Geology and Ground-Water Resources of the Upper Lodgepole Creek Drainage Basin, Wyoming
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Geology and Ground- Water Resources of the Upper Lodgepole Creek Drainage Basin,Wyoming GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1483 Prepared as part of the program of the Department of the Interior for the development of the Missouri River basin Geology and Ground- Water Resources of the Upper Lodgepole Creek Drainage Basin,Wyoming By L. J. BJORKLUND With a section on CHEMICAL QUALITY OF THE WATER By R. A. KRIEGER and E. R. JOCHENS GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1483 Prepared as part of the program of the Department of the Interior for the development of the Missouri River basin UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1959 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FRED A. SEATON, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Thomas B. Nolan, Director The U.S. Geological Survey Library has cataloged this publication as follows: Bjorklund, Louis Jay, 1905- Geology and ground-water resources of the upper Lodge- pole Creek drainage basin, Wyoming. With a section on Chemical quality of the water, by R. A. Krieger and E. R. Jochens. Washington, U. S. Govt. Print. Off., 1959. iv, 40 p. maps (2 fold, in pocket) diagr., tables. 25 cm. (U. S. Geological Survey. Water-supply paper 1483) Prepared as part of the program of the Dept. of the Interior for the development of the Missouri River Basin. Bibliography: p. 33-34. 1. Geology Wyoming Lodgepole Creek Valley. 2. Water, Under ground Wyoming Lodgepole Creek Valley. 3. Water-supply Wyoming Lodgepole Creek Valley. 4. Water Composition. i. Title: Lodgepole Creek drainage basin, Wyoming. (Series) [TC801.U2 no. 1483] G S 59-241 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D.G. CONTENTS Page Abstract___________________________________________________ 1 Introduction. _____________________________________________________ 2 Purpose of investigation________________________________________ 2 Location and extent of area___________________________________ 2 Scope of investigation________________________________________ 3 Previous investigations.________________________________________ 4 Well-numbering system-_______________________________________ 5 Geography. __ __________________________________________________ 5 Topography and drainage______________________________________ 5 Climate. ____ _____________________________ 8 Population and agriculture.__________________________________ 9 Geology______________________________________________________ 9 Pre-Tertiary rocks.___________________________________________ 9 Tertiary system._______________________________ 10 Chadron formation______________________________________ 10 Brule formation___________________________________________ 11 Arikaree formation________________________________________ 12 Ogallala formation_______________________________________ 13 Unconsoli dated deposits of Quaternary age _______________________ 14 Ground water_______________________________________________ 15 Shape and slope of the water table____________________________ 16 Recharge. __ ________________________________________ 16 Discharge-_______________________________________________ 17 Depth to water_______________________________________________ 19 Chemical quality of the water, by R. A. Krieger and E. R. Jochens______ 19 Ground water________________________________________ 24 Surface water_______________________________________________ 25 Suitability of the water._______________________________________ 26 Domestic use_____________________________________________ 26 Irrigation use_____________________________________________ 27 Industrial use____________:________________________________ 29 Present and potential development of water resources._________________ 32 References cited_______________________________________________ 33 Index.____________________________________________________________ 39 ILLUSTEATIONS PLATE 1. Geologic map of the upper Lodgepole Creek drainage basin, Laramie and Albany Counties, Wyo________________ In pocket 2. Map of the upper Lodgepole Creek drainage basin, Laramie and Albany Counties, Wyo., showing location of wells, contour of the water table, and depth to water.______________ In pocket in IV CONTENTS Page FIGURE 1. Map showing location of area described in this report._______ 3 2. Well-numbering system_____________ __ & TABLES TABLE 1. Chemical analyses of ground water.