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61 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
USGS1994

Geohydrology and saline ground-water discharge to the South Fork Ninnescah River in Pratt and Kingman Counties, south-central Kansas

Saline ground water discharges to the South Fork Ninnescah River in Pratt and Kingman Counties from the adjacent alluvial aquifer. Electromagnetic terrain surveys in this area indicated that the saline ground water is entering the river in intermittent reaches along the channel. The chloride concentration in the river near Murdock exceeds 250 milligrams per liter 75 percent of the time. During base flow in November 1988, stream discharge increased 67 cubic feet per second, and the chloride concentration increased 360 milligrams per liter from Pratt to the Pratt-Kingman County line. The chloride load to the river along this reach was 82 tons per day. The source of saline water probably is dissolution of salt in the Permian rocks, about 600 feet below land surface. Subsequent subsidence and collapse of Permian rocks into salt-dissolution cavities probably has caused fracturing in overlying Permian rocks. Brine moves upward through the Permian rocks and discharges into the alluvial aquifer. The brine discharge to the alluvium is about 0.7 cubic foot per second. In the area of major saline-water discharge to the river, the fluid-potential levels in the Permian rocks are higher than fluid-potential levels in the alluvial aquifer. Several methods for reducing the saline ground-water discharge to the South Fork Ninnescah River have been considered. The most effective of these methods appears to be interception of brine flow in the Permian rocks by pumping of relief wells. Brine could be disposed by injection into deeper formations, by storage in evaporation reservoirs, or by desalinization.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1996

Assessment of the fresh- and brackish-water resources underlying Dunedin and adjacent areas of northern Pinellas County, Florida

The city of Dunedin is enhancing their potable ground-water resources through desalination of brackish ground water. An assessment of the fresh- and brackish-water resources in the Upper Floridan aquifer was needed to estimate the changes that may result from brackish-water development. The complex hydrogeologic framework underlying Dunedin and adjacent areas of northern Pinellas County is conceptualized as a multilayered sequence of permeable zones and confining and semiconfining units. The permeable zones contain vertically spaced, discrete, water-producing zones with differing water quality. Water levels, water-level responses, and water quality are highly variable among the different permeable zones. The Upper Floridan aquifer is best characterized as a local flow system in most of northern Pinellas County. Pumping from the Dunedin well field is probably not influencing water levels in the aquifer outside Dunedin, but has resulted in localized depressions in the potentiometric surface surrounding production-well clusters. The complex geologic layering combined with the effects of production-well distribution probably contribute to the spatial and temporal variability in chloride concentrations in the Dunedin well field. Chloride concentrations in ground water underlying the Dunedin well field vary both vertically and laterally. In general, water-quality rapidly changes below depths of 400 feet below sea level. Additionally, randomly distributed water-producing zones with higher chloride concentrations may occur at shallow, discrete intervals above 400 feet. A relation between chloride concentration and distance from St. Joseph Sound is not apparent; however, a possible relation exists between chloride concentration and production-well density. Chloride-concentration data from production wells show a consistently increasing pattern that has accelerated since the late 1980's. Chloride-concentration data from 15 observation wells show increasing trends for 6 wells, decreasing trends for 3 wells, and no trend for 6 wells. The current and future, fresh- and brackish-water resources were evaluated using a numerical ground-water flow and solute-transport model. Simulation results indicate that the hydraulic conductivity of the uppermost permeable zone (upper zone A) of the Upper Floridan aquifer is four times greater than the two underlying permeable zones (lower zone A and zone B). The simulated hydraulic conduc- tivities of the semiconfining units are four orders of magnitude less than the permeable zones. Simulation results show the importance of semiconfining units as a mechanism for retarding the vertical movement of higher salinity ground water. Simulation results indicate that pumping from the brackish-water zone does not negatively influence the chloride-concentration trends in the overlying fresh-water zone; however, chloride changes in the fresh-water zone will continue to occur due to the continuation of current fresh-water withdrawals. Chloride changes in the brackish-water zone will occur from pumping brackish water.

