Scott River Basin Water Balance: Phase I
Final Report - September 1999
Principal Investigator:
Lorrie Morrison Bundy
Siskiyou Resource Conservation District
P.O. Box 268
Etna, CA 96027
(530) 467-3975, lorrie@sisqtel.net
Other Investigators:
Dr. Sari Sommarstrom
Dr. Mike Deas
Location of project: Scott River Basin, Siskiyou County
Funding:
FY 1997-98: $14,850
Table of Contents:
Objectives
Summary
Specific Results
Potential Benefits/Impacts on Agriculture
Dissemination of Findings
The objectives of this project have not changed from the original proposal. However, the original proposal was for a three year study. Funding was only provided by UC SAREP for the first year of work. Therefore, while the objectives listed are the same, only the Data Inventory iis presented in this Final Report.
- Develop a water balance of the Scott River system in order to help local farmers address the problem of the low streamflows in the Scott River while maintaining sustainable agriculture in the Scott Valley.
- Develop a holistic, management tool that will help anticipate the benefits, costs, and political feasibility of policy/project alternatives that are presented by the local Coordinated Resources Management Planning (CRMP) Council.
This is a final report on Phase I (Year 1) for a water balance of the Scott River basin. Phase I included the collection and inventory of data necessary for developing a water balance and a computer model of the Scott River basin. Phases II and III were funded by the California Department of Fish and Game. Below is a brief summary of Phase I.
Farming and ranching provide the economic base for the people living in the Scott River basin. Historically, surface water ditches provided most of the irrigation and stock water needs for crops and livestock. However, during the summer and late fall there is little or no stream flow. For those that can afford it, large irrigation wells are installed to ensure an adequate water supply during the low-flow, fall months.
In addition, low surface flows in the fall are identified as a primary limiting factor to the survival/success of the local fisheries. These fish migrate upstream to spawn and need an adequate amount of water to allow for migration. Local areas of dewatered streams can cut off miles of potential spawning habitat. Many local agricultural producers recognize the need to improve streamflows to maintain a sustainable agriculture business and a viable community. This water balance was recommended as a way to better understand the hydrology of the basin.
A water balance is really an accounting system of the hydrology of a basin. Hydrology is the collection, occurrence, and distribution of water. In order to develop a water balance, all of the inputs and outputs of water in a watershed need to be identified and the data gathered.
Using basic hydrologic concepts, the inputs were identified as precipitation; the outputs were identified as evapotranspiration and streamflow. These parameters are sufficient for an annual water balance. However, for a monthly or seasonal water balance, changes in soil moisture and groundwater storage are also necessary to capture the deficit of water in the summer and the excess in the winter.
Precipitation and streamflow are directly measurable and can be spatially interpolated with some confidence. However, evapotranspiration requires crop information, air temperature, relative humidity, and soil moisture. In addition to the hydrologic inputs and outputs, the land in the basin needed to be described accurately so that a computer model could be developed and used to predict land and resource management impacts. Therefore, information on soils, geology, land use, roads, groundwater use, surface diversions, and urban lands were collected.
In order to develop a water balance of the Scott River basin, the hydrologic data inputs and outputs were collected. In addition, the data on the physical characteristics of the basin were also collected. The physical characteristics are necessary to develop a computer model of the basin. This model is the ultimate tool that will be used for resource and management decisions.
A data inventory provided five basic types of information: text, data files, GIS layers, photos, and historic/memorabilia. The results of this inventory are listed below:
California State Water Resources Control Board. 1974, Report on Water Supply and Use of Water, Scott River Stream System, Scott River Adjudication, Div. Of Water Rights. Sacramento, CA.
This report was prepared for the Division of Water Rights in preparation for the adjudication of the Scott River. The purpose of the investigation was to inventory all claims for surface water not already adjudicated including a portion of interconnected ground water. Information in the report includes: potential irrigated acreage; estimated ditch losses; water claimants; estimated ditch losses; and flow measurements at short-term gages.
----------. 1975, Report on the Hydrogeologic Conditions of Scott Valley: CSWRCB.
