Altitude of the potentiometric surface, 2000–15, and historical water-level changes in the Memphis aquifer in the Memphis area, Tennessee

The Memphis and Fort Pillow aquifers are the principal sources of water for municipal, industrial, and commercial uses in the Memphis area. About 207 million gallons per day of groundwater were withdrawn in Shelby County, Tennessee, from both aquifers in 2010 for these uses, with most of the water coming from the Memphis aquifer. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Memphis, Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division, collects groundwater-level data in the Memphis area and periodically prepares potentiometric-surface maps for the Memphis aquifer to assess conditions in this regionally important water supply aquifer. This report presents the altitudes of the potentiometric surface of water in wells screened in the Memphis aquifer based on water-level measurements made in the fall of 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015 and describes historical water-level changes in the Memphis aquifer at key observation wells in the Memphis area. The Memphis area is about 1,500 square miles and includes all of Shelby County and parts of Tipton and Fayette Counties in Tennessee, parts of DeSoto and Marshall Counties in Mississippi, and part of Crittenden County in Arkansas.