WATER LEVELS IN MAJOR ARTESIAN AQUIFERS OF THE NEW JERSEY COASTAL PLAIN, 1988 By Robert Rosman, Pierre J. Lacombe, and Donald A. Storck U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Water-Resources Investigations Report 95-4060 Prepared in cooperation with the NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION West Trenton, New Jersey 1995 CONTENTS Page Abstract............................................................. 1 Introduction......................................................... 2 Purpose and scope............................................... 2 Study area...................................................... 2 Previous investigations......................................... 4 Well-numbering system........................................... 4 Methods of data collection...................................... 5 Description of data presented................................... 6 Acknowledgments................................................. 8 Hydrogeology of the Coastal Plain.................................... 8 Description of aquifers and confining units..................... 11 Location of freshwater/saltwater interface...................... 12 Water levels in artesian aquifers of the Coastal Plain............... 13 Cohansey aquifer in Cape May County............................. 13 Water levels............................................... 13 Water-level fluctuations................................... 13 Atlantic City 800-foot sand..................................... 14 Water levels............................................... 14 Water-level fluctuations................................... 14 Piney Point aquifer............................................. 18 Water levels............................................... 18 Water-level fluctuations................................... 23 Vincentown aquifer.............................................. 23 Water levels............................................... 26 Water-level fluctuations................................... 26 Wenonah-Mount Laurel aquifer.................................... 26 Water levels............................................... 26 Water-level fluctuations................................... 29 Englishtown aquifer system...................................... 30 Water levels............................................... 30 Water-level fluctuations................................... 36 Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system.......................... 37 Upper aquifer of the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system 42 Water levels.......................................... 42 Water-level fluctuations.............................. 42 Middle aquifer and undifferentiated part of the Potomac- Raritan-Magothy aquifer system........................... 43 Water levels.......................................... 43 Water-level fluctuations.............................. 53 Lower aquifer of the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system 64 Water levels.......................................... 64 Water-level fluctuations.............................. 64 Summary and conclusions.............................................. 65 Selected references.................................................. 71 Glossary............................................................. 74 111 ILLUSTRATIONS Page Plates 1-8. Maps showing potentiometric surface of the: 1. Atlantic City 800-foot sand, 1988................. in pocket 2. Piney Point aquifer, 1988 ......................... in pocket 3. Vincentown aquifer, 1988 .......................... in pocket 4. Wenonah-Mount Laurel aquifer, 1988................ in pocket 5. Englishtown aquifer system, 1988 .................. in pocket 6. Upper aquifer of the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system, 1988 ............................ in pocket 7. Middle aquifer and undifferentiated part of the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system, 1988....in pocket 8. Lower aquifer of the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system, 1988............................ in pocket Figure 1. Map showing location of study area....................... 3 2. Diagrammatic hydrogeologic section of the New Jersey Coastal Plain.......................................... 10 3. Map showing potentiometric surface of the confined Cohansey aquifer, Cape May County, 1988................ 15 4. Water-level hydrographs for observation wells screened in the confined Cohansey aquifer, Cape May County, 1983-89................................................ 17 5. Water-level hydrographs for observation wells screened in the Atlantic City 800-foot sand, 1983-89............ 21 6. Water-level hydrograph for an offshore observation well screened in the Atlantic City 800-foot sand, 1987-89... 22 7. Water-level hydrographs for observation wells screened in the Piney Point aquifer, 1983-89.................... 25 8. Water-level hydrograph for an observation well screened in the Vincentown aquifer, 1983-89..................... 28 9-14. Water-level hydrographs for observation wells screened in the: 9. Wenonah-Mount Laurel aquifer, 1983-89: (A) wells 7-478, 25-353, 25-486, and 29-140;....... 34 (B) well 33-252.................................... 35 10. Englishtown aquifer system near centers of large ground-water withdrawals, 1983-89.................. 40 11. Englishtown aquifer system distant from centers of large ground-water withdrawals, 1983-89............ 41 12. Upper aquifer of the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system near centers of large ground-water withdrawals, 1983 - 89 ............................... 50 13. Upper aquifer of the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system near areas of local ground-water withdrawals, 1983-89............................... 51 14. Water-level hydrograph for an observation well screened in the upper aquifer of the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system distant from centers of ground-water withdrawals, 1983-89................................................. 52 IV ILLUSTRATIONS - -Continued Page Figure 15-16. Water-level hydrographs for observation wells screened in the: 15. Middle aquifer and undifferentiated part of the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system, 1983-89: (A) wells 5-261, 5-440, 5-683, and 7-413;............. 61 (B) wells 7-476, 11-137, 23-70, and 23-229;........... 62 (C) wells 25-272, 29-19, 29-85, and 33-251............ 63 16. Lower aquifer of the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system, 1983-89............................ 69 TABLES Table 1. Ground-water withdrawals from the New Jersey Coastal Plain, by county and aquifer, 1983 and 1988.............. 7 2. Geologic and hydrogeologic units in the Coastal Plain of New Jersey............................................... 9 3-11. Water-level data for wells screened in the: 3. Confined Cohansey aquifer in Cape May County, 1983 and 1988................................................ 16 4. Atlantic City 800-foot sand, 1983 and 1988............ 19 5. Piney Point aquifer, 1983 and 1988.................... 24 6. Vincentown aquifer, 1983 and 1988..................... 27 7. Wenonah-Mount Laurel aquifer, 1983 and 1988........... 31 8. Englishtown aquifer system, 1983 and 1988............. 38 9. Upper aquifer of the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system, 1983 and 1988............................... 44 10. Middle aquifer and undifferentiated part of the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system, 1983 and 1988................................................ 55 11. Lower aquifer of the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system, 1983 and 1988............................... 66 CONVERSION FACTORS AND VERTICAL DATUM Multiply To obtain inch ( in . ) 25.4 millimeter foot (ft) 0.3048 meter mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer 0.18 square mile (mi 2 ) 2.590 square kilometer foot per mile (ft/m) 0.1894 meter per kilometer foot per second (ft/s) 0.3048 meter per second million gallons per day (Mgal/d) 0.0438 cubic meter per second million gallons per year (Mgal/yr) 3.78 x 10 3 cubic meter per year Sea level: In this report "sea level" refers to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum 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 Sea Level Datum of 1929. VI U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BRUCE BABBITT, Secretary U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Gordon P. Eaton, Director For additional information Copies of this report can be write to: purchased from: District Chief U.S. Geological Survey U.S Geological Survey Earth Science Information Center Mountain View Office Park Open-File Reports Section 810 Bear Tavern Road, Suite 206 Box 25286, MS 517 West Trenton, NJ 08628 Denver Federal Center Denver, CO 80225 WATER LEVELS IN MAJOR ARTESIAN AQUIFERS OF THE NEW JERSEY COASTAL PLAIN, 1988 By Robert Rosman, Pierre J. Lacombe, and Donald A. Storck ABSTRACT Water levels in 1,251 wells in the New Jersey Coastal Plain, in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, and in Kent and New Castle Counties, Delaware, were measured from October 1988 to February 1989 and compared with 1,071 water levels measured from September 1983 to May 1984. Water levels in 916 of the wells measured in the 1983 study were remeasured in the 1988 study. Alternate wells were selected to replace wells used in 1983 that were inaccessible at the time of the water-level measurements in 1988 or had been destroyed. New well sites were added in strategic locations to increase coverage where possible. Potentiometrie-surface maps constructed from the water levels measured during 1988-89 show that large cones of depression have formed or expanded in the major artesian aquifers that underlie the New Jersey Coastal Plain. Hydrographs