Geology topics

Research about Menominee Indian Reservation

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Menominee Indian Reservation.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2015

Simulation of the regional groundwater-flow system of the Menominee Indian Reservation, Wisconsin

A regional, two-dimensional, steady-state groundwater-flow model was developed to simulate the groundwater-flow system and groundwater/surface-water interactions within the Menominee Indian Reservation. The model was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, to contribute to the fundamental understanding of the region’s hydrogeology. The objectives of the regional model were to improve understanding of the groundwater-flow system, including groundwater/surface-water interactions, and to develop a tool suitable for evaluating the effects of potential regional water-management programs. The computer code GFLOW was used because of the ease with which the model can simulate groundwater/surface-water interactions, provide a framework for simulating regional groundwater-flow systems, and be refined in a stepwise fashion to incorporate new data and simulate groundwater-flow patterns at multiple scales. Simulations made with the regional model reproduce groundwater levels and stream base flows representative of recent conditions (1970–2013) and illustrate groundwater-flow patterns with maps of (1) the simulated water table and groundwater-flow directions, (2) probabilistic areas contributing recharge to high-capacity pumped wells, and (3) estimation of the extent of infiltrated wastewater from treatment lagoons. The groundwater-flow model described in this report simulates the major hydrogeologic features of the modeled area, including surficial unconsolidated aquifers, groundwater/surface-water interactions, and groundwater withdrawals from existing high-capacity production wells. Areas contributing recharge to pumped high-capacity wells on the Menominee Indian Reservation were delineated by tracking simulated water particles from the water table to wells in combination with Monte Carlo techniques, and maps of the probability of capture for each well nest were produced. Groundwater-agebased areas contributing recharge to wells were simulated by using the calibrated set of parameters and porosity values adjusted to account for bias in simulated saturated thickness. Simulations were performed for current (2013) pumping rates. The simulations show a range in sensitivity of the simulated areas contributing recharge to wells given the parameters evaluated through the Monte Carlo analysis. The areas contributing recharge to supply wells for the villages of Zoar and Neopit are long and narrow, with a sharp gradation from high to low probability of capture. The areas contributing recharge to supply wells for Middle Village and the village of Keshena exhibit a sharp gradation from high to low probability over a relatively small area between the well and a local groundwater mound. The highest probability areas contributing recharge to the supply wells for the Villages of Onekewat and Redwing are in the immediate vicinity of the wells. These wells also have an extensive area with low probability for capturing water that is likely due to a locally low hydraulic gradient and the large degree of uncertainty associated with the lakebed resistance parameters that control interaction between groundwater and local lakes. Additional field investigations and associated local model refinements would facilitate further reductions in uncertainty associated with simulated areas contributing recharge to the wells. The likely extent of the Neopit wastewater plume was simulated by using the groundwater-flow model and Monte Carlo techniques to evaluate the sensitivity of predictive simulations to a range of model parameter values. Wastewater infiltrated from the currently operating lagoons flows predominantly south toward Tourtillotte Creek. Some of the infiltrated wastewater is simulated as having a low probability of flowing beneath Tourtillotte Creek to the nearby West Branch Wolf River. Results for the probable extent of the wastewater plume are considered to be qualitative because the method only considers advective flow and does not account for processes affecting contaminant transport in porous media. Therefore, results for the probable extent of the wastewater plume are sensitive to the number of particles used to represent flow from the lagoon and the resolution of a synthetic grid used for the analysis. Nonetheless, it is expected that the qualitative results may be of use for identifying potential downgradient areas of concern that can then be evaluated using the quantitative “area contributing recharge to wells” method or traditional contaminant-transport simulations.

Wisconsin↗

USGS2005

Trends in streamflow, sedimentation, and sediment chemistry for the Wolf River, Menominee Indian Reservation, Wisconsin, 1850-1999

