Availability and quality of water from the Dakota aquifer, northwest Iowa
The Dakota aquifer in northwest Iowa consists of sandstones in the Dakota Formation. It underlies most of the study area and is the most extensive source of ground water in the area. Individual sandstone beds are from less than 10 to more than 150 feet thick. The cumulative thickness of sandstone is more than 200 feet throughout much of the area. Water flows through the aquifer from the northcental part of the study area to the east, south and southwest. Recharge is dominantly by infiltration from the land surface through the confining materials. Discharge is to underlying Paleozoic aquifers and to the alluvium and glacial outwash deposits along the Missouri and Big Sioux Rivers in the southwest part of the area. Pumping tests conducted in the study area indicate a narrow range of hydraulic conductivities of the Dakota aquifer, from 37 to 50 feet per day. Yields of more than 250 gallons per minute can be expected throughout much of the study area and more than 1000 gallons per minute could be produced in some areas. The quality of water from the Dakota is a calcium, magnesium, sulfate type. The concentration of a radium-226 and other radionuclides exceeds recommended limits at several sites. The quality of water pumped from the aquifer my be altered by induced leakage from the underlying aquifers in Paleozoic age rocks if withdrawals reverse the pattern of natural flow from the Dakota into the Paleozoic aquifers. Evidence for such a reversal exists in the area around the city of LeMars. 10 refs., 4 figs., 5 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- Geological Survey, Denver, CO (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 5191599
- Report Number(s):
- USGS-WSP-2215; ON: TI85902208
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AQUIFERS
WATER QUALITY
WATER RESOURCES
IOWA
HYDROLOGY
IRRIGATION
RADIUM 226
SALINITY
SANDSTONES
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
FEDERAL REGION VII
HEAVY NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEI
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIUM ISOTOPES
RESOURCES
ROCKS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
USA
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
580100* - Geology & Hydrology- (-1989)
520200 - Environment
Aquatic- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)