GROUND-WATER RESOURCE S Of BENSON AND PIERCE COUNTIES , NORTH DAKOTA by P. G. RANDICH U.S. Geological Survey COUNTY GROUND-WATER STUDIES 18 — PART II I North Dakota State Water Commission Vernon Fahy, State Enginee r BULLETIN 59 — PART II I North Dakota Geological Survey Edwin A . Noble, State Geologist Prepared by the United States Geological Survey i n cooperation with the North Dakota State Wate r Commission, North Dakota Geological Survey , Benson County Water Management District, an d Pierce County Water Management Distric t 1977 CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT 1 INTRODUCTION 2 Purpose of investigation 2 Physiography and drainage 2 Climate 2 Population and economy 4 Data numbering system 5 Previous investigations 5 Acknowledgments 7 HYDROGEOLOGIC SETTING 7 Preglacial rocks 7 Glacial deposits 8 AVAILABILITY AND QUALITY OF GROUND WATER 12 General concepts 12 Ground water in the preglacial rocks 16 Dakota aquifer 16 Pierre aquifer 16 Fox Hills aquifer 16 Ground water in the glacial deposits 18 Buried-valley aquifers 20 New Rockford aquifer 21 Spiritwood aquifer system 31 Spiritwood aquifer system near Warwick 31 Spiritwood aquifer system near Minnewaukan 32 Kilgore aquifer 37 Buried-outwash aquifers 40 Maddock aquifer 40 Leeds aquifer 41 Surficial-outwash aquifers 44 Warwick aquifer 44 Esmond aquifer 52 Pleasant Lake aquifer 56 Tokio aquifer 60 Minor glacial-drift aquifers 60 Lake Souris deposits 62 Ice-contact deposits 62 Till and associated sand and grave l deposits 66 iii Page UTILIZATION OF GROUND-WATER RESOURCES 66 Farm supplies 66 Public supplies 67 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 68 SELECTED REFERENCES 7 1 GLOSSARY OF SELECTED TERMS 75 ILLUSTRATIONS Plate 1. Bedrock topography map (in pocket) 2. Availability of ground water from majo r glacial-drift aquifers (in pocket) 3. Geologic sections of major glacial-drift aquifers (in pocket) Figure 1. Map showing physiographic and drainage - basin divisions in North Dakota an d location of report area 3 2. Diagram showing system of numbering dat a sites 6 3. Map showing bedrock formations and thicknes s of glacial drift : 9 4. Map showing generalized surficial geolog y and locations of buried valleys 10 5. Diagram showing classification of wate r for irrigation use 15 6. Map showing depth to the top of the Dakot a aquifer 17 7. Hydrograph showing water-level fluctuation s in a shallow well tapping the Fox Hill s aquifer, and precipitation at Rugby 19 iv Page 8. Hydrographs showing water-level fluctuation s in deep wells tapping the Fox Hills aquifer, and precipitation at Rugby 20 9. Graph showing particle-size distributio n curves for samples from the eastern part of the New Rockford aquifer 22 10. Graph showing particle-size distribution curves for samples from the western part of the New Rockford aquifer 23 11. Map showing locations of wells in the Ne w Rockford aquifer, and drawdown caused by aquifer test near Selz 25 12. Hydrograph showing water-level trends in the New Rockford aquifer 26 13. Graph showing type-curve calculation o f transmissivity (T) and storage coefficien t (S)., well 151-72-25BBC, New Rockford aquifer test (1969) 27 14. Graph showing straight-line solution of transmissivity (T) and storage coefficient (S), New Rockford aquifer test (1969) 28 15. Hydrographs showing monthly water-level fluctuations in shallow aquifers overlyin g the New Rockford aquifer, and preciptatio n at Balta 29 16. Hydrograph showing water-level fluctuations in the New Rockford aquifer showing long - term increase in storage 30 17. Graph showing particle-size distributio n curves for samples from the Spiritwood aquifer system near Warwick 33 18. Hydrographs showing water-level fluctuation s in the Spiritwood aquifer system near Warwick, and precipitation at Warwick 34 v Page 19. Graph showing particle-size distributio n curves for samples from the upper sediment s of the Spiritwood aquifer system near Minnewaukan 35 20. Graph showing particle-size distributio n curves for samples from the lower sediments of the Spiritwood aquifer system near Minnewaukan 36 21. Hydrographs showing water-level fluctuation s in the Spiritwood aquifer system nea r Minnewaukan, and precipitation at Maddock 38 22. Hydrograph showing water-level fluctuation s in the Spiritwood aquifer system nea r Minnewaukan showing a gradual increas e in storage 39 23. Hydrographs showing water-level fluctuation s in the Maddock aquifer (151-69-15AAA) and in overlying glacial-drift deposits (151 - 69-10DAA), and precipitation at Maddock 41 24. Graph showing particle-size distributio n curves for samples from the Leeds aquifer 42 25. Hydrograph showing water-level fluctuation s in the southwestern part of the Leeds aquifer , and precipitation at Leeds 43 26. Hydrograph showing water-level fluctuations in the central part of the Leeds aquifer 44 27. Graph