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Hydrogeologic Framework and Conceptual Model of the Red River Alluvial Aquifer East of Lake Texoma, Southeastern Oklahoma, 1980–2022

Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5054
Prepared in cooperation with the Oklahoma Water Resources Board
By: , , , , , , , , , and 
https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20255054

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Abstract

The 1973 Oklahoma Groundwater Law (Oklahoma Statutes §82-1020.5) requires that the Oklahoma Water Resources Board conduct hydrologic investigations of the State’s groundwater basins to support a determination of the maximum annual yield for each groundwater basin. At present (2025), the Oklahoma Water Resources Board has not established a maximum annual yield for the Red River alluvial aquifer east of Lake Texoma. To support the evaluation and determination of a maximum annual yield, a hydrogeologic framework and conceptual groundwater-flow model were developed to assess groundwater availability in the Red River alluvial aquifer east of Lake Texoma.

The scope of this hydrologic investigation is the alluvium and terrace containing the Red River alluvial aquifer in Oklahoma between Lake Texoma, the Texas State line, and the Arkansas State line, an extent referred to in this report as “the eastern part of the Red River alluvial aquifer.” Parts of the alluvium and terrace extent in Arkansas and Texas are included in some analyses to address hydrologic influences from outside the aquifer’s boundaries in Oklahoma.

The eastern part of the Red River alluvial aquifer in southeastern Oklahoma consists of approximately 401,280 acres of Quaternary alluvium and terrace deposits associated with the Red River and its major tributaries. Mean annual recharge to the aquifer for the 1980–2022 study period was estimated to be 8.62 inches per year, or 17.98 percent of the mean annual precipitation over the same period (47.94 inches). This mean annual recharge rate is equivalent to an inflow of approximately 288,250 acre-feet per year for the eastern part of the Red River alluvial aquifer. Recharge estimated using the Soil-Water-Balance code accounts for 98.7 percent of the conceptual-model inflows to the eastern part of the Red River alluvial aquifer. Saturated-zone evapotranspiration accounts for 11.9 percent and net streambed seepage accounts for 87.4 percent of the outflows in the conceptual model.

Suggested Citation

Codner, C., Gammill, N.C., Dale, I.A., Morris, A.S., Kirby, E.A., Graves, G.M., Fetkovich, E.J., Wagner, D.L., Sanford, J.E., and Baciocco, C.A., 2025, Hydrogeologic framework and conceptual model of the Red River alluvial aquifer east of Lake Texoma, southeastern Oklahoma, 1980–2022: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2025–5054, 46 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20255054.

ISSN: 2328-0328 (online)

Study Area

Table of Contents

  • Acknowledgments
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Hydrogeology of the Eastern Part of the Red River Alluvial Aquifer
  • Hydrogeologic Framework
  • Conceptual Groundwater-Flow Model and Water Budget
  • Summary
  • References Cited
Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Hydrogeologic framework and conceptual model of the Red River alluvial aquifer east of Lake Texoma, southeastern Oklahoma, 1980–2022
Series title Scientific Investigations Report
Series number 2025-5054
DOI 10.3133/sir20255054
Publication Date July 18, 2025
Year Published 2025
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Reston, VA
Contributing office(s) Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center
Description Report: x, 46 p.; Data Release
Country United States
State Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas
Other Geospatial Red River alluvial aquifer
Online Only (Y/N) Y
Additional publication details