Search USGS⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search USGS

Results for “Water Supply Paper”

Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 541 records · Page 30Linked to original sources
USGS1957

Geology and ground-water resources of the lower Lodgepole Creek drainage basin, Nebraska, with a section on chemical quality of the water

The area described is almost wholly in Nebraska and is the drainage basin of Lodgepole Creek from the Wyoming State line to the Colorado State line, a distance along the stream valley of about 95 miles. It covers about 1,950 square miles. The purposes of the study were to ascertain the characteristics, thickness, and extent of the water-bearing formations and to obtain and interpret data on the origin, quality, quantity, movement, availability, and use of ground water in the area. The rocks exposed in the drainage basin are the Brule formation of Oligocene (Tertiary) age, the Ogallala formation of Pliocene (Tertiary) age, and alluvium of Pleistocene and Recent (Quaternary) age. The Brule formation is mainly a siltstone, which yields an average of 950 gallons per minute (gpm) to irrigation wells tapping its fractured zones or reworked material; the maximum reported discharge is 2,200 gpm. The Ogallala formation underlies most of the area. It consists of lenticular beds of clayey, silty, sandy, and gravelly materials and supplies water to all wells on the upland, including a few large-discharge wells, and to many irrigation and public-supply wells in the valley of Lodgepole Creek. The yield of irrigation wells tapping the Ogallala formation ranges from 90 to 1,600 gpm and averages about 860 gpm. The alluvium is present in the valleys of Lodgepole Creek and its tributaries and consists mainly of heterogeneous . mixtures of silt, sand, and gravel, and lenticular bodies of these materials. Between the Colorado State line and Chappell, Nebr., irrigation wells derive most of their water from the alluvium. However, between Chappell and Sidney most of the irrigation wells tap both the alluvium and permeable zones in the underlying Brule formation, and in much of the valley west of Sidney, where the water table is beneath the bottom of the alluvium, irrigation wells derive water from the underlying Brule or Ogallala formations. Irrigation wells obtaining water chiefly from the alluvium have a yield ranging from 130 to 1,200 gpm, averaging about 770 gpm. In the Lodgepole Creek valley below Sidney the depth to water generally is less than 20 feet and, in many places, less than 10. In much of this part of the area the water table extends to the land surface or to the root zone of the vegetation, and discharge by evapotranspiration is high. In the valley of Lodgepole Creek between Sidney and the Wyoming State line, the depth to water generally ranges from less than 10 feet near the stream to more than 100 along the edge of the valley. In the upland the depth to water ranges from about 80 to about 300 feet. Recharge to the ground-water reservoir is derived chiefly from precipitation; other sources are seepage from irrigation systems and streams, and subsurface inflow of ground water. Water that infiltrates to the water table generally moves toward Lodgepole Creek in a downstream direction and is discharged into the stream through springs and seeps. However, within an area of at least 400 square miles in the northern part of the lower Lodgepole Creek drainage basin, ground water moves toward the valley of the North Platte River. Water is discharged from the ground-water reservoir into streams, by evapotranspiration, through wells, and by subsurface outflow. During the 1951-52 water year about 13,000 acre-feet of ground water left the area as streamflow. An estimated 20,000 acre-feet of water annually is discharged by the transpiration of grasses and trees growing along the creek bottom, and about 1,000 acre-feet of water leaves as subsurface outflow. During the period 1950-51 about 68,000 acre-feet of water was pumped from wells in the area for all uses. Of this amount; about 35,000 acre-feet in 1950 and 23,300 acre-feet in 1951 were used to irrigate about 15,560 and 15,790 acres. Nearly one-fourth of this water percolated back to the ground-water reservoir. These acreages, however, included about 2,100 acres irrigated in p

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS1957

The deep channel and alluvial deposits of the Ohio Valley in Kentucky

The alluvial deposits of Pleistocene age in the Ohio Valley form a ground-water reservoir of large storage capacity and yield. In this region it is the only source of large supplies of water that are both cool and of good quality the year round. The reservoir is heavily drawn upon, yet has very large potentialities for future development because of the favorable conditions for both natural and artificially induced infiltration of water from the river into the alluvial deposits. The principal features of the Ohio Valley were formed during the Pleistocene, or glacial, epoch. The drainage area upriver from Cincinnati was added when ice first advanced south, blocked rivers draining northwestward off the Appalachians, and diverted their waters southwest into the headwaters of the early Ohio River. A deep channel, the bottom of which is at a lower altitude than the present river bed, was excavated before the third (Illinoian) glacial stage. The thick body of sand and gravel that now lies in the deep channel was deposited by floods of melt water as the ice sheet of the Wisconsin stage melted away from the Ohio basin. The vertical distance between river pool level and the base of the old channel increases from 25 feet at Ashland, Ky., to 110 feet at the mouth of the river, for the old channel has a steeper gradient than the present river. The width of the bedrock valley ranges from half a mile at one point near Cincinnati to almost 10 miles near Uniontown, Ky. Where the valley is narrow, the flat-floored deep channel extends from one side of the valley to. the other. Where the valley is wide, the deep channel occupies only part of the width of the valley, the rest being underlain by rock benches mantled with alluvium. The alluvium consists of a sheet of sand and gravel overlain by a thinner layer of silt and clay. The sheet of sand and gravel is continuous across and up and down the valley, and at most places along the valley it is exposed in part of the river channel. The gravel is coarse and cobbly near Cincinnati but finer downstream, and near Paducah most of it is no larger than pea size. The thickness of water-saturated sand and gravel increases downvalley in the same way as does the distance between river level and the base of the old channel, roughly from 2b to 110 feet. The storage coefficient is likely to about 0.2, or 1.5 gallons of water per cubic foot of sand and gravel.

