100 to 130 feet. Interpretation of the rest of the material shown by the log presents some uncertainties. The 85 feet of boulder clay the driller reported between 

135 feet and the top of the basalt is a deposit of either glacial till or 

poorly sorted alluvial-fan material. The clay reported between 

depths of about 30 and 100 feet below the surface may indicate the 

existence of a lake at some time when the Weiser River was dammed 

to the south, or it may be just an unusual thickness of fine-grained 

slope wash on the surface of an alluvial fan. Unfortunately, no 

other logs were obtained that might reveal the nature of the sedimentary materials at depth.

Well 16N-lW-3ddl, which is on the lower slopes of the alluvial 

fans a mile north of Council, shows in a total depth of 83 feet two 

bodies of alluvial sand and gravel, having 70 feet of clay between 

them.

Because of a lack of well logs, the precise nature and thickness of 

the alluvial deposits beneath the bottom-land strip on the west side of 

the lowland could not be determined. Well 17N-lW-14cbl (fig. 6) 

is reported to have penetrated 30 feet of cemented sand and gravel 

above basalt. Probably the alluvial deposits are no thicker beneath 

the bottom-lands farther south, and they may contain less gravel and 

more, finer grained material.

All the owners of wells deriving water from the alluvial deposits 

reported the supplies were adequate for domestic and stock use and
Q18 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE "UNITED STATES

the watering of lawns and gardens. Keports of actual yields were 

obtained for only four wells, three of them fairly close to each other.

Well

17N-lW-34dal_. __________________

16N-1W- 3ddl____________________

3dd2_._______________ _

3dd3.___________________

Yield (gpm)

40

10

10

40

Drawdown (ft)

15

44

55

8

Specific capacity 

(gpm per foot of 

drawdown)

2.7

. 2

. 2

5. 0

These figures for specific capacity indicate that the yield from the 

sporadic beds of gravel in the alluvial fans will vary considerably, 

depending on local conditions and doubtless on method of well construction. The wells can be expected to yield more than enough water 

for normal domestic and farm needs. Zones of water-yielding sand 

and gravel seem to be few and thin amid much greater thicknesses 

of clay-rich material. The alluvial materials probably will not yield 

enough water for large-scale irrigation.

CHEMICAL QUALITY OF GROUND WATER

Chemical analyses of water from four wells in the Council area and 

from six wells and a thermal spring in the Midvale area are given in 

Table 2. The analyses are also plotted in figure 7 as a means of 

showing the character of the water.

The amounts of certain substances specifically, silica, iron, and 

fluoride commonly present in ground water were not determined. 

However, these and other less common substances normally amount 

to a small fraction of the total dissolved solids in waters of this 

region. The sum of the determined constituents probably is 80-90 

percent of the total dissolved solids.

The sum of the determined constituents in the four samples of 

water from the Council area ranges from 66 to 130 ppm (parts per 

million), and hardness as calcium carbonate ranges from 43 to 75 

ppm. Such hardness is relatively low compared to that of ground 

water in general.

Three of the four sampled waters (points 1, 2, 4, fig. 7) are more or 

less similar chemically, and they may be considered the normal type 

of water in the Council area. Bicarbonate amounts to more than 90 

percent of the anions determined. With respect to the cations, in the 

water from the two shallower wells, 17N-lW-34abl (120 ft deep) and 

16N-lW-2dbl (135 ft deep), calcium and magnesium dominate, and 

sodium makes up only about 20 percent. The water from the 

Council municipal well, 16N-lW-14ba2, 381 feet deep, differs by 

having higher proportions of sodium.
TABLE 2. Chemical analyses of representative samples of ground water from the M

[Analyses by U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Chemical constituents in parts 

Well

17N-1 W-34abl._- -------------

16N-lW-2dbl ..... ... .... ...

lOdbl . ... ... .... ...

Hba2.... ............ .

14N-4W-36ddl ................

14N-3W-19cb2_- ..............

19ddl. ............

13N-3W-6bbl ....... ... -

8bdl... ...... .....

8cc3_. ................

10cd2........ . -----

 8

a

£

o

a

Q

120

135

404

381

178

35

357

32

3963

93

|

~&

~*

S

o

CD

03

Q

5-24-62..

-.do ..

5-23-62-

...do. _

5-22-62-

_._do ._

...do.....

...do.....

-.do. 

5-24-62

5-22-62

f1

®

a

03

h*

S®EH

151

'54

'54

60

56

120

157

56

68

54.5

O

a

'o

 3

O

17

13.6

14.2

10

6.6

7.8

16.8

6.6

41

5.0

37

5<

a

 2

a

A

7.8

5.1

7.4

4.4

4.3

1.5

3.3

3.6

1.6

19.5

%

 o

<n

8.7

5.3

12.4

24.4

74

13.3

14.3

24

71

22.1

M

3

I

o

PH

2.7

1.6

4.7

3.9

11.7

3.1

3.9

10.9

4.7

13.3

3.9

^

0

O

W-^

S

.2

pa

109

79

83

115

56

95

85

299

200

237

6

o

»

03

O

ol

O

0.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

2.4

.0

.0

.0

2.4

.0

^

O

"3

 3

tn

4.3

1.4

31.7

1.4

5.3

105

1.4

4.8

3.8

10.1

7.2

*-~.

O

s>

'§

^

O

1.4

.0

8.5

.0

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16

1.1

.7

3.9

4.6

0

^

g."tn

^5

0.

.0

.0

.0

1.

.

.

9.

i Not true ground-water temperature.

8 According to classification for suitability for irrigation, of U.S. Salinity Laboratory Staff, 1954.

3 Depth was 802 feet when sampled 5-24-62.
Q20 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES

Area of circle indicates sum of 

determined constituents, in parts 

per million

Ca

CATIONS ANIONS 

PERCENTAGE REACTING VALUES

Number in figure 7

1. ____ . _ ............... ...

2 ____ ..... _ . _ . _ ... .....

3 - ...._ . - ...._..

4...............................

5.. __ ...... _ ... ____ ..

6...... _ . _ ..... _ . __ ....

7 __ . __ .. _ . _____ ......

8 __ ........... __ . __ ... ...

9. _ .................. _ ......

10. ______ . ___ ...........

11 _ . _____ . _ ... __ ......

Well

17N-lW-34abl.. . ... ...

16N-lW-2dbl. ...

lOdbl.. ___ ....

14N-4W-36ddl __ ........

19cb2. __ .......

19ddl... _ . .....

13N-3W-6bbl. _ . .....

8bdl..... ..

8cc3. ............

10cd2. ____ ....

Depth

120

135

404

381

178

Spring

35

357

32 1802

93

Sum of 

determined 

constituents 

(ppm)

96

66

130

73

110

238

88

83

247

206

220

Aquifer

Basalt.

Gravel.

Basalt.

Do.

Sand.

Sand(?).

Do.

Sand and gravel.

Basalt.

Sand.

i At time of sampling (May 24,1962). 

FIGTIBE 7. Chemical character of typical ground waters of the Midvale and Council areas, Idaho.

Water from the well of the Boise-Cascade lumber mill, 16N-1WlOdbl (point 3, fig. 7), plots at a distance from the other waters of 

the Council area because sulfate makes up 30 percent of the anions. 

The water also contains a slightly higher proportion of chloride than 

do the other waters. The water shows about the same proportions 

of cations as the water from the Council municipal well.

The sum of the determined constituents in the waters sampled in 

the Midvale area ranges from 83 to 247 ppm, and hardness as calcium 

carbonate ranges from 19 to 203 ppm.
GROUND WATER, UPPER WEISER RIVER BASIN, IDAHO Q21

The waters of the Midvale area excluding that from a hot spring, 

14N-3W-19eb2 are related to each other though they plot through 

an elongated zone in figure 7. The anions consist mostly of bicarbonate. The cations show a wide range, from water with dominant calcium and magnesium and only 20 percent sodium to water 

in which sodium is 90 percent of the cations. The latter is found in 

the Midvale municipal well, 13N-3W-8cc3.

The water at shallow depth, such as that from gravel beneath the 

Middle Valley (well 13N-3W-8bdl), is the calcium magnesium bicarbonate type containing low proportions of sodium, and it has high 

hardness and concentration of dissolved solids. The water at greater 

depth tends toward the sodium bicarbonate type and has unusually 

low hardness; both of these features are probably due to contact 

with the clayey lake beds and to the resulting base exchange, in 

which the water exchanges calcium and magnesium for sodium 

contained in the clay.

The water sampled at the hot spring, 14N-3W-19cb2, in the 

northern part of the Shoe Peg Valley is the sodium sulfate type. The 

character of the water doubtless reflects the hot gas and water rising 

from depth, reactions with the formations at a higher level, and admixture of normal shallow ground water.

