Research about Washington County, Wisconsin

USGS2004

Water quality, hydrology, and the effects of changes in phosphorus loading to Pike Lake, Washington County, Wisconsin, with special emphasis on inlet-to-outlet short-circuiting

Pike Lake is a 459-acre, mesotrophic to eutrophic dimictic lake in southeastern Wisconsin. Because of concern over degrading water quality in the lake associated with further development in its watershed, a study was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey from 1998 to 2000 to describe the water quality and hydrology of the lake, quantify sources of phosphorus including the effects of short-circuiting of inflows, and determine how changes in phosphorus loading should affect the water quality of the lake. Measuring all significant water and phosphorus sources and estimating lesser sources was the method used to construct detailed water and phosphorus budgets. The Rubicon River, ungaged near-lake surface inflow, precipitation, and ground water provide 55, 20, 17, and 7 percent of the total inflow, respectively. Water leaves the lake through the Rubicon River outlet (87 percent) or by evaporation (13 percent). Total input of phosphorus to the lake was about 3,500 pounds in 1999 and 2,400 pounds in 2000. About 80 percent of the phosphorus was from the Rubicon River, about half of which came from the watershed and half from a waste-water treatment plant in Slinger, Wisconsin. Inlet-to-outlet short-circuiting of phosphorus is facilitated by a meandering segment of the Rubicon River channel through a marsh at the north end of the lake. It is estimated that 77 percent of phosphorus from the Rubicon River in monitoring year 1999 and 65 percent in monitoring year 2000 was short-circuited to the outlet without entering the main body of the lake. Simulations using water-quality models within the Wisconsin Lake Model Suite (WiLMS) indicated Pike Lake's response to 13 different phosphorus-loading scenarios. These scenarios included a base 'normal' year (2000) for which lake water quality and loading were known, six different percentage increases or decreases in phosphorus loading from controllable sources, and six different loading scenarios corresponding to specific management actions. Model simulations indicate that a 50-percent reduction in controllable loading sources would be needed to achieve a mesotrophic classification with respect to phosphorus, chlorophyll a, and Secchi depth (an index of water clarity). Model simulations indicated that short-circuiting of phosphorus from the inlet to the outlet was the main reason the water quality of the lake is good relative to the amount of loading from the Rubicon River and that changes in the percentage of inlet-to-outlet short-circuiting have a significant influence on the water quality of the lake.

Wisconsin↗

USGS2003

Simulation of the shallow aquifer in the vicinity of Silver Lake, Washington County, Wisconsin, using analytic elements

Shallow ground-water flow in the vicinity of Silver Lake, Washington County, Wisconsin, was investigated to develop an understanding of the hydrology of the shallow aquifer, define a water balance for the lake, delineate ground-water recharge areas for the lake, and to estimate solute flux toward the lake. A single-layer, steady-state, analytic-element model was used to simulate shallow ground-water flow. Regional model parameters include a recharge rate of 4 inches per year, hydraulic conductivity of 50 feet per day and a model base of 800 feet above sea level. A model inhomogeneity was added to represent deviations from these regional values for an area roughly coincident with the Kettle Moraine Area that trends through the study area. Model calibration was accomplished by varying the regional parameter values and those of the inhomogeneity through trial-and-error to determine a best-fit match between simulated and measured values for head and streamflow targets. There was no change to the regional parameter values as a result of calibration, however, the calibrated values for the inhomogeneity are: recharge rate of 12 inches per year, hydraulic conductivity of 20 feet per day, and a model base of 900 feet. These changes represent a four- to five-fold reduction in transmissivity within the inhomogeneity as compared to the regional model. A Silver Lake water budget was defined using both published hydrologic data and simulations using the calibrated model. Model simulations show that 1.08 cubic feet per second of ground water enters Silver Lake on the upgradient (primarily western) side and 0.08 cubic feet per second recharges to ground water on the downgradient (primarily eastern) side. Net precipitation (precipitation minus evaporation) on the lake is 0.04 cubic feet per second. Collectively, these water-budget terms provide a residual value of 1.04 cubic feet per second flow to Silver Creek at the north end of Silver Lake, which is a very good match to the range of measured flow (0.7 to 5.2 cubic feet per second). Ground-water recharge areas for Silver Lake are largely on the western side of the lake. The recharge area for the northern two-thirds of Silver Lake is west toward Big Cedar Lake. Assuming a porosity of 20 percent, model results indicate that the 50-year time-of-travel for recharge to Silver Lake does not extend to Big Cedar Lake. The recharge area for the southern one-third of Silver Lake is west toward Little Cedar Lake. Model results indicate that time of travel for recharge to Silver Lake from Little Cedar Lake is about 15 to 20 years. For travel times greater than 15 or 20 years, the ground-water recharge area for Little Cedar Lake and inflow from Big Cedar Lake also should be considered recharge affecting Silver Lake. Solute flux toward Silver Lake was calculated based on simulated ground-water flux and measured concentrations in the upgradient piezometers and observation wells.

Wisconsin↗