Ground-Water Resources of Jones County, Mississippi
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF JONES COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI By E.H. Boswell, Daphne Darden, and Gene A. Bednar U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Water-Resources Investigations Report 85-4342 Prepared in cooperation with the CITY OF LAUREL Jackson, Mississippi 1987 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR DONALD PAUL MODEL, Secretary U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Dallas L. Peck, Director For additional information Copies of this report can write to: be purchased from: District Chief U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Geological Survey Books and Open-File Reports Section 100 W. Capitol St., Suite 710 Federal Center, Box 25425 Jackson, Mississippi 39269 Denver, Colorado 80225 CONTENTS Page Abstract 1 Introduction 2 Purpose and scope 2 Description of the area 2 Previous investigations 2 Water development and use 2 Geohydrology 16 Miocene aquifer system 18 Oligocene aquifer system 27 Eocene aquifers 32 Water quality 32 Freshwater aquifers 32 Saline water 41 Aquifer and stream contamination 41 Potential for ground-water development 42 Summary 45 Selected references 47 i i i ILLUSTRATIONS Page Figure 1. Map showing location of Jones County 3 2. Geologic map of Jones County 4 Figures 3-5. Map showing: 3. Locations of selected water wells in Jones County 14 4. Locations of selected water wells in the Laurel area- 15 5. Configuration of the top of the Glendon Formation in Jones County 19 Figure 6. Geophysical log showing stratigraphic units and aquifers in the Laurel area 21 7. Map showing locations of geohydrologic sections A-A' and B-B' 22 8. Geohydrologic section A-A 1 23 9. Geohydrologic section B-B 1 24 10. Graphs showing water-level trends in the middle Catahoula aquifer, 1910-1985 26 Figures 11-13. Map showing: 11. Potentiometric surfaces in pumping centers in the middle and lower Catahoula aquifers in Laurel, 1941 28 12. Potentiometric surface in pumping centers in the lower Catahoula aquifer in the Laurel area, 1972 29 13. Potentiometric surface in a pumping center in the lower Catahoula aquifer in the Laurel area, April 1984 30 14. Graphs showing water-level trends in Jones County, 1945-1985 31 15. Map showing configuration of the top and the distribution of salinity in the water-bearing zones of the Cockfield Formation 33 16. Map showing configuration of the base and the distribution of salinity in the water-bearing zones of the Sparta Sand 34 17. Geohydrologic section A-A': variations in chemical characteristics of ground water in Jones County 39 18. Geohydrologic section B-B 1 : variations in chemical characteristics of ground water in Jones County 40 19. Theoretical time-distance relations for pumping from the Miocene aquifer system 44 . TABLES Table 1. Geologic units and major aquifers in Jones County 5 2. Records of selected water wells in Jones County 6 3. Water use in Jones County, 1984 17 4. Summary of aquifer tests in Jones County 25 5. Water-quality data for selected wells in Jones County- 35 6. Summary of selected water-quality data 37 IV CONVERSION FACTORS AND ABBREVIATIONS This report uses inch-pound units. The equivalent International System (SI) units may be obtained using the following factors: Multiply by To obtain inch (in.) 25.4 millimeter (mm) mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer (km) square mile (mi2 ) 2.590 square kilometer (km2 ) foot per day (ft/d) 0.3048 meter per day (m/d) gallon per day (gal/d) 0.003785 cubic meter per day (mVd) million gallons per day 0.04381 cubic meters per second (Mgal/d) (mVs) cubic foot per day per foot 0.0929 cubic meters per day (ft3/d)/ft or ft2/d per meter (mVd)/m Abbreviations Milligrams per liter (mg/L) Sea level: In this report "sea level" refers to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD of 1929)~a geodetic datum derived from a general adjustment of the first-order level nets of both the United States and Canada, formerly called "Mean Sea Level of 1929." GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF JONES COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI By E.H. Boswell, Daphne Darden, and Gene A. Bednar ABSTRACT Jones County, Mississippi, is supplied by declined from about 150 feet above sea level ground water from aquifers in strata of in 1945 to about 80 feet above sea level in Eocene and younger age. The largest ground- 1985. Since 1975, water levels in the water withdrawals are from aquifers in the Catahoula aquifers in the Laurel area have Catahoula Sandstone of the Miocene aquifer declined at a slower rate, but the cone of system that occur at depths of 200 and depression has enlarged because of areal 400 feet in the Laurel area, but several changes in pumping. public and industrial water-supply wells obtain water from deeper Eocene strata that Water in the major aquifers is usable occur at depths of more than 900 feet. Some for most purposes and concentrations of most small water supplies in the northern part of common constituents do not exceed water- the county are obtained from wells less than quality criteria for drinking-water supplies; 200 feet deep that tap Oligocene sediments. however, there is a distinct difference in water types between the Catahoula and Pumpage from all aquifers in Jones County Vicksburg aquifers and the deeper Eocene for all uses increased from less than aquifers. 