Tertiary Aquifers in the Mississippi Embayment S PH
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0 oo Tertiary Aquifers in the Mississippi Embayment s PH 02 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 448-D C±5 £ PQ S CaQ GO QO g B B (-3 bC a o ? MAY 211968 Tertiary Aquifers in the Mississippi Embayment By R. L. HOSMAN, A. T. LONG, T. W. LAMBERT, and others With discussions of QUALITY OF THE WATER By H. G. JEFFERY WATER RESOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 448-D UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1968 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY William T. Pecora, Director For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 CONTENTS Page Tertiary aquifers Continued Abstract__ _ ______________________________________ Dl Sparta Sand, by R. L. Hosman, E. H. Boswell, and Introduction. _ ___________________________________ 1 A. T. Long____________________.... D18 Tertiary aquifers.._____________________________ 6 Memphis aquifer, by R. L. Hosman, G. K. Moore, Midway Group, by R. L. Hosman, T. W. Lambert, and T. W. Lambert__________________ 20 and G. K. Moore__ _ ___ _ 6 Cockfield Formation, by R. L. Hosman, A. T. Long, Lower Wilcox aquifer, by E. H. Boswell, R. L. Hos and E. H. Boswell. __________________ 22 man, and G. K. Moore_____-_____-_-_---_--_ Forest Hill Sand, by E. H. Boswell__________ 24 Minor Wilcox aquifers, by R. L. Hosman, A. T. Long, Pliocene(?) deposits____-__--___._____.. 25 and E. H. Boswell.__________.________ 10 Significance of results, by R. L. Hosman and E. M. Carrizo Sand and Meridian-upper Wilcox aquifers, Gushing.________________________________________ 25 by R. L. Hosman, E. H. Boswell, and A. T. Long- 12 Application of results, by E. M. Gushing and R. L. Cane River Formation and equivalents, by R. L. Hosman. ______________________ ______________ 26 Hosman, E. H. Boswell, and A. T. Long ______ 15 Selected bibliography ___________________ _____ 28 ILLUSTRATIONS [Plates are In separate volume] PLATE 1. Geologic sections A-A', B-B', C-C', D-D', and E-E', Mississippi embayment. 2. Geologic sections F-F', G-G', H-H', and J-J', Mississippi embayment. 3. Geohydrologic maps of the Wilcox Group (Formation) in the Mississippi embayment. 4. Geohydrologic maps of the lower and minor Wilcox aquifers in the Mississippi embayment. 5. Geohydrologic maps of the Carrizo Sand and the Meridian-upper Wilcox aquifer in the Mississippi embayment. 6. Geohydrologic maps of the Cane River Formation or its equivalents in the Mississippi embayment. 7. Geohydrologic maps of the Sparta Sand (south of approximate latitude 35° N) and the Memphis aquifer (north of approximate latitude 35° N) in the Mississippi embayment. 8. Geohydrologic maps of the Cockfield Formation in the Mississippi embayment. Page FIGURE 1. Map showing area of embayment study_______________________________.-____-_______________________ D2 2. Map showing generalized geology of the Mississippi embayment________________________________________ 3 3. Graph showing average temperature gradients of water from Tertiary aquifers.__________________________ 3 4. Graph showing hypothetical relation between time, distance, and drawdown for a discharge of 300 gpm from the Sparta Sand in the southeast corner of Dallas County, Ark __________________________________ 27 TABLES Page TABLE 1. Oil tests and wells shown on geologic sections.________-___-_____-------------_-_---_-_---_---________ D4 2. Stratigraphic columns.____________________________________________________________________________ 5 3. Source and significance of dissolved mineral constituents and physical properties of natural waters_-________ 7 4-14. Summary of chemical analyses of water from the 4. Lower Wilcox aquifer_____________________________________________________________________ 10 5. Minor Wilcox aquifers in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas._-_-_-_-_____-___-_-_-_-_-_-_-___-____ 11 6. Minor Wilcox aquifers in Mississippi.________________________________________________________ 12 7. Meridian-upper Wilcox aquifer._____________________________________________________________ 14 8. Reklaw-Queen City aquifer and the sands in the Cane River Formation._________________________ 16 9. Tallahatta Formation._____________________________________________________________________ 17 10. Winona Sand________________________________________________________________ 17 11. Sparta Sand__________________________________________________________________ 19 12. Memphis aquifer_________________________________________________________________________ 21 13. Cockfield Formation__________________________________________________ 23 14. Forest Hill Sand___________________________________________________________________ 24 nx WATER RESOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT TERTIARY AQUIFERS IN THE MISSISSIPPI EMBAYMENT By R. L. HOSMAN, A. T. LONG, T. W. LAMBERT, and others ABSTRACT grouped according to geologic age into pre-Cretaceous, The aquifers of Tertiary age contain water having less than Cretaceous, Tertiary, and Quaternary. The Tertiary 1,000 parts per million dissolved solids in an area of about aquifers are defined and described in this chapter. 