2026-09-19T09:50:15Zhttps://dspace.mit.edu/server/oai/requestoai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/828262022-01-13T07:53:59Zcom_1721.1_7582com_1721.1_7581col_1721.1_131023
David E. Langseth.
Sowby, Robert B
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
n-us-ar
2013-12-06T20:46:40Z
2013-12-06T20:46:40Z
2013
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/82826
863154939
Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2013.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 42-46).
Groundwater pumping from the Sparta aquifer in Union County, Arkansas, has long exceeded natural recharge, threatening the regional water supply. An alternative water-supply project, completed in 2004, now provides treated surfacewater to local industries. This conjunctive use of surface- and groundwater has allowed the Sparta aquifer to recover somewhat. Exploring further possibilities for Union County, the author has evaluated the potential of artificial recharge by well injection. A MODFLOW groundwater model was modified to simulate the aquifer's response. to artificial recharge. Results indicate that artificial recharge in this context is impractical. Injection increases hydraulic heads only locally, with the most improvement occurring where the injection is located in an existing cone of depression in El Dorado, Arkansas. Since groundwater withdrawals are already concentrated in this area, injection only reduces the net withdrawal rate. The same result could be achieved by reducing or substituting groundwater withdrawals directly, as has been observed since the completion of the alternative-supply project. The modeling results, along with analyses of surfacewater resources, suggest that continued and expanded conjunctive use is the most viable water-management strategy in Union County.
by Robert B. Sowby.
M.Eng.
94 pages
eng
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
M.I.T. theses are protected by
copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but
reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written
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http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582
Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Hydrologic and hydraulic assessment of artificial recharge in the Sparta Aquifer of Union County, Arkansas
Thesis
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Publication
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<Abstract>Groundwater pumping from the Sparta aquifer in Union County, Arkansas, has long exceeded natural recharge, threatening the regional water supply. An alternative water-supply project, completed in 2004, now provides treated surfacewater to local industries. This conjunctive use of surface- and groundwater has allowed the Sparta aquifer to recover somewhat. Exploring further possibilities for Union County, the author has evaluated the potential of artificial recharge by well injection. A MODFLOW groundwater model was modified to simulate the aquifer's response. to artificial recharge. Results indicate that artificial recharge in this context is impractical. Injection increases hydraulic heads only locally, with the most improvement occurring where the injection is located in an existing cone of depression in El Dorado, Arkansas. Since groundwater withdrawals are already concentrated in this area, injection only reduces the net withdrawal rate. The same result could be achieved by reducing or substituting groundwater withdrawals directly, as has been observed since the completion of the alternative-supply project. The modeling results, along with analyses of surfacewater resources, suggest that continued and expanded conjunctive use is the most viable water-management strategy in Union County.</Abstract>
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