Methods of Collecting 

and Interpreting 

Ground-Water Data

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1544-H
Methods of Collecting 

and Interpreting 

Ground-Water Data

Compiled by RAY BENTALL

GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1544-H

A collection of reports prepared by 

Peter R. Stevens, Edward A. Moulder', 

Mervin L. Klug, Gordon E. Andreason, Joseph fF. Brookhart, Robert IF. 

Stollman, Matthew L Rorabaugh, and 

Harold E. Thomas, revised by Ray 

Bent all

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1963
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

Thomas B. Nolan, Director

REPRINTED 1964

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office 

Washington, D.C. 20402
CONTENTS

Page 

Introduction.----_-___-___-___-___--____-__---__----__---_--______ Hi

Examination of drill cuttings and application of resulting information to 

solving of field problems on the Navajo Indian Reservation, N. Mex., 

and Ariz., by Peter R. Stevens____-_____________-___-__-___-._____ 3

Abstract __-____-_-__--__--_-______-__---_---__----___--___-. 3

Scope and purpose of paper.-____-_-____-___-_-_-____-____-____- 3

Collection of drill cuttings...__________________________________ 3

Holes drilled by a cable-tool rig_______-____-__--______-_._-_ 4

Holes drilled by a rotary rig_ _ ______________________________ 5

Examination and description of drill cuttings____________________ 6

Equipment used for examination- ___________________________ 6

Description of drill cuttings.-___--___-_---_____--_-_-_-___-- 6

Identification of stratigraphic units. _________________________ 7

Compilation of logs________-__________-__--___--___---____- 7

Application of subsurface data to field problems on the Navajo Indian

Reservation__ ________________________-_____-_----_-------_ 10

Hydrologic problems-____-__-__---_-------------------_--_- 10

Geologic problems-_______-___-__________-_--_---_-__------ 12

Construction of a peg model- _____-___--__-___------__------ 13

Conclusion_ _--_____-__-______-__--____-____---__--__--__---- 13

Selected references._-____--__________-___-____--__------_--_--- 13

Jetting method of installing small-diameter wells, by Edward A. Moulder

and Mervin L. Klug____________-_-_-______--____--_---_--------- 14

Abstract.._ ___________________________---__--_-____-__---_---_ 14

Specifications for observation wells...__----_-__________-___-__--- 14

Principles of the jetting technique------------------------------- 15

Basic equipment for jetting operations. __________________________ 17

Equipment adapted for work in Montana_______-____--__----_-- 17

Procedure for installing a well...______________________-_-_-_---- 19

Jetting the hole--_____-________-__-___-__--_-------------- 19

Completion of an observation well-____-_________--__--_----- 24

Other uses for jetting equipment..-------.---------------------- 27

Limitations of jetting equipment__________-_____-__.----__------ 27

Conclusion_ ______-______________-______-____-__---__---_---- 29

Reference cited____-_.______-________-_--____-_----------_--- 30

Reverse water-level fluctuations, by Gordon E. Andreasen and Joseph W.

Brookhart.._______..__-_--_.__________-___-__-- 30 

Abstract_ _________-.-______-________---_____-_-------------- 30

Observation of reverse water-level fluctuations_________-__-------- 30

Possible explanations for reverse water-level fluctuations ________-- 34

Conclusion_ _-______-___________________-____-__------------- 35

References cited____________________________.-__.------------- 35

in
IV CONTENTS

	Page 

Computation of ground-water velocity from temperature data, by

Robert W. Stallman.-_________________________________________ H36

Abstract. _ _______________________________________________ 36

Scope and purpose of paper.____________________________________ 36

Significance of convection in ground-water flow._________________ 37

Permeability calculated from head and temperature measurements... 42

Conclusion ___________________________________________________ 45

References cited _______________________________________________ 46

Streambed percolation in development of water supplies, by Matthew I.

Rorabaugh.____________________________________________________ 47

Abstract ____________________________________________ __________ 47

Scope of the investigation. __ ___________________________________ 47

Acknowledgments. ____________________________________________ 48

Geologic origin of valley-fill deposits in and north of the Ohio River

valley _ ___________________________________________________ 48

Requirements for industrial or municipal water supplies ____________ 49

Factors in the practical development of a water supply.____________ 51

Temperature of the water._________________________________ 52

Percolation rates __________________________________________ 53

Quality of water__________________________________________ 55

Performance of a horizontal-type collector southwest of Louisville,

Ky________________________________________________________ 56

Conclusion ___________________________________________________ 61

References cited.______________________________________________ 61

A water budget for the artesian aquifer in Odgen Valley, Weber County,

Utah, by Harold E. Thomas______.____________________ 63

Abstract_____________________________________________________ 63

Scope and purpose of paper_____________________________________ 63

Geologic and hydrologic features of Ogden Valley._________________ 64

Data available for a hy drologic study of Odgen Valley _____________ 65

Precipitation, __ __________________________________________ 66

Atmospheric pressure. _____________________________________ 66

Stream discharge_____________________________________--___ 67

Storage in Pine View Reservoir_______________-____-_-_-_-- 67

Withdrawals from the artesian aquifer_______________________ 70

Water-level fluctuations in the Tower well____________________ 75

Water-level fluctuations in the Cemetery well_________________ 75

Factors producing water-level fluctuations in the Tower well_____-__ 77

Changes in pressure upon the water in the artesian aquifer, _ _ _ _ 78

Atmospheric pressure. ________________-_-____-____---_- 78

Rate of withdrawal from Ogden municipal-supply wells _ _ _ _ 79

Contents of Pine View Reservoir__ _______-------_------- 79

Water-level adjustments for pressure effects----______--_-_ 85

Changes in ground-water storage____________----_----------- 85

Discharge from the artesian aquifer._____________--_----. 87

Recharge to the artesian aquifer______----_--_-__------ 92

Water budget for Ogden Valley. ____.______--_____---_-_-------- 95

References cited.__--__________________________-_--____-__----- 97
CONTENTS V

ILLUSTRATION

Page

FIGURE 1. Schematic drawing of single-pipe method of jetting smalldiameter wells _ ______________________________________ H16

2. Drilling bits used in jetting holes for observation wells.----- 18

3. Pipe clamp showing method of attaching it to jet tube____-_ 19

4. Jet tube and single-swing swivel head used with jetting

equipment in Montana________________________________ 20

5. Valves connected to suction side of truck-mounted pump____ 21

6. Valve arrangement on jetting equipment__--__--_---_--_-_ 22

7. Graduated jetting tube in jetting position __.-_-__--__----_ 22

8. Sample form for recording observation-well field data.______ 24

9. Construction details of test wells installed by jetting equipment. _____ __________________________________________ 25

10. A-frame and winch assembly used to pull jetting pipe_.._____ 26

11. Details of wellhead used with jetting equipment for surging

and developing wells-_-----_------_--_-_-----_-------- 28

12. Generalized geologic section at Easton, Talbot County, Md__ 31

13. Hydrograph showing reverse water-level fluctuations in well

Tal-Ce 1, Aug. 23-25, 1950-__----_-_________.------_ 32

14. Hydrograph showing reverse water-level fluctuations in well

Tal-Ce 1 on September 15, 1950_____..________ 32

15. Graph of temperature vs. depth in well Tal-Ce 1 on September

14, 1950__.____________________________---__-_.------ 33

16. Hydrograph showing reverse and tidal water-level fluctuations in well Wor-Bh 2, Ocean City, Worcester County, 

Md., Dec. 12-r3, 1951_.___._-_._------_______ 34

17. An element of volume of saturated permeable material in

which heat flow and fluid flow are simultaneous-___---_-_ 38

18. Performance graphs for collector southwest of Louisville, Ky_ 57

19. Graph of monthly discharge of the South Fork of the Ogden

River___-_____________________._________ 69

20. Relation of outflow from Ogden Valley to inflow from the

South Fork of the Ogden River__ ___.__.-__________ 70

21. Graph of monthly discharge from the Ogden municipalsupply wells, unadjusted and adjusted hydrographs for 

the Tower well, and graph of monthly contents of Pine 

View Reservoir__________________________-____----_--- 80

22. Relation of the water level in the Tower well to the rate of

withdrawal from the Ogden municipal-supply wells - ______ 81

23. Relation of the water level in the Tower well to the contents

of Pine View Reservoir._______________-_____-----.---- 84

24. Relation of water-level decline in the Tower well to discharge

from the Ogden municipal-supply wells._______--_------- 88

25. Hydrologic analysis of changes in storage in the artesian

aquifer in Ogden Valley______________--_------_------- 91

26. Relation of computed recharge components to precipitation

during selected autumn periods______---_--__--------- 93
VI CONTENTS

TABLES

Page 

TABLE 1. Monthly and annual precipitation at Pine View Dam_______ H66

2. Monthly and annual discharge of the South Fork of the

Ogden River____________________________________ 68

3. Annual outflow from Ogden Valley, Utah__________________ 71

4. Altitude of the water surface in Pine View Reservoir on the

first day of the month.______________________________ 72

5. Contents of Pine View Reservoir on the first day of the month- 73

6. Monthly discharge of Ogden municipal-supply wells. _______ 74

7. Altitude of the water level in the Tower well on the first day

of the month_____________________________-----_____-_ 76

8. Corrections applied to the measured water levels in the Tower 

well for changes in the discharge rate of the Ogden municipal-supply wells_ ________________________________ 82

9. "Load" efficiency of the Tower well during periods of constant

rate of discharge from the Ogden municipal-supply wells _ _ 83

10. Corrections applied to the measured water levels in the Tower

well for changes in the contents of Pine View Reservoir _ _ _ 85

11. Altitude of the water level in the Tower well on the first day

of the month__________________________---__-------- 86

12. Monthly rise or decline of the adjusted water level in the

Tower well._ __________________________------_------_ 87

13. Discharge component in the monthly changes of the adjusted

water level in the Tower well.- _____-___--------------- 90

14. Recharge component in the monthly changes of the adjusted

water level in the Tower welL ___________---_---------- 90

15. Precipitation at Pine View Dam and recharge component in 

the adjusted water-level changes in the Tower well during 

selected-autumn periods_____-______-__-_--_----------- 93

16. Maximum possible water-level rise in the Tower well attributable to recharge from precipitation and local runoff _____ 94

17. Portion of the monthly recharge component attributed to

infiltration of precipitation and local runoff ______________ 95

18. Portion of the monthly recharge component attributed to

seepage from streams______________________------_---- 95

19. Rejected recharge from precipitation and local runoff, expressed as water-level change in the Tower well_ _________ 96

20. Water budget for the artesian aquifer in Ogden Valley,

1935-51________________________________-__ 96
GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

METHODS OF COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING 

GROUND-WATER DATA

COMPILED by RAY BENTALL

INTRODUCTION

Because ground water is hidden from view, ancient man could only 

theorize as to its sources of replenishment and its behavior. His 

theories held sway until the latter part of the 17th century, which 

marked the first experimental work to determine the source and movement of ground water. Thus founded, the science of ground-water 

hydrology grew slowly and not until the 19th century is there substantial evidence of conclusions having been based on observational 

data. The 20th century has witnessed tremendous advances in the 

science in the methods of field investigation and interpretation of 

collected data, in the methods of determining the hydrologic characteristics of water-bearing material, and in the methods of inventorying ground-water supplies. Now, as is true of many other disciplines, 

the science of ground-water hydrology is characterized by frequent 

advancement of new ideas and techniques, refinement of old techniques, and an increasing wealth of data awaiting interpretation.

So that its widely scattered staff of professional hydrologists could 

keep abreast of new ideas and advances in the techniques of groundwater investigation, it has been the practice in the U.S. Geological 

Survey to distribute such information for immediate internal use. 

As the methods become better established and developed, they are 

described in formal publications. Six papers pertaining to widely 

different phases of ground-water investigation comprise this particular contribution. For the sake of clarity and conformity, the original 

papers have been revised and edited by the compiler.

The first of the papers is based on experience gained during drilling 

operations on the Navajo Indian Reservation in northeastern Arizona 

and northwestern New Mexico. It describes not only the methods of 

collecting, examining, and describing the rock cuttings but also some 

of the uses made of the subsurface information obtained by drilling.

HI
H2 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

The second paper describes the equipment used and the procedure 

followed in installing shallow water-level observation wells by a combination of jetting and rotary-drilling methods. The technique was 

developed during the course of drainage studies in two areas in 

eastern Montana.

The third paper, which is based on observations at Easton, Md., 

discusses the phenomenon of reverse water-level fluctuations that is, 

the water level in a well that taps a deep aquifer rises whenever water 

is pumped from a nearby well that taps a shallow aquifer. Two 

possible explanations for such reverse water-level fluctuations are presented, and it is suggested that fluctuations of this type may provide 

data from which the hydraulic constants of an aquifer could be 

computed.

The fourth paper relates the distribution of underground temperatures to the velocity of the ground water. Theoretically, temperature 

measurements can be used for calculating flow velocity, and a combination of head and temperature measurements can be used for calculating aquifer permeability.

The fifth paper discusses the factors that should be considered in 

designing a water-supply installation that is to be supplied by streambed percolation. Data collected during the first 5 years of operation 

of a horizontal-type collector southwest of Louisville, Ky., are used 

to illustrate the effects of the various factors.

In the sixth paper a long-term record of water-level fluctuations 

in a single well in Ogden Valley, Utah, is used as the basis for developing a water budget for the artesian aquifer tapped by the well. 

Adjustment of the water-level record for all the known pressure effects 

results in a hyclrograph that reflects changes in storage only. The 

changes in storage are then related to the various factors that add to, 

or subtract from, storage in the aquifer. This paper is an example 

of knowledge that can be gained by integrating and interpreting data 

and observations.
EXAMINATION OF DRILL CUTTINGS AND APPLICATION 

OF RESULTING INFORMATION TO SOLVING OF FIELD 

PROBLEMS ON THE NAVAJO INDIAN RESERVATION, 

N. MEX. AND ARIZ.

By PETEB R. STEVENS

ABSTRACT

Only by drilling test holes and wells can detailed information on subsurface 

geologic and hydrologic conditions be obtained. The value of the information 

thus collected depends on the care exercised in sampling the rock cuttings, the 

thoroughness of the microscopic examination, and the accuracy and completeness of the lithologic and hydrologic descriptions. The more subsurface information compiled for an area, the better the understanding of the stratigraphy 

and geologic structure and the greater the success in locating water supplies from 

ground-water sources. This paper is based on experience gained in making a 

geologic and hydrologic study of the Navajo Indian Reservation, N. Mex. and 

Ariz.

SCOPE AND PURPOSE OF PAPER

During the course of geologic and ground-water studies in the 

Navajo Indian Reservation in northwestern New Mexico and northeastern Arizona, many wells and test holes were drilled. So that the 

maximum amount of subsurface information could be realized from 

the drilling operations, samples of the rock cuttings brought to the 

surface were examined and described and observations pertaining to 

the development of ground-water supplies were recorded.

The procedure followed in collecting and examining the cuttings 

and the uses made of the fund of geologic and hydrologic data thus 

obtained are outlined in this paper as an aid to those who may 'be 

making similar studies in other areas.

COLLECTION OF DRILL CUTTINGS

Drillers on the Navajo Indian Reservation ordinarily collect samples that not only represent each 10-foot increment of depth but also 

each apparent change in lithology. Each sample is washed and then 

put into a cloth bag bearing the name and location of the well and 

the depth represented by the sample. If a well is being drilled by the 

cable-tool method, the sample is obtained from material dumped from 

the bailer or, preferably, from the material adhering to the drill bit. 

On the other hand, if a well is being-drilled by the rotary method, the

H3
H4 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

samples are "ditch samples" that is, they are collected from the ditch 

through which the drilling mud is channeled to the settling pit. To 

reduce contamination and obtain cuttings that are representative of 

the rocks being penetrated, the ditch is cleaned before each sample is 

collected. Because a well log can be no more accurate than the care in 

sampling permits, the driller who observes proper sampling procedures is most helpful. As water-well drilling ordinarily proceeds at a 

fairly slow pace, the person who is to examine the cuttings need not 

be in constant attendance during the drilling operation. Instead, the 

samples can be stored for examination either at convenient intervals as 

drilling proceeds or after the drilling is completed.

HOLES DRILLED BY A CABLE-TOOL RIG

Ordinarily all or nearly all the rock fragments in each sample collected from a hole drilled by a cable-tool rig may be regarded as 

representative of the rock penetrated at the indicated depth. Especially is this so if the sample was obtained from the cuttings adhering 

to the drill bit. As individual samples rarely contain more than two 

different types of rock, the relationship of one rock type to another 

generally is fairly obvious. The lithologic break between different 

rock types always can be placed within a 10-foot interval, or may be 

placed even more closely if the driller records the depth or, even better, 

collects a sample from each depth at which he detects that a new rock 

type has been pierced. If a succession of thin layers differing in lithology are penetrated within one depth interval, the cuttings are of 

mixed types. The person examining such a sample and preparing 

a log of the hole is able to picture and describe the lithology of the 

interval much more accurately if he has detailed knowledge of the 

stratigraphy, or if the driller has carefully noted and recorded each 

detectable break in rock types.

The operator of a cable-tool rig usually knows when the bit enters 

a permeable water-bearing material. Furthermore, he generally can 

estimate the quantity of water the material is yielding and can determine, within wide limits, whether the water is potable. If searching 

for a water supply, a driller should be provided with sample bottles 

and should be given instructions on how to take a sample of the water, 

the information to record on the sample bottle, and the importance of 

recording the temperature of the water being sampled. If a sample is 

collected from each water-bearing layer penetrated in the course of 

drilling, rather than merely composite samples of water from groups 

of water-bearing layers, a much more detailed appraisal of the water 

quality can be made.
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H5 

HOLES DRILLED BY A ROTARY RIG

Only rarely are all the rock fragments .in a sample from a hole 

drilled by a rotary rig derived from the rocks penetrated in the indicated depth interval. As the cuttings from the indicated interval 

almost invariably are mixed with cuttings from overlying intervals, 

considerable judgment must be exercised in. describing which cuttings are representative of that interval. Although errors in interpretation are possible, they are reduced to a minimum if the examiner 

of the samples has a thorough knowledge of the stratigraphy of the 

area.

When samples from a hole drilled by a rotary rig are studied, they 

should be examined in the order of increasing depth so that the first 

appearance of each different rock type can be noted. A new type 

of rock particles, not present in previous samples, represents an addition to the stream of particles rising in the drilling mud and indicates 

that the bit has penetrated a lithologic boundary within the depth 

interval represented by the sample.

If the strata represented by the samples from successive depth intervals are composed predominantly of shale but partly of sandstone, 

the presence of a few grains of sand may mark the top of a sandstone 

layer. Generally, a few fragments of sandstone can be found in the 

sample and, if examined, they reveal the character of the sandstone 

and give some indication regarding its potentialities as an aquifer. 

If the sandstone is thick, succeeding samples will include increasingly 

large percentages of sand or sandstone fragments, but if the sandstone is thin, the percentage will remain small. If a record of the 

time required to drill each depth interval, or fraction of a depth interval, is maintained as drilling proceeds, the information provided 

by that record aids the examiner of the samples to prepare a more 

accurate log of the rocks penetrated.

The identification of water-bearing zones in a well drilled by a rotary rig is very difficult. Frequently water-bearing zones are penetrated without their existence being recognized by the driller. Such 

zones, especially if they are sandstone layers interbedded with shale 

layers, cannot be detected until the drilling mud is flushed out of the 

hole. Moreover, there is 110 way of determining by examining cuttings whether only one, or more than one, principal water-bearing 

layer is present; or if more than one is present, whether the chemical 

quality of the water in each is different or nearly the same.

Although the mud used in the rotary method of drilling serves the 

dual purpose of lining the wall of the hole (thus reducing the possibility of caving) and of transporting the cuttings to the surface, it 

also tends to seal off the water-bearing layers. Thus, before the water-
H6 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

producing potentialities of the rocks penetrated in drilling can be appraised, the hole must be flushed clear of the drilling mud. The mud 

also hampers the obtaining of accurate information regarding the 

quality of water in the well. Because the mud generally has a high pH, 

and may have a high content of sulf ate, chloride, or bicarbonate, it 

is likely to contaminate the water being sampled.

EXAMINATION AND DESCRIPTION OF DRILL CUTTINGS 

EQUIPMENT USED FOR EXAMINATION

A Bausch & Lomb stereoscopic wide-field microscope is used in examining the drill cuttings. Although a 10-power magnification is 

most convenient for general purposes, a magnification of 30 times or 

even 60 is advantageous if the examiner wishes to identify specific 

accessory minerals or is estimating the degree of roundness of fine 

sands. A Nicholas illuminator is used to shed light on the sample.

DESCRIPTION OF DRILL, CUTTINGS

The type of rock that is, whether the rock is a conglomerate, 

sandstone, siltstone, mudstone, limestone, or any other is recorded 

first. Then the color of the rock is described in terms consistent with 

the Rock-Color Chart distributed by the National Research Council 

(Goddard and others, 1948). If the overall color of the rock differs 

from the color or colors of its component parts, both are recorded.

Except where the sample consists of silt or clay, the Wentworth 

grade scale 1 is used for determination of particle sizes. No attempt is 

made to differentiate sizes if a sample consists wholly of silt or wholly 

of clay. The term "mudstone" is applied to a mixture of silt and 

clay.

The degree of roundness is estimated by comparing a scattering of 

grains under the microscope with a chart that pictures well-rounded, 

rounded, subrounded, subangular, and angular grains.

Samples consisting of sandstone are described with respect to the 

degree of sorting. If 90 percent or more of the grams fall into two 

adjacent particle-size ranges, the sandstone is described as well sorted 

(Payne, 1942, p. 1707); however, if 90 percent of the grains fall into 

three or four adjacent ranges, it is described as fairly well sorted; 

and if the grains fall into five or more ranges it is described as poorly 

sorted. The composition of the grains is noted also. Quartz grains 

are described as clear, stained, frosted, or amber.

Accessory minerals are identified, if possible; but if not identifiable, 

their color, prevalence, and other readily observable characteristics 

are described. Because of their possible bearing on the quality of

1 The U.S. Geological Survey now (1961) uses the National Research Council grade scale (National 

Research Council, 1947, Report of the subcommittee on sediment terminology: Am. Qeophys. Union 

Trans., v. 28, no. 6, p. 93&-93S).
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H7

the ground water, sulfides, such as marcasite and pyrite, are of particular interest, as are gypsum, the halide minerals, and carbonaceous 

material. If ion-exchange minerals can be recognized, their presence 

in samples should also be recorded.

Even though fragmented and not identifiable, the occurrence of 

fossils in cuttings should be recorded. To date, a few fragments of 

bryozoa and some possible coralline material constitute the only recognizable organic remains in the cuttings from wells drilled on the 

Navajo Indian Reservation.

As to cementation, the rock is described as hard, firm, or weak, depending upon the extent to which the sediment has been lithified; 

the type of cement is recorded. Krumbein and Sloss (1951) define 

cement as a postdepositional chemical precipitate deposited in the 

interstices among grains to form a lithified sedimentary rock. However, the principal binding material in some sandstone is clay, and 

the sandstone is described as having an argillaceous cement. Close 

examination of some such clayey sandstone indicates that the argillaceous material actually is a matrix, not merely an interstitial filling. 

Ferruginous zones also are recorded. Such zones are of interest because they may indicate former long-time positions of the water table 

and, if firmly cemented, may hinder free circulation of the ground 

water in otherwise homogeneous rock. In places, iron-cemented zones 

are known to be confining layers because the water between them is 

under artesian pressure.

IDENTIFICATION OF STRATIGRAPHIC UNITS

The lithologic descriptions of the cuttings from successive intervals 

of depth constitute a log of the strata penetrated in drilling. Although 

such a log is similar in many respects to measured sections of exposed 

rocks, it differs in that the characteristics of bedding and of weathering, being less obvious,.rarely are indicated in the descriptions. Once 

the samples have been described, the stratigraphic units represented 

by the cuttings are identified. If the rocks penetrated in drilling contain one or more easily recognized "marker horizons" or if the succession of strata is distinctive, the designation of the contacts between stratigraphic units is a relatively simple matter. However, if 

the stratigraphic units penetrated in drilling are lithologically similar, 

they cannot be identified definitely nor can the contacts between them 

be designated precisely if the features that distinguish the units are 

observable only at the outcrop.

COMPILATION OF LOGS

A log was prepared for each well drilled on the Navajo Indian 

Reservation during the course of the geologic and ground-water 

investigation. In the upper righthand corner of the heading of each
H8 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

log is the field number assigned to the well by the Bureau of Indian 

Affairs. Below this is recorded the office number from which the 

exact location of the well can be pinpointed on a map of the reservation. Also given in the heading is a description of the well in terms 

of distance and direction from a landmark, the dates drilling began 

and ended, and the names of those who described the samples and 

identified the stratigraphic units. The following pertinent hydrologic 

information is included at the end of the log: The total depth of the 

well, the depth to water, the water-bearing formation or formations, 

the depth to the water-bearing zone or zones, the results of any pumping or bailing test (such as drawdown measurements, temperature 

readings, and collection of water samples for chemical analysis), the 

depth to which the well is cased and the diameter of the casing, and 

the name of the driller. The importance of recording all such data 

before it is forgotten cannot be emphasized too strongly. 

