Water Resources of Red River Parish Louisiana By ROY NEWCOME, JR., and LELAND V. PAGE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1614 Prepared in cooperation with the Louisiana Department of Public ff^orks and the Louisiana Geological Survey Department of Conservation UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1962 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Thomas B. Nolan, Director The U.S. Geological Survey Library catalog card for this publication appears after page 133. For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D.C. CONTENTS Page Abstract- ----___--__-___-_-___-_-________-___-___-_-__-__________- 1 Introduction._-_--_--______-___-___-___-_____-_._-________________ 2 Purpose and scope.____________________________________________ 2 Location and extent of area.-__.____-____---___-_--_____________ 3 Development of area-__________________________________________ 3 Previous investigations.___--___-__-_-_-_-_-_-_-__-______-_-_-__ 4 Acknowledgments.____________________________________________ 4 Geography_ ____-_-____-____-______--_-_-_-__--_-_-______________ 4 Landforms.. ___-____-_-__-______--____--_____-___-_____-_-____ 4 Relief._______________________________________________________ 6 Drainage _____________________________________________________ 6 Climate-_____________________________________________________ 7 Vegetation.. _ _________________________________________________ 9 Occurrence and general properties of water ___--_-___-_-_-_______-____ 11 Hydrologic cycle. _____________________________________________ 11 Significance of chemical and physical characteristics______________ 12 Geology, by Roy Newcome, Jr______________________________________ 17 Summary of stratigraphy.-_____________________________________ 17 Tertiary rocks--_-_-__--_--___-_-_---_i_-----_--_-__-_---_- 17 Previous classifications-__-_____-__-_-_-_----______-_--_ 17 Classification used in this report.-______-_---_______-_-__ 20 Quaternary rocks._____--____-_-_-__-_-_-_-__--_______----_ 21 Pleistocene terrace deposits._________-___-_-__-____--___ 21 Valley alluvium. __________________-_---__-_-___-_-.-__ 22 Structure. _ ________________--_-___-_-__-__-___-_-_.-___-_--_-- 23 Ground-water resources, by Roy Newcome, Jr_____---__-__-___---_--_ 23 Method of study----_---------_-_-----------------------_----- 23 Well-numbering system_ --_____--__-_____________-___-___---__- 25 Source __________-___--__-___-_____-___-_-__-_--_-_-_-_--__--- 26 Occurrence _-____________-__-__-____--__-_-___-_-_______--_--- 26 Recharge, __________-____________-_--_-_-_-__-___-_._____--_-_ 28 Discharge ____________________________________________________ 28 Water-bearing rock units_______________________________________ 29 Tertiary rocks___-__-__-___-________-___--___-____-_--__--- 29 Paleocene series, Wilcox group__________________________ 30 Eocene series, Wilcox group____-__-_--_---_____-_____- 36 Recharge to sands of Tertiary age_ ______________________ 36 Quaternary rocks______________-__-_-___-----_-_______----- 37 Pleistocene terrace deposits._________________-_-___-_--- 37 Valley alluvium-______________________________________ 39 Quality of the water___________________________________________ 47 Relation to water-bearing units. ____________________________ 47 Tertiary rocks.__________________-___-__---__-_------- 47 Quaternary rocks__--_--_-__-_------__-_------_-------- 48 Ground-water hydraulics-______________-__-_-_-----___--__----- 49 Pumping tests and their interpretation._____-_-___-__-_----_- 49 Ground-water movement in the alluvial valley__________-______--- 57 Well construction and methods of lift-______________-____--_---_- 59 Conclusions--_-____________________-___-_--__-_---_-_---_----- 61 IV CONTENTS Page Surface-water resources, by Leland V. Page__ 63 Quantitative data and analytical studies. 63 Explanation of hydrologic terms.___ 66 Streamflow characteristics _________ 66 Drought flows__ ________________ 74 Floods._________________________ 76 Chemical and physical characteristics _._ 82 Chemical quality.________________ 82 Temperature____ _________________ 88 Uses of surface water_________________ 95 History of navigation.________________ 96 Water problems._________________ 97 Future needs.________________________ 98 Gaging station records____________________ 99 Selected references...-____________________ 108 Index ___________________________________ 131 ILLUSTRATIONS {Plates in pocket] PLATE 1. Drainage map. 2. Areal geology map. 3. Tertiary geology. 4. Structure contour map on Porters Creek clay. 5. Geologic section across parish. 6. Valley cross sections. 7. Fence diagram. 8. Well map. 9. February water-level map. 10. June water-level map. 11. September water-level map. 12. Chemical-analyses graph. 