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Contents
Introduction
Geography
Geology
Formations
Ground water
Conclusions
Well Records
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References
Plates

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Ground Water, continued

Utilization of Ground Water

Ground water in Logan County is used for domestic and livestock supplies, public supplies, and for irrigation. The few industries and railroads in Logan County obtain water from the municipal water systems in Oakley and Winona.

Domestic Supplies

Domestic supplies in the towns and rural areas are obtained from wells and from a few springs. Most domestic wells are equipped with cylinder pumps powered by windmills, are cased with 5 1/2-inch galvanized casing, and are finished with concrete curbs.

In areas where the water-bearing formations are extremely thin, absent, or uneconomically deep, or where the water is unpalatable, water is hauled from the towns by truck and kept in barrels or cisterns for domestic use. Hauling of water is inconvenient and expensive, and finding local supplies of ground water of suitable quality for domestic use constitutes a major problem in the county. Drilling wells into the Dakota formation would provide water within a few hundred feet of the surface. The depth to the Dakota formation can be estimated by determining from Figure 3 the approximate altitude of the Dakota formation at the proposed well site and subtracting it from the altitude of the land surface. The chemical quality of water from the Dakota formation may vary locally, but the effort to find suitable domestic water from this formation probably would be warranted for those farmsteads at considerable distance from public supplies or which use large quantities of water. The high fluoride content of this water may cause mottling of the enamel of the teeth of children, however, if the water is used extensively during the period of formation of the permanent teeth.

Livestock Supplies

Livestock supplies in the county generally are obtained from wells and springs. Plate 9A shows a typical livestock well. In certain areas in the stream valleys, surface water is sufficient to supply livestock needs except during periods of severe drought. Some ponds that store surface runoff supplement livestock supplies from other sources. In many areas water must be hauled from public supplies or neighboring wells to supply livestock. The resulting expense and inconvenience reduce considerably the number of animals that otherwise would be raised in Logan County. Where ground water can be obtained from the Niobrara formation, however, it can be utilized to water livestock without detrimental effects, although it is unsatisfactory for human use because of excessive sulfate.

Plate 9--A, Livestock well in sec. 27, T. 14 S., R. 32 W. Well is pumped most of the year; overflow from tank nearest well drains intoo next tank in sequence. This well is typical of many hundreds of livestock wells in Logan County. B, Irrigation well in sec. 28, T. 11 S., R. 33 W., owned by Duttlinger Bros.; reportedly yields 500 gpm. Turbine pump is powered by diesel motor.

Public Supplies

Oakley and Winona are the only towns in Logan County that have municipal water systems. Monument, Page City, Russell Springs, McAllaster, and Elkader are supplied from private wells similar to those used in rural areas.

Oakley--Oakley is supplied from five drilled wells obtaining water from the Ogallala formation. Three of the wells, 11-32-2bb1, 11-32-2bb2, and 11-32-2bb3, are near the municipal power plant in the northeast corner of the city. Well 11-32-3bd1 is 8 blocks west, on the west edge of the city. The wells have steel casings fitted with brass screens through the coarse water-bearing material and are pumped by electrically powered deep-well turbines.

The water from the wells is pumped directly into the city mains, the excess entering an elevated tank of 70,000-gallon capacity, which maintains in the system a water pressure of about 40 pounds per square inch. The wells are not metered, but the city engineer has estimated the daily average consumption of water throughout the year to be approximately 70,000 gallons. For short periods on hot summer days consumption exceeds the maximum pumping rate of about 1,000 gpm. The Oakley water system has expanded to meet the steady increase in water consumption in the last few years, and present plans call for anotber increase in capacity to keep pace with the growth of the city and a probable increase in per capita consumption. An analysis of a sample of water (11-32-2bb1) from the water system is given in Table 9. The water, although hard, is not softened.

Winona--Winona is supplied from wells 11-35-5bb1 and 11-35-5bb2 drilled into the Ogallala formation 5 miles north of the city, on the Thomas County line. A well field 2 miles south of Winona having three wells in the Ogallala formation was abandoned in 1948 because of the lack of capacity to supply the growing water needs of the town. One of these is a dug well having a masonry casing 10 feet in diameter and a reported depth of 100 feet.

