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MODFLOW Lab 19: Application of a Groundwater Flow Model to a Water Supply Problem
An Introduction to MODFLOW and SURFER
The problem posed in this lab was reported in Chapter 19 of "A Manual of Instructional
Problems for the U.S.G.S. MODFLOW Model," by P.F. Andersen, EPA/600/R-93/010, February
1993. The details about the problem were exerpted from the chapter along with additional
comments provided by J.S. Gierke.
Purpose
Utilize groundwater modeling software to forecast the pumping drawdown in a regional aquifer
for public drinking water supply
Groundwater flow models are often used in water resource evaluations to assess the long-term
productivity of local or regional aquifers. This exercise presents an example of an application to
a local system and involves calibration to an aquifer test and prediction using best estimates of
aquifer properties. Of historical interest, this problem is adapted from one of the first applications
of a digital model to a water resource problem (cf. Pinder, G.F., and G.D. Bredehoeft,
"Application of the digital computer for aquifer evaluation," Water Resources Research, 4, 1069-
1093, 1968). The specific objective was to assess whether a glaciofluvial aquifer could provide
an adequate water supply for a village in Nova Scotia.
Objectives
1) Become familiar with MODFLOW and its various input packages
2) Gain experience in model calibration
3) Become aquainted with model data presentation (e.g., Surfer contours)
Background
The aquifer is located adjacent to the Musquodoboit River, -mile northwest of the village of
Musquodoboit Harbour, Nova Scotia. It is a glaciofluvial deposit consisting of coarse sand,
gravel, cobbles, and boulders deposited in a U-shaped glacial valley (Figures 19.1 and 19.2). The
aquifer, which is up to 62 feet thick, is extensively overlain by recent alluvial deposits of sand,
silt and clay, which act as confining beds. For the purposes of our analysis, it is assumed that the
aquifer is fully confined with several zones of varied transmissivity (Figure 19.3).
A pump test was conducted to evaluate the aquifer transmissivity and storage coefficient, and to
estimate recharge from the river. The test was run for 36 hours using a well discharging at 0.963
cubic feet per second (432 gallons per minute, gpm) and three observation wells (Figure 19.4).
The test was discontinued when the water level in the pumping well became stable. Initial
estimates of aquifer parameters were calculated using the Theis curve and the early segment of
the drawdown curves for the observation wells. The results were somewhat variable, ranging
from 1.45 ft
2
/s to 0.3 ft
2
/s, due to influence of boundary conditions (the Musquidoboit River) on
the pumping test.
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Introduction to MODFLOW
MODFLOW, developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, uses the finite difference method to
obtain an approximate solution to the partial differential equations that describe the movement of
groundwater of constant density through porous material. Hydrogeologic layers can be simulated
as confined, unconfined, or a combination of confined and unconfined. External stresses such as
wells, areal recharge, evapotranspiration, drains, and streams can also be simulated. Boundary
conditions include specified head, specified flux, and head-dependent flux. Packages available in
MODFLOW and their major function are:
Table 1: Names and descriptions of MODFLOW input packages.
Package Name (.extension) Purpose
Problem Set up and Definition
Basic (.bas) Overall model setup and execution
Block Centered Flow (.bcf) Sets up grid and material properties
Boundary Condition Packages
Well (.wel) Specified constant flux condition
Drain (.drn) Head-dependent flux condition limited to discharge
Evapotranspiration (.et) Simulate areal withdrawal of water due to E/T.
River (.riv) Head-dependent flux condition with a maximum
General Head Boundary (.ghb) Head-dependent flux condition, no maximum
Recharge (.rch) Specified areal flux input, e.g., infiltration
Solution Technique Packages
Strongly Implicit Procedure (.sip) Numerical solution technique
Slice Successive Over Relaxation (.sor) Numerical solution technique
Pre-conditioned Conjugate Gradient (.pcg) Numerical solution technique
Output Control (.oc) Directs amount, type, and format of output
Problem Scope
For this first exercise, you are to gain experience in "using" MODFLOW and in manipulating
input files manually. In future exercises, you will learn how to prepare input from scratch. So
here, you will be using previously prepared input files and manipulating them just a little. This is
just an introduction, you will by no means be an expert at the end of this.
Obtaining and Organizing the Input Files
To start, create a subdirectory: modflow and then off that one another modflow/lab19. All the
files will be placed in the lab1 subdirectory. Remember, unix is case sensitive, so it is suggested
that you work in lower case.
Access the webpage: http://www.geo.mtu.edu/~jsgierke/classes/modflow/lab19/lab19.html
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Hold the SHIFT key down while clicking on each file with the left mouse button (Sun mouse) or
right mouse button (PC mouse). When a pop-up menu appears asking where to save the file,
insert the subdirectory path you created above (modflow/lab19) between your root diretory and
the filename.
