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MODFLOW-NWT model used in simulation of groundwater availability in reaches 3 and 4 of the Washita River aquifer, southern Oklahoma, 1980–2017

Metadata Updated: December 11, 2025

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB), constructed a finite-difference numerical groundwater-flow model of the Washita River aquifer by using MODFLOW-2005 (Harbaugh, 2005) with the Newton formulation solver (MODFLOW-NWT). The 1973 Oklahoma Groundwater Law requires that the OWRB conduct hydrologic investigations of the State’s aquifers to determine the maximum annual yield (MAY) for each groundwater basin. The MAY is defined as the total amount of fresh groundwater that can be annually withdrawn while allowing a minimum 20-year life of that groundwater basin. For alluvium and terrace groundwater basins, the life requirement is satisfied if, after 20 years of MAY withdrawals, 50 percent of the groundwater basin (hereinafter referred to as an “aquifer”) retains a saturated thickness of at least 5 ft. Once a MAY has been established, the amount of land owned or leased by a groundwater-use permit applicant determines the annual volume of water allocated to that groundwater-use permit applicant. The annual volume of groundwater allocated per acre of land is known as the equal-proportionate-share (EPS) pumping rate. The OWRB issued a final order on November 13, 1990, that established the MAY (81,840 and 46,935 acre-feet per year [acre-ft/yr]) and EPS pumping rate (1.5 and 1.0 acre-foot per acre per year) for reaches 3 and 4, respectively, of the Washita River aquifer in southern Oklahoma. Because more than 20 years have elapsed since the final order was issued, the USGS, in cooperation with the OWRB, conducted an updated hydrologic investigation and evaluated the effects of potential groundwater withdrawals on groundwater flow and availability in the Washita River aquifer in southern Oklahoma. Reach 3 extends from near Anadarko, Okla., to Alex, Okla., and reach 4 extends from near Alex to south of Davis, Okla. Twenty-four simulations are included in this data release: a simulation for the calibrated numerical groundwater-flow model, 18 scenario simulations to evaluate the EPS pumping rate, 4 scenario simulations to evaluate groundwater storage over a 50-year period, and 1 scenario simulation to evaluate effects of a hypothetical drought. This USGS data release contains all of the input and output files for the simulations described in the associated model documentation report (https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20235072).

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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Dates

Metadata Created Date September 14, 2025
Metadata Updated Date December 11, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI USGS DCAT-US

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date September 14, 2025
Metadata Updated Date December 11, 2025
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
Identifier http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/usgs-62a8eae4d34ec53d2770eeec
Data Last Modified 2023-08-28T00:00:00Z
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://ddi.doi.gov/usgs-data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id 2ddcc435-0458-427d-8bbd-4e51cb269b32
Harvest Source Id 2b80d118-ab3a-48ba-bd93-996bbacefac2
Harvest Source Title DOI USGS DCAT-US
Metadata Type geospatial
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 29d5bafed9341b093e4248a4ba70d5f02862a58b114de3a412d8cddb91a1b58e
Source Schema Version 1.1

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