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J. W. Stewart

Publications and source records attributed to J. W. Stewart.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1984

Hydrogeology of the Sulphur Springs area, Tampa, Florida

The Sulfur Springs area includes about 56 square miles in west-central Hillsborough County, Florida. The north-central part of the city of Tampa is highly urbanized; the north-west part of the area is rural or undeveloped. The area has numerous sinkholes, two of which are used as retention basins for urban storm runoff. An intermittent stream discharges into a sinkhole that is hydraulically connected with the Floridian aquifer. A well-developed cavity system occurs in the upper part of the aquifer in the southwestern and southeastern parts of the area. Groundwater velocities of 4,200 to 9,200 feet per day were determined from dye tests conducted in a sinkhole area north of Sulfur Springs. Sulfur Springs provides the city of Tampa a supplemental water supply of 20 million gallons per day. Periodically, the spring pool is closed to swimming because of the high bacteria counts in the water. The source of bacteria appears to be an internally drained sinkhole area north of the spring. In 1980, groundwater use in the study area, excluding withdrawals from Sulphur Springs, was 7.2 million gallons per day, largely for public water supplies. The city of Tampa pumped an average of 48.5 million gallons per day from the Tampa Dam Reservoir on the Hillsborough River. (USGS)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1973

Dewatering of the Clayton Formation during construction of the Walter F George Lock and Dam, Fort Gaines, Clay County, Georgia

Walter F. George Lock and Dam, the largest manmade structure in the South, extends over 2llz miles across the flood plain of the Chattahoochee River at Fort Gaines, Clay County, in southwest Georgia and in Henry County, in southeast Alabama. The multipurpose dam consists of two rolled-filled earth dikes, a concrete spillway, a single-stage lock with an 88-foot lift, and a 130,000 kilowatt capacity powerhouse. The foundation of the dam at the river is constructed in the Clayton Formation, and the earth dikes are constructed on river terraces at about 150 feet above msl (mean sea level). At the damsite, the top of the Clayton Formation consists of an "earthy" limestone, which is about 35 feet thick except in the river channel, where it is 12 to 15 feet thick; a "shell" limestone, which averages about 40 feet thick; and a basal "sandy" limestone, which averages about 35 feet thick. The Providence Sand underlies the "sandy" limestone and its thickness is about 175 feet at the damsite. These formations contain water under artesian conditions. The "shell" unit of the Clayton was the principal water-bearing formation pumped during construction of the lock and dam. The large yields of the wells from concentrated areas over extended periods of time indicate that in the vicinity of the Chattahoochee River, the Clayton Formation is a productive aquifer with transmissivity ranging from 48,000 to 77,000 gpd per ft. (gallons per day per foot) and storage coefficient ranging from 2.5 x 10?3 to 2.8 x 10?5. At the spillway site, pumpage ranged from an average of 1,700 to 8,400 gpm (gallons per minute) during the period April 1957 to July 1959; at the powerhouse site, pumpage ranged from 1,600 to 5,000 gpm during the period October 1957 to September 1961; and at the lock site, pumpage ranged from 4,000 to 5,000 gpm during the period July 1960 through December 1961. The large yields represent a source of large quantities of ground water available for industrial and other uses in an area readily accessihle by barge from the Gulf of Mexico to Columbus, Ga. During dewatering, the potentiometric surface was lowered from a pre-pumping altitude of about 115 to 120 feet above msl to a minimum altitude of about 40 feet above msl, or near the bottom of the "shell" limestone. The stage of the Chattahoochee River ranged from about 20 to 60 feet above the potentiometric surface at the dewatering sites. The Chattahoochee River seemingly is recharging the Clayton Formation near the damsite, possibly through large solution cavities such as were observed during construction of the spillway site at the river. Furthermore, a "honeycombed" network of large solution holes caused the collapse of a section of "earthy" limestone near the powerhouse site. Some underground leakage is expected to occur at the damsite because of the cavernous condition of the limestone, particularly on the Alabama side of the river.

Alabama, Georgia↗
USGS1952

Preliminary report on ground water in the Michaud Flats Project, Power County, Idaho

The Michaud Flats Project area, as here described, includes about 65 square miles in central Power County, south of the Snake River in the southeastern Snake River Plain of Idaho. The principal town and commercial center of the area is American Falls. The immediate purpose of work in the area by the U.S. Geological Survey was to investigate the possibility of developing substantial quantities of ground water for irrigating high and outlying lands in the proposed Michaud Flats Project area of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Initial findings are sufficiently favorable to warrant comprehensive further investigation. Advanced study would assist proper utilization of ground-water resources and would aid ultimate evaluation of total water resources available in the area. About 10,000 acres of low-lying lands in the Michaud Flats project could be irrigated with water from the Snake River under a low-line distribution system involving a maximum pumping lift of about 200 feet above the river. An additional larger area of high and outlying lands is suitable for irrigation with water pumped from wells. If sufficient ground water is economically available, the expense of constructing and operating a costly highline distribution system for surface water could be saved. Reconnaissance of the ground-water geology of the area disclosed surface outcrops of late Cenozoic sedimentary, pyroclastic, and volcanic rocks. Well logs and test borings show that similar materials are present beneath the land surface in the zone of saturation. Ground water occurs under perched, unconfined, and confined (artesian) conditions, but the aquifers have not been adequately explored. Existing irrigation wells, 300 feet or less in depth, yield several hundred to 1,400 gallons of water a minute, with pumping drawdowns of 6 to 50 feet, and perhaps more. A few wells have been pumped out at rates of less than 800 gallons a minute. Scientific well-construction and development methods would lead to more efficient well performance. A generalized water-table contour map of the area shows that the principal general direction of ground-water movement is toward the west and northwest. The southwestern part of the American Falls Reservoir, and a segment of the Snake River below the dam, may be perched above the water table. Ground water appears to move beneath this segment of the river to the Snake River Plain on the northwest side. So far as is known, recharge to the ground-water reservoir is chiefly from local sources and from the runoff from the mountain area southeast of the project. Seepage losses from surface water spread for irrigation would contribute a substantial amount of new recharge to the ground water, but the amount of such recharge might be less than the depletion of ground water by pumping. Therefore, with ground-water irrigation a part of the project, return flow to the American Falls Reservoir might be less than it is in the existing regimen. Ground-water pumping where the ground water is not tributary to the reservoir might not deplete the reservoir appreciably, but would reduce the net supply of water available west of Neeley. Evidence indicates that at least moderate supplies of ground water can be obtained in low-lying areas southwest and northeast of American Falls, but the safe perennial yields of the aquifers cannot now be estimated. The ground-water potential in high and outlying lands is not known. It is unlikely that this potential is sufficient to supply all high and outlying lands, but the supply may be adequate for a substantial part of these lands. Thorough investigation appears to be warranted.

Open-File Report↗