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Track: Environmental Management
Cliff Inbau
City of Aurora
1470 S Havana St
Aurora, CO 80012
Telephone: 303-739-7384
Fax: 303-739-7604
E-mail: cinbau@dilbert.ci.aurora.co.us
Bruce Rindahl
GIS as a Tool for Data Input and Visualization for a MODFLOW Groundwater Model
Defining Issue: Data input into the USGS modular three-dimensional finite-difference groundwater flow model, MODFLOW, is very time-consuming and difficult. In addition, input data, such as head elevation, can be subjective. Displaying results of MODFLOW simulations is cumbersome and many times requires contouring software, which often is not geospatially based. GIS Solution: GIS tools, particularly ArcInfo and ArcView Version 3.0, provide extremely valuable means of linking spatially based input data into MODFLOW. Visualization of model output in a georeferenced format through a GIS is proving to be very beneficial to project stakeholders. Methodology: The City of Aurora's Utilities Department, along with its engineering consultant, used ArcInfo and ArcView Version 3.0 to facilitate the creation of a groundwater model for an aquifer conjunctive use project in the upper basin of the South Platte River. The USGS three-dimensional finite-difference model, MODFLOW, was chosen to model the potential of
using the aquifer as a conjunctive use reservoir. Because much of the input data for MODFLOW is of a spatial nature, GIS was seen as a powerful and efficient tool for data input. Used together, both ArcInfo and ArcView Version 3.0 (with Spatial Analyst extension) provided head values by processing DEMs and well coverages. ArcInfo assisted in solving fuzzy logic problems encountered with using the well data. Both packages provided additional input parameters such as boundaries, streams, and wells. Typically, third party model interface software is used to input data into MODFLOW. In this project, ArcView Version 3.0 provided a means of directly linking input data to MODFLOW input files. MODFLOW output files were linked to ArcView Version 3.0, providing clear georeferenced displays of complex model simulation results. Software: The software used in this project include ArcView Version 3.0 (with the Spatial Analyst Extension), ArcInfo, and MODFLOW. Applications were written in Avenue, AML, and C.
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how these GIS tools can be integrated with MODFLOW to provide georeferenced data and link input/output files. The paper will also discuss the technical challenges involved in the project.
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