In summary, the normal waters of both the Council and Midvale 

areas are much the same type and character, and such differences as 

exist reflect differences in environment. Water from the Council 

area has fairly low hardness and concentration of dissolved solids, 

because the minerals in the basalt and alluvial deposits are not very 

soluble. The water of the Midvale area contains more dissolved 

solids, probably because of slower circulation and hence more time for 

solution of minerals from the lake deposits; however, the water is 

softer because of base exchange reactions with the clay of the lake 

deposits.

The character of water in both areas varies between the calcium 

magnesium bicarbonate type and the sodium bicarbonate type.

The waters are of good to excellent quality for all common uses and 

for irrigation. The analyses show no significant quantities of objectionable substances. However, no determination of fluoride content was made, and some of the water from the deeper zones may 

have a higher fluoride content than is desirable for domestic use.

SUMMARY

Ground water ample for domestic and stock needs can be obtained 

almost everywhere in the Midvale and Council areas from wells not 

more than a hundred feet deep. In a few places deeper wells are
Q22 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OP THE UNITED STATES

required, but the water level in most of these wells is rarely as much 

as 50 feet below the surface.

Wells which penetrate the basalt beneath the lowland areas, at 

depths of 100 to more than 500 feet, can provide up to a few hundred 

gallons of water a minute.

In the Midvale area, water for irrigation of small acreages probably 

can be obtained from beds of sand amid the fine-grained lake deposits 

that underlie the lowland. The cost of drilling wells to the more 

productive but deeper-lying basalt probably would exclude this 

aquifer as a source of irrigation water.

In the Council area the basalt is the only formation that could be 

relied upon for water for supplemental irrigation. Beneath the upper 

parts of the alluvial fans on the east side of the lowland, the depth to 

water level may make pumping from the basalt uneconomical. However, beneath the lower parts of the alluvial fans the lift would not be 

great.

The quality of the ground water in both the Midvale and Council 

areas is suitable for irrigation and all other common uses.

RECORDS OF WELLS

The following tables (tables 3 and 4) present data on wells inventoried in the Midvale and the Council areas in the course of this 

investigation. Only a small percentage of all the wells in the two 

areas were visited. However, an effort was made to obtain a good 

geographic distribution, and it is believed that the inventoried wells 

show representative conditions.

The data were obtained through interviews with well owners and 

drillers and from records that drillers have submitted to the Idaho 

Department of Reclamation.

Reports of drawdown in wells during pumping are mostly from tests 

made by drillers upon completion of wells.
TABLE 3. Records of wells in the Midvale area, Upper Weiser Riv

Type of well: D, dug; Dr, drilled.

Depth of wells are reported depths.

Character of aquifer: S, sand; G, gravel; Bas, basalt.

Depth of well: In feet below land surface datum.

Water level: Depth in feet below land-surface datum. Measured depths to water are

given to the nearest tenth of a foot. Reported depths to water are given to the nearest

foot.

Type of pump: J.jet; P, pisto

Use: N, none; Irr, irrigation; 

industrial.

Well

14N-4W-25bdl 

36abl__. 

36ddl 

14N-3W-19cbl 

19cb2 

19dal... 

19ddl...

28bcl 

29abl...

30adl...

30bdl 

31acl... 

32bcl.- 

32cbl... 

33bbl 

13N-4W-laal-__ 

llcdl...

Ilcd2 

lldcl 

12cdl 

13bal...

13bbl...

13dbl... 

14aal.__ 

14dal...

23dal... 

24acl_-

24bal...

Owner

Keithley Creek 

Cemetery.

Joe ^Vissins

Carpenter & Son Co

Lawrence Boyd- .

D. B.William... _-

Clifford Hopper.. _

Emerson Wiggins.. . 

BillWiggins-. 

.... .do...... ... ...

Ben Fairchild 

Arthur Fairchild. 

.....do.. ... .... ...

 ..do ... 

Phyllis W. Fairchild.

Elvin Evans ___ .-

 .do... 

Year 

drilled

1958 

1930 

1956

1942

1947 

1947 

1948

1922 

1951 

1926 

1950

1910 

1958 

1960

1958

1955

1920 

1951

1910

Type 

of 

well

Dr 

Dr 

Dr

Dr

Dr 

Dr....

Dr 

Dr 

Dr

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr

Dr 

Dr

Dr

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr

Dr 

Dr

Dr

Depth 

of 

well

40 

76 

178

42 

Spring

45 

35

173 

143 

90

48 

100 

60 

93 

58 

18 

68 

40

169.6 

185 

160

170

50 

102

65

Casing

Diameter 

(in.)

6 

5

8

6

4 

6

6 

6 

6

6 

6 

6

6 

6 

14 

6

6 

6

12

6 

6 

6 

12

6 

6

6

Depth 

(ft)

55

95

3 

33

40 

160

70

66

Character 

of 

aquifer

S

S 

S

S 

S

S

S

G 

S.Bas 

S

S 

S

S

Water level

Depth

Flows 

8.9 

31

12

Flows 

Flows

12 

18

10 

6 

13

0-16 

8 

Flows

16.0 

Flows

30.6 

4.1

8

Flows 

13

Date

11-29-61 

10- -56

11-29-61 

-.do.....

11- -61

1958 

11-28-61

11-27-61

11-27-61 

11-28-m

... do ..

1961

1951

Pum

Type

J 

C

T

P

C 

J

J 

J 

C

J 

J 

J

J 

J

N 

N

P

N

T

J 

J

N 

N

N 

J

P
Q24 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES

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PPPP P P P PP PPPP

OOO 1^ O ^ OS kO O OOCOO

i i i i i E? i i i i j

I'll ',3 ! ! ! .

r°fa i* 00 -2 i" hj PH 

" . « . S c °{> -S . C n

_ >' PH' ^' § !§' 0« ^

s's'^'s *' ? i IS lll-^

C3JC3JC3JC3> rt iH ^H rt iH ^H r-l CN CM
TABLE 4. Records of wells in the Council area, Upper Weiser Ri

Type of well: D, dug; Dr, drilled.

Depth of wells are reported depths.

Character of aquifer: S, sand; G, gravel; Bas, basalt.

Depth of well: In feet below land surface datum.

Water level: Depth in feet below land-surface datum. Measured depths to water are

given to the nearest tenth of 

foot.

Type of pump: J, jet; P, pisto

Use: N, none; Irr, irrigation

industrial.

Well

17N-lW-14cbl... 

15abl.._ 

15ab2...

23bdl._. 

26ccl 

27dcl... 

34abl...

34dal...

34ddl... 

35abl_. 

16N-1W- 2aal... 

2adl.- 

2bal... 

2bbl... 

2bcl.__ 

2ccl... 

2dbl... 

3ddl...

3dd2... 

3dd3...

4ddl... 

9dbl.._ 

lOdbl... 

14bal___

14ba2...

15ad___

22acl 

22bdl...

27bal.._ 

27ba2...

27dcl 

Owner

Donald McMahan..

M. C. Imler_..__-__

Cecil Dopp.. - _ .

Fred Lappin _ __

E. M. Daggett _ 

W. H. Smith.... 

Hubert Woods ... ...

H. W. Woods ___ .

Bradley Plummer ...

John Williams... ..

L. W. Hamilton- .--

Wayne Plummer _ 

P. H. Clarke. ___

A. W. Thorpe ......

P. H. Clarke.. 

Bud Pugh..-- .....

Boise Cascade Co-.. 

Council Municipal 

well 1. 

Council Municipal 

well 2.

Council Grade 

School. 

George Winkler. 

-.-do... -_ 

E. B. Snow... ..

Year 

drilled

1930

1911

1950 

1947

1957

1945 

1959 

1950

1954 

1957 

1960 

1954

1954 

1954

1940 

1940 

1944

1952

1961

1910

1918

1920 

1960

Type 

of 

well

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

D 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr

Dr

D 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr

Dr 

Dr

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr

Dr

Dr

Dr 

Dr

D 

Dr 

D

Depth 

of 

well

120 

150 

120 

18

112 

120

98

20 

87 

165 

110 

165

60 

135 

83

89 

78.6

50 

120 

404 

366

381

187

78.9 

89

40 

168 

30

Casing

Diameter 

(in.)

8,6 

8 

6 

48 

6 

6 

6

6

36 

4 

6 

6 

8 

6

6 

6 

6

6 

12

6 

6 

8 

6

12-10

6

6 

6

6 

6 

6

Depth 

(ft)

45

50

22 

41

7

50

220 

380

Character 

of 

aquifer

Bas 

Bas 

Bas 

G

Bas 

Bas

G

G 

G

G 

G

Bas 

Bas

Bas 

G

Water level

Depth

39 

50 

90 

4 

69.3 

60 

20

1.2

5 

13.3

50 

100

5 

61.1 

12

15

2.9

20 

28

200

20

70.7 

70

10

Date

1957

5-23-62

11-30-61

11-30-61

Igei

11- -61 

12-1-61 

11- -61

7- -54 

11-30-61

7- -52

1961

11-30-61 

11- -61

11- -61

Pum

Type

T

T 

J 

N 

J 

J

J

C 

J 

T 

J 

T 

J 

J 

J 

T 

J

C

N

P 

J 

T 

T

T

J

N 

T

J 

T 

P
Q26 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES

REFERENCES

Kirkham, V. R. D., 1930, Old erosion surfaces in southwestern Idaho:

Jour. Geology, v. 38, no. 7, p. 652-663. 

