Diminishing availability of surface and groundwater in the western United States threatens the livelihood of irrigation agriculturalists and development of regional communities. Understanding the dynamics of groundwater connectivity is crucial to effective forward-planning for both conservation and sustainable development. In addition to the vital contributions to safe and adequate water supplies, groundwater inputs contribute to maintaining critical wetland habitats and summertime in-stream flows (important to fish habitat). Rural management agencies are increasingly required to identify and protect such water supplies and habitats in their management plans. For example, the Washington Shoreline Management Act requires local jurisdictions to include “associated wetlands” within the shorelines managed by their shoreline master programs. However, exact procedures to determine “associated” wetlands, which are often connected by groundwater, are unclear. Research is required to develop reliable methods to enable governments to integrate groundwater considerations into their land planning process, including such issues as spatial delineation of critical habitat and groundwater recharge areas for shoreline and growth management, as well as tracking pollution sources and pathways potentially affecting both surface and groundwater supplies. This objective will examine the utility of a groundwater model to provide rural communities with the necessary information to complete such tasks. This will include: 1) a review of existing groundwater models (e.g. Modflow) and appropriate selection of one; 2) training of RGIS staff for model application; 3) identification and collection of suitable geospatial data sources that would be available to rural managers as groundwater model inputs; and 4) a pilot case study application in either western or eastern Washington (e.g. Wapato or Redmond), depending on data availability.
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