The following is a log for one of the wells on the reservation.

Well log

U.S. Geological Survey Well No.: 13K-208

Ground Water Branch Office No.: 48-4.25-13.85

Navajo Project

Location: 4 miles west-northwest of Bisti Trading Post

Well started: 8-8-53

Well finished: 9-4-53

Samples described by: P. R. Stevens

Stratigraphic correlation by: M. E. Cooley and P. R. Stevens

Date: 9-53 

Date: 9-53

Description Thickness 

(feet)

Depth

(feet)

Quaternary System: 

Alluvium:

Sandstone, yellowish orange-brown (10 YR 6/4), 

coarse- to fine-grained and fairly well sorted; sand 

grains are subangular to subrounded and consist of 

clear quartz; feldspar rare; dark-red accessory 

mineral rare; argillaceous material common; weak 

argillaceous and calcareous cement-_________-----.

Upper Cretaceous Series:

Kirtland Shale, lower part:

Arenaceous mudstone, yellowish-gray (5 F 7/2); sand 

consists of medium to fine subangular to subrounded 

grains of clear quartz; weak calcareous cement-___-

Arenaceous siltstone, yellowish-gray (5F 7/2) and 

pale-brown (5 YR 5/2); sand consists of fine to very 

fine subrounded to subangular grains of clear quartz; 

mica common; weak calcareous and argillaceous 

cement ______---__________________-___-__-----.

Mudstone, light-gray (N 7) to medium-gray (N 5) ; 

mica common; weak calcareous cement.____.__-_-.

Argillaceous sandstone, very light gray (N 8); sand 

consists of fine to very fine subrounded grains of 

clear quartz; mica common; feldspar rare; argillaceous material common; weak calcareous and 

argillaceous cement-______________---_----------

20

30

10

30

20

20

50

60

90

110
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H9

Description Thickness 

(feet)

Depth

Upper Cretaceous Series Continued 

Fruitland Formation:

Mudstone, light-gray (N 7); mica rare; weak calcareous

cement-_-_--____-_________-----__-_-____---_-_ 10

Arenaceous siltstone, light-gray (N 7); sand consists of 

fine to very fine subrounded grains of clear quartz; 

mica rare; argillaceous material abundant; weak 

argillaceous and calcareous cement.,______________ 10

Mudstone, medium-gray (N 5); weak calcareous

cement-______----_________-----__--_____-_-_-- 20

Mudstone, medium-gray (N 5) to black (N 1); carbonaceous material and coal abundant; weak 

calcareous cement._____________________________ 20

Arenaceous siltstone; sand consists of fine to very 

fine subrounded grains of clear quartz; mica rare; 

weak argillaceous and calcareous cement.._ ________ 30

Mudstone, medium-gray (N 5); carbonaceous material 

and coal common; weak calcareous cement.-------- 20

Mudstone, medium-gray (N 5); weak calcareous

cement-_______-_____-__-__-_-_-_________-_-_-_ 30

Siltstone, black (N 1); carbonaceous material and coal

abundant; weak calcareous cement______________ 20

Mudstone and claystone, medium-gray (N 5); weak

calcareous cement-_____________________________ 15

Siltstone, black (N 1); carbonaceous material abundant

and coal common; weak calcareous cement__-_____ 10

Mudstone and claystone, medium-gray (N 5); coal

common; weak calcareous cement-______________ 10

Siltstone, black (N 1); carbonaceous material abundant

and coal common; weak calcareous cement--.______ 5

Mudstone, medium-gray (N 5); coal common; weak

calcareous cement-_____________________________ 10

Arenaceous siltstone, light-gray (N 7); sand consists 

of fine to very fine subrounded grains of clear 

quartz; argillaceous material common; mica rare; 

weak calcareous cement- ____-_-__..____-___------ 20

Siltstone, black (N 1); carbonaceous material abundant and coal common; weak calcareous cement-.-- 10

Mudstone, medium-gray (N 5); weak calcareous cement- _________________________________________ 30

Pictured Cliffs Sandstone:

Sandstone, light-gray (N7), very fine grained, wellsorted; sand grains are subangular and consist of 

clear quartz; mica and feldspar rare; argillaceous 

material common; weak argillaceous and calcareous 

cement-_______________________________________ 15

Mudstone, black (N 1); carbonaceous material abundant and coal common; weak argillaceous and calcareous cement.-------------------------------- 10

Silty sandstone, very light gray (N 8), fairly well 

sorted; sand consists of fine to very fine subrounded 

grains of clear quartz; dark accessory mineral 

rare; argillaceous material rare; weak calcareous 

cement-_______-________________.____-___-_---- 55

Lewis Shale:

Silty sandstone, light-gray (N 7), well-sorted; sand 

consists of very fine subrounded grains of clear 

quartz; mica common; dark accessory mineral rare; 

argillaceous material common; weak calcareous 

cement-_ __________-_______-_-_-____----------- 20
H10 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

Description Thickness 

(feet)

Depth

(feet)

Upper Cretaceous Series Continued 

Lewis Shale Continued

Arenaceous siltstone, very light gray (N 8); sand consists of very fine subrounded grains of clear quartz; 

mica common; argillaceous material common; weak 10 490 

calcareous cement-____-----_--__-------_-----__-

Claystone, medium-gray (N 5); weak calcareous 30 520 

cement ________________________________________

Siltstone, medium-gray (N 5); dark accessory mineral

and mica common; weak calcareous cement. 140 660 

Foraminifer Lenticulina? present at 650-ft level____- 

Cliff House Sandstone of the Mesaverde Group:

Sandstone, light-gray (N 8), coarse to very fine 

grained, fairly well sorted; sand consists of subangular to subrounded grains of clear quartz; mica 

and dark accessory minerals rare; pyrite abundant; 

limonite common; weak calcareous cement; pyrite 80 740 

also a cementing material_-______-_----__--------

Arenaceous siltstone, light-gray (N 8); sand consists

of very fine subrounded to subangular grains of 40 780 

clear quartz; weak calcareous cement____________

Arenaceous siltstone and mudstone, light-gray (N 8) to 

medium-gray (N 5); sand consists of very fine subrounded to subangular grains of clear quartz; weak 20 800 

_______calcareous cement-------------------------------

Total depth of well_____._._._._..___ 800 ft

Depth to water level________..__._.__ 280 ft

Water-bearing formation 1 _-__-_-_____ Cliff House Sandstone

Water-bearing zone__________________ 660-740 ft

Well bailed at_-----_____-._--_____ 15.4 gpm for 2% hr

Drawdown________________________ 160 ft

Well cased to_______________________ 666 ft with 10-in. O. D. casing

Driller.-_---__---______-__________. Perry Bros.

i Water of poor quality was found in the Fruitland Formation and the Pictured Cliffs Sandstone but was 

sealed off by casing.

APPLICATION OF SUBSURFACE DATA TO FIELD PROBLEMS ON 

THE NAVAJO INDIAN RESERVATION

The subsurface information obtained by drilling on the Navajo 

Indian Reservation has been invaluable in helping solve numerous 

problems in the development of water supplies from wells. By 1953, 

logs of the strata penetrated in the drilling of 200 wells had been 

assembled. These wells, which are in all parts of the reservation, 

range in depth from less than 100 feet to more than 7,200 feet, the 

deepest being an oil test. Most of the water wells are between 300 and 

1,200 feet deep, but a few are as much as 1,800 to 2,000 feet de«p.

HYDRCXLOGIC PROBLEMS

If a water well is to be drilled, the log of a nearby well is highly 

valuable in that it provides information on the kind of rocks that will 

be penetrated and the depth to which it will be necessary to drill to 

obtain water. If the log also provides information on the quantity 

and quality of the water, it is all the more valuable. By taking into 

account the geologic structure of the area, it is sometimes possible, from
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA Hll

the water-level data given in the log, to predict quite accurately 

the amount of water-level rise that will occur when a well is drilled 

into an artesian aquifer. If used in conjunction with the drilling of 

a well, the stratigraphic and hydrologic data contained in a log of a 

well drilled earlier at the same or a nearby site may also help to insure 

the success of the new well. For example, if the rock cuttings being 

brought to the surface are examined concurrently with the drilling 

of the well, the position of the drill in the stratigraphic section can be 

known at all times. Furthermore, the driller can be given advance 

information on the depth to, thickness, and lithology of the waterbearing beds, on the desirability of developing water from some, and 

on the necessity to seal off others. If the driller is forewarned of beds 

that are likely to cave during the drilling operations, he can take the 

precautions necessary to prevent their caving.

The log on page H8 is typical of those for wells drilled by a cabletool rig into Upper Cretaceous rocks in the northern part of the San 

Juan Basin. Because the lithologic breaks are sharp and clear, the 

stratigraphic units could be identified readily. As both the Fruitland 

Formation and the Pictured Cliffs Sandstone yielded highly mineralized water, and the intervening Lewis Shale tended to cave, casing 

extending from the surface to a level about 6 feet below the top of the 

Cliff House Sandstone was installed to insure shutting out the water 

of poor quality and to prevent caving of the shale. Open-hole drilling 

deeper into the Cliff House Sandstone encountered water that contained 

3,000 ppm (parts per million) of dissolved solids and 500 ppm 

of chloride. As a bailer test showed that an adequate supply of 

water was available and as the water was chemically suitable for 

stock, although not for human use, the \vell was developed for use as a 

stock-supply well.

The information obtained in drilling this well greatly assisted in 

the selection of a site, 15 miles due north of the well, for a second 

well that also would tap the Cliff House Sandstone. The sandstone 

dips generally northeastward from Hogback Mountain, which lies to 

the west and is the recharge area for the Cliff House Sandstone. Because the water in the formation must percolate in the direction of dip 

and the aquifer at the site for the second well was at a lower altitude 

than at the well already drilled, it was known that the water at the 

site selected for the second well would be under somewhat greater artesian pressure than at the location of the well already drilled. Also, 

because the site for the proposed well was only a little farther from 

the recharge area than the well already drilled, it could be predicted 

that the water would not be significantly more mineralized. Furthermore, because drilling for the proposed well would begin stratigraphically higher (in the Farmington Sandstone Member of the Kirtland

728-318 O 64 2
H12 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

Shale) and because all the stratigraphic units were known to thicken 

northward, it could be predicted that the proposed well would need to 

be drilled considerably deeper than the first well if it was to tap the 

Cliff House Sandstone. Examination of the drill cuttings during the 

drilling of the proposed well would provide the information needed 

to insure the proper sealing off of water of poor quality, such as had 

to be sealed off in the well already drilled.

GEOLOGIC PROBLEMS

The information contained in well logs is used in solving stratigraphic problems in much the same way that measured sections are 

used. By providing information on the thickness and lithologic characteristics of the stratigraphic units, the logs furnish clues, not otherwise obtainable, as to thickening, thinning, and facies changes of the 

different units in the subsurface. Cross sections based on logs often 

confirm stratigraphic relationships, such as intertonguing or truncation of units, which generally can only be surmised from the examination and correlation of outcropping rocks.

In those parts of the Navajo Indian Reservation where homogeneous 

crossbedded sandstone is the only outcropping rock, the geologic structure is not obvious from observations at the surface. However, where 

several wells have been drilled into the formation underlying the sandstone, some idea of structural conditions can be obtained by determining the altitude of the land surface at each well and computing the 

altitude of the top of the underlying formation. The distribution and 

number of wells, of course, determine whether structural conditions 

can be resolved in detail.

Information on the, thickness of subsurface stratigraphic units, as 

determined by drilling, provides a check against the measurements of 

the thickness of the same units where they crop out. Although, ordinarily, the thicknesses are nearly the same, drilling occasionally reveals 

a significantly greater thickness for a stratigraphic unit than had been 

measured on the, surface. Differences in thickness are more likely in 

relatively thick units composed principally of shale and in units that 

have been sharply folded. Where greater thicknesses characterize 

units along the axis of either a synclinal or an anticlinal fold, they may 

be reasonably explained as due to plastic flowage in incompetent strata. 

Where folding .obviously is not, an explanation for a discrepancy in 

thickness, as in places where beds are flat lying or dip slightly, the 

discrepancy may be due to an error, accounted for by concealed intervals, in the measurement made of the outcropping rocks. The possibility that faulting accounts for a difference in thickness also should 

not be overlooked. On the Navajo Indian Reservation, for example, 

the excessive thickness of the Chinle Formation, which was penetrated 

in drilling a well at the lyanbite Day School, is known to be the result
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA HIS

of faulting. In a few instances, a seemingly too great thickness measured on the surface has been verified through comparison with the 

subsurface thickness as determined by drilling.

In some areas, subsurface data are of great value in areal geologic 

mapping, especially where dipping or folded bedrock is concealed 

beneath unconsolidated deposits. Not only can concealed stratigraphic 

units generally be identified from cuttings, but their structural attitude 

and the approximate position of the contacts between them can often 

be determined.

CONSTRUCTION OF A PEG MODEL

As a means of graphically portraying the stratigraphic and hydrologic relationships of the Navajo Indian Reservation, the data obtained by drilling wells were plotted on four-sided pegs which were so 

arranged and mounted as to represent both the spatial arrangement 

and relative altitude of the wells themselves. A graphic log of the 

stratigraphic units penetrated in drilling is shown on one side of a 

peg, the water level and water-yielding beds are shown on a second 

side, the chemical quality of the water is shown on the third side, and 

miscellaneous pertinent data are shown on the fourth side. The peg 

model has proven highly valuable in presenting information in a threedimensional manner, particularly to those not familiar with the more 

conventional modes of geologic and hydrologic illustration. Because 

the peg model portrays both regional and local relationships, it can be 

applied directly to the solution of water-supply problems on the 

reservation.

CONCLUSION

If, when wells are drilled in a given area, drill cuttings are sampled 

systematically, examined under a microscope, and described carefully, 

there results a library of highly valuable information on subsurface 

geologic and hydrologic conditions in that area. Such information 

not only aids the unravelling of stratigraphic and structural problems 

in geologic studies but also helps in the selection of sites for and the 

successful drilling of production wells.

SELECTED REFERENCES

Goddard, E. X., chm., and others, 1948, Rock-color chart: Washington Natl.

Research Council (republished by Geol. Soc. America, 1951). 

Krumbein, W. C., and Sloss, L. L., 1951, Stratigraphy and sedimentation: San

Francisco, W. H. Freeman & Co., 497 p. 

O'Sullivan, R. r>., and Beaumont, E. C., 1957, Preliminary geologic map of western

San Juan Basin, San Juan and McKinley Counties, N. Mex.: U.S. Geol.

Survey Oil and Gas Inv. Map OM-190. 

Payne, T. G., 1942, Stratigraphical analysis and environmental reconstruction:

Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists Bull., v. 26, no. 11, p. 1697-1770.
JETTING METHOD OF INSTALLING SMALL-DIAMETER

WELLS

By EDWARD A. MOULDER and MERVIN L. KLUG

ABSTRACT

An abundance of wells facilitates the making of detailed ground-water studies, 

each well serving as a "peek hole" through which subsurface hydrologic conditions can be observed. Where the water-bearing material is unconsolidated and 

is within about 50 feet of the land surface, wells satisfactory for the observation 

of water-level fluctuations or for pumping when making aquifer tests can be 

installed relatively cheaply and quickly by the jetting method. As described 

in this paper, the jetting method consists of a combination of jetting and rotary 

drilling.

When a water-level observation well is to be installed, a jet tube terminating 

in a bit is advanced into the ground as the material is loosened by the jetting 

action of the water and agitation of the bit. The loosened material is washed 

to the land surface through the annular space between the jet tube and the 

wall of the hole. On emerging from the hole, the jetting fluid is channeled into 

a pit, where the larger particles settle to the bottom, and then into a connecting 

reservoir pit. The muddy water from the second pit is recirculated through the 

jet tube and back to the land surface, thereby conserving water and at the same 

time plastering the sides of the hole with a mud layer that helps to prevent 

caving. When the desired depth is reached, the hole is flushed <«lean with clear 

water. A pipe with strainer attached is lowered inside the jet tube before the 

jet tube is extracted. After the resulting well has been developed by surging 

and pumping, the space around the pipe is filled in.

When a small-diameter production well would be satisfactory for use in making an aquifer test, one can be installed by coupling a length of pipe to a jet 

point and advancing it into the ground by the jetting process. When the desired 

depth has been reached, the resulting well is completed by surging and pumping.

The jetting equipment can be used to obtain subsurface geologic information. 

It also has proved to be useful for both cleaning large-diameter wells and pumping water from them.

SPECIFICATIONS FOR OBSERVATION WELLS

Drainage studies on the Buffalo Rapids irrigation project along the 

Yellowstone River near Glendive, Mont., and on the Crow Indian 

Reservation along the Little Bighorn River, also in Montana, required 

that a large number of observation wells be installed,. Requirements 

governing the installation of observation wells included the following: (a) Each observation well must be of permanent construction 

and must be sensitive to rapid fluctuations of water level, (b) an accurate log of the general nature of the material to the depth penetrated must be obtained, and (c) installation costs must be fitted to a 

H14
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H15

limited budget. A study of methods employed by several other investigators indicated that the jetting method was most suitable for installing the wells under the limitations of the project at hand.

Many pieces of equipment and various techniques were tested before adopting a procedure that best suited the available equipment 

and materials. Although the general procedure remained unchanged, 

further innovations materially reduced the labor and time involved.

The methods described should be applicable in any area of unconsolidated deposits where the depth of the wells will not exceed 50 feet, 

where the thickness of very coarse gravel to be penetrated does not 

exceed 10 feet, and where a small-diameter well will be satisfactory.

PRINCIPLES OF THE JETTING TECHNIQUE

Jetting, as described by Bowman (1911, p. 76), consists of forcing 

two pipes, one inside the other, into a hole which is being deepened 

by ejecting water, under pressure, through a combination bit and 

jet nozzle at the lower end of the inner pipe. The jetting action serves 

to loosen the material in and below the outer pipe and allows the larger 

pipe to be advanced into the ground. The water and the eroded material in suspension are carried to the surface through the annular 

space between the two pipes. When the desired depth has been 

reached, the inner pipe is extracted and the outer pipe remains to serve 

as the well casing.

A single-tube jetting method is described in this paper. In principle, the procedure is a combination of jetting and rotary drilling. 

The technique, illustrated in figure 1, is as follows: A pipe is advanced 

into the ground as the material is loosened by the jetting action of 

the water and the agitation of the bit. The loosened material is 

washed to the land surface through the annular space between the 

pipe and the wall of the hole. At the land surface the jetting fluid 

is channeled into a pit where the larger particles settle to the bottom 

and then is channeled into a connecting reservoir pit. To conserve 

water and to stabilize the sides of the hole, muddy water from the 

reservoir pit is recirculated through the pump.

High pressure obtained through the use of a nozzle and a highpressure pump appears to offer no advantage. In a loose material 

rapid progress can be made without high pressure, and in a tight, 

material the cutting action of the bit agitated against the bottom of 

the hole is more effective than high jet pressure In fact, high pressure often impedes progress because it tends to force the bit off the 

bottom of the hole and thus reduces the cutting action of the bit.

When a hole is being jetted into coarse-grained material, water 

from the jetting cycle may be lost by seepage into the coarse material. 

Although the loss generally is reduced by the sealing action of the
H16 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

Swing joint

Pressure hose

Pump and 

motor

Arrows indicate direction of flow in jetting cycle 

FIGURE 1. Schematic drawing of single-pipe method of Jetting small-diameter wells.

circulating mud, a source of additional water may be needed to maintain a working fluid level in the reservoir pit. In some instances the 

mud content, of the jetting fluid may need to be increased to maintain 

the return flow of fluid to the surface. Progress in very coarse gravels 

and cobbles ordinarily can be made only if considerable fine-grained 

material also is present. A bit designed to loosen the gravel allows
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA HI7

the coarser material to be pushed to one side while the fine-grained 

material is washed to the surface.

BASIC EQUIPMENT FOB JETTING OPERATIONS

The basic equipment needed for conducting jetting operations is 

as follows:

Jet tube. Standard pipe having an inside diameter large enough 

to accommodate the finished well pipe and strainer is used for the 

jet tube. The length of pipe is determined by the expected depth of 

hole or convenience in handling.

Jet bits. If materials of different hardness or texture are to be 

penetrated, the bits should be designed accordingly. (See fig. 2.) The 

bits should be interchangeable.

Hoses. Both the pressure hose and the suction hose should be 

of the same diameter as the jet tube and long enough to accommodate the arrangement of the equipment. The pressure hose should 

be reinforced but should not be too heavy for easy handling, and 

the suction hose should be of the noncollapsible type and fitted with 

a strainer at one end to prevent passage of larger particles into the 

pump. Standard hose couplings to fit the pump and jet tube should 

be attached.

Reservoir. A portable tank should be fitted with a gravity discharge and an opening for an air vent and for filling with water. 

The capacity of the tank should be as large as practicable so as to 

eliminate an excessive number of trips to refill it with water.

Pump. The pump should be a self-priming centrifugal pump 

capable of passing sand without excessive wear of pump parts. If 

the diameter of the jet tube is 2 inches, the pump should be capable 

of discharging at least 50 gpm (gallons per minute) at a pressure 

of 40 psi (pounds per square inch). If smaller pipe is used, the 

discharge rate may be reduced slightly but the pressure rating should 

be increased.

Miscellaneous equipment. Pipe wrenches and pipe clamp (fig. 

3), shovel for digging circulating pits, steel brush for cleaning pipe 

threads, oil can, screwdriver, and pitcher pump.

EQUIPMENT ADAPTED FOR WORK IN MONTANA

Because of the large number of holes to be drilled, and to speed operations, the equipment used in Montana is more elaborate and is 

mounted on a 4-wheel-drive vehicle.

The jet tubes or pipes (upper fig. 4) are made of 2-inch galvanized 

pipe. A welded bead around the pipe at 1-foot intervals provides 

durable graduations that aid in the logging of the hole. Convenient 

lengths of jet pipe may be attached to the 2-inch pressure hose by
HIS GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

FIGURE 2. Drilling bits used in jetting holes for observation wells. A, "Clay" bit used for drilling in tight fine-grained materials. Constructed by welding /4-hich triangular tempered steel 

bars to threaded 2-inch nipple. Point and outer edges sharpened by grinding. B, "Gravel" 

bit used for setting strainer and for drilling in loose sandy material or gravel. Constructed by 

cutting 3 teeth on a 2-inch pipe and then capping cutting edges with a wear-resistant welded 

bead.

means of a standard brass single-swing joint (lower fig. 4) so that the 

pipe can be rotated about its longitudinal axis without twisting the 

pressure hose.

A 240-gallon tank mounted on a truck is used as a portable reservoir. 

The valve arrangement (figs. 5, 6) allows water to be discharged from 

the tank to the pump or to the reservoir pit. An opening in the top 

of the tank serves as an air vent as well as a place to fill the tank. By 

removing a plug in the bottom of the tank, it may be drained and 

cleaned.

The pump used is a Jaeger model 2PAFH, powered with a Wisconsin gasoline engine rated at 5.9 hp (horse power) at 3,400 rpm
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H19

Handle 7 ^Clamp jaws 

PLAN VIEW

SIDE VIEW

PIPE CLAMP IN USE

FIGURE 3. Pipe clamp showing method of attaching it to jet tube.

(revolutions per minute). It is designed to deliver 80 gpm with a 

10-foot suction lift at a discharge pressure of 40 psi. This quantity 

of water is sufficient to wash to the surface pebbles slightly larger 

than 1 inch in diameter. The pump is mounted on a 4-wheel-drive 

truck and attached to the tank and hoses by a convenient arrangement 

of valves and pipe fittings. By manipulating the lever-action gate 

valves, water may be pumped from the reservoir tank or from the 

reservoir pit. The screw-type gate valves allow water to be discharged to the reservoir tank or through the pressure hose.

Other equipment includes lightweight-alloy 24-inch pipe wrenches, 

smaller pipe wrenches for handling well pipe, other miscellaneous 

hand tools, pipe vise, pipe cutter, pipe threader and dies, pitcher 

pump, and pipe and hose racks mounted on the side of the truck.

PROCEDURE FOR INSTALLING A WELL 

JETTING THE HOLE

Starting with a full tank of water and the jetting equipment, the 

truck is driven to the drilling site. There, while one man is digging 

the pits, the others unload and assemble the jetting equipment. The 

suction hose having been placed in the reservoir pit, the jet tube with 

the discharge hose attached is erected in a vertical position over the 

spot selected for the hole. (See fig. 7.) The pump is started and 

the valves are adjusted so that water from the reservoir tank is pumped 

through the jet tube. When both pits are full, the valve on the line 

from the reservoir pit is opened; the lever-type valves permit this to 

be done quickly. By gripping the pipe clamp, the jet tube is turned 

tibout its longitudinal axis with an oscillating motion. Loss of water 

by seepage to the ground requires that the valve on the line to the
H20 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

FIGURE 4. Jet tube and single-swing swivel head used with jetting equipment in Montana. Upper, 

Graduated jetting tube erected in jetting position. Lower, Single-swing brass joint fitted with coupling 

and hand lugs.
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H21

FIGURE 5. Valves connected to suction side of truck-mounted pump. Valve on left side is 

attached to line from reservoir tank. Valve on right side is attached to line leading to suction 

hose. The valves were made from screw-type gate valves by reaming out the threads and 

adding the lever-handle assembly. The valves are placed in vertical parts of the line so that 

the gate seats will not collect sand.

reservoir tank be opened from time to time to keep the water in the 

pits at an operating level. When water in the reservoir tank is exhausted, the pump is shut off and the pressure hose is disconnected 

from the truck by loosening a pipe union fitted with hand lugs. The 

suction hose is placed on the hose rack, and the truck is driven to a 

pond or other source of water. Here the suction hose is placed in the 

water, the valves are adjusted, 'and water is pumped into the reservoir 

tank. Jetting then is resumed and, when needed, additional lengths 

of graduated pipe are coupled to the jet tube.

