Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID MI_2024_Dong

Assessing Aquifers in Irrigated Fields using a Surface Geophysical Tool

Institute: Michigan
Year Established: 2024 Start Date: 2024-09-01 End Date: 2025-08-31
Total Federal Funds: $25,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $25,000

Principal Investigators: Dr. Younsuk Dong

Project Summary: Total precipitation and frequency and magnitude of heavy precipitation events have increased over the past decades in Michigan. This raises interest in how climate change has impacted groundwater recharge. Similar concept to groundwater recharge, methods for estimating agricultural return flow have been discussed and brought to the attention of the Michigan Water Use Advisory Council and Michigan Water Conservation and Efficiency Subcommittee. A large demand exists for a non-model method for understanding agricultural irrigation water usage and its effects on local aquifers. Installing monitoring well is a method of observing groundwater, but the high cost of monitoring well installation limits the number of monitoring wells in Michigan. This proposed project focuses on evaluating a geological survey tool, to estimate groundwater levels and rates of recharge. The objectives of this project are to: 1) Estimate the geographic profile of irrigated lands to observe the aquifer using Electrical Resistivity Tomography, 2) develop a simulation approach for estimating agricultural return flow and groundwater recharge in common Michigan soils using HYDRUS, and 3) share the results of the project with stakeholders through field days, meetings, conferences, and publications.