Geology topics
Publications and source records attributed to A.N. Sayre.
In the following list brief statements have been added to certain references to call attention to special phases of ground ‐ water problems which are not apparent from the titles. Abstracts of most of these papers have been or will be published in the Annotated Bibliography of Economic Geology.
The water‐shortage caused by the drought of 1934 in the Middle West drew nation‐wide attention to the lack of adequate information on the relation of precipitation to water‐supplies. The shortage was especially severe in the Dakotas because precipitation had been below normal in North Dakota since 1930 and in South Dakota since 1931. Many wells and springs failed, numerous streams ceased to flow, and levels of water in lakes and ponds declined until some of them became completely dry. Many of the inhabitants felt great concern lest the water‐supplies of the area had been permanently depleted.
During 1935 and 1936 the Ground‐Water Division of the United States Geological Survey made an investigation of the ground‐water resources of the El Paso, Texas, Area. Geological and hydrological studies comprised the principal part of the investigation, and these studies were supplemented by measurements of earth‐resistivity made largely by the Geophysical Section of the Geological Survey along traverses aggregating 51 miles. The extent to which resistivity‐methods may be useful in ground‐water work has been the subject of much discussion. A full evaluation of the method can not be made at this time. However, the work in the El Paso Area indicates that the presence of faults and of underground bodies of salt water may be definitely determined by resistivity‐measurements.
The Edwards limestone of Lower Cretaceous age is the principal water‐bearing formation in a belt 5 to 25 miles wide that extends from Austin southwest to San Antonio and thence west through Uvalde and Del Rio to Comstock, a distance of about 250 miles (see Fig. 1). Throughout this belt it supplies water to wells for stock, industrial, irrigation, and municipal use and to a series of fault‐springs, some of which are among the largest in the United States. These springs have played an important part in the economic and cultural development of Texas. In 1718 the Spaniards stationed a department of light infantry near the springs at San Antonio and soon after established missions and constructed elaborate systems of canals for irrigating considerable areas. After the winning of Texas' independence large numbers of settlers moved into the area. This influx was greatly accelerated following the admission of Texas to the Federal Union and towns were soon established near all of the major springs. However, it was not until about 1880 that the rapid development of the Edwards limestone aquifer by wells was begun.
The Chairman extends an apology to G. W. MUSGRAVE for omission of his name from the list of members given in the report of the Committee on Ground Water for 1942–43. The response from members of the Committee in general has been very gratifying and is much appreciated. Four new members, Messrs. H. F. BLANEY, EDWARD BURWELL, Jr., A. N. SAYRE and V. T. STRINGFIELD have been added to the Committee this year, in order to effect better technical and geographic coverage.
In June, 1943, the United States Geological Survey assigned two ground‐water geologists, A. N. SAYRE and G. C. TAYLOR, Jr., to study water‐supply problems in Central America for the Coordinator of Inter‐American Affairs and to make recommendations for remedial measures to provide water for cities and towns, especially along the Inter‐American Highway. El Salvador, where a large number of towns along the highway have serious water‐shortages during the six‐month dry season from December to June, was selected as the country in which most of the work was to be done. The Direccion de Sanidad de Salvador, through its Director, Dr. V. A. SUTTER, provided a list of some 35 cities which suffered the most serious water‐shortages and each of these cities was visited. The geological and ground‐water conditions in the vicinity were studied by reconnaissance‐methods and remedial measures were recommended. In nearly every case the water‐shortage was due in large part to improper or incomplete development of the available supplies. Most municipalities obtained their water‐supplies from springs which either had inadequate flow or were improperly developed. In a few cases the spring‐flow was adequate but a large quantity of water was wasted either through poor distribution‐systems or through breaks in the line that conducted water from the spring to the city. Nearly all of the water works were unsanitary. In most places it appeared likely that adequate supplies can be obtained from wells at relatively shallow depth. In some places adequate supplies can be obtained by proper improvements of springs that are now in use. In a very few cases no remedy for the shortage of water could be suggested.
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This report covers Angelina County, Texas, of which Lufkin is the county seat, and parts of Nacogdoches and other adjacent counties. The area is underlain by a series of sands, clays, and shales of Eocene age that dip, in general, southward at an angle a little greater than that of the land surface, which also slopes southward, thus creating favorable artesian conditions. The formations cropping out in the area from north to south are the Wilcox group undifferentiated, the Carrizo sand, the Mont Selman formation, consisting of the Reklaw member, the Queen City sand member, and the Weches greensand member, the Sparta sand, the Cook Mountain and Yegua formations, and the Jackson group undifferentiated. Small supplies of potable water may be obtained from shallow wells in the outcrop areas of most of these formations. Only three of the formations appear to be likely to yield large supplies of water to wells, and in these the water is under sufficient artesian pressure in most places to cause wells to flow. The Yegua formation yields large amounts of water to some wells in the vicinity of Lufkin. However, the water is moderately mineralized and is not acceptable for municipal use except after dilution with surface water and treatment to reduce mineralization. Moreover, most of the wells in this formation yield only small quantities of water, which is highly mineralized. The Sparta sand appears to be likely to yield large supplies of water to wells throughout the northern part of Angelina County. The water, however, is moderately to highly mineralized and cannot be used for purposes that require water of good quality. The Carrizo sand promises to yield large quantities of water low in mineralization in northern Angelina County and southern Nacogdoches County. Computations indicate that the present southward flow through the formation is about 2,750,000 gallons a day, but pumping from wells and thus increasing the hydraulic gradient would greatly increase the flow. Considerable amounts of water will also be released from storage in the formation after pumping begins.
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