Geology topics
Publications and source records attributed to Victor E. Stricklin.
The purpose of this flood plan is to outline and record advance planning for flood emergencies, so that all personnel will know the general plan and have a ready-reference for necessary information. This will ensure that during any flood event, regardless of the extent or magnitude, the resources of the District can be mobilized into a maximum data collection operation with a mimimum of effort.
The U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division, has a policy that requires each District office to prepare a Surface Water Quality-Assurance Plan. The plan for each District describes the policies and procedures that ensure high quality in the collection, processing, analysis, computer storage, and publication of surface-water data. The Alabama District Surface Water Quality-Assurance Plan documents the standards, policies, and procedures used by the District for activities related to the collection, processing, storage, analysis, and publication of surface-water data.
Lake Tuscaloosa, created in 1969 by the impoundment of North River, is the primary water supply for the cities of Tuscaloosa and Northport, Alabama, and surrounding areas. In 1982, 17 cross-sections were established in the principal tributaries of the lake, which include North River, Dry Creek, Turkey Creek, Binion Creek, Tierce Creek, Carroll Creek, and Brush Creek. These cross-sections were resurveyed in 1986 to determine the amount of sedimentation or scour occurring in the lake at these areas. In May 2000, 14 of the 17 cross-sections were located for resurveying to determine the amount of sedimentation or scour since 1986. The maximum amount of sediment deposition determined from the 2000 survey occurred in the upper end of the Carroll Creek tributary at cross-section CC8 (3.0 feet). The maximum amount of scour occurred in the Turkey Creek tributary at cross-section TRC2 (7.0 feet). Of the 14 cross-sections, 6 indicated increased amounts of sediment deposition, 5 indicated scouring of bottom sediments, and 3 indicated little or no change.
In an effort to attract new industries and jobs, the city of Florence, Alabama has proposed development of an industrial park southwest of the city. Carbonate rock under-lines the area and sinkholes, springs, caves, and sinking streams are common. Key Cave, located about 5 miles southwest of the proposed park, is the only know habitat for the Alabama Cavefish (Speoplatyrhinus poulsoni). The Alabama Cavefish is a Federally designated Endangered Species, and Key Cave has been designated as Critical Habitat. The U.S. Geological Survey was requested by the city of Florence and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to assist in determining if a hydraulic connection exists between the proposed industrial park and Key Cave. Dye tracing methods were used in the investigation to determine if a hydraulic connection exists. Dye tracing is a technique that involves labeling a discrete quantity of ground water with a fluorescent dye so that its flow in the subsurface can be tracked to a ground-water discharge point. Monitoring for dyes involved the use of passive dye detectors placed in springs, wells, caves and surface streams. During the passage of ground water containing fluorescent dye, the dye is absorbed and concentrated on the detectors. Spectrofluorometric analyses of the detectors determines the presence or absence of dye. Dye injected in well I-1 on January 10, 2001, was recovered from site 67, Cypress Creek at General John Coffee Highway (State Highway 20) on January 17, 2001. No dye was recovered from site 68, Cypress Creek at Waterloo Road (County Road 14), indicating an east-southeast flow path from well I-1 to Cypress Creek. No positive dye recovery was made from dye injected in well I-2 on January 10, 2001. Water samples collected from the well February 1 and 15, 2001, showed little movement into the ground-water system. Dye injected in well I-3 on January 10, 2001, was recovered at two sites in Key Cave and at other locations. This test indicates a hydraulic connection exists between Key Cave and the proposed industrial site.
In 1997 synoptic streamflow, water-quality, and biological investi- gations in the Big Black Creek Basin were conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the City of Moody, St. Clair County, and the Birmingham Water Works Board. Data obtained during these synoptic investigations provide a one-time look at the streamflow and water-quality conditions in the Big Black Creek Basin during a stable, base-flow period when streamflow originated only from ground-water discharge. These data were used to assess the degree of water-quality degradation in the Big Black Creek Basin from land-use activities in the basin, including leakage of leachate from the Acmar Regional Land- fill. Biological data from the benthic invertebrate community investigation provided an assessment of the cumulative effects of stream conditions on organisms in the basin. The synoptic measurement of streamflow at 28 sites was made during a period of baseflow on August 27, 1997. Two stream reaches above the landfill lost water to the ground-water system, but those below the landfill had significantly higher ground-water gains. If significant leakage of leachate from the landfill had occurred during the measurement period, the distribution of ground-water discharge suggests that leachate would travel relatively short distances before resurfacing as ground-water discharge to the stream. Benthic invertebrate communities were sampled at four sites in the Big Black Creek Basin during July 16-17, 1997. Based on Alabama Department of Environmental Management criteria and on comparison with a nearby unimparied reference site, the benthic invertebrate communities at the sites sampled were considered unimpaired or only slightly impaired during the sample period. This would imply that landfill and coal-mining activities did not have a detrimental effect on the benthic invertebrate communities at the time of the study. Synoptic water-column samples were collected at nine sites on Big Black Creek and its tributaries at the same time that the synoptic streamflow measurements were made. Trace-element and organic compound concentrations in the stream water were below established water-quality standards and criteria for the State of Alabama, with the exception of secondary (aesthetic) drinking-water levels for iron and manganese. Oil and grease concentrations detected in bed sediments were below the corrective action limit of 100 milligrams per kilogram. No significant increases in chloride, specific conductance, total dissolved solids, oil and grease, color, or biochemical oxygen demand were observed at sites downgradient from the landfill. Ground-water samples were collected from three drive-point wells in the vicinity of the landfill. These samples were analyzed for a suite of volatile organic compounds. The solvent 1,1-dichloroethane (the same solvent detected in the ground-water monitoring system at the landfill) was detected in a sample from a drive-point well downgradient from the landfill--an indication of the potential risk of landfill-derived contamination migrating toward Big Black Creek. No distinguishing trend or pattern of contamination was identified that could be attributed solely to landfill activities. Landfill activities did not appear to contribute significant contamination to Big Black Creek during these streamflow conditions. Any contaminant contribution from coal-mining activities in the basin may have served to mask any leachate contributions from the landfill; however, the overall effects on stream water and benthic intervebrate communities apparently were only minimal.