ALBERT

Notes: A shallow, wide spread perching layer was isolated in the alluvial profiles of western Fresno County, California. Geologic and hydrologic interpretations are given, based on field and laboratory measurements of the physical properties of this layer. Some of the approaches investigated included using existing electrical logs from irrigation wells, head loss observations in wells and piezometers, core drilling, and core analysis. Differences in alluvial profile permeabilities are shown which result in perched water under the existing field flow conditions. The quantity of vertical flow through the layer is estimated using core permeabilities and hydraulic gradients observed in the field.Hydraulic properties and descriptions for the perched zone are presened which can be used to delineate profile flow limitations at other locations in the San Joaquin Valley. The study may be used in estimating the rate at which this perched water table could rise If, in the future, imported water and changes in irrigation patterns cause a large quantity of water to flow vertically.

Notes: The most commonly practiced method of artificial recharge at present is through basins. This spreading method may not be physically feasible or practicable if land values are high or a shallow, densely compacted layer forms a barrier impeding the direct downward percolation of the ponded surface water.For the case of the latter condition, alternative methods of wells or trenches dug down to the pervious aquifer and backfilled with gravel have been investigated. These were explored from the standpoint of construction and operating cost and hydraulic efficiency as influenced by such factors as the depth to the aquifer, the thickness, depth of saturation, permeability and specific yield of the aquifer, interference of closely spaced wells and duration of continuous operation of the wells or trenches. Furthermore, effects of bacterial growth and chemical composition of the recharge water on the hydraulic performance of wells or trenches are discussed.An economic comparison based on field conditions in a prospective recharge site at Stockton, California, is used to illustrate the developed criteria for relative effectiveness of the two methods.As a general conclusion, it was found that while recharge through trenches would be more efficient hydraulically and economically for the case of very shallow subsurface barriers, wells would become more competitive as the thickness of an impervious top layer increases.

Notes: The horizontal viscous flow model with “infinite” areal extent can be used for almost any well flow problem whether two-dimensional or three-dimensional, steady or nonsteady, single aquifer or multiaquifer. This model can also be used in the field of soil mechanics for subsurface drainage problems. The design includes scale model analysis and the application of conformal mapping techniques in order to simulate an ideal aquifer. Construction, calibration, and test procedures for the model are described. The apparatus has proved to be both a valuable research tool and an excellent teaching aid.

Notes: One of the deepest water-exploration wells in the southeastern United States was completed in 1966 at Jacksonville, Florida. It was drilled to a depth of nearly 2,500 feet to supply geologic and hydrologic information on the deeper unexplored part of the Floridan aquifer. This aquifer consists of a series of water producing zones separated by nonproducing zones. An important new fresh-water producing zone was found, and the contact between the fresh water and salt water was located. The well was completed in three separate zones so that it could be used to monitor the the deeper part of the aquifer to detect any salt-water encroachment. This paper describes the objectives, techniques, and results of drilling the test well.

Notes: A rapid graphical technique for the determination of aquifer transmissibility from a variable discharge pumping test is presented. The data required include the variation of discharge with time during the pumping test and a record of the recovery ar an observation well after the well was shut off. An example using a synthetic well data is provided.

Notes: Comparison of the analysis of 3 and 4 day pumping tests with the analysis of water-level changes due to 18 years of pumping suggests that experience in an area can be a critical factor in determining the transmissivity and storativity of an aquifer.

Notes: The rapidly increasing development of ground-water resources in northeastern Illinois has brought about regional and local problems of water supply, thus creating considerable interest in the feasibility of artificial recharge as a partial solution. Artificial ground-water recharge is considered as a partial solution to regional and local problems of water supply in the primarily metropolitan region of northeastern Illinois. Five artificial recharge facilities are now in operation in the area; their average annual recharge rates range from 25,000 to 395,000 gallons per day (gpd). Several additional areas where artificial recharge may be feasible are identified on the basis of criteria established for the region.An initial study in the Park Forest-Chicago Heights area indicates that recharge to the Silurian dolomite aquifer, the source of water supply in the area, is feasible. This study provides guidelines to aid in additional studies of artificial recharge in northeastern Illinois.

