Groundwater Availability Analysis of the Denver Groundwater Basin
The Denver Basin aquifer system is a critical water resource for growing municipal, industrial, and domestic uses along the semiarid Front Range urban corridor of Colorado. The confined bedrock aquifer system is located along the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountain Front Range where the mountains meet the Great Plains physiographic province. Mining, transportation, agricultural, and urban activities developed along the Front Range beginning in the 1800s, and today urban and suburban land use extends north from Denver to Fort Collins and south to Colorado Springs.
Continued population growth and the resulting need for additional water supplies in the Denver Basin and throughout the western United States emphasize the need to continually monitor and reassess the availability of groundwater resources.
Adequate monitoring and modeling of the hydrologic system are important to evaluate the effects of continued pumping on storage depletion and provide tools for future water management decisions.
Background:
In 2004, the U.S. Geological Survey initiated large-scale regional studies to provide updated groundwater-availability assessments of important principal aquifers across the United States, including the Denver Basin. This study of the Denver Basin aquifer system evaluates the hydrologic effects of continued pumping and documents an updated groundwater flow model useful for appraisal of hydrologic conditions.
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
Geospatial datasets developed for a groundwater-flow model of the Denver Basin aquifer system, Colorado
MODFLOW2000 model and ZONEBUDGET computer program used to simulate the Upper Big Sandy Designated Groundwater Basin alluvial aquifer, Elbert, El Paso, and Lincoln Counties, Colorado, 2016
MODFLOW2000 model used to simulate the groundwater flow of the Denver Basin Aquifer System, Colorado
Below are publications associated with this project.
Groundwater levels in the Denver Basin bedrock aquifers of Douglas County, Colorado, 2011–19
Water-budget analysis of the Upper Big Sandy Designated Ground-water Basin alluvial aquifer, Elbert, El Paso, and Lincoln Counties, Colorado, 2016
Groundwater levels in the Denver Basin bedrock aquifers of Douglas County, Colorado, 2011-2013
Quality of groundwater in the Denver Basin aquifer system, Colorado, 2003-5
The quality of our Nation's waters: Water quality in the Denver Basin aquifer system, Colorado, 2003-05
Demonstration optimization analyses of pumping from selected Arapahoe aquifer municipal wells in the west-central Denver Basin, Colorado, 2010–2109
Groundwater availability of the Denver Basin aquifer system, Colorado
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
MODFLOW
MODFLOW is the USGS's three-dimensional (3D) finite-difference groundwater model. MODFLOW is considered an international standard for simulating and predicting groundwater conditions and groundwater/surface-water interactions.
Below are partners associated with this project.
The Denver Basin aquifer system is a critical water resource for growing municipal, industrial, and domestic uses along the semiarid Front Range urban corridor of Colorado. The confined bedrock aquifer system is located along the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountain Front Range where the mountains meet the Great Plains physiographic province. Mining, transportation, agricultural, and urban activities developed along the Front Range beginning in the 1800s, and today urban and suburban land use extends north from Denver to Fort Collins and south to Colorado Springs.
Continued population growth and the resulting need for additional water supplies in the Denver Basin and throughout the western United States emphasize the need to continually monitor and reassess the availability of groundwater resources.
Adequate monitoring and modeling of the hydrologic system are important to evaluate the effects of continued pumping on storage depletion and provide tools for future water management decisions.
Background:
In 2004, the U.S. Geological Survey initiated large-scale regional studies to provide updated groundwater-availability assessments of important principal aquifers across the United States, including the Denver Basin. This study of the Denver Basin aquifer system evaluates the hydrologic effects of continued pumping and documents an updated groundwater flow model useful for appraisal of hydrologic conditions.
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
Geospatial datasets developed for a groundwater-flow model of the Denver Basin aquifer system, Colorado
MODFLOW2000 model and ZONEBUDGET computer program used to simulate the Upper Big Sandy Designated Groundwater Basin alluvial aquifer, Elbert, El Paso, and Lincoln Counties, Colorado, 2016
MODFLOW2000 model used to simulate the groundwater flow of the Denver Basin Aquifer System, Colorado
Below are publications associated with this project.
Groundwater levels in the Denver Basin bedrock aquifers of Douglas County, Colorado, 2011–19
Water-budget analysis of the Upper Big Sandy Designated Ground-water Basin alluvial aquifer, Elbert, El Paso, and Lincoln Counties, Colorado, 2016
Groundwater levels in the Denver Basin bedrock aquifers of Douglas County, Colorado, 2011-2013
Quality of groundwater in the Denver Basin aquifer system, Colorado, 2003-5
The quality of our Nation's waters: Water quality in the Denver Basin aquifer system, Colorado, 2003-05
Demonstration optimization analyses of pumping from selected Arapahoe aquifer municipal wells in the west-central Denver Basin, Colorado, 2010–2109
Groundwater availability of the Denver Basin aquifer system, Colorado
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
MODFLOW
MODFLOW is the USGS's three-dimensional (3D) finite-difference groundwater model. MODFLOW is considered an international standard for simulating and predicting groundwater conditions and groundwater/surface-water interactions.
Below are partners associated with this project.