The surficial aquifer in Pinellas County, Florida

The surficial aquifer in Pinellas County, Florida, contains potable water throughout most of the county and is a potential source of water to augment the public supply that is presently imported from adjacent counties. The county accounts for 38 percent of the public supply consumption of ground water in the 11-county area of west-central Florida and 68 percent of this water is imported from two adjacent counties. The surficial aquifer has a saturated thickness of more than 30 feet throughout most of the county. Specific capacity per foot of screen for wells is less than 0.1 gallon per minute per foot of drawdown in some parts of the county, but yield is sufficient in most of the county for many small uses with shallow-well pumps. Minimum potential yield varies from 5 gallons per minute in the northern part of the county to more than 30 gallons per minute in the south. Concentrations of iron are high enough in parts of the county to cause staining. Chloride concentrations are less than 100 milligrams per liter in most of the county and do not pose a problem for many uses. (USGS)