unseen_colorado_mountain_aquifers_throw_water_on_teflon_basin_myth

News Nov 07, 2004

Unseen Colorado mountain aquifers throw water on “teflon basin” myth

Boulder Flatirons from the south

Mark Williams (Geography, ENVS INSTAAR), five graduate students, Bruce Vaughn, James White (ENVS, Geological Sciences, INSTAAR), and several USGS and EPA personnel discovered that high-altitude aquifers honeycomb parts of the Colorado Rockies, trapping snowmelt and debunking the myth that high mountain valleys act as "Teflon basins" to rush water downstream. Geochemical and water isotope studies showed that less than half of the annual snowmelt in the Green Lakes Valley region in the high mountains west of Boulder arrives at the watershed treatment facility within a year as "new water." The team found that most of the water sampled from North Boulder Creek during the runoff months was "old groundwater" that had been stored in subterranean mountain catchments. Similar studies by Williams and colleagues near Leadville, Colo., demonstrated that high-mountain groundwater is dominated by snowmelt that is locked underground for years or decades. Together, the research reveals that water from snow pack replenishes high-altitude groundwater reservoirs, pooling underground rather than rushing downstream toward the plains.

These findings were presented at the annual Geological Society of America meeting held in Denver Nov. 7 to Nov. 10.

News Source: CU-Boulder News Center

ENVS Faculty: Mark Williams | James White

ENVS News Category: Research Update

Want to automatically follow our news and events without having to visit the ENVS website with your browser? Just subscribe to one of our news and calendar feeds.