University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ScholarWorks@UARK Technical Reports Arkansas Water Resources Center 10-1-1979 Hydrogeologic and Geochemical Investigation of the Boone-St. Joe Limestone Aquifer in Benton County, Arkansas Albert E. Ogden Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/awrctr Part of the Fresh Water Studies Commons, Hydrology Commons, Soil Science Commons, and the Water Resource Management Commons Recommended Citation Ogden, Albert E.. 1979. Hydrogeologic and Geochemical Investigation of the Boone-St. Joe Limestone Aquifer in Benton County, Arkansas. Arkansas Water Resources Center, Fayetteville, AR. PUB068. 140 This Technical Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Arkansas Water Resources Center at ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Technical Reports by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Arkansas Water Resources Center HYDROGEOLOGIC AND GEOCHEMICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE BOONE-ST. JOE LIMESTONE AQUIFER IN BENTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS By Albert E. Ogden Department of Geology Publication No. PUB-0068 October 1979 Arkansas Water Resources Center 112 Ozark Hall University of Arkansas Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701 PROJECT COMPLETIONREPORT PROJECTNO.: A-O44-ARK ANNUAL ALLOTMENT AGREEMENTNO.: 14-34-0001-9004 STARTINGDATE: 10/1/77 COMPLETIONDATE: 9/30/79 HYDROGEOLOGICAND GEOCHEMICALINVESTIGATION OF THE BOONE-ST. JOE LIMESTONE AQUIFER IN BENTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS by Albert E. Ogden Department of Geology ARKANSASWATER RESOURCES RESEARCH CENTER University of Arkansas Fayetteville, Arkansas The work upon which this publication is based was supported in part by funds provided by the Office of Water Research and Technology (Project No. A-O44-ARK), U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C., as authorized by the Water Research and Development Act of 1978 October 1979 72701 Acknowledgements This study was supported in part by funds provided by the Arkansas Water Resources Research Center of the Office of Water Resources and Technology, United States Department of the Interior, as authorized under the Water Research and Development Act of 1978, Public Law 95-467. The work of this project was performed and completed with the direct assistance of many individuals. The foremost acknowledgement must go to three graduate students who chose to work on this project for their Master's thesis. They are: Nasser Rezaie, Richard Brooks, and William Willis. In addition, five undergraduate students worked on special problems related to this project. They are: Jerry Cox, Charles Barlow, Nancy Taylor, Steve Thompson, and Greta Slavik. Admin- istrative assistance was provided by Dr. Robert E. Babcock and E1ai ne Smi1ey. A special appreciation goes to Diana Luger for her secretarial and typing skills. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT LIST OF FIGURES v LIST OF PLATES LIST OF TABLES LIST OF APPENDICES. 1. vii INTRODUCTION I 1 ObjectivesDrainageBasinsLocationPhysiography of Study Area. 2 2 2 4 REGIONALGEOLOGY I 5 d .I StrataStructuraHydrogeologicIntrouctlon St.Boone Joeof 1Formation. the Geology.Formation. SignificanceBoone-St. Joe of Aquifer. Strata. ! 5 5 6 6 8 9 HYDROGEOLOGY. 1. 11 Photo-Lineaments.ResultsPumplngTestsIntr~duction SpecificWellsPermeabiProcedureHiDelMethodsCoefficientIntroduction. Low gh WellsayedHomogeneousCavitySolution Permeable ofPermeable with 1the Viof Capability.i in toofelty MappingRecharge ofPumpingdKarstified aCarbonate andAquifer AquiTransmissibility.PumpingHigh Leaky fer Tests.ProductiveBoundaries. Wells. Test.Rock.WellHydrology Conditions. s Wells.0 .1..0 0 00 . 11 13 13 14 15 17 18 20 23 27 29 33 35 39 44 44 45 Relationship of Photo-Lineaments to Aquifer Characteristics. 48 IntroductionFisher Exact Probability Test. o 48 WaterTableMap CharacteristicsDischargeProcedure. and Recharge of the Boone-St.Areas. ooo J e o Aquifer. 50 56 57 58 l 61 ; GEOCHEMISTRY. 63 MethodsSampleComparisonRelationshipIntroduction Boone-St.Pearson's SulfateChloridePhosphateNiWaterPhosphate Collection trateof Analysis.of Level BetweenJoeCorrelation vsChemicalvs vs vs CalciumWellSul vsMethods.Nitratevs Nitrate.WellSul fate. NitrateWellChemical Waters.fate. Parameters.Depth. andCoefficient andDepth. Totaland ParametersSul pHfate. Hardness. Test. and 63 63 63 64 64 64 65 66 66 69 69 72 72 74 SeasonalBacteriaSummary SignSignificantIntroductionIntroduction SulfateChloride.Phosphate i offi Analyses.Variation ca Well nt ReRelationships. andWater 1 at ofNitrate.ions Photo-LineamentChemi Boone-St. hips. stry Joe WellProximity. ~Jater 76 76 78 78 79 79 80 80 81 83 84 CONCLUSIONSRecommendations for Future Research. 86 88 REFERENCES. 