Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Retrospective Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 1971 Hydrogeology of the Nishnabotna River Basin Randolph Stone Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd Part of the Geology Commons Recommended Citation Stone, Randolph, "Hydrogeology of the Nishnabotna River Basin " (1971). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 4922. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/4922 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Retrospective Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 71-26,896 STONE, Randolph, 1940- HYDROGEOLOGY OF THE NISHNABOTNA RIVER BASIN. Iowa State University, Ph.D., 1971 Geology University Microfilms, A XEROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED Hydrogeology of the Nishnafaotna River Basin by Randolph Stone A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Major Subject: Water Resources Approved: Signature was redacted for privacy. In Charge of Major Work Signature was redacted for privacy. Signature was redacted for privacy. Iowa State University Of Science and Technology Ames, Iowa 1971 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 Objectives and Purpose 1 Location of Study Area 2 Previous Work 2 METHODS OF STUDY 6 Compilation of Data 6 Water Well Field Check 7 Seismic Refraction Profiling 9 Test Hole Drilling 10 Other Methods 11 POST-MISSISSIPPIAN GEOLOGY OF THE BASIN 12 Surface Topography 12 Pleistocene Stratigraphy 16 Bedrock Topography 19 Pleistocene Sand and Gravel Deposits 24 Rocks of the Dakota Group 31 ' Rocks of the Pennsylvanian System 36 Analysis of Refraction Data and Seismic Refraction Profiles 37 INT^ASINAL AND EXTRABASINAL GROUNDWATER MOVEMENT 55 Areal Distribution of Hydraulic Head Potential 55 Relation of Hydraulic Head Potential to Topography and Geology 59 TEMPORAL VARIATION OF GROUNDWATER QUALITY 62 iii Page LOW-FLOW OF THE WEST NISHNABOTNA RIVER 74 Analysis of Low-Flow Partial-Record Station Data 74 Low-Flow Measurements 81 INTERRELATION OF STREAM AND GROUNDWATER FLOW, WEST NISHNABOTNA RIVER 88 Sections along the West Nishnabotna River 88 Sections through the Fremont Channel 101 Section through the Glenwood Chute 109 AREAL VARIATION OF GROUNDWATER QUALITY 112 Nitrate " 112 Sulfate 115 Chloride 118 SWJMARY OF CONCLUSIONS 122 REFERENCES CITED 125 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 128 APPENDIX A: BOREHOLE DATA 130 APPENDIX B: GROUNDWATER CHEMICAL ANALYSES 147 APPENDIX C. SEISMIC DATA 156 APPENDIX D: MONITORED WELL WATER ANALYSES 160 APPENDIX E: ANOV, VARIATION OF GROUNDWATER QUALITY WITH TIME 164 APPENDIX F: GRAIN SIZE ANALYSIS, DRIFT AQUIFER MATERIAL 171 APPENDIX G: LOW-FLOW WATER QUALITY, WEST NISHNABOTNA RIVER 178 iv LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1. Summary of effective grain size-permeability correlation 30 Table 2. Estimated ranges of error in water analysis 63 Table 3. Summary of temporal variation of groundwater quality 65 Table 4. Maximum ranges of concentration variation, monitored water wells 73 Table 5. ANOV, discharge per unit drainage area. West Nishnabotna River 75 Table 6- Discharge per unit drainage area (csm). West Nishnabotna River 76 Table 7. ANOV, change in discharge per unit change in drainage area. West Nishnabotna River 77 Table 8. Change in discharge per unit change in drainage area, A Q/AA (csm). West Nishnabotna River 78 Table 9. ANOV, change in discharge per unit drainage area. West Nishnabotna River 79 Table 10. Change in discharge per unit drainage area, AQ/A, (csm). West Nishnabotna River ' 80 Table 11. Low-flow discharge. West Nishnabotna River and tribu­ taries, 4-8 November, 1969 83 Table 12. Low-flow discharge. West Nishnabotna River and tribu­ taries, 13-20 November, 1969 85 Table 13. Water quality comparisons, section L-L' 97 Table 14. ANOV, variation of log specific conductance and log chloride concentration in groundwater with distance from Henderson 100 Table 15. Post-Cherokee borehole data summary 131 Table 16. Post-Cherokee groundwater chemical analyses 148 Table 17. Seismic data summary 157 Table 18. Monitored well water chemical analyses 161 V Page Table 19. ANOV, temporal variation of groundwater quality 165 Table 20. Low-flow water quality. West Nishnabotna River 179 vi LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1. Geographic locations and borehole distribution, Nishna- botna River Basin 4 Figure 2. General land surface topography, Nishnabotna River Basin 15 Figure 3. Bedrock topography, Nishnabotna River Basin 21 Figure 4. Pleistocene aquifer distribution, Nishnabotna River Basin 27 Figure 5. Size gradation: Platte