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W. L. Miller

Publications and source records attributed to W. L. Miller.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1988

Description and evaluation of the effects of urban and agricultural development on the surficial aquifer system, Palm Beach County, Florida

The surficial aquifer system in Palm Beach County was studied during 1982-85 to determine the effects of increased urban and agricultural development on groundwater levels, flow directions, and quality. The surficial aquifer system and its geologic matrix are divisible into three zones on the bases of relative permeabilities and lithologic characteristics. The two greatest water users in the county, public supply utilities and agricultural irrigators, increased total water withdrawals by 123 and 50%, respectively, during 1970-80. By 1980, 76% of public supply withdrawals were from zones I and II of the surficial aquifer system, whereas groundwater pumpage for irrigation decreased to 9% of the total irrigation water used. Increases in groundwater withdrawals for public supply were greatest in the southeast and central coastal parts of the county and served as an indicator for potential changes of flow directions and water quality in the surficial aquifer system. Residual seawater, emplaced in the aquifer system during the Pleistocene Epoch, is still prevalent in the central and western parts of Palm Beach County where low permeabilities in the geologic matrix have retarded its dilution. Chemical analyses of canal-water and groundwater samples collected in April 1984 were used to evaluate the effects of groundwater/surface water exchange on the quality of water during canal conveyance across the area containing residual seawater.

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USGS1984

Public supply water use, Palm Beach County, Florida, 1978-82

Public supply water-use data are listed for 32 utilities in Palm Beach County, Florida, for 1978 through 1982. The data are tabulated as monthly and yearly untreated water withdrawals from each public supply utility. Utilities using ground water as a source are listed separately from those using surface-water sources. In 1978, the total public supply water withdrawal in the county was 37,580.64 million gallons, of which 74.0 percent (27,823.22 million gallons) was ground water. By 1982, the total withdrawal had increased to 43,264.16 million gallons, of which 77.5 percent (33,544.52 million gallons) was ground water. Nearly 57 percent of the ground-water withdrawal was in southeast Palm Beach County (Zone 1) during 1982. The greatest surface-water withdrawal during this time was from Clear Lake and Lake Mangonia (Zone 2) and amounted to 79.3 percent of the county 's total surface-water withdrawal. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗
USGS1984

Hydrogeology of a zone of secondary permeability in the surficial aquifer of eastern Palm Beach County, Florida

The surficial aquifer is the primary source of freshwater for the heavily developed coastal area in eastern Palm Beach County, Florida. Well fields are generally located in a discontinuous zone of higher secondary permeability, the northernmost extension of the Biscayne aquifer in the surficial aquifer, that extends from the Juno Beach area south to Broward County and varies in width from about 4 to 15 miles. The zone was formed by varying dissolution of aquifer limestone materials during Pleistocene age changes in sea level, and ranges in depth from about sea level to 220 feet below sea level. Because of proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and saltwater estuaries, the aquifer is susceptible to saltwater intrusion. Ground water to the west of the zone of higher secondary permeability is of poor quality. The ground water is calcium bicarbonate dominant. Dissolved solids, calcium carbonate hardness, and chloride are greatest along the saltwater intruded coastline and in the western part of the study area where diluted residual seawater exists. Total organic carbon increases inland due to infiltration of rainwater through thicker layers of organic soils. Ground-water levels in the surficial aquifer in eastern Palm Beach County are strongly influenced by controlled levels in canals. In March 1981, after 12 months of below average rainfall, ground-water levels ranged from about 2 feet above sea level along the coast to nearly 21 feet above sea level 15 miles inland in the northwest section of the study area. (USGS)

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