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Modeling deep groundwater flow through fractured bedrock in a mountainous headwater catchment using a coupled surface water - groundwater model, Okanagan Basin, British Columbia Voeckler, Hendrik Maximilian

Abstract

Quantifying recharge to the mountain block from headwater catchments in snowmelt dominated upland mountainous regions is an important aspect of hydrologic studies. This study contributes to understanding of the interaction between surface water, soil water and deep groundwater flow in headwater catchments. A novel approach was developed for estimating the bedrock hydraulic conductivity of a regional-scale fractured bedrock aquifer using discrete fracture network (DFN) modeling. The methodology was tested in the mountainous Okanagan Basin, British Columbia, Canada. Discrete fractures were mapped in outcrops, and larger-scale fracture zones (corresponding to lineaments) were mapped from orthophotos and LANDSAT imagery. Outcrop fracture data were used to generate DFN models for estimating hydraulic conductivity for the fractured matrix (Km). The mountain block hydraulic conductivity (Kmb) was estimated using larger-scale DFN models. Simulated Km and Kmb values range from 10⁻⁸ to 10⁻⁷ m/s, are consistent with estimates from regional modeling studies, and are greatest in a N-S direction, coinciding with the main strike direction of Okanagan Valley Fault Zone. Kmb values also decrease away from the fault, consistent with the decrease in lineament density. Simulated hydraulic conductivity values also compare well with those estimated from pumping tests. The estimates of Kmb were then used to represent the deep bedrock in a coupled surface water - groundwater model using MIKE SHE for the Upper Penticton Creek 241 headwater catchment in the Okanagan Basin. Although highly uncertain due to parameter uncertainty and calibration error, recharge to deep groundwater was ~4% of the annual water budget. An specified outward flux from the catchment boundary, representing ~6% of annual water budget, did not significantly impact streamflow calibration, indicating that such deep groundwater losses from the catchment can be accommodated in a model. This outflow may contribute to cross-catchment flow and, ultimately, to groundwater inflow to lower elevation catchments in the mountain block. The modeling exercise is one of the first in catchment hydrology modeling within steep mountainous terrain in which the lower boundary of the model is not treated as impermeable, and in which recharge to the deep bedrock and discharge to the surrounding mountain block were estimated.

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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International