89 i i Abstract The Boone-St. Joe limestone aquifer is an important unconfined aquifer for rural residents of Benton County, Arkansas. Pumping tests indicate a large range in production capability of the aquifer. The coefficient of transmissibility and specific capacity range from 24.8 to 24640 gpd/ft and 0.03 to 30 gpm/ft, respectively. No statistical relationship at a = 0.10 was found between each of these parameters and photo-lineament proximity. Drillers' estimated well yield (gpm) also showed no relationship to photo-lineament proximity. It is there- fore concluded that choosing well sites along photo-lineaments for higher production is not as reliable for karstified carbonate aquifers such as the Boone-St. Joe as for other aquifers. The pumping tests indicate that six aquifer conditions exist within the Boone-St. Joe that may exist in many karstified carbonate aquifers The following classes are proposed: 1) wells intersecting caves with rapid recharge, 2) wells intersecting caves with slow recharge 3) aquifer permeability charges within the saturated zone, 4) delayed yield or leaky conditions, 5) wells intersecting recharge boundaries, and 6) wells in homogeneous aquifer conditions Water in the Boone-St. Joe aquifer exists under water table con- ditions. The water table map constructed for this aquifer indicates t'#o ground-water high areas: one near Decatur and the other around Lowell. The hydraulic gradient ranges from 47-121 ftjmile and averages 53 ftjmile. iii The ground-water quality of the aquifer is generally poor as indicated by coliform bacteria analyses performed on 70 samples. Fifty-one percent of the samples had fecal streptococcus counts of greater than one colony/lOa ml sample. Samples analyzed for total coliform showed the following results: 1) 67% of the wells had 1 or more colonies per 100 ml sample, and 2) 24% of the wells had greater than 100 colonies per 100 ml sample. Ground water from 253 wells showed that many wells have higher than unpolluted background levels of nitrate, chloride, phosphate, and sulfate, but few wells exceed public health standard limits Only sulfate and specific conductance change significantly with season with specific conductance being higher during_the dry season. Wells closer to photo-lineaments have statistically higher concentrations of chloride and sulfate. iv """.. "'! '1. !!II!.'" LIST OF FIGURES Figure (abbreviated titles) Page 1. Location of Study Area in Benton Co., Ark. 3 2. Arkansas Physiographic Regions. 3 3. Generalized Stratigraphy Showing Aquifers. 7 4. Location of Pumped Wells in Benton Co., Ark. 19 5. Location of Pumped Wells in Washington Co., Ark. 19 6. Theoretical Time-Residual Drawdown Plots. 24 7. Time-Recovery Graph of L~ell No. 57 26 8. Time-Recovery Graph of Well No. 215 26 9. Diagrammatic Illustration of a Well Intersecting a Large, Water-Filled Cave. 28 10. Time-Drawdown Graph of Well No. 229 30 11. Time-Recovery Graph of Well No. 229 30 12. Time-Recovery Graph of Well No. 113 32 13. Time-Drawdown Graph of Well No. L~-3 34 14. Time-Recovery Graph of Well No. W-3 34 15. Diagrammatic Illustration of a Well Intersecting a Small, Water-Fill ed Cave. 36 16. Type Curves of s Versus t Showing Delayed Yield. ...38 17. Time-Drawdown Graph of Well No. 10 38 18. Time-Drawdown Graph of Well No. W-4 40 19. Time-Drawdown Graph of Well No. 196 40 20. Time-Drawdown Graph of Well No. 130 42 21. Low Altitude Lineament Orientation Rosette forBentonCo 47 I v - U-2 Lineament Orientation Rosette for BentonCo 47 23. Straight Cave Segment Passage Orientation Rosette for Benton Co. 47 Relationship Between Fractures and Solution Activity 49 25. An Example of a Contingency Table 51 Illustration of Three Wells Penetrating to Di fferent Aqui fers 60 Plot of Chloride Concentration versus Nitrate Concentration. 67 Plot of Chloride versus Sulfate Concentration 67 Plot of Phosphate versus Nitrate Concentration. 68 30. Plot of Phosphate versus Sulfate Concentration. 68 Plot of Nitrate versus Sulfate Concentration. 70 Plot of Sulfate versus Calcium Concentration 70 33. Plot of Sulfate versus Total Hardness Concentra t ion. 71 34. Plot of Phosphate Concentration versus Well Depth. ...73 35. Plot of Nitrate Concentration versus Water Level 75 Plot of pH versus Water level. 75 vi 26.28.29.36. PLATES rl ate Page t 1. Photo-Lineament/Fracture Trace and Well Location Map. in pocket 2. Water Table Map of the Boone-St. Joe Aquifer in pocket TABLES Table 1. Pumping Test Results 21 2. Results of the Fisher Exact Probability Test for Well Yields. 53 3. Results of the Fisher Exact Probability Test for Coefficients of Transmissibility. 54 4. Results of the Fisher Exact Probability Test for Specific Capacity. 55 5. r.1eans for Measured Parameters on and off Photo- Lineaments 77 APPENDICES APPENDIX A Well Inventory Data. 94 APPENDIX B Selected