Geology topics

P. R. Eyre

Publications and source records attributed to P. R. Eyre.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2006

Simulation of ground-water flow in southeastern Oahu, Hawaii

On the leeward side of southeastern Oahu, Hawaii, near-vertical dikes have intruded the gently dipping and highly permeable lava flows of the Koolau mountain. These dikes bound the study area on the north and west and internally divide it into the Waialae and Wailupe-Hawaii Kai aquifers. Recharge to these aquifers, 6 and 9 million gallons per day respectively, has created Ghyben-Herzberg lenses that freely float on sea water and discharge to the sea through coastal sediments. In the Waialae area, where rainfall is high and where thick (poorly permeable) coastal sediments inhibit the discharge of fresh water, heads are 8 to 15 feet above sea level. Lower rainfall and thin coastal sediments that allow easy discharge cause heads to be only 1 to 5 feet in the Wailupe-Hawaii Kai area. The flow of ground water and the effects of future water development were simulated using AQUIFEM, a two-dimensional finite-element flow model, modified for aquifers containing a sea-water interface. The model provides accurate simulation of observed heads averaged over several years and predicts an additional area-wide head decline of about 1 foot when three recently drilled wells are put into production.

Groundwater↗

USGS1987

Source of salts in the Waianae part of the Pearl Harbor aquifer near Barbers Point water tunnel, Oahu, Hawaii

The salinity of the water supply of Barbers Point Naval Air Station has increased markedly since 1983. The Naval Air Station obtains its water, about 3 million gal/day, from Barbers Point shaft, a water shaft that taps the Waianae part of the Pearl Harbor aquifer underlying the dry, southeastern flank of the Waianae mountains on the island on Oahu, Hawaii. From 1983 to 1985 the chloride concentration of the water, increased from 220 to 250 mg/L and has remained near that level through 1986. The EPA has established 250 mg/L as the maximum recommended chloride concentration in drinking water because above that level many people can taste the salt. The high chloride concentration in shallow groundwater at all wells in the area indicates that most of the salts in the freshwater lens are contributed by rainfall, sea spray, and irrigation return water. At Barbers Point shaft, pumping may draw a small amount of saltwater from the transition zone and increase the chloride concentration in the pumped water by about 20 mg/L. Salinity of the lens decreases progressively inland in response to recharge from relatively fresher water and in response to an increasing lens thickness with increasing distance from the shoreline. The increase, in 1983, in the chloride concentration of water at the shaft was most probably the result of saltier recharge water reaching the water table, and not the result of increased mixing of underlying saltwater with the freshwater. The chloride concentration of the recharge water has probably increased because, in 1980, the drip method of irrigation began to replace the furrow method on sugarcane fields near the shaft. A mixing-cell model was used to estimate the effect of drip irrigation on the chloride concentration of the groundwater in the vicinity of Barbers Point shaft. The model predicted an increase in chloride concentration of about 50 mg/L. The observed increase was about 30 mg/L and the chloride concentration is presently stable at 245 to 250 mg/L; hence, the chloride concentration is not expected to increase significantly more. (Lantz-PTT)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗

USGS1983

Investigation of Waikele well no. 2401-01, Oahu, Hawaii: Pumping test, well logs and water quality

Field tests indicate that an abandoned well (No. 2401-01) near the confluence of Waikele and Kipapa Streams, Oahu, Hawaii, can be reactivated to produce potable water at a rate of 400-500 gallons per minute. Previous tests in 1946 and 1954 indicated that the well tapped the brackish transition zone which inderlies the Ghyben-Herzberg lens of the Pearl Harbor aquifer. Results of this study, based on geologic and geophysical logs of the wall, as well as on pumping test and water-quality data, indicate that the slightly brackish water produced by the well results from brackish irrigation return water. It does not appear that pumping from this well will cause seawater upconing or intrusion. (USGS)

Hawaii↗

USGS1983

The effects of pumpage, irrigation return, and regional ground-water flow on the water quality at Waiawa water tunnel, Oahu, Hawaii

Waiawa shaft is a 1,700-foot long water tunnel which draws water from the top of the Pearl Harbor Ghyben-Herzberg ground-water lens, Oahu, Hawaii. The application of brackish irrigation water to sugarcane fields overlying Waiawa shaft, combined with relatively low pumping rates at the shaft from 1978 to 1980, caused the chloride concentration of water produced by Waiawa shaft to rise to 290 milligrams per liter. Time-series analyses, pumping tests and analyses of water samples show that a zone of degraded water lies at the top of the lens. This zone is mixed in significantly different proportions with the underlying fresher water depending on the pumping rate at Waiawa shaft. The chloride concentration of water in the Waiawa shaft can generally be kept below 250 milligrams per liter for the next few years, if pumping rates of about 15 million gallons per day are maintained. The use of managed pumping to control the chloride problem over the long term is uncertain owing to the possible increase in chloride concentration of the irrigation water. Based on ground-water flow rates and analogy to nearby wells, the chloride concentration of Waiawa shaft 's water will decrease to less than 100 milligrams per liter in 2 to 3 years if the use of brackish irrigation water is discontinued.

Hawaii↗