This report was prepared for the Division of Water Rights in preparation for the adjudication of the Scott River. The purpose of the investigation was to determine the area of interconnected groundwater for adjudication. Geologic cross sections are presented with locations of wells, bridges, and stream beds.
Mack, S. 1958, Geology and Ground-Water Features of Scott Valley Siskiyou County, California: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1462. Washington D.C.
This report presents a study of the geology and ground-water resources in Scott Valley 1953. The purposes of the investigation were: to map the extent and thickness of water-bearing deposits and to differentiate the geologic units in the bedrock surrounding Scott Valley; to learn the geologic factors that are related to and that control the occurrence of ground water; to determine the chemical character of the ground water and it relation to occurrence, movement, and use; and to estimate, insofar as practicable, the ground-water storage capacity of the Scott Valley area.
Siskiyou County Superior Court. 1950, Shackleford Creek Adjudication, Decree No. 13775, Yreka, CA.
----------. 1957, French Creek Adjudication, Stipulation for Judgement No. 14478, Yreka, CA.
----------. 1980, Scott River Adjudication, Decree No. 30662, Yreka, CA.
These legal filings detail all adjudicated surface diversions within the Scott River Watershed. Information provided in these documents include: estimated ditch losses; water users; ditch locations and lengths; acreage irrigated; period of use; and, adjudicated water use. In addition to surface water, some irrigation wells are included in the Scott River adjudication if interconnected groundwater is extracted as defined in the filing.
Sommarstrom, S. 1990, Scott River Watershed Granitic Sediment Study, unpublished report prepared for the Siskiyou Resource Conservation District, Etna, CA.
This study provided the information necessary to determine where sediment reducing activities should occur to improve fisheries in the Scott River watershed. Analysis focused on three aspects of the problem: sources of granitic sediment production; granitic sediment storage and transport in the Scott River; and the extent of impact of granitic sediment on salmon and steelhead spawning habitat in the Scott River and selected tributaries. This report contains a comprehensive description of the resource history including: trapping; mining; timber harvest; and fire.
California Data Exchange Center. 1999, Climate Data for Scott River watershed. (http://cdec.water.ca.gov)
This web site provides climate information from a number of different agencies at one specific location. The data type and brief description is summarized below:
Parameter |
Season |
Location |
|
Hourly | 2 mountain, 2 valley |
| Daily | 1 valley |
|
|
Hourly | 2 mountain, 3 valley |
| Daily | 1 valley |
|
|
Daily | 3 mountain |
| Monthly | 6 mountain |
|
|
3 times Daily 4/1 - 10/30 |
2 valley |
|
Daily | 2 valley |
|
Hourly | 2 valley |
|
Hourly | 2 valley |
California Department of Water Resources. 1964, Klamath River Basin Investigation: CDWR Bulletin No. 83.
This bulletin contains: water quality information of surface and groundwater; estimated seasonal natural flow near Fort Jones for 1894-1954; water resource development proposals; net and potential irrigated acres.
----------. 1999, Unpublished summary table of new wells located between 39N/08W and 45N/10W by drill year. Northern District, Red Bluff, CA.
----------. 1999, Summary of operations for watermaster service in Northern California - previous seasons. Northern District, Red Bluff, CA.
----------. 1999, unpublished data for Scott River hydrographic unit Bulletins 160-**, Northern District, Red Bluff, CA.
These unpublished reports and data are available at the CDWR Red Bluff office. This information is used for: number of wells; number of active diversions and use; estimated water use by crop; suface and ground water use; and land use.
--------. 1999, Ground water levels for Northern District, Scott Valley.
http://well.water.ca.gov/eXterra/GetBasinWells.cfm?GWBasinCode='1-005.00'.
This web site provides historic, static well level data for six wells in Scott River Valley. Data is usually collected twice a year: once in the fall when water levels are lowest and once in the spring when water levels are highest.
City of Etna. 1999, Urban Water Utility Statistics.
