Water-Supply Development and Management Alternatives for Clinton, Eaton, and Ingham Counties, Michigan By K. E. VANLIER, W. W. WOOD, and J. 0. BRUNETT GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1969 Prepared in cooperation with the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON 1973 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ROGERS C. B. MORTON, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY V. E. McKelvey, Director Library of Congress catalog-card No. 72-600363 For ...e by the Superintendent of Doewnenta, U.S. Government PrintintJ Oftiee Wuhin-'on, D.C. 20402-Priee 13.20 (paper eover) Stoek Number 2401-02422 CONTENTS Page ~bstract ------------------------------------------------------- 1 Introduction --------------------------------------------------- 1 Purpose and scope -·---------------------------------------- 2 ~cknowledgments _ ----__ ------------------------------------ 2 Characteristics of the region ------------------------------------- 3 The economic base and population ---------------------------- 5 VVater use ------------------------------------------------- 9 VVithdrawal uses --------------------------------------- 9 Nonwithdrawal uses ------------------------------------ 12 Sources of water ----------------------------------------------- 13 The hydrologic cycle ---------------------------------------- 13 Interrelationship of ground and surface waters ------------ 14 Induced recharge --------------------------------------- 16 Water in streams ------------------------------------------- 16 Low-flow characteristics -------------------------------- 16 Floodflows --------------------------------------------- 19 Storage of streamflow ---------------------------------- 19 Storage reservoirs ---------------------------------- 22 The major streams-their uses and characteristics -------- 26 Grand River --------------------------------------- 26 ~aple River --------------------------------------- 26 Looking Glass River -------------------------------- 27 Red Cedar River------------------------------------ 27 Thornapple River -------,---------------------------- 28 Battle Creek --------------------------------------- 28 Portage Creek -------------------------------------- 28 VVater from lakes ------------------------------------------- 28 Ground-water reservoirs ------------------------------------- 29 Geologic history ---------------------------------------- 29 Glacial aquifers _________________________ _:______________ 33 Valley outwash ------------------------------------- 33 Outwash plains ------------------------------------- 37 Eskers --------------------------------------------- 37 ICames --------------------------------------------- 38 Buried outwash ------------------------------------ 38 Lake plains --------------------------------------- 39 Till ----------------------------------------------- 39 Bedrock aquifers --------------------------------------- 39 Grand River Formation ----------------------------- 40 Saginaw Formation -------------------------------- 41 Bayport Limestone --------------------------------- 44 ~ichigan Formation -------------------------------- 44 ~arshall Formation -------------------------------- 45 Pre-~arshall rocks --------------------------------- 45 III IV CONTENTS Page Quality of water ----------------------------------------------- 47 Surface water ---------------------------------------------- 47 Quality standards -------------------------------------- 47 Ground water ---------------------------------------------- 52 Sources of dissolved solids ------------------------------ 68 Glacial aquifers ---------------------------------------- 71 Grand River and Saginaw Formations ------------------- 72 Bayport Limestone ------------------------------------- 75 ~ichigan Forma~on ------------------------------------ 75 ~arshall Formation ------------------------------------ 75 VVater management --------------------------------------------- 76 Ground-water withdrawal and streamflow depletion ----------- 76 Systems-analysis considerations ------------------------------ 80 VVater quality and well construction -------------------------- 83 Utilization of glacial aquifers ------------------------------- 83 VVater availability ---------------------------------------------- 85 Regional availability ---------------------------------------- 85 Northwestern Clinton County -------------------------------- 86 Village of ~aple Rapids -------------------------------- 88 Village of Fowler -------------------------------------- 88 Northeastern Clinton County -------------------------------- 88 Village of Elsie ---------------------------------------- 89 Village of Ovid ---------------------------------------- 89 City of St. Johns --------------------------------------- 89 Southwestern Clinton County ------------------------------- 90 Village of VVestphalia ----------------------------------- 91 Southeastern Clinton County -------------------------------- 91 Bath Township ---------------------------------------- 91 City of De VVitt ---------------------------------------- 92 Northwestern Eaton County --------------------------------- 92 Village of ~ulliken ------------------------------------- 92 Village of Sunfield -------------------------------------- 92 Village of Vermontville -------------------------------- 93 Northeastern Eaton County --------------------------------- 93 City of Grand Ledge ------------------------------------ 93 Village of Potterville ----------------------------------- 94 VVindsor Township ------------------------------------- 94 Southwestern Eaton County --------------------------------- 95 City of Bellevue ---------------------------------------- 95 City of Olivet ------------------------------------------ 95 Southeastern Eaton County ---------------------------------- 96 Cuy of Charlotte --------------------------------------- 96 City of Eaton Rapids ----------------------------------- 97 Northeastern Ingham County -------------------------------- 97 City of VVilliamston ------------------------------------ 97 Village of VVebberville ---------------------------------- 98 Southwestern Ingham County -------------------------------- 98 City of ~ason ----------------------------------------- 98 Village of Leslie --------------------------------------- 98 Southeastern Ingham County ------------------------------- 98 Village of Stockbridge --------------------------------- 99 CONTENTS v Page Water availability-Continued Lansing metropolitan area ---------------------------------­ 99 City of Lansing ---------------------------------------­ 104 East Lansing and Meridian Township -------------------- 105 Lansing Township -------------------------------------- 106 Delta Township _______________________________________ _ 106 Delhi Township ---------------------------------------­ 107 Michigan State University ------------------------------ 107 Summary and conclusions --------------------------------------- 107 Selected references ____________________________________________ _ 109 ILLUSTRATIONS [Plates are in pocket] PLATE 1. Maps showing annual 7-day low flow of streams draining Clinton, Eaton, and Ingham Counties, Michigan. 2. Bedrock-surface and glacial-aquifer maps, Clinton, Eaton, and Ingham Counties, Michigan. 3. Bedrock-aquifer maps and fence diagram, Clinton, Eaton, and Ingham Counties, Michigan. Page FIGURE 1. The Tri-County region is near the center of the south­ ern part of Michigan's Lower Peninsula (diagram) __ 4 2. The Lansing metropolitan are-a is the center of the Tri- County region (map) ---------------------------- 5 3. Most of the Tri-County region receives an average of about 31 inches of precipitation each year (map) __ _ 6 4. The mean annual temperature in the region is about 48°F (map) ------------------------------------- 7 5. The gently ·rolling land surface slopes to the north (map) ------------------------------------------ 8 6. The population is expected to increase and most of the people in the Tri-County region will live in the Lansing metropolitan area (graph) ---------------- 9 7. Lansing is the biggest user of water in the Tri-County region (map) __________________________________ _ 11 8. Water moves in a never-ending cycle (diagram) ------ 14 9. Water from precipitation follows many paths (dia- gram) ------------------------------------------ 15 10. Streams in seven drainage basins drain water from the Tri-County region (map) --------------------- 17 11. Dry-weather runoff ranges between 0 and 0.15 cubic feet per second per square mile (map) ------------ 18 12. Floodflows vary with drainage area and frequency of recurrence (graph) ------------------------------ 20 13. Regional draft-storage curves permit estimation of storage requirements (graphs) -------------------- 21 14. Fifty-five reservoir sites in and adjacent to the Tri- County region have been identified by the U.S. De­ partment of Agriculture (map) ------------------- 24 VI CONTENTS Page FIGURE 15. Thirty-five reservoir sites in and adjacent to the Tri­ County region have been identified by the U.S. Corps of Engineers (map) ----------------------------- 25 16. The Great Lakes could be used as a source for water supplies (map) ---------------------------------- 30 17. How the ground-water reservoirs underlie the region (block diagram) --------------------------------- 31 18. Drainage in the Tri-County region is a direct result of active glaciation (diagrams) ------------------- 35 19. Crevasse systems in the glaciers appear