Effects of Geothermal Production and Injection on Hot Spring and Geyser Activity, Steamboat Springs, Nevada

Abstract

Hot spring and geyser activity at Steamboat Springs, Nevada has historically been second only in concentration to Yellowstone National Park in the continental United States. This activity began to decline in early 1987, shortly after a binary-type geothermal power plant began operating nearby, and coincident with well testing at a second, primary type geothermal power plant. By early 1988, shortly after the primary flash-type power plant began operating, none of the numerous spring and geyser vents contained visible water. Data collected as part of a recent study suggest that geothermal production wells the primary flash-type, and to a much lesser extent, binary-type, power plant well fields have significantly influenced spring and geyser activity. Observations of spring decline suggest that the mitigating effects of injection have been less than expected, probably as a result of heterogeneous and/or anisotropic conditions.