These annual data sheets provide information on flat-rate and metered water use in the City of Etna. The number of accounts are categorized as residential, commercial, inactive, public authority, agricultural irrigation, and other irrigation. However, metered deliveries are only available as monthly and annual totals.
Pacificorp. 1999, Agricultural Pumping Summary by Zip Code for 96014, 96027, 96032 and 96037.
These data sheets provide information on agricultural pumping in Scott Valley. Information is presented as annual kilowatt/hour (kWh) and annual revenue for each zip code listed. Cost per kWh is necessary to make estimates of annual use.
United States Geological Survey. 1999, Historical Flow Data from USGS gaging stations. (http://water.usgs.gov/nwis-w/CA)
This website provides historic peak and daily streamflow records for gaging stations in the Scott River watershed. These sites are summarized below
Station |
Period of record |
Daily/Peak |
| EF Scott Bl Houston Cr Nr Callahan | 8/30/1970 - 7/6/1973 |
Daily |
| EF Scott Ab Kangaroo Cr Nr Callahan | 9/1/1970 - 7/6/1973 |
Daily |
| EF Scott Nr Callahan | 10/1/1910 - 9/30/1911 |
Daily |
| EF Scott R Alahan | 10/1/1959 - 9/30/1974 |
Daily |
| SF Scott R Nr Callahan | 10/1/1958 - 9/30/1960 |
Daily |
| Sugar C Nr Callahan | 9/1/1957 - 9/30/1960 |
Daily |
| Cedar Gulch Nr Callahan | 2/1/1966 - 9/30/1973 |
Daily |
| Etna C Ab Lunch C Nr Etna | 2/10/1961 - 4/27/1973 |
Peak |
| Moffett C Nr Fort Jones | 10/1/1958 - 9/30/1967 |
Daily/Peak |
| Soap Cr Trib Nr Fort Jones | 1/1/1961 - 1/1/1973 |
Peak |
| Shackleford C Nr Mugginsville | 10/1/1956 - 9/30/1960 |
Daily |
| Scott R Nr Fort Jones | 10/1/1941 - current |
Daily/Peak |
| Scott R Nr Scott Bar | Daily |
These data layers are provided by the Klamath National Forest, Fort Jones, CA and the Spatial Analyst Lab at Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA. The soil survey is available at Natural Resource Conservation Service web site, www.ftw.nrcs.usda.gov/ssur_data.html. All themes have adequate metatext files associated.
Theme |
Coverage Name |
Topology |
Scale |
| Bedrock geology | bedrock | Polygon | 1:24K |
| Historic fire perimeters | Fire_perim | Polygon | 1:24K |
| 1987 Wildfire Burn Intensities | Fire87bi | Polygon | 1:24K |
| Managed wildlife area | Furbearer | Polygon | 1:24K |
| Geomorphic terrances | Geo12_0394 | Polygon | 1:24K |
| Geomorphology | Geomorphology | Polygon | 1:24K |
| 7.5 minute Quadrangle boundaries | Index_quads | Polygon | 1:24K |
| Point feature from USFS cartographic feature files | Knf_cff_p | point | 1:24K |
| Hydrology:waterbodies & meadows/wet areas | Lakes | Polygon | 1:24K |
| 30-meter Digital Elevation Model | Lat30m | Grid | 1:24K (30m) |
| 90-meter Digital Elevation Model | Lat90m | grid | 1:24K (90m) |
| Conifer mortality surveys | Mortality9(n) | Polygon | 1:63360 |
| Old Growth inventory points, 1992 | Og_inv_pts92 | point | 1:24K |
| Land ownership within the knf boundary | Owner | Polygon | 1:24K |
| Public land survey system (T, R, S) | Pls | Polygon | 1:24K |
| Mean annual precipitation | Precip | polygon | 1" = 30 miles |
| Released roadless areas | Rel_rdless | polygon | 1:24K |
| Research natural areas | Rna | Polygon | 1:24K |
| Roads | Roads | Line | 1:24K &1:100K |
| Order III Soils inventory | Soils3 | Polygon | 1:63360 |
| Specimen Fire Burn Intensities, 94 | Specimen94bi | Polygon | |
| Polygon | 1:24K | ||
| Hydrology: Springs/Seeps | Springs | point | 1:24K |
| Hydrology: Streams | Streams | line | 1:24K |
| LMP Timber Types | Veg0495 | Polygon | 1:24K |
| Hydrologic Watersheds | Watersheds | Polygon | 1:24K |
| Wilderness area boundaries in KNF | Wilderness | Polygon | 1:24K |
| Boundary of Karuk reservation | Karukbnd | Polygon | 1:100K |
| Boundary of Yurok reservation | yurokbnd | Polygon | 1:100K |
| Roads w/in Klamath Basin | Kbroads | Line | 1:100K |
