Water Resources of I3 the Flint Area ^ Michigan ? > GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1499-E o DQ 1 ^ciri'T f-y-\> jAN 27 1964 ^ WRD ^ ^/CATIONS s^ WATER RESOURCES FLINT AREA MICHIGAN Flood of April 6, 1947, in downtown Flint Water Resources of the Flint Area Michigan By S. W. WIITALA, K. E. VANLIER, and R. A. KRIEGER WATER RESOURCES OF INDUSTRIAL AREAS GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1499-E A guide for initial location or expansion of industrial and municipal facilities and an aid to defense planning and the location of emergency water supplies UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1963 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Thomas B. Nolan, Director For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 CONTENTS Page Abstract_________________________________________________________ El Introduction. __--___-____--_____-__-____--_-______-_-__--____-____ 3 Purpose and scope.-____--_--____-_-_-_____-___-___--_-__-_____ 3 Acknowledgments _____________________________________________ 3 Description of the area_________________________________________ 5 Population, industry, and agriculture.___________________________ 5 Sources of water______--._--__--________-__-__-__--_-___-___-_-___ 7 Flint River.-_----_----_-_-_-__--_-_----_______-__-_-_-----_-- 8 Storage in the Flint River basin.____-___--_--_-___-___-_-_-_ 9 Withdrawal use of water___________________________________ 12 Nonwithdrawal use of water________________________________ 12 Flow characteristics______________________________________ 14 Storage requirements_____________________________________ 18 Floods-________________________________________________ 19 Chemical quality and temperature-------------------------- 21 Small streams tributary to Flint River___________________________ 27 Flow characteristics._-__--___-_____-_______-_-__-__-_---__- 30 Chemical quality and temperature.....________-_______-_-_.- 31 Shiawassee River._________-____--___-_-__-____-_-__--_-------- 34 Storage in the basin______________________________________ 34 Use of water._____________________________________________ 34 Flow characteristics___-_-___-___-_______-_-_-___-_-_-_____ 35 Storage requirements_____________________-__-_--_---_-_-_ 36 Floods- _--_-__--_____-____-____-___-_---_-_-__----_--__ 37 Chemical quality and temperature_____________-_-_-_----_- 38 Miscellaneous small streams____________________________________ 38 Lake Huron__________________________________________________ 38 Chemical quality and temperature.-_________________________ 40 Glacial-drift aquifer__________________________________________ 41 Description.______________________________________________ 41 Production from wells._________________-_-_-___---_____---_ 44 Water levels-_____-___-_________-_____-_-___-_-_-_____--__ 45 Chemical quality_-__-____.__-___________-_---___-_--__---_ 46 Withdrawal use of water. ___-______-_-_-_____-_-_---__----_ 46 Overdrafts______________________________________________ 48 Induced migration of saline waters_____-_____-___---____--_ 50 Saginaw formation___________________________________________ 50 Production from wells______________________---_-_-_----__ 51 Water levels_--_____-_________________-_-_____-_---_-----_ 54 Chemical quality._-____-____-_____-_____-____-__---_----_- 57 Withdrawal use of water-__________________________________ 59 Overdrafts_ _---_-__________________-__-___---_-___---_-- 59 VI CONTENTS Sources of water Continued Michigan formation.___._______________-__----_---------_----_- E61 Production from wells__-__--_---_--__-----------_-------- 61 Water levels.--.-------.---------------------------------- 61 Quality of water____-________-_______---_--__--__-------_ 62 Marshall formation___-__________-_-_______-_-_--------------_- 62 Production from wells__-______--__-____----_----_-------- 62 Water levels.___-____-__-_-------__-__-------------------- 63 Quality and temperature._ _____-_---_-_-----------------.--_ 63 Withdrawal use of water___________________________________ 63 Public water-supply systems.--------------------------------------. 63 City of Flint---------.---------------------.------------------ 63 Water quality and temperature_______.-_______-_-_--__-_-_ 64 Other public water-supply systems___________--___--___-----_-- 68 Summary of water use.__-__--______-______--__-_-_-_-_-_-_-----_-_ 68 Urban water use______-____-__-.___-_____-_-__--_-_-_---_-_-_ 70 Industrial use___________________________-_--_--_-_-_-_-_-_ 73 Water use for sewage dilution___-_-_-_---_-_---_---_-----_-_ 74 Other water uses.