Florida↗
USGS1992

Assessment of hydrogeologic conditions with emphasis on water quality and wastewater injection, southwest Sarasota and West Charlotte counties, Florida

The 250-square-mile area of southwest Sarasota and west Charlotte Counties is underlain by a complex hydrogeologic system having diverse ground-water quality. The surficial and intermediate aquifer systems and the Upper Floridan aquifer of the Floridan aquifer system contain six separate aquifers, or permeable zones, and have a total thickness of about 2,000 feet. Water in the clastic surficial aquifer system is potable and is tapped by hundreds of shallow, low-yielding supply wells. Water in the mixed clastic and carbonate intermediate aquifer system is potable in the upper part, but in the lower part, because of increasing salinity, it is used primarily for reverse-osmosis desalinization feed water and irrigation. Within the Upper Floridan aquifer, limestone and dolomite of the Suwannee permeable zone are tapped by irrigation and reverse-osmosis supply wells. The underlying, less permeable limestone of the Suwannee-Ocala semiconfining unit generally encompasses the transition zone between freshwater and very saline water. Interbedded limestone and dolomite of the Ocala-Avon Park moderately permeable zone and Avon Park highly permeable zone compose the deep, very saline injection zone. Potential ground-water contamination problems include flooding by storm tides, upward movement of saline water toward pumping centers by natural and induced leakage or through improperly constructed and abandoned wells, and lateral and vertical movement of treated sewage and reverse-osmosis wastewater injected into deep zones. Effects of flooding are evident in coastal areas where vertical layering of fresh and saline waters is observed. Approximately 100 uncontrolled flowing artesian wells that have interaquifer flow rates as high as 350 gallons per minute have been located and scheduled for plugging by the Southwest Florida Water Management District--in an attempt to improve ground-water quality of the shallow aquifers. Because each aquifer or permeable zone has unique head and water-quality characteristics, construction of single-zone wells would eliminate cross-contamination and borehole interflow. Such a program, when combined with the plugging of shallow-cased wells having long open-hole intervals connecting multiple zones, would safeguard ground-water resources in the study area. The study area encompasses seven wastewater injection sites that have a projected capacity for injecting 29 million gallons per day into the zone 1,100 to 2,050 feet below land surface. There are six additional sites within 20 miles. The first well began injecting reverse-osmosis wastewater in 1984, and since then, other wells have been drilled and permitted for injection of treated sewage. A numerical model was used to evaluate injection-well design and potential for movement of injected wastewater within the hydrogeologic framework. The numerical model was used to simulate injection through a representative well at a rate of 1 million gallons per day for 10 years. In this simulation, a convection cell developed around the injection well with the buoyant fresh injectant rising to form a lens within the injection zone below the lower Suwannee-Ocala semiconfining unit. Around an ideal, fully penetrating well cased 50 feet into the injection zone and open from a depth of 1,150 feet to 2,050 feet, simulations show that the injectant moves upward to a depth of 940 feet, forms a lens about 600 feet thick, and spreads radially outward to a distance of about 2,300 feet after 10 years. Comparison simulations of injection through wells having open depth intervals of 1,150 to 1,400 feet and 1,450 to 2,050 feet demonstrate that such changes in well construction have little effect on the areal spread of the injectant lens or the rate of upward movement.

Florida↗
USGS1998

Analysis of ground-water flow and saltwater encroachment in the shallow aquifer system of Cape May County, New Jersey

Cape May County, New Jersey, is on a natural peninsula that is virtually surrounded by saltwater. A calibrated quasi-three-dimensional sharp-interface model was used to simulate ground-water flow in the shallow aquifer system under two water-supply-development alternatives for a 30-year planning period. The alternatives involve modest increases in withdrawals in combination with desalination of brackish ground water or inland relocation of wells. Simulation results indicate that projected withdrawals for the two alternatives can be sustained without significant additional saltwater encroachment over the planning period.

