Simulation of Partially Saturated - Saturated Flow in the Caspar Creek E-Road Groundwater System

Over the past decade, the U.S. Forest Service has monitored the subsurface hillslope flow of the E-Road swale. The swale is located in the Caspar Creek watershed near Fort Bragg, California. In hydrologic year 1990 a logging road was built across the middle section of the hillslope followed by a total clearcut of the area during the following year. Development of the logging road has resulted in a large build up of subsurface waters upslope of the road. The increase in pore pressures behind the road is of major concern for slope stability and road failure. A conceptual model is developed to describe the movement of water within the E-Road groundwater system. The two-dimensional SUTRA model is used to describe both saturated and partially saturated flow within the system. SUTRA utilizes a finite element and integrated finite difference method to approximate the governing equation for flow. The model appears to reproduce the uniquely different frequency responses within the E-Road groundwater system. A comparison of simulated and historical piezometric responses demonstrates the model's inability to reproduce historical drainage rates. The low rates of simulated drainage are attributed to the absence of pipeflow within the model. Finally, road consolidation is associated with increased water pressures beneath the road bed.