Newcomb, R. C., 1959, Some preliminary notes on ground water in the Columbia

River Basalt: Northwest Science, v. 33, no. 1, p. 1-18. 

Ross, C. P., 1956, Quicksilver deposits near Weiser, Washington County, Idaho:

Geological Survey Bull. 1042-D, 104 p. 

Savage, C. N., 1961, Geology and mineral resources of Gem and Payette Counties:

Idaho Bur. Mines and Geol. County Report 4, 50 p. 

U.S. Salinity Laboratory Staff, 1954, Diagnosis and improvement of saline and

alkali soils: U.S. Dept. Agriculture Handb. 60, 160 p.

o


Ground Water in the 

Midvale and Council Areas 

Upper Weiser River Basin 

Idaho

By EUGENE H. WALKER and H. G. SISCO

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1779-Q

Prepared in cooperation with the 

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON * 1964
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

Thomas B. Nolan, Director

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

Washington, D.C. 20402
CONTENTS

Page

Abstract______--_-____________________________________________ Ql

Introduction.. ________________________________________________ 1

Geographic features_________________________________________ 3

Geology and ground water________________________________________ 6

Elements of the areal geology________-__-__-_______-__-_-_______ 6

Midvale area___________________________________________ 7

Basalt of Teritiary age-_--_-__--_-___------_____-_---___--_ 7

Sedimentary deposits of Tertiary age_________________________ 10

Sedimentary deposits of Quaternary age____________________ 12

Council area.______________________________________________^._ 14

Basalt of Tertiary age_________________________________. 15

Sedimentary deposits of Tertiary age________________^ 16

Sedimentary deposits of Quaternary age____________________ 17

Chemical quality of ground water_______________________________ 18

Summary ______________________________________________ 21

Records of wells_________________________________________________ 22

References__________________________________________________ 26

ILLUSTRATIONS

FIGURE 1. Index map of the Weiser River basin, Idaho, showing the

Midvale and Council areas___________________________ Q2

2. Sketch showing well-numbering system___________________ 3

3. Map of the Midvale area, upper Weiser River basin, Idaho,

showing location of inventoried wells___________________ 8

4. Geologic logs of representative wells in the Midvale area,

Idaho_________________________________ 9

5. Map of the Council area, upper Weiser River basin, Idaho,

showing location of inventoried wells___________________ 14

6. Geologic logs of representative wells in the Council area, Idaho. 16

7. Chemical character of typical ground waters of the Midvale and

Council areas, Idaho_______--_______-_____---_--------- 20

in
IV CONTENTS

TABLES

Page 

TABLE 1. Average monthly temperature and precipitation at Cambridge

and Council, Idaho, 1931-55___________________ Q4 

2. Chemical analyses of representative samples of ground water

from the Midvale and Council areas, Idaho__________ 19

3, 4. Records of wells, upper Weiser River basin, Idaho:

3. Midvale area_________ _ ______ _ ________ 23

4. Council area.________________________ 25
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES

GROUND WATER IN THE MIDVALE AND COUNCIL AREAS, 

UPPER WEISER RIVER BASIN, IDAHO

By EUGENE H. WALKER and H. G. Sisco

ABSTRACT

The Midvale and Council areas are two broad parts of the Weiser River valley 

in Washington and Adams Counties, near the western border of Idaho. Stockraising and hay production are the principal types of farming, though some diversified farming is done in the Midvale area. There is a deficiency of surface water 

for irrigation, and very little rain falls in summer.

The lowlands are underlain by sedimentary deposits, mostly silt and clay, of 

late Tertiary age, that accumulated in basins on a terrain of warped and faulted 

basalt flows having sedimentary interbeds. The Columbia River Basalt, of 

Miocene age, forms the uplands that surround the lowland areas. Some sand and 

gravel, deposited in stream channels and alluvial fans, and fine-grained lake beds, 

all of Quaternary age, are in the lowlands.

The basalt is the best aquifer. It occurs beneath the lowlands at depths ranging 

from a few feet to many hundreds of feet. Known yields from the basalt are as 

much as a few hundred gallons a minute; yield increases with greater penetration 

of the basalt below water level. Most wells in basalt in the Midvale area flow 

at the surface.

Thin beds of sand in the deposits of Tertiary age beneath the Midvale area 

yield an ample supply for farm use, and at places might yield enough for supplemental irrigation of small acreages. In the Council area the sedimentary deposits 

of Tertiary age contain little sand and are not adequate as a source of water.

Thin sheets of sand and gravel of Quaternary age are a water source for a number of domestic wells in both the Midvale and Council areas.

The quality of ground water in both areas is satisfactory for all common uses. 

Hardness averages about 70 parts per million. The shallow waters are mainly 

the calcium magnesium bicarbonate type; the deeper waters tend to be the sodium 

bicarbonate type, owing at least partly to base exchange with clayey materials.

INTRODUCTION

This report describes the ground-water resources of the Midvale 

and Council areas, which are two of the broader basins in the drainage 

of the Weiser River, near the western margin of Idaho (fig. 1). The 

Midvale area is in Washington County and the Council area in Adams 

County. The economy of these areas is based almost entirely on

Qi
Q2 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES

\ 

Weiser River

drainage boundary

Base from US. Geological 

Survey 1:500,000 scale 

mop of Idaho

FIGTJKE 1. Index map of the Weiser River basin, Idaho, showing the Midvale and Council areas.

agriculture. Additional supplies of water for irrigation would be of 

great value to parts of the areas where productivity is limited by 

inadequate supplies of surface water and the typically small amount 

of summer rainfall.

This study was made by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation 

with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The inventory of wells was 

made by H. G. Sisco, and E. H. Walker studied the geology and 

prepared the report.
GROUND WATER, UPPER WEISER RIVER BASEST, IDAHO Q3

The data on the occurrence of ground water in the areas were derived 

mostly from the records of wells, obtained through interviews with 

landowners and well drillers. Drillers' logs of typical wells were 

obtained from well drillers and from the files of the Idaho Department 

of Reclamation. Water samples were collected for analysis to show 

the chemical character of the ground waters.

The well-numbering system used in Idaho by the Geological Survey 

indicates the location of wells in the official rectangular subdivisions 

of the public lands. The first two segments of a number designate 

the township and range. The third segment gives the section number 

and is followed by two letters and a numeral, which indicate, respectively, the quarter section, the 40-acre tract, and the serial number of 

the well within the tract. Quarter sections are lettered a, b, c, and d 

in counterclockwise order from the northeast quarter of each section 

(fig. 2). In the quarter sections, 40-acre tracts are lettered in the 

same manner. Thus weU 13N-4W-13dbl is in the NWKSE^ sec. 13, 

T. 13 N., R. 4 W., and it is the first well visited in that tract.

6

7

18

19

30

31

5

8

17

20

29

32

4

9

16

21

28

33

10

15

22

27

34

2

11

14

23

26

35

1

12

P^ S13§:

^^

24

25

36

^~ 

T. 

13 

N.

-13-

dbl 

b c

R.4W. 13N-4W-13dbl

FIGURE 2. Sketch showing well-numbering system.

GEO GRAPHIC FEATURES

The segment of the Weiser River basin that includes the Midvale 

and Council areas consists largely of uplands that are underlain by 

flows of the Columbia River Basalt. The Weiser River crosses the 

resistant basalt in narrow valleys. The broader lowlands, such as 

the Midvale and the Council areas, have developed where relatively 

soft sedimentary materials filled structural basins in the basalt 

terrane. The Council area lies near the headwaters of the Weiser 

River, in Adams County, and the Midvale area is about 25 airline 

miles to the southwest, in Washington county.

The floor of the elongate valley of the Council area covers about 16 

square miles. The Weiser River flows southward along the west side 

of the valley, and drops from an elevation of about 3,040 feet at the
Q.4 CONTKIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES

head of the valley to about 2,900 feet at the lower end, 9 miles to the 

south. The west side of the valley is bordered by gentle slopes that 

rise to an upland a few hundred feet above the valley floor. The east 

side of the valley is enclosed by the steep slopes of the mountains of 

the Payette National Forest, which reach an elevation of 8,126 feet 

in Council Mountain.

The Midvale area is a rudely circular lowland of about 30 square 

miles. The lowland is enclosed by gentle slopes that rise a few hundred 

feet to a dissected upland. A border of the lowland can be drawn only 

approximately, for a gradual transition occurs through alluvial fans 

on the lowland to slopes cut on basalt or sedimentary deposits.

