Publications

A fluid sample from a shallow aquifer contaminated by coal-tar wastes was analyzed for organic bases. The sample consisted of a mixture of aqueous and oily-tar phases. The phases were separated by centrifugation and filtration. Organic bases were isolated from each phase by pH adjustment and solvent extraction. Organic bases in the oily-tar phase were further purified by neutral-alumina...

Detailed ground-water-use information from 1880 to 1980 has been collected and analyzed for the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Interpretation of historic water-use data was required to help water-resource planners and managers assess future trends in water use. Data were also needed for three computer-simulation models of ground-water flow being developed in the Twin Cities area. Methods...

Water levels, locations, depths, and aquifers tapped are given for 117 observation wells. Tabulated data include extremes of water levels for 1982 and for the period of record, pumpage of most major ground-water users in the State, and quality data on selected wells. The largest reported user of ground-water, the city of Lansing, pumped 8.2 billion gallons from the Saginaw Formation and...

Current estimates of station skew indicate that estimates of generalized skew obtained from the skew map of the United States prepared by the U.S. Water Resources Council have a -0.27 bias for Michigan. Station skew was recomputed using currently recommended statistical procedures of the Water Resources Council, and available data through 1982. Generalized skew is combined with station...

The Upper Carbonate aquifer is part of a sequence of sedimentary bedrock units deposited in Paleozoic seas that occupied a depression known as the Hollandale embayment. The aquifer is comprised of four formations, which, in ascending order, are the Galena Dolomite, Dubuque Formation, Maquoketa Shale, and Cedar Valley Limestone. Total thickness of the aquifer is as much as 650 feet...

Two FORTRAN computer programs have been written to process water-well temperature and pressure data recorded automatically by a datalogger on magnetic tape. These programs process the data into tabular and graphical form. Both programs are presented with documentation. Sample plots of temperature versus time, water levels versus time, aquifer pressure versus log time , log drawdown...

The principal surficial aquifers in southwest Minnesota consist of outwash and alluvium material deposited in river valleys. The largest and most productive of these aquifers occupy the valleys of the Cottonwood, Des Moines, Redwood, and Rock Rivers and of tributaries to the Big Sioux River. Minor aquifers, adequate only for farm or domestic use, occur in the valleys of tributaries to...

Streamflow and suspended-sediment-transport data were collected in Garvin Brook watershed in Winona County, southeastern Minnesota, during 1982. The data collection was part of a study to determine the effectiveness of agricultural best-management practices designed to improve rural water quality. The study is part of a Rural Clean Water Program demonstration project undertaken by the U...

Quality of water in the Prairie du Chien-Jordan aquifer is generally good, except for some localized contamination, Coal-tar derivatives that contaminate the aquifer in St. Louis Park, a western suburb in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, pose the most serious threat to water quality. High hardness and iron concentration limit suitability for municipal and industrial use in parts of...

It is often difficult to obtain discharge ratings at urban gaging stations. This report presents the results of using an automated constant-rate dyedilution technique to measure discharge at two sites in Madison, Wisconsin. The sites selected have well-defined stage-discharge ratings, developed during previous hydrologic studies. One site has a 60-inch diameter concrete storm sewer and...

This report summarizes the amounts and distribution of the pumpage of ground water for public supplies from four aquifers in Wisconsin. The data are for 1979 and reflect the pumpage from about 1,100 wells in 485 communities. The distribution and amount of pumpage is estimated to be similar for subsequent years. Of the water pumped for public supplies, 95 percent comes from two major...

The Mount Simon-Hinckley aquifer in southeast Minnesota consists of a thick sequence of sandstone that generally yields large quantities of good-quality water to wells. The aquifer is most important as a source of water supply in the Twin Cities area, where it supplies approximately 10 percent of the ground water used. It is the uppermost bedrock aquifer and, locally, the principal...