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Richard M. Yager

Publications and source records attributed to Richard M. Yager.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS2004

Simulated effects of ground-water augmentation on the hydrology of Round and Halfmoon Lakes in northwestern Hillsborough County, Florida

Pumpage from the Upper Floridan aquifer in northwest Hillsborough County near Tampa, Florida, has induced downward leakage from the overlying surficial aquifer and lowered the water table in many areas. Leakage is highest where the confining layer separating the aquifers is breached, which is common beneath many of the lakes in the study area. Leakage of water to the Upper Floridan aquifer has lowered the water level in many lakes and drained many wetlands. Ground water from the Upper Floridan aquifer has been added (augmented) to some lakes in an effort to maintain lake levels, but the resulting lake-water chemistry and lake leakage patterns are substantially different from those of natural lakes. Changes in lake-water chemistry can cause changes in lake flora, fauna, and lake sediment composition, and large volumes of lake leakage are suspected to enhance the formation of sinkholes near the shoreline of augmented lakes. The leakage rate of lake water through the surficial aquifer to the Upper Floridan aquifer was estimated in this study using ground-water-flow models developed for an augmented lake (Round Lake) and non-augmented lake (Halfmoon Lake). Flow models developed with MODFLOW were calibrated through nonlinear regression with UCODE to measured water levels and monthly net ground-water-flow rates from the lakes estimated from lake-water budgets. Monthly estimates of ground-water recharge were computed using an unsaturated flow model (LEACHM) that simulated daily changes in storage of water in the soil profile, thus estimating recharge as drainage to the water table. Aquifer properties in the Round Lake model were estimated through transient-state simulations using two sets of monthly recharge rates computed during July 1996 to February 1999, which spanned both average conditions (July 1996 through October 1997), and an El Niño event (November 1997 through September 1998) when the recharge rate doubled. Aquifer properties in the Halfmoon Lake model were estimated through steady-state simulations of average conditions in July 1996. Simulated hydrographs computed by the Round and Halfmoon Lake models closely matched measured water-level fluctuations, except during El Niño, when the Halfmoon Lake model was unable to accurately reproduce water levels. Possibly, potential recharge during El Niño was diverted through ground-water-flow outlets that were not represented in the Halfmoon Lake model, or a large part of the rainfall was diverted into runoff before it could become recharge. Solute transport simulations with MT3D indicate that leakage of lake water extended 250 to 400 feet into the surficial aquifer around Round Lake, and from 75 to 150 feet around Halfmoon Lake before flowing to the underlying Upper Floridan aquifer. These results are in agreement with concentrations of stable isotopes of oxygen-18 (d18O) and deuterium (dD) in the surficial aquifer. Schedules of monthly augmentation rates to maintain constant stages in Round and Halfmoon Lakes were computed using an equation that accounted for changes in the Upper Floridan aquifer head and the deviation from the mean recharge rate. Resulting lake stages were nearly constant during the first half of the study, but increased above target lake stages during El Niño; modifying the computation of augmentation rates to account for the higher recharge rate during El Niño resulted in lake stages that were closer to the target lake stage. Substantially more lake leakage flows to the Upper Floridan aquifer from Round Lake than from Halfmoon Lake, because the estimated vertical hydraulic conductivities of lake and confining layer sediments and breaches in the confining layer beneath Round Lake are much greater. Augmentation rates required to maintain the low guidance stages in Round Lake (53 feet) and Halfmoon Lake (42 feet) under average Upper Floridan aquifer heads are estimated as 33,850 cubic feet per day and 1,330 to 10,000 cubic feet per day, respectively. These rates equate to 26 inches per month of water applied to the entire surface of Round Lake and 0.34 to 2.5 inches per month of water applied to Halfmoon Lake.