Two types of bits (fig. 2), each 1 foot long, are used interchangeably 

on the jet tube. The cutting surfaces of the bits are made of tempered 

steel to resist wear. The "clay" bit, which is used in tight fine-grained 

material, is designed to allow the cutting edges to make a hole slightly 

larger than the pipe, thus permitting the water to circulate freely to 

the surface. Although the "gravel" bit is designed primarily for use 

in coarse gravel, it is satisfactory for use in loose sandy material also. 

Its teeth are designed to loosen the gravel and to push the large cobbles 

to one side while the action of the jet washes the smaller particles loose.
H22 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

To reservoir 

tank

To reservoir 

tank

Lever-action 

gate valve

Screw-type gate valves

To pressure 

hose

Lever-action 

gate valve

FIGURE 6. Valve arrangement on jetting equipment.

mem

FIGURE 7. Graduated jetting tube in jetting position.
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA JH23

The teeth are made so that the leading edges tend to tighten the coupled 

joints of the pipe as it is turned with an oscillating motion about its 

longitudinal axis. The bit is constructed with an open end so that it 

may be left in the hole when setting an observation-well strainer in 

material that caves easily.

Two-inch hose is used on both the suction and discharge sides of the 

pump. The discharge hose is a lightweight fabric-reinforced rubber 

hose about 30 feet long with connections at each end adapted for standard 2-inch pipe threads. The suction hose is about 20 feet long and 

is made of rubber reinforced with spring steel wire to prevent its 

collapsing.

Jetting is started with the "clay" bit where the upper materials to 

be penetrated are fine grained. When coarse gravel or sand is encountered, jetting operations cease while the jet tube is withdrawn from 

the hole and the "clay" bit is replaced with the "gravel" bit. To expedite the work, it is more convenient to carry two jet tubes, one fitted 

with a "clay" bit and the other with a "gravel" bit so that changing of 

bits is unnecessary. After the "gravel" bit penetrates a caving material, it is unwise to change back to the "clay" bit because the hole is 

likely to collapse. Progress may be continued at a slower pace by 

continued use of the "gravel" bit in the fine-grained material.

The rate of penetration through the more resistant layers may be 

increased by repeatedly lifting up and forcibly lowering the jet tube. 

This action is used not only to penetrate dense clay, but also to break 

up or shove aside a boulder that is impeding progress. Added weight 

placed on the jet tube (for example, a man standing on the pipe clamp) 

also speeds progress through dense materials, but caution should be 

exercised to prevent plugging the bit.

Logging of the strata being penetrated is accomplished by examining the material washed to the surface, by observing the rate of penetration of the jet tube, and by judging the "feel" as the pipe is turned 

by the pipe clamp. This information is recorded on a mimeographed 

form prepared for the field record of the well (fig. 8). Jetting proceeds rapidly in a loosely packed sandy material, whereas much slower 

progress is made in a clay or coarse gravel. The difference in "feel" 

between the clay and gravel is easily detected. Although the identification of materials is less accurate than by some drilling methods, it is 

possible by continued practice to make reasonably accurate logs of the 

material penetrated. If a greater degree of accuracy is desired for the 

uppermost material, a hand auger may be used to bore to a level where 

caving prevents further progress by this method.
H24 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

Field No.

Coordinate No. _____________ . Party ________. Date ______ 

Topography ________________________________________ 

Location (sketch)

Log of jetted hole:

Material Thickness Depth to

bottom

Time jetting completed^

Length of pipe and strainer_______________feet. 

Development remarks_____________________

Height of M. P,___feet above L. S. D. Water level___feet below M. P.

Time______.

Remarks:

FIGURE 8. Sample form for recording observation-well field data. 

COMPLETION OF AN OBSERVATION WELL

When the bit has reached the depth desired for the observation well 

that is to be installed, clean water from the tank is used to flush from 

the hole the remaining loose fine-grained material. The hose then is 

removed from the jet tube.

The observation well is cased with a suitable length of %-iiich pipe 

to which is attached a brass strainer of appropriate slot size (fig. 9A).
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H25

The appropriate slot size is determined from the grain size of the material that will surround the strainer. Inexpensive strainers of different slot sizes are available commercially. The pipe is cut so that when 

the installation is complete the pipe will extend 2 to 3 feet above the 

land surface. The pipe and attached strainer are then lowered to 

the bottom of the hole inside the jet tube. Then the jet tube is withdrawn from the hole, leaving the pipe and strainer in place. If caved 

material makes difficult the extraction of the jet tube, a pipe jack or 

other device may be used to lift it. A small A-frame mounted on the 

truck frame in front of the truck winch (fig. 10) has proved valuable for this purpose.

Withdrawal of the jet tube allows the wT ater-bearing material to 

cave around the strainer. If the water level in the well is within suction lift, a pitcher pump is screwed to the top of the %-inch pipe 

and the well is pumped until the water becomes clear, indicating that

i^-in. bored hole

 i-in. pipe cap

, Land surface

Standard 2-in. 

pipe

Cast-metal 

coupling

|-in. galvanized pipe

No. 60 perforated brass well 

screen, 2-in. O. D., 30 

in. long

Slotted brass strainer

it!

\ 's £-in. brass bolt 

1^-in. brass cap 

A. WATER-LEVEL OBSERVATION WELL

Saw-toothed jet nozzle \

±-m. by 2-in. 

'standard bushing

 Corrugated-steel 

inner liner

-Ball check valve

B. WELL PUMPED FOR AQUIFER TEST 

FIGUBE 9. Construction details of test wells installed by jetting equipment.
H26 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

FIGURE 10. A-frame and winch assembly used to pull jetting pipe.

the fine sand and silt around the screen have been removed and that a 

hydraulic connection between the well and the aquifer has been established. If the well fails to yield water, the pipe and strainer are removed and the well is flushed again with the jet tube. It is less timeconsuming to do a good job of flushing initially than it is to try to 

develop the well thoroughly by pumping. Experience has proven 

that in time the well becomes plugged or partially plugged if a 

thorough development procedure has not been followed.

If the water level in the well is below suction lift, special care is 

taken to flush the hole thoroughly before installing the pipe and 

strainer. The finished well is tested by pouring water into the pipe 

and measuring the water level to make certain that it returns to its 

initial level rapidly.

The well is finished by filling the cavity around the pipe with dirt, 

by capping the pipe, and by drilling a small hole in the side of the 

cap near its top for an air vent. The part of the pipe extending above 

the land surface is painted a bright orange to facilitate detection from 

a distance. The pits are filled with dirt and the disturbed land is 

leveled while the truck is being loaded in preparation for movement 

to the next well site.
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H27

OTHER USES FOB JETTING EQUIPMENT

The jetting equipment is very useful for performing functions other 

than installing small-diameter observation wells. It is used to install 

wells that can be pumped for an aquifer test; to clean, develop, and 

pump wells having a diameter greater than that of the jet tube; and to 

install a special type large-diameter observation well.

Jet points (fig. 9B) manufactured by several well-point companies 

are successfully used to construct production wells. Such wells are 

installed by attaching the discharge hose of the jetting equipment to a 

suitable length of pipe coupled to a jet point and proceeding as with 

the jet tube. After the desired depth is reached, the equipment is used 

to surge, develop, and pump the well.

By using the wellhead shown in figure 11, the jetting equipment can 

be used to develop and pump water from large-diameter wells. 

Regulation of the valves permits water to be pumped from or into the 

well without any pipe or hose connection having to be changed. Thus, 

abandoned wells may be cleaned and developed for use as observation 

wells by lowering the jet tube inside the casing and flushing the well. 

Also, a well not equipped with a pump can be used as the discharging 

well in an aquifer test by pumping it with the jetting equipment.

The upper part of the special-type large-diameter observation well 

consists of a length of casing large enough to accommodate the float 

for a water-level recording gage. The casing is set a few feet below 

the water level but not into the water-bearing gravel. Hydraulic connection with the gravel is obtained by driving or jetting a well point 

inside and below the bottom of the casing and then uncoupling it a 

few feet below the expected low water level. This method of constructing wells requires an accurate knowledge of the substrata so that 

the well point can be positioned accurately before it is uncoupled from 

the pipe.

The jetting tube can be used also as a probing tool in obtaining a 

general knowledge of subsurface geology.

LIMITATIONS OF JETTING EQUIPMENT

The speed of installation is dependent upon the equipment used, 

the depth of the well, the type of materials penetrated, and the manpower used. Where the average depth of the hole is about 20 feet 

and about 5 feet of gravel is penetrated, a 3-man crew can complete 

an average of 4 to 6 wells per working day; a 5-ma.n crew can complete 7 to 9 wells per working day. The rate of penetration varies 

widely in fine-grained materials, from several feet per minute in loose 

sandy materials to as little as 10 feet per hour in heavy, clay. The 

construction time per well increases rapidly where greater thicknesses 

of coarse gravel are penetrated.

728-318 O 64 3
H28 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

,2-in. lever-action gate valve 

2-in. pipe tee

To suction hose

To pressure hose 

2 by 4-in.reducer bushing

 4-in.pipe coupling

Arrows in pipe indicate 

direction of flow 

4-in.well pipe

III I

 Perforated pipe

o ooo

o o o

o o

o o o

o.°o

0°0°

FIGURE 11. Details of wellhead used with jetting equipment for surging and developing wells.

Use of the described equipment to drill to a depth exceeding 50 

feet is impracticable because the increased weight makes the jet tube 

too heavy to manipulate by hand. In materials where the jetting 

action of the water is sufficient to make rapid progress, deeper wells 

could be jetted if pipe of lighter weight were used or if the jet tube 

were handled by mechanical means.
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H29

CONCLUSION

The single-pipe jetting method has proven to be a fast and economical means of installing permanent %-inch diameter shallow observation wells in unconsolidated materials. It offers the following advantages : A minimum of equipment is required; the finished well is inexpensive; the equipment may be operated by unskilled labor with a 

minimum of supervision; the well requires little maintenance, if it 

is developed properly when first installed.

The versatility of the jetting rig is evidenced by the many other 

jobs it will perform. Among these are the installation of shallow 

wells as much as 6 or 8 inches in diameter for use with float-type 

water-stage recorders; installation of 1-^4-inch diameter jet-point wells 

which may be pumped for an aquifer test; development, cleaning, and 

pumping of drilled and jetted wells; and quick determination of the 

nature of shallow subsurface strata. The convenience and economy 

of jetting equipment make its use very desirable for many groundwater studies.

REFERENCE CITED

Bowman, Isaiah, 1911, Well-drilling methods: U.S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply 

Paper 257, 139 p.
REVERSE WATER-LEVEL FLUCTUATIONS

By GORDON B. ANDKEASEN and JOSEPH W. BEOOKHAET

ABSTRACT

The water level in a well that taps an aquifer 1,000 feet below the surface 

at Easton, Md., rises whenever water is pumped from a nearby well that taps 

an aquifer 100 feet below the surface. Conversely, the water level in the deeper 

well falls whenever the pump on the shallow well is shut off. Similar reverse 

water-level fluctuations have been observed at Ocean City, Md., at two places 

in New Jersey, and on Long Island, N.Y. One possible explanation for such 

water-level fluctuations is the capacity of a compacted granular material to expand in total volume when subjected to lateral pressure; another is that the 

fluctuations are responses to local loading and unloading of the aquifer. The 

need for an adequate explanation of the phenomenon and the possibility that 

reverse water-level fluctuations may provide data usable for computation of 

the hydraulic characteristics of an aquifer are pointed out.

OBSERVATION OF REVERSE WATER-LEVEL FLUCTUATIONS

Five distinct artesian aquifers underlie the city of Easton in Talbot 

County, Md., at depths of about 100, 300, 600, 1,000, and 1,100 feet 

below the land surface. Each of the 100-, 1,000-, and 1,100-foot aquifers is tapped by one or more of Easton's municipal-supply wells. In 

August 1950, the pump was removed, for servicing, from one of the 

city wells (Tal-Ce 1) that is a little more than 1,000 feet deep and 

taps the 1,000-foot aquifer. (See fig. 12.) A water-level recording 

gage was installed on this well for use during a test of the 1,000-foot 

aquifer. Twenty feet away from this well is another well (Tal-'Ce 

2), which is 110 feet deep and taps the 100-foot aquifer. The water 

level in the deep Well was allowed to recover for several days before 

the aquifer test, and during this time the 110-foot well was pumped 

intermittently to supply water for the city.

Each time that the pump in the 110-foot well was started, the 

water level in the 1,000-foot well would rise at a faster rate than its 

recovery trend and, conversely, when the pump was shut off, the water 

level would decline slightly before again resuming its recovery trend.

H30
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H31

On

100-

200-

300-

Well 

Tal-CE 2 ,

1 - 1

i_ _| _ _ __ r-

^^7^=1 ^T^^^^:

r.-^. :I£.;:-.:.vL-. i/^-Uu UiV. :_m .-ii/. .-iii-.vi

jr^r-uzir^r^--^r^ir^m--

T^r^^T^^r^r^T^^

VUjj ' J^L- -JJii -JJJJ.- iia .JUAJ.- --iii- '.U

piiE5i§Eii§i?EiEfE?

_ .

 

- / - 

f^^^fir::-:-.",-,:- ;^^^/^^:

 

£lE£P£3£EEH3£H^£3E

 _

 

/_ .

_ .

- 

mi&^mmmmf£>im

 -

Well 

Fal-CE 1

" 

ZT^^J

ii.-iii,-

rEL-E

^T^T

4..^ .jj^.

^

 

. 

- 

 _ ^

^ ^r.

. _

 

 

LZ~I_Z

. _

. 1

. __ __i

im$

 i

with shells

) Clay and some

' Sand

. Clay and marl;

J some sandstone,

[ shells, and gravel

Sand

Clay, marl, and thin

layers of sandstone

Sand

400- Vr^-r^imjiium^Ti^^rmjrTLrT n^

500- r

600-

2 700-

X

uj 800-

Q

900- 

1000-

1100- I" 

FIGUBE 12. Generalized geologic section at Easton, Talbot County, Md.

(See fig. 13.) After the aquifer test had been completed, several supplemental tests were made in an eifort to obtain data that would serve 

as a basis for an explanation of the observed interrelation between 

the shallow and deep aquifers. The trace of the recording pen during one such test is reproduced in figure 14. The water level in the 

deep well began to rise immediately after the pump in the shallow 

well was turned on and began to fall as soon as the pump was turned 

oif. Because the water-level response in the aquifer from which water 

was not being pumped was opposite to that in the aquifer from which 

water was being pumped, it is referred to as a reverse fluctuation.

When measured in September 1950, the temperature of the water in 

the 100-foot aquifer was 59°F, whereas that in the 1,000-foot aquifer 

was 72° F. Because it was thought possible that the reverse waterlevel fluctuations were related to the wide diif erence in water temperatures, a thermistor was lowered into well Tal-Ce 1 to a depth of 200 

feet and the temperature at various depths was read by means of a 

Wheatstone bridge. The temperature data, shown in figure 15, pro-
H32

24.0

UJ

O

< 

u_ 

or

CO

Q

5 

I

UJ 

CQ

t 24.5

UJ

u.

z

CC 

UJ

1

e

t

UJ 

Q

9*i n

GENERAL GROUND- WATER TECHNIQUES

y

4 / ^

~s/

. 

/

^

I " 

/

S

_ 

\

\ '

V

\\

_ . 

^

/

^Tals*

/

/

/

CE2b

/

/

* T

t

eing pu

/

/

nped

\^/

August 23 August 24 August 25 

FIGURE 13. Hydrograph showing reverse water-level fluctuations in well Tal-Ce 1, Aug. 23-25, 1950.

21.80

ffi 21.85

I

Q 21.90

Tal-CE 2 being 

pumped

7:30 a.m. 9:00 10:30 Noon 1:30 p.m. 

FIQUEE 14. Hydrograph showing reverse water-level fluctuations in well Tal-Ce 1 on Sept. 15,1950.
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H33

vided no obvious explanation for the reverse-fluctuation phenomenon. Furthermore, the rapidity of the water-level response in well 

Tal-Ce 1 to the pumping of well Tal-Ce 2 indicates a mechanical force 

rather than a temperature phenomenon.

As the magnitude of the fluctuation was only 0.05 foot, it appeared 

conceivable that the measuring point might be moving because of 

compression of sediments resulting from loading stresses due to 

pumping. An engineer's level was placed at a distance of 300 feet 

from the observation well, and a rod was placed on the well casing. 

An additional rod was set approximately in the same line at a distance of 300 feet beyond the level. However, the elevation of neither 

rod changed perceptibly when pumping from the 110- foot well began 

or ended.

Similar reverse water-level fluctuations have been observed at 

Ocean City, Worcester County, Md. There, when a well 185 feet deep 

is pumped, the water level rises in a well that is 285 feet deep and 

160 feet away; both aquifers are artesian. Figure 16 shows the observed effect on the water level in the deeper well when the shallow 

well was pumped December 12-13, 1951. Before the pump was 

started, the water level in the deep well was rising in response to the 

increasing load caused by a rising tide. When the pump was turned 

on, the observed water level rose sharply, leveled off somewhat, and 

continued to rise in response to the tide. When the pump was turned 

off, the water level declined rapidly before resuming the tidal fluctuations.

3 100

UJ 

00

t

UJ

u. 

z 

£ 150

200

Static water level55 60 65 70 

TEMPERATURE, IN DEGREES FAHRENHEIT

75

FIGUEE 15. Graph of temperature vs. depth In well Tal-Ce 1 on Sept. 

14, 1950.
H34 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

in 2.80

2.90

3.00

3.10

3.20

3.30

3.40

3.50

3.60

Well Wor-Bh 8 

- being pumped

7p.m. 8 9 10 11 Midnight 1 6 7

FIGURE 16. Hydrograph showing reverse and tidal water-level fluctuations In well Wor-Bh 2, 

Ocean City, Worcester County, Md., Dec. 12-13, 1951.

This phenomenon has been observed also at the Atlantic City Water 

Works, N.J., at the Whitesville plant of the Monmouth Consolidated 

Water Co., near Asbury Park, N.J., and also on Long Island, N.Y. 

(Barksdale and others, 1936, p. 87).

Because the reverse water-level fluctuation is similar to the curve 

of the water-level drawdown that results from the pumping of a 

well and to the curve of water-level recovery after pumping is 

stopped, it is possible that formulas for determination of the coefficients of transmissibility and storage could be derived from the relationship. It appears to be a reasonable assumption that the magnitude of fluctuation is influenced by the amount of water discharged, 

the thickness and character of sediments, and the distance from the 

pumped well.

POSSIBLE EXPLANATIONS FOB REVERSE WATER-LEVEL 

FLUCTUATIONS

Two tentative but different hypotheses to explain the phenomenon 

of reverse water-level fluctuations have been offered (Barksdale and 

others, 1936, p. 88-91). One, proposed by the late D. G. Thompson, 

of the U.S. Geological Survey, is based on the principal of dilatancy, 

which was first described by Reynolds (1886). Dilatancy is the capacity of a compacted granular material to expand in total volume 

when subjected to an increase in lateral pressure and, conversely, to 

contract in total volume when subjected to a decrease in lateral pressure. If pumping of water from a shallow aquifer results in a de-
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H35

crease in pressure on the deeper aquifers, the particles constituting 

the deeper aquifers presumably would rearrange in such a way that 

the porosity is reduced that is, the aquifer would be compressed, 

thereby forcing the water level in the wells tapping them to rise. On 

cessation of pumping, the pressure on the deeper aquifers likewise 

would increase. The increase in pressure then would cause the deeper 

aquifers to dilate, thus increasing their porosity and resulting in a 

lowering of the water level in wells tapping them.

The other explanation, suggested by Barksdale, is that the reverse 

water-level fluctuation results from loading and unloading in the 

vicinity of the wells. When pumping from a well tapping a shallow 

aquifer is started, a sudden load is placed on the pump foundation. 

This load is transmitted to the aquifers below, causing the water 

level in wells tapping them to rise. Then when the pump is stopped, 

the load on the pump foundation is removed and the water level in 

the deeper wells falls. This is in accord with Newton's third law of 

motion that every action always has an equal and opposite reaction.

CONCLUSION

Although reverse water-level fluctuations are of small magnitude 

and therefore of little economic importance, a study of fluctuations 

of this type holds promise of permitting computation of hydraulic 

characteristics of aquifers with fewer data than are ordinarily required. The authors suggest that as many cases as possible should 

be noted and an adequate explanation sought.

REFERENCES CITED

Barksdale, H. C., Sundstrom, R. W., and Brunstein, IVl S., 1936, Supplementary 

report on the ground-water supplies of the Atlantic City region: New Jersey 

State Water Policy Comm. Spec. Rept. 6, 139 p.

Reynolds, Osborne, 1886, Dilatancy [abs.] : Nature, v. 33, p. 429-^30.
COMPUTATION OF aROUND-WATER VELOCITY FROM 

TEMPERATURE DATA

By ROBERT W. STALLMAN

ABSTRACT

The analytical methods now in use for calculating the hydraulic constants 

of aquifers require measurement of the distribution of head in space and time 

and of the discharge from or recharge to the aquifer. Because of these requirements, determination of the desired constants is limited to those areas 

where adequate testing facilities are available. Indirect methods of measuring ground-water velocity may serve to reduce this limitation.

The simultaneous transfer of heat and flow of water underground results 

in head and temperature distributions which can be expressed by differential 

equations. A sample equation is derived for saturated permeable material 

that is both isotropic and homogeneous insofar as the flow of heat and water 

is concerned. A sample computation shows that the velocity of ground water 

has an appreciable influence on the distribution of underground temperatures. 

Thus, it appears feasible that temperature measurements can be used for calculating flow .velocity and that a combination of head and temperature measurements can be used for calculating aquifer permeability.

SCOPE AND PURPOSE OF PAPER

The theoretical solutions to problems in hydrodynamics, heat flow, 

electricity and magnetism, and other fields have given the groundwater hydrologist several analytical equations that he may use in 

estimating the hydraulic constants of an aquifer. These equations 

relate head to discharge, time, space, and hydrologic properties and 

are applicable to the conditions under which ground water commonly 

occurs and under which water may be recharged to or discharged 

from an aquifer (Ferris, 1949; Jacob, 1950; and others). All these 

equations have been derived through application of Darcy's law to 

the continuity equation. Thus, determination of the hydraulic constants of an aquifer requires not only measurements of the head distribution in space and time but also measurements of discharge from 

or recharge to the aquifer at some location where the shape of the 

flow-field boundary is known.

At most locations in an aquifer, it is altogether impractical to 

obtain, by direct measurement, the data needed for application of 

the available analytical equations. Therefore, the hydraulic constants of an aquifer as a function of space generally are determined 

H36
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H37

by interpolating between the results obtained from geologic investigations at a few selected test sites. In some cases, particularly those 

for which geologic data are few, a satisfactory interpolation can be 

obtained by numerical methods. Thus far, however, the application 

of numerical methods to ground-water hydrology has been based 

wholly on equations for the flow of a homogeneous fluid and does 

not provide for a direct measurement of permeability except through 

the use of velocity observations made outside the aquifer.

If some indirect method for measuring ground-water velocity can 

be found, the utility of field tests to determine the hydraulic constants of aquifers can be greatly extended. The obvious approach 

is to include, in the testing and analysis, observations of variables 

(other than the distribution of head) that are directly dependent on 

the direction and velocity of flow. The purpose of this paper is to 

call attention to the possibility of utilizing measurements of the 

distribution of underground temperatures as an indirect manifestation of ground-water velocity.

SIGNIFICANCE OF CONVECTION IN GROUND-WATER FLOW

Detailed information on the spatial distribution of temperatures in 

aquifers is scarce, and such data as are available seem insufficient for a 

conclusive determination of the feasibility of estimating ground-water 

velocity from measurements of underground temperatures. However, 

a qualitative measure of such feasibility can be gained by a study of 

the manner in which heat moves through an aquifer.

Aside from geologic considerations, the distribution of temperatures 

in an aquifer is determined by the manner in which heat moves from 

one point to another. In the case of fluid flow through a permeable 

material, the movement of heat occurs principally in two ways. One 

is by conduction in response to temperature gradients within the 

saturated material. The other is by convection, such as occurs when 

the heat contained in the fluid is moved along with, and in the direction 

of, fluid flow.

