Ground-Water Hydrology of Lac Qui Parle County, Minnesota

The projected increase in ground-water withdrawals in Lac Qui Parle County underlines the need for careful monitoring of water levels, pumping rates, and consumptive use. Installation of the observation well network in the county in 1980 and the assistance in monitoring these wells by the Lac Qui Parle County Soil and Water Conservation District have contributed greatly to the knowledge needed for management of withdrawals from these aquifers. The pumping data received yearly by the Division of Waters provides a means of monitoring withdrawal rates and water use for the areas submitting data. These data combined with water level data enable the observation of aquifer response to pumping and provide a means of early identification of potential problems, such as excessive withdrawals. Cooperation in submitting high-capacity well pumping data is important for responsible water resource management. Along with improvement of data collection, it is important that the geologic framework and hydraulic relationships between aquifers be determined. Any future work must include further determination of hydraulic boundaries of buried outwash aquifers; the hydrologic relationship between buried and surficial aquifers; and an assessment of the impacts of ground-water withdrawals on surface water supplies, i.e., stream and river flows and lake levels.