Depth to water table

The contours were created using data obtained from wells drilled into the Eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) aquifer. This aquifer underlies the lowlands of the ESRP. The paucity of wells in upland areas required the contours to end at the ESRP boundary. In the ESRP, water tables experience large seasonal fluctuations. Multi-year droughts or wet cycles also influence water table levels. Local pumping, and irrigation practices are other important factors controlling the depth-to-water. These factors make it difficult to precisely estimate water table depths. Therefore, the depth-to-water contours should be viewed as guidelines to focus further investigation of liquefaction susceptibility rather than definitive measures of the depth-to-water. Details of how the water table contours were generated are given in Welhan (in preparation). The contours are shown on digital map pdf files; they are also available in the ArcGIS Personal Geodatabase listed at the end of this file.

Contours showing average depth-to-water are used to further identify regions with potentially saturated conditions.

See Welhan (in preparation)