75,000 square miles and are used as sources of water supply Sediments of the Tertiary System occur on the sur in almost all this area. The total withdrawal from Tertiary face (fig. 2) or in the subsurface of about 75 percent of aquifers is about 500 million gallons per day. In much of the area, two or more Tertiary aquifers are available for develop the Mississippi embayment and have a maximum aggre ment, although generally only the shallowest aquifer is used. gate thickness of about 7,000 feet. Much of the Tertiary Most of the Tertiary aquifers are areally extensive, and some outcrop, especially that west of the Mississippi River contain fresh water at depths in excess of 2,000 feet. and north of the Arkansas Eiver, is covered by Quater The aquifers are recharged by precipitation on the outcrop nary deposits. Many of the Tertiary sands are thick and and by downward percolation of water from overlying alluvium where the outcrops are covered by Quaternary deposits. extensive and contain fresh (less than 1,000 parts per Although analysis of test data shows that the hydraulic million dissolved solids) water in areas of many thou characteristics of the Tertiary aquifers differ from aquifer sands of square miles and form regional aquifers. Other to aquifer and vary within any given aquifer, the permeabili sands that are not extensive or contain fresh water in ties of the lower Wilcox aquifer are generally more consistent limited areas are, nevertheless, locally productive and higher than for other Tertiary aquifers. However, a hydro- logic unit of the Claiborne Group, the Memphis aquifer-Sparta aquifers. The principal Teritary aquifers are in the Sand, is the most productive. Wilcox Group (Formation) and the Claiborne Group; The temperature of the water from the Tertiary aquifers most are in the Claiborne. ranges from about 62°F to 97°F. All the Tertiary aquifers con The Tertiary System contains the most extensive tain water of good quality, but the quality generally deterio rates with depth as mineralization increases. Excessive mineral aquifers in the Mississippi embayment, and most of the ization occurs at depths of a few hundred feet to more than water is under artesian pressure. Areas of use, where 3,000 feet. Generally, water in the Tertiary aquifers at shallow producing wells tap the aquifers, are shown on plates depths or where recharge occurs from overlying Quaternary 3-8, as are areas of potential use, where the aquifers con alluvium is a calcium bicarbonate type with varying amounts tain fresh water but wells "have not been drilled into of magnesium and iron; downdip, the water changes to a sodium bicarbonate-sodium chloride type with varying amounts the aquifer. The areas of use can also be considered as of magnesium and sulfate. Iron is the most troublesome chemi areas of potential use because the aquifers in these areas cal constituent; the content generally decreases with depth. are generally capable of supporting much heavier Locally, saline water occurs in aquifers that are shallower withdrawals. than other aquifers containing fresh water. The Sparta Sand Stratigraphic relations of the Tertiary units are contains mineralized water at shallow depths in an area both updip and downdip from fresh water. shown by nine geologic sections (pis. 1, 2), and table 1 Flowing wells can be obtained from Tertiary aquifers in a lists the oil tests and wells used in the sections. Table 2 few low-lying areas associated with major streams. Although shows the geologic columns used by the U.S. Geological unrestricted flow from wells has contributed to water-level Survey and the units that are or include aquifers. declines, most declines are the result of pumping, and no regional Temperature of the water from the Tertiary aquifers overdevelopment is indicated. Only one aquifer, the Sparta Sand, shows signs of pending or possible local overdevelopment. ranges from about 62°F to about 97°F (fig. 3). Collectively, the Tertiary aquifers are capable of sustaining Data used in the preparation of the maps showing more extensive development, and some aquifers are untapped top of unit, thickness, percentage of sand, and areal by wells in large areas where they contain fresh water. extent of fresh water were obtained from the inter INTRODUCTION pretation of electric logs of water wells and oil-test wells. Chemical analyses were used to verify the