HARNEY BASIN GROUNDWATER INVESTIGATION: CONTINUING THE OWRD-USGS COLLABORATION LEGACY OF KEN LITE AND MARSHALL GANNETT

Basin-scale groundwater investigations with flow modeling for the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) advanced from contracting with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct the entire investigation and modeling prior to 1985, to partial OWRD participation during the late 1980s, to full OWRD-USGS collaboration since 1990. The collaborative studies in the Upper Deschutes Basin and the Klamath Basin under the co-leadership of Ken Lite (OWRD) and Marshall Gannett (USGS) benefited from their complimentary and ever-expanding professional skills, scientific inquisitiveness, willingness to use updated and new methods, professional respect, and a nearly 35-year friendship. They set an exemplary model and standard for subsequent basin-scale groundwater investigations in Oregon, including the current investigation in the 5,000 square-mile Harney Basin being co-investigated by a new set of OWRD and USGS staff. The Lite-Gannett collaborative model and legacy will be presented as well as how their model and legacy informs and sets the standard for the current Harney Basin study.