On Management of Ground Water in Ross Creek Basin, Alberta, Canada

A basin‐stability‐based hydrological model is formulated for managing the ground water in Ross Creek Basin, Alberta. The model accounts for some deficiencies in the use of the classical aquifer‐hydraulics method of pump testing for evaluating regional ground‐water resources. Although available water resources in the basin exceed the demand for water, the variable nature of the resource requires efficient management of subsurface space in a form precluded by the lack of suitable aquifers. Consequently, analysis of the response of the ground‐water regime to development indicates that only about 4.4×10-2m3/s of ground water can be pumped from the basin on a sustained basis. Simulations indicate that production at this rate does not hinder natural ground‐water discharge from springs at intermediate and higher topographic elevations, but downstream users of the pumping site will be deprived of their water supply. Attempting to pump the ground water to ensure the continued natural discharge of water to downstream users results in a pumping rate near zero. The ground‐water system in Ross Creek Basin should be operated under natural conditions for best results.