13. Contours at base of fresh water. Page FIGURE 1. Cross section showing topography----_---_--_----------_- 5 2. Ranch land..______________________-_____---__--_-_---- 5 3. Monthly precipitation graph______-______-_____-_---_---- 8 4. Annual precipitation graph- ______-________--_-------_--_ 9 5. Annual precipitation at Shreveport________--_-_--------_- 10 6. Temperature graph.______-___-_______-_____--------___- 11 7. Hydrologic cycle. ________-__--___-_-___--_-_----------- 12 8. Cross section of Sabine uplift-___________________________ 24 9. Occurrence of ground water_______________-----.------_-- 27 10. Grain-size graph for Naborton formation___________________ 31 11. Drawdown-recovery graph for well in the Naborton formation. 32 12. Grain-size graph for Dolet Hills formation.________________ 34 13. Grain-size graph for undifferentiated beds of Wilcox group. _ _ _ 35 14. Grain-size graph for Pleistocene terrace deposits_-_--_--.__- 38 CONTENTS V Page FIGURE 15. Hydrograph for RR-66_ ___--_____-___---------________- 40 16. Grain-size graph for valley alluvium, RR-139 to -148_______ 41 17. Grain-size graph for valley alluvium, RR-149 to -152_______ 42 18. Grain-size graph for valley alluvium, RR-158 to Na-269_ ___ 43 19. Hydrographs of alluival-valley wells______________________ 44 20. Pumping effects in artesian aquifer. ______________________ 50 21. Drawdown-recovery graph for pumping test at RR-50______ 51 22. Logarithmic plot of drawdown in RR-156-________________ 53 23. Logarithmic plot of drawdown in RR-157-_____-_-___-____ 54 24. Time-drawdown graph-_________________________________ 57 25. Irrigation welL ________________________________________ 60 26. Map of towns, streams, gaging stations__________________ 64 27. Graph of gaging-station records. _________________________ 65 28. Hydrographs showing variations in runoff characteristics-___ 67 29. Duration curves________________________---_^_---______- 69 30. Discharge curve for Black Lake Bayou__________________ 70 31. Storage requirements for Black Lake and Cypress Bayous___ 71 32. Low-flow frequency for Black Lake Bayou.___-_---____-___ 72 33. Low-flow frequency for Cypress Bayou____________________ 73 34. Water-surface profiles.-_________________________________ 78 35. Occurrence of floods at Shreveport_-___-__--------------__ 81 36. Peak discharge, Red River Parish area____________________ 81 37. Peak discharge. Cypress and Boggy Bayous____-----_-___-_ 82 38. Flood frequency curve for Red River at Coushatta_________ 83 39. Relation of chemical quality to streamflow.__-_-_--____-_-_ 90 40. Relation of chloride to conductance._________-____-_---_-- 91 41. Relation of water temperature to air temperature.__________ 91 42. Daily water temperature of Red River ____________________ 92 TABLES Page T AB LE 1. Suggested water-quality tolerances in industry ______________ 16 2. Characteristics of water desired for boiler operation_________- 17 3. Classifications of sedimentary rocks in Red River Parish. ____ 18 4. Hydraulic characteristics determined from pumping tests_____ 56 5. Special low-flow determinations.______________-_-_--__--__ 75 6. Annual peak stages of Red River at Coushatta, La__________ 77 7. Annual peak states and discharges of Red River at Shreveport, La__________________________________________________ 79 8. Chemical analyses of surface waters in or near Red River Parish-______________________________________________ 85 9. Field analyses of chloride content of surface waters in or near Red River Parish._--____________________-__-___-----_ 88 10. Comparative analyses of water from Red River_____________ 89 11. Chemical analyses of water from wells in Red River Parish. __ 112 12. Field analyses of chloride content of water from wells in the valley alluvium_______--_---__--_____-----__---------- 113 13. Records of water wells in Red River Parish_______________ 114 14. Selected drillers' logs of wells____-____________--__-___---- 122 15. Sample logs of test holes in the valley alluvium. ____________ 125 WATER RESOURCES OF RED RIVER PARISH, LOUISIANA By ROY NEWCOMBE, JR. and LELAND V. PAGE ABSTRACT Red River Parish is on the eastern flank of the Sabine uplift in northwestern Louisiana. The area is underlain by lignitic clay and sand of Paleocene and Eocene age which dip to the east at the rate of about 30 feet per mile. The Red River is entrenched in these rocks in the western part of the parish. Alternat­ ing valley filling and erosion during the Quaternary period have resulted in the present lowland with flanking terraces. In the flood-plain area moderate to large quantities of very hard, iron-bearing water, suitable for irrigation, are available to wells in the alluvial sand and gravel of