Project Period: 2000-2008
Cooperator: City of Rapid City
Project Chief: Larry Putnam
Executive Summary
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the city of Rapid City have had a long-term cooperative relationship to conduct hydrologic investigations to better understand the complex system that supplies water to Rapid City and the surrounding area. Rapid City has become a regional water supplier and demand for water within and beyond the city limits continues to increase steadily due to rapid population growth. As such, sound scientific information is needed to assess the consequences of future development and drought on water supplies and to maintain the delivery of high-quality water. This collaborative study plan is designed to assist the City with hydrologic data and additional interpretive information to better provide a sustainable, high-quality water supply. City water supplies are obtained from wells completed in the Madison and Minnelusa aquifers, collection galleries in the alluvium along Rapid Creek, and surface water from Rapid Creek.
The Madison and Minnelusa aquifers are vital water supplies for Rapid City and the surrounding areas. The Madison aquifer is especially vulnerable to contamination in the Rapid City area because of (1) bedrock outcrop areas west of Rapid City; (2) direct connections to potential surface contaminants through streamflow loss zones; and (3) fast travel paths through solution-enhanced openings and fractures. Collection galleries in the Rapid Creek alluvium also are supplied in part by springflow originating from the bedrock aquifers. Evaluations related to meeting future water supply demands and protecting these aquifers from contamination requires a better understanding of the characteristics of these important aquifers. These long-term objectives are being accomplished with a variety of hydrologic investigations conducted by the USGS.
A detailed description of the Madison and Minnelusa aquifers in the Rapid City area is available in “Long, A.J., and Putnam, L.D., 2002, Flow-system analysis of the Madison and Minnelusa aquifers in the Rapid City area, South Dakota--Conceptual Model: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 02-4185, 100 p., 3 pl.”
Objectives
The objectives of the study include maintaining a water-level monitoring network, conducting aquifer tests, analyzing ground-water flow paths using environmental and anthropogenic tracers, compiling and evaluating water budgets, and developing conceptual and numerical models of the aquifers.
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Numerical groundwater-flow model of the Minnelusa and Madison hydrogeologic units in the Rapid City area, South Dakota
Algal and water-quality data for Rapid Creek and Canyon Lake near Rapid City, South Dakota, 2007
Analysis of ground-water flow in the Madison aquifer using fluorescent dyes injected in Spring Creek and Rapid Creek near Rapid City, South Dakota, 2003-04
Linear model describing three components of flow in karst aquifers using 18O data
Flow-system analysis of the Madison and Minnelusa aquifers in the Rapid City area, South Dakota — Conceptual model
Ground-water and surface-water interactions along Rapid Creek near Rapid City, South Dakota
Tracing Recharge from Sinking Streams over Spatial Dimensions of Kilometers in a Karst Aquifer
Hydraulic properties of the Madison aquifer system in the western Rapid City area, South Dakota
Below are partners associated with this project.
Project Period: 2000-2008
Cooperator: City of Rapid City
Project Chief: Larry Putnam
Executive Summary
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the city of Rapid City have had a long-term cooperative relationship to conduct hydrologic investigations to better understand the complex system that supplies water to Rapid City and the surrounding area. Rapid City has become a regional water supplier and demand for water within and beyond the city limits continues to increase steadily due to rapid population growth. As such, sound scientific information is needed to assess the consequences of future development and drought on water supplies and to maintain the delivery of high-quality water. This collaborative study plan is designed to assist the City with hydrologic data and additional interpretive information to better provide a sustainable, high-quality water supply. City water supplies are obtained from wells completed in the Madison and Minnelusa aquifers, collection galleries in the alluvium along Rapid Creek, and surface water from Rapid Creek.
The Madison and Minnelusa aquifers are vital water supplies for Rapid City and the surrounding areas. The Madison aquifer is especially vulnerable to contamination in the Rapid City area because of (1) bedrock outcrop areas west of Rapid City; (2) direct connections to potential surface contaminants through streamflow loss zones; and (3) fast travel paths through solution-enhanced openings and fractures. Collection galleries in the Rapid Creek alluvium also are supplied in part by springflow originating from the bedrock aquifers. Evaluations related to meeting future water supply demands and protecting these aquifers from contamination requires a better understanding of the characteristics of these important aquifers. These long-term objectives are being accomplished with a variety of hydrologic investigations conducted by the USGS.
A detailed description of the Madison and Minnelusa aquifers in the Rapid City area is available in “Long, A.J., and Putnam, L.D., 2002, Flow-system analysis of the Madison and Minnelusa aquifers in the Rapid City area, South Dakota--Conceptual Model: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 02-4185, 100 p., 3 pl.”
Objectives
The objectives of the study include maintaining a water-level monitoring network, conducting aquifer tests, analyzing ground-water flow paths using environmental and anthropogenic tracers, compiling and evaluating water budgets, and developing conceptual and numerical models of the aquifers.
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Numerical groundwater-flow model of the Minnelusa and Madison hydrogeologic units in the Rapid City area, South Dakota
Algal and water-quality data for Rapid Creek and Canyon Lake near Rapid City, South Dakota, 2007
Analysis of ground-water flow in the Madison aquifer using fluorescent dyes injected in Spring Creek and Rapid Creek near Rapid City, South Dakota, 2003-04
Linear model describing three components of flow in karst aquifers using 18O data
Flow-system analysis of the Madison and Minnelusa aquifers in the Rapid City area, South Dakota — Conceptual model
Ground-water and surface-water interactions along Rapid Creek near Rapid City, South Dakota
Tracing Recharge from Sinking Streams over Spatial Dimensions of Kilometers in a Karst Aquifer
Hydraulic properties of the Madison aquifer system in the western Rapid City area, South Dakota
Below are partners associated with this project.