Two topographic divisions of the Midvale area are readily recognized. The Middle Valley is an extensive lowland on the east side of 

the Weiser River. It is a terrace separated from the fairly narrow 

flood plain by a bluff 30-50 feet high. A slightly higher surface, 

sometimes called the Shoe Peg Valley, occupies most of the lowland 

area west of the Weiser River.

The elements of the climate of the two areas are shown by tables of 

average monthly precipitation and temperature at Council and at 

Cambridge, which is 8 miles north of Midvale in another wide part 

of the Weiser River valley (table 1). Very little precipitation falls in 

summer. The sum of the precipitation in July and August averages 

only 0.70 inch at Council and 0.39 inch at Cambridge. Annual 

precipitation averages 27.14 inches at Council and 19.39 inches at 

Cambridge.

TABLE 1. Average monthly temperature and precipitation at Cambridge and Council,

Idaho, 1981-55

[From records of U.S. Weather Bureau]

Month

February _____________

March ..._..__.___...___________________

April.. ________ .... _____ . ...

May 

July 

August-.. ___________ . ........

September _____ _____

October . ____________

November ____________

Temperature, in degrees 

Fahrenheit

Cambridge

22. 6 

27.5 

37. 8 

49.4 

57. 5 

63.9 

74.6 

71.7 

61.3 

50.2 

36.4 

28. 1

48. 4

Council

24.9 

29. 2 

37.3 

48.3 

56. 5 

62.6 

72. 6 

70. 4 

61. 6 

50.8 

37.2 

29. 0

48.4

Precipitation, in inches

Cambridge

2.83 

2. 55 

1.95 

1.47 

1.23 

1.41 

.23 

. 16 

.58 

1.34 

2.59 

3.05

19.39

Council

3.86 

3.31 

2.75 

2. 16 

1.92 

1. 87 

.39 

.31 

.84 

2. 10 

3.33 

4.30

27. 14
GROUND WATER, UPPER WEISER RIVER BASIN, IDAHO Q5

The average monthly temperature at Council and at Cambridge is 

much the same. Both areas have a milder climate, less extremes of 

heat and cold, than do many other intermontane valleys of southern 

Idaho.

The soil of the Mid vale and Council areas consists mostly of loess, 

at least to the depth of the plough furrow. Loess forms a pervasive 

cover, except on slopes and knolls that are being actively eroded or on 

recently formed flood plains and alluvial fans. In most of the lowland 

areas the loessial soil is underlain by alluvial gravel or sand; in a few 

places, however, it is underlain by the basalt lavas or by lake beds of 

clay, silt, or fine-grained sand.

Loessial soil is thickest on those older surfaces that are little eroded. 

The loess on the high bench land of the Midvale area is at least 3 feet 

thick, but it is not more than a foot thick on the low terrace above the 

flood plain of the Weiser River.

In the Council area, loessial soil more than a foot thick is confined 

to small areas on the gentler parts of the older alluvial fans. The 

soil through the steeper parts of the extensive alluvial fans of the 

Council area becomes gravelly at a depth of a few inches. The prevailingly reddish color of the soil reveals the presence of much finegrained slope wash derived by decomposition of basalt.

Both the Midvale and the Council areas have been settled for several 

generations, and almost all the lowlands are used for farming. There 

is only one village in each area: Midvale, having a population of 211, 

and Council, having a population of 827.

The Midvale area, due to its greater size and superior soil, is better 

for farming than the Council area. The land is used chiefly for the 

production of small grains and hay, although some sweet corn, 

potatoes, and clover seed are grown. In addition, beef cattle and 

sheep are raised; these are pastured in the uplands and mountains 

during the summer.

The low Middle Valley part of the Midvale area has an adequate 

supply of surface water for irrigation from the Weiser River. The 

higher land of the Shoe Peg Valley has a meager supply from the 

several small drainages that empty onto the bench. Some water is 

stored in small reservoirs. Most of the area is necessarily dry-farmed. 

Dryfarming is being extended onto the gentler slopes surrounding the 

Midvale lowland wherever there is a thick mantle of water-retentive 

loessial soil.

In the Council area the principal farming activity is stock raising 

and the attendant production of hay and management of pasture land. 

Only a small portion of the land is used for small grains, and row crops 

are raised primarily for local use. Some fruit, mainly apples, is grown
Q6 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES

in a number of small orchards, which are concentrated on the upper 

parts of the alluvial fans on the east side of the valley.

Much timber is cut in the forests of the mountains surrounding the 

Council area, and there is a large lumber mill at Council.

GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATER

ELEMENTS OF THE AREAL. GEOLOGY

The oldest formations exposed in the area are the lava flows of the 

Columbia River Basalt and the associated sedimentary materials. 

The sedimentary beds were assigned to the Payette Formation by 

Kirkham (1930). The Columbia River Basalt is generally considered 

to be of Miocene age (Ross, 1956, p. 85). In this area, however, there 

is evidence that basalt flows not readily distinguishable from those of 

the Columbia River Basalt continued to erupt in Pliocene time. 

Therefore, all the basalt lavas and associated sedimentary beds are 

referred to as being of Tertiary age.

The basalt crops out in the hills and mountains and is well exposed 

in canyons such as the one immediately north of the Midvale area. 

Individual sheets of lava range in thickness from a few to about 50 

feet. Most of the lava is dense but intricately broken by many 

joints and irregular cracks. There are also zones of fragmental lava, 

and these are probably the main water-bearing zones.

The sedimentary materials interbedded with the lava flows apparently were deposited chiefly in lakes. They consist mostly of clay 

and silt and sporadic beds of sand; gravel is uncommon.

The basalt lavas and associated lake beds were warped and faulted 

at some time late in the Tertiary Period. Apparently a landscape 

of considerable relief was created. Erosion then proceeded to reduce 

much of the highlands to a surface of low relief. Some deposits of 

clay and silt and stray thin beds of sand accumulated in lowlands at 

this time. These deposits may be equivalent to the Idaho Formation of Savage (1961, p. 13), of late Pliocene and early Pleistocene 

age. In this report these deposits are grouped with the late Tertiary 

sedimentary deposits interbedded with the basalt lavas, and both are 

referred to as deposits of Tertiary age; they are similar, and no 

boundary is designated in well logs.

During the Pleistocene Epoch, the area was uplifted and the major 

topographic features are the result of differential erosion. The 

Weiser River has cut only narrow valleys across areas of resistant 

basalt, but during the same time has opened out wide lowlands on 

areas underlain by the soft lake beds.

The details of topography on the lowland areas show that the 

valley deepening was accomplished in several stages. For example, 

the Shoe Peg Valley section of the Midvale area represents a valley
GROUND WATER, UPPER WEISER RIVER BASIN, IDAHO Q7

floor that was widened when the Weiser River was flowing at a level 

70 or more feet higher than at present. This surface was mantled 

with alluvial-fan and stream gravels. The river next cut downward 

several tens of feet and then cut laterally to form the flats of the 

Middle Valley. The river, now entrenched below the Middle Valley 

surface, is forming a new flood plain. A generally similar sequence 

occurred in the Council area, though the indications are less obvious. 

The successive steps in downcutting, valley widening, and spreading 

of gravel sheets are probably related to late substages of glaciation, 

which affected the regimen of streams in the region.

MIDVALE AREA

The topographic features and approximate limits of the Midvale 

area and the location of the wells inventoried are shown in figure 3.

Ground water in the Midvale area is obtained from the basalt and 

the lake beds of Tertiary age that underlie the entire area and from the 

sand and gravel of Pleistocene age that mantle the basalt and lake 

beds at low altitudes. Most of the wells bottom in the lake beds of 

Tertiary age and produce from thin beds of sand. However, the 

basalt is the best aquifer. A small percentage of the shallow wells 

derive water from the sand and gravel of Pleistocene age.

The ground water in the area originates from local precipitation on 

the lowland and the surrounding higher land. Some water moves 

for many miles through pervious zones in the basalt lavas, especially 

at depth, but it is unlikely that much water moves into or out of the 

area through the rocks.

BASALT OF TERTIARY AGE

The basalt lavas no doubt underlie all of the Midvale area at depth. 

Basalt is exposed on the slopes of the northern, western, and southern 

margins of the lowland area. The gentler slopes on the east side of 

the lowland are underlain by lake beds of Tertiary age, but even here 

the basalt occurs not far below the surface; for example, well 13N3W-10cdl at the Midvale Cemetery entered basalt at a depth of 

205 feet (fig. 4).

Information from scattered wells shows that the depth to basalt 

increases inward from the margins of the lowland. Well 13N-4Wllcdl, close to the edge of the lowland, entered basalt at a depth of 

only 59 feet. Well 13N-4W-13bal, a mile farther east, was still in 

lake beds at a depth of 185 feet. Well 14N-4W-36ddl, a mile away 

from the hills, was in lake beds through its total depth of 178 feet.

At Midvale, 1% miles from the east side of the valley, the first 

basalt was penetrated at a depth of 510 feet in well 13N-3W-8cc3.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES

R.4W. R.3W.

