Surface Water and Groundwater Interaction, Rogue Valley Manor, Medford, Oregon

JBR assisted the Rogue Valley Manor in obtaining a water right to develop a groundwater resource to irrigate the Quail Point Golf Course. The Oregon Water Resources Department (ORWD) reviewed the Manor’s application and determined that an evaluation of the relationship between surface water and groundwater needed to be evaluated in accordance with OAR 690-09 dealing with water rights in and above a scenic waterway. ORWD requested that an evaluation of the potential for stream depletion be conducted. JBR personnel developed a field test that allowed the surface groundwater relationship to be tested. Two piezometers were installed to allow water levels in the deep and shallow aquifers to be monitored when a nearby deep irrigation well was pumped at a rate of 100 gpm. Water levels in the various wells and the piezometers, and surface water flows were monitored prior to pumping. The results from test indicated that the deep production well was not hydraulically connected to the shallow water table aquifer or the streambed. A report was written on behalf of the Rogue Valley Manor providing the test results and the conclusion that pumping from the deep confined aquifer did not hydraulically effect or diminish surface water flow in the stream.

• Ray Fritchey -