An analytical equation relating conduction and convection in terms 

of ground-water velocity and temperature is required if the relative 

significance of ground-water flow to the spatial distribution of temperatures is to be determined. Although Schild (1957) and others 

have published equations that relate these factors, they have emphasized those problems in which temperature variations cause significant 

changes in the properties of the flowing fluid. A differential equation 

expressing the flow of heat through a saturated permeable material is 

derived first so that the assumed conditions will be understood fully.

Shown in figure 17 is an element of volume, das dy $2, of permeable 

material, which is assumed to be isotropic, homogeneous, and fully
H38 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

FIGURE 17. An element of volume of saturated permeable material in which heat flow and fluid flow are

simultaneous.

saturated. The distribution of temperatures is assumed to be smoothly 

continuous through space, irrespective of the fluid-solid distribution^ 

the magnitude of the distribution approximately correlates with the 

dimensions of the pores. For the very low ground-water velocities 

occurring under natural conditions, this assumption is believed to be 

a valid approximation. The finite gross water velocity, v, which 

occurs through the interstitial passages, is defined by Darcy's law as

where

and

#=the velocity along the direction./, 

P= the permeability of the material to the flow of water,

%,= the head of water above an arbitrary horizontal reference 

plane.
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H39

The components of the velocity in the a?-, y-, and s-directions are v^ 

vy, and -Vz, respectively. At point (a?, y, s) in the center of the element of volume, let the temperature be y. The temperature at face 1, 

parallel to the yz plane, can be written

and the temperature at face 2, also parallel to the yz plane, is

Similarly, the velocity at face 1 is

and at face 2 is

From the law of heat conduction and equations 1 and 2, the rates, 

qcl and qc2, at which heat is conducted through faces 1 and 2, respectively, can be written as follows :

(5) 

and

where

^ws=the thermal conductivity of the saturated material in the 

volume dx dy dz.

The net rate at which heat is added to the volume by conduction 

through faces 1 and 2 is given by

C^'V

qci qcz^kus^dxdydz. (7)

Likewise, equations similar to equation 7 can be derived for the net 

rate at which heat is added by conduction in the y- and ^-directions, 

that is, through the remaining faces of the cube. Thus the total rate, 

^c, at which heat enters the element of volume by conduction is found 

to be

*=* ++ ***<" (8)
H40 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

The rate, qwl, at which heat contained within the moving liquid 

enters face 1 along the a?-axis is

(9) 

where

cpw ihe specific heat of the water entering face 1 

and

pM =the density of the water entering face 1.

Substitution of equations 1 and 3 for yx and v-i in equation 9 gives

1 dvz , \ / 1 &Y j \ j j 2 %£ dx) (^~2 fa dx) dy dz

1 dy , 1 dv* , . 1 dvz dv -j A , , , 1 N ~ vx £ dx-- y -^ dx+-4 -g ^ *, ) dydz. (10)

Similarly, if the water density throughout the element of volume is 

assumed to be virtually constant, the rate at which heat contained in 

the water leaves through face 2 is

.1 d-y , , 1 V *y+2 V*frc dx+2

The difference between equations 10 and 11 is the net rate at which 

heat contained in the fluid enters the volume in the aj-direction ; hence,

7

The net rate, qw, at which heat enters the element of volume with the 

fluid flow through all faces is obtained by summing expressions similar 

to equation 12 for the a?-, y-, and ^-directions. In this way it is shown 

that

If, for the present, it is assumed that no heat is consumed or generated within the element of volume, the total rate at which heat enters 

the volume equals the sum of the heat which enters by convection and 

that which enters by conduction, that is, qc -f <?,0, or the sum of equations 8 and 13. If qc+qw == ^') the temperature varies as a function of 

the time, as follows :

(14)

~ <ji '

where

pm=the density (weight per unit gross volume) of the saturated

material, 

Ca,s=the specific heat of the saturated material,
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND- WATER DATA H41

and

£=the time.

If equations 8 and 13 are substituted in equation 14 and the terms are 

rearranged, then

"1"

Equation 15 provides a convenient means for evaluating the temperature effects created by the flowing ground water. To simplify 

the equation, assume that steady-state conditions prevail in both the 

velocity and thermal fields, that the velocity components are important 

only in the aj-direction, and that the temperature field is of significance 

only in the s-direction, except for a small gradient in the aj-direction. 

These conditions correspond to those encountered in field sites inasmuch as the ground-water flow is linear along a horizontal axis and 

the heat flow is predominantly vertical. With these simplifications, 

equation 15 becomes

7_ T>wpw x 7 ( 16 j

According to Birch (1942, p. 258), kws equals about 36 Btu per dayfoot-degree F, and cpwpw is 62.4 Btu per cubic foot-degree F. Therefore, from equation 16,

&-> » & < 17 >

Aquifers at depth are subject to the natural temperature gradients 

in the earth's crust. For convenience, assume that the natural temperature gradient is 1°F per 100 feet. If the dip of the aquifer is

1° (0.02 ft per ft), then ^ is about 2X10'4 °F per foot, provided, of

CWcourse, that the dip and the direction of flow are parallel. A conservative value of Vf is about 1 foot per day. For these assumed conditions,

a2-/

^ = 3.5X10-> approximately. (18)

The latter relation can be used to gain some idea of the temperature 

effects under the assumptions thus far employed. For this purpose a 

finite-difference approximation can be used, that is

^35x 1Q_4 ( 19 }
H42 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

where

7r=the temperature change at the top of the aquifer, 

7c=the temperature change at the center of the aquifer, 

7B =the temperature change at the bottom of the aquifer,

and

m=the thickness of the aquifer.

yT, 7C, and JB are all due to the assumed ground-water velocity being 

superimposed on the thermally conductive system. If, for example, 

7?i=100 feet and7c=7B =0, then the change in temperature at the top 

of the aquifer, due to the influence of the ground-water velocity, is 

about1°F.

Thus, for the conditions assumed in developing equation 19, groundwater flow is seen to be an important governing factor in the distribution of underground temperatures. The effect ordinarily is great 

enough that it can be measured with standard well-logging equipment. Because both temperature gradients and ground-water velocities are highly variable from place to place, the relative effect of fluid 

velocity 011 temperature distribution varies over wide limits and in 

some places the two are not measurably interdependent.

PERMEABILITY CALCULATED FROM HEAD AND TEMPERATURE

MEASUREMENTS

Although the gross velocity of the water is of interest in some phases 

of ground-water studies, the permeability of the water-bearing material generally is of greater interest. Equation 15 includes temperature and velocity as dependent variables and time as an independent 

variable. If an adequate number and distribution of temperature 

measurements are obtained throughout a given area, the temperature 

differentials can be estimated and the individual velocity components 

can be computed by applying a finite-difference form of equation 15. 

Then, if the ground-water gradients are known from the measurements 

of head, Darcy's law can be used to compute the permeability. This 

procedure would necessitate not only the collection of many data but 

also much computation. For flow through homogeneous and isotropic 

aquifers, the velocity components can be written in terms of head, 

thereby providing a more direct approach for the calculation of the 

permeability.

The bracketed term in equation 15 is equivalent to the following 

expanded form:

dy dy . dr . dvz , dvu . dv, ,_rt. Vx^r+vv ^T+VZ^+V TT^+T -sr^+r -3T- (20) f)x dy dz dec ' dy ' dz '
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H43

If the density of the fluid is assumed to be uniform in space, application 

of the continuity equation to the nonsteady flow of incompressible 

fluids gives

= _ 

da; dy dz d£

where

$'=the unit storage coefficient of the saturated permeable

material, 

and

&=the head at point (x, y, 2) at the center of the element of 

volume.

If the fluid flow is assumed to be steady, $' is small compared to the

or

terms of equation 15 and the expanded term 20 reduces to

 g+^+'-tr < 22>

Then equation 15 can be written

If, for the moment, it is assumed that the temperature differentials 

in equation 23 can be estimated from field data, there would remain 

the problem of reducing the velocity components vf, %, and v~ to a 

single unknown so that the velocity could be computed from a minimum amount of data. For this purpose, Darcy's law yields the following for homogeneous and isotropic media :

Vx= _P _ p and _p (24) dx * 5 dz '

The substitution of these equations in equation 23 gives

5r 5/t dy dfe 5y\ cwsP , V o;

The conventional approach to data analysis generally involves the 

use of an analytical equation subject to the boundary conditions of the 

flow field. The complexity of equation 25 and the boundary conditions normally met with in field studies preclude the conventional 

analytical approach, except for those cases in which both heat and 

water flow are along one and the same direction. In a written communication (May 10, 1956) to the author, R. E. Glover, of the U.S. 

Geological Survey, suggested a solution to the latter case.

728-318 O 64 t
H44 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

From inspection of equation 23 it is apparent that velocity determinations cannot be made from temperature data unless a temperature 

gradient is measurable along the direction of at least one significant 

velocity component. Generally, the term

by . dy . d? v* ^-+vv ^-L+vi ^-L

dx dy dz

must have a value other than zero to permit the desired analysis. 

Provided this condition is met, estimates of P can be made from head 

and temperature measurements from a minimum of five wells through 

the application of a finite-difference approximation of equation 25. 

Fundamentally, such an analysis is relatively independent of the 

boundaries of the flow field and requires that the assumed conditions 

are-satisfied over only a comparatively small segment of the flow field.

The assumptions leading to equation 25 may be summarized as 

follows: (a) The aquifer system is homogeneous and isotropic to the 

flow of both heat and water; (b) water flow occurs under steady-state 

conditions and heat flow occurs under nonsteady conditions; (c) 

ground-water velocity components are defined by Darcy's law; and 

(d) heat is neither generated nor consumed within the aquifer. Although some field conditions will meet these specifications, others 

obviously will not meet them all. Therefore, equation 25 is to be 

considered more as a symbolic form than a panacea. The conditions 

governing the flow of heat and water at each field site, where it is 

proposed to make a velocity or permeability determination by measurements of temperature and head, must be known. Knowing these 

conditions permits making assumptions similar to those listed above 

and thus permits the derivation of the appropriate differential equation relating temperatures, velocities, and head. In each case, finitedifference approximations of the differential terms and field observations of head and temperature can be employed for estimating 

permeability and (or) velocity.

Use of equation 25 as a basis for estimating P is predicated on the 

assumption that field observations of head and temperature can be 

made with sufficient accuracy. Many commercial well-logging devices appear to yield sufficiently accurate data for estimating the 

temperature differentials along the well axis. However, cursory 

evidence leads to the belief that instrumental drift may be too great 

in most or all units to provide the controlled stability needed for 

relative temperature measurement in the plane normal to the well 

axis. Furthermore, the accuracy of measurements of head in wells 

of shallow to moderate depths is also thought to be a minor problem. 

However, from the qualitative information now available, analysis 

of the underground distribution of temperatures and head, as out-
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H45

lined above, would seem to provide estimates of aquifer permeability 

at many locations without the need for a direct measurement of water 

velocity.

Such an approach will not be successful at some locations because 

the attainable accuracy and sensitivity of measurements will be less 

than the change in variables from point to point in the aquifer. 

Detailed studies are needed to determine the instrumental and data 

accuracy required for specific field situations. Perhaps restudy of 

data already collected and available on known field sites and instruments would shed some quantitative light on the feasibility of this 

approach.

CONCLUSION

Most field methods for determining the hydraulic constants of an 

aquifer require measurement not only of the distribution of head in 

space and time but also of ground-water discharge. Because suitable 

facilities for making the required measurements are not widely or 

conveniently distributed in most aquifers, studies of this nature are 

restricted in areal scope. A method whereby ground-water velocities 

could be determined by means of indirect measurements would increase the scope and usefulness of the quantitative phases of groundwater investigations.

The simultaneous conduction and convection of heat in aquifers is 

affected by the velocity of ground-water flow. Conversely, the distribution of temperatures in an aquifer is an indication of the 

magnitude of the ground-water velocity. For example, an approximately horizontal flow velocity of 1 foot per day and a coincident 

temperature gradient of about 2X10~4 °F would cause the temperature at the top of an aquifer that is 100 feet thick to differ by 1 °F 

from what it would be if the ground water were static. A greater 

ground-water velocity or a greater aquifer thickness would make 

the effect more pronounced.

If the distribution of head and temperature in an aquifer is known, 

finite-difference approximations of the differential equation relating 

the two could be used in calculating the permeability of that aquifer. 

Such approximations could be used for differential equations developed to describe the flow in virtually any known hydraulic system. 

Evidently temperature data provide a means whereby determinations 

of the velocity of the ground water or the permeability of an aquifer 

can be made for places where the testing facilities needed in other 

methods of determining hydraulic constants are not available.

At those locations where the temperature gradient is zero along 

the direction of ground-water flow, the proposed method of analysis 

would not be feasible. However, at locations where the temperature 

gradient is measurable, the method seems promising. Additional
H46 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

work is required to assess the probability of successful application 

in the field.

REFERENCES CITED

Birch, A. F., Schairer, J. F., and Spicer, H. C., 1942, Handbook of physical constants : Geol. Soc. America Spec. Paper 36,325 p.

Ferris, J. G., 1949, Ground water, in Wisler, C. O., and Brater, E. F., Hydrology, 

chap. 7, p. 198-272 : New York, John Wiley & Sons.

Jacob, C. E., 1950, Flow of ground water, in Rouse, Hunter, ed., Engineering 

hydraulics, chap 5, p. 321-386: New York, John Wiley & Sons.

Schild, A., 1957, A theory for the effect of treating oil producing wells: Am. 

Inst. Mining Metall. Petroleum Engineers Trans., v. 210, Tech. Paper 4447, 

p. 1-10.
8TREAMBED PERCOLATION IN DEVELOPMENT OF WATER

SUPPLIES

By MATTHEW I. ROBABAUGH

ABSTRACT

During and since World War II, municipal and industrial water supplies obtained by inducing percolation through a strearnbed have been extensively developed in the Ohio River valley. Such supplies have been developed by placing 

tubular wells or horizontal-type collector wells (such as Ranney collectors) near 

a surface stream which flows on permeable glacial outwash or other permeable 

valley-flll deposits. When pumping lowers the ground-water level below that of 

stream level, stream water percolates downward through the streambed, thereby 

furnishing a large supply of water to the ground-water installation. The design 

of an installation to be supplied by streambed percolation requires a knowledge 

or hydrologic and geologic factors determined by test drilling and from aquifer 

tests.

The principal factors to be considered are the permeability, thickness, storage 

capacity, and storage coefficient of the aquifer, possibility of dewatering the 

aquifer, the available head, the head loss associated with the installation, the 

interference resulting from other installations, and the viscosity changes due to 

changes in the temperature of the water in the stream.

Performance data collected during the period 1945-50 for a horizontal-type 

collector located along the Ohio River demonstrate the following: An increase 

in specific capacity during floods because of a gain in storage and an increase in 

the thickness of the saturated material; a decrease in specific capacity after floods 

because of removal of water from storage and a reduction in the thickness of 

saturated material; and a substantial decrease in yield during the winter because low temperature causes an increase in the viscosity of the river water. 

The temperature of the river ranged from 32° to 85 °F and of the pumped 

water from 47° to 64°F. The temperature cycle of the pumped water lagged 

about 10 weeks behind that of the river water. The water entering the collector 

from the horizontal screens that extend riverward had a wider range in temperature and less time lag than the water from the landward-extending horizontal 

screens. Silting of the riverbed did not cause a permanent reduction in the 

yield of the collector. The mineral content of the pumped water was intermediate 

between that of the water in the river and that of the water in the aquifer. The 

pumped water contained no bacteria, was clear, and was free of the chemical 

wastes that made difficult the treatment of the river water itself.

SCOPE OF THE INVESTIGATION

The discussion in this paper will be limited to the downward percolation of surface water through a saturated streambed, as related to 

the practical problems of developing water supplies that take advanH47
H48 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

tage of the natural conditions in many stream valleys. This particular 

phase of the subject was selected for detailed discussion because of 

its increasing economic importance in water-supply development and 

because of the technical advances made in theory and practical application during and since World War IT. Although it had been known for 

many years that wells located near streams might derive a substantial 

part of their yield from the streams themselves, the formulation of 

methods for making the quantitative evaluations necessary to the design of water-supply installations had progressed very slowly. The 

need for very large supplies of water for industrial use during and since 

the war led to improvement and refinement of quantitative theory, to 

confirmation of theory by field testing and by collection and analysis of 

statistical data on existing installations, and to better efficiency through 

improved methods of design and construction. This discussion is 

based almost wholly on data from the Ohio River valley, also the 

glaciated area north of the valley, where extensive developments based 

on induced infiltration of river water have been made.

AC KNO WLED GMENTS

The investigations which provided the opportunity for research on 

this problem were begun under the general direction of the late O. E. 

Meinzer, geologist in charge of the Ground Water Branch, U.S. 

Geological Survey, and were continued under his successor, A. N. 

Sayre.

The author wishes to thank Mr. J. Carl Bode, president of the 

National Carbide Co., for granting permission to collect and publish 

the performance data used in this paper, and to Mr. A. L. Glidden, 

vice president of the Ranney Water Collector Corp. of New York, for 

permission to use preliminary and final test data at the collector site. 

Appreciation is also expressed to W. F. Guyton, C. E. Jacob, -and 

R. G. Kazmann, all formerly of the Ground Water Branch, and to 

E. W. Silitch, president and technical director, and to A. D'Audiffret, 

both of the Ranney Method Water Supply, Inc., for ideas brought 

out through informal discussion of the theoretical and practical problems of water-supply development by means of induced streambed 

percolation.

GEOLOGIC ORIGIN OF VALLEY-FILL DEPOSITS IN AND NORTH 

OF THE OHIO RIVER VALLEY

Before the Pleistocene epoch, the streams in Ohio, Indiana, and 

Illinois flowed to the north and northwest. The advance of the ice 

sheets blocked drainage in those directions, and the dammed streams 

in the part of the area south of the ice margin found escape by 

breaching the divides between the preglacial valleys. The water 

from the obstructed valleys, augmented by melt water from the ice,
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H49

cut a new river valley approximately along the southern limit of the 

ice sheet. This valley, now occupied by the Ohio River, was cut into 

the consolidated rocks to a width of 1 to 6 miles and to a depth of as 

much as 150 feet below the present flood plain. As the volume of 

water from the receding ice sheet diminished, the valley was partly 

filled with glacial outwash and river deposits. The meandering 

Ohio River, ranging in width from about 1,000 to about 5,000 feet, 

flows 011 the surface of these valley-fill deposits. In most places, the 

riverbed is the upper surface of a deposit of sand and gravel which is 

as much as 110 feet thick. On both sides of the river, the valley-fill 

deposits are mantled by flood-plain deposits that consist principally 

of clay and silt and range in thickness from 10 to 40 feet. Although 

in many places the valley-fill deposits consist of highly permeable 

deposits of sand and gravel and thus constitute an ideal aquifer, in 

some places they contain so many lenses of silt and clay that suitable 

sites for wells are difficult to find.

The preglacial valleys north of the newly formed Ohio River valley 

also were filled with glacial deposits. A new drainage pattern was 

formed as the ice sheet melted, the streams draining southward to 

the Ohio River. Where these new streams cross or follow filled preglacial valleys, conditions commonly are suitable for the development 

of water supplies by inducing stream water to percolate into the glacial materials.

REQUIREMENTS FOR INDUSTRIAL OR MUNICIPAL WATER

SUPPLIES

A water supply for an industry or a municipality must meet certain 

requirements as to minimum yield, temperature, turbidity, 'and chemical and bacterial quality. Almost nowhere can all requirements be 

met by developing only a surface-water source or only a groundwater source.

Inasmuch as the initial source of all water supplies is precipitation, 

the size of the catchment area together with natural or artificial 

storage capacity will determine the dependable yield. For surface 

water, the controlling factors are the size of the drainage area and 

the amount of precipitation on that area; for ground water, the controlling factor is either the relatively small zone of influence of the 

well or the small area of the outcrop of the aquifer. The Ohio River 

drainage basin, which receives an average annual precipitation of 

40 to 50 inches over a very large area, provides surface water greatly 

in excess of needs. However, the temperature of the water exceeds 

80°F in the summer, which makes it unsuitable for such industrial 

uses as air conditioning, chemical processing, and distilling. Moreover, in recent years the surface supplies have been seriously contam-
H50 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

inated by municipal and industrial wastes, the removal of which has 

added substantially to the cost of treatment. In some places this 

cost has become so high or the odor and taste of the treated water 

have become so bad that surface water has had to be abandoned 'as 

a source of supply.

Ground-water supplies normally have an almost uniformly cool 

temperature, are free of turbidity, have a chemical quality not subject 

to significant changes, and can be developed more cheaply than surface-water supplies. In the Ohio River drainage basin, except where 

streambed percolation can be induced, the dependable yield of a well 

tapping highly permeable valley-fill deposits is at best only moderately 

large because, under the prevailing water-table conditions, the size of 

the area throughout which water can be diverted to the well is relatively small. The yield of wells tapping the bedrock aquifers is 

small, even though artesian conditions prevail, because these aquifers 

are not highly permeable.

Where geologic and hydrologic conditions are favorable, it is possible to combine the advantages of both types of supply to use the 

larger catchment area of the stream and at the same time to obtain 

water of satisfactory temperature and quality. This can be done 

by inducing percolation from the stream through its bed into a highly 

permeable aquifer.

The rate of ground-water flow (Q) is governed by the permeability 

of the water-bearing material (P), by the hydraulic gradient (/), and 

by the cross-sectional area perpendicular to the direction of flow (A). 

When a well is pumped or is allowed to flow, the water table or piezometric surface in the immediate vicinity of the well assumes the shape 

of an inverted cone so that Darcy's relationship, Q=PIA, is satisfied 

at all points. If a well is so situated that, in expanding, the inverted 

cone reaches a stream from which infiltration can be induced, the inverted cone develops asymmetrically, the hydraulic gradient between 

the stream and the well becoming steep in comparison to that on the 

side away from the stream. All other factors being equal, the flow 

in the distorted cone will follow the Darcy relation; that is, the flow 

toward the well will be greatest on the side nearest the stream because 

there the hydraulic gradient is the steepest. When the inverted cone 

first reaches the stream, only a small part of the discharge from the 

well consists of induced percolation through the streambed. If 

pumping is continued long enough, a condition is reached whereby 

virtually all the water being pumped is derived from the stream. The 

theory for this problem has been discussed by Muskat (1937, p. 175- 

181) and Jacob (1950, p. 351-354), and applications to practical problems have been demonstrated by Kazmann (1948a, b) and Rorabaugh 

(1948, 1956).
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H51

If the water being discharged from a well is derived almost wholly 

from a stream, then the dependable yield of the well is related directly 

to the low-water flow of the stream. Because even the minimum flow 

of the Ohio River exceeds foreseeable needs, the dependable yields of 

well installations along the main stem of the river obviously will not 

be limited by a lack of supply. However, along a small stream the 

dependable yield definitely will be limited to the low-water flow of the 

stream unless a large quantity of ground water is in storage. Only 

if a large quantity of ground \vater is in storage can the dependable 

yield be substantially larger than the low flow of the stream (Kazmann, 1949).

FACTORS IN THE PRACTICAL DEVELOPMENT OF A WATER SUPPLY

The planning of a water supply that is to be dependent on induced 

percolation through a streambed requires extensive knowledge of not 

only the hydrology of the basin, but also the geologic and groundwater conditions in the vicinity of the proposed installation. Important facts that need to be known are (a) the low flow of the stream, 

(b) the range in stage of the stream, (c) the range in chemical quality 

and the range in temperature of the water in the stream, (d) the 

vertical permeability of the streambed, (e) the horizontal permeability 

of the aquifer, (f) the thickness and lateral extent of the aquifer, (g) 

the water level and rate of flow in the aquifer, (h) the quality and 

temperature of the ground water, (i) the available head, (j) the distance from the point of withdrawal to the area of effective streambed 

percolation, (k) the geologic and hydraulic boundaries of the aquifer, 

(1) the extent of the interference from nearby installations, (m) the 

available quantity of ground water in storage, (n) the head losses in 

the installation (well, gallery, or horizontal-type collector), (o) the 

turbulence of the flow, (p) the amount of distortion in the flow lines 

because of screen location, and (q) the reduction in saturated thickness 

of the aquifer as dewatering occurs.

It has become general practice to make detailed field investigations 

before the design and construction of installations for development 

of water supplies based on the induced percolation of stream water 

to an aquifer. Test drilling is done to determine the nature of the 

water-bearing material, its depth, the lateral extent of the aquifer, 

the available drawdown or head below the surface stream, and the 

geologic boundaries that may also be hydraulic boundaries. From 

the test drilling a favorable site is selected for making a detailed 

aquifer test. Such a test determines (a) whether the stream and the 

aquifer are hydraulically connected, (b) the distance from the effective area of percolation to the pumped well, (c) the permeability of 

the aquifer, (d) the storage coefficient, and (e) the location and effect
H52 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

of hydraulic boundaries, such as a valley wall or a major change in 

lateral permeability in the aquifer. From the hydrologic constants 

determined from the test it is then possible to compute the expected 

yield of any type of installation placed at any distance from the stream 

(Rorabaugh, 1956). Neither the test-drilling nor the making of 

aquifer tests will provide complete information on the effect of low 

temperature on the rate of discharge from the installation, on the 

percolation rate through the streambed, or on the chemical quality 

and temperature characteristics of the water produced from the installation. Detailed discussion of these items follows.

