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At least 1,063 records · Page 59Linked to original sources
USGS1964

Geology and ground water of the Luke area, Maricopa County, Arizona

Luke Air Force Base, in the Salt River Valley in central Arizona. is within an intermontane basin--the Phoenix basin--in the Basin and Range lowlands province. The Luke area, the subject of this study, extends beyond the limits of the base. Ground-water resources of the Luke area were studied to determine the possibility of developing a water supply of optimum quantity and quality to supplement the base supply. Several wells drilled for this purpose, prior to the study, either produced an inadequate supply of water or produced ware-that had a high dissolved-solids content. The Phoenix basin is filled with unconsolidated to semiconsolidated Tertiary and Quaternary sedimentary rocks that are referred to as valley fill. Although its total thickness is unknown, 2,784 feet of valley fill--primarily consisting of clay, silt, sand, and gravel--has been penetrated. Percentage-distribution maps of fine-grained materials indicate a gross-facies pattern and a selective depositional area of the valley-fill materials. The maps also indicate that the areal distribution of fine-grained materials increases with depth. In general, the better producing wells, regardless of depth, are in areas where tee valley fill is composed of less than 60 percent fine-grained materials. The water table in the area is declining because large quantities of water are withdrawn and recharge is negligible. The decline near Luke Air Force Base during the period 1941-61 was about 150 feet. Ground water was moving generally southwest in the spring of 1961. Locally, changes in the direction of movement indicate diversion toward two major depressions. The dissolved-solids content of the ground water ranged from about 190 to 6,300 ppm. The highest concentration of dissolved solids is in water from the southern part of the area and seems to come from relatively shallow depths; wells in the northern part generally yield water of good quality. After a reconnaissance of the area, the U.S. Geological Survey located and supervised the drilling of two test wells--wells (B-2-1) 9bcb and (B-2-1) 5abc?on Luke Air Force Base. The quantity of water produced by the wells was adequate. The dissolved-solids content of water from the wells was low, and the overall quality of water from well (B-2-1) 5abc was good. When well (B-2-1) 9bcb was perforated between 907 and 977 feet, the water had a fluoride concentration of 4.4 ppm; however, the fluoride concentration decreased to 2.8 ppm when new perforations were cut at a shallower depth, and it was decided that dilution with other base water supplies probably would alleviate any possible fluoride problem.

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS1964

Evaluation of hydrogeology and hydrogeochemistry of Truckee Meadows area, Washoe County, Nevada

Practically all the ground water of economic importance in the Truckee Meadows area, an alluviated intermontane basin in western Nevada is in the valley fill, which consists of unconsolidated and partially consolidated sedimentary deposits. The Mesozoic and Cenozoic consolidated rocks of the mountains bordering the valley contain some water in fractures and other openings, but they have virtually no interstitial permeability. The permeability of the valley fill is extremely variable. The Truckee Formation, which is the oldest deposit of the valley fill, yields very little water to wells. Permeable lenses of sand and gravel in the valley fill that are younger than the Truckee Formation yield moderate to large amounts of water to wells. The estimated average annual recharge to and discharge from the groundwater reservoir is 35,000 acre-feet. About 25,000 acre-feet of the recharge is from the infiltration of irrigation water diverted from the Truckee River. Most of the discharge is by evapotranspiration and by seepage to ditches and streams. Some water in the area is unsuitable for many uses because of its poor chemical quality. Water in the Steamboat Springs area is hot and has high concentrations of chloride and dissolved solids. Both water draining areas of bleached rock and ground water downgradient from areas of leached rock have high concentrations of sulfate and dissolved solids. Surface water of low dissolved-solids content mixes with and dilutes some highly mineralized ground water. Increased pumping in discharge areas will help to alleviate waterlogged conditions and will decrease ground-water losses by evapotranspiration. Increased pumping near the Truckee River may induce recharge from the river to the ground-water system.

