Water levels and selected water-quality conditions in the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer in eastern Arkansas, 2014
In 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Arkansas Geological Survey and the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, determined water-level altitudes in 468 wells in eastern Arkansas and collected water-quality samples from 144 wells. Water-level altitudes were calculated based on the measured depth to water in each well and used to construct a potentiometric-surface map of the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer, and the water-quality samples were analyzed for chloride and bromide concentrations. Upon completion of the potentiometric-surface map, 10 depressions in the potentiometric surface were identified in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain: two large depressions, five small depressions, and three areas of decreased water levels. Analyses of water-quality samples identified several areas of elevated chloride/bromide ratios.
A water-level altitude difference map was constructed using 345 groundwater levels measured in 2010 and 2014. Differences in water-level altitude ranged from –10.2 feet in Craighead County to 18.00 feet in Prairie County. Analysis of the overall water-level altitude differences indicated a decline in approximately 84 percent of the wells measured in both 2010 and 2014, including in areas where previous studies indicated water-level altitude increases between 2008 and 2012. Analysis of long-term hydrographs of wells in the study area indicated that mean annual water levels declined in all but two counties. The decline in water levels observed in the hydrographs suggests continued growth of the cones of depression caused by groundwater use in the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer.
Citation Information
| Publication Year | 2020 |
|---|---|
| Title | Water levels and selected water-quality conditions in the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer in eastern Arkansas, 2014 |
| DOI | 10.3133/sir20205123 |
| Authors | Kirk D. Rodgers, Amanda R. Whaling |
| Publication Type | Report |
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Series Title | Scientific Investigations Report |
| Series Number | 2020-5123 |
| Index ID | sir20205123 |
| Record Source | USGS Publications Warehouse |
| USGS Organization | Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center |
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Water-level data, selected water-quality data, and the potentiometric dataset for the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer in eastern Arkansas, spring 2014
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Water-level data, selected water-quality data, and the potentiometric dataset for the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer in eastern Arkansas, spring 2014
The alluvial aquifer of the Mississippi embayment lies within a syncline plunging south towards the Gulf of Mexico with the axis of the syncline roughly following the Mississippi River (Cushing and others, 1964, Hart and others, 2008). The trough of the syncline is comprised of alluvial and terrace deposits of Quaternary age (Ackerman, 1996). A potentiometric-surface map of the Mississippi River V - Connect