River bottom sample, pro-glacial sand sample from Glenwood Chute 33 Figure 6. Bedrock geologic map, Nishnabotna River Basin 35 Figure 7. Refraction profile J-J', across Fremont Channel 40 Figure 8. Refraction profile D-D', across Fremont Channel 41 Figure 9. Refraction profile C-C 43 Figure 10. Refraction profile B-B', across Glenwood Chute 45 Figure 11. Refraction profile H-H' 47 Figure 12. Refraction profile I-I' 49 Figure 13. Refraction profile K-K' 50 Figure 14. Refraction profile E-E* 52 Figure 15. Refraction profile F-F' 53 Figure 16. Refraction profile G-G' 54 Figure 17. Hydraulic head potential, basal drift, and upper bed­ rock aquifers 58 Figure 18. Variation of total hardness with time 67 Figure 19. Variation of sulfate concentration with time 69 Figure 20. Variation of chloride concentration with time 71 Figure 21. Geologic section along West Nishnabotna River 89 Figure 22. Hydrologie section along West Nishnabotna River 90 vii Page Figure 23. Water quality section along West Nishnabotna River 95 Figure 24. Geologic section through the Fremont Channel 102 Figure 25. Hydrologie section through the Fremont Channel 103 Figure 26. Water quality section through the Fremont Channel 106 Figure 27. Variation of groundwater chloride concentration along path of flow, section M-M' 108 Figure 28. Hydrogeologic section through Glenwood Chute 110 Figure 29. Occurrence of nitrate in groundwater of basal drift and upper bedrock aquifers 114 Figure 30. Sulfate concentration, groundwater of basal drift, and upper bedrock aquifers 117 Figure 31. Chloride concentrations, groundwater of basal drift, and upper bedrock aquifers 120 Figure 32. Size gradation: gravel sample, test hole T34 173 Figure 33. Size gradation: aquifer samples, test hole T155.1 175 Figure 34. Size gradation: aquifer sample, test hole T584.1 177 1 INTRODUCTION Objectives and Purpose This hydrogeologic investigation of the Nishnabotna River Basin was undertaken to satisfy three prime objectives. The first was to prospect for and locate any zones of appreciable groundwater inflow to the basin and/or groundwater outflow from it, other than at the basin outlet. The purpose for accomplishing this objective was to test, in a glacial terrain underlain by a bedrock valley system, the validity of the assumption com­ monly applied in basin water budget studies that the quantity of ground­ water inflow is equal to that of groundwater outflow over a period of years. The second objective of the study was to relate stream flow on the West Nishnabotna River to saturated groundwater flow in the system composed of the glacial drift and alluvium and the uppermost bedrock units over which the river flows. As a part of this phase of the study, a concise account of certain salient features of the basin groundwater flow field is to be given. It was known that groundwater discharge to stream flow affects its quantity and quality, and it seemed appropriate to investigate the possibility that under certain conditions, surface stream flow may affect groundwater quantities and quality. A third objective of the study was to report, generally and specifi­ cally, on the occurrence of sources of groundwater in the glacial drift and the uppermost bedrock units, as a resource evaluation. The purpose for this objective is fairly obvious and the need for it is pointed out by the Iowa Natural Resources Council in their survey of water resources and water 2 problems in the Nishnabotna River Basin (Iowa Natural Resources Council, 1955). The basin unit, rather than some political unit or combination of units, was chosen for study because physically it represents a relatively complete system in which surface water flow and most groundwater flow is controlled by basin configuration. Location of Study Area The Nishnabotna River Basin is located in southwestern Iowa within the Missouri River Basin (Figure 1). It is bounded on the east by the drainage areas of the Des Moines River, Nodaway River, and Tarkio Creek and on the west by the watersheds of the Boyer River and other smaller tributaries of the Missouri River. The total basin area is 2995 square miles, of which 2900 square miles are located in portions of 12 Iowa counties. The basin contains about 5.2 percent of the area of the state and is the fifth largest river basin in Iowa. The actual study area overlaps the basin divide by from two to six miles. Previous Work The only hydrogeologic study covering the area of the Nishnabotna River Basin, prior to this effort, was a county by county survey of groundwater resources as a descriptive resource catalogue (Norton ^et al., 1912) and pub­ lished as U.S.G.S. Water-Supply Paper