Evaluation of Ground-Water Resources in Parts of Midland, Reagan, and Upton Counties, Texas
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Evaluation of Ground-Water Resources In Parts of Midland, Reagan, and Upton Counties, Texas by John B. Ashworth, Geologist and Prescott C. Christian, Geologist February 1989 E..h,h'''lMn.Cn>~''''''W.tor..lMnele.-"""III'ot.T ~_ .... iniIl. ......."""ru • .widland..Yi4land. R.pnR........•not!,;'"" Up",".... e-u..e.-u..Tea.T.... ,( P-.,.I-F_.,.I_ Texas Water Development Board M. Reginald Arnold II, Executive Administrator Texas Water\Vater Development Board Walter W. Cardwell, llI,III, Chairman Stuart S. Coleman, Vice Chairman Wesley E. Pittman Glen E. Roney Thomas M. Dunning Charles \V. Jenness Authorization for use or reproduction ofany original material contained in this publica tion, i.e., not obtained {romfrom other sources, is {reelyfreely granted. The Board would appreciate acknowledge71U!nt.acknowledgement. Published and Distributed by the Texas Water Development Board P.O. Box 13087 Austin, Texas 78711 \ •III E£_I..I~",~",·...l.-JC........Yi..... R_~......... in ...n.oIMtt<oJlolIioIlarwl.&.pn....."".a-p.............. Up_e-u-.Up_e-~T_ ( "F...........,1..,ISY.. The evaluation ofground-wllterofground-water conditions in parlsofMidland, Reagan, ABSTRACT and Upton Counties is in response to the 1985 passage ofHouse Bill 2 by lheSixty-ninththeSixty-ninth Texas Legislature, which called fOT the identification and study of areasBreas in theStat.e that aTe experiencing, or expected to experience ",ithin....ithin the next 20 years, critical underground waler prob lems. The study area is located on the northern edge ortheofthe Edwards Plateau in west-central Texas and has a semi-arid climate that is characterized bylow rainfall and high rsteofevapoTation.rateofevaporation. Agricultural and petroleum industries dominate the economy.economy_ WalerWater needs for the area aTe supplied almost entirely from the Ed wards-Trinity (Plateau) aquifer which occurs in the Edwards Lime stone and AntlersSand formations ofLower Cretaceous age and, where.....here hydrologically connected, in sandy units of the Dockum Group of Triassic age. Average recharge to the Edwards-Trinity (Plateau) aquifer is calculated to be 30,000 acre-feet per year and is derived principally from precipitation that falls within the study area. Water level declines ofover 100 feet have occurred in southern Glasscock and northern Reagan Counties since irrigation development was initiated in the late 1940's; however, water levels have changed very littleIiltle over the past five years. The chemical quality of the ground water over most oftheof the study area does not meet Federal drinking water standards, although the water supplied to the cities ofBigLake and Rankin is acceptable. The quality ofwater is generally acceptable for irrigation use, but special manage· ment practices are needed to grow salt·tolerantsalt-tolerant crops in some areas. Dissolved solids generally range between 1,000 and 10,000 milligrams per liter, and calcium- and sodium-sulfate are the predominate hydro chemical facies, although, high concentrations of chloride also occur locally. In 1985, the total pumpage ofground water y,rithinwithin the study area was about 43,628 acre-feet, of which 96 percent was used for agriculture irrigation. This amount is projected to increase slightly by the year 2010. The average annual effective recharge to the aquifer is less than the present and projected water demand; therefore, with the projected level of pumppumpage,age, water in the aquifer will be drawn from storage. By theyear 2010, approximately seven percentofthe waterheld in storage in the aquifer will have been used, with approximately 7,004,000 acre feet remaining. This quantity should be adequate to meet projected needs through the year 2010, although continued deterioration of the chemical quality could limit the use ofsome of this water. \ IIlIl1li ,( E..:JE...J...tiooolu..tI~W"c..........W._..... R.-ft._. in~ Part.fIIPlo..... fIIMiil101;.0.,........... R.a-.......... &IN!uw1 U,...,CeuIIlMo.\1_e-nu..T-.T.... F............,.I_".l.' TABLE OF CONTENTS Page AnsrRACTABsTRACT .....••••••••••.••.•.••••••••••••••••.•••••••.••••••••••••••••.•••...••.•.••.••••...••..•..••••••.••..•.•........•.•.••••••••••••••••••....•••••••.•••.••...•••••••••••••••••••.••••.••••••••••••••••..••...••...••..•••..•.......•.••••.••..•.•.......•....••.•••••••.•••...•iii !l'o'TRODUCTIONIl'oTRQDUCTION •••••••••.........••.••..•••••••.••.•••••••••••••••••••••..•••.•••.••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.•.••.••••..••••••••••••••••••••....•••••••••••......•••••.•.•••••••.•••••••.••••••••••••••••..•••••••.•••••••••••••••••••.•••••.•••.••••••••..•••••••••••••••••••••.•. 