Public and Industrial Water Supplies of the Eastern Coal Field Region Kentucky
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 369 PUBLIC AND INDUSTRIAL WATER SUPPLIES OF THE EASTERN COAL FIELD REGION KENTUCKY Prepared in cooperation with the Agricultural* and Industrial Development Board of Kentucky UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Douglas McKay, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Thomas B. Nolan, Director GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 369 PUBLIC AND INDUSTRIAL WATER SUPPLIES OF THE EASTERN COAL FIELD REGION, KENTUCKY By J. A. Baker and W. E. Price, Jr. Prepared in cooperation with the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board of Kentucky Washington, D. C., 1956 Free on application to the Geological Survey, Washington 25, D. C. CONTENTS Page Abstract........................................................ 1 Water resources Continued Introduction................................................... 1 Utilization Continued Purpose and scope of report.......................... 1 Power production..................................... 13 Previous investigations and acknowledgments. ... 1 Railroad supply....................................... 13 Methods of investigation and presentation of Secondary recovery of oil...................... ... 13 data......................... .............................. 3 Steel-products manufacture..................... .. 13 Geography. 3 Institutional supply.................................. 13 Topography and drainage........... ........... ........ 3 State parks supply.................................... 13 Climate...................................................... 4 Quality of water........................................ 14 Population........................................ .......... 5 Ground water................................. ...... .... 16 Rural land use........................................ ,. .. 5 Devonian and Mississippian rocks............... 16 Mineral resources and industrial growth.......... 5 Lee formation......................................... 16 Manufacturing and processing industries.......... 5 Breathitt formation...................... ............ 16 Geology......................................................... 5 Undifferentiated post-Lee Pennsylvanian Stratigraphy................................................ 5 rocks.......................................... ....... 16 Structural features....................................... 7 Alluvium............................................... 16 Water resources........................................ .. .. 7 Surface water............................................ 17 Utilization................................................. 7 Cumberland River drainage....................... 17 Public supply........................................... 11 Kentucky River drainage...................... ..... 17 Air conditioning........................................ 12 Licking River drainage............................. 17 Chemical-products manufacture.................. 12 Big Sandy River drainage......................... 17 Coal washing............................................ 12 Little Sandy River drainage.................. ..... 17 Food processing....................... ................ 13 Tygarts Creek drainage............................ 17 Gas transmission...................................... 13 Ohio River........................................ .. 17 Ice manufacture........................................ 13 Descriptions and analyses.............................. 17 Leather-products manufacture.................... 13 Literature cited............................................. 62 Petroleum processing and coal-products manufacture.......................................... 13 ILLUSTRATIONS Page Plate 1. Map of the Eastern Coal Field region, Kentucky, showing source of public and industrial water supplies and average daily use in 1951......................................................................... In pocket 2. Map of the Eastern Coal Field region showing chemical analyses of public and industrial ground-water supplies.............................................................................. .................. In pocket Figure 1. Index map of Kentucky showing location of the area covered by this report and progress of ground-water investigations............... ........................... ................................................ - 2 2. Map of the Eastern Coal Field region showing physiographic subdivisions and major topographic features......................................................................................................................... 4 3. Water utilization and source in the Eastern Coal Field region....................................................... 7 TABLES Page Table 1. Pumpage and source of ground water for public and industrial supplies in the Eastern Coal Field region, Kentucky, 1950-53.................................................................................................. 8 2. Pumpage of surface water for public and industrial supplies in the Eastern Coal Field region. Kentucky, 1950-53....................................... ..................................................................... 10 3. Per capita use of water from some public supplies in the Eastern Coal Field region, Kentucky, 1950-53........................................................................................................................... 11 4. Source and significance of chemical constituents commonly found in water......... ............ ................ 15 III PUBLIC AND INDUSTRIAL WATER SUPPLIES OF THE EASTERN COAL FIELD REGION, KENTUCKY By J. A. Baker and W. E. Price, Jr. ABSTRACT trial Development Board of Kentucky. This report is one of a series of five presenting data on the public and About 115, 100, 000 gpd (gallons per day) of water is industrial water supplies of the State. Reports have pumped for 119 large public and industrial water sup been published for these regions: the Blue Grass (Palm- plies in the 29 counties of the Eastern Coal Field re quist and Hall, 1953), the Mississippian Plateau gion of Kentucky. About 12 percent of the water is (Brown, 1954), the Western Coal Field (Maxwell, 1954), used for public supply and about 88 percent for indus and the Jackson Purchase (Free and Walker, 1953). trial supply. Public supplies provide 191,000 people with water, and per capita consumption ranges from This report covers 29 counties in the Eastern Ken 12 to possibly 460 gpd. The quantity of water pumped tucky Coal Field region (fig. 1). The^western margin in a public supply for industrial use is sometimes of the area studied is drawn along county lines for con more than half the total water provided. Industries in venience and does not exactly coincide with the natural the region use water primarily for cooling. The larg physiographic boundary. The 29 counties have an area est amounts are used for coal washing, gas trans of 10,450 square miles or 26 percent of the area of the mission, petroleum processing, railroad supply, and State. coal- and steel-products manufacture. About 6 percent of the water pumped for public and Previous Investigations and Acknowledgments industrial supplies is ground water and about 94 per cent is surface water. However, of the total number of Although some investigations of the geology and cities, industries, and institutions supplied, ground ground-water resources have been made in small areas water provides 37 percent of the supply, surface water, in the Eastern Coal Field, this is the first study of the 52 percent, and ground and surface water combined, 11 public and industrial water supplies of the whole region. percent Ashley (1905) described the water resources of the Middlesboro-Harlan area. A report by Fohs (1912) con Large ground-water supplies in the region are ob tains a short description of the occurrence of springs in tained principally from wells and abandoned coal mines Rockcastle County. Unpublished memoranda describe but a few are obtained from springs. Wells yield from the ground-water supplies of the Clayton and Lambert 2 to 330 gpm (gallons per minute) and get most of their Manufacturing Co. in Ashland, Ky. if, the city of Cor- water from sandstone in rocks of Pennsylvanian age bin, Ky. 2/', the area Pround London, Ky. 3/, and Cum and from sand and gravel in alluvium of Quaternary berland Falls State Park, Ky. 4_/ A brief memorandum age. Most waters are of the'calcium or magnesium describes the geology and occurrence of ground water bicarbonate or sodium bicarbonate type; many have a high iron content, and some have a large proportion of 1/Guyton, W. F. , and Hamilton, D. K., 1944, Mem sulfate. orandum on ground-water supply of tha Clayton and Lambert Manufacturing Co. , Ashland, Ky. : U. S. Most of the surface water pumped in the Eastern Geol. Survey and Kentucky Dept. Mines and Minerals, Coal Field is from the Big Sandy River and its tribu Geol. Div. (ms. rept). taries, and from the Ohio River. In the future, surface 2/Guyton, W. F., and Jones, D. J., 1944, Memo water will be the principal source for towns and indus randum on water supply of Corbin, Ky. : U. S. Geol. tries needing large quantities of water. Survey and Kentucky Dept. Mines and Minerals, Geol. Div. (ms. rept. ). 3/Otton, E. G. , 1948, Geology and ground-water INTRODUCTION resources of the London area, Ky. : Kentucky Dept. Mines and Minerals, Geol. Div. (duplicated rept. ). Purpose and Scope of Report 4/Guyton, W. F. , and Jones, D. J. , 1944, Memo randum on wells at Cumberland Falls State Park, Ky. : To plan intelligently the use and conservation