Glenn R. Bauer | Geology Reports

USGS2001

Drilling, Construction, Water-Level, and Water-Quality Information for the Kualapuu Deep Monitor Well, 4-0800-01, Molokai, Hawaii

A monitor well was completed in January 2001 by the U.S. Geological Survey in the Kualapuu area of central Molokai, Hawaii that allows for monitoring the thicknesses of the freshwater body and the upper part of the underlying freshwater-saltwater transition zone. The well was drilled in cooperation with the State Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and the Maui County Department of Water Supply, and is located near the area that supplies much of the drinking water on Molokai. The well is at a ground-surface elevation of about 982 feet and penetrated a 1,585-foot section of soil and volcanic rock to a depth of 603 feet below sea level. Prior to casing, a cave-in caused the bottom 55 feet of the well to be filled with rocks originating from a zone above. Thus, the final well depth reported by the driller was 1,530 feet. Measured water levels in the well during the period from February 1 to July 13, 2001 range from 8.68 to 9.05 feet above sea level. The most recent available water-conductivity profile from July 13, 2001 indicates that the lowest salinity water in the well is in the upper zone from the water table to a depth of about 220 feet below sea level. Below this upper zone, water salinity increases with depth. The water-temperature profile from July 13, 2001 indicates that the lowest temperature water (20.2 degrees Celsius) in the well is located in the upper zone from the water table to a depth of about 200 feet below sea level. Water temperature increases to 24.5 degrees Celsius near the bottom of the measured profile, 507 feet below sea level.

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USGS1996

Numerical Analysis of Ground-Water Flow and Salinity in the Ewa Area, Oahu, Hawaii

The coastal plain in the Ewa area of southwestern Oahu, Hawaii, is part of a larger, nearly continuous sedimentary coastal plain along Oahu's southern coast. The coastal sediments are collectively known as caprock because they impede the free discharge of ground water from the underlying volcanic aquifers. The caprock is a layered sedimentary system consisting of interbedded marine and terrestrial sediments of both high and low permeability. Before sugarcane cultivation ended in late 1994, shallow ground water from the upper limestone unit, which is about 60 to 200 feet thick, was used primarily for irrigation of sugarcane. A cross-sectional ground-water flow and transport model was used to evaluate the hydrogeologic controls on the regional flow system in the Ewa area. Controls considered were: (1) overall caprock hydraulic conductivity, (2) stratigraphic variations of hydraulic conductivity in the caprock, and (3) recharge. In addition, the effects of a marina excavation were evaluated. Within the caprock, variations in hydraulic conductivity, caused by caprock stratigraphy or discontinuities of the stratigraphic units, are a major control on the direction of ground-water flow and the distribution of water levels and salinity. Model results also show that a reduction of recharge will result in increased salinity throughout the caprock with the greatest change in the upper limestone layer. In addition, the model indicates that excavation of an ocean marina will lower water levels in the upper limestone layer. Results of cross-sectional modeling confirm the general ground-water flow pattern that would be expected in the layered sedimentary system in the Ewa caprock. Ground-water flow is: (1) predominantly upward in the low-permeability sedimentary units, and (2) predominantly horizontal in the high-permeability sedimentary units.

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