Water Resources of the Pascagoula Area Mississippi By EDWARD J. HARVEY, HAROLD G. GOLDEN, and H. G. JEFFERY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1763 Prepared in cooperation with the Jackson County Board of Supervisors UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1965 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Thomas B. Nolan, Director The U.8. Geological Survey Library catalog card for this publication appears after index. For sale by th» Superintendent of Documents, IT.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 CONTENTS Page Abstract________________________________________________________ 1 Introduction._____________________________________________________ 2 Earlier work__________________________________________________ 4 Water law_---____--_______________-_-__-____-______________ 4 Water problems_-_-__-__-_______-____-_-____-__-___-_-__-__-_- 5 Methods of study___________-____________________________-__._ 7 Acknowledgments_ ___________________________________________ 9 Description of area________________________________________________ 9 Location___________________________________________________ 9 Physiography _________________________________________________ 9 River system_______________________________________________ 11 Areal geology.________________________________________________ 12 Climate. ____-__.____-_-___________________________ 15 Use of water____-___-__--_-__-__-_______-__________-_-_____-_- 17 Sources of supply________________________________________________ 19 Factors affecting quantity and distribution _______________________ 20 Climate._________________________________ 20 Precipitation_ _________-_______-__--________-_---____ 20 Temperature_ _ ______________________________________ 23 Hurricanes__ _-_-_____--______-__-______-_____----_- 23 Evaporation and transpiration. ________________________ 23 Infiltration.-___._.____________________________ 24 Aquifer storage and movement of water._____________________ 24 Surface storage_____--__-__-___________-___-_-____-__-_-_ 26 Factors affecting the water quality------------------------------ 27 Precipitation_ _-____-______-_-_-___-_______-__-___---__-- 27 Geologic effects_________________________________________ 28 Salt-water intrusion______________________________________ 29 Municipal, industrial, and oil-field wastes----_______________ 29 Relation of quality of water to use requirements_________________ 30 Surface water.____________________________________________________ 33 Variability of streamflow__-__-_____-__________-__-_-_-___---__- 33 Streamflow characteristics.___--________-___-__-_-----_------__- 37 Flow duration___________________________________________ 37 Low flow__-_.___________________________-_-_-______-____- 43 Factors affecting low flow____________________________ 47 Average minimum flow___________________________________ 50 Floodflow________________________________ 51 Flood-frequency curves_______________________________ 51 Use of flood-frequency curves._________-_-____--_--_--_- 52 Flood profiles..________-_______-________ 55 Tidal characteristics--.-----------------.------------------ 56 ni IV CONTENTS Page Surface water Continued Quality of surface water_________.______________________________ 59 Pascagoula River_________________________________.________ 59 Chemical quality.------------------------------------. 59 Temperature________________________________________ 63 Sediment.____________________________________________ 64 Tributaries of the Pascagoula River________________________ 64 Chemical quality-_____-__----_--_----------_-------__- 64 Temperature _ _______________________________________ 66 Escatawpa River_______________________-___-___-__________ 66 Chemical quality-------------------------------------- 66 Temperature________________________________________ 66 Pollution______________________________ 67 Tributaries of the Escatawpa River__________________________ 67 Chemical quality.___-_____-_-_-___-------______-_-____ 67 Temperature________________________________________ 67 Black Creek Swamp_______________________________________ 67 Chemical quality.-----------------------------------.- 67 Salt-water intrusion__________________________________________ 71 Extremes in penetration________-___--__----_--_-_--_-_.__._ 71 Quality of intruded water________________________________ 80 Ground water.