Building a geodatabase for mapping hydrogeological features and 3D modeling of groundwater systems: Application to the Saguenay–Lac-St.-Jean region, Canada

Understanding and managing groundwater resources require the integration of a large amount of high-quality data from a variety of sources. Due to the limitations in accessing information related to groundwater and subsurface conditions, the gathering of available existing information is of crucial importance when conducting a successful hydrogeological study. Here, we present an approach for the development of an exhaustive and comprehensive groundwater database through (1) the gathering of relevant sources of information relating to groundwater, and (2) the application of a quality control process in order to screen the data for accuracy and quality. This hydrogeological database is then implemented within a GIS (geographic information system) framework coupled to a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) as a personal geodatabase (ESRI format) GIS technology. Once established, the spatial database allows a user to request the relevant data required for a specific hydrogeological study. In addition, stratigraphic data stored within the spatial database may be utilized for constructing 3D subsurface hydrostructural models. In order to achieve this objective, the software Arc Hydro Groundwater combined with the ArcGIS spatial database is shown to be appropriate for the 3D structural representation of aquifers (groundwater reservoirs). The innovative contribution of this approach in building 3D hydrostructural subsurface models from a spatial database resides in simplifying the required step-by-step processes by considering a unified compatible combination of “RDBMS–ArcGIS–Arc Hydro Groundwater” technologies. The proposed methodology is illustrated using data from an ongoing project aimed at developing an inventory of the groundwater resources of the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region, Quebec (Canada).

► We present a methodology for constructing 3D subsurface hydrostructural models.
► A hydrogeological Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) is described.
► Quality controls ensure the quality of information contained within the database.
► Geodatabase is implemented within GIS (ArcGIS).
► 3D representations of aquifers are developed with Arc Hydro Groundwater software.