The new wells have 12-inch steel casings fitted with brass screens through the permeable water-bearing material and are pumped with electrically powered submersible deep-well turbines. The water is pumped through a pipeline under a pressure at the wellhead of 100 pounds per square inch directly into the city mains. The excess enters an elevated tank of 50,000-gallon capacity, which serves to maintain a pressure of about 40 pounds per square inch in the distribution system. The wells are not metered and no figures for average daily consumption are available. The maximum pumping rate exceeds 400,000 gallons per day and is more than sufficient for the water needs of the city even on hot summer days.

The analysis of a water sample collected from well 11-35-5bb1 is given in Table 9. The water, although hard, is not softened.

Irrigation Supplies

Only a small amount of water has been pumped for irrigation in Logan County, compared to that pumped in Scott and Wichita counties, adjacent to Logan County on the south. At the end of 1955 there were eight shallow irrigation wells in valley bottoms and five deeper irrigation wells in upland localities in operation in the county. A few domestic and livestock wells are sometimes used for watering small garden plots, but the quantity of water used for this purpose is small.

Data on pumping and irrigation practices for the upland wells are given in Table 8. Plate 9B shows a typical upland irrigation well.

Table 8--Reported use of five upland irrigation wells.

Well number		11-33-14bc1	11-33-19ca	11-33-28ab	11-33-30ba	11-34-24ca1
Date drilled		1947	1947	1947	1941	1945
Depth (feet)		220		185	160	147
Lift (feet)		176		165		156
Drawdown (feet)		46		55		21
Yield (gpm)		430	600	500	800	230
Annual operation (hours)		1,440		1,340	1,340	300
Type of fuel		propane or butane	diesel	diesel	diesel	butane
Method of water distribution		ditches and gated pipe	ditches and siphons		ditches and gated pipe and	ditches and siphons
Acreage irrigable	maximum available	300		400	150	90
	annual average	200		100	100	25
Pumpage (acre-feet)	annual total	124		124	198	13
	average per acre	.62		1.24	1.98	.52

The irrigation season generally lasts for about 60 days, beginning the first week in July and extending to about the first week in September, but some irrigation is practiced both earlier and later. In years when the rainfall is abundant in July and August, pumping is reduced considerably. Conversely, in comparatively dry summers irrigation begins early and may last about 100 days. Grain sorghum is the crop most commonly irrigated on the upland, but some corn and wheat also are irrigated. On the flood plains alfalfa is the crop most commonly irrigated, and the irrigation season generally is much shorter than that of the upland.

On the uplands the length of the irrigation season and the relatively high lift in irrigation wells necessitate the use of a cheap source of power, such as propane, butane, or diesel fuel. The irrigation wells on the flood plains are powered by gasoline or tractor-fuel engines or by electric motors. Irrigation water most commonly is distributed in open ditches, from which it is conducted into the rows by means of siphon tubes. Pipe having adjustable openings is used to some extent; its initial high cost is offset by eliminating the need to restart siphons whenever the pump is shut off for short periods. Alfalfa is irrigated by flooding or sprinkling.

An area of about 1,000 acres is irrigated annually in Logan County. The quantity of ground water pumped for irrigation probably averages less than 1,000 acre-feet per year.

Aquifer tests were made using two upland irrigation wells to determine the hydraulic characteristics of the Ogallala formation. The results of these tests are discussed in a previous section of the report and are given in Table 6.

Development of ground water for irrigation in Logan County was first started on the flood plain of the Smoky Hill River valley. In 1955, eight wells irrigated crops on the flood plain compared to five in the northern upland area. Because of the small irrigable acreage on the flood plain, future development will be more extensive on the upland plain, where there is much irrigable land and a suitable aquifer. At least 60,000 acres of upland plain is underlain by at least 40 feet of saturated Ogallala formation (Fig. 5). Where this formation has a suitable permeability, this amount of saturated material is sufficient to yield abundant supplies of water to irrigation wells. The major part of this acreage has soil and topography suitable for irrigation.

