This dataset contains surface-water-altitude (SWA) data from streamgages that were used or considered (indicated by the field USE_2020) to create a potentiometric-surface map for the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer (MRVA) for spring 2020. The SWA data was referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88). The streamgages are measured continuously. The streamgage measurement that was used was from early April 2020 and is an estimate of the groundwater altitudes (GWAs) at the gage location. The resultant potentiometric-surface contours and raster represents the generalized central tendency for spring 2020, but it would not be useful for some purposes, such as for calibration of a groundwater-flow model for early April 2020 or for some local scale assessments.

A potentiometric surface map for spring 2016 was created for the Mississippi River Valley alluvial (MRVA) aquifer, which was referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88), using most of the available groundwater-altitude data from wells and surface-water-altitude data from streamgages. Most of the wells were measured annually or one time, after installation, but some wells were measured more than one time in a year and a small number of wells were measured continually. Streamgages were typically operated continuously. The potentiometric surface map for 2016 was created as part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water Availability and Use Science Program to support investigations that characterize the MRVA aquifer. The potentiometric contours ranged from 10 feet to 340 feet above NAVD 88. The regional direction of groundwater flow was generally towards the south-southwest, except in areas of groundwater-altitude depressions, where groundwater flows into the depressions, and near rivers, where groundwater flow generally parallels the flow in the rivers. There are large depressions in the potentiometric surface in the lower half of the Cache region and in most of the Grand Prairie and Delta regions.

This dataset contains the contours, in feet, of the potentiometric-surface, spring 2018, Mississippi River Valley alluvial (MRVA) aquifer. The contours are referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88). The contours were derived from most of the available groundwater-altitude data from wells and surface-water-altitude data from streamgages, measured in for spring 2018. The potentiometric contours ranged from 10 to 340 feet (3 to 104 meters) above NAVD 88. The regional direction of groundwater flow was generally towards the south-southwest, except in areas of groundwater-altitude depressions, where groundwater flows into the depressions, and near rivers, where groundwater flow generally parallels the flow in the rivers.

This dataset contains groundwater (GW)-altitude (ALT) data from wells that was used or considered to create a potentiometric-surface map for the Mississippi River Valley alluvial (MRVA) aquifer for spring 2018. The groundwater-altitude data was referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88). Most of the wells were measured annually, but some wells were measured more than one time in a year and a small number of wells were measured continuously. Groundwater-altitude data were from wells measured in spring 2018. Spring-time measurements were preferred because water levels had generally recovered from pumping during the previous irrigation season and it was before pumping began for the current irrigation season. To best reflect hydrologic conditions in the MRVA aquifer, the groundwater altitudes used to create the 2018 potentiometric surface would be measured in a short-time frame of days or a week and there would be available data (for example from sets of wells with short-screen (about 5 to 10 feet or 1.5 to 3 meters) installed near the top, in the middle, and near the bottom of the aquifer) to indicate vertical flow components. However, most wells screened in the MRVA aquifer were measured before the potentiometric-surface map of the MRVA aquifer was planned and therefore the timing of each well’s measurement(s) was determined by the needs and schedules of the entities doing the measurements. Also, many of the measured wells had longer screens (from greater than 10 feet or 3 meters and covering a substantial part of the aquifer thickness), therefore their water-level measurements represent an average head in the aquifer for that location. The resultant potentiometric-surface contours and raster represents the generalized central tendency for spring 2018, but it would not be useful for some purposes, such as for calibration of a groundwater-flow model for early April 2018 or for some local scale assessments.

This dataset contains the contours, in feet, of the potentiometric-surface, spring 2018, Mississippi River Valley alluvial (MRVA) aquifer. The contours are referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88). The contours were derived from most of the available groundwater-altitude data from wells and surface-water-altitude data from streamgages, measured in for spring 2018. The potentiometric contours ranged from 10 to 340 feet (3 to 104 meters) above NAVD 88. The regional direction of groundwater flow was generally towards the south-southwest, except in areas of groundwater-altitude depressions, where groundwater flows into the depressions, and near rivers, where groundwater flow generally parallels the flow in the rivers.

A potentiometric surface map for spring 2016 was created for the Mississippi River Valley alluvial (MRVA) aquifer, which was referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88), using most of the available groundwater-altitude data from wells and surface-water-altitude data from streamgages. Most of the wells were measured annually or one time, after installation, but some wells were measured more than one time in a year and a small number of wells were measured continually. Streamgages were typically operated continuously. The potentiometric surface map for 2016 was created as part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water Availability and Use Science Program to support investigations that characterize the MRVA aquifer. The potentiometric contours ranged from 10 feet to 340 feet above NAVD 88. The regional direction of groundwater flow was generally towards the south-southwest, except in areas of groundwater-altitude depressions, where groundwater flows into the depressions, and near rivers, where groundwater flow generally parallels the flow in the rivers. There are large depressions in the potentiometric surface in the lower half of the Cache region and in most of the Grand Prairie and Delta regions.