Elkhorn-Loup Model

The Upper Elkhorn Natural Resources District, the Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District, the Upper Loup Natural Resources District, the Lower Loup Natural Resources District, the Middle Niobrara Natural Resources District, the Lower Niobrara Natural Resources District, the Lewis and Clark Natural Resources District, and the Lower Platte North Natural Resources District (herein referred to collectively as NRDs) are collecting data and developing tools to assist with water resource planning. Critical planning issues in the Elkhorn River and Loup River basins are focused on the availability of the ground-water resource, the effect of anthropogenic stresses on the ground-water resource, and the interaction of ground water and surface water (view detailed map of study area). Specifically, the NRDs and the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (NDNR) are concerned with the effect of ground-water withdrawal on the availability of surface water and the long-term effects of ground-water withdrawal on the ground-water resource.

The Elkhorn-Loup Model project is a study of surface- and ground-water resources in the Elkhorn River basin upstream from Norfolk, Nebraska, and the Loup River basin upstream from Columbus, Nebraska. The study area covers approximately 30,800 square miles, and extends north to the Niobrara River and south to the Platte River. The eastern boundary coincides with the approximate location of the westernmost extent of glacial till in eastern Nebraska. The study, conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with NDNR and the NRDs, will assist NDNR and the NRDs by characterizing the ground-water system within the study area and by providing a regional ground-water flow model.

The model is constructed with a single layer vertically to represent the aquifers of the Tertiary-age Ogallala Group and Quaternary-age alluvial deposits, with a uniform node spacing of 2 miles. The model will be calibrated to measured ground-water levels and estimated ground-water discharge to streams for the pre-ground-water development period (approximately 1940) and the simulation of the 1940-2005 period will be calibrated to measure ground-water level changes. The calibrated ground-water flow model will be used to assess current and future impacts of ground-water pumping on surface water, and could be used to provide information to the NRDs for ground-water management planning. The regional ground-water flow model may serve as the framework for more detailed ground-water flow models to be developed in the future.

New Publication

Simulation of Ground-Water Flow and Effects of Ground-Water Irrigation on Base Flow in the Elkhorn and Loup River Basins, Nebraska Scientific Investivations Report 2008-5143

Base of Principal Aquifer for the Elkhorn-Loup Model Area, North-Central Nebraska Scientific Investigations Map 3042

Streamflow Measurements in North-Central Nebraska, November 2006 Data Series DS 332
   Download GIS Data

Keywords

ground water, integrated resource management tool, flow model, cooperative effort, state and local agencies

Contact

Steve Peterson
Hydrologist
U.S. Geological Survey
5231 South 19th St .
Lincoln , NE 68512-1271
(402) 328-4151 (office)
(402) 328-4110 (fax)

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