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS1964

The effect of artesian-pressure decline on confined aquifer systems and its relation to land subsidence

Ground water in the Southwestern United States is derived chiefly from unconsolidated to semiconsolidated alluvial deposits. Where these deposits contain confined water, they may be susceptible to compaction and related land- surface subsidence, if artesian pressures are reduced. Compaction of artesian-aquifer systems can be estimated from core tests if the artesian-pressure decline is known. Compaction occurs chiefly in the finer grained deposits ; porosity decrease is greater near the top of the confined aquifer than near the bottom. Because most of the compaction of these aquifer systems is permanent, the storage coefficient during the initial decline of artesian pressure greatly exceeds the storage coefficient during a subsequent pressure decline through the same depth range, after an intervening period of pressure recovery.

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS1965

Geology and ground-water resources of Dane County, Wisconsin

The purpose of the ground-water investigation of Dane County, Wis., was to determine the occurrence, movement, quantity, quality, and availability of ground water in the unconsolidated deposits and the underlying bedrock. The relationships between ground water and surface water were studied in general in Dane County and in detail in the Madison metropolitan area. An analysis was made of the hydrologic system of the Yahara River valley and of the effects of ground-water pumpage on that system.

Wisconsin↗
USGS1964

Geology and ground-water resources of Richardson County, Nebraska

Richardson County is in the extreme southeast corner of Nebraska. It has an area of 545 square miles, and in 1960 it had a population of 13,903. The county is in the physiographic region referred to as the Dissected Loess-covered Till Prairies. Major drainage consists of the Big Nemaha River, including its North and South Forks, and Muddy Creek. These streams flow southeastward and empty into the Missouri River, which forms the eastern boundary of the county. The climate of Richardson County is subhumid; the normal annual precipitation is about 35 inches. Agriculture is the chief industry, and corn is the principal crop. Pleistocene glacial drift, loess, and alluvial deposits mantle the bedrock except in the southern and southwestern parts of the county where the bedrock is at the surface. Ground water is obtained from glacial till, fluvioglacial material, terrace deposits, and coarse alluvial deposits, all of Pleistocene age--and some is obtained from bedrock aquifers of Pennsylvanian and Permian age. Adequate supplies of ground water are in many places difficult to locate because the water-bearing sands and gravels of Pleistocene age vary in composition and lack lateral persistence. Perched water tables are common in the upland areas and provide limited amounts of water to many of the shallow wells, Very few wells in bedrock yield adequate supplies, as the permeability of the rock is low and water that is more than a few tens of feet below the bedrock surface is highly mineralized. Recharge is primarily from local precipitation, and water levels in many wells respond rapidly to increased or decreased precipitation. The quality of the ground water is generally satisfactory for most uses, although all the water is hard, and iron and manganese concentrations, in some areas, are relatively high. Ground water is used mainly for domestic and stock purposes.