Records from the upland wells for which irrigation practices reported suggest that the average annual pumpage for irrigatioin on the upland plain exceeds 100 acre-feet per well (Table 8). Well 11-34-24ca1 pumps considerably less, but the owner plans to increase this pumpage by modification of his well and expansion of the distribution system so as to bring more land under irrigation.

The annual recharge to the ground-water reservoir beneath the upland plain is less than half an inch, and an estimated 1/6 inch is available to wells. Thus, the factor limiting the number of acres that can be irrigated on the upland is the amount of ground water that can be pumped without seriously depleting the ground-water resources. The annual discharge from the ground-water reservoir of Logan County that can be diverted for irrigation amounts to less than 3,000 acre-feet in the northern upland plain. The maximum acreage that could be irrigated with 1 foot of water annually would be about 3,000 acres, which is much less than the acreage of suitable land underlain by water-bearing materials. Any development of the ground-water resources beyond 3,000 acre-feet per year proably would result in steadily declining water levels.

The development of stored ground-water reserves--called mining of ground water--is a complex economic problem related to the extent to which the water table could be lowered without imperiling domestic, livestock, and public supplies; the distribution of the pumping; future climatic trends; and the amount of water that could be diverted from parts of the aquifer that cannot be developed because of insufficient saturated thickness or which underlie non-irrigable land.

Chemical Character of Water

The chemical character of ground water in Logan County is known from 34 water samples analyzed by Howard A. Stoltenberg, chemist, of the Water and Sewage Laboratory of the Kansas State Board of Health in Lawrence. The results of these analyses and the analyses of 9 ground-water samples collected in a previous investigation (Bradley and Johnson, 1957) are given in Table 9. In Table 10 are given 6 analyses of surface water also collected in that study.

The analyses show only the dissolved mineral content and not the sanitary condition of the water, except as excessive nitrate may indicate possible pollution by sewage or other organic wastes.

Table 9--Analyses of water from typical wells and one spring Analyzed by Howard A. Stoltenberg. Dissolved constituents given in parts per million^a and in equivalents per million^b (in italics).

