thumbnail

Groundwater Budget for the Surficial Aquifer Surrounding Lake Nokomis, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Open-File Report 2025-1021
Prepared in cooperation with the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources and in collaboration with the University of Minnesota
By:
https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20251021

Links

Abstract

During prolonged periods of above-average precipitation, rising groundwater levels have the potential to cause damage to and interfere with underground infrastructure and building foundations. To understand the relations between precipitation and groundwater in the vicinity of Lake Nokomis, the U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with the University of Minnesota, quantified five components of the groundwater budget: groundwater recharge, change in surficial aquifer storage, surficial aquifer groundwater discharge to Lake Nokomis, groundwater evapotranspiration, and groundwater discharge to underlying bedrock aquifers. Field data, geologic records, and empirical calculation methods were used to quantify groundwater budget components for April 2023 through April 2024. Lake water budget data indicate that Lake Nokomis is a flowthrough system during periods with no outflow through the weir, with groundwater inputs equal to outputs. Roughly 40 percent of precipitation that fell in the study area was added to the surficial aquifer as recharge. Uncertainty in the vertical hydraulic conductivity resulted in wide-ranging estimates (spanning three orders of magnitude) of water discharging from the surficial aquifer to the underlying bedrock aquifer. Drought conditions persisted for the duration of this study and were not representative of the conditions that motivated this study. This study is a start towards understanding relations between precipitation, Lake Nokomis levels, and groundwater levels that could affect local underground infrastructure.

Suggested Citation

Livdahl, C.T., 2025, Groundwater budget for the surficial aquifer surrounding Lake Nokomis, Minneapolis, Minnesota: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2025–1021, 15 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20251021.

ISSN: 2331-1258 (online)

Study Area

Table of Contents

  • Acknowledgments
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Purpose and Scope
  • Methods
  • Lake and Groundwater Budgets
  • Limitations
  • Summary
  • References Cited
Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Groundwater budget for the surficial aquifer surrounding Lake Nokomis, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Series title Open-File Report
Series number 2025-1021
DOI 10.3133/ofr20251021
Publication Date April 21, 2025
Year Published 2025
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Reston, VA
Contributing office(s) Upper Midwest Water Science Center
Description Report: vi, 15 p.; Dataset
Country United States
State Minnesota
Other Geospatial Lake Nokomis
Online Only (Y/N) Y
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
Additional publication details