Hydrogeological Modeling of the

Pullman-Moscow Basin Basalt

Aquifer System, WA and ID

Joan Wu, Farida Leek, Kent Keller

Washington State University
John Bush
University of Idaho
 OUTLINE

 Introduction
 Hydrogeologic Setting
 Methodology
 GIS database development
 Ground-water flow modeling
 Results and Discussions
 Summary
 Position Announcement

2
 INTRODUCTION

 The aquifer system in the CRBG is the sole water

supply source for the Palouse Basin
 The continuous water-level decline and the
projected future development have led to serious
public concerns
 PBAC: a multi-stakeholder, multi-agency (city,
county, university) organization promoting
conservation and sound ground-water
management
 The 2003 MOA with PBAC: GIS database
3
 INTRODUCTION (cont’d)

Past Studies on Hydrogeological Characterization

 Crosby and Cavin (1960)
 Foxworthy and Washburn (1963); Jones and Ross
(1972)
 Bush and colleagues (1998, 2000, 2001, 2003)
Past Studies on Groundwater Modeling
 Barker (1979), overly conservative
 Lum et al. (1990), overly optimistic
 Both models proved inadequate by year 2000

4
 INTRODUCTION (cont’d)

Goal
 To develop a foundation for improved and informed
Palouse Basin groundwater resources assessment
and management
Objectives
 To develop a hydrogeology GIS database for the
Palouse Basin to improve data accessibility and data
processing and analysis efficiency
 To develop a groundwater flow model for the
basaltic aquifer system of the Pullman-Moscow
area based on new spatial and temporal data

5
HYDROGEOLOGIC SETTING

 Palouse loess
 Saddle Mts.
 Wanapum basalt
 Grande Ronde basalt CRBG
 Imnaha basalt
 Pre-basalt

6
HYDROGEOLOGIC SETTING (cont’d)

 Palouse loess: rural domestic use

 Wanapum basalt: major aquifer for Moscow
till 1960’s
 Grande Ronde basalt: source for more than
90% of water supply, with a recent
construction of WSU #8

7
 Occurred during late Miocene and
early Pliocene (17–6 mya BP)
 Engulfing ~ 1.6×105 km2 of the
Pacific Northwest between
Cascade Range and Rocky Mt.,
covering parts of ID, WA, and OR
 Over 300 high-volume individual
lava flows identified, along with
countless smaller flows, with vents
up to 150 km long
 Eventually accumulating to more
than 1,800 m thick
 Tectonic origin (Hooper, 1997)
 Yellowstone hot spot
 Thinning of continental
lithosphere due to spreading
behind Cascade arc
 Proximity of fissure vents to
tectonic boundary between
accreted terranes and lithospheres
of old N. Am. Plate

Source: USGS, http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/

Source: ND Space Grant Consortium, http://volcano.und.edu/
 METHODOLOGY:
I. GIS DATABASE DEVELOPMENT
 Data Collection
 Well log
 Groundwater level
 Pumpage
 Precipitation
 Geochemistry
 Data Compilation
 Digitizing into ArcGIS
 Processing existing and new coverages:
• Topography
• Township and range to UTM conversion of well coordinates
• Stream network
• Land use
• Soil
• Watershed boundary 12
Digitizing & Processing Well Data
Digitizing & Processing Well Data cont’d
R 45E R 46E R 6 W R 5 W

T 16N T 40N

WASHINGTON

IDAHO
T 15N T 39N

T 14N T 38N

R 46E R5W
6 5 4 3 2 1
6 5 4
7 8 9 7 8 9 10 11 12

T 15N 18 17 16
18 27 16 15 14 13
19 20 21 22 23 24
19 20 21

30 29 28
30 29 28 27 26 25

31 32 33 31 32 33 34 35 36

D C B A b a

Aa
E F G H

M L K J c d
N P Q R

Well 15/46-31J1 Well 39N/5W-7ad2

 METHODOLOGY:
I. GIS DATABASE DEVELOPMENT
 Data Analysis
 Plot long-term hydrographs
• Separate vs composite
• Their relations with precipitation and pumpage
 Build structural contour maps
• To depict the shape of stratigraphic horizons
 Construct aquifer contour maps
• Wanapum
• Grande Ronde
 Develop hydrogeological cross-sections
• Across most of the basin
• In various directions