Well, geologic log 

given in report

Well , chemical 

analysis of water

FIGUBB 3. Map of the Midvale area, upper Weiser Eiver basin, Idaho, showing location of inventoried wells.

Well 13N-3W-6bbl, about 2 miles northwest of Midvale, is reported to be 357 feet deep. This well may have entered the basalt, 

but unfortunately all record of formations penetrated has been lost.

Water in the basalt is commonly under enough pressure to rise in 

wells and flow at the surface. Water rises to the land surface in well 

13N-3W-10cdl, at an elevation of about 2,650 feet in the Midvale 

Cemetery, which is on a low bench on the eastern margin of the 

valley.
GROUND WATER, UPPER WEISER RIVER BASIN, IDAHO Q9

14N-4W-36ddl 13N-4W-13bal 13N-3W-10cdl

flows record

50-

100-

150 -ISSs

13N-4W-13bal 

Well

Water 

level

50-

100-

150-

178-

14N-3W-29abl

185-^

50 -

100 -SS=

50

100-

143

-Water 

level.

13N-3W-6aal

 Water 

level

150-

200-

250-

50-5i5l 

59

300 

13N-3W-8bdl 324

Well 

flows

13N-3W-8cc3

Well

flows

600 gpm

100-^^

200-^^

No record

300

600

tSgfZ- Water 

level 700-

13N-4W-llcdl 13N-3W-28abl

No record

800

50- 

68

Water 

level

45

'& - Water 

level

EXPLANATION

Gravel or boulders Basalt

400-JB===

500-Si=?

ti

iniivnti

900

Clay or shale Sand 

FIGURE 4. Geologic logs of representative wells in the Midvale area, Idaho.

The artesian pressure increases with depth in the basalt. The 

Midvale town well 3 (13N-3W-8cc3) flowed about 10 gpm (gallons 

a minute) when the well was about 800 feet deep; the driller reported
Q10 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES

that the head was low, although no exact measurement was made. 

When deepened to 963 feet, the well penetrated a water-bearing zone 

that produced a flow of 600 gpm under a pressure of 155 pounds at 

the surface. This pressure is equivalent to a head of about 360 feet. 

The elevation of the land surface at the well is about 2,550 feet, and 

static water level therefore is at an elevation of about 2,910 feet. 

This is only a few hundred feet below the broad uplands around the 

Midvale area, where water enters the basalt lavas.

The reported yields of wells known to penetrate the basalt, which 

presumably derive most of their water from basalt, are given below.

Well

13N-4W-llcdl _ ......

13N-3W- 8cc2. __________

8cc3_ _________

lOcdl. _ ......

28bbl ________

Depth (ft)

68

521

963

320

45

Yield (gpm)

360

318

600 (flow)

25

6

Drawdown (ft)

47

110

Specific capacity 

(gpm per foot of 

drawdown)

6. 8

. 2

The available information shows that properly constructed wells 

penetrating the basalt a sufficient distance will yield several hundred 

gallons of water a minute, but the information does not permit an 

estimate of the potentialities of the basalt as an aquifer in terms of 

yield to wells per foot of drawdown. The yield may approximate 

that which Newcomb (1959, p. 14) found for many wells in basalt in 

the State of Washington. There the yield in wells 10-12 inches in 

diameter having drawdowns of 50-100 feet averaged a little more 

than 1 gpm for each foot of penetration of water-saturated basalt.

SEDIMENTARY DEPOSITS OF TERTIARY AGE

Sedimentary deposits of Tertiary age occur everywhere beneath 

the lowlands of the Midvale area and also underlie some of the slopes 

on the east side of the Middle Valley. The thickness of sedimentary 

deposits above the basalt ranges from zero where the basalt crops 

out in the lower slopes to at least 510 feet in the Midvale village well. 

The total thickness of the sedimentary deposits is greater than the 

thickness above the first basalt met in a well, because more sedimentary strata are between lava flows.

Exposures and well logs (fig. 4) show that clay, silt, and finegrained sand predominate in the sedimentary deposits. Beds of 

coarser grained sand occur sporadically.

In exposures, the fine-grained beds consist of alternate layers of 

silty clay and fine-grained sand, each a fraction of an inch to several 

inches thick. Some well records report heavy clay of various colors, 

such as black, blue, or red. A bed of this heavy clay is reported at
GROUND WATER, UPPER WEISER RIVER BASIN, IDAHO Qll

depths of 60-80 feet at a number of places beneath the surface of the 

Middle Valley. The clay is said to have a strong smell and to contain 

fragments of wood and other organic material.

The layers of coarser sand and silty sand are rusty colored in 

outcrops and are partially cemented by iron oxide. Such beds of 

sand are usually no thicker than 5 feet. However, about 40 feet of 

sand was reported between depths of 35 and 75 feet in well 13N-3W10cd2 at the Midvale Cemetery, which is on a bench on the eastern 

side of the valley.

Groundwater in these deposits comes wholly from the beds of 

sand, which are frequent enough that practically all wells yield at 

least enough water for domestic purposes.

The water is confined in the beds of sand and rises in wells. Water 

flows from many wells that are within about half a mile of the edge 

of the lowland. Farther toward the center of the lowland the pressure 

declines below land surface, but in few wells is water level more than 

10 feet below the surface. Greater depths to water are due to local 

topography: well 14N-4W-36ddl is on a low hill and the water level 

is reported to be about 30 feet below land surface; well 13N-3W-6ddl 

is near the east edge of the Shoe Peg Valley and the water level is 

reported to be 50 feet below land surface.

Most wells in the sedimentary deposits of Tertiary age provide 

supplies adequate for domestic use, for watering of lawns and gardens, 

and for watering of stock in winter. The measured or estimated 

yields of a number of wells, and the drawdown during pumping for 

some wells, reported by well owners or drillers, are given below.

Well

14N-4W-36ddl__ __ _ _ __ __

14N-3W-19ddl.____. _ .._._. ___

13N-4W-llcd2-_ _ . _ _ _

13bal __ ____ __ _ _

14dal-__---_ ..__..-.__.__

13N-3W- 3bb2_---_- ____ _-.__.__

3bcl._._ _ ._ __ ._...._

3dcl_. ___ .._.._. _ .__

6bbl__. ._________._._...

10cdl._ _ ______ _ ______

10cd2--_----_.-_- __ ___.

Yield 

(gpm)

27

10

30

70

72

13

13

8

20

50

25

50

Drawdown 

(ft)

14

8

18

62

4

5

11

110

Specific capacity 

(gpm per foot of 

drawdown)

1.9

1.3

3.9

1. 2

3.3

2.6

. 7

.2

The average of the eight values for specific capacity is 1.9 gpm per 

foot of drawdown.

These values for specific capacity show that the sedimentary deposits of Tertiary Age can yield enough water for irrigation of small
Q12 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES

acreages. The two cemeteries in the area, the larger of which covers 

about 4 acres, are currently being irrigated with ground water from 

the sedimentary deposits.

The common domestic wells have 6-inch casing. Casing may extend 

to the bottom of the hole and be perforated. However, a number of 

wells are uncased at depth, indicating that the lake beds tend to 

stand without caving into holes. Well 14N-4W-36ddl, used to 

irrigate the Keithley Creek Cemetery, is cased to 55 feet and is an 

open 8-inch hole below that depth. The principal irrigation well 

(13N-3W-10cd2) at the Midvale Cemetery, a 12-inch gravel-packed 

well, also contains 6-inch casing.

Wells designed specifically to produce irrigation supplies would be 

more efficient than any of the foregoing except the 12-inch gravelpacked well (13N-3W-10cd2) and would have higher specific capacities. The lifts of ground water should not be too great at moderate 

rates of pumping. The development of ground water for irrigation 

will depend on economic factors such as the cost of wells and irrigation 

equipment and the value to the farmer of increased crop yields.

SEDIMENTARY DEPOSITS OF QUATERNARY AQE

Sheets of sand and gravel of Quaternary age occur at fairly shallow 

depth in the lowland terraces. Where these deposits are in the zone 

of saturation, they can supply small to fairly large amounts of water.

Sand and gravel is widespread on the Shoe Peg Valley. The 

deposits are mantled by loess and are exposed in streams, readouts, 

and steep bluffs. The gravels represent several episodes of deposition 

on alluvial fans and in stream channels.

The oldest gravel forms low ridges and knolls above the general 

level of the Shoe Peg Valley. It represents the remnants of once 

extensive alluvial fans, now almost wholly removed during erosion of 

the bench to its present level. These deposits are of no consequence 

for water supply because they occupy small areas and are above water 

level.

A younger sheet of alluvial material underlies large parts of the 

Shoe Peg Valley. It lies upon silty or clayey lake beds that are 

probably of Tertiary age, and it is usually covered by a few feet of 

loess. This sheet consists of alternate beds of rounded pebble gravel 

and poorly sorted sand. Apparently, it was deposited by small 

tributaries that flowed across the bench to join the Weiser River.