Florida↗
USGS2003

Simulated ground-water flow in the Hueco Bolson, an alluvial-basin aquifer system near El Paso, Texas

The neighboring cities of El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, have historically relied on ground-water withdrawals from the Hueco Bolson, an alluvial-aquifer system, to supply water to their growing populations. By 1996, ground-water drawdown exceeded 60 meters in some areas under Ciudad Juarez and El Paso. A simulation of steady-state and transient ground-water flow in the Hueco Bolson in westernmost Texas, south-central New Mexico, and northern Chihuahua, Mexico, was developed using MODFLOW-96. The model is needed by El Paso Water Utilities to evaluate strategies for obtaining the most beneficial use of the Hueco Bolson aquifer system. The transient simulation represents a period of 100 years beginning in 1903 and ending in 2002. The period 1903 through 1968 was represented with 66 annual stress periods, and the period 1969 through 2002 was represented with 408 monthly stress periods. The ground-water flow model was calibrated using MODFLOWP and UCODE. Parameter values representing aquifer properties and boundary conditions were adjusted through nonlinear regression in a transient-state simulation with 96 annual time steps to produce a model that approximated (1) 4,352 water levels measured in 292 wells from 1912 to 1995, (2) three seepage-loss rates from a reach of the Rio Grande during periods from 1979 to 1981, (3) three seepage-loss rates from a reach of the Franklin Canal during periods from 1990 to 1992, and (4) 24 seepage rates into irrigation drains from 1961 to 1983. Once a calibrated model was obtained with MODFLOWP and UCODE, the optimal parameter set was used to create an equivalent MODFLOW-96 simulation with monthly temporal discretization to improve computations of seepage from the Rio Grande and to define the flow field for a chloride-transport simulation. Model boundary conditions were modified at appropriate times during the simulation to represent changes in well pumpage, drainage of agricultural fields, and channel modifications of the Rio Grande. The model input was generated from geographic information system databases, which facilitated rapid model construction and enabled testing of several conceptualizations of hydrogeologic facies boundaries. Specific yield of unconfined layers and hydraulic conductance of Quaternary faults in the fluvial facies were the most sensitive model parameters, suggesting that ground-water flow is impeded across the fault planes.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS2002

Simulated transport and biodegradation of chlorinated ethenes in a fractured dolomite aquifer near Niagara Falls, New York

Leakage of trichloroethene (TCE) from a neutralization pond at a former manufacturing facility near Niagara Falls, N.Y. during 1950-87 into the Guelph Formation of the Lockport Group, a fractured dolomite aquifer, created a plume of TCE and its metabolites that, by 1990, extended about 4,300 feet south of the facility. A smaller plume of dense, nonaqueous-phase liquids (DNAPL) probably serves as a continuing source of TCE. The presence of the TCE metabolites cis-1,2-dichloroethene (DCE), vinyl chloride (VC), and ethene in the plume, and the results of previous laboratory microcosm studies, indicate that the TCE is being degraded by naturally occurring microorganisms. Biodegradation rates of TCE and its metabolites were estimated through simulation with BIOMOC, a solute-transport model that represents multispecies reactions through Monod kinetics. A fracture zone in the Guelph Formation was represented as a porous medium containing an extensive, 3-foot thick layer with several interconnected fractures; this layer is bounded above and below by subhorizontal stratigraphic contacts. The Monod reaction constants were estimated through nonlinear regression to minimize the difference between computed concentrations of TCE and its metabolites, and the concentrations measured before and during 5 years of pump-and-treat remediation. Transport simulations indicated that, by April 1998, the chlorinated ethene plume had reached a dynamic equilibrium between the rate of TCE dissolution and the rate of removal through pumping and biodegradation. Biodegradation of chlorinated ethenes at the site can be simulated as first-order reactions because the concentrations are generally less than the half-saturation constants estimated for Monod kinetics (320 mg/L for TCE, 10 mg/L for DCE, and 1 mg/L for VC). Computed degradation rates are proportional to the estimated ground-water velocity, which could vary by more than an order magnitude at the site, as indicated by the estimated range of fracture porosity--3 to 0.3 percent. Half-lives corresponding to first-order rate constants estimated for the lower velocity (5 to 15 feet per day) ranged from 21 to 25 days for TCE, 170 to 230 days for DCE, and 18 to 23 days for VC. Chlorinated ethene concentrations of April 1998 were better reproduced when the TCE source was represented as a constant concentration than as a constant flux, because the latter predicted that the plume would dissipate after 5 years of pump-and-treat remediation. This result indicates that the rate of TCE dissolution is not limited by the mass of TCE in the DNAPL plume. Simulation of diffusion by the transport model MOC3D indicated that concentrations of these contaminants within the rock matrix surrounding the fracture zone were relatively unchanged after 5 years of pump-and-treat remediation. The principal sources of uncertainty in the prediction of biodegradation rates and of the fate of chlorinated ethenes at the site are the fracture porosity and DNAPL mass in the aquifer.

