Geology topics
Robert A. Krieger
Publications and source records attributed to Robert A. Krieger.
Water resources of the Flint area, Michigan
This report describes the water resources of Genesee County, Mich., whose principal city is Flint. The sources of water available to the county are the Flint and Shiawassee Rivers and their tributaries, inland lakes, ground water, and Lake Huron. The withdrawal use of water in the county in 1958 amounted to about 45 mgd. Of this amount, 36 mgd was withdrawn from the Flint River by the Flint public water-supply system. The rest was supplied by wells. At present (1959) the Shiawassee River and its tributaries and the inland lakes are not used for water supply. Flint River water is used for domestic, industrial, and waste-dilution requirements in Flint. About 60 percent of the water supplied by the Flint public water system is used by Flint industry. At least 30 mgd of river water is needed for waste dilution in the Flint River during warm weather. Water from Holloway Reservoir, which has a storage capacity of 5,760 million gallons, is used to supplement low flows in the Flint River to meet water-supply and waste-dilution requirements. About 650 million gallons in Kearsley Reservoir, on a Flint River tributary, is held in reserve for emergency use. Based on records for the lowest flows during the period 1930-52, the Flint River system, with the two reservoirs in operation, is capable of supplying about 60 mgd at Flint, less evaporation and seepage losses. The 1958 water demands exceeded this amount. Development of additional storage in the Flint River basin is unlikely because of lack of suitable storage sites. Plans are underway to supply Flint and most of Genesee County with water from Lake Huron. The principal tributaries of the Flint River in and near Flint could furnish small supplies of water. Butternut Creek, with the largest flow of those studied, has an estimated firm yield of 0.054 mgd per sq mi for 95 percent of the time. The Shiawassee River at Byron is capable of supplying at least 29 mgd for 95 percent of the time. Floods are a serious problem in Flint. The April 1947 flood, the largest on record, caused nearly $4 million flood damage in Flint. A proposed flood-control plan for Flint calls for channel, floodwall, and levee improvements and the removal or modification of some bridges. Analyses of water samples taken from selected streams and lakes in the Flint area indicate that the waters are of the calcium bicarbonate type and generally hard to very hard. Flint River water is relatively uniform in quality although a progressive increase in iron, sodium, and chloride concentrations was noted between Otisville and Montrose. Downstream from Flint, the dissolved oxygen content may be low during low flows. At times, concentrations of iron, manganese, phenols, color, and turbidity in Flint River water exceed the limits recommended in drinking water standards. Water temperatures ranged from freezing to 86°F in a 4-year period. The finished water supplied by the Flint water-treatment plant is fairly uniform in quality, moderately soft, alkaline, and low in color and turbidity. The pH is nearly always above 10. Further softening and removal of iron and related minerals would be desirable for certain industrial uses. The quality of the water sampled in the Flint River tributaries was generally similar to that of the Flint River. However, no phenols or oils and waxes were found. Softening and other treatment dependent upon use would be required if these streams were developed for water supply. Waters sampled in the Shiawassee River and selected lakes were generally less mineralized than Flint River water. Water from the lakes showed the lowest concentrations of dissolved solids. Softening would be required for nearly all uses. Additional treatment would depend upon contemplated use. Shallow deposits of sand and gravel deposited as outwash along glacial meltwater streams and as deltas in the glacial lakes that covered the northwestern part of the county are sources of water to moderate- and large-capacity wells. Thick deposits of sand and gravel also fill some of the valleys in the bedrock surface and yield moderate to large supplies of water. Production from public supply wells tapping the drift aquifers in the area ranges from about 50 to 1,200 gpm. The water from the drift aquifer is hard or very hard and commonly contains objectionable amounts of iron. The Saginaw formation is a source of water to wells supplying some of the small communities and industries in the county. The Saginaw, which is the uppermost bedrock formation in the area, underlies most of the county. It is composed of layers of sandstone, shale, and limestone and some beds of coal. The formation is composed principally of sandstone in some areas of the county, and shale in others. Production from wells tapping the Saginaw ranges from a few to about 500 gpm. The water produced is generally moderately hard or hard and commonly contains objectionable amounts of chloride. The quality of the water limits its development for water supply. Overdrafts from the Saginaw result in a lowering of the piezometric surface and commonly cause an upward migration of water high in chloride. The Michigan and Marshall formations are generally not sources of fresh water where they are overlain by the Saginaw formation. In the southern and eastern parts of the county where they are overlain by glacial deposits, they are a source of water of good quality. The quantity of water obtainable from these formations is not fully known. However, the Marshall may be a source of large supplies of water in the southeastern part of the county. An ample supply of water is available in lakes, ponds, and streams in the metropolitan area of Flint to meet requirements for domestic, sanitary, and firefighting use in civil defense emergencies. The extent of emergency use of water from these sources would depend upon the pumping, distribution, and treatment facilities available. Enough private industrial and commercial, and public wells are present in the area normally supplied by the Flint public water system to meet emergency requirements for domestic and sanitary use. Use of these wells would also depend upon available pumping and distribution facilities. Water from many of these wells contains objectionable amounts of chloride, but it could be used without treatment in an emergency.
