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Determining Hydraulic Conductivity Distributions in a Mountainous Area Using Mathematical Modeling
Author(s) -
Jamieson Gordon R.,
Freeze R. Allan
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
groundwater
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.84
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1745-6584
pISSN - 0017-467X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-6584.1982.tb02745.x
Subject(s) - groundwater recharge , geology , water table , hydrology (agriculture) , groundwater , hydrogeology , hydraulic conductivity , precipitation , structural basin , borehole , baseflow , geomorphology , drainage basin , streamflow , aquifer , soil science , geotechnical engineering , soil water , meteorology , geography , cartography
Meager Mountain is a recently‐active andesite‐dacite volcano situated 160 km NNW of Vancouver, British Columbia. The mountain is presently being jointly evaluated by the Geological Survey of Canada and the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority as a potential geo‐thermal resource. Limited existing and field‐generated geological and hydrogeological data were employed to evaluate the ground‐water flow regime at the study area. Mathematical modeling was carried out to determine the feasible range of ground‐water‐flow characteristics in the area. Field observations indicate that the water table is located at an intermediate elevation in the mountain system with the discharge area confined to the portion of the valley covered by unconsolidated deposits. Water balance calculations for the Lillooet River basin and baseflow determinations in the Meager Creek basin indicate that 14 to 17% of the total precipitation recharges the ground‐water system. Various possible geological configurations were mathematically modeled with the water‐table configuration and recharge rates restricted to the above ranges. The model results were used to predict the variations in the hydraulic conductivity in each geological formation. The results fell into a discrete range of values thought to be within an order of magnitude of the actual values.