| Soil map for Klamath Economic Z | Kzsoils | Polygon | 1:250K |
| Landsat TM image summer 1994 | Tm94_4430.img - tm94_4632.img | Grid | 1:100K |
| Streams within Klamath Basin | Kbstm2m, 100, 500 | Line | 1:2m, 100K, 500K |
| Scott River Watershed boundary | Scotthuc | Polygon | 1:100K |
| Scott River HUC-clippedVEG/SHR types | Scottshr_v10a | Grid | 30m |
| Scott River box-clipped VEG/SHR types | Scottbxshr_v10a | Grid | 30m |
| Orthophoto Maps | Ortho | Special | 1:24K |
| Soil survey Central Siskiyou Co | soilsnrcs | Polygon | 1:24K |
Natural Resource Conservation Service. Aerial photos.
Black and white series on private lands for 1993, 1979, 1971, and 1960's.
Siskiyou County Museum. Historic photos and documents
The County Museum has a collection of historic photos and documents that show the resource history of Scott Valley. Landscape photos of Etna and Fort Jones show how the landscape looked historically. There are also old maps that show prominent features such as beaver ponds and intensive mining locations.
Siskiyou Resource Conservation District. Aerial photos.
The Siskiyou RCD office maintains a collection of 1997, uncorrected Aerial flight photos of Scott Valley and select tributaries. There are also uncorrected Aeial flight photos showing damage from the 1964 flood.
Terra Microsoft Server. Aerial photos.
Black and white, digital aerials of Scott Valley are available on the server http://terra.microsoft.com.
United States Forest Service. Aerial and historic photos.
Black and white series on Forest Serv7ice lands for 1997 (west side only), 1995, 1990, 1987 (infrared), 1985, and more. There is a flight scheduled for the summer of 2000.
Scott River Watershed Coordinated Resource Management Planning Council (CRMP). Video
The Siskiyou RCD office maintains a videotape library of discussions with long-time residents of Scott Valley. These historical videos are unedited and are approximately 2-3 hours in length.
Potential Benefits/Impacts on Agriculture
The end result of this project is to provide local resource managers with a tool that can be used to identify projects of benefit both to the local fisheries and to the agriculture community. A specific project of interest is conversion of brush lands to grazable grass lands. A physical model will help people visualize the results of such an action. The model will process a scenario where a piece of land is converted from brush land to grass land. The predicted results will then be visually presented to a group. If favorable, a proposal would be written to fund such a project. A visual representation of the scenario could be presented with the proposal for impact and support.
However, the long-term success of this model depends on adequate maintenance. Changes in topography, water use, and land use must be reflected in the model to ensure accurate results. In addition, only projects that have the support of willing landowners will be pursued.
The data collection and assessment portion of this project was funded by UC SAREP. The rest of the project was funded by the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG). Results of specific management scenarios will be presented to the community in the spring of 2000 as outlined in contract with CDFG. At the end of these meetings, attendees will be asked to complete a responsiveness survey to determine willingness to implement identified management options.
Siskiyou County is in the process of developing a groundwater plan. A resource specialist has been hired to acquire funding and provide outreach to local groups. This data inventory will be forwarded to the County's resource specialist to assist with their efforts.
The Scott River CRMP has a website and the Siskiyou RCD is in the process of developing one. This project will be referenced at these websites. Ultimately, this final report will be available at these web sites for interested parties.