TEMPERATURE OF THE "WATER

The temperature of the water discharged from an installation that 

induces percolation through a streambed follows a cycle governed by 

the seasonal fluctuations in the temperature of the stream water 

(Burdick, 1942; Jeffords, 1945; Kazmann, 1947, 1948b; Rorabaugh, 

1956). The range in the temperature of the discharged water, however, is less than that of the stream water, and the highs and lows in 

the temperature of the discharged water occur later than the corresponding highs and lows in the temperature of the stream. Both the 

range and time lag in the temperature of the discharged water depend 

on a large number of variables, the more important of which are (a) 

the temperature of the stream water, (b) the distance of the installation from the stream, (c) the spacing of the installation, (d) the discharge rate, (e) the volume and porosity of the aquifer, (f) the amount 

and the temperature of the ground water entering the installation 

from the landside, and (g) the specific heat of the material in the 

aquifer. At any given time, the water percolating from the stream 

to the installation is following various paths and is flowing at rates 

governed by the hydraulic gradient and the transmissibility of the 

aquifer along the paths of flow; thus, the stream water that infiltrates 

the aquifer near the installation, where the gradient is steepest, 

travels to the installation in a very short, time compared to that of 

water entering the aquifer some distance upstream or downstream. 

In other words, the water being discharged at any given time is a mixture of ground water of almost uniform temperature with stream 

water that entered the aquifer at different points, at different times, 

and at different temperatures. As a result of the mixing, the range 

in the temperature of the water being discharged from the installation is narrower than that of the stream water. The narrower range 

is due also to an exchange of heat between the water and the material 

composing the aquifer, as water of one temperature flows into the 

aquifer having a different temperature. An additional factor may 

be the radiation of heat not only within the aquifer but also to or 

from the underlying bedrock or the overlying unsaturated material.
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H53

Further complications are introduced by changes in viscosity that 

are associated with changes in temperature; changes in viscosity alter 

the rate of flow, either damping or accentuating all the other effects 

in various parts of the aquifer. The viscosity of water varies about 

1.5 percent per degree Fahrenheit throughout the temperature range 

ordinarily encountered in practical problems. The rate of flow varies 

inversely as the viscosity; a drop of 1° in temperature will decrease 

the flow rate by about 1.5 percent. An installation with a yield of 

5 mgd (million gallons per day) at a temperature of 70°F will yield 

only about 3.2 mgd when the temperature is reduced to 40°F. It is 

evident, therefore, that temperature is one of the most important 

variables to be considered in the design of a water-supply installation 

that induces percolation of stream water into the aquifer.

PERCOLATION RATES

Special consideration should be given to the possibility that stream 

water will percolate through only a part of the streambed and that the 

critical element in the problem may be the vertical permeability of 

the material composing the streambed in that part where percolation 

can occur. Although an aquifer test takes into account the waterlevel drawdown between the stream and the well, it does not permit 

separation of the head loss into separate values attributable to ver 

tical percolation and to horizontal flow. Moreover, the rate of pump 

ing during an aquifer test generally is only a fraction of the pumping 

rate of the final installation. Where the area through which stream 

bed percolation may occur is small or the permeability in the vertica 

direction is low, an aquifer test made at a low pumping rate coulc 

indicate a hydraulic connection between the stream and the aquifer 

whereas the final installation having a higher pumping rate would 

withdraw water at a rate in excess of the ability of the streambed to 

transmit it.

Although the maximum, or limiting, percolation rate of the streambed generally cannot be determined precisely, it ordinarily is possible 

to determine whether the percolation rate will be a critical element 

in the design of a water-supply installation. Records of water-level 

fluctuations in observation wells may be revealing. The degree of 

correlation between fluctuations of stream level and fluctuations of 

ground-water level furnishes a clue as to the freeness of the connection 

between the stream and the aquifer. Study of the water-table profile 

along a line perpendicular to the stream at the side of a proposed 

installation provides additional clues. If the water table is continuout with the stream surface, both uniform horizontal flow and free 

flow through the streambed are indicated; but if an extension of the 

water-table profile passes above or below the stream surface, either a
H54 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

zone of low horizontal permeability or restricted vertical flow in the 

streambecl is indicated. The location and areal extent of the part of 

the streambed through which percolation can be induced generally 

can be determined by test drilling and geologic study.

The effective distance between a well that has been pumped in making an aquifer test and the source of recharge from a stream can be 

determined graphically from a profile based on the water-level position, during the test, in observation wells between the pumped well and 

the stream, or it can be computed from the water-level position in 

nearby observation wells Kazmann, 1948a, p. 88; Rorabaugh, 1956, 

p. 144-145). If a small stream is the source, the distance determined 

from the test should be equal, or nearly so, to the physical distance to 

the center of the stream. However, if the effective distance determined 

from the test is unreasonably great compared to the known distance, 

the permeability of the streambed is indicated to be low enough to 

become a critical factor in the problem. For a very wide stream, such 

as the Ohio River, the physical distance to the source of recharge cannot be determined precisely, and the effective distance determined from 

the test should not be considered unreasonable unless it places the 

source beyond the far bank of the stream. Use of the effective distance 

to the source when such distance is unreasonably great may be justified, 

to some extent, on the basis that use of the larger figure will compensate, in part, for a low rate of percolation through the streambed. 

Such analysis must be given thorough study inasmuch as the percolation rate is a direct function of head, whereas the distance to source 

enters the computation as a logarithm. f

Where test drilling and the results of an aquifer test indicate that 

the critical factor in the design of an installation is the percolation 

rate of the streambed, the design of the installation should be checked 

against the design of successful installations under similar geologic 

and hydraulic conditions elsewhere. Very few data have been published on this phase of hydrology.

In the United States, perhaps the best known installation that induces percolation through a streambed is the infiltration gallery along 

the Raccoon River at Des Moines, Iowa. This installation, which has 

been in operation since 1908, has a streambed percolation rate of about 

0.25 mgd per acre (Burdick, 1942, p. 1611), which is the same as 9 

inches per day.

Studies of the Middle Branch of Nimishillen Creek in Ohio were 

made in 1947 (Youngquist, 1948). Water levels in the glacial material 

in the valley had been lowered below stream level at some points by 

pumpage from wells, which averaged about 8 mgd. Current-meter 

measurements at various points on the stream demonstrated a loss of
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H55

stream water to the underlying glacial material. The percolation rate 

was computed to be 3.6 mgd per acre, or 11.0 feet per day.

Determination of percolation rates for large streams in terms of 

rate per unit area is difficult. The rate of percolation is a function of 

the permeability of the material composing the streambed, but it also 

varies with the head or drawdown under the stream and with temperature changes. The effective area of streambed percolation cannot 

be determined accurately. When a well near a large river is pumped, 

the cone of depression extends beneath the river until sufficient head 

and area are developed to satisfy the needs of the installation. In a 

highly permeable bed the cone may extend only part way beneath the 

river. Where low vertical permeability exists, the come may expand 

to include the full width of the river and then extend upstream and 

downstream. Since the head distribution is logarithmic, percolation 

rates in the area near the installation will be several times larger than 

the average over the effective area of percolation.

The largest infiltration development along the Ohio Kiver is at 

Charleston, Ind. Seven horizontal-type (Ranney) collectors having a 

combined dependable yield of about 65 mgd are located along a 2-mile 

reach of the river. If the full width of the river is regarded as effective, the average percolation rate during periods of most intensive 

pumping is computed to be 0.15 mgd per acre.

In downtown Louisville, K^y., about 1 mile from the Ohio Kiver, the 

combined discharge of a large number of vertical wells is about 10 

mgd. It is estimated that this withdrawal induces percolation through 

the streambed of the river at an average rate of 0.01 mgd per acre. 

Withdrawals from a collector southwest of Louisville induces streambed percolation of about 0.05 mgd per acre. These rates are for existing installations, no estimate having been made of the maximum possible. Most of the head between the river level and the pumping level 

in downtown Louisville is used in horizontal flow from the river to the 

wells. Considerably higher percolation rates could be developed by 

placing wells nearer the river, thereby increasing the hydraulic gradient. Detailed investigations of a 6-mile reach along the river northeast of downtown Louisville indicate that a dependable supply of 

about 280 mgd could be developed by induced infiltration (Rorabaugh, 

1956, p.159).

QUALITY OF WATER

A water supply developed through streambed percolation is more 

nearly uniform in chemical quality than a supply directly from the 

stream. Because water that leaves the stream at any given time is 

mixed, before it reaches the well, with water that left the stream at 

other times, sudden changes in the quality of the stream water are 

not reflected in the water pumped from the water-supply installation.
H56 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

Most objectionable odors and tastes, which have been a major problem in the treating of surface water, apparently are removed or diluted as the water percolates through the streambed and toward the 

water-supply installation. Although definite data to prove this are 

lacking, evidence that users of such supplies have not been troubled 

by odors and tastes has been cited by both Jeffords (1945, p. 151) and 

Kazmami (1948b, p. 419).'

PERFORMANCE OF A HORIZONTAL-TYPE COLLECTOR SOUTHWEST OF LOUISVILLE, KY.

Performance data for a horizontal-type collector at the National 

Carbide Co. plant southwest of Louisville, Ky. (fig. 18), are used to 

illustrate the effects of various factors involved in a supply system 

that is designed to induce streambed percolation.

At this location the Ohio River is controlled by navigation dams; 

it lias a minimum water level of 45 feet above bedrock and a minimum 

flow of several thousand cubic feet per second. Water-bearing glacial 

outwash consisting of sand and gravel underlies both the river and 

the flood plain. However, except where the river is deepest, this 

coarse-grained deposit is mantled everywhere by relatively impervious 

clay. This clay blanket, which extends under the river for about 160 

feet, not only restricts the aquifer to a thickness of about 20 feet in 

the area through which river water must percolate to reach the installation but also prevents percolation of river water in the area near 

the installation. Furthermore, the position of the underside of the 

clay layer is such that the ground water is artesian, or confined, whenever the pumping rate is low or the river is in flood and that watertable conditions prevail during periods of heavy pumping. Consideration of the storage changes and the changes in the transmission 

rate associated with partial dewatering of the aquifer is necessary.

The collector is of the horizontal type and was placed in operation 

in the fall of 1945 (Silitch, 1948). It consists of a caisson, 13 feet 

in diameter, sunk to bedrock at the low-water edge of the river. 

Screens projecting radially from near the bottom of the caisson extend 

about 175 feet in a riverward direction and a little more than 300 feet 

in the upstream, downstream, and landward directions.

Comparison of the river level (graph A, fig. 18) with the water 

level in the collector (graph 0) during the period of nearly constant 

discharge rate (graph D) shows that the river and the collector are 

hydraulically connected. However, a time lag of a few days and a 

damping effect are noticeable. As shown by graph Z>, ground-water 

levels at a point 1,500 feet landward from the river show a recovery

2 The great increase in the use of synthetic detergents since the preparation of this paper probably invalidates these statements, because synthetic detergents are not entirely removed by natural filtration.
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H57

Bi Water level in well 1500 feet from river

I I Water level in Ranney collector

1949 1950

FIGURE 18. Performance graphs for collector southwest of Louisville, Ky.: A, stage of Ohio River; B. 

water level in well 1,500 feet from the Ohio River; C, water level in collector; D, discharge from collector 

E, specific capacity; F, thermographs for river, collector discharge, and flow in selected laterals; G, specific capacity corrected to 60°F.

in 1945-46 following a reduction of pumpage in the industrial area, 

a rise in 1948 reflecting the effects of the 1948 flood, and a decline in 

1949-50 resulting from an increase in withdrawals for industrial use 

farther from the river.

The specific capacity, or yield in gallons per minute per foot of 

drawdown, for the collector is shown by graph E. It was obtained by
H58 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

dividing the discharge by the average head, which was determined 

by computing the difference between the level in the collector (graph 

C] and the average of river level (graph A) and the water level in 

a well 1,500 feet from the river (graph B). This graph shows that 

the yield rarely dropped below 50 gpm per ft (gallons per minute per 

foot), which is equal to 2,000 gpm for a normal pumping head of 40 

feet. It shows also that the specific capacity increases when the water 

level in the well is higher, as during periods of flood. Such increases 

result partly from resaturation of the dewatered part of the aquifer, 

which increases the transmissibility, and partly from the gain in storage during the flood.

Graph F shows the temperature of the river water; the temperature 

of the water entering the collector from the laterals that extend riverward, upstream, and landward; and the temperature of the water discharged from the collector. The time lag in the individual laterals 

and the magnitude of the cycle differs according to the nearness of the 

laterals to the river. The discharge from the installation is a mixture 

of water of different temperature entering from the different laterals. 

The pronounced cycle of high specific capacity in the summer and low 

specific capacity in the winter, as shown by graph E, is related directly 

to the changes in the viscosity of the water, which, in turn, are related 

directly to changes in the water temperature.

Graph (r was obtained by adjusting the specific capacity, as shown 

by graph ff, to a constant temperature of 60°F. Although this graph 

shows a nearly constant value for specific capacity during periods of 

low water in the river, it shows, as does graph ff, that high values are 

associated with floods. The temperature correction was based on the 

average temperature of both the river water and the discharge from 

the collector. That this simplification of a very complex variable 

produces usable results has been confirmed by statistical analyses of 

performance data. Graph G would seem to indicate that the minimum specific capacity had declined from about 58 to 51 gpm per ft 

during the 5-year period, or about 2 percent per year. Although, on 

first thought, the decline might be attributed to gradual silting of the 

riverbed and consequent lowered percolation rates, variation in specific 

yield with time during a long period of pumping also must be considered as a possible factor.

The discharge capacity of the collector was tested monthly during 

the first year. Each test consisted of first increasing the discharge 

until the water level was lowered to the minimum allowable and then 

gradually reducing the discharge so as to maintain that level. The 

discharge at the end of 10 days was used as representative of the yield 

for the conditions of river level and temperature prevailing for that 

test. The low points during the first, year on graph G are for pumping
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H59

periods of 10 days. If the tests had been run for a longer time, the 

specific capacity would have declined even more because, at the end 

of each test, water still was being removed from storage and the rate 

at which the aquifer could transmit water was being reduced correspondingly. An analysis of the 12 monthly tests produced a rating for 

the collector for a wide variety of both river levels and river temperatures for the condition of maximum drawdown after pumping for 10 

days. For a water temperature of 60°F and the minimum (controlled 

by navigation dams) pool level of the river, the collector had a rated 

capacity of 2,200 gpm, or 55 gpm per ft of drawdown.

A theoretical analysis of the data obtained during the preliminary 

test at the site and of the data from the first test of the capacity of 

the collector produces values for all the hydrologic factors that need 

to be considered in the drawing of a rating curve which shows the 

variation of specific capacity with time. This curve includes a series 

of parameters for conditions following floods of different heights. 

Under conditions of maximum drawdown and a water temperature of 

00°F, the 100-day specific capacity is 52 gpm per ft, the 200-day specific capacity is 50 gpm per ft, and the long-term specific capacity is 48 

gpm per ft. The collector would need to be pumped continuously for 

nearly 2 years for the long-term specific capacity to be reached.

Thus, if the well had been pumped continuously throughout 1946, 

the specific capacity, adjusted to a water temperature of 60°F, would 

have dropped to values no lower than those of 1948 and 1950. From 

this analysis it is concluded that silting of the riverbed, at least 

through 1950, had not caused any permanent decline in the yield of the 

collector. In 1947, the water levels were not lowered sufficiently to 

dewater the aquifer as extensively as in the other years and for that 

reason the specific capacity at 60°F was not so low as in 1948 and 1950.

The low specific capacity in 1949 does not conform to the analysis. 

Although the condition was only temporary, its exact cause has not 

been established definitely. Possibly, the driving of piles for a loading dock just downstream from the collector disturbed the arrangement of the particles composing the aquifer and several months may 

have been required for redevelopment of the aquifer. That the discharge from the collector contained sand at times after the piles had 

been driven tends to lend credence to this hypothesis. Another possible explanation is based on the fact that considerable riverclrift was 

lodged among and upstream from the piles during the flood period in 

the spring of 1949. The resulting reduction in the velocity of the 

muddy river water may have caused deposition of silt and mud on the 

streambed in the vicinity of the collector and, after the flood period, 

removal of the debris may have permitted a return to the normal distribution of velocities and a removal of the silt and mud. If either

728-318 O 64 5
H60 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

possible explanation was the real cause of the lowered specific capacity, 

it is surprising that the temperature of the water entering the caisson 

from the lateral nearest the loading dock did not deviate from its normal cycle. The specific capacity at 60°F returned to a normal level 

during the period August to October 1949, even though the river remained at pool stage and the rate of discharge from the collector was 

increased somewhat.

Practically speaking, the specific capacity, adjusted to 60°F, probably never will be reduced to 48 gpm per ft for any appreciable length 

of time because, every winter or spring in this part of the Ohio River 

valley, floods of at least medium stages result in a refilling of the 

aquifer. However, the specific capacity at 60°F could be reduced temporarily to somewhat less than that value if unusually adverse conditions were to prevail. For example, if the river were to remain at 

pool level throughout the cold months, the correction for changes in 

temperature would result in a specific capacity of 40 gpm per ft, or a 

discharge rate of 1,600 gpm. Such conditions are known to have occurred during the drought of 1930-31 when the river was at pool level 

for a 7-month period May 1930 to January 1931 and the average 

temperature during December 1930 was considerably below normal. 

However, they have not occurred at any other time in the 75-year 

period of record, 1875-1950.

In general, the effects of low head during periods of low river level, 

such as occur during the summer and fall, are offset by the increase in 

flow rate due to the high temperature; conversely, during flood periods 

the added head offsets the reduction in flow rates due to low temperature. For practical purposes, therefore, the long-term dependable 

yield of the collector may be considered to be about 50 gpm per ft, or 

2,000 gpm.

Performance data for the horizontal-type collector at the National 

Carbide Co. plant southwest of Louisville, Ky., show that the specific 

capacity of the installation varies with river level, with temperature, 

and with time. Correlation of the data shows the efficiency of this 

installation did not decrease during the first 5 years of operation 

and that silting of the riverbed did not cause a permanent reduction 

in the yield. Although, in 1949, the specific capacity fell below that 

computed by theory the condition was temporary, as shown by the 

increase in specific capacity during the late summer. The rated dependable specific capacity of this collector under conditions of low 

river level, winter temperature, and maximum drawdown for a period 

of long duration is 40 gpm per ft, or a discharge rate of 1,600 gpm. 

Study of the river and temperature records show that the conditions 

that would have caused the specific capacity of the collector to drop 

to this value occurred only once (1930-31) in the 75-year period 1875-
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H61

1950. The hydrology of the Ohio River drainage basin is such that 

low water usually occurs in the late summer and that floods occur in 

the winter and spring. During periods of low water, the low head is 

offset by the lower viscosity of the warm water, and during the winter, 

the increased head and storage offset the higher viscosity of the cold 

water. From a practical standpoint, the dependable specific capacity 

of the collector may be considered to be about 50 gpm per ft, or a discharge rate of 2,000 gpm.

CONCLUSION

During and since World War II, large supplies of water have 

been developed in the Ohio River drainage basin by means of inducing percolation through a streambed. Supplies based on this type of 

development have characteristics of both ground water and surface 

water and combine the advantages of both. The dependable yield 

of such a development is limited by the low flow of the stream rather 

than by the limited zone of influence of the well. Because groundwater storage can be used during periods of low flow, the combined 

sources produce a higher safe limit than either surface water or 

ground water alone. Not only the mixing of stream water with 

ground water but also the mixing of water that leaves the stream 

during different seasons of the year produces a water having a temperature range less than that of the stream. Furthermore, the water 

infiltrating from the river is generally free of bacterial contamination, turbidity, taste, and odor by the time it reaches the well.

Water supplies developed by this method are suitable for industrial processes, many of which cannot use stream water because of 

its high summer temperature. A more uniform chemical content and 

freedom from turbidity also make this type of water supply attractive to certain industries. Test drilling, geologic study, and aquifer 

tests will provide adequate data for a sound design using galleries, 

tubular wells, or horizontal-type collectors.

REFERENCES CITED

Burdick, C. B., 1942, Ground water a vital national resource, Midwest problems: Am. Water Works Assoc. Jour., v. 34, p. 1606-1615.

Jacob, C. E., 1950, Flow of ground water, in Rouse, Hunter, ed., Engineering 

hydraulics, chap. 5, p. 321-386; New York, John Wiley & Sons.

Jeffords, R. M., 1945, Recharge to water-bearing formations along the Ohio 

Valley: Am. Water Works Assoc. Jour., v. 37, p. 144-154.

Kazniann, R. G., 1947, Discussion, Apparent changes in water storage during 

floods at Peoria, 111.: Am. Geophys. Union Trans., v. 28, p. 434-435.

 1948a, The induced infiltration of river water to wells: Am. Geophys. 

Union Trans., v. 29, p. 85-89, p. 928-929.

 1948b, River infiltration as a source of ground-water supply: Am. Soc.

Civil Engineers Trans., v. 113, p. 404-420.
H62 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES,

Kazmann, R. G., 1949, The utilization of induced stream infiltration and natural 

aquifer storage at Canton, Ohio: Econ. Geology, v. 44, p. 514-524.

Muskat, Morris, 1937, The flow of homogeneous fluids through porous media: 

New York, McGraw-Hill Book Co.

Rorabaugh, M. I., 1948, Discussion, The induced infiltration of river water to 

wells : Am. Geophys. Union Trans., v. 29, p. 90-92.

 1956, Ground water in northeastern Louisville, Ky., with reference to 

induced infiltration: U.S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 1360-B, p. 

101-169.

Silitch, E. W., 1948, The place of Ranney collectors in the water supply industry : New Hampshire Water Works Assoc. Jour.

Youngquist, C. V., 1948, Discussion, River infiltration as a source of groundwater supply: Am. Soc. Civil Engineers Trans., v. 113, p. 421-422.
A WATER BUDGET FOR THE ARTESIAN AQUIFER IN 

OGDEN VALLEY, WEBER COUNTY, UTAH

By HAROLD E. THOMAS

ABSTRACT

In addition to fluctuating in response to changes in storage, the water level 

in the Tower well in Ogden Valley, Weber County, Utah, fluctuates in response 

to the following pressure effects: Changes in atmospheric pressure, changes 

in the contents of Pine View Reservoir, and changes in the discharge rate of 

the Ogden municipal-supply wells. Adjustment of the water-level measurements for these pressure effects results in a record that reflects storage changes 

in the aquifer tapped by the Tower well. An analysis of the fluctuations attributed to changes in storage shows that a little less than two-thirds of the 

average annual recharge to the aquifer is due to infiltration of precipitation 

and local runoff and that the remainder is due to seepage from the principal 

streams crossing the valley floor. During the period 1935-51, the annual discharge from the artesian aquifer averaged about 13,350 acre-feet and the 

annual recharge averaged about 13,540 acre-feet.

SCOPE AND PURPOSE OF PAPER

Records of water-level fluctuations in wells are worth the cost and 

trouble of collecting only if they are used as a basis for hydrologic 

interpretations. Although water-level records have been vital to the 

reaching of conclusions regarding the occurrence and development of 

ground water in specific areas, many such records still await interpretation. Similarly, a wealth of climatologic and other hydrologic data 

is in need of analysis.

The water level in a well fluctuates in response to the addition of 

water to, or the subtraction of water from, some part of the aquifer 

tapped by the well, and also, if the water in the aquifer is confined, 

in response to an increase or decrease of pressure upon the water 

somewhere in the aquifer. If the fluctuations of water level in a 

single well can be correlated quantitatively with the various factors 

that cause changes in storage or changes in pressure, a record of the 

water-level fluctuations in that well is an index to the quantities of 

water recharged to or discharged from the aquifer in given periods.

The Tower well 3 in Ogden Valley, Utah, has proven to be an especially good index well. A float-type recording gage was installed on

3 So called because the casing extends 16 feet above the land surface and must be climbed when the recording gage mounted upon it is serviced. In reports by Leggette and Taylor (1937) and Thomas (1945), 

the well Is designated "No. 82," and in the annual reports on water levels and artesian pressures in wells, 

published by the Geological Survey in its series of water-supply papers, it is called well (A-6-1) 12aad-l, 

in accordance with the coordinate well-numbering system that is .standard for Utah. This coordinate 

number is based upon the location of the well in the SEMNEHNEJ4 sec. 12, T. 6 N., R. 1 E., Salt Lake 

base line and meridian.

H63
H64 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

the Tower well when it was drilled in September 1932. The record 

of water-level fluctuations in this well is the longest of any in Utah 

and probably is among the dozen longest in the country. An analysis 

of the water-level record of this well in the light of other pertinent 

data, as described in this paper, made possible the formulation of a 

water budget for the artesian aquifer in Ogden Valley.

