Geohydrology and susceptibility of major aquifers to surface contamination in Alabama; area 11

This report delineates and describes the geohydrology and susceptibility of major aquifers to contamination in Butler, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw, Escambia, and Monroe Counties, Alabama. The major aquifers are the Pliocene-Miocene, Upper Floridan, Lisbon, Nanafalia-Clayton, and Providence-Ripley. The largest pumping centers in the area are Andalusia and Monroeville, where groundwater use is about 5 and 4 million gal/day, respectively. Estimated maximum withdrawal in 1987 for all uses in the area was about 44 million gal/day. Depressions have developed in the potentiometric surfaces of the Lisbon aquifer near Andalusia and Opp, the Nanafalia-Clayton aquifer near Luverne, Andalusia, Beatrice, and Monroeville, and the Providence-Ripley aquifer at Greenville. Significant declines in the potentiometric surfaces of the other major aquifers are not apparent. Recharge areas for all major aquifers are susceptible to contamination, but the probability of contamination of the Lisbon, Nanafalia-Clayton, and Providence-Ripley aquifers is low because the recharge areas are remote from areas of the withdrawal. The depressions in the recharge area for the Upper Floridan aquifer and the area where the Pliocene-Miocene aquifer is overlain by the gravelly sands of the Citronelle Formation are highly susceptible to contamination from the surface. (USGS)