New York↗
USGS2001

Simulated effects of 1994 salt-mine collapse on ground-water flow and land subsidence in a glacial aquifer system, Livingston County, New York

This report describes the hydrogeology of the Genesee Valley and the effects of the ceiling collapse of the Retsof salt mine on the aquifer system. It discusses the origin and character of glacial sediments; the occurrence, flow directions, and chemical quality of water in the aquifer system before the collapse; the effects of the collapse on the aquifer system in terms of land subsidence, water-level declines, changes in water quality, and exsolution of natural gas, and design and calibration of the ground-water-flow model. It also presents results of flow-model simulations, including an estimated ground-water budget and graphs showing the simulated water-level recovery; and results of subsidence simulations, including maps and graphs showing the extent of land subsidence.

New York↗
USGS1998

Hydrogeology and water quality of the Clinton Street-Ballpark Aquifer near Johnson City, New York

The Clinton Street-Ballpark aquifer, in the Susquehanna River valley in southern Broome County, N.Y., supplies drinking water to the Village of Johnson City near Binghamton. The hydrogeology and water quality of the aquifer were studied in 1994-95 to identify the source area of 1,1,1-trichloroethane, which was detected at the Johnson City Camden Street wellfield in 1991. The aquifer is generally 100 to 150 ft thick and consists primarily of ice-contact deposits of silty sand and gravel that are overlain by outwash deposits of sand and gravel. These two types of deposits are separated by lacustrine silt and clay of variable thickness into an upper and a lower layer of the aquifer. The coarse deposits form a single aquifer in areas where the lacustrine deposits are absent. Synoptic water-level surveys indicated that ground water moves from upgradient areas flanking the aquifer boundaries toward two major pumping centers?the Anitec wellfield in Binghamton and the Camden Street wellfield in Johnson City. Areas contributing recharge to municipal and industrial wells in the aquifer were delineated by a previously developed groundwater- flow model. The residence time of ground water within the area contributing recharge to Johnson City well no. 2 in the Camden Street wellfield was estimated to be less than 6 years. 1,1,1-Trichloroethane, trichloroethene, and their metabolites were detected in ground water at several locations in and near Johnson City. Relatively high concentrations of 1,1,1-trichloroethane were found in ground water about 3,000 ft north of the Camden Street wellfield. The suspected source is an area bordered on the south by Field Street, on the north by Harry L. Drive, on the east by New York State Route 201, and on the west by Marie Street. A trichloroethene metabolite, cis-1,2-dichloroethene, appears to be migrating westward from U.S. Air Force Plant 59 toward the Camden Street well-field, 1,000 ft southwest of the plant, although this compound has not been detected in water pumped by municipal wells, possibly because it has become diluted by ground water from other locations within the contributing area to the wells.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1996

Simulated three-dimensional ground-water flow in the Lockport Group, a fractured-dolomite aquifer near Niagara Falls, New York