__________________________________________________ 82 Catahoula Sandstone________________________________________ 82 Hattiesburg Formation_______________________________________ 83 Pascagoula Formation_______________________________________ 86 Stratigraphy. __________________________________ 86 Hydrology_________________________________ 88 Chemical quality_____________-_-__---__---_---__-_- _______ 91 Graham Ferry Formation____________________________________ 95 Stratigraphy. ______________________________________________ 95 Hydrology _ ________________________________________ 97 Chemical quality-____--______--__-----_-------__--________ 102 Citronelle Formation and terrace deposits________________________ 103 Stratigraphy.. _______ _____________________________ 103 Hydrology_ _____________________________________________ 104 Chemical quality---_---__-___----_----_------____--____-__ 106 Alluvium.____________________________________________________ 110 Potential development.____________________________________________ 111 Surface water _________________________________________________ 111 Quantity.________________________________ 111 Escatawpa River_________-_-_______--___-___--___---__ 111 Pascagoula River__._____________________--___-________ 112 Tributary streams____________________-_-_-_-__ 113 Quality__.________________________________ 114 Ground water_______________________________________________ 115 Pascagoula-Moss Point area________________________________ 115 Ocean Springs-Gautier area__-_________-_----_--_----__----- 117 Wade-Escatawpa area____________________________________ 118 The uplands______________________________ 119 References cited.__________________________________________________ 120 Index... ________________________________________________________ 133 CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS [Plates are in separate volume] PLATE 1. Geologic map of George and Jackson Counties, showing location of wells and geologic sections. 2. Geologic section across Jackson County. 3. Geologic section across Pascagoula River at Graham Ferry. 4. Piezometric surface of the Graham Ferry Formation. 5. Piezometric surface of the 500-foot sand in the Pascagoula Formation. 6. Contour map of the base of the coarse sand and gravel of the Cit- ronelle Formation, terrace deposits, and alluvium. 7. Specific conductance of daily samples and daily mean discharge. 8. Profile of specific-conductance variation in lower Pascagoula River. 9. Geologic section across George and Jackson Counties. 10. Geologic section near coastline of Jackson County. 11. Areas of artesian flow. 12. Geologic section across Pascagoula River from Gautier to Bayou Casotte. 13. Map of Jackson County showing configuration of the base of the Graham Ferry Formation. 14. Saturated thickness of Citronelle Formation and terrace deposits. 15. Geologic section through Bayou Casotte area. 16. Geologic section across Pascagoula River, Vancleave to Escatawpa. Page FIGURE 1. Index map of the Pascagoula area________-_______________ 3 2. Mean annual precipitation_____________________________ 16 3. Average annual lake evaporation and average May-October evaporation_ _ ______________________________________ 18 4. Annual precipitation and runoff-__-_--__--_--------_--__- 20 5. Relation of precipitation to runoff._________-_-_---__--_-- 21 6. Monthly precipitation and runoff_______.._________--_-_- 22 7. Daily-discharge hydrographs for years of maximum and minimum discharge.--___--__________-_____---___-____ 33 8. Daily-discharge hydrographs for months of maximum and minimum discharge.-----.---------------------------- 36 9. Duration curve of daily flow, Pascagoula River at Merrill- _ _ _ 39 10. Duration curves of daily flow for selected streams, Pasca­ goula River basin__________________________________ 41 11. Duration curves of daily flow, Pascagoula River at Merrill, __ 42 12. Magnitude and frequency of annual low flows, Pascagoula River at Merrill_-___-__-_-__--___-_-_____-__--_------ 46 13. Relation of streamflow yield to variability index in Pasca- gouia area___-___--__-_-_-__-________-__--__--------- 48 14. Plot showing relation of base flow in selected streams to areal coverage of basin by Citronelle Formation.______________ 49 15. Map of Pascagoula area showing location of hydrologic areas 1 and 2,_______________________________________ 53 16. Flood-frequency curves for hydrologic area 1_____________ 54 17. Flood-frequency curves for hydrologic area 2__--__----__ 55 VI CONTENTS Page FIGURE 18. Shape coefficient curve for hydrologic areas 1 and 2________ 56 19. Flood profiles of Pascagoula River____________-__-_-______ 57 20. Relation of dissolved solids to specific conductance---.-.-. 62 21. Relation of cations to total concentrations.________________ 63 22. Relation of anions to total concentrations_________________ 63 23. Map of George and Jackson Counties showing configuration of the top of the Heterostegina zone_____________________ 84 24. Yield-drawdown relationship in aquifers of the Pascagoula Formation__ _______________________________________ 90 25. Hydrographs of wells in the Pascagoula and Graham Ferry Formations._________________________________________