Bulletin 1.pdf - California Department of Water Resources - State of ...

WATER RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA 465
content. Boron is also present in significant amounts in ground waters
of Cache Creek Basin.
West-side ground waters in the San J oaquin Valley are characterized
by high percentage of sulphate and abnormal amounts of boron,
often in toxic concentrations. Nearly all have a brackish taste and many
are unpalatable. The predominating sulphate radical usually has a concentration
below the upper limit of safe use for irrigation. The usable
zone of pumping on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley from Mendota
to Buttonwillow is generally found between overlying unusable
perched water, underlying brines, and a more or less effective impervious
stratum in the trough of the valley, commonly known as the Mendenhall
Dike. Calcium and magnesium are dominant bases in both east-side and
west-side ground waters. These bases are generally subordinated by
sodium toward the trough of the valley, from Sutter Basin south to
Buena Vista Lake. Chloride is often the principal acid radical in axial
ground waters, although bicarbonate concentrations remain high. In the
trough of the San Joaquin Valley, ground waters between depths of
about 300 feet and about 1,000 feet generally are lower in mineral content
than are shallow waters. Axial ground waters are characterized by
diverse composition and concentration of salts.
GROUND WATER STORAGE CAPACITY OF SACRAMENTO VALLEY
For some years the State of California has cooperated with the
United States Geological Survey in ground water investigations, and
the results have been published in numerous reports of the Geological
Survey. A summary of a recent unpublished report entitled" Ground­
Water Storage Capacity of the Sacramento Valley, California," by J. F.
Poland and others, dated November 1949, appears in this bulletin as
Appendix D.