Historical trends in streamflow, sedimentation, and sediment chemistry of the Wolf River were examined for a 6-mile reach that flows through the southern part of the Menominee Indian Reservation and the northern part of Shawano County, Wis. Trends were examined in the context of effects from dams, climate, and land-cover change. Annual flood peaks and mean monthly flow for the Wolf River were examined for 1907-96 and compared to mean annual and mean monthly precipitation. Analysis of trends in sedimentation (from before about 1850 through 1999) involved collection of cores and elevation data along nine valley transects spanning the Wolf River channel, flood plain, and backwater and impounded areas; radioisotope analyses of impounded sediment cores; and analysis of General Land Office Survey Notes (1853-91). Trends in sediment chemistry were examined by analyzing samples from an impoundment core for minor and trace elements. Annual flood peaks for the Wolf River decreased during 1907-49 but increased during 1950-96, most likely reflecting general changes in upper-atmospheric circulation patterns from more zonal before 1950 to more meridional after 1950. The decrease in flood peaks during 1907-49 may also, in part, be due to forest regrowth. Mean monthly streamflow during 1912-96 increased for the months of February and March but decreased for June and July, suggesting that spring snowmelt occurs earlier in the season than it did in the past. Decreases in early summer flows may be a reflection earlier spring snowmelt and large rainstorms in early spring rather than early summer. These trends also may reflect upper-atmospheric circulation patterns. The Balsam Row Dam impoundment contains up to 10 feet of organic-rich silty clay and has lost much of its storage capacity. Fine sediment has accumulated for 1.8 miles upstream from the Balsam Row Dam. Historical average linear and mass sedimentation rates in the Balsam Row impoundment were 0.09 feet per year and 1.15 pounds per square foot per year for 1927-62 and 0.10 feet per year and 1.04 pounds per square foot per year for 1963-99. Sedimentation in the impoundment was episodic and was associated with large floods, especially the flood-related failure of the Keshena Falls Dam in 1972 and a large flood in 1973. Sand deposition is common in the Wolf River upstream from the impounded reach for 2.5 miles and is caused by the base-level increase associated with the Balsam Row Dam. Some sand deposition also may have been associated with logging and log drives in the late 1800s and the failure of the Keshena Falls Dam. In the upstream 1.5-mile part of the studied reach, the substrate is mainly rocky; however, about 2,000 feet downstream from Keshena Falls, the channel has narrowed and incised since the 1890s, likely related to human alterations associated with logging, log drives, and (or) changes in hydraulics and sediment characteristics associated with completion of the Keshena Falls Dam and head race in 1908. Minor- and trace-element concentrations in sediment from Balsam Row impoundment and other depositional areas along the Wolf River generally reflect background conditions as affected by watershed geology and historical inputs from regional and local atmospheric deposition.

Wisconsin↗

USGS1994

Water resources of the Menominee Indian Reservation of Wisconsin

Water resources of the Menominee Indian Reservation, Wisconsin, were investigated during the period October 1981 through September 1987. The report presents baseline data and some interpretation of ground- and surface-water hydrology and quality of the Reservation. The area stratigraphy consists of basal Precambrian crystalline bedrock and overlying till and sand and gravel deposits. In the Reservation, the glacial deposits range in thickness from zero to 180 feet. The bedrock aquifer is composed of fractured and weathered Precambrian bedrock within about 20 feet of the upper bedrock surface. The sand and gravel aquifer is composed of saturated, permeable sand and gravel that occurs as layers, lenses, terrace deposits, and valley fillings. The glacial material has a saturated thickness ranging from approximately 150 feet to zero feet in areas where the Precambrian bedrock crops out. Water-table conditions commonly occur in both aquifers. Horizontal hydraulic conductivity of the sand and gravel and bedrock aquifers is estimated to be 5 and 0.3 feet per day, respectively. The Wolf River and its tributaries drain the Reservation except for the eastern quarter, which is drained by the South Branch of the Oconto River. The average discharge of the Wolf River, monitored continuously during 1907-85 at Keshena Falls near Keshena, was 762 ft 3/s (cubic feet per second). Maximum instantaneous discharge was 5,200 ft3/s recorded on March 15, 1973, and the minimum was 91 ft3/s recorded on December 22,1939. Low flow and flood-frequency characteristics for the Wolf River were estimated using mean-daily discharge for the period of record at Keshena Falls. Ground water from the sand and gravel and bedrock aquifers is a calcium magnesium bicarbonate type. The composition of waters from the two aquifers is similar because water recharging the bedrock aquifer is from the overlying sand and gravel aquifer. Iron or manganese concentrations exceeding secondary maximum contaminant levels were found in water samples from approximately one-quarter to one-half of the wells sampled. Approximately three-quarters of the groundwater sampled during the study is moderately hard to very hard, with a median hardness equal to 171 mg/L (milligrams per liter) (as calcium carbonate)for the sand and gravel aquifer and 165mg/L (as calcium carbonate) for the bedrock aquifer. Alkalinity of the ground water ranged from26 to 211 mg/L, with a median value of 182 mg/L(as calcium carbonate) for the sand and gravel aquifer and ranged from 72 to 250 mg/L, with a median value of 170 mg/L (as calcium carbonate)for the bedrock aquifer. Water samples collected from Reservation streams and lakes were similar to ground water (calcium magnesium bicarbonate type), reflecting the strong surface-water/ground-water interaction in the study area. The chemical composition of water from lakes having inlets or outlets indicate that they are not influenced by precipitation as much as lakes that do not have inlets or outlets.

Wisconsin↗