Geology and Water Resources of Winnetago County, Wisconsin By PERRY G. OLCOTT GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1814 Prepared in cooperation with the University of Wisconsin Geological and Natural His tory Survey UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1966 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY William T. Pecora, Director Library of Congress catalog-card No. GS65-418 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U-S. Government PrintJ~~ Office WashtnAton, D.C. lMOl CONTENTS Pace Abstract---------------------------------------------------------- 1 Introduction------------------------------------------------------ 1 Purpose and scope_____________________________________________ 1 Location, extent, and population-------------------------------- 2 GeographY---------------------------------------------------- 2 Climate------------------------------------------------------ 4 Previous investigations _____________________________ ---___ ---___ 4 Cooperation and acknowledgments _____________________________ -- 4 Well-numbering system ________ --------______ -----------_______ 4 Geologic setting and hydrologic characteristics of rock units_____________ 6 Precambrianrocks--------------------------------------------- 6 Cambriail and Ordovician rocks-the sandstone aquifer ___ - _--__ --- 8 Cambrian System ______ -------- ____ ----------------------- 8 OrdovicianSystern_________________________________________ 10 Development of wafur from the bedrock aquifer ___ -_--_____ --- 11 Aquifer characteristics _____________ ----______ --__ --_------- 11 Bedrocksurface------------------------------------------- 13 Quaternary deposits-the drift aquifer____________________________ 15 Sources of water----- ________ -----_____________________ ----________ 17 Surfacewater------------------------------------------------- 17 Fox and Wolf Rivers--------------------------------------- 17 Lakes, minor streams, and wetland areas ___ - ____ --__ ---__ ---- 19 Reservoirs-the Lake Winnebago PooL ________ --__ --_- _----- 20 Quality of surface water _____________________ --------------- 22 Groundwater------------------------------------------------- 25 Occurrence ____________________________________________ ~-- 25 Recharge, discharge, and movement _______ ------------------ 27 Lake Winnebago ground-water drainage area______________ 28 Fox River ground-water drainage area ______ - ___ - ____ ---- 30 Wolf River ground-water drainage area___________________ 31 Water-level fluctuetions and their significance ___ ---_--_- __ ---- 32 Quality of ground water------------------------------------ 36 Availability and use of water---------------------------------------- 44 Present and anticipated water problems------------------------------ 49 Supply in relation to demand----------------------------------- 49 Distribution ____________________________________ ---___ -----_-- 49 NaturalqualitY----------------------------------------------- 50 Manmade pollution _____ ----________________________ ----------- 50 VariabilitY---------------------------------------------------- 52 ~oods------------------------------------------------------- 53 Suggestions for development of water resources ____________________ ---- 53 Ground-water development ____ ------------ __ ------------------- 53 Supplemental use of ground water with surface water_------------- 55 Lake Michigan as a source of supplY----------------------------- 58 Conclusions and recommendations----------------------------------- 58 References-------------------------------------------------------- 60 m IV CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS [Plates are in pocket] PLATE 1. Map showing bedrock geology, bedrock topography, and the location of wells and outcrops in Winnebago Cc•mty, Wis. 2. Fence diagram showing the subsurface geology and a pro­ file of the piezometric surface of the sandstone aquifer in Winnebago County, Wis. 3. Map showing configuration of the Precambrian surf,'lce in Winnebago County and surrounding area, Wisc':lnsin. 