Geochemistry of natural waters of the Blue Grass region, Kentucky
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Chemical quality of surface waters, and sedimentation in the Grand River drainage basin, North and South Dakota
An investigation of the chemical quality of surface waters and of the sedimentation in the Grand River drainage basin by the U.S. Geological Survey began in 1946. The chemical quality of the water was studied to obtain information on the nature and amounts of dissolved solids in the streams and on the suitability of the water for domestic, industrial, and irrigation uses. Sedimentation was studied to determine the quantity of sediment that is transported by the streams, the particle sizes of the sediment, and the probable specific weight of the sediment when deposited in a reservoir. The basin is underlain by consolidated sedimentary rocks of Cretaceous and Tertiary age; along the Grand River and its tributaries thefe rocks are mantled by alluvium of Quaternary age. The Hell Creek and Fort Union Formations underlie about 4,700 of the 5,680 square miles of drainage area. The climate of the basin is semiarid and is characterized by tot summers and cold winters. Mean annual runoff is about 53 acre-feet per square mile of drainage area and is equal to about 7 percent of the mean annual precipitation. The highest streamflows on the Grand River and major- tributaries are caused by melting of snow in March and April. Streamflow is extremely variable from year to year. Most of the surface waters in the basin are of the sodium sulfate or sodium bicarbonate type. High percent sodium is typical of almost all the surface water's. The streamflow-quality patterns of the Grand River and its two forks are very similar; dissolved-solids concentration, which usually c'oes not exceed 3,000 ppm, is maximum during low-flow periods. The water in Shadehill Reservoir became stratified during the flood inflow of 1952; about 75 percent of the flood water, which was of good qutlity, passed through the reservoir. The quality of the water became almost uniform throughout the reservoir the latter part of July 1952. After the specific conductance became relatively stable in 1956, it fluctuated from abrut 1,300 to 1,600 micromhos per centimeter and was between 1,400 and 1,500 rnicromhos per centimeter most of the time. During the representative period July 1937 to June 1950 the quantity of dissolved solids passing the station near Wakpala was estimated to have been about 140,000 tons per year. Yields computed for different parts of the basin ranged from about 22 to 32 tons per square mile. Except for sulfate, concentrations of chemical constituents usually do not exceed the maximum concentrations recommended for domestic supplies. The rather high dissolved solids and hardness of most of the surface waters prevent the use of these waters for most industrial purposes unless the quality is improved by treatment. Classified for irrigation use according to its specific conductance and sodiumadsorption-ratio, the water stored in Shadehill Reservoir has a high salinity hazard and a medium sodium hazard. The water can be used safely forsustained irrigation on soils of the proposed irrigation unit if adequate teaching is practiced and if gypsum or some other calcium compound is added to the water or land during the high sodium cycle.
Effects of Greensburg oilfield brines on the streams, wells, and springs of the Upper Green River Basin, Kentucky
No abstract available.