1 Purpose __ 1 Location and Extent 1 Geographic Setting 2 Topography and Drainage 2 Climate 2 Economy 4 Previous and Current Investigations 4 AcknowledgementsAckncwledgements 5 G£OHYDROLOGYGEOHYDROLOGY ••••••........•.••.•.••••••••••••••••••.•••••••...••••••••••••••••••••••••..•••••.....••.....•...•.•...•••••.•.........•••••••••• 6 Geology As Related To Ground Water 6 Regional Structure 6 Stratigraphy 6 Paleozoic Era 6 Triassic System 6 Cretaceous System 10 Tertiary System 15 Quaternary System 15 Source and Occurrence 15 Recharge. Afovement. and Discharge 17 Hydraulic Characteristics 20 Aquifer Characteristics 20 \Vater Level 20 \Vater Quality 21 GROln\'O-WATERGROln\'D-WATER PROBLEMS •••••.••.•.....•.......•••...••••••••••.•••••••...••..•••..••••.••...•••.••••.••••••••••..•••..•••.•••••••••• 27 Water-Level Decline 27 Water·Water-QualityQuality Deterioration 27 PROJECTED WATER\VATER D£...\lA..''DD£3,lA.'1) ••••••...•.•••.......•....••.......••••••••••••.••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••..•••••••••••••••••• 36 Population 36 \VaterlVater US€US4! 36 Public Supply 36 Irrigation 38 Industrial 38 Domestic and Livestock 39 Projected \-Vater\Vater Demands.Demands, 1990·20101990-2010 41 AVAllJ\8ILITYAVAI~BILITY or0.' \VATER ••......•...............................•.....•.......................•..............................•............43 Current Availability ofGround WaterlVater 43 Potential for Conjunctive Use ofGround and Surface Water 43 Potential for Additional Ground-Water Development 43 Potential Methods ofIncreasing Aquifer Recharge .4545 Surface Depressions 45 Brush Clearing 46 Runoff-Control Structures 46 Sewage Effiuent on Spreading Basins 46 Recharge Wells\Vells 46 Projected Availability Through the Year 2010 47 SU).IMARYS~".ARY ..............•...........••.....................................•............................................................••...48 SELECTED REFERE...-CESREFER£o...-CES ••••••••••••••...........••................•...............•••..•••.•••••••••••••••...••..•••..•••••••••••.•••••••..49 TABLES 1. Geologic Units and Their Water-Bearing Characteristics 9 2. Current and Projected Population of Study Area 37 3. Current and Projected Water Demand..by Use in Study Area .42 E..lv.ata-luet>-Je.-....J.oIe..u"j.....t.ot_~_a-. ..ill "'*Pt."'".... JlolMlJ)l..u.tId.a-p.a..... a..............an4 U,.-e-u-.U~e-u-.T_T-. ( .......,V--.,.I..... FIGURES Page 1 Location ofStudy Area 1 2. Average Annual Precipitation, and Average Monthly Precipitation vs. Gross Lake Evaporation for Period of Record atat. Selected Stations 3 3. State Reports by County that Address Ground·\VaierGround·\Vater Resources 4 4. Regional Structure 7 5. Generalized Geologic ~1apMap 8 6. Geologic Sections 11 7. Approximate Altitude ofthe Base ofthe Lowest Sand in the Dockum 12 8. Thickness ofthe Antlers Sand and Part of the Lower Dockum Sand Unit 13 9. Approximate Altitude ofthe Base of the Edwards-Edwards· Trinity (Plateau) Aquifer 14 10. Occurrence ofGround \Vater 16 11. HydrographHydrogr-aph ofWell 44-19-50544-19·505 in Glasscock County 18 12. Approximate Altitude ofWater Levels in the Edwards-Trinity (Plateau) Aquifer, 1987 19 13. Chemical Quality ofWater in the Edwards-Trinity (Plateau) Aquifer 22 14. Classification of Irrigation Waters 25 15. Chemical Quality ofWater in the Dockum Aquifer 26 16. Hydrographs of Water Levels in Selected Wells 28 17. Water·LevelWater-Level Declines in the Edwards-Trinity (Plateau) Aquifer, 1970-871970·87 29 18. Water-Level Change in the Edwards-Trinity (Plateau) Aquifer since 1981 30 19. Oil Fields and Pipelines 31 20. Chemical.QualityChemical·Quality Diagrams Showing Change Over Time in Concentration and Ratio of Constituents in Water from Selected \Vells 35 21. Irrigation Development 39 22. Irrigated Acreage in 1984 40 23. Approximated Saturated Thickness ofthe Edwards-Trinity (Plateau) Aquifer, 1987 44 ..• J~l~.""" ,( E.. ....... oIC............owl.Wuer·W.ter H.................n Inin PIon.PIon."fI .loI;dr..loIidlo ..... R.,.IIR.p............d lJl'tll'......... c...nt_. T........... .-r_".I9M.._",1_ In 1985, the Sixty-ninth TexasTC;I(8S Legislature recognized that certain Purpose areas of the State were experiencing, or were expected to experience within the next 20 years, critical ground-water problems. House Bill 2 was cnacted which, in part, directed the Texas Department of WaWa· lerleT Resources to identify the critical ground·ground-waterwater areas, conduct stud ies in those areas, and submit its findings and recommendations on whether a ground-water conservation district should be establishedest.nblished in the respective areas to address the ground-water problems (Subchap lerter C. Chapter 52, Texas Waler Code). This study in the area of Midland, Reagan, and Upton Counties was conducted to address the problems of overdraft and contamination 'Io.-ithwith respect to the Edwards-Trinity (Plateau) aquifer, which is the primary aquifer