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Synthesis of Ground-Water Quality
at the Principal-Aquifer Scale

Principal Aquifers being studied by NAWQA.

Water Withdrawals From Select Principal Aquifers

In aggregate, the principal aquifers being studied by NAWQA accounted for more than three fourths of the estimated withdrawals for public supply in 2000 from all principal aquifers (Maupin and Barber, 2005).

Table 1. Water withdrawals from select principal aquifers.
[ ---, No information; S & G, Unconsolidated sand and gravel; Semicon. sand, Semiconsolidated sand; SS, Sandstone; Carb, Carbonate; Cry, Crystalline rocks]
Principal or Other Aquifer (listed from largest to smallest area) Approximate Area of Aquifer, in square miles7 Primary Lithologies of the Aquifer Number of NAWQA Study Units overlying the Aquifer by at least 1% of the SU area Aquifer Rank1 by Drinking-Water Use (Public Supply + Domestic Use) Aquifer Rank1 by Public Supply Use Withdrawals for
Public Supply3,
in million gallons per day		 Aquifer Rank1
by Irrigation +
Public
Supply +
Self-supplied Industrial Use		 Withdrawals for Irrigation + Public Supply +
Self-supplied Industrial3,
in million gallons per day
19902 20003 20003 20003 20003
Glacial aquifer system4 953,148 S & G 18 1 1 1,950 6 3,560
Mississippi Embayment-Texas Coastal Uplands aquifer system

Mississippi Embayment aquifer system

Texas Coastal Uplands aquifer system
197,211
132,552
64,659
Semicon. sand
Semicon. sand
Semicon. sand
7
5
2
9
---
---
8
---
---
724
576
148
11
---
---
1,327
946
381
Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer system 177,369 SS 5 8 10 590 16 932
High Plains aquifer 176,534 S & G 4 13 14 389 1 17,500
Basin and Range basin-fill and carbonate-rock aquifers

Basin and Range basin-fill aquifers

Basin and Range carbonate-rock aquifers
163,386
147,436
15,949
S & G
S & G
Carb
4
4
3
3
---
---
4
---
---
1,081
1,010
71
4
---
---
5,694
5,620
74
Floridan aquifer system and overlying Surficial aquifer system5

Floridan aquifer system

Surficial aquifer system 6
112,684
101,279
71,318 6
Carb
Carb
S & G
5
5
5
4
---
---
3
---
---
1,555
1,330
225 6
5
---
---
4,180
3,640
540 6
Coastal Lowlands aquifer system 98,890 Semicon. sand 4 5 5 1,010 9 2,370
Piedmont and Blue Ridge crystalline and carbonate-rock aquifers

Piedmont and Blue Ridge crystalline-rock aquifers

Piedmont and Blue Ridge carbonate-rock aquifers
87,567
86,309
1,258
Cry & Carb
Cry
Carb
8
8
2
14
---
---
24
---
---
110
92
18
34
---
---
176
146
30
Edwards-Trinity aquifer system 75,059 SS & Carb 2 11 12 411 20 740
New England crystalline-rock aquifers 70,668 Cry 4 26 31 74 41 96
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system 44,312 Semicon. sand 4 6 7 793 15 1,040
Columbia Plateau basin-fill and basaltic-rock aquifers

Columbia Plateau basin-fill aquifers

Columbia Plateau basaltic-rock aquifers
43,521
14,441
43,521
S & G; Basalt
S & G
Basalt
1
1
1
33
---
---
18
---
---
223
0
223
14
---
---
1,076
143
933
Valley and Ridge and Valley and Ridge carbonate-rock aquifers

Valley and Ridge aquifers (Sandstone)

Valley and Ridge carbonate-rock aquifers
3,0621
3,621
15,357
SS & Carb
SS
Carb
4
4
4
---
---
---
18
---
---
226
49
177
26
---
---
362
95
267
Rio Grande aquifer system 29,250 S & G 1 --- 17 240 13 1,120
Central Valley aquifer system 20,306 S & G 2 7 6 839 2 9,810
California Coastal Basin aquifers 10,200 S & G 1 2 2 1,580 7 3,440
Denver Basin aquifer system 6,805 SS 1 50 49 17 50 36
Hawaiian volcanic-rock aquifers 6,439 Basalt 1 --- 16 243 22 428
Biscayne aquifer 3,573 Carb 1 10 9 698 19 812
Snake River Plain basin-fill and basaltic-rock aquifers

Snake River Plain basin-fill aquifers

Snake River Plain basaltic-rock aquifers
14,429
4,844
9,585
S & G; Basalt
S & G
Basalt
---
---
0
---
---
---
23
---
---
151
81
70
8
---
---
3,081
471
2,610
Alluvial aquifers -- S & G -- -- 11 456 10 1,800
1 Rank 1 is largest water use
2 1990 water use from Marilee Horn, 1999, written commun., unpublished data for internal use only.
3 Maupin, M.A. and Barber, N.L., 2005, Estimated withdrawals from principal aquifers in the United States, 2000: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1279, 46 p.
4 Includes that part of the glacial aquifer system that was Wisconsinan glaciation by the Laurentide ice sheet; the area of that portion of the glacial aquifer is 670,839 sq. miles (Soller and Packard, 1998, USGS DDS-38).
5 Includes that part of the Surficial aquifer system that overlies the Floridan aquifer system.
6 Includes that part of the Surficial aquifer system that overlies the Floridan aquifer system (reported from the states of South Carolina and Florida) (modified from Maupin and Barber, 2005)
7 Some aquifer areas were updated (03/17/2008) from the 1988 v. principal aqufier coverages digitized by CAPP

Internal Principal Aquifer page || Public Principal Aquifer page

--------------------------

Email: Ken Belitz (kbelitz@usgs.gov)
URL: http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa-only/aq/aqinfo.html
Maintainer: Terri Arnold (email tlarnold)
Last modified: Friday, 11-Jan-2013 13:13:00 EST