Geology and Ground-Water Resources of Dane County, Wisconsin
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Geology and Ground-Water Resources of Dane County, Wisconsin GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1779-U Prepared in cooperation with the University of Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey Geology and Ground -Water Resources of Dane County, Wisconsin By DENZEL R. CLINE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPEF 1779-U Prepared in cooperation with the University of Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1965 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Thomas B. Nolan, Director The U.S. Geological Survey Library catalog card for this publication appears after index. For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 CONTENTS Page Abstract____-_.___.___._____.___..__.__.._.. _ Ul Introduction._____________________________________________________ 2 Purpose and scope_____________________________________________ 2 Description of the area_________________________________________ 2 Physiography _____________________________________________ 3 Climate __________________________________________________ 4 Previous investigations._______-__--________-_-___---__-__---___ 5 Numbering system.__________________________________________ 5 Acknowledgments. ____________________________________________ 5 Geology._________________________________________________________ 7 Bedrock units and their water-yielding characteristics ______________ 11 Precambrian rocks_______________________________________ 11 Cambrian System___________________--___--_--____----____ 11 Mount Simon Sandstone.______________________________ 12 Eau Claire Sandstone.____-----___--___-----_---_--_--- 13 Galesville Sandstone____--_-_--__---____---____-_______ 13 Franconia Sandstone_________________________________ 13 Trempealeau Formation________________-__--____----_-_ 14 Water-yielding characteristics of the sandstones of Late Cam brian age_ __________________________________________ 14 Ordovician System_______________________________________ 17 Prairie du Chien Group._______________________________ 17 St. Peter Sandstone________________________________ 18 Platteville, Decorah, and Galena Formations, undiffer- entiated._________________________________________ 19 Maquoketa Shale _____________________________________ 20 Unconsolidated deposits and their water-yielding characteristics _____ 20 Quaternary System__-----_--__-____-_-____________________ 20 Ground water._-___----___---_--_-_---___-_-__-______-____________ 25 Occurrence and movement__-_--------__-__--_-____---_-__--___- 25 Discharge ______-_-____--_-__-___.________---___._______._____ 32 Springs _ ________________________________________________ 33 Streams and lakes _________________________________________ 33 Evapotranspiration _--_-_-_-_---_--________--_-_-_____--__. 34 Pumpage.--__-___-_--_____-_-_______--_______-___________ 37 Recharge. ____________________________________________________ 41 Water budget of upper Yahara River basin_______________________ 44 Aquifer tests..-___---_---__---__--_________._________x________ 44 Quality___________________________________________________ 51 Chemical characteristics__-----_--_--___-____-________----_- 51 Temperature. _____________________________________________ 57 Water use_-----_---_--__-_-______________________________________ 58 Conclusions._ _____________________________________________________ 60 References cited.______ ___________________________________________ 62 Index..__________________________________________________________ 63 me IV CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS [Plates are in pocket] PLATE 1. Map showing location of water wells. 2. Map showing physiographic areas and deposits of Quaternary age. 3. Map of the bedrock geology. 4. Geologic section from Blue Mounds to London and from Brook lyn to De Forest. 5-8. Map showing: 5. Bedrock topography. 6. Saturated thickness of deposits of Quaternary age. 7. Configuration of the piezometric surface in April-May 1960. 8. Ground water pumped in 1959 in the Madison area. Page FIGURE 1. Well-numbering system________________________-_____-,__ U6 2. Lithology and water-yielding characteristics of rock units. _ _ _ 8 3. Contour map showing configuration of the Precambrian sur face_ ______________________________________________ 9 4. Structure-contour map showing configuration of the Cam- brian-Ordovician contact-__--_-______________--____-_- 10 5. Graph showing particle-size-distribution curves of deposits of Quaternary age._____________________________________ 22 6. Graph showing water pumped from well Dn-7/9/21-52, hydro- graph of well Dn-7/9/16-266, and cumulative departure from normal monthly precipitation at Madison, October 1957 to April I960..._.