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At least 1,333 records · Page 74Linked to original sources
USGS1974

Water resources data for Michigan, water year 1973; Part 1, Surface water records

Surface-water records for the 1973 water year for gaging stations, partial-record stations, and miscellaneous sites within the State of Michigan are given in this report. For convenience there are also included records for a few pertinent gaging stations in bordering States. The records were collected and computed by the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey, under the direction of T.R. Cummings, district chief. These data represent that portion of the National Water Data System collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State and Federal agencies in Michigan. Records of discharge and stage of streams, and contents and stage of lakes or reservoirs are published in a series of U.S. Geological Survey water-supply papers entitled "Surface Water Supply of the United States". Through September 30, 1960, these water-supply papers were in an annual series and since then are in a 5-year series. Since 1951 there have been 20 volumes in the series; each volume covered an area whose boundaries coincided with those of certain natural drainage areas. The records in Michigan are contained in Part 4 of that series. Beginning with the 1961 water year, streamflow records and related data have been released by the Geological Survey in annual reports on a State-boundary basis. Distribution of these basic-data reports is limited and primarily for local needs.

Michigan↗
USGS1994

Overview of environmental and hydrogeologic conditions at McGrath, Alaska

The remote village of McGrath along the Kuskokwim River in southwestern Alaska has long cold winters and short summers. The village is located on the flood plain of the Kuskokwim River and obtains drinking water for its 533 residents from the Kuskokwim River. Surface spills and disposal of hazardous materials combined with frequent flooding of the Kuskokwim River could affect the quality of the drinking water. Alternative drinking-water sources are available but at greater cost than existing supplies. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) owns or operates airport support facilities in McGrath and wishes to consider the subsistence lifestyle of the residents and the quality of the current environ- ment when evaluating options for remediation of environmental contamination at their facilities. This report describes the history, socioeconomics, physical setting, ground- and surface-water hydrology, geology, climate, vegetation, soils, and flood potential of the areas surrounding the FAA facilities near McGrath.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1996

Water resource data, Florida, water year 1995; Volume 2B. South Florida ground water

The Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with State, County, and other Federal agencies, obtains a large amount of data pertaining to the water resources of Florida each water year. These data, accumulated during many water years, constitute a valuable data base for developing an improved understanding of the water resources of the State. To make these data readily available to interested parties outside the Geological Survey, the data are published annually in this report series entitled "Water Resources Data - Florida, Volume 2A: South Florida Surface Water and Volume 2B: South Florida Ground Water."

Florida↗
USGS2003

Hydrogeology and Ground-Water Quality of Brunswick County, North Carolina

Brunswick County is the southernmost coastal county in North Carolina and lies in the southeastern part of the Coastal Plain physiographic province. In this report, geologic, hydrologic, and chemical data were used to investigate and delineate the hydrogeologic framework and ground-water quality of Brunswick County. The major aquifers and their associated confining units delineated in the Brunswick County study area include, from youngest to oldest, the surficial, Castle Hayne, Peedee, Black Creek, upper Cape Fear, and lower Cape Fear aquifers. All of these aquifers, with the exception of the Castle Hayne aquifer, are located throughout Brunswick County. The Castle Hayne aquifer extends across only the southeastern part of the county. Based on available data, the Castle Hayne and Peedee confining units are missing in some areas of Brunswick County, which allows direct hydraulic contact between the surficial aquifer and underlying Castle Hayne or Peedee aquifers. The confining units for the Black Creek, upper Cape Fear, and lower Cape Fear aquifers appear to be continuous throughout Brunswick County. In examining the conceptual hydrologic system for Brunswick County, a generalized water budget was developed to better understand the natural processes, including precipitation, evapotranspiration, and stream runoff, that influence ground-water recharge to the shallow aquifer system in the county. In the generalized water budget, an estimated 11 inches per year of the average annual precipitation of 55 inches per year in Brunswick County is estimated to infiltrate and recharge the shallow aquifer system. Of the 11 inches per year that recharges the shallow system, about 1 inch per year is estimated to recharge the deeper aquifer system. The surficial aquifer in Brunswick County is an important source of water for domestic supply and irrigation. The Castle Hayne aquifer is the most productive aquifer and serves as the principal ground-water source of municipal supply for the county. The upper part of the Peedee aquifer is an important source of ground-water supply for domestic and commercial use. Ground water in the lower part of the Peedee aquifer and the underlying aquifers is brackish and is not known to be used as a source of supply in Brunswick County. Most of the precipitation that recharges the surficial aquifer is discharged to local streams that drain into the Waccamaw River, Cape Fear River, and Atlantic Ocean. Recharge to the Castle Hayne aquifer occurs primarily from the surficial aquifer. Recharge to the Peedee aquifer occurs primarily from the surficial and Castle Hayne aquifers, with some upward leakage of water also occurring from the underlying Black Creek aquifer. Discharge from the Castle Hayne and Peedee aquifers occurs to local streams, the Cape Fear River, and the Atlantic Ocean. Evaluation of water-level data for the period January 1970 through May 2002 indicated no apparent long-term temporal trends in water levels in the surficial and Castle Hayne aquifers and in the upper part of the Peedee aquifer. The most significant water-level trends were noted for wells tapping the lower part of the Peedee aquifer and tapping the Black Creek aquifer where water levels have declined as much as 41 and 37 feet, respectively. These ground-water-level declines are attributed to regional ground-water pumping in areas outside of Brunswick County. Water-level data for Brunswick County wells tapping the upper Cape Fear and lower Cape Fear aquifers tend to fluctuate within a fairly uniform range with no apparent temporal trend noted. Analysis of vertical hydraulic gradients during this same period primarily indicate downward flow of ground water within and among the surficial, Castle Hayne, and Peedee aquifers. The vertical flow of ground water in the Black Creek aquifer is upward into the overlying Peedee aquifer. Upward flow also is noted for the upper and lower Cape Fear aquifers. Historic and recent analytic data were evaluated to better understand the sources of water contained in Brunswick County aquifers and the suitability of the water for consumption. Based on analytical results obtained for recent samples collected during this study, ground water from the surficial aquifer, Castle Hayne aquifer, and upper part of the Peedee aquifer appears to be generally suitable for drinking water. Although concentrations of iron and manganese commonly exceeded the drinking-water standards, the concern generally associated with the occurrence of these analytes in a water supply is one of aesthetics. In all samples, nitrate, nitrite, and sulfate were detected at concentrations less than drinkingwater standards. Based on historic analytical data, the brackish water in the lower part of the Peedee aquifer and in the Black Creek, upper Cape Fear, and lower Cape Fear aquifers is classified as a sodium-chloride type water. The presence of brackish water in these deeper systems combined with upward vertical gradients presents the potential for upward migration of brackish water into overlying aquifers, or upconing beneath areas of pumping. The current (2001) location of the boundary between freshwater and brackish water in Brunswick County aquifers is unknown.