17
 RESULTS AND DISSCUSSION:
I. GEOSPATIAL DATA ANALYSIS
 Composite Hydrograph of Wells in the Palouse Basin
Composite Hydrograph for Palouse Basin Aquifer
2700 2700
Private well (Carson)
Jones
2650 Eveland 2650
Palouse Loess
Water Level Elevation, a.m.s.l., ft

USGS
Pullman # 1
2600 Pullman # 2 2600
Pullman # 3
Moscow # 6
2550 Moscow # 9 2550
Wanapum UI # 4
Pullman # 4
2500 Moscow # 1 Pullman # 6 2500
Moscow # 2 WSU # 3
Private well (Freight) WSU # 4
2450 UI # 2 WSU # 5
2450
Moscow # 3 WSU # 6
Moscow-Arden
2400 WSU # 7 2400
UI-Irrigation UI # 3
UI # 1 Pullman # 5
2350 Moscow # 7 WTEST 2350
Cemet. well Pullman # 7
Grande Ronde Moscow # 8
2300 2300

2250 2250

2200 2200
1923 1931 1939 1947 1955 1963 1971 1979 1987 1995 2003
Year
 Long-term Hydrograph for Pullman and WSU Grande Ronde Wells
2310 2310
2305 2305
2300 2300
Water Level, Elevation, a.m.s.l., ft

2295 2295
2290 2290
2285 2285
2280 2280
2275 2275
2270 Pullman 3 2270
Pullman 4
2265 Pullman 6
2265
2260 Pullman 5 2260
Pullman 1
2255 Pullman 2 2255
Pullman 7
2250 DOE 2250
WSU 3
2245 WSU 4
2245
2240 WSU 5 2240
WSU 6
2235 WSU 7 2235
WTEST
2230 2230
1974 1977 1980 1983 1986 1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004

Year
 Long-term Hydrograph for Moscow and UI Grande Ronde Wells
2300 2300
2295 Moscow 6 2295
2290 Moscow 8 2290
Water Level Elevation, a.m.s.l., ft

2285 Moscow 9 2285

UI 3
2280 UI 4 2280
2275 2275
2270 2270
2265 2265
2260 2260
2255 2255
2250 2250
2245 2245
2240 2240
2235 2235
2230 2230
2225 2225
2220 2220
1974 1977 1980 1983 1986 1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004

Year
 Long-term Groundwater Pumpage from Two Aquifers
3500 0

3000 500

1000
2500 Pullman pumpage
Annual Pumpage, MGY

Moscow pumpage

Annual precipitation, mm
Total pumpage
Pullman precipitation
2000
Moscow precipitation

1500

1000

500

(a)
0
1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

Year
 Long-term Hydrographs

 Each aquifer has a distinct pattern of water-level

fluctuations in relation to pumping, climate, recharge
 Wanapum saw its groundwater level recovery since
1960’s when pumping shifted to the Grande Ronde
 Relatively more consistent pattern of fluctuation in
Grande Ronde wells in Pullman than in Moscow
 0.3–0.6 m/yr groundwater level decline observed at both
pumping centers

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Contour Map of Top Altitude of Wanapum Formation
Contour Map of Top Altitude of Grande Ronde Formation
 Structural Contour Maps

Wanapum
 Wanapum basalt is to the NW controlled by NW
trending folds, and dips and thickens E and W away
from Pullman
Grande Ronde
 The top of GR drops in elevation E towards Moscow
and W and NW away from Pullman
 Substantial lateral changes in the occurrence and nature
of sediments exist between Pullman and Moscow