-_--__-____________-_-__-____-_-----_-_----__ 74 Emergency water supplies for civil defense__________________________ 75 Emergency supplies for domestic and sanitary use_-_--________-_-_ 75 Auxiliary water supplies for firefighting __-____-_--_-__-_-__--_-_ 78 Possibility of further development----------------------------------- 79 Streams and lakes-_--__-_-_____-____-_---___-_---_-_-_-----___ 79 Glacial drift-__-______-________________..-_____--__---_--__-___ 80 Saginaw formation-_____-____-__-_______________-__---__-__---- 81 Michigan formation__-_-______-_______--___-_-----_-_-----_-- 82 Marshall formation__-________-______-___-_---__-__-_-_---_-___ 82 Selected references_____________-____-____-_---___-__--___-_-__--___ 82 Index-_-___-______-_______----__-_-_____-_--___________-__-__---_ 85 ILLUSTRATIONS [All plates in pocket] FRONTISPIECE. Flood of Apr. 6, 1947, in downtown Flint. PLATE 1. Surface geology of Genesee County. 2. Map showing generalized contours on the bedrock surface in Genesee County. 3. Bedrock geology of Genesee County. 4. Map showing generalized contours on the piezometric surface of the bedrock aquifers in Genesee County. 5. Profile of the Flint River through the city of Flint. 6. Area in Flint inundated by the flood of April 1947. Page FIGURE 1. Map of Genesee County showing where data on streams and lakes have been collected.__________--_______-_----_--- E4 2. Growth in population, Flint and Genesee County___________ 6 3. Bar chart of published gaging-station records in the Flint and Shiawassee River basins...______-_._____-.-__._--- 8 CONTENTS VH Page FIGURE 4. Capacity curve for Holloway Reservoir__________________ E10 5. Observed hydrograph and computed hydrograph for regu­ lated flow for drought year 1939, Flint River at Genesee_ 11 6. Duration curves of daily discharge, Flint River near Otisville. 15 7. Duration curves of daily discharge, Flint River near Flints _ 16 8. Magnitude and frequency of 7- and 30-day low flows, Flint River near Otisville___________________________________ 17 9. Magnitude and frequency of 7- and 30-day low flows, Flint River near Flint__________________--__-_-_-_-_-_-_--_- 17 10. Draft-storage curve, Flint River near Otisville_____________ 18 11. Storage-required frequency curves, Flint River near Otisville_ 19 12. Flood-crest frequencies on the Flint River near Flint________ 22 13. Maximum, minimum, and average values of several chemical and physical characteristics of raw water from the Flint River, January 1957 to December 1958_________________ 25 14. Duration curves of daily discharge, Shiawassee River at Byron, 1930-58 and 1947-58 _________________________ 35 15. Magnitude and frequency of 7- and 30-day low flows, Shiawas­ see River at Byron__________________________________ 36 16. Estimated draft-storage curve, Shiawassee River at Byron..__ 37 17. Map showing thickness of permeable drift in the bedrock valley in eastern part of Flint__________________________ 43 18. Production from and specific capacities of selected wells in glacial drift and the transmissibility of the drift aquifer at five sites.-----_--------------------------_-_----_--- 45 19. Graphs of water levels in wells in glacial drift in and near Flint..______________________________________________ 47 20. Hardness and iron content of water from selected wells in glacial drift___________-___________--________-____-__- 48 21. Graph showing effect of pumpage on water level in well in glacial drift near Flushing_______________-_____________ 50 22. Generalized geologic sections through the Saginaw formation along lines N-S and W-E_________._________--________ 52 23. Map showing the percentage of sand in the Saginaw formation. 53 24. Production from and specific capacities of selected bedrock wells and the transmissibility of the Saginaw formation at four sites____--________-____________-_-_____--__- 54 25. Graphs of water levels in wells tapping the Saginaw formation. 55 26. The effect of pumping and deficient precipitation on water level in a well at Grand Blanc__________________________ 56 27. Chloride content of selected bedrock wells_________________ 60 28. Water pumpage from the Flint River at the Flint waterworks. 65 29. Daily pumpage from the Flint River into the Flint public water-supply system for year ending June 30, 1958. __-_._ 66 30. Source and use of water in Genesee County, 1958_________ 70 31. Use of water delivered by the Flint public water-supply system._____________________________________________ 73 32. Possible sources of emergency water supplies in Flint.______ 77 VIII CONTENTS TABLES Page TABLE 1. Chemical analysis of water of Flint River_____-__-_____-___ E23 2. Chemical and physical characteristics of raw water from the Flint River at Flint, January 1957 to December 1958_____ 24 3. Chemical pollutants, in parts per million, of the Flint River, 26 4. Quality of water criteria for domestic and several industrial