__.____.__.__.._.______________ 29 7. Ground-water and topographic divides in Dane Cour+.y and southern Columbia County____________________________ 30 8. Hydrograph of well Dn-7/9/16-303 and stage of Lake Men- dota, June 1958 to May 1960____________________ 32 9. Graph showing cumulative departure from normal yearly precipitation and streamflow in the upper Yahara River basin, and hydrograph of well Dn-9/11/34-4, 1946-59___ 34 10. Hydrographs of wells Dn-8/6/26-11 and Dn-7/9/16-266, snow on the ground, and daily precipitation at Madison, March 1 to August 20, 1959_______________________ 35 11. Graph showing the water balance at Madison.____________ 36 12. Extent of marsh in 1904 and 1959 in Madison area.-------- 37 13. Graph showing population and pumped water, 1930-80. ____ 38 14. Map showing ground water pumped in 1959________-____-- 40 15. Hydrographs of wells Dn-9/11/34-4 and Dn-8/6/26-11, 1946- 60 _ .___...._ .-_.. 43 16. Map showing water budget of upper Yahara River basin, 1931-58__-__---_______.____________________-_------- 45 17. Distance-drawdown curves for pumping from the sandstones of Late Cambrian age at Madison.____-_____-_--_-_-___ 48 CONTENTS V Page FIGURE 18. Distance-drawdown curves for pumping from sandstone? of Cambrian age at Madison.____________________________ U50 19. Representative graphical chemical analyses of water from geologic units_________-____--_--__________--__-_-____ 54 20. Map showing distribution of iron in ground water._________ 55 21. Graph showing amount and vise of ground water pumped, 9_--_____-_-----_----_----_-_-_-_-----_-_----- 59 TABLES Page TABLE 1. Physical characteristics of Lakes Mendota, Monona, Waubesa, Kegonsa, and Wingra, Dane County____________________ U4 2. Specific capacities of wells in consolidated rock in Dane County. 16 3. Lithology and water-yielding characteristics of the deposits of Quaternary age in Dane County.________________________ 21 4. Specific capacities of wells in sand and gravel of Quaternary age in Dane County-___________________________________ 25 5. Selected chemical analyses of ground water in Dane County... 52 6. Summary of the chemical characteristics of ground water in Dane County._______--_-___________-___-___---------_ 56 U2 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES from glacial drift than in water from the other rock units. The temperature of ground water discharged from wells generally ranges between 50° and 52° F in Dane County. Ground water is the principal source of water for all uses in Dane County. Of the 35 million gallons per day used in the county in 1959, 60 percent was used for municipal purposes, 15 percent for industrial and commercial purposes, 15 percent for rural domestic and stock purposes, and 10 percent for miscellaneous purposes. The Madison metropolitan area used about 25 million gr lions per day in 1959, or 73 percent of the total water used in the county. About 80 percent of the total water used for municipal purposes in the county was used in the Madison metropolitan area. It is estimated that the amount of ground water used in Dane County will double by 1980. INTRODUCTION PURPOSE AND SCOPE The purpose of the ground-water investigation of Drne 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 vTas made of the hydrologic system of the Yahara River valley and of the effects of ground-water pumpage on that system. The basic data for this report are available for inspection at the offices of the U.S. Geological Survey, Ground Water Branch, and the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, 175 Science Hall, Madison, Wis. The location of wells for which information is avail able is shown in plate 1. The study of the ground-water resources of Dane County was begun in 1956 and was carried on in cooperation with the University of Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey. W. Y. Summers assisted in the investigation from 1959 to 1961. The worl~ was under the immediate supervision of W. J. Drescher, district engineer, and his successor C. L. R. Holt, Jr., district geologist. DESCRIPTION OP THE AREA Dane County is in southern Wisconsin (pi. 2), midway between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River. Madison, the State capital and the county seat, is in the center of the county about 75 miles west of Milwaukee, Wis., and is about 40 miles north of the Illinois-Wiscon sin State line. According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, the population of Dane County in 1960 was 222,095