The thickness of the main sheet of sand and gravel on the Shoe Peg 

Valley ranges from zero against higher ground to some unknown 

maximum that probably does not exceed 30 feet. The gravel is 

reported to be 16 feet thick in well 13N-4W-laal, which is about 2 

miles northwest of Midvale.
GROUND WATER, UPPER WEISER RIVER BASIN, IDAHO Q13

Some ground water is perched in the gravel upon the underlying 

silty and clayey lake beds. This perched condition is demonstrated 

by the small seeps at the base of the alluvial deposits exposed in 

stream cuts and in the bluff that terminates the bench on the west 

side of the Weiser Kiver.

The gravel sheet supplies water to a few shallow wells where 

topography favors the accumulation of a perched body of water at 

least a few feet thick. Well 13N-4W-laal, which is 18 feet deep, has 

furnished a reliable domestic supply for decades. The owner reports 

that water level fluctuates from a depth of about 15 feet in autumn 

and winter to ground surface in spring.

The youngest gravel upon the Shoe Peg Valley forms small and 

thin alluvial fans near the base of the hill slopes. These alluvial fans 

are of no consequence as a source of water because they are generally 

above water level, and any water entering them rapidly drains out 

downslope.

A sheet of water-bearing gravel is found at shallow depth under the 

Middle Valley, the broad terrace on the east side of the Weiser River. 

The gravel is exposed in the bluffs that separate the Middle Valley 

from the flood plain of the Weiser River. Excellent exposures on the 

east side of the river about half a mile south of Midvale show a sheet 

of sand and gravel about 10-15 feet thick. Silt and fine sand, probably 

of late Tertiary age, underlie the sheet of gravel. The sand and gravel 

is about 14 feet thick in well 13N-3W-8bdl (fig. 4), which is a short 

distance east of the Weiser River and half a mile north of Midvale. 

Only about 10 feet of graved is in the cut made by Beaver Creek in the 

Middle Valley terrace in the center of section 17.

Ground water occurs everywhere in the gravel of Middle Valley. 

The water table is high enough in the gravels that subirrigation can 

be practiced in some places, and drainage ditches are necessary to 

lower the water level beneath part of the valley. 

 The source of the water is precipitation, water that seeps from the 

main canal on the east side of the valley and from distributary canals, 

and percolation from irrigated fields. The water probably moves 

westward to southwestward on a gradient of somewhat less than 25 

feet per mile, which is about the gradient of the land surface due west. 

It is discharged as seeps along the bluffs above the flood plain of the 

river.

The gravels can yield fairly large amounts of water where they are 

saturated through most of their thickness. Well 13N-3W-3bd2, 15 

feet deep and 4 feet in diameter, reportedly is pumped by a tractor 

motor for irrigation. This well is a short distance from the main 

canal on the east side of the Middle Valley and may receive most of its 

water by infiltration from the canal.

716-815 W 2
Q14 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES

COUNCIL AREA

The topographic features of the Council area and the location of 

wells inventoried in this study are shown in figure 5. A principal 

topographic feature of this area is the broad slope on alluvial fans that 

occupies about two-thirds of the lowland. Bottom land along the 

Weiser River occupies a belt less than a mile wide on the west side of 

the lowland.

R.I W. R. IE.

Well, geologic log 

given in report

Well, chemical 

analysis of water

FIGURE 5. Map of the Council area, upper Weiser River basin, Idaho, showing location of

Inventoried wells.
GROUND WATER, UPPER WEISER RIVER BASIN, IDAHO Q15

Ground water is developed in the Council area from the basalt, the 

sedimentary deposits of Tertiary age, and the gravel of Pleistocene age. 

Although the gravel of Pleistocene age is the most used aquifer in the 

area, the basalt is the most prolific aquifier, as it also is in the Midvale 

area. Only a few wells derive water from the sedimentary deposits 

of Tertiary age.

BASALT OF TERTIARY AGE

Basalt forms the hill and mountain slopes that enclose the valley 

and also crops out as low hills in the lowland. The boundary between the basalt and valley-filling alluvial deposits is indicated by a 

dashed line (fig. 5).

A flow of basalt proba,bly occurs at shallow depth beneath the 

lower part of the Council area. Well 16N-lW-10dbl, half a mile 

north of Council, penetrated about 55 feet of basalt between depths of 

45 and 100 feet (fig. 6), and low hills of basalt rise above the alluvial 

deposits farther north.

Basalt was first entered at a depth of 220 feet in the Council municipal well (16N-lW-14ba2), which is high on the alluvial fans close to 

the eastern mountain front. Ground surface is about 200 feet higher 

here than at well 16N-lW-10dbl. The old valley floor, carved on 

the basalt and the sedimentary deposits of Tertiary age, may have a 

surface of fairly low relief under the cover of alluvial deposits.

Depth to water in the basalt depends on topographic situation. 

Water stands within a few tens of feet of the surface in wells that 

penetrate the basalt in the lower parts of the area. The depth to 

water increases eastward beneath the alluvial fans and is reported to 

be 200 feet below the surface in the Council municipal well 2 (16NlW-14ba2). No wells tapping basalt yielded a flow of water at the 

surface.

The basalt is the best aquifer in the area. All the domestic and 

stock wells that penetrate the basalt provide satisfactory supplies. 

Well 16N-lW-10dbl provides enough water for a large sawmill; the 

water probably comes mostly from basalt rather than from the finegrained sediments which also were penetrated.

The yields of five wells that produce from the basalt are given below.

Well

17N-lW-14cbl__...................._......

15ab2.._.._--___-._____-_.__.-..___

27dcl.___--__-___ _ __ ___

16N-lW-14bal L-. ......................

14ba2 2............................

Yield (gpm)

25

10

6

135

150

Drawdown (ft)

48

Specific capacity 

(gpm per foot of 

drawdown)

3

1 Council municipal well 1.

2 Council municipal well 2.
Q16 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES

17N-lW-14cbl 16N-lW-10dbl 16N-lW-14ba2

Water 

level

100

17N-lW-34abl

 VVater 

level

16N-lW-3ddl

50-

-Water 300- 

level

350-

EXPLANATION 

Gravel or boulders Basalt

200-

250-1=^

1

MM

Dug; no 

record

Loose rock

50- :=^^5

100-

Soft 

brown 

rock

200-

250-

300-

350-

381-

tt

No record

No 

record

 Water 

level

Clay or shale Sand

FIGTTBE 6. Geologic logs of representative wells in the Council area, Idaho.

The Council municipal well 2, which has a specific capacity of 3 

gpm per foot of drawdown, penetrates about 160 feet of basalt below 

the water level. The yield of 150 gpm is therefore close to the 1 gpm 

per foot of penetration of basalt that Newcomb (1959, p. 14) found as 

an average for wells in the Columbia River Basalt in parts of Oregon.

SEDIMENTARY DEPOSITS OF TERTIARY AGE

Thick sedimentary deposits of Tertiary age occur beneath the area, 

interbedded with the basalt lava, as shown by the log of well 16N-
GROUND WATER, UPPER WEISER RIVER BASIN, IDAHO Q17

lW-10dbl (fig. 6) at the Boise-Cascade lumber mill, about half a 

mile north of Council. Outcrops of these deposits were not found 

during the short time spent in the area. The well log shows the deposits to be mainly blue, brown, and red clay. No distinct beds of 

sand were reported by the driller. The nature of the "soft brown 

rock" the driller reported between depths of 135 and 200 feet is 

unknown.

No wells were found which produce water from the sedimentary 

deposits of Tertiary age. If the log of well 16N-lW-10dbl is representative in showing no beds of sand, very little water can be obtained from these deposits.

SEDIMENTARY DEPOSITS OF QUATERNARY AGE

Sedimentary deposits of Quaternary age underlie all of the Council 

lowland except the low hills where basalt crops out. These 

deposits are the principal source of water for domestic wells.

The entire 220 feet of sedimentary material shown above the basalt 

in the log of well 16N-lW-14ba2 (fig. 6) is probably of Pleistocene 

age. This log shows what are almost certainly alluvial gravels 

mixed with fine-grained slope wash extending from the surface to a 

depth of about 30 feet and from about 100 to 130 feet. Interpretation of the rest of the material shown by the log presents some uncertainties. The 85 feet of boulder clay the driller reported between 

135 feet and the top of the basalt is a deposit of either glacial till or 

poorly sorted alluvial-fan material. The clay reported between 

depths of about 30 and 100 feet below the surface may indicate the 

existence of a lake at some time when the Weiser River was dammed 

to the south, or it may be just an unusual thickness of fine-grained 

slope wash on the surface of an alluvial fan. Unfortunately, no 

other logs were obtained that might reveal the nature of the sedimentary materials at depth.