showing particle-size distributio n curves for samples from the Warwic k aquifer 46 28. Graph showing water-level drawdown an d recovery in the Warwick aquifer caused by pumping well 151-63-25ADB1 for 3.13 days (1969) 48 29. Hydrograph showing long-term water-level trends in the Warwick aquifer near the city of Devils Lake (Ramsey County) well field, and precipitation at Warwick 49 vi Page 30. Hydrograph showing seasonal change i n storage in a relatively unused part o f the Warwick aquifer 50 31. Hydrographs showing water-level fluctuation s in the Warwick aquifer, stage changes in Shinbone Lake, and precipitation at Warwick 51 32. Graph showing particle-size distributio n curves for samples from the southern par t of the Esmond aquifer 53 33. Graph showing particle-size distributio n curves for samples from the northern part of the Esmond aquifer 54 34. Hydrographs showing water-level fluctuation s in the Esmond aquifer, and precipitation at Balta 55 35. Graph showing particle-size distribution curves for samples from the Pleasant Lak e aquifer 57 36. Hydrograph of water-level fluctuation s in the central part of the Pleasant Lak e aquifer showing an increase in ground-wate r storage, and precipitation at Rugby 58 37. Hydrograph showing water-level fluctuations in the Pleasant Lake aquifer affected by pu:mpage for the city of Rugby 59 38. Hydrographs showing water-level fluctuation s in the Tokio aquifer, discharge of Big Coulee, and precipitation at Warwick 61 39. Graph showing particle-size distribution curves for samples from Lake Souris glacial deposits 63 40. Hydrographs showing water-level fluctuations in Lak 3 Souris glacial deposits, an d precipi:ation at Balta 64 vii Page 41 . Hydrographs showing water-level fluctuation s in ice-contact deposits, and precipitation at Leeds 65 TABLE S Table 1. Major chemical constituents in water — thei r sources, effects upon usability, an d recommended concentration limits 14 2. Summary of data obtained from pumping tests in the Warwick aquifer 47 SELECTED FACTORS FOR CONVERTING ENGLISH UNIT S TO INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM (SI) OF METRIC UNIT S A dual system of measurements — English units and the International System (SI) of metric units — is given in this report . SI is a consistent system of units adopted by the Eleventh General Conference on Weights and Measures in 1960. Selected factors for converting English units to SI unit s are given below. Multiply English units By To obtain SI units Acres 0.4047 hectares (ha) Acre-feet 1,233 cubic metres (m 3) 1.233x10'6 cubic kilometres (km 3) Feet .3048 metres (m) Feet per day (ft/d) .3048 metres per day (m/d ) Feet per mile (ft/mi) .18943 metres per kilometre (m/kn Feet squared per day .0929 metres squared per day (ft2/d) (m2/d) Gallons 3.785 litres Gallons per day (gal/d) 3.785x10' 3 cubic metres per day (m3/d) Gallons per minute (gal/min) .06309 litres per second (Us ) Gallons per minute per .2070 litres per second per metre fool: [(gal/min)/ft] [(Us)/m] Inches 25. 4 millimetres (mm ) .0254 metres (m) Miles 1.609 kilometres (km ) Miles per hour .44704 metres per second (m/s) Million gallons (Mgal) 3,785 cubic metres (m3) Million gallons per day 3,785 cubic metres per day (Mgal/d) (m3/d) Square miles (m 2) 2 .590 square kilometres (km 2) ix GROUND-WATER RESOURCES O F BENSON AND PIERCE COUNTIES, NORTH DAKOT A By P. G. Randich ABSTRACT Ground water is obtainable in Benson and Pierce Counties from aquifer s in preglacial rocks of Cretaceous age and from aquifers in glacial drift o f Pleistocene age. Aquifers in the preglacial rocks are more widely distributed , but those in the drift provide higher yields to wells and better quality water . Aquifers in the preglacial rocks occur in the Dakota Group and the Pierr e and Fox Hills Formations. The Dakota underlies the entire area at depth s between 1,400 and 2,200 feet (430 and 670 metres) below land surface . The Dakota aquifer is capable of yielding large quantities of water, but th e water contains about 4,000 milligrams per litre dissolved solids . Flowing wells are obtainable in places . The Pierre Formation is an aquifer where it is fractured and directl y underlies glacial drift, mainly in Benson County . The Fox Hills Formation is restricted to the western part of the area. Only small quantities of wate r are generally obtainable from the Pierre and Fox Hills, although in place s the Fox Hills may yield as much as 100 gallons per minute (6 .3 litres pe r second) to individual wells . Water from both aquifers is soft and contains high concentrations of sodium . Nine major aquifers were identified in the glacial-drift deposits . These are classified into buried-valley, buried-outwash, and surficial-outwash aqui- fers. The aquifers contain a total of nearly 1 .8 million acre-feet (2 .2 cubic kilometres) of available ground water.