Notes: Two case histories are presented which illustrate that by analyzing drill cuttings or bailed samples, by knowing total depth of a test hole and position of the static water level, and by studying the driller's log, not only can a well's yield be predicted—but also drawdown may be predicted for any well in advance of a pumping test.The estimation of specific capacity (gpm/ft of drawdown) is invaluable in well design, particularly in the United States, where drilling contractors work rapidly and efficiently. Knowledge of probable specific capacity can aid in recommending proper screen length, diameter, slot width, and setting. It will enable cost estimates for proper pump size to be made, for casing requirements to be determined, and also for ultimate well diameter and depth to be determined. Test-pump setting can also be anticipated.Case History No. 1 illustrates the above techniques, and how a new well was drilled, developed, designed, and completed adjacent to a poorly designed and equipped water well. The new well proved to be nine times more efficient (i. e., “better”) than the old well. Reasons for this improvement are shown, and the two wells are compared and contrasted.Case History No. 2 shows data from a constant-rate pumping test following calculation of a well's specific capacity using estimates of aquifer permeability. Analysis of dynamic water-level recovery measurements resulted in a transmissibility of 16,150 gpd/ft compared to an estimated 16,000 gpd/ft from a visual inspection of sand analysis grading curves. The well's specific capacity was estimated to be between 8.4 and 8.9 gpm/ft of drawdown. The measured specific capacity was 8.35 gpm/ft with an efficiency of 85 percent. Actual permeability was 230 gpd/ft compared to the estimated 228 gpd/ft2!Six figures are included showing well construction details, sieve analysis curves, a semi-log plot of recovery measurements obtained during an aquifer pumping test, and graphic representations of approximate permeabilities for granular materials ranging from clay/silt to fine gravel. Six tables give characteristics of samples recovered from two test wells, permeability estimates of the disturbed samples, approximate permeabilities of various granular materials, and specific capacities for 100 percent effective water wells with varying diameters, coefficients of storage, and pumping periods. Three photographs further illustrate the principles enumerated.The methods described can give acceptable results (although they may not be as spectacular as the two detailed case histories) if sound judgement is used; if local conditions are somewhat known; if sampling methods are described; and if the procedures are not abused by expecting extreme accuracy. A reasonable estimate, or perhaps, just a close scientific “guesstimate” is all that should be hoped for by the hydrogeologist and his client in predicting well yields. But these techniques are a great advance over the“forked peach stick” philosophy still used for similar purposes by pseudo-scientists in the United States and foreign countries (although no cases where a dowser or “water witch” has successfully predicted drawdown in addition to yield have come to the attention of the writer).The data in this report are derived from approximately 500 wells or more designed by the author in 26 States and in many locations abroad. Rather good success has been obtained regarding close correlation between estimated and measured specific capacities from a variety of geologic environments and aquifer parameters.

Notes: The intensively irrigated Arkansas River Valley in Colorado is underlain by a valley-fill aquifer resting in a U-shaped trough cut in relatively impermeable Cretaceous rocks. Ground water is pumped to supplement surface water; in the last 10 years pumping has more than doubled. Ground water is closely related to the Arkansas River; percolation from irrigation recharges the aquifer, which discharges into the river. Pumping has resulted in a reduction in streamflow because it intercepts water that ordinarily would have reached the river. The 1,500 irrigation wells in the Arkansas Valley withdrew 230,000 acre-feet of water in 1964.An analog model is being used to evaluate the relation of ground water to surface water and to predict effects of changes in water management. The model, simulating a 150-mile reach of the Arkansas Valley (Pueblo to the State line), has a resistor spacing of 8 per modeled mile. The framework for the model was a transmissibility map; transmissibility ranges from less than 50,000 to 700,000 gallons per day per foot. Specific yield averages about 0.2. Hydrologic boundaries, such as the Arkansas River, and the bedrock valley-fill contact were simulated. Applied water, precipitation, evapotranspiration, and ground-water pumping were the independent variables programed. The model is being verified by comparing predicted changes in water level and river discharge with observed changes.

Notes: A method is presented for computing maximum drawdown in a well being pumped intermittently but in accordance with a regular sequence of fixed periods of pumping at constant discharge followed by fixed periods of rest. The method is extended to allow for interruption of the basic pattern by occasional changes such as the elimination of the pumping phase from certain individual cycles.

