Groundwater Flow Modeling

in partnership with the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) and the Idaho Water Resource Board (IWRB), we are developing a numerical groundwater-flow model of the Treasure Valley and surrounding area. Resource managers will use the model to simulate potential human and climatic effects on groundwater for water-supply planning and management.

Numerical models are being used to better understand the flow of groundwater and the transport of radiochemical and chemical constituents in the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer system. The models, developed at the INL, afford scientists a framework to organize their knowledge and concepts of groundwater systems and to provide insights for water-resource managers for future water demands and...

Rapid population growth in the Wood River Valley since the 1970s has caused concern about the long-term sustainability of the groundwater resource. Water-resource planners and managers, as well as other decision makers, need a tool for water rights administration and water-resource management and planning.