Water in sand and gravel deposits in McHenry County, Illinois

Technical Report · Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1984

OSTI ID:5516613

Nicholas, J R; Krohelski, J T

Two general types of sand and gravel occur in McHenry County - unconfined aquifers, which are at or near the land surface, and semiconfined aquifers, which are overlain by one or more till members. Water levels in both types of aquifers are mapped from measurements made in the spring of 1979. The water-level configuration roughly parallels the land surface. Moraines and other topographically high features coincide with ground-water divides of local flow systems. Flow paths from divides to low-lands are relatively short - a few miles or less. Recharge predominates in uplands, whereas discharge predominates in lowlands. Water levels change seasonally in response to variations in recharge and discharge conditions. The highest water levels occur during spring and decline during the rest of the year. Ground water is of the calcium magnesium bicarbonate type and is of acceptable quality for most uses. However, for domestic and some industrial uses, treatment may be required to reduce hardness and to remove iron. Hardness ranged from 130 to 600 milligrams per liter as calcium carbonate, and dissolved iron concentrations ranges from less than 10 to 6200 micrograms per liter. The specific conductance of ground water ranged from 260 to 1170 micromhos per centimeter. Specific conductance exceeded 1000 micromhos per centimeter near Huntley and Hebron. Nitrate concentration was generally less than 0.68 milligrams per liter. 22 refs., 9 figs., 3 tabs.

• Research Organization: Geological Survey, Urbana, IL (USA). Water Resources Div.
• OSTI ID: 5516613
• Report Number(s): USGS/WRI-83-4048; ON: TI85901794
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
AQUIFERS
WATER TABLES
GROUND WATER
WATER QUALITY
ILLINOIS
WATER RESOURCES
ACID CARBONATES
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
SAND
WATER CHEMISTRY
CHEMISTRY
DATA
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
FEDERAL REGION V
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INFORMATION
NORTH AMERICA
NUMERICAL DATA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RESOURCES
USA
WATER
580100* - Geology & Hydrology- (-1989)