Plymouth Saltwater Intrusion

With climate change and rising sea levels, coastal communities that rely on groundwater are at increasing risk of saltwater intrusion which could cause salinity increases in coastal water bodies and drinking water. We created a salinity database with groundwater and surface water samples and mapped modern salinity distributions for Plymouth, MA and surrounding towns. We then developed a groundwater flow and transport model based on the existing USGS groundwater flow model for the region to assess how future changes in sea level, groundwater pumping, and groundwater recharge will impact the location of the freshwater-saltwater interface and the salinity of wells and ponds.