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# Preliminary Water-Table Map and Water-Quality Data for Part of the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, Alaska, 2005

**By Edward H. Moran and Gary L. Solin**

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEYOpen-File Report 2006–1209

Prepared in cooperation with the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and the Alaska Department ofEnvironmental Conservation

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## Abstract

The Matanuska-Susitna Valley is in the northeasternpart of the Cook Inlet Basin, Alaska, an area experiencingrapid population growth and development proximal tomany lakes. Here water commonly flows between lakesand ground water, indicating interrelation between waterquantity and quality. Thus concerns exist that poorer qualityground water may degrade local lake ecosystems. Thisconcern has led to water-quality sampling in cooperationwith the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservationand the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. A map showingthe estimated altitude of the water table illustratespotential ground-water flow directions and areas whereground- and surface-water exchanges and interactionsmight occur. Water quality measured in selected wells andlakes indicates some differences between ground waterand surface water.

"The temporal and spatial scarcity of ground-water-leveland water-quality data limits the analysis of flowdirection and water quality. Regionally, the water-tablemap indicates that ground water in the eastern and southernparts of the study area flows southerly. In the northcentralarea, ground water flows predominately westerlythen southerly. Although ground and surface water inmost areas of the Matanuska-Susitna Valley are interconnected,they are chemically different. Analyses of the fewwater-quality samples collected in the area indicate thatdissolved nitrite plus nitrate and orthophosphorus concentrationsare higher in ground water than in surface water."

## Contents

Abstract

Introduction

Methods

Limitations of the Water-Table Map

Ground-Water Flow

Water Quality

Needs for Future Studies

References Cited

Appendixes

## Plate

Preliminary water-table map and water-quality data for part of the Matanuska-SusitnaValley, Alaska, 2005 (PDF, 2.5MB).

**Suggested Citation:**

Moran, E.H. and Solin, G.L., 2006, Preliminary water-table map and water-quality data for partof the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, Alaska, 2005; U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2006-1209, 43 p.

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This report is available online in Portable Document Format (PDF). If   you do not have the Adobe Acrobat   PDF Reader, it is available for free download from Adobe Systems   Incorporated.

Download the Report (PDF, 1.2MB).

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For more information about USGS activities in Alaska, visit the USGS Alaska Water Science Center home page.

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