You should have received the following data files (type ls -l):
lab19.bas
lab19.bcf
lab19.wel
lab19.riv
lab19.sip
lab19.oc
Running MODFLOW
The format of MODFLOW input files is give in Appendix A. You will use this appendix
frequently.
The version of MODFLOW that you will use here is called "surfmod" and this is run by typing
the following:
surfmod
The program will ask for file names according to input and output unit numbers as defined
below:
Unit = 66: this is the standard MODFLOW output; the name is user specified. CAREFULL: you
can overwrite other files if you do not provide a unique filename. Call this lab19.out
Unit=1: lab19.bas; this is always the basic package, which defines the unit numbers for the other
packages. The ones listed below are unique to this problem.
Unit=11: lab19.bcf
Unit=12: lab19.wel
Unit=14: lab19.riv
Unit=19: lab19.sip
Unit=22: lab19.oc
Unit=80: 1lay19.dat, this is a file prepared for input into Surfer contouring software. Ignore this
file for the time being and overwrite it with each simulation during the calibration phase below.
Run the model with these given data sets (a summary of the input is given in Table 19.1). Plot
the drawdowns (using either an Excel or Applix spreadsheet) the observation wells and compare
to the field data listed in Table 19.2. Manipulate the value of the Transmissivity Multiplier
and/or the Storativity (both can be found in lab1.bcf) until you are satisfied with the results.
(Hint: It is pretty easy to edit lab1.bcf with the vi or pico editors, save it, and rerun surfmod. Use
different names for the Unit=66 file for each run so that you can save them and zero in on the
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best values of T & S.) Print out the graph with the "best" fit. You might as well know now that
there is no combination of S and T that will yield an exact agreement. In fact, you will be able to
match either the early time data (< 100 minutes) or the later time data (>100 minutes) but not
both unless you use time-variable storage coefficient, which is beyond the scope of this lab. So
fit the part you want realizing that you are calibrating to the pumptest data with the purpose of
"forecasting" drawdowns for even longer times (see below).
Once you have calibrated S and T, now run a simulation for 1000 days by altering the value of
PERLEN in lab1.bas (the units are seconds) and NSTEPS (increase to 30, if not already set to
30). Using Surfer and 1lay19.dat, draw a drawdown contour for the aquifer region at 1000 days
(the data for this is the last 2420 lines of data in the file 1lay19.dat).
Examine the water budget calculations at the end of the best fit simulation (36-hrs) and the 1000-
day simulation. Compare where the water is coming from between these two times.
Introduction to Surfer
The Surfer program is designed to generate contour plots of inputted data by three different
methods (see Appendix B for a little more details): inverse distance, kriging, or minimum
curvature. Inverse distance is an averaging method that weights data values such that the
influence of a data point decreases with the distance from the grid value being generated. Kriging
performs a moving average that defines trends in the data. High points in the same region of the
map tend to be connected as ridges, or low points connected as troughs. Minimum curvature
generates the smoothest surface of the three methods, however, data may not support the trends
as shown. Surfer can also utilize MODFLOW output to generate drawdown contour maps. In this
way, Surfer allows a visual representation of the effects of pumping on a hydrogeologic system.
What to Hand in
A spreadsheet plot of the model-simulated drawdowns compared to the observed drawdowns.
Use good technical labelling practices.
A contour plot for the 1000-day drawdown and use good technical labelling practices.
A memo containing the following sections: (1) Background (simply reference the lab handout for
the background information); (2) Objectives; (3) Approach (i.e., what did you use as a model,
what parameters were calibrated and how); (4) Results and Discussion (Describe the calibration
results and the contour plot, is the system at steady state at 1000 days, why or why not (use the
water budget results)?, comment on weaknesses of and/or limitations to the calibration).
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Table 19.1. Input date for the water supply problem
Grid: 44 rows, 55 columns, 1 layer
Grid Spacing: Uniform 100 ft
Initial Head: 0.0 ft
Transmissivity: Non-uniform spatially, 3 zones
Storage Coefficient: Uniform spatially
Closure Criterion: 0.001
Number of Time Steps: 10
Time Step Multiplier: 1.414
Length of Simulation: 36 hours
Production Well Location: Row 29, column 32
Pumping Rate: 0.963 ft
3
/s (432 gpm)
River Stage: 0.0 ft
River Conductance: 0.02 ft
2
/s
River Bottom Elevation: -10 ft
Table 19.2. Observed drawdown data from aquifer test
Drawdown (ft)
Time (min) Well 1 Well 2 Well 3
1 0.17 0.04 0.00
4 0.26 0.12 0.01
10 0.33 0.16 0.02
40 0.48 0.22 0.08
100 0.57 0.29 0.14
400 0.79 0.51 0.30
1000 0.99 0.70 0.50
2000 1.19 0.86 0.68
3000 1.33 0.98 0.78
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