Native and Contaminated Ground Waters in th e Long Beach-Santa Ana Area, California By A. M. PIPER, A. A. GARRETT, and others GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1136 Prepared in cooperation with the Orange County Flood Control District, the Orange County Water District, the Los Angeles County Flood Control Dis­ trict, and the Board of Water Commissioners of the city of Long Beach. UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON: 1953 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTEPIOR Douglas McKay, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY W. E. Wrather, Director For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D. C. Price $1.50 (paper) CONTENTS Page Abstract ____________________________- ________ 1 Introduction ______________ - _ '5 General nature of the chemical problems _____________ 3 Scope and sources of analytical data__ _____ __ __ -_ 4 Relationship between conductivity and dissolved solids in vaters of the area__________________________________ 10 Regional bodies of ground water_____________________ 11 Range in chemical character of waters from wells in the area___ 13 Character, distribution, and geochemistry of native waters_______ 17 Zones of water quality__________________________ 17 Native fresh waters of good chemical quality_____________ 20 General character of the waters___________ _____ 20 Unconfined waters ___________________________ 26 Confined waters _______________________:_____ 26 Waters in range 1 (Gaspur and Talbert water-bearing zones) 26 Waters in range 2 (uppermost Pleistocene deposits)______ 28 Waters in range 3 (main part of the unnamed upper Pleisto­ cene deposits) __________ _ _ ____ 30 Waters in range 4 (uppermost part of the San Pedro forma­ tion) ____________'_______________________ 32 Waters in range 5 (upper part of the San Pedro formation) 33 Waters in range 6 (lower part of the San Pedro formation) 38 Waters in range 7 (upper division of the Pico formation)__ 40 Blended waters from wells_________________________ 41 Progressive changes in character of well effluent, owing to migra­ tion of waters beyond their native zones _ _ ___ _ 45 Native waters of inferior chemical quality_______________ 50 Unconfined native waters of inferior quality _________ 51 Confined native waters of inferior quality___________ 53 Extent and general character _________________ 53 Inferior waters in the uppermost Pleistocene deposits (range 2 of the fresh waters)_________._______ 54 Inferior waters in the unnamed upper Pleistocene de­ posits (range 3 of the fresh waters)___________ 56 Inferior waters in the San Pedro formation (rar^es 5 and 6 of the fresh waters)__________________ 57 Contamination of native fresh waters_____________________ 62 General extent of water-quality depreciation __ _ __ _ 62 Character and occurrence of potential exterior contaminants__ 63 Ocean water ___________ __ _ ____________ 63 Connate waters in rocks of Tertiary age_____________ 65 Chemical character _______________________ 66 Potential contamination by connate waters at depth below land surface ___________________________ 68 IV CONTENTS Contamination of native fresh waters Continued. Page Waste brines from the coastal oil fields__________ 70 Dominguez field ______________________ 70 Long Beach field ______________________ 71 Seal Beach field ______________________ 76 Huntington Beach field __________________ 77 Wilmington field ______________________ 78 Waste brines from the inland oil fields __________ 79 Industrial wastes in natural water courses___________ 80 Character and occurrence of interior contaminants__________ 84 Modifications in chemical character of the contaminated vaters__ 85 , Base-exchange reactions ______________________ 85 Principles ______________________________ 85 Base-exchange in contaminated waters___________ 87 Sulfate reduction __________________________ 90 Criteria for discriminating contaminants_____________ 90 Depreciation of water quality in Orange County__________ 92 Contamination in Santa Ana Gap_________________ 92 Geologic features ________________________ 92 Character and occurrence of native fresh waters and of interior contaminants _____________________ 95 General extent of the contaminated waters_________ 101 Progressive depreciation of water quality at public-supply well fields ___________________________ 102 Abandoned well field of the city of Newport Beach_ 102 Well field of the Laguna Beach County Water Dis­ trict ______________________________ 109 Well fields of the Fairview Farms Water Cc and the Newport Mesa Irrigation District__________ 112 Progressive depreciation of water quality at miscellaneous wells ______________________________ 120 Sources of the contaminants _________________ 122 Nature and mobility of the contamination front_____ 