__________ ______ 20 2. Chemical analyses of surface water_______________________ 22 3. Ranges in concentration of some dissolved constituents ana in hardness and specific conductance of ground water. _____ 25 4. Water-quality tolerances for industrial applications._______ 30 5. Records of wells_______________________________________ 35 GEOLOGY AND GROUND-WATER RESOURCES OF THE UPPER LODGEPOLE CREEK DRAINAGE BASIN, WYOMING By L. J. BJORKLUND ABSTRACT The principal sources of ground-water supply in the upper Lodgepole Creek drainage basin the part of the basin west of the Wyoming-Nebraska State line are the Brule formation of Oligocene age, the Arikaree formation of Miocene age, the Ogallala formation of Pliocene age, and the unconsolidated deposits of Quaternary age. The Brule formation is a moderately hard siltstone that generally is not a good aquifer. However, where it is fractured or where the upper part consists of pebbles of reworked siltstone, it will yield large quantities of water to wells. Many wells in the Pine Bluffs lowland, at the east end of the area, derive water from the Brule. The Arikaree formation, which con sists of loosely to moderately cemented fine sand, will yield small quantities of water to wells but is not thick enough or permeable enough to supply sufficient water for irrigation. Only a few wells derive water from it. The Ogallala formation consists of lenticular beds of clay, silt, sand, and gravel which, in part, are cemented with calcium carbonate. Only the lower part of the formation is saturated. Nearly all the wells in the upland part of the area tap the Ogallala, but they supply water in amounts sufficient for domestic and stock use only. Two of the wells have a moderately large discharge, and other wells of comparable discharge probably could be drilled in those parts of the upland where the saturated part of the Ogallala is fairly thick. Most of the unconsolidated deposits of Quaternary age are very permeable and, where a sufficient thickness is saturated, will yield large quantities of water to wells. These deposits are a significant source of water supply in the southeastern part of the area. The Chadron formation of Oligocene age, which underlies the Brule forma tion, is a medium- to coarse-grained sandstone where it crops out in the Islay lowland. No wells tap the Chadron, but it probably would yield small quanti ties of water to wells. It lies at a relatively shallow depth beneath most of the Islay lowland, near the west end of the area, and at a depth of about 300 feet beneath the Pine Bluffs lowland. In the latter area it probably is finer grained and may not be permeable enough to yield water to wells. All the ground water in the area is derived from precipitation. It is esti mated that about 5 percent of the precipitation infiltrates directly to the zone of saturation. The remainder either is evaporated immediately; is retained by the soil, later to be evaporated or transpired; or is discharged by overland flow to the surface drainage courses. Most of the water that reaches the surface drainage courses eventually sinks to the zone of saturation or is evaporated. The slope of the water table and the movement of ground water 2 GROUND-WATER RESOURCES, LODGEPOLE> CREEK, WYOMING are generally eastward. The depth to water ranges from less than 10 feet in parts of the valley to about 300 feet in the upland areas. In much of the Pine Bluffs lowland, the depth to water is less than 50 feet. Ground water not pumped from wells within the area is discharged by evapotranspiration where the water table is close to the land surface, by outflow into streams, or by underflow eastward beneath the State line. The chemical quality of ground water from the principal sources is re markably uniform, and the range in concentration of dissolved constituents is narrow. In general, the water is of the calcium bicarbonate type, is hard (hardness as CaCOa is as high as 246 ppm), and contains less than about 400 parts per million of dissolved solids, which is a moderate mineralization. Silica constitutes a large proportion of the dissolved solids. The water is suitable for irrigation and, except for iron in water from some wells that tap the Ogallala formation, meets the drinking water standards of the U.S. Public Health Service for chemical constituents. Because the water is siliceous, alkaline, and hard, it is unsuitable for many industrial uses unless treated. INTRODUCTION PURPOSE OP INVESTIGATION This investigation was made by the U.S. Geological Survey as a part of the program of the Department of the Interior for conserva tion, development, and use of the water resources of the Missouri Uiver basin. The purposes of this study were to compile existing information on ground-water supplies in the Wyoming half of the Lodgepole Creek drainage basin; to collect and analyze data on public, industrial, and irrigation wells in the area; to determine the chemical quality of the water and evaluate the suitability of the water for general use; to determine where additional large-scale pumping would be feasible; to estimate how much additional ground water can be pumped without exceeding the perennial yield;