Project Number:
WR91R006
Other Project Number:
WRCGRR9507
Funding Year:
1991
Contract Period:
-
Funding Source:
UWS
Investigator(s):
PIs:- Kenneth Potter, UW-Madison, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Carl Bowser, UW-Madison, Dept. of Geology and Geophysics
- Mary Ann Amman, UW-Madison, Dept. of Geology and Geophysics
- Kenneth Bradbury, Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey
Abstract:
Groundwater quality and quantity are effected by a number of activities on the land surface, including application of agricultural chemicals, disposal of solid wastes in landfills, operation of septic systems, pumping of groundwater, and land development. Efficient and effective management of these activities requires information on the spatial and temporal distribution of groundwater recharge. While there exist a variety of operational tools for estimating potential and actual recharge in space, they are not particularly reliable. One of the principal problems is that in most landscapes we have no methods for confirming the results of applying these tools. The purpose of our research was to sue measurements and models of surface and ground water flows, levels and chemistry to estimate the spatial distribution of recharge in a watershed in southern southern Wisconsin, to aid in the development of concepts and methods which could be used in similar watersheds. In particular, the research objectives were to: (1) understand the spatial distribution of groundwater recharge in the Black Earth Creek watershed; and (2) generalize the results for use in similar landscapes.