Notes: The ever-increasing volume of information being collected by the Groundwater Division of the Research Council of Alberta required that a data storage and retrieval system be devised to handle this information in an efficient and economical manner.The HYDRODAT computer-oriented system developed for this purpose is a modification of the format developed by the United States Geological Survey and conforms to the proposed interagency compatibility requirements set forth by the Canada Department of Energy, Mines and Resources.The basic elements of the system are: a well-schedule form for the recording and coding of geologic, hydrologic, and water quality data; and five 80-column IBM punch cards for transferring the coded data to magnetic tape.Selective and rapid retrieval of large volumes of ground-water information using HYDRODAT provides the geologist and engineer with analytical methods which would otherwise be tedious, if not impossible, to apply by conventional methods.

Notes: Water as a natural resource has little value until somebody wants to use it and the dollars and cents value has normally been established by the costs of moving water from its source to the point of beneficial use. The value of water ranges within wide limits from perhaps $2 per million gallons to $70 to $100 per million gallons and an average value might be $20 to $30 per million gallons. Water is no longer free and the costs of providing water in adequate quantity and of suitable quality will increase in the future as the sources of water are more fully utilized and the needs for more extensive treatment increase. The decision to use surface water or ground water is usually based on availability and the costs of providing the water at the point of use for the lowest possible cost. In estimating such costs, however, all costs of development, construction, treatment, operation and maintenance must be included. The principal advantages of ground water include availability close to the point of use, usually lower treatment costs, lower capital outlay, ability to increase the supply by small increments and smaller property requirements for storage. Ground water is often preferred because of its constant chemical quality and temperature. It is the opinion of the author that the effects of the impending water shortage can be minimized by elimination of pollution of our available water supplies and greater use and better management of our ground-water supplies including natural and induced recharge.

Notes: The ground-water aquifer underlying the northeastern corner of Colorado presently is estimated at 80,000,000 acre feet — enough to last several decades at present rates of use. The rate of use has, however, been increasing substantially in recent years and the possibility of depleting this resource is very real. While depletion of stock resources is a common theme in conservation and natural resources literature, only a few empirical studies are available to show the economic consequences of alternative rates of use. As a result, ground-water policy has often lagged behind the needs of developing areas.The Economics Department at Colorado State University, under the auspices of the Office of Water Resources Research is currently engaged in an empirical study of ground-water development problems in Colorado's High Plains area. Research is just beginning, but the following themes will be examined:〈list xml:id="l1" style="custom"〉1The economics of common property resources and the different management problems associated with them.2Problems faced by individual farm operators as they make the switch from dry-land to irrigated farming. Problems of externalities among farm firms will be approached.3Problems likely to be faced by inhabitants of communities in the developing area. The integration of the agricultural with the non-agricultural sectors will be stressed.4Policy recommendations appropriate to areas of rapid ground-water development.While the activities at Colorado State University are confined to a relatively small geographic area, it is assumed that applications will be made broader in scope and will prove useful in other parts of the nation.

Notes: Watercourse aquifer systems in many areas are adversely affected by wastes disposed into surface-water sources, resulting in either reduced streambed permeability, infiltration of wastes into the aquifer, or both. These conditions are illustrated at Lancaster, Ohio, where low streambed permeability in the vicinity of the municipal well field, resulting from the discharge of wastes to the Hocking River, seriously retards the infiltration of surface water and lessens the available yield of the wells. The wastes consist of brine and iron-laden effluent from the municipal treatment plant, discharged within the area of influence of the pumped wells to a stream already carrying much organic waste and other debris. Upstream from the discharge sewer, muck and organic debris have accumulated thickly on the streambed, while downstream from the sewer the streambed sediments have become tightly cemented by iron and other constituents in the waste water. There is evidence that, despite reduced streambed permeability, wastes have entered the aquifer and have materially contributed to declines in well efficiency and to recurring problems of well maintenance.Conditions such as those illustrated at Lancaster occur also at Dayton and are not uncommon elsewhere in Ohio. Indirect contamination of aquifers and adverse physical and chemical alteration of streambed sediments, resulting from surface-water waste disposal, may in many places pose a threat to the ground-water supply. This fact should not be overlooked in determining water-quality standards to be established under the Water Quality Act of 1965.

