Regional Groundwater Modeling
Metro Pumping Optimization
SUMMARY
As the Metropolitan Council updates the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area Master Water Supply Plan, stakeholders asked the Council to consider the sustainable limits of the region’s water sources. The Council’s most important analytical tool is a regional groundwater flow model (Metro Model), which can be used to quantify the long-term regional impacts caused by hundreds of independent groundwater appropriations. Metro Model 3 was used to optimize pumping in the seven-county metropolitan area to maximize total pumping from existing permitted wells while meeting constraints on baseflow, hydraulic head, flow direction, and flux to/from surface water features.
DELIVERABLES
OUTCOMES
- The capability and limitations of using Metro Model for optimization modeling will be determined.