Groundwater Flow Modeling

ISWS has a long history in the field of groundwater flow modeling. ISWS groundwater scientists pioneered many of the early modeling technologies that were precursors to modern standards, such as MODFLOW.

Today, ISWS maintains the Illinois Groundwater Flow Modeling framework, which consists of one of the largest regional groundwater flow models in the world. This model is indispensable for water supply planning, capable of assessing a wide variety of groundwater issues at local, regional, and interstate scales. The ISWS also maintains periodically updated contouring models to assess changing aquifer conditions.

Recent Publications

• Groundwater Flow Models of Illinois 2023.0: Data, Processes, Model Performance, and Key Results
• Analysis of Risk to Sandstone Water Supply in the Southwest Suburbs of Chicago
• Groundwater Flow Models of Illinois: Data, Processes, Model Performance, and Key Results
• Groundwater Simulation Modeling and Potentiometric Surface Mapping, McHenry County, IL
• Groundwater Studies for Water Supply Planning in Kendall County, IL
• Meeting East-Central Illinois Water Needs to 2050: Potential Impacts on the Mahomet Aquifer and Surface Reservoirs
• Northeastern Illinois Water Supply Planning Investigations: Opportunities and Challenges of Meeting Water Demand in Northeastern Illinois
• Kane County Water Resources Investigations: Simulation of Groundwater Flow in Kane County and Northeastern Illinois

Historic Publications

• The New Chicago Model: A Reassessment of the Impacts of Lake Michigan Allocations on the Cambrian-Ordovician Aquifer System in Northeastern Illinois
• A ‘Random-Walk’ Solute Transport Model for Selected Groundwater Quality Evaluations
• Aquifer Simulation Model for Use on Disk-Supported Small Computer Systems
• Selected Digital Computer Techniques for Groundwater Resource Evaluation
• Groundwater Resources of the Buried Mahomet Bedrock Valley