Hydrogeologic framework database and model, Mountain Home area, southern Idaho

Groundwater in the arid Mountain Home area is vital to agricultural, municipal, industrial and other water users who are concerned about declining groundwater levels. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Idaho Department of Water Resources, developed a hydrogeologic framework to provide a conceptual understanding of groundwater resources in the Mountain Home area. As part of the hydrogeologic framework, a digital borehole database was compiled and used to generate a three-dimensional hydrogeologic framework model to represent the distribution and thickness of five hydrogeologic units: granite, rhyolite, basalt, fine-grained sediments, and coarse-grained sediments. The digital borehole database was compiled from existing data; it contains borehole location, lithology, construction, and groundwater-level data for 540 boreholes in the Mountain Home area. A gridded dataset representing the surficial distribution of hydrogeologic units, derived from the statewide geologic map, was also developed to fill gaps in the spatial distribution of boreholes. The three-dimensional hydrogeologic framework model of the Mountain Home area was generated from the borehole database and surficial hydrogeologic units, and an animation showing the model cut-away in successive slices was created. More information on digital borehole information, surficial hydrogeology, model construction, and limitations can be found in the companion report, SIR 2024-5132 (Hydrogeologic framework of the Mountain Home area, southern Idaho by L.M. Zinsser and S.D. Ducar).