U.S. Geological Survey
National Water-Quality Assessment Program

USGS Internal Access Only

Report Plans

The National Water Use Information Program estimated ground-water withdrawals by category of use (irrigation, industrial and public supply) for principal aquifers in the United States, and reported the results in “Estimated Withdrawals from Principal Aquifers in the United States, 2000” (Maupin and Barber, 2005; accessed at http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/2005/1279/). These three categories of use represented 92 percent of total ground-water use in the United States in 2000; ground-water withdrawals from 63 principal aquifers are tabulated.  Withdrawals from Alluvial aquifers were one of the principal aquifers reported, as well as withdrawals from aquifers or deposits that could not be considered as part of another principal aquifer (Other aquifers). Withdrawals from the Alluvial and Other aquifers were ranked number 10 and 11 with respect to total withdrawals from all principal aquifers in the United States.

The purpose of this project is to describe withdrawals that are believed to be from stream-valley aquifers using aquifer withdrawals initially reported as Alluvial and Other. There are 25 States considered in this project; the 17 States that reported Alluvial withdrawals were Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. Eight additional States that reported “Other” aquifer withdrawals included Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico were examined for withdrawals that qualified as stream-valley aquifer withdrawals.

Water use for Stream Valley Alluvial Aquifers will be published as a Scientific Investigations Report in 2007 (Sargent and others).

Timeline, Budget, and Action Items (Excel file)

Other Alluvial Aquifers products that NAWQA would like to pursue are listed below:

1. A map or maps showing the locations and aerial extents of the principal / major alluvial aquifers in the U.S. (First steps are to define what we mean by alluvial aquifers, what we mean by principal or major, etc.) (This is being done by Pierre Sargent, Molly, Maupin, Steve Hinkle, FY2005-2006)
2. Water withdrawals for public and domestic drinking-water supply from each alluvial aquifer (Likely coordinate work with the NAWQA water-use information group.  Compilation would be for year 2000?)
3. The relative use of alluvial aquifers as sources of drinking-water supply compared to other Principal Aquifers. (This is being done for stream-valley aquifers by Pierre Sargent, Molly Maupin, Steve Hinkle, FY2005-2006)
4. The locations of drinking-water wells in each alluvial aquifer (Locations might have to be limited to public-supply wells.  Likely coordinate work with the NAWQA water-use information group.)
5. For each public-supply well, an estimate of the percent of water that is derived from induced infiltration of surface water (This effort might have to be focused only on the largest PS wells.  Depending on how this is done, it might require the data that would be compiled in (6)).
6. Maps showing key hydrogeologic characteristics of these alluvial aquifers (Thicknesses, saturated thicknesses, transmissivities, lithologies?, other characteristics still to be determined.)