In cooperation with the National Park Service Relation of Hydrologic Processes to Groundwater and Surface-Water Levels and Flow Directions in a Dune-Beach Complex at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and Beverly Shores, Indiana Scientific Investigations Report 2011–5073 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Cover. Photographs of (left) a restored part of Great Marsh, September 15, 2008, after a 10.77-inch rain in Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and (right) Lake Michigan from the Lake View overlook at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and Beverly Shores, Indiana, July 16, 2010. (Photographs by David A. Cohen and Paul M. Buszka, U.S. Geological Survey.) Background photo, by 2009 artist-in residence, Michelle Michael, from the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore collectiom. Relation of Hydrologic Processes to Groundwater and Surface-Water Levels and Flow Directions in a Dune-Beach Complex at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and Beverly Shores, Indiana By Paul M. Buszka, David A. Cohen, David C. Lampe, and Noel B. Pavlovic In cooperation with the National Park Service Scientific Investigations Report 2011–5073 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior KEN SALAZAR, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Marcia K. McNutt, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2011 For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment, visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1–888–ASK–USGS. For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod To order this and other USGS information products, visit http://store.usgs.gov Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. 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Suggested citation: Buszka, P.M., Cohen, D.A., Lampe, D.C., and Pavlovic, N.B., 2011, Relation of hydrologic processes to groundwater and surface-water levels and flow directions in a dune-beach complex at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and Beverly Shores, Indiana: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5073, 75 p. iii Contents Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................ix Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................................1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................2 Purpose and Scope ..............................................................................................................................6 Description of Study Area ...................................................................................................................8 Hydrogeologic Framework ..................................................................................................................8 Climate ..................................................................................................................................................12 Methods of Data Collection and Analysis ...............................................................................................13 Precipitation and Water-Use Data ...................................................................................................13 Observation Wells and Surface-Water-Level Sites ......................................................................13 Groundwater- and Surface-Water-Level Measurements ............................................................16 Evaluation of Groundwater Levels Relative to Basements ..........................................................17 Relation of Hydrologic Processes to Groundwater and Surface-Water Levels and Flow Directions in a Dune-Beach Complex .......................................................................17 Precipitation, Evapotranspiration, and Recharge to Groundwater ............................................17 Water-Supply Changes and Recharge to Groundwater ..............................................................24 Hydrogeology of the Study Areas at Beverly Shores and Howe’s Prairie ................................24 Water-Level Fluctuations and Flow Directions ..............................................................................29 Water-Level Fluctuations Before and After Wetland Restoration at Beverly Shores .........................................................................................................32 Groundwater-Level Fluctuations Without Wetland Restoration at Howe’s Prairie ..........................................................................................................36 Groundwater-Level Fluctuations After Wetland Restoration at Beverly Shores, 2007–9 ...........................................................................................39 Seasonal and Event-Related Fluctuations ....................................................................39 Wetland and Drainage Effects on Water-Level Fluctuations ....................................39 Surface-Water-Level Fluctuations at Beverly Shores after Wetland Restoration, 2007–9 ............................................................................50 Groundwater-Flow Directions in the Surficial Aquifer .................................................................50 Effect of Recharge from Rain on Groundwater Levels and Flow Directions ...................50 Effect of Recharge from Snowmelt and Rain on Groundwater Levels and Flow Directions .....................................................................................................51 Effect of Evapotranspiration on Groundwater Levels ..........................................................62 Effect of Water-Supply Changes on Groundwater Levels ..................................................62 Simulated Effects of Recharge and Wetland Water Levels on Groundwater Levels in an Idealized Cross Section Using an Analytical Solution ..............................64 Simulation Results and Relative Effects of Hydrologic Processes on Groundwater Levels ...............................................................................................65 Limitations of the Analytical Solution .....................................................................................66 Summary and Conclusions .........................................................................................................................70 Water-Level Fluctuations and Flow Directions near Beverly Shores, Indiana: Questions and Answers .......................................................................................................72 References Cited..........................................................................................................................................74 iv Figures 1. Map showing the location of Beverly Shores, Howe’s Prairie, and nearby weather stations near the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, northwestern Indiana. .............................................................................................3 2. Interactions of precipitation and water-supply changes with recharge and groundwater levels in a hypothetical unconfined sand aquifer. ...................................4 3. Generalized groundwater flow: A, Under natural conditions; B, affected by tile drain flow; and C, affected by surface-water-level change in adjacent discharge (ditch-wetland) .......................................................................5 4. Part of study area at Beverly Shores, Indiana, including hydrogeologic sections A–A´ and B–B´, wells, and surface-water sites with data used for this investigation near the Great Marsh at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, northwestern Indiana. ..................................................................................................................7 5. Part of study area at Howe’s Prairie, including wells with data used for this investigation near the Great Marsh at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, northwestern Indiana. .............................................................................9 6. Unconsolidated aquifer systems in the Lake Michigan region and the study areas, northwestern Indiana ...........................................................................10 7. Diagrammatic hydrogeologic section showing aquifers and conceptual groundwater-flow directions in the eastern half of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore near Beverly Shores, northwestern Indiana ......................................11 8. The direct-push drill rig used to collect sediment cores and construct observation wells for this study, a core collected with this drill rig of surficial aquifer sand from well 554, and a diagram of a typical observation well installation ...........................................................................................................................13 9. Photograph showing typical surface-water measurement sites: (left) a stable culvert end at site CUL510 and (right) a staff gage at site SG1 ..................15 10. Annual precipitation at Ogden Dunes (1952–89) and Indiana