Simulation of the shallow groundwater-flow system in the Forest County Potawatomi Community, Forest County, Wisconsin

The shallow groundwater system in the Forest County Potawatomi Comminity, Forest County, Wisconsin, was simulated by expanding and recalibrating a previously calibrated regional model. The existing model was updated using newly collected water-level measurements, inclusion of surface-water features beyond the previous near-field boundary, and refinements to surface-water features. The updated model then was used to calculate the area contributing recharge for seven existing and three proposed pumping locations on lands of the Forest County Potawatomi Community. The existing wells were the subject of a 2004 source-water evaluation in which areas contributing recharge were calculated using the fixed-radius method. The motivation for the present (2012) project was to improve the level of detail of areas contributing recharge for the existing wells and to provide similar analysis for the proposed wells. Delineated 5- and 10-year areas contributing recharge for existing and proposed wells extend from the areas of pumping to delineate the area at the surface contributing recharge to the wells. Steady-state pumping was simulated for two scenarios: a base-pumping scenario using pumping rates that reflect what the Community currently (2012) pumps (or plans to in the case of proposed wells), and a high-pumping scenario in which the rate was set to the maximum expected from wells installed in this area, according to the Forest County Potawatomi Community Natural Resources Department. In general, the 10-year areas contributing recharge did not intersect surface-water bodies. The 5- and 10-year areas contributing recharge simulated at the maximum pumping rate at Bug Lake Road may intersect Bug Lake. At the casino near the Town of Carter, Wisconsin, the 10-year areas contributing recharge intersect infiltration ponds. At the Devils Lake and Lois Crow Drive wells, areas contributing recharge are near cultural features, including residences.