Groundwater Recharge from a Changing Landscape

Urban development of rural and natural areas is an important issue and concern for many water resource management organizations and wildlife organizations. Change in groundwater recharge is one of the many effects of urbanization. Groundwater supplies to streams are necessary to sustain cold water organisms such as trout. An investigation of the changes of groundwater recharge associated with urbanization of rural and natural areas was conducted. The Vermillion River watershed, which is both a world class trout stream and on the fringes of the metro area of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, was used for a case study. Substantial changes in groundwater recharge could destroy the cold water habitat of trout. In this report we give first an overview of different methods available to estimate recharge. We then present in some detail two models to quantify the changes in recharge that can be expected in a developing area. We finally apply these two models to a tributary watershed of the Vermillion River.