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS2007

USGS Tampa Bay Pilot Study

Many of the nation's estuaries have been environmentally stressed since the turn of the 20th century and will continue to be impacted in the future. Tampa Bay, one the Gulf of Mexico's largest estuaries, exemplifies the threats that our estuaries face (EPA Report 2001, Tampa Bay Estuary Program-Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (TBEP-CCMP)). More than 2 million people live in the Tampa Bay watershed, and the population constitutes to grow. Demand for freshwater resources, conversion of undeveloped areas to resident and industrial uses, increases in storm-water runoff, and increased air pollution from urban and industrial sources are some of the known human activities that impact Tampa Bay. Beginning on 2001, additional anthropogenic modifications began in Tampa Bat including construction of an underwater gas pipeline and a desalinization plant, expansion of existing ports, and increased freshwater withdrawal from three major tributaries to the bay. In January of 2001, the Tampa Bay Estuary Program (TBEP) and its partners identifies a critical need for participation from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in providing multidisciplinary expertise and a regional-scale, integrated science approach to address complex scientific research issue and critical scientific information gaps that are necessary for continued restoration and preservation of Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay stakeholders identified several critical science gaps for which USGS expertise was needed (Yates et al. 2001). These critical science gaps fall under four topical categories (or system components): 1) water and sediment quality, 2) hydrodynamics, 3) geology and geomorphology, and 4) ecosystem structure and function. Scientists and resource managers participating in Tampa Bay studies recognize that it is no longer sufficient to simply examine each of these estuarine system components individually, Rather, the interrelation among system components must be understood to develop conceptual and predictive modeling tools for effective ecosystem adaptive management. As a multidisciplinary organization, the USGS possesses the capability of developing and coordinating an integrated science strategy for estuarine research founded on partnerships and collaborative efforts, multidisciplinary teams of scientists, and integrated field work, data analysis and interpretation, and product development. The primary role of the USGS in Tamps Bay research was defined with our partners based upon this capability to address estuarine issues using an integrated science approach with a regional perspective and within a national context to complement the numerous ongoing scien efforts by state and local agencies that address local issues within Tamp Bay. Six primary components of the USGS Tamp Bay Study address critical gaps within each of the the four estuarine system components and focus on: 1.) Examining how natural and man-made physical changes affect ecosystem health through mapping and modeling. 2.) Identifying sources and quality of groundwater, surface water, and sediment, 3.) Identifying sources and quality of groundwater, surface water, and sediment, 4.) Assessing the natural and man-made changes affecting wetland health and restoration, 5.) Identifying and measuring the impact of urbanization on seafloor habitats, Providing a web-based digital information management system of information for scientists and the public, including a system that supports the work of those officials who must make decisions that affect the state of the bay. The Tampa Bay Study is in its sixth year and will continue through September 2007. This paper presents a non-inclusive summary of key findings associated with the six primary project components listed above. Component 4 (above) is described in detail in the following chapter 13. More information on the Tampa Bay Study is available from our on-line digital information system for the Tampa Bay Study at http://gulfsci.usgs.gov.

Florida↗
USGS2021

Movement, recruitment, and abundance relationships of Prairie Chub: An endemic Great Plains cyprinid

