PUB00070

• Year: 1998
• Title: Ground Water and Surface Water A Single Resource U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1139
• CWCB Section: Interstate & Federal
• Author: T.C. Winter, J.W. Harvey, O.L. Franke, W.M. Alley
• Description: Overview of current understandimg of interaction of ground water and surface water in terms of quality and quantity
• Publications - Doc Type: Historical

I

Field Studies of Riverine Terrain

Streams are present in virtually all landscapes, and
in some landscapes, they are the principal surface-water
features. The interaction of ground water with streams varies
in complexity because they vary in size from small streams
near headwaters areas to large rivers flowing in large alluvial
valleys, and also because streams intersect ground-water flow
systems of greatly different scales. Examples of the interac-
tion of ground water and surface water for small and large
riverine systems are presented below.
The Straight River, which runs through a sand plain in
central Minnesota, is typical of a small stream that does not
have a flood plain and that derives most of its water from
ground-water inflow. The water-table contours near the river
bend sharply upstream (Figure 1-1), indicating that ground
water moves directly into the river. It is estimated from base-
flow studies (see Box B) that, on an annual basis, ground
water accounts for more than 90 percent of the water in
the river.

95015'

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EXPLANATION
-1420- WATER.TABLE CONTOUR-Shows altitude of the water
table in feet above sea level. Dashed where approximately
located. Contour interval 10 feet

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,

Figure 1-1. Small streams, such as the Straight River in
Minnesota, commonly do not have ffood plains. The ffow 01
ground water directly into the river is indicated by the water-
table contours that bend sharply upstream. (Modified from
Stark, J.R., Armstrong, D.S., and Zwilling, D.R., 1994,
Stream-aquifer interactions in the Straight River area,
Becker and Hubbard Counties, Minnesota: U.S. Geological
Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 94-4009,
83p.)

Straight River, Minnesota

Missouri River near
Glasgow, Missouri

Cache River, Arkansas

Straight River, Minnesota. (Photograph by
James Stark.)

In contrast, the results of a study of the lower Missouri
River Valley indicate the complexity of ground-water flow and
its interaction with streams in large alluvial valleys. Configura-
tion of the water table in this area indicates that ground water
flows into the river at right angles in some reaches, and it
flows parallel to the river in others (Figure 1-2A). This study
also resulted in a map that showed patterns of water-table
fluctuations with respect to proximity to the river (Figure 1-28).
This example shows the wide variety of ground-water flow
conditions that can be present in large alluvial valleys.
Another study of part of a large alluvial valley provides
an example of the presence of smaller scale flow conditions.
The Cache River is a stream within the alluvial valley of the
Mississippi River Delta system in eastern Arkansas. In a study
of the Black Swamp, which lies along a reach of the river.
a number of wells and piezometers were installed to deter-
mine the interaction of ground water with the swamp and the
river. By measuring hydraulic head at different depths in the

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