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Potentiometric surface contour map of the Wanapum aquifer (1960s)
Potentiometric surface contour map of the G. Ronde aquifer (1990s)
Potentiometric Surface Contour Maps

Wanapum
 Hydraulic connection between Pullman and Moscow is
weak
 General groundwater movement is to W and NW
Grande Ronde
 Piezometric surface shows two cones of depression as
a result of heavy pumping
 The open shape of cones of depression to the W and
NW is possibly controlled by structural features

35
 METHODOLOGY:
II. DEVELOPING A NEW MODEL
Water Release from a Confined Aquifer:
Water Expansion + Aquifer Compression

41
Source: http://www.bae.uky.edu/sworkman/AEN438G/theiseq/theiseq.html
 Unsteady-State Flow in “Ideal”
Aquifer: Theis (1935) Equation
“The flow of ground water has many analogies to the flow of heat by
conduction. We have exact analogies … for thermal gradient, thermal
conductivity, and specific heat…solution of some of our problems
is probably already worked out in the theory of heat conduction…”

42
Source: http://www.olemiss.edu/sciencenet/saltnet/theisbio.html
 Unsteady-State Flow in “Ideal”
Aquifer: The Solution

“Actually derived by a mathematician friend of Theis, C.I. Lubin.

Reportedly, Lubin declined co-authorship of the paper because
he regarded his contribution as mathematically trivial.” [Fetter, 1994]
43
 Groundwater Flow Model Development

 Industry standard MODFLOW

 MODular 3-d finite-difference
groundwater FLOW model
 Free source codes from the USGS
and GUI versions available
 PEST (nonlinear parameter
estimator) can be used with
MODFLOW for optimal
parameterization

44
Source: http://water.usgs.gov/nrp/gwsoftware/modflow2000/modflow2000.html
 Comparison of Model Domain and
Structure

Western BC at Union Flat Cr.;

Barker (1979)
One lumped basalt aquifer; “single-layer-cake”

Western BC at Snake R.;

Lum et al.
(1990) Palouse Loess + two separate basalt aquifers, layers
horizontal

Western BC as in Barker (1979);

New Model
Three model layers with actual top/bottom altitudes

45
 Comparison of Western Boundary
Condition

Barker (1979) Dirichlet (head) at Union Flat Cr. for lumped aquifer

Cauchy (weighted head and flux) at Snake R. for all

Lum et al. (1990)
three aquifers

New Model Same as in Barker (1979) but for three distinct aquifers

46
 Comparison of Hydraulic
Parameterization
Comparison of Hydraulic Parameterization

Uniform hydraulic properties within zones:

Barker (1979)
Kh = Kv = 0.03–7.9 m/d, S = 0.005

Uniform hydraulic properties within zones of each aquifer:

Loess: Kh = 1.5 m/d, Kv = 0.02 m/d
Lum et al. (1990) Wanapum: Kh = 0.1–0.2 m/d, Kv = 2.4–3.6×10−4 m/d
Grande Ronde: Kh = 0.1–3.7 m/d, Kv = 3.1–76×10−5 m/d
S = 0.001

Apply inverse modeling to a wealth of historical head data

New Model
for greatly improved parameterization
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 Comparison of Recharge Distribution

Barker (1979) 17 mm yr−1 uniform across model domain

Lum et al. (1990) 71 mm yr−1 uniform across model domain

Spatially varying following O’Green (2005):

3 mm yr−1 in 33% (near Moscow Mt.),
New Model
10 mm yr−1 in 37% (Pullman area),
actual infiltration in 10% (valleys) of the basin area

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 Management Alternatives
Given: pumpage needs 2,400 MGY = 9.1×106 m3, basin area 660 km2

Aerial Recharge
Recharge needs: 14 mm
Winter wheat consumes up to 90% annual precipitation of 550 mm
Winter runoff loss unavoidable from conventionally farmed fields
Low permeability across Bovill sediment–Wanapum basalt contact in places

Transporting Surface Water from Snake R.