Well 16N-lW-3ddl, which is on the lower slopes of the alluvial 

fans a mile north of Council, shows in a total depth of 83 feet two 

bodies of alluvial sand and gravel, having 70 feet of clay between 

them.

Because of a lack of well logs, the precise nature and thickness of 

the alluvial deposits beneath the bottom-land strip on the west side of 

the lowland could not be determined. Well 17N-lW-14cbl (fig. 6) 

is reported to have penetrated 30 feet of cemented sand and gravel 

above basalt. Probably the alluvial deposits are no thicker beneath 

the bottom-lands farther south, and they may contain less gravel and 

more, finer grained material.

All the owners of wells deriving water from the alluvial deposits 

reported the supplies were adequate for domestic and stock use and
Q18 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE "UNITED STATES

the watering of lawns and gardens. Keports of actual yields were 

obtained for only four wells, three of them fairly close to each other.

Well

17N-lW-34dal_. __________________

16N-1W- 3ddl____________________

3dd2_._______________ _

3dd3.___________________

Yield (gpm)

40

10

10

40

Drawdown (ft)

15

44

55

8

Specific capacity 

(gpm per foot of 

drawdown)

2.7

. 2

. 2

5. 0

These figures for specific capacity indicate that the yield from the 

sporadic beds of gravel in the alluvial fans will vary considerably, 

depending on local conditions and doubtless on method of well construction. The wells can be expected to yield more than enough water 

for normal domestic and farm needs. Zones of water-yielding sand 

and gravel seem to be few and thin amid much greater thicknesses 

of clay-rich material. The alluvial materials probably will not yield 

enough water for large-scale irrigation.

CHEMICAL QUALITY OF GROUND WATER

Chemical analyses of water from four wells in the Council area and 

from six wells and a thermal spring in the Midvale area are given in 

Table 2. The analyses are also plotted in figure 7 as a means of 

showing the character of the water.

The amounts of certain substances specifically, silica, iron, and 

fluoride commonly present in ground water were not determined. 

However, these and other less common substances normally amount 

to a small fraction of the total dissolved solids in waters of this 

region. The sum of the determined constituents probably is 80-90 

percent of the total dissolved solids.

The sum of the determined constituents in the four samples of 

water from the Council area ranges from 66 to 130 ppm (parts per 

million), and hardness as calcium carbonate ranges from 43 to 75 

ppm. Such hardness is relatively low compared to that of ground 

water in general.

Three of the four sampled waters (points 1, 2, 4, fig. 7) are more or 

less similar chemically, and they may be considered the normal type 

of water in the Council area. Bicarbonate amounts to more than 90 

percent of the anions determined. With respect to the cations, in the 

water from the two shallower wells, 17N-lW-34abl (120 ft deep) and 

16N-lW-2dbl (135 ft deep), calcium and magnesium dominate, and 

sodium makes up only about 20 percent. The water from the 

Council municipal well, 16N-lW-14ba2, 381 feet deep, differs by 

having higher proportions of sodium.
TABLE 2. Chemical analyses of representative samples of ground water from the M

[Analyses by U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Chemical constituents in parts 

Well

17N-1 W-34abl._- -------------

16N-lW-2dbl ..... ... .... ...

lOdbl . ... ... .... ...

Hba2.... ............ .

14N-4W-36ddl ................

14N-3W-19cb2_- ..............

19ddl. ............

13N-3W-6bbl ....... ... -

8bdl... ...... .....

8cc3_. ................

10cd2........ . -----

 8

a

£

o

a

Q

120

135

404

381

178

35

357

32

3963

93

|

~&

~*

S

o

CD

03

Q

5-24-62..

-.do ..

5-23-62-

...do. _

5-22-62-

_._do ._

...do.....

...do.....

-.do. 

5-24-62

5-22-62

f1

®

a

03

h*

S®EH

151

'54

'54

60

56

120

157

56

68

54.5

O

a

'o

 3

O

17

13.6

14.2

10

6.6

7.8

16.8

6.6

41

5.0

37

5<

a

 2

a

A

7.8

5.1

7.4

4.4

4.3

1.5

3.3

3.6

1.6

19.5

%

 o

<n

8.7

5.3

12.4

24.4

74

13.3

14.3

24

71

22.1

M

3

I

o

PH

2.7

1.6

4.7

3.9

11.7

3.1

3.9

10.9

4.7

13.3

3.9

^

0

O

W-^

S

.2

pa

109

79

83

115

56

95

85

299

200

237

6

o

»

03

O

ol

O

0.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

2.4

.0

.0

.0

2.4

.0

^

O

"3

 3

tn

4.3

1.4

31.7

1.4

5.3

105

1.4

4.8

3.8

10.1

7.2

*-~.

O

s>

'§

^

O

1.4

.0

8.5

.0

.7

16

1.1

.7

3.9

4.6

0

^

g."tn

^5

0.

.0

.0

.0

1.

.

.

9.

i Not true ground-water temperature.

8 According to classification for suitability for irrigation, of U.S. Salinity Laboratory Staff, 1954.

3 Depth was 802 feet when sampled 5-24-62.
Q20 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES

Area of circle indicates sum of 

determined constituents, in parts 

per million

Ca

CATIONS ANIONS 

PERCENTAGE REACTING VALUES

Number in figure 7

1. ____ . _ ............... ...

2 ____ ..... _ . _ . _ ... .....

3 - ...._ . - ...._..

4...............................

5.. __ ...... _ ... ____ ..

6...... _ . _ ..... _ . __ ....

7 __ . __ .. _ . _____ ......

8 __ ........... __ . __ ... ...

9. _ .................. _ ......

10. ______ . ___ ...........

11 _ . _____ . _ ... __ ......

Well

17N-lW-34abl.. . ... ...

16N-lW-2dbl. ...

lOdbl.. ___ ....

14N-4W-36ddl __ ........

19cb2. __ .......

19ddl... _ . .....

13N-3W-6bbl. _ . .....

8bdl..... ..

8cc3. ............

10cd2. ____ ....

Depth

120

135

404

381

178

Spring

35

357

32 1802

93

Sum of 

determined 

constituents 

(ppm)

96

66

130

73

110

238

88

83

247

206

220

Aquifer

Basalt.

Gravel.

Basalt.

Do.

Sand.

Sand(?).

Do.

Sand and gravel.

Basalt.

Sand.

i At time of sampling (May 24,1962). 

FIGTIBE 7. Chemical character of typical ground waters of the Midvale and Council areas, Idaho.

Water from the well of the Boise-Cascade lumber mill, 16N-1WlOdbl (point 3, fig. 7), plots at a distance from the other waters of 

the Council area because sulfate makes up 30 percent of the anions. 

The water also contains a slightly higher proportion of chloride than 

do the other waters. The water shows about the same proportions 

of cations as the water from the Council municipal well.

The sum of the determined constituents in the waters sampled in 

the Midvale area ranges from 83 to 247 ppm, and hardness as calcium 

carbonate ranges from 19 to 203 ppm.
GROUND WATER, UPPER WEISER RIVER BASIN, IDAHO Q21

The waters of the Midvale area excluding that from a hot spring, 

14N-3W-19eb2 are related to each other though they plot through 

an elongated zone in figure 7. The anions consist mostly of bicarbonate. The cations show a wide range, from water with dominant calcium and magnesium and only 20 percent sodium to water 

in which sodium is 90 percent of the cations. The latter is found in 

the Midvale municipal well, 13N-3W-8cc3.

The water at shallow depth, such as that from gravel beneath the 

Middle Valley (well 13N-3W-8bdl), is the calcium magnesium bicarbonate type containing low proportions of sodium, and it has high 

hardness and concentration of dissolved solids. The water at greater 

depth tends toward the sodium bicarbonate type and has unusually 

low hardness; both of these features are probably due to contact 

with the clayey lake beds and to the resulting base exchange, in 

which the water exchanges calcium and magnesium for sodium 

contained in the clay.

The water sampled at the hot spring, 14N-3W-19cb2, in the 

northern part of the Shoe Peg Valley is the sodium sulfate type. The 

character of the water doubtless reflects the hot gas and water rising 

from depth, reactions with the formations at a higher level, and admixture of normal shallow ground water.

In summary, the normal waters of both the Council and Midvale 

areas are much the same type and character, and such differences as 

exist reflect differences in environment. Water from the Council 

area has fairly low hardness and concentration of dissolved solids, 

because the minerals in the basalt and alluvial deposits are not very 

soluble. The water of the Midvale area contains more dissolved 

solids, probably because of slower circulation and hence more time for 

solution of minerals from the lake deposits; however, the water is 

softer because of base exchange reactions with the clay of the lake 

deposits.

The character of water in both areas varies between the calcium 

magnesium bicarbonate type and the sodium bicarbonate type.

The waters are of good to excellent quality for all common uses and 

for irrigation. The analyses show no significant quantities of objectionable substances. However, no determination of fluoride content was made, and some of the water from the deeper zones may 

have a higher fluoride content than is desirable for domestic use.

