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Groundwater Modeling - Overview
Groundwater Modeling - Overview
Contacts:
Chris Christensen
ChristensenC@Michigan.gov
616-446-7582
The Groundwater Modeling Program (GMP) has provided groundwater modeling support on a department-wide basis since 1980.
As technology has increased, so too has the use of groundwater modeling in EGLE programs. As a result, the scope of service provided by the GMP has expanded. Today, our support encompasses all aspects of groundwater modeling, including:
- Review and evaluation of models and reports submitted to EGLE,
- Model and report development for EGLE projects,
- Evaluation of groundwater and surface water interfaces, including the determination of monitoring points and sample collection frequencies,
- Development of department-wide groundwater modeling guidance information,
- Assessment of remediation performance and compliance monitoring, and
- Hydrogeological technical support.
To encourage the development and use of new technologies, the GMP does not require specific modeling software or code that is used to develop a groundwater model. Any modeling software can be used as long as the model code is capable of accurately incorporating the conceptual model, has adequate documentation, and the model has been tested and accepted by the groundwater modeling community. The GMP maintains current versions of Groundwater Vistas©, Visual MODFLOW©, and GMS© modeling software, which are used for most model review and development. These software packages are all pre- and post-processors for the MODFLOW package, the United Stated Geological Survey's (USGS) numerical groundwater modeling code. MODFLOW can be used to model a wide range of hydrogeologic complexity from simple 1-dimensional problems to complex 3-dimensional problems.