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John Augustus Baker

Publications and source records attributed to John Augustus Baker.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1966

Water resources of the Ipswich River basin, Massachusetts

Water resources of the Ipswich River basin are at resent {1960) used principally for municipal supply to about 379,000 person's in 16 towns and cities in or near the river basin. By the year 2000 municipal use of water in this region will probably be more than twice the current use, and subsidiary uses of water, especially for recreation, also will have increased greatly. To meet the projected needs, annual pumpage of water from the Ipswich River could be increased from current maximums of about 12 mgd (million galleons a day) to about 45 mgd without reducing average base flows in the river, provided that the increased withdrawals would be restricted to periods of high streamflow. In addition, considerably more pumpage could be derived from streamflow by utilizing base-flow discharge; however, the magnitude of such use could be determined only in relation to factors such as concurrent ground-water use, the disposal of waste water, and the amount of streamflow required to dilute the pollution load to acceptable levels. Under present conditions, little or no increase in diversion of streamflow would be warranted in the upstream rafts of the basin during the summer and early fall of each year, and only a moderate increase could be made in the lower reaches of the stream during the same period. Annual rainfall in the basin averages about 42.5 inches, and represents the water initially available for use. Of this amount, an average of about 20.5 inches is returned to the a.tmosphere by evapotranspiration. The remainder, about 22 inches, runs off as streamflow in the Ipswich River or is diverted from the basin by pumpage. The average annual stream runoff, amounting to about 47 billion gallons, is a measure of the water actually available for man's use. The amounts of water used by municipalities in recent years are less than 10 percent of the available supply. Large supplies of ground water may be obtained under water-table conditions from the stratified glacial drift that forms .the principal ground-water reservoir of the basin. Stratified drift deposits fill valleys in about 31 percent of the basin. Thicknesses of the deposits are generally less than 50 feet, but at places may be as great as 200 feet. Between 1931 and 1960 recoverable annual recharge to stratified drift aquifers averaged about 10 inches, equal to 42 mgd. The least possible recharge during any of these years was probably more than 41inches, or 25 mgd. Therefore, ground-water withdrawals from the basin could be sustained at a rate at least five times greater than the 1960 rate of 4.9 mgd. In the lower Ipswich basin. withdrawal of ground water could be sustained at a rate eight or nine times greater than the 1960 rate of 1.86 mgd. There are 1 or more favorable sites for further exploration for ground water in each of the 10 communities that occupy the major part of the river ,basin. Small but reliable supplies of ground water for domestic use may be withdrawn from bedrock almost anywhere it. the basin. Ground-water levels show no long-term trend since 1939, and although large fluctuations in water levels occur during each year, the ground-water reservoir at most places in the Ipswich River basin is replenished annually to its full capacity. During parts of most years potential recharge is unable to enter the already-saturated ground-water reservoirs, and most of this 'rejected recharge' enters streams as surface runoff. The chemical quality of both ground and surface water is generally satisfactory for most uses, although excessive concentrations of iron and manganese occur locally, and at places the hardness of the water is objectionable. The surface- and ground-water resources of the basin are closely related. Because most areas favorable for further development of ground water are adjacent to stream channels, large increases in the withdrawal of ground water during low-flow periods will result in reductions of streamflow. The magnitude of t

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS1964

Geology and ground-water conditions in the Wilmington-Reading area, Massachusetts