GEOLOGIC AND HYDBOLOGIC FEATURES OF OGDEN VALLEY

Ogden Valley, an area of about 23 square miles, is in the eastern 

part of Weber County and is about 12 miles east of the city of Ogden. 

The altitude of the valley floor is about 5,000 feet. The South, Middle, and North Forks of the Ogden River enter the valley from the 

east, northeast, and north, respectively, and join in the lower part 

of the valley to form the Ogden River, which flows westward out of 

the valley by way of Ogden Canyon. The Ogden River is a tributary 

of the Weber River, which empties into Great Salt Lake.

Ogden Valley is believed to be unique in its water-storage facilities 

in that it contains a surface reservoir (Pine View Reservoir) which 

overlies an artesian aquifer from which large quantities of water are 

withdrawn. The surface reservoir, created when Pine View Dam in 

the Ogden Canyon was completed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation 

in 1936, occupies the lower part of Ogden Valley and has a capacity 

of 43,600 acre-feet.4 The reservoir covers only a part of the area underlain by the artesian aquifer. Both are of great economic importance: 

The artesian aquifer provides all but a small part of the municipal 

water supply for the city of Ogden, and Pine View Reservoir provides 

water for irrigation of about 16,000 acres of farmland in Weber and 

Box Elder Counties.

As described by Blackwelder (1910, p. 520-526), Gilbert (1928, p. 

57-62), and other geologists, Ogden Valley lies in a graben, or structural trough. The graben is separated from the Great Basin farther 

west by the horst that has formed a range of mountains which, at the 

latitude of Ogden Valley, is 6 to 8 miles wide. These mountains, commonly referred to as the Wasatch Mountains, are a part of the Wasatch Range. Bordering the graben along its east side is the Bear 

River Range, which by some is also included as part of the Wasatch 

Range. The mountain crests on both sides of Ogden Valley are about 

9,000 feet above sea level.

Ogden Valley is separated from Morgan Valley, to the southeast, 

by rolling lands that stand as much as 1,000 feet higher than the floor 

of Ogden Valley. In large part, these rolling lands are underlain by

* All statements in this report pertain to conditions existing before or in 1952, the date of the writing of 

this paper. In 1957, the storage capacity of Pine View Reservoir was increased to 110,000 acre-feet.
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H65

the Norwood Tuff of Oligocene age (Eardley, 1944). Ogclen Valley 

is separated from Cache Valley, to the north, by low hills of volcanic 

debris.

Compared to other agricultural areas in northern Utah, Ogden 

Valley stands out as especially favored with respect to water supply. 

The annual precipitation, averaging more than 20 inches during a 

30-year period of record at Huntsville, is 15 to 25 percent more than at 

Salt Lake City, Ogden, or Brigham. The water requirement for irrigation in Ogden Valley is appreciably less than that near Ogden and 

elsewhere west of the Wasatch Range because its 95-day growing 

season is 60 days shorter and the summer temperature commonly is 4° 

to 6°F lower. The average annual inflow from the South Fork of the 

Ogden River, which contributes a little less than half of the total inflow 

to the valley, is enough to cover the entire valley area to a depth of 

60 inches. Although, on an annual basis, the tributary streams contribute an abundance of water to the valley, water for irrigation in late 

summer may be in short supply because the inflow comes chiefly from 

snowmelt in the spring.

It \vas inevitable that these abundant water supplies would be developed for use by the communities west of the Wasatch Range. The 

city of Ogden has obtained its municipal supplies from the artesian 

aquifer since 1914, and as the city has grown, its withdrawals from 

the aquifer have increased from less than 10,000 acre-feet per year in 

the 1920's to 16,700 acre-feet in 1951. Pine View Reservoir also is basic 

to the water economy of the communities west of the Wasatch Range. 

It stores only a minor fraction of the total inflow to Ogden Valley, its 

capacity being equivalent to 60 percent of the average annual inflow 

from the South Fork alone. Without doubt, these facilities for storage 

of water constitute the principal economic asset of Ogden Valley. The 

valley itself has a population of about 1,000, chiefly in the villages of 

Huntsville, Eden, and Liberty. By contrast, the water from Ogden 

Valley serves a population of 60,000 and supplies water to about 16,000 

acres of irrigated farmland west of the Wasatch Range.

DATA AVAILABLE FOB A HYDEOLOQIC STUDY OF OGDEN VALLEY

In Ogden Valley and in the areas that drain into it, too few data 

have been collected to make a quantitative inventory of the water in 

each of the various phases of the hydrologic cycle. However, sufficient 

data are available for a qualitative evaluation of the principal factors 

that affect the water supply of the valley and for the computation of 

a tentative water budget for the artesian aquifer. The data consist 

of records of precipitation, atmospheric pressure, stream discharge, 

storage in Pine View Reservoir, withdrawals from the artesian aquifer, and water-level fluctuations in two wells tapping that aquifer.
H66 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

PRECIPITATION

Precipitation was recorded at Huntsville in the southeastern part 

of Ogden Valley during the period 1895-1930 and at Pine View Dam 

during the period 1935-51. (See table 1.) The average annual precipitation during the period of record at Huntsville was 20.4 inches 

and at Pine View Dam, 29.2 inches. Absence of overlap in the two 

periods of record makes correlation impossible, but the precipitation at 

Pine View Dam appears to be considerably more than at Huntsville, 

presumably because of orographic influences. The record of precipitation at the dam includes data on the amount that fell as snow and, 

for some winters, daily measurements of the depth of snow on the 

ground. From these records some inferences can be drawn as to the 

times when precipitation accumulated as snow and when that snow 

melted. However, because the frost conditions in the soil were not 

recorded, the periods when infiltration resulted from snowmelt cannot 

be differentiated from the periods when snow disappeared by runoff or 

evaporation.

TABLE 1. Monthly and annual precipitation, in inches, at Pine View Dam

Year

1935... ...........

1936-.- .......

1937- ............

1938 

1939 

1940 

1941 . ..

1942 - 

1943 . 

1944.... ......

1946 

1946. 

1947 

1948 

1949. ___ .......

1950 

1951 .......

Jan.

0.78

8.78

5.57

2.71

5.01

3.23

3.28

2.81

1.93

.72

2.03

1.23

.83

2.64

4.06

4.31

Feb.

1.54

8.34

4.50

3.00

3.46

5.49

4.37

3.19

2.38

.93

5.73

1.42

.71

2.80

1.46

1.88

2.39

Mar.

2.38

3.39

2.88

6.87

1.89

3.12

2.91

2.06

3.05

4.09

4 93

2.97

3.76

4.27

4.46

1.13

Apr.

1.45

3.69

9 sa

3.18

5.92

3.28

2 20

3.92

2.83

2.28

3.00

1.12

2.12

3.46

May

3 1ft

1.42

2.19

1.65

1.46

.66

2.52

1.82

2.15

2.54

2.08

3.31

4.15

3.25

2.41

June

Tr.

1 ^Q

.22

.72

1 84

.81

4.75

.50

129

1 Q7

2.44

1.27

.18

July

0.00

1.57

.96

oe

.30

1.18

1.65

.41

.73

.35

.48

.43

Tr.

Tr.

.39

.80

Aug.

0.62

1.16

.21

QQ

.25

.10

1.34

.61

2.02

.00

4.45

.72

3.83

1 30

.71

.01

Sept.

.22

.37

.13

2.43

3.03

1.17

1.43

.46

1.05

.95

.75

2.63

1.23

.52

1.39

.56

Oct.

1.63

1.85

2.79

1.97

2.34

3.92

1.13

4.52

.37

1.98

5.95

2.65

3.44

5.66

1.86

2.91

Nov.

2.45

1.67

2.41

3.34

Tr.

1.14

3.77

4.05

.85

3.06

4.28

2.90

3.65

2.81

2.12

7.15

4.31

Dec.

2.25

3.63

3.10

2.53

1.60

4.88

5.80

5.62

1.59

1.74

4.81

3.03

2.06

3.28

3.18

3.52

2.78

Annual

21.03

34.87

28.89

<3f\ 7Q

20.22

30.47

37.38

26.53

27.08

24.01

39.33

25.52

29.89

30.85

28.66

31.77

28.62

ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE

Salt Lake City, 35 miles south of Ogden Valley, is the nearest point 

for which a long-term record of barometric pressure is available. 

This record has been used in relating changes in atmospheric pressure 

to water-level fluctuations in the Tower well, although it is realized 

that local cyclonic disturbances, particularly in the summer, may 

occur in Ogden Valley and not at Salt Lake City, or vice versa. In 

recent years fluctuations of atmospheric pressure have been recorded 

at the Ogden airport, 10 miles west of Ogden Valley.
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H67 

STREAM DISCHARGE

The discharge of the South Fork of the Ogden Eiver has been 

measured since March 1921 at a gaging station (South Fork of Ogden 

River near Huntsville, Utah) in the South Fork Canyon about a mile 

upstream from the margin of Ogden Valley. The monthly and annual totals for calendar years 1931-51 are given in table 2, and the 

monthly totals for the same period are shown graphically in figure 

19. The drainage basin above the gaging station has an area of about 

148 square miles.

The inflow to Ogden Valley from the Middle and North Forks and 

from minor tributaries is not measured.

The discharge of the Ogden River has been measured since October 

1931 at a gaging station (Ogden River near Ogden, Utah, 1931-37; 

Ogden River below Pine View Dam, near Ogden, Utah, 1938- ) about 

one-fourth of a mile downstream from Pine View Dam. Until 1936, 

when storage in Pine View Reservoir began, the measurements represented the total outflow from Ogden Valley. Diversion into the Pine 

View pipeline at a point upstream from the gaging station began in 

1937. The annual discharge of the Ogden River until 1937 and the 

annual combined discharge of the Ogden River and the pipeline from 

1937 to 1951 are given in table 3, together with the annual changes 

in contents of Pine View Reservoir and the adjusted outflow from 

Ogden Valley.

There appears to be a rather close relationship between the annual 

outflow from Ogden Valley and the annual inflow from the South 

Fork of the Ogden River. (See fig. 20.) If the discharge for 1934, 

which was the year of the least runoff on record, is omitted from the 

computations, the inflow from the South Fork during the water years 

1932-50 ranged from 37 to 53 percent of the outflow from the valley 

and averaged about 45 percent. (The area drained by the South 

Fork above the gaging station is 46 percent of the area that is drained 

through Ogden Canyon.)

STORAGE IN PINE VIEW RESERVOIR

The altitude of the water surface in Pine View Reservoir has been 

recorded daily at 8 a.m. since the gates were first closed in November 

1936. The readings made on the first day of each month are given 

in table 4. These measurements and a capacity table supplied by the 

Bureau of Reclamation were used in computing the contents of the 

reservoir on the first of each month. (See table 5.) The water-level 

measurements and the computations of water in storage are used in 

analyzing the effects of the changing load on the artesian aquifer: 

the changes in the level of Pine View Reservoir are proportional to
H68 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

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COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H69

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H70 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

300

250

onn 200

150

- 2

jj UJ

13 O

100

50

0 25 50 75 100 125 150

DISCHARGE, IN THOUSANDS OF ACRE-FEET, OF THE SOUTH FORK OF THE OGDEN RIVER

ABOUT 1 MILE UPSTREAM FROM ENTRANCE TO OGDEN VALLEY

FIGURE 20. Relation of outflow from Ogden Valley to inflow from the South Fork of the Ogden River. 

Slope of line indicates that inflow from South Fork of Ogden River is 45 percent of outflow from Ogden 

Valley.

the changes in load per unit of area, and the changes in contents of 

Pine View Reservoir are proportional to the changes in total load 

upon the artesian aquifer.

WITHDRAWALS PROM THE ARTESIAN AQUIFER

Since 1916 the artesian aquifer has discharged principally through 

the wells that supply the city of Ogden. For years these wells were 

the center of attraction at a small picnic ground called Artesian 

Park, located near the junction of the Middle and North Forks of 

the Ogden Eiver. Before the completion of Pine View Dam, 48 of 

the wells flowed into a collecting system and the total discharge was 

regulated to fit the city's need by closing or opening valves on 19 of 

the wells, by varying the height of discharge at 22 wells, or by pumping as many as 28 wells with compressed air. A short while before
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H71 

TABLE 3. Annual outflow, in acre-feet, from Ogden Valley, Utah

Calendar year

1932.__. ____________________

1933.-_---_.__. _____________

1934_______---____._________

1935 ---_----_______-_--_-

1936. -__-___-___-_____._____

1937 __-_-__---_____-_-_--

1938______._ ________________

1939__-.____ _-_-_-___-______

1940____ _____ ________

1941._._____________________

1942 _____________________

1943 _-__--_-___---_----_-

1944___ _____________________

1945- _ _ -_--_ __ _.-_ _____

1946 _--__-._______-_-____

1947 _____________________

1948 _____________________

1949 -__-__---_-_--__-___.

1950 __-_---___-___--_-_-_

1951 ____________________

Combined discharge 

of Ogden River 

and pipeline

248, 000

160, 000

25, 720

121, 100

277, 200

186, 600

169, 100

105, 500

110, 400

110, 900

163, 800

193, 200

135, 200

200, 400

203, 100

125, 800

202, 400

200, 500

242, 900

259, 000

Increase (+) or 

decrease ( ) in 

contents of Pine 

View Reservoir

+ 4, 570

+ 6, 140

-680

+ 8,730

-15,910

+ 12,670

-2,910

-1,510

-10,370

+ 1, 960

+ 1,510

-1,350

+ 5,330

+ 980

+ 11,950

-12,710

Adjusted outflow 

from Ogden Valley '

248, 000

160, 000

25, 720

121, 100

281, 800

192, 700

168, 400

114, 200

94, 490

123, 600

160, 900

191, 700

124, 900

202, 400

204, 600

124, 400

207, 700

201, 500

254, 800

246, 300

1 Does not include discharge from pipeline which spills at No. 7 tunnel near mouth of Ogden Canyon; 

this discharge is estimated to have been 1 to 2 cubic feet per second (724 to 1,448 acre-ft per year) since 1945 

and much higher before that year. Outflow from Ogden Valley is affected by diversions for irrigation and 

public supply above Pine View Reservoir and by evaporation and seepage from the reservoir.

Artesian Park was inundated by the filling of Pine View Reservoir, 

the casings of 46 of the wells were cut down as much as 10 feet and 

connected to a subterranean collecting system. By thus lowering the 

points of discharge, the maximum discharge of all wells flowing free 

was increased 20 percent above the previous maximum which was attained with air lift. Since 1922, a venturimeter has provided a continuous record of discharge from these wells into the municipal pipeline. The monthly discharge from the wells during the period 1931- 

51 is given in table 6.

Altogether, the city of Ogden drilled 51 wells in Artesian Park. 

However, as five of the wells were poor producers, they were plugged 

and abandoned. Of the 46 wells in use in 1951, 43 range in depth 

from 85 to 218 feet and the other 3 are 246, 475, and 600 feet deep. 

According to Leggette and Taylor (1937, p. 148-149), the shut-in 

pressure of the three deepest wells was greater than the shut-in pressure of the other wells. Whether these differences in pressure were 

caused entirely by the greater draft from shallow strata or were due 

to an initial difference in head between deep and shallow strata is not 

known. In any event, they indicate that the artesian aquifer includes 

several permeable beds which are separated from each other, at least 

in places, by less permeable material. Because practically all the
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COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H73

TABLE 5. Contents, in thousands of acre-feet, of Pine View Reservoir on the first day

of the month

Year

1938... ..

1937 _ .

1938 

1939.... 

1940........... 

1941 ..-.. .

1942... ____ .

1943.. ......

1944...........

1945 ......

1946...........

1947. .....

1948 .... _ .

1949 . __ .

1950 ......

1951.._ _ .

1952 

Jan.

4.6

10.8

9.8

18.8 

2.8

15.4

12.7

11.0

.8

3.1

4.0

2.9

8.1

9.3

21.1

8.2

Feb.

9 Q

14.1

3.1

14.0 

1.6

10.4

11.1

10.3

.8

2.4

3.1

3.4

3.2

8.9

17.9

Mar.

.6

16.0

2.9

13.1 

2.8

7.1

10.4

10.1

2.3

1.2

3.9

1.5

1.5

11.1

17.0

Apr.

2.3

26.1

10.6

19.1 

6 9

6.7

23.7

9.4

8.4

1°. Q

15.0

1.5

4.6

6.2

10.4

May

n

o

33.4

40.2

38.5 

30.6

40 7

38.3

20 9

30.7

JO K

33.8

27.4

01 7

21.4

27.6

June

41.8

40.6

40.5 

43.6

43.6

43 7

43 4

43.6

43.6

43.0

43.6

43.6

41.6

43.3

July

OJ. Q

39.3

36.6

31.4 

39.9

39.7

41.4

41.5

43.0

36.6

40.3

41.0

41.0

42.6

39.6

Aug.

20.8

35.0

29.1

20.6 

33.0

31.8

32.0

QA q

33.4

25.2

27.3

28.6

30.0

34.0

28.4

Sept.

14.5

28.7

21.3

9.0 

26.0

22.5

21.9

18.4

25.8

14.6

18.7

17.2

18.4

23.2

21.1

Oct.

10.1

24.9

17.4

7.2 

21.8

17.3

15.1

10.1

15.2

8.2

12.9

9.9

11.3

15 3

13.4

Nov.

10.9

23.1

17.6

5.8 

19.8

16.1

14.5

5.7

.7

8.2

8.4

9.4

11.2

14.2

12.2

Dec.

1.5

12.4

16.3

18.4

4.5 

18.9

17.0

15.3

.6

.5

9.4

.7

10.2

11.9

18.0

13.5

water is yielded from a zone less than 140 feet thick, these differentials 

are ignored in this paper and the producing strata are regarded as a 

single aquifer.

Possibly a small quantity of water is discharged from the artesian 

aquifer other than through the municipal-supply wells. Leggette and 

Taylor (1937, p. 137-141) estimated that in 1934, before the construction of Pine View Dam, the discharge from wells not owned by the 

city of Ogdeii totaled 1,700 acre-feet and that seepage from the artesian 

aquifer into Ogdeii Canyon amounted to about 2,100 acre-feet. They 

estimated that in the same year about 1,600 acre-feet of ground water 

was consumed by evapotranspiratioii and that 6,600 acre-feet of ground 

water was discharged to streams in the area that is underlain by 

the artesian aquifer. Probably most of this water was derived from 

the shallow water-table aquifer that overlies the clay layer that confines the water in the artesian aquifer. The amount of water lost from 

the artesian aquifer by upward movement through the clay layer was 

considered to have been small.

As construction of Pine View Dam practically eliminated seepage 

from the artesian aquifer into Ogdeii Canyon and as all flowing wells 

not owned by the city of Ogdeii were plugged before the initial filling 

of Pine View Reservoir, the discharge from the artesian aquifer has 

been limited since 1936 to the quantity withdrawn for the Ogden 

municipal supply. Upward movement through the confining clay 

layer undoubtedly is less now than the small amount inferred by Leggette and Taylor (1937, p. 137), because of the downward pressure 

of the water in Pine View Reservoir and, perhaps to a small extent, 

the compaction of sediments resulting from that loading.
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COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H75 

WATER-LEVEL FLUCTUATIONS IN THE TOWER WELL

The strata penetrated in the drilling of the Tower well and the occurrence of water in those strata are described in the log given below.

Log of the Tower well (A-6-1) 12aad-l

Type of material

Sand and gravel; pebbles

as large as lji in. across.

Clay and silt; some sandSand and gravel . .

Sand, fine to coarse ...

Sand, coarse, and gravelSand, coarse, and gravelSand and gravel

Thickness 

(feet)

10

28 

9

4

4

10 

3

6

34

Depth 

(feet)

10

38 

47

51

55

65 

68

74

108

Type of aquifer

Not an aquifer....

Remarks

Water level in a nearby sump 4 ft

deep ranged from 0 to \ 1A ft below 

land surface during the period 

September 1932 to October 1934.

Tower well throughout the

1934. Fluctuations paralleled 

those in Tower well.

Tower well, 108 ft deep, is open to

this aquifer only.

The Ogden municipal-supply wells are 9,700 to 10,700 feet from the 

Tower well in directions ranging from S. 63° W. to S. 76° W. The 

"center of discharge" from these wells, as determined by weighting the 

wells according to the cross-sectional area of their casings and computing a center of gravity based on the well location, is about 10,200 

feet S. 70° W. of the Tower well.

A water-level recording gage has been operated at the Tower well 

since September 1932. Except for a few short periods when the recorder failed to operate properly or snow made the well inaccessible, 

the record of water-level fluctuations is continuous. The altitude of 

the water level on the first day of each month during the period October 1932 to January 1952 is given in table 7.

WATER-LEVEL FLUCTUATIONS IN THE CEMETERY WELL

As part of the ground-water studies made by Leggette and Taylor 

(1937), two wells were drilled within the area that later was flooded 

by the Pine View Reservoir. One of these, well 101, was 68 feet deep 

and the other, well 102, 90 feet deep, and both were equipped with 

water-level recording gages. The water levels were found to fluctuate 

in response to changes in the rate of withdrawal from the Ogden 

municipal-supply wells. During the summer, when withdrawals were 

greater, the water levels in wells 101 and 102 were at about the same 

altitude. The water level in both wells rose gradually from September to May, but as the rate of rise in well 102 was slightly greater, 

by May the water level in this well was about 1 foot higher than the 

water level in well 101.

In October 1935 the Bureau of Reclamation drilled the Cemetery 

well as a replacement for these two wells. The site of the Cemetery

728-318 O 64 6
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COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H77

well, which is about 50 feet higher and about 1,300 feet south of wells 

101 and 102, is about 7,300 feet S. 59° W. of the Tower well and 

about 3,300 feet east of the "center of discharge" from the municipalsupply wells. The strata penetrated in drilling the Cemetery well 

and the occurrence of water in those strata are described in the log 

given below.

Log of the Cemetery well (A-6-1) lldcd-1

Type of material

Clay.... .................

Sand, fine to coarse _ ....

Thickness 

(feet)

37

68

15

5

5

20

Depth 

(feet)

37

105

125

130

150

152

Type of aquifer Remarks

The clay layer between the depths of 37 and 105 feet in the Cemetery 

well probably is equivalent, at least in part, to that between the depths 

of 14 and 56 feet in well 101 and between the depths of 14 and 55 feet 

in well 102. The Cemetery well and wells 101 and 102 were drilled 

47, 12, and 35 feet, respectively, into the artesian aquifer confined by 

the clay layer.

As a replacement for the wells that were to be flooded, the Cemetery 

well was very disappointing. The water-level response to changes in 

atmospheric pressure proved to be almost negligible. In 1936, while 

well 102 was still equipped with a recording gage, the Cemetery well 

was far less sensitive than well 102 to changes in the rate of discharge 

from the municipal-supply wells. Similarly, until mid-1946, it was 

far inferior to the Tower well as an indicator of changes in discharge 

from the municipal-supply wells or of changes in storage in Pine View 

Reservoir. It is not known why in mid-1946 the water-level fluctuations in the Cemetery well began to reflect, as faithfully as the fluctuations in the Tower well, the various pressure effects upon the artesian water. No water had been pumped from the well nor had any 

attempt been made to develop the well. Only the record of water-level 

fluctuations after mid-1946 is regarded to be of value.

FACTORS PRODUCING WATER-LEVEL FLUCTUATIONS IN THE

TOWER WELL

The fluctuations of water level in the Tower well are attributed to 

many causes, most of which have already been discussed in published 

reports by Leggette and Taylor (1937, p. 122-131) and Thomas (1945, 

p. 15-17, 21-37). In general, the fluctuations reflect changes in pressure upon the confined water and changes in the amount of water 

stored in the artesian aquifer.
H78 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES 

CHANGES IN PRESSURE UPON THE WATER IN THE ARTESIAN AQUIFER

Changes in the pressure upon the water confined in the artesian 

aquifer are attributable to several different causes, the most important of which are changes in atmospheric pressure,, variations in withdrawal from the municipal-supply wells, and changes in the quantity 

of water stored in Pine View Reservoir. Leggette and Taylor (1937, 

p. 128) show that earthquakes caused water-level fluctuations in several wells in Ogden Valley; such fluctuations are caused by compressional waves.

ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE

Fluctuations of water level in response to changing atmospheric 

pressure have been noted in the Tower well and other artesian wells 

in Ogden Valley (Leggette and Taylor, 1937, p. 126; Thomas, 1945, 

p. 22-23). Such fluctuations are common in wells tapping confined 

water, because the full change in atmospheric pressure is transmitted 

directly to the water surface in the well, but elsewhere in the aquifer 

the change in atmospheric pressure is divided between the water and 

the aquifer material. The ratio of water-level change to barometric 

change (both expressed in feet of water) is the barometric efficiency 

of the well and is a measure of the relative compressibilities of the 

water and the aquifer material.

Comparison of hydrographs with barographs indicates that the 

barometric efficiency varies with the rate of change in atmospheric 

pressure; during a rapid rise or decline in atmospheric pressure, the 

barometric efficiency of the Tower well may be as great as 35 percent, 

whereas a change of equal magnitude applied gradually over a period of several days has far less effect upon the water level. Thus, 

time is an important factor.