Notes: The Geological Survey has been the foremost agency in the investigation of ground-water resources in the United States beginning about 1910. Most of the basic principles of modern ground-water hydrology were developed in the Survey's program of cooperative investigations.Use of ground water in the United States in 1960 was about 17½ percent of all water uses, excluding water power. The use will probably increase, though at a decreasing rate. Although amount of use may level off, the need to know about it will not.While coordinating its activities with those of the Office of Water Data Coordination and the Office of Water Resources Research, the Survey expects to step up its work in all three areas of data collection, investigations, and research. However, there will be changes of emphasis.Collection of raw data will tend to stress key observation points, and more and more observation of temperature and quality, including contaminants. Investigations will be aimed at upgrading reconnaissance coverage to general coverage for most of the Nation. The areal basis will be stream drainage basins and special hydrologic terranes, rather than political units. There will be an increase in the preparation of analog models for representative ground-water systems.In research, the problem-oriented basis will continue. Stress will be on basic principles that pertain to artificial recharge, and the natural recharge and discharge of ground-water reservoirs; and also on the application of geologic principles on a regional scale. These are critical elements in the management of surface-water and ground-water resources conjunctively in river basins.

Notes: Acidizing water wells to increase yield has proved to be an uneconomical method of well development or rehabilitation in some cases where the aquifer permeability was low and normal operating head great, in wells affected by methane gas, or where the practical sustained yield of the aquifer had been exceeded. Illinois studies show that controlled pumping tests before, during and after development are necessary to accurately evaluate the effectiveness of rehabilitation methods employed. Geologic definition of aquifers and records of pumpage and water-level information are invaluable aids.

Notes: The relation between water quality and water movement within the ground-water reservoir may be better understood if studies of flow systems are used in conjunction with hydrochemical methods. Within small watersheds, local, intermediate, and regional flow systems may develop, depending upon the shape, the relief, and the thickness of the ground-water reservoir. Lateral and vertical variations of water quality in the ground-water reservoir reflect the difference in length of flow paths within a system. The relative ion concentration of the major ions in solution in ground waters change as water moves from recharge areas to discharge areas. These changes are used to interpret the direction and rate of ground-water movement.Ground-water types mapped in the Two Rivers watershed of northwestern Minnesota indicate that calcium bicarbonate type water occurs near the source of recharge and progressively changes to the sulfate type as water moves downgradient toward the discharge area. Local recharge areas are indicated by the greater penetration of calcium bicarbonate waters into the ground-water reservoir. The calcrum bicarbonate type water of surface streams during low flow indicates that water moves into the stream from the upper part of the ground-water reservoir. Chloride type water moves from the Paleozoic rocks and mixes with water in the glacial drift probably at places where permeable zones in the Paleozoic rocks are in contact with the overlying drift.

Notes: This study of the geometry of limestone solution is based on the following conditions: (1) the limestone is impermeable but contains and transmits water in joints, fractures, bedding-plane partings, and solution channels; (2) at depth, the limestone aquifer is underlain by impermeable rock; (3) ground water in the limestone is under water-table conditions; (4) recharge to the limestone is by infiltration of precipitation through the overlying rock to the zone of saturation; (5) discharge from the aquifer is by seeps and springs; and (6) ground water dissolves the limestone through which it flows, continuously modifying the flow pattern and the hydrologic properties of the medium. These conditions commonly are found in limestone terranes in the eastern and central United States. An electrical analog was constructed conforming to this description of the ground-water flow system and has been used to define the pattern, velocity, and density of ground-water flow and the relative length of time of contact of water with the aquifer. Successive models are used to illustrate progressive limestone solution and changes in ground-water flow in the aquifer. The initial analog indicates a strongly convex water table with the greatest density of flow at shallow depths beneath the water table near the point of discharge. Successive models indicate greater concentration of flow near and on the level of ground-water discharge, an overall lowering of the water table, and a pronounced flattening of the water table near the discharge point.Results of the analog study support the following conclusions:(1) The most active zone of solution is at shallow depths beneath the water table and near the point of ground-water discharge. Consequently, the size of channels generally decreases with depth and increases with proximity to the point of ground-water discharge.(2) Generally, solution channels have a greater lateral than vertical extent.

