Simulation of the Lower Walker River Basin hydrologic system, west-central Nevada, using PRMS and MODFLOW models

Allander, Kip K.; Niswonger, Richard G.; Jeton, Anne E.

doi:10.3133/sir20145190

Cited by 12 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…For example, the benefits of Ag‐MAR will be, in large part, dependent on water budget and hydrogeologic conditions, and these dependencies can be explored using simulation models. Previous water budget studies in agricultural basins clearly indicate that irrigation is an effective way to recharge aquifers [ Perry , ; Yager et al ., ; Niswonger et al ., ; Lopes and Allander , ; Allander et al ., ; Scanlon et al ., ]. However, quantitative estimates of potential benefits of Ag‐MAR is needed to build support among water managers and to guide future water resources projects.…”

Section: Approachmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…In agricultural lands, information about MAR suitability is generally well known by growers in the form of irrigation inefficiencies, also known as groundwater return flows, that reflect the amount of water that is lost to deep percolation or aquifer recharge relative to the amount of runoff and evapotranspiration (ET) by crop tail‐water [ Kruse , ]. In some agricultural regions, groundwater pumping for irrigation is made more sustainable through inefficient surface water irrigation [ Perry , ; Niswonger et al ., ; Allander et al ., ]. Ag‐MAR fits into the broader topic of conjunctive‐use management that recognizes the benefits of optimally proportioning the use of surface water and groundwater for irrigation, while enhancing groundwater recharge [ Evans and Evans , ; Usman et al ., ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Managed aquifer recharge through off‐season irrigation in agricultural regions

Niswonger

Morway

Triana

et al. 2017

Water Resources Research

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Options for increasing reservoir storage in developed regions are limited and prohibitively expensive. Projected increases in demand call for new long‐term water storage to help sustain agriculture, municipalities, industry, and ecological services. Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is becoming an integral component of water resources around the world. However, MAR faces challenges, including infrastructure costs, difficulty in enhancing recharge, water quality issues, and lack of available water supplies. Here we examine, through simulation modeling of a hypothetical agricultural subbasin in the western U.S., the potential of agricultural managed aquifer recharge (Ag‐MAR) via canal seepage and off‐season field irrigation. Weather phenomenon in many regions around the world exhibit decadal and other multiyear cycles of extreme precipitation. An ongoing challenge is to develop approaches to store greater amounts of water during these events. Simulations presented herein incorporate Ag‐MAR programs and demonstrate that there is potential to enhance regional recharge by 7–13%, increase crop consumptive use by 9–12%, and increase natural vegetation consumption by 20–30%, where larger relative increases occur for lower aquifer hydraulic conductivity and higher specific yield values. Annual increases in groundwater levels were 7 m, and sustained levels following several years of drought were greater than 2 m. Results demonstrate that Ag‐MAR has great potential to enhance long‐term sustainability of water resources in agricultural basins.

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Section: Approachmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managed aquifer recharge through off‐season irrigation in agricultural regions

Niswonger

Morway

Triana

et al. 2017

Water Resources Research

Self Cite

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“…For example, the information gained from the investigation of seepage losses was used by water managers within the Walker River Paiute Indian Reservation to prioritize canal lining efforts for improved canal conveyance efficiency and an overall reduction of losses in the river‐canal system. A cost–benefit and hydrological analysis was performed to optimize canal improvements among the network of canals upgradient of Walker Lake using a regional hydrological model (Allander et al ). The results indicated that with canal lining would result in increased water delivery, crop yields, and water available for ecological flows to Walker Lake.…”

Section: Model Results That Guide Decisionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowing Requires Data

Naranjo

2017

Groundwater

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“…Integrated hydrologic models that specifically describe groundwater‐surface water interactions (e.g., IHM: Geurink et al, 2018; GSFLOW: Markstrom et al, 2008; ParFlow: Maxwell et al, 2009) can be used to predict a range of groundwater discharge source flow path characteristics. Although integrated hydrologic models have been used in midsized watersheds (e.g., Allander et al, 2014; Gannett et al, 2017), and even at the continental scale (Maxwell et al, 2015), extensive data and computational requirements remain as barriers to their usage in midsized and larger watersheds (Barthel & Banzhaf, 2016; Rossman & Zlotnik, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improved Prediction of Management‐Relevant Groundwater Discharge Characteristics Throughout River Networks

Barclay

Starn

Briggs

et al. 2020

Water Resources Research

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Groundwater discharge zones connect aquifers to surface water, generating baseflow and serving as ecosystem control points across aquatic ecosystems. The influence of groundwater discharge on surface flow connectivity, fate and transport of contaminants and nutrients, and thermal habitat depends strongly on hydrologic characteristics such as the spatial distribution, age, and depth of source groundwater flow paths. Groundwater models have the potential to predict spatial discharge characteristics within river networks, but models are often not evaluated against these critical characteristics and model equifinality with respect to discharge processes is a known challenge. We quantify discharge characteristics across a suite of groundwater models with commonly used frameworks and calibration data. We developed a base model (MODFLOW-NWT) for a 1,570-km 2 watershed in the northeastern United States and varied the calibration data, control of river-aquifer exchange directionality, and resolution. Most models (n = 11 of 12) fit similarly to calibration metrics, but patterns in discharge location, flow path depth, and subsurface travel time varied substantially. We found (1) a 15% difference in the percent of discharge going to first-order streams, (2) threefold variations in flow path depth, and (3) sevenfold variations in the subsurface travel times among the models. We recalibrated three models using a synthetic discharge location data set. Calibration with discharge location data reduced differences in simulated discharge characteristics, suggesting an approach to improved equifinality based on widespread field-based mapping of discharge zones. Our work quantifying variation across common modeling approaches is an important step toward characterizing and improving predictions of groundwater discharge characteristics.

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Simulation of the Lower Walker River Basin hydrologic system, west-central Nevada, using PRMS and MODFLOW models

Cited by 12 publications

References 13 publications

Managed aquifer recharge through off‐season irrigation in agricultural regions

Managed aquifer recharge through off‐season irrigation in agricultural regions

Knowing Requires Data

Improved Prediction of Management‐Relevant Groundwater Discharge Characteristics Throughout River Networks

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