Ground-water resources of the lower Niobrara River and Ponca Creek basins, Nebraska and South Dakota
This report describes the area in north-central Nebraska and south-central South Dakota drained by Ponca Creek and by the Niobrara River below Valentine, Nebr. The Niobrara River and Ponca Creek are neighboring eastward flowing tributaries of the Missouri River. The Dakota sandstone of Cretaceous age is the oldest formation tapped by wells; the water it yields to wells in small to moderate quantities is rather highly mineralized and very hard; it is unsuitable for irrigation and most domestic uses. Overlying the Dakota, in ascending order, are the following formations of Cretaceous age: the Graneros shale, Greenhorn limestone, Carlile shale, Niobrara formation, and Pierre shale. None of these is a source of water supply. The Niobrara is the oldest formation exposed, cropping out in only the deeper valleys at the eastern end of the area. The Pierre shale, which is exposed much more extensively, crops out in the deeper valleys throughout nearly all the area. Except where the Niobrara River, its major tributaries, and Ponca Creek have cut their valleys into them, the Cretaceous rocks are overlain by semiconsolidated rocks of Tertiary age. Two Tertiary formations, the Brule and the Ogallala, are present in the area. The Brule formation underlies all the western part of the area and is exposed in the valleys of both the Niobrara and Keya Paha Rivers. The Ogallala formation, which overlaps the Brule, forms the upland on both sides of the river and is exposed in many places. The Brule is not a source of water supply, whereas the Ogallala yields small to moderately large quantities of water to many wells on the upland. The water in the Ogallala is of the calcium bicarbonate type and is moderately mineralized and hard. Unconsolidated deposits of Quaternary age mantle the Tertiary rocks throughout nearly all the upland area south of the Niobrara River and in parts of the upland area north of the river. They also floor the Niobrara River valley. Where saturated, these sediments, which consist of stream-deposited sand and gravel and wind-deposited sand, yield small to large amounts of water to wells. The water in the Quaternary deposits is of the calcium bicarbonate type but is less mineralized and softer than that in the Ogallala. The only significant source of recharge to the Dakota sandstone in the report area is underflow from the west. Except for waiter yielded to wells tapping the Dakota, water in the formation is discharged from the area by underflow to the east. In the upland part of the area, the Ogallala formation and the overlying deposits of Quaternary age constitute a single aquifer, water moving from one Into the other without apparent hindrance. This aquifer is recharged principally by the direct infiltration of precipitation but in part also by underflow from the west and south and by seepage from intermittent streams and ponds. Water is discharged from the upland aquifer by outflow through springs or seepage into streams, through the process of evapotranspiration, and by wells when they are pumped. Ground water leaves the report area by underflow where the Quaternary deposits in the valleys of the Niobrara River and Ponca Creek merge with the Quaternary deposits in the Missouri River valley. In places where the Niobrara formation, the Pierre shale, or the Brule formation is at the surface or is mantled by thin deposits of the Ogallala or thin deposits of Quaternary age, only meager amounts of ground water can be obtained unless wells are deep enough to tap the Dakota sandstone. Elsewhere the Ogallala formation and the deposits of Quaternary age generally yield ample water for domestic and stock supplies, and in some places, notably in the vicinity of Ainsworth, they yield enough water for irrigation. Additional large supplies of ground water could be obtained on the upland in the southwestern and west-central parts of the area. The report contains an annotated bibliography of previous publications on the geology and ground-water resources of the area, brief descriptions of the Cretaceous, Tertiary, and Quaternary rocks, a map showing the contour of the water table, logs of test holes and wells not published elsewhere, results of analyses of ground- and surface-water samples, and records of all wells of large discharge and representative wells of small discharge.
Preliminary survey of the saline-water resources of the United States
Basic hydrologic data available in the field offices of the U. S. Geological Survey and reports issued by the Survey furnish evidence that saline water (defined in this report as water containing more than 1,000 parts per million of dissolved solids) is available under diverse geologic and hydrologic conditions throughout the United States. The number of areas in which undeveloped supplies of fresh water are available has diminished considerably with the rapid growth of industries and population in the past decade. Many areas previously considered to have relatively unlimited water resources have reached the point at which water-supply shortages exist or are threatened.