SUMMARY

Ground water ample for domestic and stock needs can be obtained 

almost everywhere in the Midvale and Council areas from wells not 

more than a hundred feet deep. In a few places deeper wells are
Q22 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OP THE UNITED STATES

required, but the water level in most of these wells is rarely as much 

as 50 feet below the surface.

Wells which penetrate the basalt beneath the lowland areas, at 

depths of 100 to more than 500 feet, can provide up to a few hundred 

gallons of water a minute.

In the Midvale area, water for irrigation of small acreages probably 

can be obtained from beds of sand amid the fine-grained lake deposits 

that underlie the lowland. The cost of drilling wells to the more 

productive but deeper-lying basalt probably would exclude this 

aquifer as a source of irrigation water.

In the Council area the basalt is the only formation that could be 

relied upon for water for supplemental irrigation. Beneath the upper 

parts of the alluvial fans on the east side of the lowland, the depth to 

water level may make pumping from the basalt uneconomical. However, beneath the lower parts of the alluvial fans the lift would not be 

great.

The quality of the ground water in both the Midvale and Council 

areas is suitable for irrigation and all other common uses.

RECORDS OF WELLS

The following tables (tables 3 and 4) present data on wells inventoried in the Midvale and the Council areas in the course of this 

investigation. Only a small percentage of all the wells in the two 

areas were visited. However, an effort was made to obtain a good 

geographic distribution, and it is believed that the inventoried wells 

show representative conditions.

The data were obtained through interviews with well owners and 

drillers and from records that drillers have submitted to the Idaho 

Department of Reclamation.

Reports of drawdown in wells during pumping are mostly from tests 

made by drillers upon completion of wells.
TABLE 3. Records of wells in the Midvale area, Upper Weiser Riv

Type of well: D, dug; Dr, drilled.

Depth of wells are reported depths.

Character of aquifer: S, sand; G, gravel; Bas, basalt.

Depth of well: In feet below land surface datum.

Water level: Depth in feet below land-surface datum. Measured depths to water are

given to the nearest tenth of a foot. Reported depths to water are given to the nearest

foot.

Type of pump: J.jet; P, pisto

Use: N, none; Irr, irrigation; 

industrial.

Well

14N-4W-25bdl 

36abl__. 

36ddl 

14N-3W-19cbl 

19cb2 

19dal... 

19ddl...

28bcl 

29abl...

30adl...

30bdl 

31acl... 

32bcl.- 

32cbl... 

33bbl 

13N-4W-laal-__ 

llcdl...

Ilcd2 

lldcl 

12cdl 

13bal...

13bbl...

13dbl... 

14aal.__ 

14dal...

23dal... 

24acl_-

24bal...

Owner

Keithley Creek 

Cemetery.

Joe ^Vissins

Carpenter & Son Co

Lawrence Boyd- .

D. B.William... _-

Clifford Hopper.. _

Emerson Wiggins.. . 

BillWiggins-. 

.... .do...... ... ...

Ben Fairchild 

Arthur Fairchild. 

.....do.. ... .... ...

 ..do ... 

Phyllis W. Fairchild.

Elvin Evans ___ .-

 .do... 

Year 

drilled

1958 

1930 

1956

1942

1947 

1947 

1948

1922 

1951 

1926 

1950

1910 

1958 

1960

1958

1955

1920 

1951

1910

Type 

of 

well

Dr 

Dr 

Dr

Dr

Dr 

Dr....

Dr 

Dr 

Dr

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr

Dr 

Dr

Dr

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr

Dr 

Dr

Dr

Depth 

of 

well

40 

76 

178

42 

Spring

45 

35

173 

143 

90

48 

100 

60 

93 

58 

18 

68 

40

169.6 

185 

160

170

50 

102

65

Casing

Diameter 

(in.)

6 

5

8

6

4 

6

6 

6 

6

6 

6 

6

6 

6 

14 

6

6 

6

12

6 

6 

6 

12

6 

6

6

Depth 

(ft)

55

95

3 

33

40 

160

70

66

Character 

of 

aquifer

S

S 

S

S 

S

S

S

G 

S.Bas 

S

S 

S

S

Water level

Depth

Flows 

8.9 

31

12

Flows 

Flows

12 

18

10 

6 

13

0-16 

8 

Flows

16.0 

Flows

30.6 

4.1

8

Flows 

13

Date

11-29-61 

10- -56

11-29-61 

-.do.....

11- -61

1958 

11-28-61

11-27-61

11-27-61 

11-28-m

... do ..

1961

1951

Pum

Type

J 

C

T

P

C 

J

J 

J 

C

J 

J 

J

J 

J

N 

N

P

N

T

J 

J

N 

N

N 

J

P
Q24 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES

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TABLE 4. Records of wells in the Council area, Upper Weiser Ri

Type of well: D, dug; Dr, drilled.

Depth of wells are reported depths.

Character of aquifer: S, sand; G, gravel; Bas, basalt.

Depth of well: In feet below land surface datum.

Water level: Depth in feet below land-surface datum. Measured depths to water are

given to the nearest tenth of 

foot.

Type of pump: J, jet; P, pisto

Use: N, none; Irr, irrigation

industrial.

Well

17N-lW-14cbl... 

15abl.._ 

15ab2...

23bdl._. 

26ccl 

27dcl... 

34abl...

34dal...

34ddl... 

35abl_. 

16N-1W- 2aal... 

2adl.- 

2bal... 

2bbl... 

2bcl.__ 

2ccl... 

2dbl... 

3ddl...

3dd2... 

3dd3...

4ddl... 

9dbl.._ 

lOdbl... 

14bal___

14ba2...

15ad___

22acl 

22bdl...

27bal.._ 

27ba2...

27dcl 

Owner

Donald McMahan..

M. C. Imler_..__-__

Cecil Dopp.. - _ .

Fred Lappin _ __

E. M. Daggett _ 

W. H. Smith.... 

Hubert Woods ... ...

H. W. Woods ___ .

Bradley Plummer ...

John Williams... ..

L. W. Hamilton- .--

Wayne Plummer _ 

P. H. Clarke. ___

A. W. Thorpe ......

P. H. Clarke.. 

Bud Pugh..-- .....

Boise Cascade Co-.. 

Council Municipal 

well 1. 

Council Municipal 

well 2.

Council Grade 

School. 

George Winkler. 

-.-do... -_ 

E. B. Snow... ..

Year 

drilled

1930

1911

1950 

1947

1957

1945 

1959 

1950

1954 

1957 

1960 

1954

1954 

1954

1940 

1940 

1944

1952

1961

1910

1918

1920 

1960

Type 

of 

well

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

D 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr

Dr

D 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr

Dr 

Dr

Dr 

Dr 

Dr 

Dr

Dr

Dr

Dr 

Dr

D 

Dr 

D

Depth 

of 

well

120 

150 

120 

18

112 

120

98

20 

87 

165 

110 

165

60 

135 

83

89 

78.6

50 

120 

404 

366

381

187

78.9 

89

40 

168 

30

Casing

Diameter 

(in.)

8,6 

8 

6 

48 

6 

6 

6

6

36 

4 

6 

6 

8 

6

6 

6 

6

6 

12

6 

6 

8 

6

12-10

6

6 

6

6 

6 

6

Depth 

(ft)

45

50

22 

41

7

50

220 

380

Character 

of 

aquifer

Bas 

Bas 

Bas 

G

Bas 

Bas

G

G 

G

G 

G

Bas 

Bas

Bas 

G

Water level

Depth

39 

50 

90 

4 

69.3 

60 

20

1.2

5 

13.3

50 

100

5 

61.1 

12

15

2.9

20 

28

200

20

70.7 

70

10

Date

1957

5-23-62

11-30-61

11-30-61

Igei

11- -61 

12-1-61 

11- -61

7- -54 

11-30-61

7- -52

1961

11-30-61 

11- -61

11- -61

Pum

Type

T

T 

J 

N 

J 

J

J

C 

J 

T 

J 

T 

J 

J 

J 

T 

J

C

N

P 

J 

T 

T

T

J

N 

T

J 

T 

P
Q26 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES

REFERENCES

Kirkham, V. R. D., 1930, Old erosion surfaces in southwestern Idaho:

Jour. Geology, v. 38, no. 7, p. 652-663. 

Newcomb, R. C., 1959, Some preliminary notes on ground water in the Columbia

River Basalt: Northwest Science, v. 33, no. 1, p. 1-18. 

Ross, C. P., 1956, Quicksilver deposits near Weiser, Washington County, Idaho:

Geological Survey Bull. 1042-D, 104 p. 

Savage, C. N., 1961, Geology and mineral resources of Gem and Payette Counties:

Idaho Bur. Mines and Geol. County Report 4, 50 p. 

U.S. Salinity Laboratory Staff, 1954, Diagnosis and improvement of saline and

alkali soils: U.S. Dept. Agriculture Handb. 60, 160 p.

o