{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.016408386508659983, 'fraction_numerical': 0.0, 'mean_word_length': 5.513353115727003, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Estimating the spatial distribution of groundwater recharge rates using hydrologic, hydrogeologic and geochemical methods

Groundwater quality and quantity are often negatively impacted by land use activities such as application of agricultural chemicals, disposal of solid wastes in landfills, operation of septic systems, groundwater pumping, and land development. Sound management of these activities can usually afford a major degree of groundwater protection but information needed to implement sound management practices is often lacking. One of the principal segments of information usually lacking is the rate at which water from precipitation, streamflow, or snow melt is added to the zone of saturation of an aquifer to affect its recharge. Operational tools for estimating spatial and temporal distribution of groundwater recharge exist; however, they are not reliable because there is usually no way of confirming the data derived as a result of applying these tools. To address this issue, measurements and models of surface and groundwater flows, levels, and chemistry were undertaken around Black Earth Creek (BEC) to estimate the spatial distribution of groundwater recharge in a southwestern Dane County, Wisconsin watershed. The area was selected for study because groundwater discharge is responsible for much of the base flow of BEC, increased demands from urban expansion threaten groundwater in the region, and abundant hydrologic information on the area already exists. Initial field investigations concentrated on locating and measuring groundwater discharge sites. The discovery of many springs in the Garfoot Creek (GC) portion of the watershed focused our attention on this sub-watershed because the basin is relatively small and amenable to an efficient and consummate evaluation of the parameters needed to evaluate groundwater recharge. The GC watershed is entirely within Wisconsin’s Driftless Area and has a U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) gauge at its mouth. The area is representative of other small watersheds so that conclusions derived there could be applied on a larger scale over the entire BEC watershed and other watersheds in Wisconsin’s Driftless Area.