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS1957

Water resources of the Yadkin-Pee Dee River basin, North Carolina

Sufficient water is available in the basin of the Yadkin and Pee Dee Rivers to meet present requirements and those for many years to come if water use increases at about the present rate. Data presented in this report show that the average annual streamflow from approximately 82 percent of the basin area during the 25-year period, 1929-53, was about 6,200 mgd, representing essentially the total available water supply. Comparison of the available water supply to the estimated withdrawal use (excluding water power) of both surface and ground water of 600 mgd indicates the relative utilization of the water resources of the basin at present. If proper pollution controls are observed and practiced so that water in the various streams may be reused several times, the potential water available is even greater than indicated by the above comparison. Preliminary studies indicate that the quantity of water now being withdrawn from ground-water reservoirs in the basin is only a fraction of the total that may be obtained from this source. Twenty-eight of the 64 municipalities having public water-supply systems use surface water; however, as the largest cities in the area use surface supplies, about 85 percent of the water used for public supplies is from surface sources. Of the 20 complete-record stream-gaging stations now in operation in this area 7 have been in operation for 24 years or longer. Periodic measurements of the rate of flow have been made at 31 additional sites on streams scattered widely over the basin. All available streamflow data including those for 1953 are summarized in either graphic or tabular form, or both. Because of the critically low flows occurring during the drought of 1954, several illustrations include data for 1954 and the early months of 1955 for comparison with the minima of previous years. Adequate water for domestic use is available from wells throughout the basin. The consolidated rocks of the Piedmont furnish water for small industries and for municipalities whose population is less than about 1,500. The yields of wells in rock range from less than 1 gpm to as much as 200 gpm with local, rather than regional, geologic factors controlling the yield. The average municipal well in consolidated rocks yields about 30 gpm. In contrast, the sands of the Coastal Plain, in the eastern part of the basin, furnish as much as 500 gpm to individual wells, and ground-water conditions are generally similar throughout that region. A cumulative deficiency in rainfall from 1953 to 1955, has caused ground-water levels to fall below the seasonal averages, but the decline is thought not to indicate a long-term trend. The most serious problem involving future use of ground water is the lack of knowledge of the characteristics of the ground-water provinces in the basin. Generally the chemical quality of the surface waters in the Yadkin-Pee Dee River basin is good. They are low in mineral matter and soft, although some of the surface water contains excessive quantities of iron. In some local areas the streams have been polluted by municipal and industrial wastes. During periods of high runoff many of the streams transport large quantities of suspended sediment. Tributary streams in the lower eastern part of the basin are highly colored because of drainage from swampy areas. Ground water from the consolidated rocks in the Piedmont region is more variable in quality than water from other areas in the basin. The dissolved solids in water from the consolidated rocks ranged from 26 to 1,480 ppm with a median of 109 ppm. Wells in the Cretaceous clay province normally yield slightly acid waters. The pH ranges from 4.7 to 7.7 with a median of 5.3. Generally ground water in this province is extremely soft and low in dissolved solids. Wells in the Cretaceous sand province yield a sodium bicarbonate type of water ranging in hardness from 2 to 130 ppm.

North Carolina, Virginia↗
USGS1957

Geology and ground-water resources of Galveston County, Texas

Galveston County, on the Texas gulf coast, is underlain by alternating beds of sand and clay. These sand and clay strata crop out in belts that roughly parallel the coastline and dip gently southeastward at an angle gre? +,er than the slope of the land, thereby creating artesian aquifers. The formations that yield potable water to wells are the Lissie formation, the "Alta Loma" sand and other sands of the Beaumont clay, and beach and dune sands of Recent aie. Most of the potable water is obtained on the mainland of Galveston County. The water from most wells on Galveston Island is highly mineralized. Before 1948, water for all public use and nearly all industrial use was derived from wells. Most ground water now used in the county is pumped from areas around Alta Loma and Texas City. The average daily pumpage in these areas increased from 6 million gallons in 1938 to 17.8 million gallons in 1940 and reached a peak of about 34 million gallons in 1945. Between 1945 and 1948 the rate of pumpage was nearly constant, but in 1948 surface water was diverted from the Brazos River to supply some of the Texas City industries and, as a result, the use of ground water was reduced about 30 percent. Water levels declined in county wells as the pumpage increased during the years prior to 1948. Since water from the Brazos River has been utilized the levels have risen in many wells and tended to become constant in others. Subsidence of the land in a large part of the county, particularly in the Texas City area, is attributed to the excessive withdrawal of ground water. Salt-water encroachment has been a problem in the county for many years. Salt water was present in the lower part of the "Alta Loma" sand in the Alta Loma and Texas City areas and throughout that sand on Galveston Island when the first wells were drilled. Encroachment from either below or downdip took place with the lowering of artesian pressure in the aquifer in the vicinity of Alta Loma and Texas City. Pumping tests reveal that the average coefficient of transmissibility of the "Alta Loma" sand is 102,000 at Alta Loma and 153,000 at Texas City. The coefficients- of transmissibility of sands in the upper part of the Beaumont clay around Texas City average 27,300. Surface water from the Brazos River, used for the irrigation of rice since 1942, was made available in 1948 to industries in Texas City as a substitute for ground water. The water from the Brazos River is variable in quality, but probably can be utilized on a somewhat larger scale than at present. Much additional ground water could be obtained from both the "Alta Loma" sand and the upper part of the Beaumont clay, especially in the northern and western parts of the county. Before large developments of supplies are planned, however, these areas should be explored by test drilling. The problems of well spacing and pumping rates should be thoroughly studied in order to determine the maximum development permitted by the ground-water supply. Current observations should be continued with special emphasis on the progress of salt-water encroachment.

Water Supply Paper↗