Natural Groundwater Recharge Response to Urbanization: Vermillion River Watershed, Minnesota

Abstract

Urban development of rural land can be a concern for water resources and wildlife. The quantity and quality of surface water runoff and groundwater recharge can be significantly affected by urbanization. Base flow in streams and cold-water habitat, e.g., for trout, depend on groundwater. If water recharge to aquifers is reduced, and surface runoff is increased, streamflow and cold-water habitat can be adversely affected. An investigation of the changes to groundwater recharge resulting from the urbanization of a rural/natural area in the Vermillion River watershed in Minnesota was conducted. Well established principles and relationships for the estimation of infiltration (Soil Conservation Service (SCS) and Green-Ampt (GA) methods] and evapotranspiration [Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)-56 Penman-Monteith) were applied, and percolation or groundwater recharge was determined using a water budget approach. The relationships were assembled in three models called the FAO-SCS, the FAO-GA, and the GA models. Four scenarios of land development representing progressive stages of urbanization (past, present, plus