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A hydrologic investigation to define the extent of brine contamination in ground water and streams in the Baxterville oil field area was conducted from October 1984 through November 1985. The 260-square-mile study area includes the Baxterville oil field (approximately 12.5 square miles) in southwestern Lamar and southeastern Marion Counties, Mississippi. Since 1944, disposal of more than 1 billion barrels of brine pumped from the oilproducing zones has contaminated (increased chloride to greater than background concentrations) parts of the Citronelle and shallow Miocene aquifers and some streams that drain the oil field. Many domestic wells have been abandoned because of the presence of substantial quantities of brine in the ground water. Brine has moved laterally through the shallowest aquifers and discharged into Clear Creek and its tributaries. Although the presence of brine in surface water was greatest during periods of low flow when streamflow originated primarily from ground-water inflow, brine was also detected during high-flow periods when streamflow consisted largely of precipitation runoff. INTRODUCTION Large quantities of brine, water with a dissolved-solids concentration greater than 35,000 mg/L, are produced in conjunction with petroleum. In Mississippi, where petroleum production began in 1939, disposal of brine has resulted in contamination of streams and aquifers. In the early years of oil production in the State, brine was pumped into nearby streams. In an attempt to avoid surface-water contamination, producers later pumped brine into evaporation ponds or pits. This practice led to the contamination of shallow ground water, and this disposal method was prohibited in 1978 (Mississippi State Oil and Gas Board, 1985, p. 91). Most of the brine produced in the Baxterville oil field is injected (1986) into the saline Cook Mountain Formation, which ranges in depth from 2,340 to 2,700 ft below land surface (Bicker, 1972). Information about the extent of brine contamination and about the movement and ultimate fate of the brine and the constituents that it contains is useful to local water planners and managers. To determine the extent of brine contamination, a study to collect water-quality data in oil-producing areas of Mississippi was begun in 1981 by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Pollution Control. Background The Baxterville oil field (fig. 1), located in southwestern Lamar and southeastern Marion Counties, is (1986) the most productive oil field in Mississippi. Oil production in the Baxterville oil field began on November 19, 1944. Production figures for the first few years of operation are not available, but more than 7.5 million barrels of oil were produced in 1948 (fig. 2). Production decreased and ranged from about 5 to 6 million barrels per year until 1970. Production increased in 1970 and reached a maximum of almost 8.9 million barrels in 1972. Since then, yearly oil production gradually decreased to approximately 4.4 million barrels in 1985 (Mississippi State Oil and Gas Board, 1984,1985). During initial development of oil reservoirs, relatively little brine in proportion to petroleum is brought to the surface. As petroleum is removed, however, formation water (brine) fills the pore spaces vacated by the oil, and subsequent pumping produces brine with the oil. The yearly brine production in Baxterville oil field gradually increased from about 1.7 million barrels in 1948 to about 20 million barrels in 1970. This increase continued through the 1970's and early 1980's, and brine production reached a R.17W R.16W. 89°35' R.15W.

Brine Contamination of Ground Water and Streams in the Baxterville Oil Field Area, Lamar and Marion Counties, Mississippi