Arsenic-Related Water Quality in Well-Head Samples
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Prepared in cooperation with the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality and the Ground-Water Protection Council Arsenic-Related Water Quality with Depth and Water Quality of Well-Head Samples from Production Wells, Oklahoma, 2008 Scientific Investigations Report 2010–5047 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Arsenic-Related Water Quality with Depth and Water Quality of Well-Head Samples from Production Wells, Oklahoma, 2008 By Carol J. Becker, S. Jerrod Smith, James R. Greer, and Kevin A. Smith Prepared in cooperation with the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality and the Ground-Water Protection Council Scientific Investigations Report 2010–5047 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior KEN SALAZAR, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Marcia K. McNutt, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2010 This and other USGS information products are available at http://store.usgs.gov/ U.S. Geological Survey Box 25286, Denver Federal Center Denver, CO 80225 To learn about the USGS and its information products visit http://www.usgs.gov/ 1-888-ASK-USGS Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report. Suggested citation: Becker, C.J., Smith, S.J., Greer, J.R., and Smith, K.A., 2010, Arsenic-related water quality with depth and water qual- ity of well-head samples from production wells, Oklahoma, 2008: U.S. Geological Scientific Investigations Report 2010–5047, 38 p. iii Contents Abstract ..........................................................................................................................................................1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................1 Purpose and Scope .............................................................................................................................2 Acknowledgments ...............................................................................................................................2 Study Aquifers ...............................................................................................................................................2 Rush Springs Aquifer ...........................................................................................................................6 Permian-Aged Undefined Aquifer .....................................................................................................6 Garber-Wellington Aquifer .................................................................................................................6 Arbuckle-Timbered Hills Aquifer .......................................................................................................7 Geochemical Processes Affecting Arsenic Concentrations in Groundwater ....................................8 Methods of Study ..........................................................................................................................................8 U.S. Geological Survey Well Profiler ................................................................................................8 Candidate Well Selection ..........................................................................................................8 Geophysical Logs ......................................................................................................................13 Dye Tracer-Pulse Travel-Time Profile ....................................................................................13 Depth-Dependent Sampling ....................................................................................................13 Laboratory Analysis ..................................................................................................................15 Quality-Assurance Procedures ..............................................................................................15 Well-Head Sampling of Production Wells .....................................................................................15 Laboratory Analysis ..................................................................................................................15 Quality-Assurance Procedures ..............................................................................................15 Arsenic-Related Water Quality with Well Depth ...................................................................................16 Production Well RS-2X in the Rush Springs Aquifer ....................................................................16 Well Construction and Sampling Conditions ........................................................................16 Water Quality with Depth ........................................................................................................16 Production Well GW-7X in the Garber-Wellington Aquifer ........................................................18 Well Construction and Sampling Conditions ........................................................................19 Water Quality with Depth ........................................................................................................19 Arsenic-Related Water Quality in Well-Head Samples ........................................................................20 Arsenic in Relation to Physical Properties and Water Type .......................................................20 Arsenic in Relation to Other Trace Elements ................................................................................21 Summary .......................................................................................................................................................25 References ...................................................................................................................................................26 Appendixes 1. Water-Property Measurements and Chemical-Constituent Concentrations Measured in Water from Depth-Dependent and Well-Head Samples, Oklahoma, 2008 .................................................................................................................29 2. Concentrations of Equipment-Blank Sample and Analytical Relative Percent Difference for Chemical Constituents Measured in Replicate Samples from Depth-Dependent and Well-Head Samples, Oklahoma, 2008 ...................................35 iv Figures 1. Map showing location of production wells sampled and study aquifers, Oklahoma, 2008 ................................................................................................................................................3 2. Chart showing geologic units and equivalent aquifer units .................................................7 3–6. Graphs showing: 3. Estimated tracer-pulse travel times, depth-dependent sample locations, and well construction information for production well RS-2X in the Rush Springs aquifer, Oklahoma, 2008 ......................................................................................9 4. Estimated tracer-pulse travel times, depth-dependent sample locations, and well construction information for production well GW-7X in the Garber- Wellington aquifer, Oklahoma, 2008 ...............................................................................10 5. Concentrations of arsenic, bicarbonate, calcium, sodium, and sulfate in depth-dependent samples and well-head sample from production well RS-2X in the Rush Springs aquifer, Oklahoma, 2008 ...............................................................11 6. Concentrations of arsenic, calcium, and sodium in depth-dependent samples and well-head samples from production well GW-7X in the Garber-Wellington aquifer, Oklahoma, 2008 ...................................................................................................12 7. Diagram of perforated well GW-7X showing well construction, deployment of the U.S. Geological Survey well profiler, and the theoretical horizontal well cross section just above the pump shroud ......................................................................................14 8. Piper diagram showing percentages of major ions in well-head and depth- dependent samples from production wells GW-7X in the Garber-Wellington aquifer and RS-2X in the Rush Springs aquifer, Oklahoma, 2008. ...................................................17 9. Graph showing relation of arsenic with pH in well-head samples from production wells, Oklahoma, 2008 ...............................................................................................................21 10. Piper diagram showing percentages of major ions in well-head samples from production wells, Oklahoma, 2008 ..........................................................................................22 11–12. Boxplots showing: 11. Relation of barium, boron, chromium, and copper with arsenic in well-head samples from production wells, Oklahoma, 2008 ........................................................23 12. Relation of fluoride, nickel, uranium, and vanadium with arsenic in well-head samples from production wells, Oklahoma, 2008 ........................................................24 Tables 1. Site and completion information for production wells sampled for arsenic