1 million gallons per day in 1925 to a maxi mum of 21.6 million gallons per day in 1975. Iron concentrations are highest in the The city of Laurel used about 6.2 million Catahoula and Vicksburg aquifers, exceeding gallons per day in 1984 and total water use 0.30 milligrams per liter in water from for the county was about 14.1 million gallons 33 percent of the wells for which data are per day. available. Color is highest in the Eocene Cockfield aquifer, exceeding 50 units in Some wells in the Laurel area produce water from 60 percent of the wells. over 700 gallons per minute from the Dissolved-solids concentrations range from Catahoula aquifers. The highest yields, more 487 to 840 milligrams per liter in water from than 1,500 gallons per minute, are produced wells in the Cockfield and Sparta aquifers. by wells made in the upper Catahoula aquifer Silica concentrations exceed 50 milligrams in the southwestern part of the county. per liter in water from several wells in the Catahoula and Vicksburg aquifers but con The extreme irregularity of the sand beds centrations generally are equal to or less that form the aquifers is reflected in the than 15 milligrams per liter in water from wide range in hydraulic characteristics. wells in the Cockfield and Sparta aquifers. Transmissivity values range from 600 to The pH values generally are less than 10,000 square feet per day and average about 7.0 units in water from wells in the 6,000 square feet per day. The average Catahoula and Vicksburg aquifers and greater hydraulic conductivity is about 90 feet per than 8.4 units in water from wells in the day. Cockfield and Sparta aquifers. Hardness of water from all aquifers rarely exceeds Water levels in key observation wells in 50 milligrams per liter. the lower Catahoula aquifer at Laurel have INTRODUCTION Previous Investigations In 1982, the city of Laurel, Miss., The earliest detailed description of the requested that the U.S. Geological Survey ground-water resources of Jones County was appraise present and potential ground-water included in a report by Stephenson and others supplies in the Laurel area. Ground-water (1928). In 1940 the U.S. Geological Survey data were needed for efficient development of was requested to make an investigation of the city's water resources as well as a coor ground-water conditions in the Laurel area as dinated development of water supply a result of severe water-level declines in throughout Jones County. the middle Catahoula aquifer. Shows and others (1966) included a description of Jones Purpose and Scope County water resources in a multi-county report on the availability of water for This report describes the ground-water industry. resources of Jones County, Miss. The empha sis of the report is on delineation of WATER DEVELOPMENT AND USE aquifers, analysis of areal variations in hydraulic characteristics of the aquifers, Virtually all water used for public and water-level changes, water quality, and iden industrial water systems in Jones County is tification of the effects of long-term obtained from underground sources. Most of withdrawals. the extensive freshwater aquifers occur in water-bearing sand beds in geologic units of Work for this study included analysis of Miocene and younger age. Aquifers of Eocene water-use trends and water-level declines, age underlie the county at greater depth. determination of the interrelation of water However, these aquifers contain freshwater bearing zones, and identification of ground- only in the northern part of the county. The water-quality problem areas. Contamination geologic units and their water-bearing of ground water by oil-field brine, known to characteristics are described in table 1. occur in the area, has been investigated as Descriptions of typical wells in the study part of another study. area are presented in table 2 and locations of selected wells are shown in figures 3 Description of the Area and 4. The study area includes about 696 mi^ in The municipal water system at Laurel was Jones County, Miss. The principal municipal established about 1901 when the first of two ities are Laurel, Ellisville, Sandersville, wells was drilled for a water plant located and Soso (fig. 1). at 6th Street and 9th Avenue (fig. 4). A third well was drilled in 1904. The original Jones County is in the Southern Pine wells at the plant have been replaced and Hills district of the Gulf Coastal Plain.