The Wilmington-Reading area, as defined for this report, contains the headwaters of the Ipswich River in northeastern Massachusetts. Since World War II the growth of communities in this area and the change in character of some of them from rural to suburban have created new water problems and intensified old ones. The purpose of this report on ground-water conditions is to provide information that will aid in understanding and resolving some of these problems. The regional climate, which is humid and temperate, assures the area an ample natural supply of water. At the current stage of water-resources development a large surplus of water drains from the area by way of the Ipswich River during late autumn, winter, and spring each year and is unavailable for use during summer and early autumn, when during some years there is a general water deficiency. Ground water occurs both in bedrock and in the overlying deposits of glacial drift. The bedrock is a source of small but generally reliable supplies of water throughout the area. Glacial till also is a source of small supplies of water, but wells in till often fail to meet modern demands. Stratified glacial drift, including ice-contact deposits and outwash, yields small to large supplies of water. Stratified glacial drift forms the principal ground-water reservoir. It partly fills a system of preglacial valleys corresponding roughly to the valleys of the present Ipswich River system and is more than 100 feet thick at places. The ice-contact deposits generally are more permeable than the outwash deposits. Ground water occurs basically under water-table conditions. Recharge in the Wilmington-Reading area is derived principally from precipitation on outcrop areas of ice-contact deposits and outwash during late autumn, winter. and spring. It is estimated that the net annual recharge averages about 10 inches and generally ranges from 5 inches during unusually dry years to 15 inches during unusually wet years. Ground water withdrawn largely by municipal wells supplies the towns of North Reading, Reading, and Wilmington. In 1957 the average daily withdrawal from these wells was about 2.5 million gallons, of which about half was used outside the Ipswich River drainage basin. The chemical quality of the ground water is generally satisfactory except for local excessive concentrations of iron. The storage capacity of the ground-water reservoir and recharge in the Wilmington-Reading area are large enough to sustain a total withdrawal of ground water at several times the current rate, but the use of the reservoir probably will be limited by the extent to which wells of moderate or large capacity can be dispersed. This will depend upon the distribution of areas of thick permeable materials. Conditions in the Martins Brook-Skug River drainage basin seem generally favorable for increased development of water supplies. In the rest of the Wilmington-Reading area the chances of finding substantial bodies of thick permeable materials probably are small, but further exploration is desirable. Measures proposed to drain swampland by deepening and straightening the Ipswich River and its tributaries will have some effect upon the ground-water conditions. Probably the most obvious effect will be a lowering of water levels in wells near improved reaches of channel. Also important will b the effect of changes in low streamflow conditions on wells that induce infiltration from streams and the effect on well yields of an improved hydraulic connection between streams and the ground-water body. The Reading 100-acre well field, which derives part of its supply by inducing recharge from the Ipswich River, would be affected by the drainage measures. During a dry summer, such as that of 1957, the flow of the Ipswich is fully diverted by pumping at this well field, and drawdowns at some of the wells approach half the saturated thickness of the aquifer there. If the drainage measures are

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS1960

Wetland and water supply

The Geological Survey has received numerous inquiries about the effects of proposed changes in the wetland environment. The nature of the inquiries suggests a general confusion in the public mind as to wetland values and an increasing concern by the public with the need for facts as a basis for sound decisions when public action is required. Perhaps the largest gap in our knowledge is in regard to the role played by the wetland in the natural water scheme. Specialists in such fields as agriculture and conservation have studied the wetland in relation to its special uses and values for farming and as a habitat for fish and wildlife. However, except as studied incidentally by these specialists, the role of the wetland with respect to water has been largely neglected. This facet of the wetland problem is of direct concern to the Geological Survey. We commonly speak of water in terms of its place in the hydrologic environment---as, for example, surface water or ground water. These terms imply that water can be neatly pigeonholed. With respect to the wetland environment nothing can be further from the truth. In fact, one objective of this discussion is to demonstrate that for the wetland environment surface water, ground water, and soil water cannot be separated realistically, but are closely interrelated and must be studied together. It should be noted that this statement holds true for the hydrologic environment in general, and that the wetland environment is by no means unique in this respect. Our second and principal objective is to identify some of the problems that must be studied in order to clarify the role of the wetland in relation to water supply. We have chosen to approach these objectives by briefly describing one area for which we have some information, and by using this example to point out some of the problems that need study. First, however, let us define what we, as geohydrologists, mean by wetland and briefly consider wetland classifications. For our purpose wetlands are land areas that are covered with shallow water or subjected to intermittent flooding and subsequent slow drainage, and which generally are characterized by an accumulation of organic matter hereafter termed swamp deposits.' These wetlands may be classified in a number of different ways depending on the purpose of the classifier. For example, the Fish and Wildlife Service classifies wetlands into 20 different types based on water quality (fresh or salty), drainage, and vegetation. At the risk of some oversimplification we might consider 4 types of wetland from the standpoint of hydrology: (1) fresh-water swamps in which the swamp deposits are underlain by glacial till or bedrock; (2)fresh-water swamps in which the swamp deposits are underlain by marine or lacustrine clay and silt; (3) fresh-water swamps in which the swamp deposits are underlain by glacial outwash or alluvium consisting mostly of sand or sand and gravel; and (4) salt .marshes and salt meadows. The three fresh-water types of wetland are of interest with respect to water supply, and of these, the type in which swamp deposits are underlain by glacial outwash is of particular interest in New England. In the Ipswich River basin above the Geological Survey gaging station at South Middleton, Mass., is an area of 44 square miles which forms the headwaters section of the basin. The relief of the area is low. About half the area consists of hills mostly underlain by bedrock but mantled by a thin layer of glacial till. The other half consists Of lowlands---including swamps, low terraces and plains---underlain by glacial outwash, Swampland, used hereafter as a synonym for wetland, forms about a fourth of the area. Some of the swamps occupy depressions in the till blanket and are situated at somewhat higher levels than the lowlands. The largest swamps, however, border the Ipswich River and its tributaries. Here the swamp deposits, which consist of muck and peat mixed with s

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