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WATER QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF THE UPPER SNAKE RIVER BASIN, IDAHO AND WESTERN WYOMING - ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING, 1980-92.
Description:
Data summarized in this report are used in companion reports to help define the relations among land use, water use, water quality, and biological conditions. The upper Snake River Basin (1704) is located in southeastern Idaho and northwestern Wyoming and includes small parts of Nevada and Utah. Total population in the basin was about 425,000 in 1990. The Snake River is the dominant surface-water feature and flows about 453 miles. The Snake River flows through 5 reservoirs that provide a total storage capacity of more than 4 million acre-feet. Gravity-flow diversions are predominant in the upper part of the basin and totaled 8.8 million acre-feet in 1980. Pumped diversions occur mainly in the lower part of the basin and totaled 408,500 acre-feet in 1980. The upper 500 feet of the Snake River Plain aquifer may store 200-300 million acre-feet of water. Water use in the basin is dominated by irrigated agriculture, the largest consumptive water use in the basin. About 21% of the basin is agricultural land and 50% is rangeland. Idaho leads the nation in trout production for commercial sale. USGS Water-Resources Investigations Report 93-4221. Molly A. Maupin. 1995. 35 pp.