A three-dimensional model was developed through a parameter-estimation method based on nonlinear regression to simulate ground-water flow in the Lockport Group, a fractured dolomite aquifer near Niagara Falls, N.Y. Horizontal fracture zones within the Lockport Group were represented by model layers, and connections between the zones were represented by vertical leakage between the layers. Results of steady-state simulations were compared with (1) the observed potentiometric surface of the weathered bedrock surface, (2) average heads measured by piezometers in underlying fracture zones, (3) low-flow measurements of springs and streams, and (4) measurements of discharge from tunnels and excavations. Results indicated that (1) measured flow into the Falls Street tunnel, an unlined storm sewer excavated in bedrock, exceeds the amount that can be sustained by the aquifer, and, therefore, a connection between the tunnel and the Niagara River can be assumed; (2) recharge within the urban parts of the modeled area is greater than in rural areas, possibly because of losses from the municipal water supply or infiltration from unlined storm sewers that intersect the bedrock; and (3) lowlands near the Niagara River might contain widespread areas of upward flow that discharge ground water through evapotranspiration and surface drainage.

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS1993

Estimation of hydraulic conductivity of a riverbed and aquifer system on the Susquehanna River in Broome County, New York

A three-dimensional finite-difference model of groundwater flow was used to estimate the hydraulic conductivity of riverbed and aquifer material in a 1-square-mile valley-fill aquifer system near a large river in which induced infiltration due to pumping cannot be measured directly. The aquifer consists of a 30- to 70-foot thickness of sand and gravel containing discontinuous layers of compact and silty sand and gravel. Horizontal hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer material, estimated through trial-and-error calibration of simulated water levels to drawdowns measured during an aquifer test, ranged from 500 to 10,000 feet per day; anisotropy (ratio of horizontal to vertical hydraulic conductivity) ranged from 125:1 to 250:1. The vertical hydraulic conductivity of the riverbed was estimated to be 0.1 to 0.5 foot per day, whereas permeameter tests on samples of silty sand and gravel layers from the riverbed yielded vertical hydraulic conductivity of 10 -3 foot per day. A sensitivity analysis indicated that a narrow range of anisotropy values gave the smallest residual error in simulated drawdowns. Residual error increased sharply when the maximum hydraulic conductivity value for the aquifer was lowered to less than 5,000 feet per day. Residual error also was large for large values of vertical hydraulic conductivity of the riverbed, but decreased to a constant amount for values less than 0.1 foot per day. Residual error was relatively insensitive to changes in the storage coefficient and specific yield. A nonlinear regression method that approximated the sensitivity matrix with a perturbation technique was applied to refine the estimates of these parameters and compute standard error of the estimates. The nonlinear regression indicated that the model was sensitive to hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer and anisotropy of the upper part of the aquifer but not to anisotropy of the lower part, and that vertical hydraulic conductivity of the riverbed was less than 0.5 foot per day. The regression method yielded aquifer hydraulic-conductivity values of 210 to 13,000 feet per day and an anisotropy ratio of 350:1 for the upper part of the aquifer; the standard error of these estimates was relatively small. In contrast, the standard errors of estimates of anisotropy in the lower part of the aquifer and the vertical hydraulic conductivity of the riverbed were extremely large.

New York↗
USGS1985

Geohydrology of the Irondequoit Creek Basin near Rochester, New York

Geohydrologic information on the area within and surrounding the Irondequoit Creek basin near Rochester, in north-central New York, is presented on five maps at 1:24,000 scale indicating: (1) locations of glacial geomorphic features, (2) surficial geology, (3) soil permeability, (4) potentiometric-surface altitude and directions of groundwater movement, and (5) groundwater recharge and flow patterns. Also included are 20 geologic sections showing statigraphic relationships, aquifer composition, and depth to bedrock. Each map includes a short text and a list of references. Results indicate that groundwater within the basin flows northward to Irondequoit Bay and Lake Ontario and that the groundwater drainage system is considerably smaller than the overlying surface drainage area. These maps, based on available records and published data, depict the location of major recharge areas, relative rates of recharge, and the direction and rates of groundwater flow within the basin for use in aquifer management. (USGS)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