Research about Ashland County, Iron County, Wisconsin

USGS2005

Lithology, hydraulic properties, and water quality of the Sandstone Aquifer in the northwestern part of the Bad River Indian Reservation, Wisconsin, 1998-1999

The Precambrian sandstone aquifer in the northwestern part of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians Reservation, Ashland County, Wisconsin, provides much of the drinking water to area residents. A study was undertaken in cooperation with the Bad River Tribe to provide specific information about the lithology, hydraulic properties, and water quality of the sandstone aquifer. During 1998 and 1999, the U.S. Geological Survey installed three monitoring wells, collected and analyzed lithologic and water samples, and conducted geophysical logging and aquifer tests to characterize the sandstone aquifer. The two monitoring wells in the southeastern part of the study area, the Diaperville Monitoring Well #1 (Diaperville MW #1) and the Tolman Monitoring Well #1 (Tolman MW #1) , are believed to have encountered older Middle Proterozoic Oronto Group sandstones. The sandstone encountered in the Ackley Monitoring Well #1 (Ackley MW #1) is believed to be Chequamegon Sandstone of the Late Proterozoic Bayfield Group. This interpretation is based on previous studies, as well as thin- section analysis of sandstone core recovered from the Ackley Monitoring Well #1. Results of aquifer tests conducted in the Diaperville Monitoring Well #1 and the Tolman Monitoring Well #1 provide ranges for hydraulic param - eter values in the sandstone aquifer: transmissivity ranges from 83 to 509 square feet per day; hydraulic conductivity ranges from 1.6 to 4.5 feet per day; storativity ranges from 0.00019 to 0.00046; and specific capacity ranges from 0.22 to 0.67 gallons per minute per foot. Though high- and low-angle fractures are present in Ackley Monitoring Well #1 core, the hydraulic properties of the bedrock appear to be due largely to the matrix porosity measured in thin section (16–21 percent) and permeability of the sandstone. The aquifer test for the Diaperville Monitoring Well #1 resulted in observed drawdown in nearby glacial wells, evidence of a hydraulic connection between the sandstone aquifer and the glacial deposits. Major ion analyses indicate that the water sampled from the sandstone aquifer at the Ackley site is of the calcium-magnesium-sodium- bicarbonate type. Based on a single sampling set, volatile organic constituents were not detected in water samples from the Diaperville Monitoring Well #1 or the Ackley Monitoring Well #1.

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USGS1995

Water resources of the Bad River Indian Reservation, northern Wisconsin

Water-resources data were collected in the Bad River Indian Reservation of northern Wisconsin from 1983 through 1987. Some data are interpreted to describe ground-water flow, groundwater quality, streamflow, and surface-water quality. Data also are presented in tables and appendixes for baseline reference. Precambrian sandstone and basalt underlie varying thicknesses of sandy till, outwash sand and gravel, and clay deposited in glacial meltwater lakes. The thickness of glacial deposits generally ranges from 100 to 300 ft but reaches a known thickness of almost 1,000 ft on the east-central edge of the Reservation. Sand and gravel deposits are generally buried beneath 50 to 150 ft of glacial lake clays and silts throughout most of the Reservation. These buried sand and gravel deposits lie directly on Precambrian sandstone of unknown thickness in the northern half of the Reservation. The sand and gravel deposits and the sandstone form a single aquifer system confined by the overlying clay deposits. In and near the village of Odanah, numerous wells finished in either the sand and gravel or in the sandstone flow above land surface. Estimates of the horizontal hydraulic conductivity of the sand and gravel based on 30 specific- capacity tests range from about 2 to 700 ft per day with a median value of about 80 ft per day. Horizontal hydraulic conductivity estimates for the sandstone range from about 1 to 360 ft per day with a median of about 2 ft per day. These estimates are based on 42 specific-capacity tests of wells open only to the upper 20 to 60 ft of sandstone. The horizontal hydraulic conductivity of the sandstone appears to decrease with depth; highest estimates were determined for wells open only to the upper 20 ft of sandstone. Ground water in the confined aquifer system is a calcium magnesium bicarbonate type with relatively low total dissolved solids concentrations. The median total dissolved solids concentration of water from 17 sand and gravel wells is about 150 milligrams per liter and the median for water from 21 sandstone wells is about 244 milligrams per liter. High concentrations of iron and manganese were found in water from 12 of 36 sampled wells. Total recoverable concentrations of iron exceeded 500 micrograms per liter in 5 wells and concentrations of manganese exceeded 50 micrograms per liter in 7 wells. Streamflow has been continuously measured at a streamflow-gaging station in the Bad River near Odanah for much of the time since 1914. This station monitors drainage from a basin with an area of 597 square miles and the average daily discharge of the Bad River at this gaging station is 622 cubic feet per second. The peak instantaneous flow at the station was 27,700 cubic feet per second on April 24, 1960 and the minimum instantaneous flow was 34 cubic feet per second on November 8,1976. Analysis of water samples collected at 12 sites at 10 small streams during base-flow conditions indicate that the concentrations of common chemical constituents are similar to but lower than those found in ground water. The median concentration of total dissolved solids was about 110 milligrams per liter as compared to about 155 milligrams per liter in ground-water samples from wells finished in sand and gravel.

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