A comparison of the daily noon atmospheric pressure at Salt Lake 

City with the daily noon artesian pressure in the Tower well during 

November 1933, when water-level fluctuations due to other forces 

were at a minimum, showed the average barometric efficiency of the 

Tower well to have been about 22 percent (Thomas, 1945, p. 22). 

A similar comparison for February 1938 showed the average barometric efficiency to have been equally high, and comparisons for 

several other selected periods showed barometric efficiencies ranging 

from 8 to 15 percent. However, no positive correlation could be 

made for some periods.

During the period 1943-51 measurements of the atmospheric pressure at the same hour of the first day of each month in Salt Lake City 

have ranged from 25.3 to 26.0 inches of mercury and have averaged 

25.7 inches. If the barometric efficiency of the Tower well is assumed 

to be 25 percent, a change of atmospheric pressure of 0.8 inch of
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H79

mercury would change the water level in the well by 0.2 foot. As the 

water level in the well has fluctuated through a range of more than 

24 feet, the fluctuations due to changes in atmospheric pressure obviously are small in comparison to the changes due to other causes.

In constructing the hydrograph for the Tower well (fig. 21), 

adjustments for changes in atmospheric pressure were made by adding 

0.1 foot when the contemporaneous atmospheric pressure was 25.9 

inches or higher and subtracting 0.1 foot when that pressure was 

25.5 inches or lower. Commonly, no adjustments were necessary.

RATE OF WITHDRAWAL FROM OGDEN MUNICIPAL-SUPPLY WELLS

Certain water-level fluctuations in the Tower well can be correlated 

directly with changes in the rate of withdrawal from the municipalsupply wells. Ordinarily the first detectable water-level response to 

a change in the rate of withdrawal is 6 to 12 hours later than the 

change actually occurred. Although the maximum observed effect 

occurs within 48 hours, the lag may be as much as 4 days.

Before the construction of Pine View Dam, the water level in the 

Tower well declined about 0.1 foot when the rate of withdrawal from 

the municipal-supply wells increased 1 cfs (cubic foot per second) 

(Thomas, 1945, p. 21). Similarly, when the loading effect of the 

filled reservoir remained approximately constant for periods of 5 

to 36 days, the water level in the Tower well fluctuated about 0.1 foot 

for each change of 1 cfs in discharge through a range of 14 to 28 cfs. 

(See fig. 22.) In deriving the hypothetical position of the water 

level for an assumed constant discharge of 20 cfs from the municipalsupply wells, the measured water level on the first day of the month 

was corrected according to that ratio. Because of the lag in effect, 

the average discharge on the last day of the preceding month was 

used in computing the correction; in more than 75 percent of the 

months during the period 1931-51 the discharge was constant during 

the last 3 days of the month. The corrections ranged from 1.1 feet 

(April 1941) to +1.1 feet (July 1948). (See table 8.)

CONTENTS OF PINE VIEW RESERVOIR

Beginning in November 1936, when water was first impounded 

behind Pine View Dam, the major fluctuations of the water level in 

the Tower well have been related to changes in storage in Pine View 

Reservoir. (See fig. 21.) The water level in the well was highest 

(about 4,889 ft above sea level) each time the reservoir was filled 

to capacity. The maximum levels were 14 to 15 feet higher than the 

annual highest levels during the period 1932-36. The minimum water 

level in the period 1937-51 (4,871 ft above sea level) was recorded
-i i i i i r

600800

S 1000

1400

1600

1800

4890

i i \- i i i i r 

DISCHARGE OF OGDEN MUNICIPAL-SUPPLY WELLS

4885-

50.00040,000

jjj 30,000

g 20,000

10,000

ALTITUDE OF THE WATER LEVEL 

IN THE TOWER WELL

Adjusted for changes in atmospheric pressure, in the discharge rate of the Ogden

municipal-supply wells, and in the contents of Pine View Reservoir

CONTENTS OF PINE ViEW RESERVOIR

1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951

FIGITBE 21. Graph of monthly discharge from the Ogden municipal-supply wells, unadjusted and adjusted hydrographs for the Tower well, and graph of monthly

contents of Pine View Reservoir.
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H81

4891

4890

"- 4874

4873

4872

Periods when Pine View 

Reservoir was full

EXPLANATION

0 

1950 1943

- O ® -

1949 1935

A x

1947 1933

Periods prior to filling of 

Pine View Reservoir

14 16 18 20 22 24 26 

DISCHARGE, IN CUBIC FEET PER SECOND, OF THE 

OGDEN -MUNICIPAL-SUPPLY WELLS

28

FIGURE 22. Relation of the water level in the Tower well to the rate of withdrawal from the Ogden municipal-supply wells. All lines slope at rate of 0.1-foot change In water level to 1-cfs change In rate of discharge 

from wells.

on February 2, 1945, after Pine View Keservoir was drained for the 

first time. This level was about as low as the minimum recorded in 

the winter of 1934, but it was not so low as the minimum recorded 

in the winters of 1933, 1935, and 1936. The lowest known water level 

in the Tower well (4,865.8 ft above sea level) was recorded on 

October 6 of the drought year 1934.

As changes of water level in the Tower well invariably are less 

than the changes in reservoir level, it is concluded that part of the 

increase or decrease in pressure is transmitted to the water within the 

aquifer. The ratio of water-level change in the well to water-level 

change in the reservoir is a measure of the relative compressibilities 

of the water in the aquifer and of the aquifer material and thus is
H82 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

TABLE 8. Corrections, in feet, applied to the measured water levels in the Tower well, 

for changes in the discharge rate of the Ogden municipal-supply wells

Year

1932... ________

1933_.__ _ _

1934_.. ________

1935. __-__-

1936__. ------._

1937 

1938 -

1939 ________

1940 . ._ _

1941____ _ - _

1942_. . ________

1943 ______

1944 

1945 _______

1946 ________

1947 _____

1948 _____ __

1949 ________

1950. __________

1951 _ _

Jan.

-0.9

-.6

-.5

-.5

-.5

_ g

-.9

-.8

-.8

-.9

-.6

-.6

-.9

-.3

_ ^

-.2

_ ^

.0

+.1

Feb.

-0.6

-.6

-.6

-.4

-.2

-.8

-.8

-.7

-.7

-.7

-.6

-.3

,-.2

-.1

+.1

-.2

+.1

.0

.0

Mar.

-0.6

-.6

-.6

-.4

-.3

-.8

-.8

-.8

-.9

-.7

-.6

-.4

-.4

-.1

.0

.0

.0 -.1

Apr.

-0.6

-.6

-.4

-.9

-.9

-1.1

-.7

-.7

-.5

-.6

.0

May.

-0.5

-.1

-.3

_ 9

-.9

-.8

-1.0

-.6

-.4

-.7

-.1

+.3

-.2

+.1

June

-0.5

-.4

-.1

-.8

-.3

-.6

-.6

-.3

-.4

-.6

-.2

+-7

-.2

+ .3

_j_ c

July

-0.3

_ ^

-.5

+.1 -.1

-.2

+.1

.0

-.7

-.5

-.1

-.3

-.5

-.1

+ .4

+1.1

+1.0

+.9

+.9

Aug.

0.0

+.2

+.2

+ n

-.4

+.6 -.5

+.3

+.7

+.5

+.7

+.2

+.9

+.5

+.6

+1.0

+.7

Sept.

0.0

__ -I

.0

4- 3

_ 2

+ Q

-.1

+ 2

+.1

+ Q

+.7

+.7

+.2

+ .4

+ .6

+.6

+.5

Oct.

-0.5

-.6

-.5

_ 5

.0

+.1

_ 0

-.4

-.8

-.7

+.5

+.1

.0

-.4

+.3

+.2

.0

_ 2

+.4

+.4

Nov.

-0.8

-.6

-.7

-.5

-.5

-.2

-.6

-.7

-.8

-1.0

-.6

+.3

+.2

-.3

.0

- 3

-.2

.0

+.3

+.1

Dec.

-1.0

-.6

-.5

-.5

-.7

-.8

-.7

-.7

-.8

-.6

-.6

+.2

+.2

+.1

+.1

+ .1

.0

.0

+-1

analogous to the tidal efficiency of artesian wells in coastal areas. 

As demonstrated by Jacob (1940, p. 583), the sum of the tidal efficiency and the barometric efficiency equals unity, or 100 percent.

The ratio of the water-level change in the Tower well to the waterlevel change in Pine View Eeservoir is referred to as "load" efficiency 

and has been computed for 27 periods of constant rate of discharge 

from the municipal-supply wells. Although these periods represent 

nearly all stages of the reservoir from empty to full (that is, 4,823 to 

4,872 ft above sea level), in no one of them did the level of Pine View 

Reservoir rise or fall more than 11 feet. As shown by table 9, the 

"load" efficiencies ranged from 45 to 65 percent when the reservoir 

level was more than 4,860 feet above sea level, from 30 to 50 percent 

when the level was between 4,850 and 4,860 feet above sea level, and 5 

to 30 percent at lower levels. The shoreline of the reservoir is less than 

1,000 feet from the Tower well when the reservoir is full and more 

than 2 miles away when the reservoir level is down to 4,825 feet. As 

the maximum "load" efficiency is about 65 percent and the maximum 

barometric efficiency is about 35 percent, a combination of circumstances could result in 100 percent efficiency.

The loading effect of the reservoir also was determined by graphically plotting the reservoir level on the first day of each month against 

the water level in the Tower well on the same day but adjusted for 

eifects of the atmospheric pressure and discharge from the municipalsupply wells. For-each reservoir level above 4,860 feet the dispersion 

of the plotted points was within a 2- to 3-foot range, and for reservoir 

levels below 4,850 feet the dispersion commonly was 5 to 7 feet. The
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H83

TABLE 9. "Load" efficiency of the Tower well during periods of constant rate of 

discharge from the Ogden municipal-supply wells

Period

Altitude of the water surface in Pine View Reservoir

Beginning of

period (feet

above sea level)

End of period 

(feet above 

sea level)

Rise (+) or decline ( ) during 

period (feet)

"Load" 

efficiency 

(percent)

Distance from well to nearest shoreline of reservoir 1,000 to 2,100 feet

August 9-25, 1938--- .__.......... 4,866 4,863 -3

August 26-31, 1938.. - -__ .......- 4,863 4,862 -1

April9-17, 1939... 4,857 4,863 +6

April 18-25, 1939...._ 4,863 4,868 +5

April 25-Mayl, 1939. - __... 4,868 4,870 +2

Aprill9-28, 1940-- 4,863 4,868 +5

April 26-May 7, 1947 - 4,863 4,870 +7

July 17-29, 1949-. -- _ 4,869 4,864 -5

May 25-31, 1950... .- _ _.. 4,869 4,871 +2

Distance from well to nearest shoreline of reservoir 2,100 to 3,000 feet

July 24-August 9, 1937. 4,858 4,855 -3

August 10-24, 1937 4,855 4,852 -3

November 14-30, 1938. .. . ... 4,858 4,852 -6

April 4-7, 1939-.. ._-__-___... 4,850 4,857 +7

April 1-12, 1940.- ...-__-_..... 4,854 4,858 +4

April 17-26, 1941..-. . .- 4,853 4,858 +5

Aprill-24, 1947.. -- 4,851 4,862 +11

May 14-18, 1950 4,855 4,859 +4

Distance from well to nearest shoreline of reservoir 3,000 to 12,000 feet

April 9-25, 1937. 4,832 4,843 +11

December 16-30, 1938 . . 4,849 4,845 -4

March 29-April 12, 1941..... . . 4,840 4,850 +10

February 1-28, 1946-. 4,831 4,826 -5

November 18-24, 1947.--.__ ____.- 4,828 4,823 -5

December 5-31,1947 - 4,831 4,833 +2

January 6-23, 1948 4,832 4,837 +5

February 24-March 7, 1950-. 4,845 4,850 +5

March 14-21, 1950---------__ .. 4,840 4,845 +5

April 1-20, 1950.-. 4,840 4,850 +10

50

40

45

40

50

40

30

30

graph indicated the following progressive increase in "load" efficiency 

as the reservoir contents increased:

Reservoir level (feet above sea level)

Below 4,840__. 

4,840 to 4,850. 

4,850 to 4,860. 

Above 4,860_ _

"Load"

efficiency 

(percent)

10

20

40

60

Although progressive compaction of sediments underlying the reservoir might have been expected, no progressive change is indicated for 

the.first 14 years of reservoir life.

Unlike the relationship between the adjusted water level in the 

Tower well and the reservoir level, the relationship between the adjusted water levels in the well and the total load superimposed upon 

the artesian aquifer is nearly a straight line. (See fig. 23.) Although 

the points representing low volumes in the reservoir are somewhat

728-318 O 64-
H84

45,000

GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

4865 4870 4875 4880 4885 4890 4895 

ALTITUDE, IN FEET, OF THE ADJUSTED WATER LEVEL IN THE TOWER WELL

FIGTJBE 23. Relation of the water level in the Tower well to the contents of Pine View Reservoir. Slope 

of line indicates that a change in storage of 3,000 acre-feet causes the water level in the Tower well to 

change 1 foot.
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER, DATA H85

dispersed, the grouping of the points indicates that, on the average, 

an increase of 3,000 acre-feet in reservoir contents causes the water 

level in the Tower well to rise 1 foot. This ratio was used in adjusting 

the monthly water levels to eliminate the pressure effects of the surface 

storage. (See table 10.) An adjustment of 14.6 feet was made when 

Pine View Keservoir was filled to the spillway level, which is 4,872 

feet above sea level.

TABLE 10. Corrections, in feet, applied to the measured water levels in the Tower well 

for changes in the contents of Pine View Reservoir

Year

1936......... .

1937.. .........

1938 .. _ ...

1939

1940.... __ ...

1941...........

1942...........

1943...........

1944...........

1945...........

1946...........

1947 ........

1948...........

1949... .......

I960 ........

1951...........

1952... ........

Jan.

-1.5

-3.6

Q Q

-6.3

-.9

-5.1

-4.2

-3.7

-.3

-1.0

-1.3

-2.7

-3.1

-7.0

-2.7

Feb.

-1.0

 4 7

-1.0

-4.7

-.5

-3.5

-3.7

-3.4

__ Q

_ , Q

-1.0

-1.1

-1.1

-3.0

-6.0

Mar.

-0.2

E Q

-1.0

-4.4

-.9

_ ,9 A

-3.5

-3.4

Q

-.4

-1.3

-.5

-.5

-3.7

-5.7

Apr.

-0.8

_ Q 7

3

E

-6.4

-2.3

_ 9 9

_ 7,0

-3.1

_ 9 o

-4.6

-5.0

-.5

-1.5

-2.1

-3.5

May

-3.9

-11.1

1O A

 19 R

-10.2

-13.6

-7.0

10.2

-14.2

__ 11 Q

__ g 1

-10.6 -7.1

-9.2

June

-8.4

_ 13 9

1Q E

-13.5

-14.5

-14.5

-14.6

_ 1A a.

-14.5

-14.5

_ 1A Q

-14.5

Id. f\

-13.9

-14.5

July

-8.3

__ 1Q 1

19 9

-10.5

-13.3

_ ,10 9

-13.8

-13.8

-14.3

-13.4

_ ,10 7

-13.7

-14.2

-13.2

Aug.

_ R O

-11.7

9 7

__ ft Q

-11.0

-10.6

-10.7

-10.1

-11.1 -8.4

_ O 1

_ Q E

-10.0

-11.3

-9.5

Sept.

-4.8

_ O fi

-7.1

-3.0

-8.7

_ 7 E

-7.3

-6.1

-8.6

_ t O

-6.2

__ EQ

-6.1

-7.7

-7.0

Oct.

-3.4

-8.3

E Q

-2.4

-7.3

-5.8

-5.0

-3.4

-5.1

-2.7

-4.3

-3.3

-3.8

-5.1

-4.5

Nov.

-3.6

-7.7

-5.9

-1.9

-6.6

-5.4

-4.8

-1.9

-.2

-2.7

-2.8

-3.1

-3.7

-4.7

-4.1

Dec.

-0.5

-4.1

-5.4

6.1

-1.5

-6.3

-5.7

-5.1

-.2

-.2

-3.1

-.2

-3.4

-4.0

-6.0

-4.5

WATER-LEVEL ADJUSTMENTS FOR PRESSURE EFFECTS

Fluctuations of the water level in the Tower well are shown by the 

two hydrographs in figure 21. One, the light line, is a record of the 

actual position of the water level on the first day of each month 

(table 7); the other, the heavy line, is a record of the position of the 

water level adjusted for the pressure effects of pumpage from the 

municipal-supply wells, storage in the reservoir, and atmospheric pressure (table 11). Although, at first glance, the adjusted hydrograph 

appears less impressive than the original, it is believed to be much 

more nearly indicative of the changes in ground-water storage.

CHANGES IN GROUND-WATER STORAGE

The artesian aquifer in Ogden Valley is recharged largely, if not 

wholly, in the higher parts of the valley. The principal sources of 

recharge are seepage from the streams that enter the valley, local runoff, and precipitation. Withdrawals through the Ogden municipalsupply wells constitute the only significant discharge from the 

artesian aquifer. If the adjusted hydrograph for the Tower well is 

to serve as an index to the quantity of water in storage, it must show 

the net effect of these subtractions from and additions to the artesian 

aquifer. In the following paragraphs an effort is made to segregate 

the effects of discharge from the municipal-supply wells and recharge 

from each of the several sources.
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COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H87

DISCHARGE FROM THE ARTESIAN AQUIFER

Although unceasing, the discharge from the municipal-supply wells 

has fluctuated within rather wide limits from season to season and 

year to year. If it is assumed that very little if any water is discharged from the artesian aquifer other than that withdrawn through 

the municipal-supply wells, the quantity of withdrawal can be computed for any month or other desired period.

It is reasonable to assume that the discharge from the municipalsupply wells exceeded recharge to the aquifer during each month for 

which the adjusted hydrograph (fig. 21) shows a net decline in water 

level. The monthly net changes in water level, computed from the 

values in table 11, are shown in table 12. The amount of the monthly 

net decline, of course, did not correlate perfectly with the quantity 

withdrawn from the municipal-supply wells. During some months of 

heavy withdrawal there was either very little change in the adjusted 

water level in the Tower well or the change was upward, probably 

because recharge to the aquifer nearly equalled or exceeded the discharge. Presumably, the decline in water level was greatest per unit 

of volume withdrawn in those months when the rate of recharge was 

minimum.

The relation between monthly discharge from the municipal-supply 

wells and monthly net decline in adjusted water level in the Tower 

well is shown in figure 24. In the great majority of months the water 

level declined at a rate of 1.0 foot or less per 450 acre-feet withdrawn 

from the municipal-supply wells. This rate was exceeded only in the 

month of April in each of the years 1941,1942,1949, and 1950. Each 

of these months of extraordinary decline followed a month when there 

was much recharge to the artesian aquifer by infiltration from precipitation.

TABLE 12. Monthly rise (+) or decline ( ), in feet, of the adjusted water levelinthe

Tower well

Year

1933. . ........

1934... . _ ...

1935- 

1936-. _ .

1937 _ ... _ .

1938...... _ .

1939.. _ _ . 

1940-. . _ .

1941..........

1942... . 

1943.. _ . _ .

1944.. _ .....

1945.. _ . _ .

1946.. _ .....

1947- 

1948-.. 

1949.... _ 

I960--.- _ 

1951- 

Jan.

- .4

- .1

-.4

- .1

- .6

- .3

±1

-1.4

+1-1

+1.1

-1.0

-.4

+.4

Q

+.6

+1.5

_1_1 O

_, O

Feb.

-1.2

-.3

+2.3

+ q

-.3

-.4

-1.3 

-.3

+.6

+1.5

i i q

-1.0

tMl

-.5

+ *>

+ Q

+ O

+1.1

Mar.

+1.0

+1-7

i t c

+4.7

+2.3

+1.3

+.4

1 1 Q

j-2 7

+1 1 O -5

1 1 ft 'is

-1.0

+ q

1 -1 Q

+1.2

+1.4

Apr.

+3.7

+1.7

J- A

+1.5

+1.0

-.1

+.1 

+.5

-2.2

o e

_, o

+.3

o

-1.8

Q

 9 A

-3.1

-2.6

1 fi

May

+0.5 -.7

+ q

+ n

_ 9

+ n

+.7 

+.2

+1.3

-.1

-.5

J-1 Q

+ gt

+1.0

+.3

+1.1

_l_1 Q

Q

June

+0.4 -1.2

-.1

-.2

.0 -.1

-.2 

-.6

.0

+.3

.0

+.1

+.1

 ft

+-4

-.1

+.4

.0

-.1

July

 0.9

-2.0

_ Q

-.7

-.2

-.5

-1.1 

- .3

-.8

- .1

-.2

- .2

-.7

_ 9

- .0

_ 9

- .5

-.3

-.6

Aug.

 0 9

-2.5

-1.4

-.4

-.4

-.5

-.7 

-.1

-1.4

-1.3

-.7

-1.6

.0

-.6

-.3

-.7

-.5

-.8

+.5

Sept.

-1.0

-2.4

-.5

1 1 O +-l

.0 +.1

-.7

-2.2

-1.4

-.5

+ >

__ O

+.5

+ o

+ 0

+.3

+.4

+.3

Oct.

+0.6 _i_ a

+ a

+.6

+ Q

+1.0

+1.4 

+3.0

+1.4

-.1

+1.6 -i-i ft

+3.1

+2.2

1 1 9

+1.8

 2

-.1

Nov.

0.0

+2.6 -.7

-.6

+1.5

-.9

-.6 

+1.3

+.8

+1.0

-1.9

+1.3

-.2

-.4

+ o

-1.2

+.1

+.3

-.2

Dec.

-0.4

+.1 -1.2

-1.4

+.1

+.7

-1.2 

-1.5

+.7

4- 9

-. 1

-2.9

+ 0

+1.5

-.8

-.3

+.1

+1.2

+ Q
H88 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

1800

1600

3

1400

a 1200

z

1000

o

tJit! aoo

600

400

200

 

t

. "

I < r

^April

April 1942

 April 1941

« April 1949

1950

012345 

MONTHLY WATER-LEVEL DECLINE, IN FEET, IN THE TOWER WELL

PIOUBE 24. Relation of water-level decline in the Tower well to discharge from the Ogden 

municipal-supply wells. Slope of line indicates that a withdrawal of 450 acre-feet from the 

Ogden municipal-supply wells causes the water level in the Tower well to decline a maximum 

of 1 loot.
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H89

The ratio of 1 foot of water-level decline in the Tower well to each 

withdrawal of 450 acre-feet from the artesian aquifer appears to be 

confirmed to some extent by the results of an earlier study of the 

Ogden Valley records by Thomas (1945, p. 28-31). To show the relation between the water level in the Tower well and the inflow of the 

South Fork of the Ogden Eiver, Thomas divided the years 1932 to 

1936 into 30 periods which omitted the months of the spring runoff. 

These periods ranged from 24 to 36 days in length and during each 

the withdrawal from the municipal-supply wells totaled. 1,000 acrefeet. Thomas (1945, fig. 5) graphically plotted, for each period, the 

water-level change in the Tower well against the corresponding discharge of the South Fork, and he summarized the relationship between recharge and discharge as follows:

* * * [Eight of the nine] points representing periods in the season 1934-35 * * * 

.define a fairly straight line that would give the following relationship between 

recharge and discharge: The recharge is sufficient to offset discharge and maintain a constant water level in well 82 [the Tower well] when the runoff from 

the South Fork is about twice as great as the discharge from Artesian Park [the 

Ogden municipal-supply wells] or in the periods representing withdrawals of 

1,000 acre-feet from Artesian Park, if the runoff [discharge] of the South Fork 

is about 2,000 acre-feet. The trend of the line indicates that, for each 400 or 

500 acre-foot increase in runoff during the period, the water level in well 82 

would rise about a foot, and conversely for each 400 or 500 acre-foot decrease in 

runoff the water level would decline 1 foot. Eight points representing periods 

during the 1933-34 season define a line approximately parallel to that drawn for 

1934-35, but farther to the right, so that a runoff of about 2,700 acre-feet from 

the South Fork is shown to be required to offset a withdrawal of 1,000 acre-feet 

from Artesian Park and hold the water level constant in the well.

As pointed out by Leggette and Taylor (1937, p. 132), the channel 

of the South Fork of the Ogden Eiver was dry in several places below 

the gaging station throughout the winter of 1933-34. Probably this 

was also true in the winters of the other years. Thus the measured 

increases and decreases in streamflow became increases or decreases 

in seepage to the artesian aquifer. It is not known, however, what 

proportion of the seepage from the South Fork entered the artesian 

aquifer or what proportion of the total recharge in those months came 

from that stream.

The water level in the Tower well declined at the rate of 1 foot for 

each 450 acre-feet of withdrawal from the municipal-supply wells 

only when recharge was at a minimum. In other months, the effect of 

withdrawals from the municipal-supply wells would have been at a 

comparable rate but would have been partly or wholly offset by the 

effects of the recharge. The discharge component in the monthly 

changes of the adjusted water level in the Tower well that is, the 

amount the water level in the Tower well would have been lowered if
H90 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

there had been no recharge has been calculated from table 6 and is 

shown in table 13.

