Groundwater Under
the Pacific Northwest • November 2-3, 2005 • Stevenson, Washington
ABSTRACT
Presenter:
Akram Hossain, Washington State University
Co-Authors: Michael Barber, D. Matthew
Ely, Joseph Jones, and Gary Johnson
The states of Washington, Idaho, and
the U.S. Geologic Survey (USGS) are participating in a joint study aimed at
evaluating the quantity of water available in the sole source Spokane
Valley-Rathdrum Prairie (SVRP) Aquifer, as well as its spatial and temporal
interactions with surface water flows in the Spokane River. The SVRP Aquifer Modeling Team is comprised
of researchers from the State of Washington Water Research Center, the Idaho
Water Resources Research Institute, and the USGS. A key component of the project includes
development of two groundwater models: a
steady-state MODFLOW model for identifying sensitive regions where model
response indicates that additional data is needed to reduce uncertainty, and a
transient model incorporating this new information as well as approximately ten
years of historic water resources data.
This presentation
describes the development of the steady-state model of the SVRP aquifer. Citizens and non-governmental organizations
are extremely interested in the outcomes of this work. Another Modeling Team task is to participate
in public outreach and education by providing unbiased technical opinions of
the results of the study at regional meetings.
To date, several meetings have been conducted to give stakeholders an
opportunity to help shape the study.
When completed, water resource managers in both Washington
and Idaho
will be able to evaluate the impacts of future water allocation decisions
affecting the economic development of the entire region.