Simulation of groundwater flow and hydrologic effects of groundwater withdrawals from the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer system in the Pinelands of southern New Jersey

Abstract

For more information on the USGS-the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment, visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1-888-ASK-USGS.For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprodTo order this and other USGS information products, visit http://store.usgs.gov Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report. Suggested citation:Charles, E.G., and Nicholson, R.S., 2012, Simulation of groundwater flow and hydrologic effects of groundwater withdrawals from the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer system in the Pinelands of southern New Jersey: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5122, 219 p.iii AcknowledgmentsFunding for this study was provided, in part, through the Water Supply Fund in accordance with New Jersey Public Law 2001, Chapter 165 (New Jersey Assembly, 2001). The authors are grateful to the private landowners and local, State, and Federal (U.S. Forest Service) officials whose cooperation allowed the aquifer tests at Brendan Byrne State Forest, Wharton State Forest, and Richard Stockton College to be conducted. The authors acknowledge the capable leadership and extensive coordinating efforts of Richard Walker (retired) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in arranging for and conducting the three aquifer tests. The authors also thank USGS colleagues Donald Storck, Robert Rosman, Robert Atkinson, John Trainor, Leon Kauffman, Christine Wieben, Glen Carleton, William Ellis, Dale Simmons, and Denis Sun for their assistance with computer applications, aquifer tests, and report preparation. The timely assistance of Richard Winston (USGS) in helping to resolve several software issues is gratefully acknowledged. Leon Kauffman (USGS) coded a computer routine used to assemble input files for, executing, and processing output for a large number of sensitivity and case-study simulations. Christine Wieben (USGS) capably managed a tremendous volume of data. The assistance of John Bunnell, Kim Laidig, Nicholas Procopio, and Robert Zampella of the New Jersey Pinelands Commission Science Office in planning the sensitivity analyses, case studies, and other aspects of the study is gratefully acknowledged. The authors gratefully acknowledge USGS colleagues Glen Carleton, Dennis Risser, and Howard Reeves, and Pinelands Commission scientists John Bunnell, Kim Laidig, and Nicholas Procopio, for providing helpful comments that greatly improved this report. Special thanks are extended to Anthony Navoy of the USGS, who initially formulated the central concepts of this project. His guidance, insight, and feedback were instrumental to the successful completion of this work and are greatly appreciated. AbstractThe Kirkwood-...

Effects of streamflow reductions on aquatic macroinvertebrates: linking groundwater withdrawals and assemblage response in southern New Jersey streams, USA

“…Additionally, observations made during a 5-day aquifer test (6-11 September 2007) that were used in model calibration, indicate that the pumping stress reversed the pre-test upward hydraulic gradient at the stream, creating the potential to induce flow from the stream and cause stream baseflow reduction. Piezometer measurements in the streambed confirmed the gradient reversal even though the flow of the stream was not measurably affected by the aquifer test because the flow of the stream was so much larger than the withdrawal rate from the one aquifer-test well (Charles and Nicholson 2012). The sub-regional groundwater model was used to develop plausible increases in groundwater withdrawals of 4×, 6.5×, and 8.1× over existing conditions that induced local stream baseflow reductions, on average, by 0.12, 0.20, and 0.26 m 3 s -1…”

“…Scenarios presented in the full model documentation (see Charles and Nicholson 2012) indicate that increased groundwater withdrawal induces stream baseflow reduction. Additionally, observations made during a 5-day aquifer test (6-11 September 2007) that were used in model calibration, indicate that the pumping stress reversed the pre-test upward hydraulic gradient at the stream, creating the potential to induce flow from the stream and cause stream baseflow reduction.…”

“…1), was used to simulate groundwater-withdrawal scenarios and stream baseflow reduction for the purpose of extending the results to the other four basins in this study. The model was originally developed to assess groundwater withdrawals from typical withdrawal depths within the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer system, and is intended to assess long-term effects of increased groundwater withdrawals on water levels in wetlands and on baseflow (Charles and Nicholson 2012).…”

Landscape Scale Modeling of the Potential Effect of Groundwater-level Declines on Forested Wetlands in the New Jersey Pinelands

“…Charles and Nicholson (2011) identified three major factors contributing to differences in the wetland drawdown response among the study basins: 1) average distance between wetlands and surface water (i.e. streams 5 From-To change for 'winning' wetland community from Baseline condition to each Best and Worst case scenario.…”

“…Two types of empirically determined models were developed to predict potential changes in vegetation associated with water-level declines; these included simple regression models that predict the relative abundance of wetland-and upland-indicator species as a function of water level and logistic regression models that predict the probability of encountering the different vegetation types in relation to water level. A companion study by Charles and Nicholson (2011) of the U.S. Geological Survey undertook an intensive hydrologic investigation of the three study basins. One outcome of this component of the project was the development of a spatially distributed groundwater model to estimate and map the water table level across each of the three study basins.…”