The effect of recharge upon the water level in the Tower well was 

computed by subtracting from the net change in adjusted water level 

(table 12) the lowering that would have been caused by discharge 

from the municipal-supply wells (table 13). The result, or the recharge component in the monthly changes of the water level in the 

Tower well, represents the rise in water level that is assumed to have 

been due to recharge. (See table 14.)

The monthly changes in storage in the artesian aquifer and the components that are assumed to produce those changes are depicted 

graphically in figure 25. The uppermost graph, which is the hydrograph for the Tower well adjusted for pressure effects (shown also in 

fig. 21), represents the effects of changes in storage in the artesian

TABLE 13. Discharge component, in feet, in the monthly changes of the adjusted 

water level in the Tower well

Year

1933. ___

1934.... .......

1935 

1936..... ......

1937 

1938. __..._

1939 

1940 ........

1941... ..

1942. __

1943 .... ..

1944.. ......

1945 

1946 

1947 . ..

1948- 

1949 

1950..... ....._

1951......... _

Jan.

1.9

2.0

2.2

2.2

1.7

1.7

1.8

1.8

1.7

2.0

3.0

2.8

2.8

2.5

2.9

2 4

2.9

Feb.

I Q

1.7

1 fl

2.0

2.1

1.5

1.5

1.5

1.6

1.8

9 1

2.3

2.3

2.4

2.5

2.6

2.4

Mar.

1 9

2.0

1 9

1.6

1.6

1.7

1.4

1 fl

1.9

2 1

2.3

2 2

2.6

2.6

2 7

3.0

2

0

Apr.

1.9

2 1

1 9

2.3

2.1

1.5

1.5

1.2

1 9

2.3

1.7

1 9

2.4

2.5

2.7

2.3

3

1

May

2

n

9 9

1 9

2 9

2.5

1.5

2.0

2.4

2.0

2.3

2

0

9 9

2.3

2.9

9 ft

3.0

2

0

3.0

3.2

June

2 2

9 9

2

r\

2

Q

9 9

2.0

2 9

9 fl

2.2

2 4

9 1

9 1

2.0

9 O

2.6

3.5

3.1

3.3

3.7

July

9 e

2.6

2 9

Q A

9 fl

2.9

Q I

3.2

2.2

2.5

2

Q

Q 9

9 O

3.7

3.5

3.6

3.5

3.9

9

7

Aug.

2 ft

9 f\

2

0

3.1

2.7

3.0

3.1

2.4

3.1

3.3

3

e

3.1

3.8

3.3

3.1

3.5

3.4

3.3

Sept.

2.4

2

4

2.6

2.9

2.4

2.2

1.9

2.4

3.1

9 Q

3.0

3.0

3.0

2.9

3.5

3.8

3.2

Oct.

2.0

2.6

2.7

2.1

1.7

2.0

1.8

2.6

2.6

3.0

2.9

2.8

2.8

2.7

2.8

2.8

3.1

Nov.

1.9

1.9

2.0

2.0

1.9

1.7

1.9

1.7

1.5

1.9

2.0

2.5

2.7

2.7

2.6

2.6

2.8

3.1

2.9

Dec.

1.9

2.0

2.1

2.1

1.7

1.6

1.8

1.8

1.6

2.0

2.0

3.0

2.8

2.7

2.8

2.7

2.8

3.1

2.9

TABLE 14. Recharge component, in feet, in the monthly changes of the adjusted water

level in the Tower well

Year

1933... .............

1934-.... ...

1935... ........_..

1936 -..

1937-,.-..-.- ..

1938 ...........

1939-.-... --.

1940 ..

1941 .-- ....

1942 

1943.. .

1944 ...- ....

1945 ______

1946 . .

1947 .

1948 _____________

1949 . .....

1950 

1951 ____ ....

Jan.

+0.5

+ 0

+1.6

+1.1

+.6

+.4

+2.0

+1.2

+.4

+2.8

+3.1

+1.1

+2.6

+3.2

+2.0

+3.1

+4 4

+3.6

+2.7

Feb.

+0.6

+1.4

+4.1

+2.3

|1 0

+1.1

+.2

+1.2

+2.1

+3.1

10 "I

+1.1

+4.0

+1.7

4-1 Q

+2.8

+3.4

+2.6

+3.5

Mar.

4-9 Q

+3.7

+3.5

+6.9

+2.9

+2.0

+3.5

+4.5

+3.1

+1.4

+3.7

+3.0

-U1 O

4-i a

+2.9

+4.5

+4.2

+4.2

Apr.

+5.6

+3.8

+2.7

+3.8

10 1

+ 1.4

+1.5

+2.0

-1.0

-.6

+2.1

+2.0

+ 1.7

+.1

+1.6

+.1

o

4-1 1

May

4-9 <;

4-1 >;

4-9 9

_1_O A

+1.7

4.9 7

+2.6

+as

+2.2

-1-9 ^

+4.1

-4- 9 Q

_4_o Q

jp 1

+4.1

+4.1 -i- 9 ^

+2.4

June

+2.6

+1.0

+1.9

10 1

-1-9 9

+1.9

+2.0

+2.2

4.9 7

4.9 Q

+2 2

4-9 1

+2.1

+3.0

+3.4

+3.5

+3.3

+3.6

July

+1.6

+.6

4.1 Q

4-9 ^

+2.6

4.9 A.

+2.0

+1.9

+1.4

+1.4

+2.6

+2.0

_LO Q

+2.5

+9 7

+2.0

+3.6

1 O -I

Aug.

+1.7

+.2

+1.1

+2.4

+2.7

4-9 9

+2.3

+3.0

+1.0

+1.8

+2.6 4_i q

+3.1

4-5 o

+3.0

+2 4

+3.0

+2.6

+3.8

Sept.

+1.4

.0

4-1 9

+3.8

+2.3

4-9 4

+2.3

+1.2

+ .2

+1.4

+2.6

+3.2

+2.8

+3.5

+3.2

+3.7

+3.8

+4.2

+3.5

Oct.

+2.6

+2.8

+2.8

+3.2

+3.6

+3.1

+3.1

+5.0

+3.2

+25

+4.2

+4.9

+6.0

+5.0

+4.1

+2.6

+4.6

+2.6

+3.0

Nov.

+1.9

+4.5

+1.3

+1.4

+3.4

+.8

+1 3

+3.0

+2.3

+2.9

+.1

+3.8

+2.5

+2.3

+3.4

+1.4

+2.9

+3.4

+2.7

Dec.

+1.5

+2.1

+.9

+.7

+1.8

+2.3

+.6

+.3

+2.3

+2.9

+1.9

+.1

+3.6

+4.2

+2.0

+2.4

+2.9

+4.3

+3.8

Total

25.4

22.4

25.3

32.4

30.2

22.6

22.0

27.1

21.5

26.2

28.3

30.1

36.5

33.2

31.7

31.6

38.7

36.4

37.6
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H91

I

S3HONI 133d

3

il

Hi 

a

2 I 

u

I"

133d

133J-3MOV
H92 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

aquifer. The second graph shows the downward component produced 

by discharge from the municipal-supply wells, and the third shows the 

upward component due to recharge. With few exceptions, the second 

and third graphs are compensatory.

RECHARGE TO THE ARTESIAN AQUIFER

The artesian aquifer may be recharged either by direct infiltration 

of precipitation and local runoff or by seepage from the principal 

streams that cross the valley floor. Seepage from the principal streams 

occurs chiefly during the period April through July. Recharge from 

local runoff is most likely to occur in February or March when the snow 

melts from the foothills. Although infiltration from precipitation may 

occur in any month of abundant precipitation, it is least likely in July, 

August, and September, because of the customary depletion of soil 

moisture by evapotranspiration, and in January, because of frozen 

ground. Recharge from the various sources can be differentiated to 

some extent on the basis of timex>f occurrence. For example, any large 

amount of recharge during October or November ordinarily can be 

ascribed to precipitation because at that time the perennial streams are 

at low stage and the ephemeral streams generally are dry.

In the fourth graph in figure 25, the monthly precipitation at Pine 

View Dam is differentiated as to whether it fell as rain or snow. Comparison of this graph with the graph just above it indicates that significant recharge occurred in several months when rainfall exceeded 

4 inches. It was especially great in November 1934, October 1943 

August 1945, October 1946, and October 1949. Significant recharge 

also resulted from the melting of abundant snow in 1936 and 1937.

Autumn periods of 1 to 3 months during which significant precipitation occurred are listed in table 15, and for each is given the total 

precipitation as given in table 1 and the total recharge components as 

given in table 14. A plot of the recharge components against the 

precipitation for each period (fig. 26) indicates that, after the soilmoisture deficiency has been satisfied, each inch of precipitation raises 

the water level in the Tower well about 1.2 feet. Probably, in the fall, 

the first 1.5 inches of precipitation is needed to satisfy the soil-moisture 

deficiency, but lesser amounts generally are needed at other times.

The potential recharge from precipitation and local runoff, expressed in feet of water-level rise in the Tower well, was computed for 

each month in the period 1935-51. The computed values are given in 

table 16. For each of the periods December through April, the total 

potential recharge from precipitation and local runoff exceeded the 

total recharge components of the water-level changes in the corresponding periods (table 14). As the same relationship did not characterize all the individual months in those periods, it is assumed that 

recharge occasionally was delayed because the soil was frozen or the
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H93

14-

12

10

Intercept indicates that an aver- 

.age of 1.5 inches of precipitation is needed to satisfy the 

soil-moisture deficiency

6 8

PRECIPITATION, IN INCHES

10 12 14

FIOURE 26. Relation of computed recharge components to precipitation daring selected aatumn periods. 

Slope of line indicates that 1 inch of precipitation causes the water level in the Tower well to rise 1.2 feet, 

provided there is no deficiency in soil moisture.

TABLE 15. Precipitation at Pine View Dam and recharge component in the adjusted 

water-level changes in the Tower wett during selected autumn periods

Period

October-November 1935 . . ____

October-November 1936.. ____

October-November 1937. . . __

October-November 1938- . ____

September-October 1939 ..........

1940. __ _ .

October-November 1941.. .........

November-December 1942. .......

October 1943... ....................

Precipitation 

(inches)

4.08

3.52

5.20

6.22

4.40

5.37

7.69

9.67

Recharge 

component 

(feet)

4.1

4.6

7.0

3.9

5.4

6.2

5.5

5.8 i *>

Period

AuviiQt 1043

Precipitation 

(inches)

3.06

4.45

11.07

11.88

9.11

6.25

7.78

13.92

10.00

Recharge 

component 

(feet)

3.8

3.1

12.1

H.5

10.3

4.0

7.5

14.5

9.5
H94 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

precipitation was stored temporarily in the form of snow and ice. In 

May and November the potential recharge from precipitation and local 

runoff generally exceeded the recharge components, but in most months 

of the growing season the recharge component was greater. Obviously, then, recharge from precipitation and local runoff does not 

account for all the recharge that occurs in the course of a year. The 

values in tables 17 and 18 are the result of an attempt to differentiate, 

for each monthly recharge component in table 14, the part attributable 

to recharge from precipitation and local runoff and the part, attributable to seepage from the principal streams that cross the valley floor. 

The values in these two tables are based on the following assumptions: 

(a) Recharge throughout the period December through April is due 

wholly to infiltration of precipitation and local runoff; (b) recharge 

in other months is due to infiltration from precipitation and local runoff only to-the extent that the potential recharge, as given in table 

16, is more than zero and not greater than the corresponding recharge 

component; (c) recharge not due to infiltration of precipitation and 

local runoff is attributable to seepage from the principal streams that 

cross the valley floor. The recharge increments due to infiltration 

of precipitation and local runoff and those due to seepage from the 

principal streams are shown graphically in figure 25.

TABLE 16. Maximum- possible water-level rise, in feft, in the Tower well attributable 

 to recharge from precipitation .and local runoff

Year

1935... _

1936...........

1937...........

1938...........

1939-.. -

1940... .....

1941... ....

1942...........

1943.,. ....

1944...........

1945..........

1946..... ......

1947...... 

W48..... ......

1949........ . ..

1950..... ..

1951... ..

Jan.

0.9

10.5

6.7

3.2

3.2

6.0

39

4.0

3.4

2.3

.9

2.4

1.5

1.0

3.2

4.9

5.2

Feb.

1 8

10.0

5.4

3.6

4.2

5.2

3.8

2.9

1.1

6.9

1.7

3.4

1.8

2.3

2.9

Mar,

*> Q

4.1

3.5

0 O

2.3

3 7

3.5

2.5

 > 7

4.9

5.9

3.6

5.9

5.1

5.4

1.4

Apr.

6.4

1.7

4.4

Q e

2.2

3.8

7.1

3.9

2 ft

4.7

3.4

2.7

3.6

1.3

2.5

4.2

May

 > Q

1.7

2.6

A Q

2.0

.1

1 &

 > n

9 9

2.6

3.0

9 1

4.0

5.0

3.9

2.9

June

0.0

.0

.0

.0

1.0

.0

.0

9 Q

Q Q

5.4

.0

3.3

.6

1.1

.0

.0

July

0.0

.1

.0

.0

.0

.0

.2

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

Aug.

0.0

,0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.6

.0

3.5

.0

2.8

.0

.0

.0

1.7

Sept.

0.0

.0

.0

.0

1.1

1.8

.0

.0

.0

.0 1.1

.0

3.2

.0

.0

.0

.0

Oct.

1.2

.4

1.5

1.7

2.4

2.8

2.9

1.3

3.6

.0

2.4

5.3

3.2

2.3

5.0

2.1

1.7

Nov.

2.9

2.0

2.9

4.0

.0

1.4

4.5

4.9

1.0

3.7

5.1

3.5

4.4

3.4

2.5

8.6

5.2

Dec.

2.7

4.4

3.7

3.0

1.9

5.9

7.0

6.7

1.9

2.1

5.8

3.6

2.5

3.9

3.8

4.2

3.3

On an annual basis, the amount of recharge attributable to infiltration of precipitation and local runoff correlates fairly closely with the 

precipitation. Thus, in 1945, the year of greatest precipitation during 

the period of record, the recharge was the greatest. Exceptions to this 

general relationship probably can be accounted for by vagaries of the 

weather and varying capacity of the soil to absorb moisture. The 

values in table 19, which are the differences between the corresponding 

values in, tables 16 and 17, show, that in some months a large part of
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H95

TABLE 17. Portion of the monthly recharge component, in feet, attributed to infiltration of precipitation and local runoff

Year

1935. 

1936 

1937 

1938- ... 

1939 _ .....

1940 

1941 

1942- _ . _ ..... 

1943 __ 

1944 

1945- _ .........

1946- _ .........

1947 ..

1948 

1949.... 

1950 

1951 

Jan.

1.6

1.1

.6

.4

2.0

1.2

.4

2.8 

3.1

1.1

2.6

3.2

2.0

3.1

4.4

3.6

2.7

Feb.

4.1

2.3

1.8

1.1

.2

1.2

2.1

3.1 

3.1

1.1

4.0

1.7

1.9

2.8

3.4

2.6

3.5

Mar.

3.5

6.9

4.5

2.9

2.0

3.5

3.1

2.5 

1.4

3.7

3.0

1.2

1.9

2.9

4.1

3.9

4.2

Apr.

2.7

3.8

3.1

1.4

1.5

2.0

~~2~1~

2.0

1.7

.1

1.6

.1

1.3

May

2.2

1.7

1.6

1.7

2.0

.1

1.8

.8 

2.3

2.2

2.6

3.0

2.5

4.0

4.1

2.3

2.4

June

0.0

.0

.0

.0

1.0

.0

.4

.0 

2.3

2.2

2.1

.0

3.0

.6

1.1

.0

.0

July

0.0

.1

.0

.0

.0

.0

.2

.0 

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

Aug.

0.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0 

.6

.0

3.1

.0

2.8

.0

.0

.0

1.7

Sept.

0.0

.0

.0

.0

1.1

1.2

.0

.0 

.0

.0

1.1

.0

3.2

.0

.0

.0

.0

Oct.

1.2

.4

1.5

1.7

2.4

2.8

2.9

1.3 

3.6

.0

2.4

5.0

3.2

2.3

4.6

2.1

1.7

Nov.

1.3

1.4

2.9

.8

.0

1.4

2.3

2.9 

.1

3.8

2.5

2.3

3.4

1.4

2.5

3.4

2.7

Dec.

0.9

.7

1.8

2.3

.6

.3

2.3

2 9 

1.9

.1

3.6

4 2

2.0

2.4

2.9

4.3

3.8

Annual

17.5

18.4

17.8-

12.3

12.8

13.7

15.5

16.3 

20.5

16.2

28.7

20.7

27.5

19.6

27.1

22.2

24.0

TABLE 18. Portion of the monthly recharge component, in feet, attributed to seepage

from streams

Year

1935.. _.___. 

1936..............

1937..............

1938.. ...........

1939..............

1940.. . .........

1941..............

1942...... .......

1943-..._.-___

1944..............

1945..............

1946..............

1947..............

1948 ...........

1949..............

1950..............

1951-.-....-...

an.

0.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

Feb.

0.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

Mar.

0.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

Apr.

0.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

May

0.0

.7

.0

.0

.7

2.5

1.5

1.4

.0

1.9

.3

.9

.6

.1

.0

.0

.0

June

1.9

2.1

2.2

1.9

1.0

2.2

1.8

2.7

.0

.0

.0

2.1

.0

2.8

2.4

3.3

3.6

July

1.3

2.2

2.6

2.4

2.0

1.9

1.2

1.4

2.6

2.0

2.2

2.8

2.5

2.7

2.0

3.6

3.1

Aug.

1.1

2.4

2.7

2.2

2.3

3.0

1.0

1.8

2.0

1.9

.0

3.2

.2

2.4

3.0

2.6

2.1

Sept.

1.9

3.8

2.3

2.4

1.2

.0

.2

1.4

2.6

3.2

1.7

3.5

.0

3.7

3.8

4.2

3.5

Oct.

1.6

2.8

2 1

14

.7

2.2

.3

1.2

.6

4.9

3.6

.0

.9

.3

.0

.5

1.3

Nov.

0.0

.0

.5

.0

1.3

1.6

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.4

.0

.0

Dec.

0.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

Annual

7.8

14.0

12.4

10.3

9.2

13.4

6.0

9.9

7.8

13.9

7.8

12.5

4.2

12.0

11.6

14.2

13.6

the potential recharge from precipitation and local runoff fails to 

become actual recharge. An even greater part of the potential recharge from seepage fails to become actual recharge because, in the 

early part of the annual period of high runoff from snowmelt in the 

mountains, the aquifer ordinarily is filled to capacity and so can store 

no more. Not until recharge from precipitation fails to replenish the 

aquifer at a rate equal to discharge from the aquifer does seepage from 

the principal streams become an important source of recharge. Annually, however, the amount of recharge from seepage (table 18) 

correlates fairly closely with the discharge of the South Fork of the 

Ogden Kiver (table 2).

WATER BUDGET FOB OGDEN VALLEY

The water budget for the artesian aquifer in Ogden Valley (table 20 

and bottom-graph in figure 25) is based on the foregoing analysis of 

the available hydrologic data for the period 1935-51. In making the
H96 GENERAL GROUND-WATER TECHNIQUES

TABLE 19. -ffejected recharge, in feet, from precipitation and local runoff, expressed 

as water-level change in the Tower well

Year

1935 

1936 . 

1937.. . .....

1938..... ......

1939 - 

1940 

1941. . ___.

1942... .......

1943 

1944.. ....... .

1945 

1946. .. . ..

1947 ... ....

1948- ....... . .

1949 . 

1950 

1951 .....

Jan.

-0.7

9.4

6.1

2.8

1.2

4.8

3.5

1.2

.3

1.2

-1.7

-.8

-.5

-2.1

-1.2

1.3

2.5

Feb.

-2.3

7.7

3.6

2.5

4.0

5.4

3.1

.7

-.2

.0

2.9

-1.0

.6 -1.6

-.3

-.6

Mar.

-0.6

 9 a

-1.0

5.3

.3

.2

2.3

1.2

2.9

2.4

2.6

3.0

1.0

1.5

-2.8

Apr.

3.7

 2 1

1.3

2.1

.7

1 ft

7.1

3.9

.5

9 7

1.7

2 6

2.0

5.8

1 t

2.5

2 9

May

1.6

1.0

3.1

.0

.0

.7

.0

.0

.0

.9

1.6

.5

June

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.6

1.7

3.3

.3

.0

.0

July

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

Aug.

0.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.4

.0

.0

.0

.0

Sept.

0.0

.0

.0

.0

.6

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

Oct.

0.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.0

.3

.0

.0

.4

.0

.0

Nov.

1.6

.6

3.2

.0

2.2

2 0

.9

-.1

2.6

1.2

1.0

2.0

.0

5.2

2.5

Dec.

1 8

3.7

1.9

.7

1.3

5.6

4.7

3.8

2.0

2.2

-.6

.5

1.5

.9

-.1

^.5

Annual

5.1

16.5

12.9

19.7

7.5

18.4

21.0

11.6

5.1

8.7

14.3

5.1

4.9

10.8

1.7

11.7

4.5

analysis, it was assumed that the withdrawals from the Ogden municipal-supply wells constituted the entire discharge from the artesian 

aquifer, that the artesian aquifer operates as a single storage unit, and 

that the data used were reasonably representative of the valley as a 

whole.

According to the budget, the annual discharge from the artesian 

aquifer averaged 13,350 acre-feet and was slightly more than balanced 

by an average 8,760 acre-feet of recharge from precipitation and local 

runoff and 4,780 acre-feet of recharge from the principal streams. 

Also, the amount of water stored in the aquifer at the end of the 17-year 

period was 3,100 acre-feet greater than at the beginning of the period.

TABLE 20. Water budget for the artesian aquifer in Ogden Valley, 1985-51 

[Data are given In acre-feet)

Year

1935-... ____

1936_-__..__

1937________

1938-----__-

1939-_____._

1940... _____

1941.___ _._

1942. _______

1943_.__.___

1944___.._._

1945________

1946_-______

1947_____._.

1948_-.__.._

1949________

1950________

1951__-_____

Discharge

11, 700 

12, 800 

12, 700 

10, 400 

10, 800 

11, 500 

9,900 

11, 900 

13, 000 

13, 700 

14, 000 

15, 200 

15, 100 

15,300 

15, 800 

 16, 500 

16, 700

Recharge

Infiltration of . 

precipitation and 

local runoff

7,900 

8,300 

8,000 

5,500 

5,800 

6,200 

7,000 

7,300 

9,200 

7,300 

12, 900 

9,300 

12, 400 

8,800 

12, 200 

10, 000 

10, 800

Seepage from 

principal 

streams

3,500 

6,300 

5,600 

4,600 

4, 100 

6,000 

2,700 

4,500 

3,500 

6,300 

3,500 

5,600 

1,900 

5,400 

5,200 

6,400 

6, 100

Total

11, 400 

14, 600 

13, 600 

10, 100 

9,900 

12,200 

9,700 

11, 800 

12, 700 

13, 600 

16, 400 

14, 900 

14, 300 

14, 200 

17, 400 

16, 400 

16, 900

Net changes in storage

Annual

-300 

+ 1, 800 

+900 

-300 

-900 

+ 700 

-200 

-100 

-300 

-100 

+ 2,400 

-300 

-800 

-1,100 

+ 1, 600 

-100 

+ 200

Cumulative

-300 

+ 1, 500 

+ 2,400 

+ 2, 100 

+ 1, 200 

+ 1, 900 

+ 1,700 

+ 1,600 

+ 1,300 

+ 1, 200 

+ 3, 600 

+ 3,300 

+ 2, 500 

+ 1,400 

+ 3, 000 

+ 2, 900 

+ 3, 100
COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING GROUND-WATER DATA H97

The analysis does not support the conclusion of earlier investigators 

that the artesian aquifer in Ogden Valley is recharged principally by 

seepage from streams. Instead, it indicates that recharge by seepage 

from streams constitutes about 35 percent of the total and that infiltration of precipitation and local runoff constitutes the remainder. 

It follows, therefore, that only about a third of the total withdrawals 

from the Ogden municipal-supply wells should be regarded as a direct 

depletion of the flow of the Ogden River.

Blackwelder, Eliot, 1910, New lights on the geology of the Wasatoh Mountains,

Utah : Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 21, p. 517-542. 

Eardley, A. J., 1944, Geology of the north-central Wasatch Mountains, Utah:

Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 55, p. 819-894. 

Gilbert, G. K., 1928, Studies of Basin Range structure: U.S. GeoL Survey Prof.

Paper 153, 92 p. 

Jacob, C. E., 1940, On the flow of water in an elastic artesian aquifer: Am.

Geophys. Union Trans., pt. 2, p. 574-586. 

Leggette, R. M., and Taylor, G. H., 1937, Geology and ground-water resources

of Ogden Valley, Utah: U.S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 796-D, p.

99-161. 

Thomas, H. E., 1945, The Ogden Valley artesian reservoir, Weber Ckranty, Utah :

Utah State Engineer Tech. Pub. 2, 37 p.

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1964 O 728-318