USGS Publications Warehouse

Abstract

Transient leakage into or out of a compressible fine-grained confining unit results from ground- water storage changes within the unit. The computer program described in this report provides a new method of simulating transient leakage using the U.S. Geological Survey modular finite- difference ground-water flow model (MODFLOW). The new program is referred to as the Transient- Leakage Package. The Transient-Leakage Package solves integrodifferential equations that describe flow across the upper and lower boundaries of confining units. For each confining unit, vertical hydraulic conductivity, thickness, and specific storage are specified in input arrays. These properties can vary from cell to cell and the confining unit need not be present at all locations in the grid; however, the confining units must be bounded above and below by model layers in which head is calculated or specified. The package was used in an example problem to simulate drawdown around a pumping well in a system with two aquifers separated by a confining unit. For drawdown values in excess of 1 centimeter, the solution using the new package closely matched an exact analytical solution. The problem also was simulated without the new package by using a separate model layer to represent the confining unit. That simulation was refined by using two model layers to represent the confining unit. The simulation using the Transient-Leakage Package was faster and more accurate than either of the simulations using model layers to represent the confining unit.