A lower San Pedro river basin groundwater flow model
| dc.contributor.author | Whittier, Jonathan Douglas | |
| dc.contributor.author | Maddock, Thomas, III | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2016-07-07T23:52:38Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2016-07-07T23:52:38Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2004 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10150/615794 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Water issues in the Lower San Pedro River basin in southeastern Arizona are becoming increasingly contentious as urban development, agriculture, and mining needs compete with the needs of the riparian habitat. To better understand the water demands in this basin, a new groundwater flow model has been created. First, the conceptual model was produced using various Geographic Information System (GIS) applications. A new method allocating digital precipitation data to the smaller drainages within the watershed was used to estimate mountain front recharge. Well data was gathered from both the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR). Depth to bedrock was interpolated from an earlier gravity survey of the area. The current extent of riparian vegetation was determined by recent United States Forest Service aerial photography. GIS shapefiles were created depicting the data necessary for MODFLOW. Second, the numerical MODFLOW model was formed using GMS (Groundwater Modeling System), a graphical user interface for MODFLOW. GMS was used to create the grid, allocate the information from the shapefiles into MODFLOW input files, create the MODFLOW numerical model, and calibrate the model. The model results project potential impacts to the overall sustainability of groundwater within the basin. In the future, the model will be used as an administrative tool to assess alternative land management scenarios and their abilities to sustain or improve the riparian habitat along the San Pedro River. | |
| dc.description.sponsorship | This study was jointly funded by the Arizona Chapter of The Nature Conservancy and by the Nation Science Foundation's Science and Technology Center for Sustainability of semi -Arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas (SAHRA). We would like to express our gratitude for the many individuals that assisted us in bring this study to fruition. We would like to give a special thanks Jeanmarie Haney and Dave Harris of The Nature Consrvancy for their support, and James Lombard for loaning us his calibration expertise. For their editorial comments, we would like to thank Dr. Brenda Ekwurzel, Dr. Bart Nijssen and Dr Errol Montgomery. Kathryn Baird, Carolyn Dragoo Lambert, and Staffan Schorr, were a huge help throughout this study by providing feedback and support. | en |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | en |
| dc.publisher | Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ) | en |
| dc.relation.ispartofseries | Technical Reports on Hydrology and Water Resources, No. 04-05 | en |
| dc.rights | Copyright © Arizona Board of Regents | en |
| dc.source | Provided by the Department of Hydrology and Water Resources. | en |
| dc.title | A lower San Pedro river basin groundwater flow model | en_US |
| dc.type | text | en |
| dc.type | Technical Report | en |
| dc.contributor.department | Department of Hydrology & Water Resources, The University of Arizona | en |
| dc.description.collectioninformation | This title from the Hydrology & Water Resources Technical Reports collection is made available by the Department of Hydrology & Atmospheric Sciences and the University Libraries, University of Arizona. If you have questions about titles in this collection, please contact repository@u.library.arizona.edu. | en |
| refterms.dateFOA | 2018-05-17T21:26:38Z | |
| html.description.abstract | Water issues in the Lower San Pedro River basin in southeastern Arizona are becoming increasingly contentious as urban development, agriculture, and mining needs compete with the needs of the riparian habitat. To better understand the water demands in this basin, a new groundwater flow model has been created. First, the conceptual model was produced using various Geographic Information System (GIS) applications. A new method allocating digital precipitation data to the smaller drainages within the watershed was used to estimate mountain front recharge. Well data was gathered from both the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR). Depth to bedrock was interpolated from an earlier gravity survey of the area. The current extent of riparian vegetation was determined by recent United States Forest Service aerial photography. GIS shapefiles were created depicting the data necessary for MODFLOW. Second, the numerical MODFLOW model was formed using GMS (Groundwater Modeling System), a graphical user interface for MODFLOW. GMS was used to create the grid, allocate the information from the shapefiles into MODFLOW input files, create the MODFLOW numerical model, and calibrate the model. The model results project potential impacts to the overall sustainability of groundwater within the basin. In the future, the model will be used as an administrative tool to assess alternative land management scenarios and their abilities to sustain or improve the riparian habitat along the San Pedro River. |
