The Cross Section, Volume 19, Number 9, September 1973 Page: 3
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September, 1973 THE CROSS SECTION Page 3
TECH-DISTRICT STUDY
Final Aquifer Model Report Published
The final report for the final phase
of the study entitled "Mathematical
Management Model of Parts of the
Ogallala Aquifer, Texas" has recently
been published in book form. The
research project and the publication
itself were partially funded by the
United States Department of the In-
terior as authorized under the Water
Resources Act of 1964, as amended
(Office of Water Resources Research
Grant No. 14-31-0001-3363).
On September 18, 1973, Dr. Dan
M. Wells, Director of the Texas Tech
University Water Resources Center,
received a letter from Warren A. Hall,
Director, Office of Water Resources
Research, stating in part, "This report
is acceptable as the final technical
completion report for subject grant
and completes the reporting require-
ments of paragraph 5.A. (4) of the
grant."
A cooperative effort between the
High Plains Underground Water Con-
servation District No. 1 and Texas
Tech University, the final report was
published in July following six years
of research. The Phase II project is
a revision, expansion and partial con-
tinuation of the research commenced
under Phase I, "Mathematical Man-
agement Model-Unconfined Aqui-
fer".
District Participants
Chief investigator and coordinator
of the project for the High Plains
Water District was Frank A. Rayner,
District Manager. Other District per-
sonnel who participated in the re-
search project were Albert Sechrist,
Graduate Engineer with the District
from 1968 until March, 1973; Don
Smith, Geologist; Don McReynolds,
Geologist; Tony Schertz, Draftsman,
and other District employees.
Chief investigator and coordinator
of the project for Texas Tech was Dr.Wells. Other University personnel
assisting in the research were Dr. Bill
Claborn, Associate Professor, Civil
Engineering, and Tommy Knowles,
Research Assistant.The objectives of the original re-
search effort, referred to as Phase I,
were to investigate the application of
existing techniques for the develop-
ment of a mathematical model to
describe the flow of water in the
Ogallala aquifer; to develop new or
improved methods of mathematical
modeling, and to initiate a limited
amount of model testing.
During Phase I, a model was devel-
oped that would predict the response
of the Ogallala aquifer on a gross
scale. This model used the California
Department of Water Resources
(DWR) Model by Weber (1966) as a
basis. The areas within any polygonal
area were large and, therefore, the
model was not adaptable to areas
where the bottom of the aquifer was
highly irregular or where the water
table slope changed rapidly with dis-
tance.
Ogallala Formation
The unevenness of the base of the
aquifer determines the extent of the
thickness of the water saturated part
of the Ogallala formation, the Ogallala
aquifer.
During the Phase II research effort,
an area was selected for modeling
where a deep buried valley provides
the primary source of water, while the
area on either side of the buried valley
yields only small amounts of water
for irrigation.
Originally the water table was well
above the buried valley and very little
influence of the valley was observed;
however, as the water table has de-
clined and the saturated thickness of
the water-bearing material has been
reduced to only a few feet, the buried
valley influence has become signifi-
cant.
Aquifer Nearly Depleted
This represents a condition of neardepletion of the aquifer, wherein the
configuration of the base of the aqui-
fer and its juxtoposition to the over-
lying water table became the con-
trolling conditions for modeling.Since the objective of the Phase II
research was to construct a model that
would predict the ultimate depletion
of the aquifer when the configuration
of the water table and the base of the
aquifer are important features, the
primary thrust of Phase II was to
model this buried valley area (the
Slaton Channel).
However, after the completion of a
very comprehensive investigation and
report on the groundwater conditions
in Parmer County, in August, 1971,
the availability of detailed hydrologic
data for this county prompted the
attempt to apply the model developed
during Phase I research to Parmer
County.
Although not included within the
original project description for Phase
II research, the investigation of model
sensitivity to changes in aquifer pa-
rameters was also completed as part
of Phase II because a knowledge of
model sensitivity is essential to decid-
ing the amount and accuracy of data
necessary for model definition, and
can provide guidelines for model vali-
dation.
Model Should Be Useful
The model as developed should
prove to be a useful management tool
when applied to all areas in the High
Plains. However, because of the
finiteness and detail of data necessary
for the operation of the model, it is
impossible to apply the model to
other counties until detailed ground-
water studies are available for them.
The presently indeterminable pump-
age is one of the basic weaknesses of
model input data. An irregular pat-
tern of static water table conditions,
including some water level rises which
are not simulated by the model, are
influenced by the time of measure-
ments and do not actually representthe present trend of the water table.
This inconsistency limits the model's
application as a management tool until
more detailed groundwater studies are
made available.procedures for making it safe for
human and animal life.
Anyone interested in a more de-
tailed explanation of procedures in
compliance with State and District
regulations should feel free to contact
the Water District.
Copies of the pamphlet may be ob-
tained at the District office, 1628-15th
Street, Lubbock, Texas.. -r
Obbie Goolsby, F~ield Representative, and Dale Vise of Farwyell are pi-ctured in the righit-M.
aibove GeF piet) as they aland beside IlOiacres of corn vs irrigates solely~ Vise in eor1y
'rth arlwaSr,r The pidure is reprinted !rom th July, 1973. Issue of The lior. vise n
Cross Sectkion. A story acopany'nig the picture compl-Imented Visei on his, the results oI
arttemlpt at con'serving Imgiiahon water by fe-usinhg it on~ an entire cfDp. ho [plarnnd t~11
16
~~nd~~ y Da el. iI I i-ur wt
Sepl~mbr, 973.~s h~r~taw1 ~ apro~ma~ey Ie ~e I
tedK at Iketm ie eirpCu. !li j w, veypesdwt
;L pYfrJ iiO~ ia~ ni1
September, 1973
T HE CR O SS SE CT IO N
Page 3
WATER . .. continued from page 1
RESOLVED, That the Senate Nat-
ural Resources Committee shall ar-
range meetings of the Citizens' Ad-
visory Councils with all related state
agencies, including but not limited to
the following:
The Texas Water Development
Board;
The General Land Office;
The Department of Agriculture;
The Agricultural Extension Ser-
vice and the Range Management
Department of Texas A&M Uni-
versity;
The entire Water Oriented Data
Group of the Inter Agency
Council on Natural Resources
and the Environment;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Senate Nat-
ural Resources Committee shall aid
in all attempts by the Citizens' Advis-
ory Councils to distribute information
of existing state programs and/or in-
formation to the local governments
and private citizens that could benefit
thereof; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Senate Nat-
ural Resources Committee shall pro-
pose any new legislation necessary for
the proper development of the water
resources of this state to the Regular
Session of the 64th Legislature.
Abandoned Well
Brochure Published
The High Plains Underground Wa-
ter Conservation District No. 1 has
published a four-page pamphlet in
conjunction with its participation in
the Panhandle South Plains Fair, Sep-
tember 22-29. The pamphlet, entitled
"The Abandoned Irrigation Well",
deals with the danger of the uncapped
abandoned well or open hole and the
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High Plains Underground Water Conservation District No. 1 (Tex.). The Cross Section, Volume 19, Number 9, September 1973, periodical, September 1973; Lubbock, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1532982/m1/3/?q=mineral+wells: accessed June 13, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.