4. Map showing contours on the piezometric surface of the sandstone aquifer in Winnebago County, Wis., July 29-August 4, 1963. Page FIGURE 1. Index map showing location of Winnebago County______ 3 2. Diagram showing well-numbering system in Wiscollfin_ __ 5 3. Chart showing rock units and their water-yielding charac- teristics_ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ 7 4. Map showing approximate thickness of Quatrrnary deposits------------------------------------------ 16 5. Graphs showing inflow, outflow, and stage of the Lake Winnebago Pool__________________________________ 21 6. Graphs showing total hardness and dissolved-oxygen con- centrations in water from the Fox River at Omro______ 24 7. Hydrographs of wells showing water-level fluctuations in areas unaffected by pumpage and water-level f'uctua- tions and pumpage in Neenah-Menasha area__________ 34 8. Hydrograph of well Wi-20/17 /20-1, estimated pul"\uage in Neenah-Menasha area, and cumulative dep<'lrture from normal precipitation ____ ---------------------- 35 9-11. Maps of Winnebago County showing distributior of- 9. Iron------------------------------------------ 42 10. Dissolved solids________________________________ 43 11. SuHate_______________________________________ 44 12. Duration curves of daily flow of streams flowing into and out of the Lake Winnebago PooL __ ----------------- 45 13. Msp of Winnebago County showing estimated availi'bility of ground water_ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ 4 7 14. Theoretical distance-drawdown curves for an infinite aquifer------------------------------------------- 56 15. Theoretical time-drawdown curves for an infinite aq•,ifer _ 57 CONTENTS v TABLES Page TABLE 1. Average specific capacities of wells open in units of the sF.nd- stone aquifer in Winnebago County_______________________ 13 2. Average discharge of streams flowing into and out of the Lake Wbrunebago Pool_______________________________________ 22 3. Chemical analyses of water from selected sites on the Fox River and Lake Winnebago in Winnebago County and from Lake ~ichigan---------------------------------------------- 23 4. Significance of dissolved mineral constitutents and properties of water------------------------------------------------- 38 5. Chemical analyses of ground water from selected wells in Whne- bago CountY------------------------------------------ 40 6. Estimated average daily use of water in Winnebago CoP1ty, 1962-------------------------------------------------- 48 7. Chemical analyses of ground water at Neenah, Oshkosh, and the Winnebago State Hospital showing changes in cheF~.ical qualitY------------------------------------------------ 51 GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY, WISCONSIN By PERRY G. OLCOTr ABSTRACT Sources or water in Winnebago County include surface water frcm the F()x and Wolf Rivers and their associated lakes, and ground water fr()Jl) sandstone, dolomite, and sand and gravel deposits. Surface water is hard and generally requires treatment, but is then suitable for municipal and most industrial uses. Pollution is only a local pr()blem in the lakes and rivers, but algae are present in most of the lakes. Ground water in Winnebag() County is hard to very hard, and dissolved iron is a problem in a large area ()f the county. A s<>line-water zone borders the eastern edge of the county and underlies the arc-as of con­ centrated pumpage at Neenah-Menasha and Oshkosh. A thick, southeastward-dipping sandstone aquifer, yielding as mu~h as 1,000 gallons per minute to municipal and industrial wells, underlies Winnebago County. A dolomite aquifer in the eastern and southern part ()f the county yields as much as 50 gallons per minute to wells. Sand and gravel layers and lenses in preglacial bedrock channels, in northwestern Winnebago County and in the upper :Fox River valley, yield as much as 50 gallons per minute to wells. Present water problems in the county include algae and lo-cal pollution in the Lake Winnebago Pool, ir()n in water from the sandstone aquifer, and saline ground water in the eastern part of the county. Potential problE.ms include rapid decline of water levels because 'Of interference between closely spaced wells, migration of saline ground water toward areas of pumpirg, surface­ water pollution from inadequate sewage and industrial-waste pro-ces~ng plants, and ground-water polluti()n in dol()mite formations. Development of the water resources ()f the county should follow a compre­ hensive plan which takes into consideration all aspects of water use. Dispersal of wells, especially extending toward the west fr()m the heavily pumr~ Neenah­ Menasha and Oshkosh areas, is rec()mmended to reduce water-le1~l declines and to avoid sallne water. Supplemental use of ground water is re~mmended for municipal expansion of water facilities and to reduce the algaE: treatment problem of water from the Lake Winnebago Pool. INTRODUCTION PURPOSE AND SCOPE Winnebago County has an abundance of generally good -quality surface and ground water which is far in excess of the pMSent use. However, expansion of population and industry will pl~.~.e much greater demands on the water resources of the county in t"-q future. 1 2 GEOLOGY AND WATER, WINNEBAGO COUNTY, WISCONSIN Unless orderly procedures in water management are followed, serious problems may result, such as overpumping of the aquifers or the impairment of the suitability of water for some purposes. The purposes of this study are