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W. S. Mooty

Publications and source records attributed to W. S. Mooty.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Water withdrawals in the Black Warrior-Tombigbee basin in Alabama, 1985-87

Public-supply, industrial, and power generation water withdrawals were inventoried for the Black Warrior-Tombigbee basin in Alabama for 1987. A water source capacity analysis was done for each facility to assess the risk of the future water demand exceeding the capacity of the current source. Approximately 96 percent of all water withdrawn in the study area was surface water. Surface water accounted for 88 percent of withdrawals by public suppliers and 99 percent of withdrawals by self- supplied industries.

Alabama

Estimated use of water in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River basin during 1990, with state summaries from 1970 to 1990

The Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River basin covers approximately 19,800 square miles in parts of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. Most of the basin lies within Georgia as does most of the population. Most of the water withdrawn in the basin in 1990 was withdrawn in Georgia (82 percent). Withdrawals in Florida and Alabama each accounted for 9 percent of the total withdrawal in the basin. Water with- drawn in the basin for 1990 totaled 2,098 million gallons per day, of which approximately 17 percent (351 million gallons per day) was consumed. Of the total water used, nearly 86 percent was withdrawn from surface-water sources, and the remaining 14 percent was withdrawn from ground-water sources. Nearly 63 percent of the surface water used in the basin during 1990 was for thermoelectric power generation; other surface water uses included public supply (24 percent), self-supplied commercial- industrial use (12 percent), and agricultural use (4 percent). Nearly 58 percent of the ground water used in the basin for 1990 was used for agricultural irrigation; other ground-water uses included public supply (21 percent), self-supplied domestic use (11 percent), self-supplied commercial-industrial use (9 percent), and thermoelectric power generation (less than 1 percent). The Chattahoochee River supplied most of the surface water used in the basin (64 percent) and the Floridan aquifer system supplied most of the ground water used (44 percent) in 1990. During 1990, 39,815 Mgal/d of water was used to produce 35,843 gigawatthours of electricity. Of that total, 1.076 Mgal/d was used to produced 33,460 gigawwatthours of electricity at 8 fossil fuel facilities and 38,740 Mgal/d was used to produce 2,384 gigawatthours of electricity at 14 hydroelectric facilities.

Alabama, Florida, Georgia

Geohydrology and susceptibility of major aquifers to surface contamination in Alabama; area 13

The geohydrology and susceptibility to surface contamination of the major aquifers in Area 13--Baldwin and Mobile Counties Alabama--are described. Within this area are two major aquifers. The Pliocene-Miocene aquifer occurs throughout the study area. The Alluvial-Coastal aquifer is found near the major rivers and coastal areas and overlies the Pliocene-Miocene aquifer. There is no continuous confining unit between these two aquifers, thus , they are hydraulically connected and act as a single hydrologic unit. The entire study area is susceptible to surface contamination. The sediments are highly permeable, which allows rapid infiltration of water. Areas around some of the large pumping centers are highly susceptible to contamination, not only because of permeable sediments and flat terrain, but also because of depressions created in the potentiometric surface by large withdrawals of water from the aquifers. These depressions act as funnels to direct groundwater flow toward pumping centers; this increases the possibility of a contaminant migrating into the groundwater system. Other areas of high susceptibility are regions characterized by flat terrain and highly permeable soils, which increase the rate of infiltration from the surface. (USGS)

Water-Resources Investigations Report

Geohydrology and susceptibility of major aquifers to surface contamination in Alabama; area 7

The geohydrology and susceptibility of the seven major aquifers to surface contamination in Area 7 - Bibb, Dallas, Hale, Perry, and Wilcox Counties, are described. Aquifers in the northern part of the study area are in Paleozoic limestones and dolomite formations. Deposits in the central part of the study area are predominately of Cretaceous age and contain the Coker, Gordo, and Eutaw aquifers. Although the southern part of the study area has many deposits of Tertiary age, the Ripley Formation of Cretaceous age is the major aquifer. Contamination of any of the major aquifers is improbable because the majority of the recharge area for the primary aquifers is woodland, pasture, or farmland. Downdip from their outcrops, the major aquifers in the study area are protected from land surface contamination by relatively impermeable layers of clay and chalk. The aquifers that are highly susceptible to contamination are the ones in the limestone and dolomite formations in northern Bibb County. Sinkholes exist in the recharge area of these formations and could provide a direct link for contaminates from the land surface to the water table. An area northeast of the Selma well field is also highly susceptible to contamination. The Eutaw Formation in this area is overlain by alluvial deposits that could increase recharge to the aquifer by slowing the runoff rate of surface water.

Alabama