North Carolina↗
USGS1974

A special planning technique for stream-aquifer systems

The potential effects of water-management plans on stream-aquifer systems in several countries have been simulated using electric-analog or digital-computer models. Many of the electric-analog models require large amounts of hardware preparation for each problem to be solved and some become so bulky that they present serious space and access problems. Digital-computer models require no special hardware preparation but often they require so many repetitive solutions of equations that they result in calculations that are unduly unwieldy and expensive, even on the latest generation of computers. Further, the more detailed digital models require a vast amount of core storage, leaving insufficient storage for evaluation of the many possible schemes of water-management. A concept introduced in 1968 by the senior author of this report offers a solution to these problems. The concept is that the effects on streamflow of ground-water withdrawal or recharge (stress) at any point in such a system can be approximated using two classical equations and a value of time that reflects the integrated effect of the following: irregular impermeable boundaries; stream meanders; aquifer properties and their areal variations; distance of the point from the stream; and imperfect hydraulic connection between the stream and the aquifer. The value of time is called the stream depletion factor ( sdf ). Results of a relatively few tests on detailed models can be summarized on maps showing lines through points of equal sdf . Sensitivity analyses of models of two large stream-aquifer systems in the State of Colorado show that the sdf technique described in this report provides results within tolerable ranges of error. The sdf technique is extremely versatile, allowing water managers to choose the degree of detail that best suits their needs and available computational hardware. Simple arithmetic, using, for example, only a slide rule and charts or tables of dimensionless values, will be sufficient for many calculations. If a large digital computer is available, detailed description of the system and its stresses will require only a fraction of the core storage, leaving the greater part of the storage available for sophisticated analyses, such as optimization. Once these analyses have been made, the model then is ready to perform its principal task--prediction of streamflow and changes in ground-water storage. In the two systems described in this report, direct diversion from the streams is the principal source of irrigation water, but it is supplemented by numerous wells. The streamflow depends largely on snowmelt. Estimates of both the amount and timing of runoff from snowmelt during the irrigation season are available on a monthly basis during the spring and early summer. These estimates become increasingly accurate as the season progresses, hence frequent changes of stress on the predictive model are necessary. The sdf technique is especially well suited to this purpose, because it is very easy to make such changes, resulting in more up-todate estimates of the availability of streamflow and ground-water storage. These estimates can be made for any time and any location in the system.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2003

Ground-water resources of Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Saipan has an area of 48 mi 2 and is the largest of the 14 islands in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The island is formed by volcanic rocks overlain by younger limestones. The island is situated in the western Pacific Ocean at latitude 15 o 12'N and longitude 145 o 45'E, about 3,740 mi west-southwest of Honolulu and midway between Japan and New Guinea (fig. 1). The climate on Saipan is classified as tropical marine with an average temperature of 80 o F. The natural beauty of the island and surrounding waters are the basis for a growing tourist-based economy. The resulting rapid development and increases in resident and tourist populations have added stresses to the island's limited water supplies. Freshwater resources on Saipan are not readily observable because, aside from the abundant rainfall, most freshwater occurs as ground water. Fresh ground water is found in aquifers composed mainly of fragmental limestones. About 90 percent of the municipal water supply comes from 140 shallow wells that withdraw about 11 Mgal/d. The chloride concentration of water withdrawn from production wells ranges from less than 100 mg/L for wells in the Akgak and Capital Hill well fields, to over 2,000 mg/L from wells in the Puerto Rico, Maui IV, and Marpi Quarry well fields. The chloride concentrations and rates of ground-water production are not currently adequate for providing island residents with a potable 24-hour water supply and future demands are expected to be higher. To better understand the ground-water resources of the island, and water resources on tropical islands in general, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) entered into a cooperative program with the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation (CUC). The objective of the program, initiated in 1989, is to assess the ground-water resources of Saipan and to make hydrologic information available to the CUC in support of their ongoing efforts to improve the quality and quantity of the municipal water supply. This report presents some of the results of the program including descriptions of (1) the geography and geology, (2) the occurrence of fresh ground water in permeable limestones that extend to some distance below sea level where water-level elevation is affected by ocean tides (coastal aquifers) and in limestones that overlie volcanic basement rocks above sea level (high-level aquifers), (3) the water-table configuration and directions of ground-water flow, and (4) the rainfall, ground-water withdrawal, and chloride concentrations in well water. Also described is the relation of the changes in water-table elevations to changes in sea level, rainfall, and ground-water withdrawal.

Saipan↗