Economic feasibility low but of potential

Artificial Recharge
Of greatest potential when using streams incised into Wanapum
Ground-water modeling imperative in determining the effectiveness
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SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

 GIS database has in the first time brought together the

various scattered data pertinent to PBA hydrogeology
and placed it in uniform and easily accessible form
 Such database facilitates efficient data retrieval and
analysis and allows continuous updating and
refinement, forming a solid foundation for future trans-
boundary hydrogeolocial investigation
 A great deal has been learned from this newly
available digital temporal and spatial data
 Development of an improve basin-scale groundwater
flow model is underway

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THANK YOU !
 Pullman─Moscow Cross-section

Pullman─Moscow Cross-section
Pullman side
 Less sedimentary interbedding
 Loess is in direct contact with the basalt
 Wanapum is unproductive
Moscow side
 More sedimentary interbeds
 Wanapum is highly productive
 Current hydraulic gradient and ground-water flow in
Grande Ronde between Pullman and Moscow is
minimal, reflecting good hydraulic connection and lack
of dike barrier as suggested by some scientists
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 Long-term Hydrographs Revisit
 Relatively consistent pattern of fluctuation in
Grande Ronde wells in Pullman
 Aquifer is shown to have been depressurized!
 Greater fluctuation in Grande Ronde wells in
Moscow due to
 Multi-layered sediment system
 Proximity to low-permeability boundaries created by
non-basaltic rocks
 Confined nature of aquifer
 All these factors tend to cause longer recovery period
for the wells to reach equilibrium

53
Pullman─Albion─Colfax Cross-section

 Fracture patterns and degree of weathering dominantly

control the productivity of wells
 Grande Ronde dips eastward towards Colfax with a
hydraulic head drop of 150 m
 Intrusion of low-permeability pre-Tertiary rocks are
considered to form barriers between Pullman and Colfax
and cause the drastic change in hydraulic head
 Certain previous pump test results may be questionable;
substantial ground-water flow from Pullman to Colfax
appears unlikely

54
Pullman–Union Flat Creek–Snake River
 Significant difference (~460 m) exists in hydraulic heads
of the Wanapum and Grande Ronde near the Snake R.;
this sudden change in head may be related to the dip of
the basalt flows to the NW away from the Snake R.
 Cross-sections and potentiometric surface maps suggest a
major flow direction of NW along the Snake R.;
significant seepage along the canyon walls of the Snake
R. from the Grande Ronde aquifer is unlikely
 Geochemistry data from previous studies (Larson et al.,
2000) also indicates a lack of Grande Ronde discharge to
the Snake R.

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SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS (cont’d)

 Long-term trends of the hydrographs indicate weak

vertical hydraulic connection between the two basalt
aquifers, consistent with pervious isotope geochemistry
studies
 Each aquifer exhibits a distinct pattern of water-level
fluctuation as affected by pumping, climate and
recharge, with the top basalt aquifer seemingly receiving
Holocene precipitation recharge and the bottom aquifer
pre-Holocene recharge

56
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS (cont’d)

 Potentiometric surface contour maps of the basalt

aquifers display a general pattern with the ground-
water level dipping S–NW along the ancient basalt
flow
 Existing structural features (monoclines, anticlines and
synclines) tended to create local areas with rapid
changes in water levels in the approximate direction of
their major axis
 Previous modeling studies using Snake R. as a Cauchy
boundary and forced high recharge may have been the
key causes of the model failures

57
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

 Geologic and hydrogeologic conditions at the two

cities of Pullman, WA and Moscow, ID in the Palouse
Basin are rather different; yet the hydraulic connection
appears strong
 The nature and position of stratigraphic units and their
inherent spatial heterogeneity together with geologic
structures have significant effects on the ground-water
flow regime in a fractured complex basalt system,
which should be carefully taken into account in future
modeling efforts

58