MODFLOW-NWT model used to simulate groundwater availability in the Salt Fork Arkansas River and Chikaskia River alluvial aquifers, northern Oklahoma, 1980–2020

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 Salt Fork Arkansas River and Chikaskia River alluvial aquifers by using MODFLOW-2005 with the Newton formulation solver (MODFLOW-NWT). The model included the Chikaskia River alluvial aquifer, which is classified as a minor aquifer by the OWRB and is hydrologically connected to the Salt Fork Arkansas River alluvial aquifer. 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 The MAY is defined as the total amount of fresh groundwater that can be annually withdrawn while allowing a minimum 20-year life of that groundwater basin.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 feet. 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. At the time of this publication (2025), a hydrologic investigation and determination of the MAY for the Salt Fork Arkansas River alluvial aquifer had not been completed. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the OWRB, conducted a hydrologic investigation and evaluated the simulated effects of potential groundwater withdrawals on groundwater flow and availability in the Salt Fork Arkansas River alluvial aquifer in northern Oklahoma for a study period spanning 1980–2020. Fifteen simulations are included in this data release: a simulation for the calibrated numerical groundwater-flow model, 9 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 the input and output files for the simulations described in the associated model documentation report (https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20255043).

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