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UTILIZATION OF A GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM TO IDENTIFY THE PRIMARY AQUIFER PROVIDING GROUND WATER TO INDWIDUAL WELLS IN EASTERN ARKANSAS 1
Author(s) -
Baker Nancy T.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-1688.1993.tb03222.x
Subject(s) - aquifer , groundwater , geological survey , hydrology (agriculture) , geology , surficial aquifer , water well , alluvium , groundwater recharge , aquifer properties , geographic information system , aquifer test , geomorphology , remote sensing , geophysics , geotechnical engineering
A Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to develop an automated procedure for identifying the primary aquifers supplying ground water to individual wells in eastern Arkansas. As mandated by state law, water‐use data are reported by ground‐water withdrawers annually to the Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation Commission, and stored in the Arkansas Site‐Specific Water‐Use Data System provided and supported by the U.S. Geological Survey. Although most withdrawers are able to provide the amount of water withdrawn and the depth of their wells, very few are able to provide the name of the aquifer from which they withdraw water. GIS software was used to develop an automated procedure for identifying the primary aquifers supplying ground water to individual wells in eastern Arkansas. The software was used to generate a spatial representation of the bottom boundary for the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer (the shallowest aquifer) in eastern Arkansas from well log‐data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey. The software was then used to determine the depth of the aquifer bottom at reported well locations to ascertain whether the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer or a deeper aquifer was the primary aquifer providing water to each well. The alluvial aquifer was identified as the primary aquifer for about 23,500 wells.