Notes: The need for investigating the economics of groundwater pumpage was developed to aid in the interpretation and administration of the Kansas Water Appropriation Act. The Act requires that in determining impairment from the lowering of static water level, the economics of pumping water shall be considered. No comprehensive treatment of the subject matter has been found.The investigative work is presented in three parts consisting of ground-water interference, the definition of general cost functions, and the effect of interference on costs. The physical process of ground-water pumpage for a single well in both steady-state and nonsteady systems is used as a beginning basis for both interference and associated costs. Interference between multiple wells is then developed for both idealized states of condition. In the second part, economic parameters with associated costs, primarily for irrigation use of water, are developed and generalized cost functions given in terms of discharge, total head, and operating time. In the third part, an analytic model is developed to define the costs associated with mutual interference. The procedure has been tested on a limited number of examples to find the relative sensitivity of different parameters on costs.

Notes: The Sokoto basin in semiarid northwestern Nigeria contains Cretaceous and Tertiary semiconsolidated deposits that dip gently northwest off an oldland of pre-Cretaceous crystalline rocks. Until recent years the dug well has been the chief source of ground water for the Hausa cultivators and the pastoral Fulani inhabitants of the region. Borehole exploration sponsored by US AID and the Geological Survey of Nigeria with technical guidance from the writers of the U. S. Geological Survey has revealed that the basal section of the Gwandu Formation contains a productive artesian sand aquifer throughout a 5,700 square mile area. Transmissibilities of the aquifer proved to be as high as 180,000 Imperial gallons a day per foot but generally decrease towards the west. The free flow areas total about 1,000 square miles with pressure heads in boreholes up to + 83 feet above land surface and individual flows as great as 12,000 gallons per hour. Beneath the Gwandu, pressure aquifers in the Rima Group and the Gundumi Formation also produce flowing water in the lowland (fadama) of the Sokoto River. In the southern part of the basin, however, only one aquifer is present in the Cretaceous sequence, because the Gundumi aquifer is absent and the Rima aquifer apparently grades into the upper permeable section of the Illo Group. The quality of the water from all the pressure aquifers is generally quite good, although the iron content is high in places and salinity increases in the very deep aquifers.In Sokoto Province more than 2 million people and their livestock use less than 5 mgd of water drawn from dug wells and about 1 mgd from boreholes. The newly discovered flowing artesian water can do much to improve the water supplies of remote villages in the province and even supplement river irrigation during the dry season in the fertile fadama.

Notes: Valley City, North Dakota, has an average daily water use of 750,000 gallons, which is obtained from wells tapping pattly confined gravel deposits in the Sheyenne River valley. These deposits at Valley City have a maximum thickness of more than 50 feet and an areal extent of approximately 1 square mile. The aquifer has been artificially recharged successfully since 1932 by diversion of water from the Sheyenne River to an abandoned gravel pit. During this time the piezometric surface in the aquifer has been raised more than 22 feet.Prior to 1958, the recharge system was operated from January until June; however, when the piezometric surface rose to within about 8 feet of the surface, the recharge operation was discontinued. Between June and January the piezometric surface declined as ground water was withdrawn. During the recharge-discharge cycle, the average annual fluctuation of the piezometric surface was 10 feet, amounting to a change in storage of about 1,000 acre-feet of water. Since 1958, the recharge system has been operated throughout the year. There has been a gradual improvement in the quality of the water in the aquifer since the installation of the recharge system.

Notes: Observations of temperature, pll, specific conduction, and discharge, and concentrations of calcium, magnesium, potassium. lithium, and sodium in the discharge of a flowing well reveal that geochemistry of aquifers should be based on sample wells which have been allowed to discharge for an extended period.

Notes: A systematic investigation of the steady-state discharge to wells that partially penetrate a homogeneous and isotropic non-leaky artesian aquifer was made using an electrolyte-tank model. The experimental results were compared with the discharge calculated by methods developed by several previous writers. This comparison showed that the formula of Li, Bock, and Benton (1954) gave the most reliable results over the widest range of the appropriate geometric variables.

Notes: The outlook for Congressional legislation resolving iong-time controversies over waters of the Colorado River, optimistic in 1966, has been dimmed by political misunderstanding. The essential ingredient of progress -harmony between Arizona and California water leaders -has been lost. They worked together on a bill to bring peace to the river and economic advantage to themselves and all Lower Colorado River Basin States. They got to the threshold, but not across it.Unless falling short of complete success has irreparably upset the delicate balance of Arizona-California interests, they must inevitably rejoin forces to reach their mutual goals. When and if they do, we believe the background for action and the proposed legislation outlined here will continue to be their best means of compromise.