The Prairie Chub Macrhybopsis australis is a poorly studied endemic cyprinid of the upper Red River basin and is listed as threatened in Texas and of greatest conservation need in Oklahoma. Hypothesized mechanisms have been proposed to explain the decline of pelagic broadcast spawning minnows including disrupted spawning cues, reduced recruitment, degraded habitat complexity, and reduced water availability and connectivity. Our study objectives were to evaluate Prairie Chub movement, identify spawn timing, and estimate abundance of Prairie Chub at locations in the upper Red River basin. We assessed Prairie Chub movement using a mark-recapture experiment with multiple tag and recapture occasions during late spring through summer (i.e., May-August) of 2019 and 2020. We tagged 5,771 Prairie Chub during summers of 2019 and 2020 and recaptured 213 fish across both summers. We conducted recapture events at approximately 2-week intervals from late May to August of 2019 and 2020. Movement by Prairie Chub was consistently greater than expected under the restricted movement paradigm. The average expected movement distance of the stationary population component was 2 m in 2019 and 3 m in 2020, whereas the expected average movement distance for the mobile population component was 42 m in 2019 and 75 m in 2020. We found no evidence of upstream bias in adult Prairie Chub movement during our study. We processed otoliths for 2,017 age-0 Prairie Chub across 7 rivers and two spawning seasons (i.e., 2019 and 2020). The likelihood of spawning and frequency of observed hatches per spawning date were higher in 2019 compared to 2020. The probability of spawning increased with increasing scaled discharge and average temperature in both 2019 and 2020. Spawning was more likely to occur earlier in the sample season though substantial spatial and temporal variation in spawning success was evident among rivers. The number of successful hatches observed per spawning day was highest in the Pease and Red rivers and lowest in the Salt Fork and South Wichita rivers for both years. We conducted 104 abundance surveys in 2019 and 2020. Our abundance estimates were consistently lower in upstream reaches, higher in downstream reaches, and more variable in mid reaches. We found Prairie Chub abundance was related to several covariates, but abundance did not vary much between years. Overall, adult Prairie Chub abundance was higher in the eastern portion of their range and increased with increasing discharge and turbidity but decreased at higher water temperatures. Adult Prairie Chub abundance had a quadratic relationship with salinity where Prairie Chub density peaked at a salinity of 10 ppt and then declined by nearly 100% when salinities reached 20 ppt. Our juvenile Prairie Chub abundance model had similar but weaker relationships with covariates compared to the adults; however, juvenile abundance was higher in 2020 compared to 2019. Our results indicate conservation of Prairie Chub and ecologically similar species would benefit from maintaining broadly connected habitats (i.e., for movement and drift). We show substantial variation in spawning patterns among rivers that has important implications for developing conservation actions. If agencies are concerned about abundance of Prairie Chub, then management agencies may want to consider the strong relationship with salinity when desalinization projects are proposed. Considering how salinity may narrow the realized niche of Prairie Chub, agencies interested in Prairie Chub persistence may want to prevent large changes in salinity concentrations in the species’ remaining habitat.

Report↗
USGS1989

Artificial recharge of groundwater and its role in water management

This paper summarizes and discusses the various aspects and methods of artificial recharge with particular emphasis on its uses and potential role in water management in the Arabian Gulf region. Artificial recharge occurs when man's activities cause more water to enter an aquifer, either under pumping or non-pumping conditions, than otherwise would enter the aquifer. Use of artificial recharge can be a practical means of dealing with problems of overdraft of groundwater. Methods of artificial recharge may be grouped under two broad types: (a) water spreading techniques, and (b) well-injection techniques. Successful use of artificial recharge requires a thorough knowledge of the physical and chemical characteristics of the aquifier system, and extensive onsite experimentation and tailoring of the artificial-recharge technique to fit the local or areal conditions. In general, water spreading techniques are less expensive than well injection and large quantities of water can be handled. Water spreading can also result in significant improvement in quality of recharge waters during infiltration and movement through the unsaturated zone and the receiving aquifer. In comparison, well-injection techniques are often used for emplacement of fresh recharge water into saline aquifer zones to form a manageable lens of fresher water, which may later be partially withdrawn for use or continue to be maintained as a barrier against salt-water encroachment. A major advantage in use of groundwater is its availability, on demand to wells, from a natural storage reservoir that is relatively safe from pollution and from damage by sabotage or other hostile action. However, fresh groundwater occurs only in limited quantities in most of the Arabian Gulf region; also, it is heavily overdrafted in many areas, and receives very little natural recharge. Good use could be made of artificial recharge by well injection in replenishing and managing aquifers in strategic locations if sources of freshwater could be made available for the artificial-recharge operations.

Desalination↗