Geology and Ground-Water Resources of Webster County, Iowa
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State of Iowa 1955 GEOLOGY AND GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF WEBSTER COUNTY, IOWA by William E. Hale Engineer, U. S. Geological Survey Prepared Cooperatively by the United States Geological Survey and the Iowa Geological Survey The nomenclature and classification of rock units used in this paper are those of the Iowa Geological Survey and do not necessarily coincide with those accepted by the United States Geological Survey. Published by the STATE OF IOWA Des Moines FOREWORD Modern studies of the underground and surface water re sources of Iowa have been carried on in recent years by a cooperative effort of the U.S. Geological Survey and the Iowa Geological Survey with the aid and encouragement of other State and Federal departments, institutions, groups, and individuals. Some of the collected data are published in nation-wide Federal reports. It is felt, however, that material pertaining particularly to Iowa assembled in State bulletins would render the data more readily available and useful to interested persons in this State. This report, Bulletin No. 4, Geology and Ground Water Re sources of Webster County, is the first study of ground water to appear in the water resources bulletin series. One reason that Webster County was selected for study is that almost all munic ipalities, industries, and individuals within the county rely on the underground sources for their water supply. Inasmuch as ground water occurs in rocks and its quality and availability are largely controlled by rocks, the report contains a comprehensive treatment of the geology of the county in order that the ground water resources may he better understood and utilized. Thus, the report should be useful not only to the users or potential users of ground water but to others who require basic geologic data. Similar reports on other counties in the State are in preparation and will be published upon completion. H. GARLAND H ERSHEY State Geologist Iowa City, Iowa Septem ber 1, 1955 CONTENTS Page FOREWORD ............................................................................. iii ILLUSTRATIONS ..................................................................... viii TABLES ..................................................................................... ix ABSTRACT ............................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................... 4 Purpose and scope of the investigation.................................. 4 Location and extent of area.................................................. 4 Previous investigations .......................................................... 5 Methods of investigation .......................................................... 6 Acknowledgments ..................................................................... 8 GEOGRAPHY ......... .................................................................. 9 History ..................................................................................... 9 Topography and drainage......... .............................................. 9 Climate ..................................................................................... 13 Natural resources and related industries................................ 13 Agriculture and related industries......................................... 23 Population ............................................................................... 23 Transportation ........................................................................ 24 GENERAL GEOLOGY ............................................................. 26 Summary of stratigraphy and geologic history....................... 26 Proterozoic (?) era ............................................................... 31 Paleozoic era ........................................................................ 31 Mesozoic e ra .......................................................................... 32 Cenozoic era ........................................................................ 33 General structure ..................................................................... 33 The Fort Dodge fault.......................................................... 34 The Manson volcanic basin................................................... 35 GROUND WATER ................................................................... 38 Principles of occurrence .......................................................... 38 Water-table aquifers ........................................................... 42 Artesian aquifers ............................................................... 44 Hydraulic properties of aquifers ......................................... 48 Construction of wells.............................................................. 53 Development of wells ............................................................... 56 Utilization of water ................................................................ 57 F a rm w ells .......................................................................... 57 Public water supply ............................................................. 57 B a d g e r ............................................................................. 57 B a r n u m .............................................................. ............ 58 C a lle n d e r ......................................................................... 58 V vi CONTENTS Page GROUND WATER—Continued Clare ........................................................................................5 9 Dayton ................................................. .................................. 59 Duncombe ............................................................................... 60 Fort Dodge ............................................................................... 61 Gowrie ................................................................................... 70 Harcourt .................................................................................. 73 Lehigh .................................................................................... 73 Moorland ................................................................................. 74 Stratford ................................................................................ 74 Vincent .................................................................................... 74 Quality of water............................................................................. 75 Chemical constituents in relation to use..................................... 75 Quality of water in relation to water-bearing formations....... 84 Sanitary considerations ............................................................. 84 GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS AND THEIR WATER-BEARING CHARACTERISTICS ............................................................... 87 Pre-Cambrian rocks ........................................................................ 87 Cambrian system ........................................................................... 87 St. Croixan series........................................................................ 87 Dresbach formation ............................................................... 87 Franconia sandstone ............................................................... 88 St. Lawrence formation .......................................................... 89 Jordan sandstone .................................................................... 90 Ordovician system ......................................................................... 92 Beekmantownian series ............................................................. 92 Prairie du Chien formation ..................................................... 92 Chazyan series ........................................................................... 94 St. Peter sandstone ................................................................ 94 Mohawkian series ...................................................................... 96 Platteville limestone and Decorah shale................................. 96 Galena dolomite ...................................................................... 98 Cincinnatian series ..................................................................... 98 Maquoketa shale ..................................................................... 98 Devonian system ............................................................................ 99 Middle Devonian series............................................................... 99 Wapsipinicon limestone .......................................................... 99 Upper Devonian series .............................................................. 101 Cedar Valley limestone, Shell Rock limestone, and Lime Creek shale........................................................... 101 Sheffield shale ........................................................................ 103 Mississippian system ..................................................................... 104 Kinderhookian series ................................................................ 104 Aplington dolomite ................................................................. 104 Undifferentiated beds ............................................................. 105 Hampton formation ............................................................... 105 Gilmore City limestone .......................................................... 107 Osagian series ...........................................................................