Notes: A method is presented for determining values of u and W(u) for u greater than 0.01 from time-drawdown data without the use of graphical approximations or type-curves. The method utilizes the function Z(u) which is defined in the paper and makes possible the application of statistical analyses of test data for bounded aquifers and other types of complex field problems. If the field data are taken so that t is a consecutive multiple of two, the method can be applied directly to the drawdown observations. An example of this method used to analyze test data for a bounded aquifer and a table of values of W(u) and Z(u) for selected values of u between 0.01 and 4.6 are also presented.

Notes: Estimates can be made of the distances to hydrologic boundaries by using water-level measurements from pumping wells and by assuming in each case the possible range of the coefficient of storage. Interpretation of pumping test data from Well 6 (J-13) at the Nevada Test Site implies that a fault 1200 feet from the well acts as the closest of the impermeable boundaries. In a case where no boundary has been felt the areal extent or volume of rocks affecting the drawdown pattern of a well can be estimated by assuming that a hypothetical boundary is just about to be felt at the time pumping stopped.

Notes: Criteria and formulas are presented for scheduling cyclic pumping operations, to maintain a given minimum drawdown as required for drainage purposes. Keeping the total cycle length constant, the pumping periods are successively shortened and the shutoff periods lengthened. Solutions of the equation for the relative length of the shutoff periods are presented in a family of curves, which greatly simplifies the scheduling procedure.

Notes: The failure or “breaking up” of pavement in cuts in glacial till is a phenomenon commonly observed in northeastern Illinois and other areas in the midwest. Failure commonly follows periods of significant ground-water recharge, especially when such periods are concomitant with freezing and thawing conditions.Water levels in piezometers installed in glacial till in northeastern Illinois indicate that during periods of high precipitation or rapid snow melt, the potential surface normally occurs at shallow depths. Therefore, cuts of appreciable depth intersect the zone of saturation and establish local, gravity, ground-water flow systems with the bottom of the cut acting as a ground-water discharge zone. Such shallow gravity flow systems may bring about pavement failure by facilitating the growth of thick ice lenses or by developing high pressure beneath the pavement due to poor drainage.

Notes: The scope of area1 investigations of water resources in New York has changed within the last 4 years. Prior 1962, most investigations covered only counties or smaller areas and were mainly restricted to ground-water resources Since 1762, investigarions have covered largebasin (2,000-4,000 square miles) with the purpose of defining total water resources so that basin-wldc comprehensive plans for water development can be prepared.Ground water has been intensively studied in the basin investigations, both because of its large potential for future development, and becaus e of it sinterre lation with the surface-water resources. The latter reason is particularly important because the principal aquifers are numerous u nconnect edglacials and andgravel deposits that are crossed by streams. This ground-water regimen to a large degree determines the flow characteristics and water quality of streams. Conversely, streamflow data provide acon-venient means of assessing ground-water availability.Some approaches used in basin studies are:(1)(1) numerous quantitative and qualitative observations of low streamflow to define the principal areas of ground-water discharge and to define the quantity and quality of discharging ground water(2)estimation of total ground-water dischar gepas stream gages from daily streamflow records by correlation with ground-water levels and by analysis of the records(3) assessment of recharge to particular sand and gravel deposit swith inbroadlimits, using the data on ground-water discharge to streams(4) estimation of a daily chemical quality hydrograph on the basis of quantity and quality of both ground-water discharge and overland runoff

Notes: Passive-element electric analog models have been used for many years as a means of tudying cause and effect relationships in the regional development of ground-water resources. Although successful use of such models has been demonstrated by several investigators, certain inherent characteristics designed into some electric analog models lead to significant error at particular boundaries of the model.Errors that exist at the pumped well junctions of non-steady-state two-dimensional flow electric analog models are analyzed. The results of the analysis indicate that practical sustained yields and water-level data derived from pumped well junctions of electric analog models lead to overly optimistic estimates of aquifer and well yielding capabilities. This paper presents design methods for simulating pumped wells having different radii, screen lengths, partial penetrations, gravel pack sizes, and well-loss constants.