124 Control of the extent and degree of contamination___ 126 Contamination beneath Huntington Beach Mesa and the adja­ cent part of Bolsa Gap______________________ 129 Summary of geologic features________________ 129 Character and circulation of water under native condi­ tions _______-_ - 131 General extent of contaminated waters___________ 133 Contaminated waters beneath the southeasterr part of the mesa _________ _ _ _-__ _ _ 135 Contaminated waters beneath the central and west- central parts of the mesa___ ____ _ ___ 141 General features ______________________ 141 Progressive depreciation of water quality at wells of the Southern California Water Co., Clay plant 143 Intermittent depreciation of water quality at wells of the Southern California Water Co., GoHen West plant ___________________________ 146 Source of the contaminant _ 151 Control of the extent and degree of contamination 152 CONTENTS Contamination of native fresh waters Continued. Depreciation of water quality in Orange County Continued. Contamination at and near Landing Hill_____________ 155 Depreciated waters beneath the northeast part of Newport Mesa _________________________________ 162 Depreciation of water quality in Los Angeles County_______ 167 Contaminated waters in Dominguez Gap_____________ 167 Summary of ground-water occurrence ____________ 167 General character of the native ground waters______ 170 Contamination of the unconfined, semiperched boiy__ 173 Contamination of the Gaspur water-bearing zone__ 177 General features _______-_____________ 177 Contamination at the coast________________ 179 Contamination between Carson Street and Pacific Coast Highway ______________________ 183 Contamination inland from Carson Street___ _ 191 Future dispersal of contaminated waters wit! in the Gaspur water-bearing zone ___ ___________ 192 Potential contamination of the Silverado water-bearing zone within Dominguez Gap _________________ 195 Contaminated waters beyond Dominguez Gap__________ 197 Residual problems and continuing investigation____ ________ 198 Dominguez Gap ________________ __ __-__ 199 Signal Hill uplift _______________________________ 199 Alamitos Gap _________________________________ 200 Landing Hill to Bolsa Chica Mesa ____ __ _______ 201 Bolsa Gap _________________________________ 201 Huntington Beach Mesa ______________-__________ 202 Santa Ana Gap _______________________________ 202 Huntington Park area _______________ _______ __ 203 References ______________________________________ 204 Index ________________________________________ 317 ILLUSTRATIONS [AM plates in pocket] PLATE 1. Map of the Long Beach-Santa Ana area showing areas of in­ cipient or advanced chloride contamination of waters. 2. Map of the Long Beach-Santa Ana area showing location of wells and other features. 3. Relation between electrical conductance and dissolved solids in waters of the Long Beach-Santa Ana area. 4. Sections showing the chemical character of waters in relation to geologic formations. 5. Analyses of typical native fresh waters of good quality. 6. Map of the Long Beach-Santa Ana area showing sources of representative native waters from range 1, VI CONTENTS PLATE 7. Map of the Long Beach-Santa Ana area showing sources of representative native waters from range 2. 8. Map of the Long Beach-Santa Ana area showing sources of representative native waters from range 3 and range 4. 9. Map of the Long Beach-Santa Ana area showing sources of representative native waters from range 5, range 6, and range 7. 10. Analyses of typical native waters of inferior quality. 11. Maps of the Santa Ana Gap showing extent of contaminated waters. 12. Progressively contaminated water from well 6/10-18K1 (Newport Beach, well 4). 13. Progressively contaminated water from well 6/10-18J1 (Newport Mesa Irrigation District, well 4). 14. Progressively contaminated water from well 6/10-18J2 (Fairview Farms Water Co., well 4). 15. Progressively contaminated water from wells of the Southern California Water Co. (Clay plant). 16. Chemical character of certain native and contaminated waters from the Dominguez Gap. 17. Map of the Dominguez Gap and vicinity showing ertent of certain contaminated waters. 18. Progressively contaminated waters from wells in the Dominguez Gap, near the coast. 19. Progressively contaminated waters from the Gaspur water-bear­ ing zone of the Dominguez Gap. FIGURE 1. Chemical character of water samples from the Long Beach- Page Santa Ana area ___________________________ 14 2. Analyses of 82 samples from well 4/12-20C1_________ 42 3. Chemical character of water from well 4/12-20C1______ 44 4. Analyses of 109 samples from well 4/12-21M2________ 46 5. Plan and section of the Development, Citizens, and Alamitos well fields at Long Beach___________________ 48 6. Chemical character