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Metropolitan Area Groundwater Model — The Metro Model
General Description of the Metro ModelMetro Model staff collected, analyzed, and interpreted a large volume of data to support model construction, and placed it into GIS-compatible databases that are readily available to end-users. The Metro Model and its supporting data continue to be used as groundwater management tools by planners, government agencies, and private consultants. The model is simple and coarse discretized, including only known major hydrogeologic features. This allows the development team, as well as users, to understand the major features and processes that affect groundwater flow. End-users of the Metro Model modify it to represent localized conditions by inserting site-specific details into the regional backdrop that the Metro Model provides. This permits users to develop models in shorter time periods, with lower costs, and almost always with a better technical basis than would otherwise be possible with the same financial resources. Current Status of ProjectThe Metro Model was supported by the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources from 1996-99 with supplemental funding from the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). It was then supported by the MPCA, which experienced a three-year trend in decreased staff funding. As a result of cuts in federal funds and the budget recommended by the Governor and passed by the Minnesota Legislature in 2001, the MPCA lost about 10 percent of its former staffing level (over 70 positions). Therefore, the MPCA has had to reduce service in a number of programs to meet its highest environmental priorities. The Metro Model was one of the casualties of this action. Without a legislative appropriation expressly dedicated to the project, MPCA has no plans for future support of the Metro Model. Hard financial realities have necessitated cutbacks in many other program areas as well. Although updates and revisions to Metro Model resources have ceased, all project resources accessible through this website will remain available until they become obsolete. If end-users require assistance in the application of Metro Model resources, we recommend that they retain a qualified consultant experienced in hydrogeology, Geographic Information Systems, and groundwater modeling and engineering. Project staff are extremely grateful for the support, input, use, and critical feedback that groundwater professionals and end-users have provided over the years. The peer-review and feedback have immeasurably improved the products and services that we have been able to provide.
Learn More About the Metro ModelStaff ContactsAlthough the MPCA no longer actively supports the Metro Model, inquiries regarding the project may be directed to one of the following individuals:
Informational CatalogThe "Catalog of Hydrogeologic Unit Characteristics" was being developed to organize and summarize information and data that support the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area Groundwater Model (Metro Model). However, we hope it might also benefit others involved in Minneapolis - St. Paul metro area groundwater management. The catalog, developed from literature citations and other information sources, features parameters such as transmissivity, horizontal and vertical hydraulic conductivity, storage coefficient, effective porosity, and saturated thickness for specific hydrogeologic units. It also includes literature references, abstracts and summaries to assist users who desire additional details. You may search through this catalog at the following page: Selected Displays
Links to Other Hydrogeologic Sites
Available for DownloadTo save the following files on your hard drive, right click (Windows) or click and hold (Macintosh) and choose 'save link as' from the popup menu. Project Reports
Model FilesTo unzip the following files you'll need a program such as winzip, which is available at http://www.winzip.com
Database Files and MapsTo unzip the following files you'll need a program such as winzip, which is available at http://www.winzip.com Geology — Paleozoic Bedrock Units
Groundwater Contours
Calibration Datasets
Glacial Drift Sand — Content Maps
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Location
of the Twin Cities
in Minnesota
Model
files for the NE Province
Interval
1, 280 - 300 meters above MSL