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS1965

Quality of surface waters in the lower Columbia River Basin

This report, made during 1959-60, provides reconnaissance data on the quality of waters in the lower Columbia River basin ; information on present and future water problems in the basin; and data that can be employed both in water-use studies and in planning future industrial, municipal, and agricultural expansion within this area. The lower Columbia River basin consists of approximately 46,000 square miles downstream from the confluence of the Snake and Columbia Rivers The region can be divided into three geographic areas. The first is the heavily forested, sparsely populated mountain regions in which quality of water in general is related to geologic and climatological factors. The second is a semiarid plateau east of the Cascade Mountains; there differences in geology and precipitation, together with more intensive use of available water for irrigation, bring about marked differences in water quality. The third is the Willamette-Puget trough area in which are concentrated most of the industry and population and in which water quality is influenced by sewage and industrial waste disposal. The majority of the streams in the lower Columbia River basin are calcium magnesium bicarbonate waters. In general, the rivers rising in the. Coast Range and on the west slope of the Cascade Range contain less than 100 parts per million of dissolved solids, and hardness of the water is less than 50 parts per million. Headwater reaches of the streams on the east slope of the Cascade Range are similar to those on the west slope; but, downstream, irrigation return flows cause the dissolved-solids content and hardness to increase. Most of the waters, however, remain calcium magnesium bicarbonate in type. The highest observed dissolved-solids concentrations and also some changes in chemical composition occur in the streams draining the more arid parts of the area. In these parts, irrigation is chiefly responsible for increasing the dissolved-solids concentration and altering the chemical composition of the streams. The maximum dissolved-solids concentration and hardness of water observed in major irrigation areas were 507 and 262 parts per million, respectively, for the. Walla Walla River near Touchet, Wash. In terms of the U.S. Salinity Laboratory Staff classification (1954, p. 80), water in most streams in the basin has low salinity and sodium hazards and is suitable for irrigation. A salt-balance problem does exist in the Hermiston-Stanfield, Oreg., area of the Umatilla River basin, and because of poor drainage, improper irrigation practices could cause salt-balance problems in the Willamette River Valley, Oreg., in which irrigation is rapidly increasing. Pollution by sewage disposal has reached undesirable levels in the Walla Walla River, in the Willamette River from Eugene to Portland, Oreg., and in the Columbia River from Portland to Puget Island. In the lower reaches of the Willamette River, the pollution load from sewage and industrial-waste disposal at times depletes the dissolved oxygen in the water to concentrations below what is considered necessary for aquatic life. Water in most of the tributaries to the lower Columbia River is of excellent quality and after some treatment could be used for industrial and municipal supplies. The principal treatment required would be disinfection and turbidity removal.

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS1964

Inventory of published and unpublished chemical analyses of surface waters in the continental United States and Puerto Rico, 1961

This inventory contains a list of published and unpublished chemical analyses obtained through September 30, 1961, by agencies associated with the Subcommittee on Hydrology. Bulletin 6 of Subcommittee on Hydrology includes references to all surface-water analyses for states east of the Mississippi River known to exist in the files of Federal agencies through September 30, 1951. Records of analyses of surface waters for states west of the Mississippi River are included in Bulletins 2 and 9 of the Subcommittee. Bulletin 2 includes the period of record prior to October 1, 1947, and Bulletin 9 includes the period from October 1, 1947, to September 30, 1955. Therefore, the earliest date for which references to data are included in this volume varies from October 1951 for states east of the Mississippi River (including Minnesota) to October 1, 1955, for states west of the Mississippi River. Analyses of water from Alaska and Puerto Rico were not reported in earlier inventories. An attempt was made to include available analyses obtained in Alaska since October 1951, but additional chemical determinations of water in Alaska that are not inventoried in this report were undoubtedly made in years prior to 1951. Requests concerning specific records not reported herein should be directed to offices having responsibility in the area. This publication is patterned after preceding bulletins as far as practicable. The contents include a list of sampling stations and locations, drainage area above each station, period of record, number and frequency of samples collected, number of analytical values reported in each group arranged according to general types or purposes, and a list of references to the sources of basic data.

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS1965

Ground-water conditions and storage in the Central Sevier Valley, Utah

The central Sevier Valley, in the central part of Utah, extends from the town of Kingston to the Yuba Dam and from the Tushar and Valley Mountains and the Pavant Range to the Sevier, Fishlake, Wasatch, and Gunnison Plateaus. A geologic and hydrologic investigation of the valley was made to determine the relation between surface water and ground water and to determine if ground water can be used for irrigation supplies without affecting existing water uses. During the investigation, data were collected for about 700 wells and 26 springs. Monthly water-level measurements were made at 93 observation wells, and automatic recording gages were maintained at 6 additional wells. Chemical analyses were made of water collected from 68 wells and springs. Test holes were drilled at 21 sites to determine the thickness and hydrologic properties of the waterbearing materials. Consumption of ground water by vegetation was estimated on the basis of area and applied rates of evapotranspiration.

Utah↗