Development and application of a methodology for siting onshore facilities associated with outer continental shelf (OCS) petroleum development
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Open-File Report↗
Geology topics
William Watson Doyel
Publications and source records attributed to William Watson Doyel.
Ground-water resources of the Bengasi area, Cyrenaica, United Kingdom of Libya
The Benpsi area of Libya, in the northwestern part of the Province of Cyrenaica (Wilayat Barqah), is semiarid, and available ground-water supplies in the area are relatively small. Potable ground water from known sources is reserved for the present and future needs of the city, and no surface-water supplies are available in the area. This investigation to evaluate known, as well as potential, water supplies in the area was undertaken as part of a larger program of ground-water investigations in Libya under the auspices of the U. S. Operations Mission to Libya and the Government of Libya. A ground-water reservoir underlies the Bengasi area, in which the water occurs in solution channels, cavities, and other openings in Miocene limestone. The reservoir is recharged directly by rainfall on the area and by infiltration from ephemeral streams (wadis) rising in Al Jabal al Akhar to the east. In the Baninah and Al Fuwayhit areas the ground-water reservoir yields water of fair quality and in sufficient quantity for the current (1959) needs. of the Bengasi city supply. The test-drilling program in the area south and southeast of Bengasi indicates that water in sufficient quantity for additional public supply probably can be obtained in some localities from wells. The water, however, is moderately to highly mineralized and would require treatment or demineralization before it could be used for additional public supply. Much of the water could be used directly for irrigation, but careful attention would have to be given to cultivation, drainage, and cropping practices. The hazard of saltwater encroachment also exists if large-scale withdrawals are undertaken in the coastal zones.
Water Supply Paper↗
Salt water and its relation to fresh ground water in Harris County, Texas
Harris County, in the West Gulf Coastal Plain in southeastern Texas, has one of the heaviest concentrations of ground-water withdrawal in the United States. Large quantities of water are pumped to meet the requirements of the rapidly growing population, for industry, and for rice irrigation. The water is pumped from artesian wells which tap a thick series of sands ranging in age from Miocene (?) to Pleistocene. The water-bearing sands, many of which contained slightly saline water, are interbedded with clays. Subsequent artesian circulation has flushed the sands, probably to the limit determined by the Ghyben-Herzberg principle. The base of the fresh-water sands ranges in depth from about 100 feet over the salt dome near Hockley to more than 3,000 feet in the northeastern part of the county. Before large-scale ground-water withdrawals were begun, the hydraulic gradient sloped gently toward the coast. Then, as large quantities of water were withdrawn a large cone of depression was established, the hydraulic gradient was reversed, and salt water began to move slowly toward the centers of pumping. The rate of movement of the salt water is very slow and the closest salt water is probably 5 miles from centers of pumping in the deeper sands. However, the threat of salt-water intrusion is present and the rate of advance of the salt water should be watched by means of strategically placed observation wells. Other less probable potential sources of salt-water contamination which are discussed include upward movement of salt water from below, vertical movement around salt domes or along faults, downward seepage from surface sources, and contamination through leaking wells.
Texas↗