Future coastal groundwater hazards in the Puget Sound region, Washington, U.S.A.

This data release contains model results for groundwater response to sea-level rise (SLR) in coastal areas around Puget Sound, Washington. The high resolution (50m) models predict steady-state unconfined groundwater heads under long-term (17y) average recharge conditions, with spatially variable hydraulic conductivities (Ks) from published models, and include model runs with Ks increased and decreased ten fold to address uncertainty in K. Steady-state heads for present day (SLR 0) and future SLR conditions of 0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3m are subtracted from digital land surface elevation models (DEMs) to obtain water table depths. Water table depths are provided as 10m rasters and as shapefiles binned in depth ranges (Emergent, Very Shallow (0-1 m), Shallow (1-2 m), Moderate (2-5 m) and Deep (>5 m) to facilitate identification of areas that may be vulnerable to groundwater shoaling and emergence due to sea-level rise. These data provide coastal planners with critical information that can be used to increase public safety, mitigate physical damages, and more effectively manage and allocate resources in complex coastal settings.