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

Lakes and wetlands in glacial and dune
terrain underlain by highly permeable deposits
commonly have ground-water seepage into one
side and seepage to ground water on the other
side. This relation is relatively stable because
the water-table gradient between surface-water
bodies in this type of setting is relatively constant.
However, the boundary between inflow to the lake
or wetland and outflow from it, termed the hinge
line, can move up and down along the shoreline.
Movement of the hinge line between inflow and
outflow is a result of the changing slope of the
wafer table in response to changes in ground-
water recharge in the adjacent uplands.

Dune terrain in Nebraska. (Photograph by
James Swinehart.)

Transpiration directly from ground water
has a significant effect on the interaction of lakes
and wetlands with ground water in glacial and
dune terrain. Transpiration from ground water
(Figure 7) has perhaps a greater effect on lakes and
wetlands underlain by low-permeability deposits
than in any other landscape. The lateral movement
of ground water in low-permeability deposits may
not be fast enough to supply the quantity of water
at the rate it is removed by transpiration, resulting
in deep and steep-sided cones of depression. These
cones of depression commonly are present around
the perimeter of the lakes and wetlands (Figure 7
and Box K).
In the north-central United States, cycles in
the balance between precipitation and evapotrans-
piration that range from 5 to 30 years can result in
large changes in water levels, chemical concentra-
tions, and major-ion water type of individual
wetlands. In some settings, repeated cycling of
water between the surface and subsurface in the
same locale results in evaporative concentration
of solutes and eventually in mineral precipitation
in the subsurface. In addition, these dynamic
hydrological and chemical conditions can cause
significant changes in the types, number, and
distribution of wetland plants and invertebrate
animals within wetlands. These changing hydro-
logical conditions that range from seasons to
decades are an essential process for rejuvenating
wetlands that provide ideal habitat and feeding
conditions for migratory waterfowl.

"The hydrological and chemical
characteristics of lakes and wetlands
in glacial and dune terrain are
determined to a large extent by their
position with respect to local and
regional ground-water flow systems"

47