Sunday, May 27, 2012

COQUILLE VALLEY AQUIFIER

Port Orford ocean view

Approximately 7,500 acres of the Coquille ‘winter lake’ is a fresh water collector.  This seasonal water trap is the recharge source for the Coquille aquifer.  The dikes and tidal gates don’t just keep tides out, but also helps to keep wet season water in.

The geological plumbing system, faults and fractures, allows for water communication into the aquifer.  This same plumbing can also allow sea water (denser) into the aquifer.  As long as ‘winter lake’ is allowed to replenish the Coquille aquifer it will store fresh water.
When the fresh water is drawn off, or not replenished, the porous aquifer does not stay empty but starts to fill with more dense salt water.  Salt water intrusion is expanding due to sea level rise and fresh water pumping.
During the summer months the fresh water source is diminishing and denser salt water intrudes further up the coquille river channel and its tributaries, channels, ditches and wetlands.  If all the dikes and tidal gates are removed along with digging old ‘channels’, salt water will find it easier to enter the wet lands and the aquifer.
The world is having problems with fresh water sources for humans and agriculture.  If we allow more salt water intrusion into aquifer we will further reduce our fresh water storage and use.

Here is a link to an article published on the Statistical and Applied Mathematical Inst. Web Site:


http://www.samsi.info/sites/default/files/Barlow.pdf