Number on Fig. 11	Well number	Depth (feet)	Geologic source	Date of collection	Temp. (°F)	Dissolved solids	Silica (SiO2)	Iron (Fe)	Calcium (Ca)	Magnesium (Mg)	Sodium and Potassium (Na+K)	Bicarbonate (HCO3)	Sulfate (SO4)	Chloride (Cl)	Fluoride (F)	Nitrate (NO3)	Hardness as CaCO3
																	Total	Carbonate	Noncarbonate
1	11-32-2bb1	170	Ogallala formation	8/23/54	55	271	24	0.04	57	20	9.7	246	12	14	0.4	13	224	202	22
									2.84	1.64	0.42	4.03	0.25	0.39	0.02	0.21
2	11-32-27aa	69	Ogallala formation	9/3/54		297	26	0.1	49	19	27	240	18	16	1	23	200	197	3
									2.44	1.56	1.18	3.94	0.37	0.45	1.05	0.37
3	11-33-4da		Ogallala formation	9/27/55	58	281	23	0.46	46	15	32	229	27	12	1.3	12	176	176	0
									2.30	1.23	1.89	3.76	0.56	0.34	0.07	0.19
4	11-33-8cc	182	Ogallala formation	9/28/55		312	24	0.28	40	17	36	231	43	18	1.3	9.7	192	190	2
									2.44	1.40	1.58	3.79	0.89	0.51	0.07	0.16
5	11-33--22dd	165	Ogallala formation	9/26/55	56	322	24	0.17	63	21	18	242	14	28	0.7	34	244	198	46
									3.14	1.73	0.77	8.97	0.29	0.79	0.04	0.55
6	11-34-8dc	150	Ogallala formation	9/7/54		299	25	0.95	43	17	39	238	30	17	1.6	9.3	178	178	0
									2.15	1.40	1.68	3.90	0.62	0.48	0.08	0.15
7	11-34-22cb	132	Ogallala formation	9/26/55	55	331	34	0.1	44	18	45	254	31	20	1.6	12	184	184	0
									2.20	1.48	1.95	4.16	0.64	0.56	0.08	0.19
8	11-34-25bc	100	Ogallala formation	9/3/54	57	313	27	1.3	75	16	9.9	265	7.4	18	0.2	29	253	218	35
									3.74	1.32	0.43	4.35	0.15	0.51	0.01	0.47
9	11-35-5bb1	218	Ogallala formation	7/24/54	59 1/2	248	22	0.11	45	14	23	220	12	12	0.6	11	170	170	0
									2.24	1.15	1.02	3.61	0.25	0.34	0.03	0.18
10	11-35-22ca	50	Ogallala formation	9/26/55		426	31	1.2	119	12	9	359	10	10	0.2	58	346	294	52
									5.94	0.99	0.89	5.89	0.21	0.28	0.01	0.98
11	11-36-6da	170	Ogallala formation	9/7/54	57 1/2	223	21	0.48	46	9	18	185	14	9	0.6	14	152	152	0
									2.30	0.74	0.78	3.03	0.29	0.25	0.03	0.22
12	11-37-10ab	83	Ogallala formation	9/27/55	57	218	22	0.14	48	6.8	18	190	9.5	6	0.7	13	148	148	0
									2.40	0.56	0.78	3.12	0.20	0.17	0.04	0.21
13	11-37-29cc	53	Ogallala formation	9/27/55		346	30	0.5	37	16	61	242	56	18	1.2	8	158	158	0
									1.85	1.32	2.66	3.97	1.16	0.51	0.06	0.18
14	11-37-35ab	19	Alluvium	9/27/55	60	351	24	0.36	61	14	46	290	49	12	0.9	0.8	210	210	0
									3.04	1.15	1.99	4.76	1.02	0.34	0.05	0.01
15	12-32-7bb	23	Ogallala formation	9/26/55	56 1/2	455	29	0.94	82	23	41	295	81	30	0.7	23	299	242	57
									4.09	1.89	1.80	4.84	1.68	0.85	0.04	0.37
16	12-32-27aa	90	Ogallala formation	9/3/54		327	32	0.21	59	20	25	264	40	11	0.6	9.7	229	216	13
									2.94	1.64	1.08	4.88	0.88	0.81	0.08	0.16
17	12-32-30bb	43	Ogallala formation	9/26/55	56	427	36	0.15	78	22	35	288	67	26	1.1	20	285	236	49
									3.89	1.81	1.52	4.72	1.39	0.73	0.06	0.82
18	12-33-29dc	67	Ogallala formation	9/3/54	59	439	43	0.18	44	22	72	249	104	24	3.1	4.4	200	200	0
									2.20	1.81	3.14	4.08	2.16	0.68	0.16	0.07
19	12-34-2aa		Ogallala formation	9/3/54	58 1/2	278	24	0.36	52	17	22	244	17	13	0.6	12	200	200	0
									2.59	1.40	0.95	4.00	0.35	0.37	0.03	0.19
20	12-34-7cb	120	Ogallala formation	9/4/54	58 1/2	350	27	0.78	46	25	39	237	52	26	1.4	17	218	194	24
									2.80	2.06	1.68	3.89	1.08	0.73	0.07	0.27
21	12-34-22bb	92.5	Ogallala formation	9/26/55	57 1/2	324	31	2	56	20	27	251	34	19	0.9	12	222	206	16
									2.79	1.64	1.18	4.12	0.71	0.54	0.05	0.19
22	12-35-7da2		Ogallala formation	9/7/54	58	305	29	0.22	56	15	27	227	42	15	0.8	8	201	186	15
									2.79	1.23	1.16	3.72	0.87	0.42	0.04	0.13
23	12-36-19aa	16.1	Alluvium	9/28/54	62	1,240	24	0.09	190	79	90	307	674	26	0.8	5.3	798	252	546
									9.48	6.49	3.93	5.03	14.02	0.73	0.04	0.08
24	13-32-3ac	76	Ogallala formation	9/26/55	56 1/2	384	46	0.17	51	26	40	262	62	25	1.4	3.8	234	215	19
									2.54	2.14	1.74	4.30	1.29	0.70	0.07	0.06
25	13-32-27aa2	50	Ogallala formation	9/26/55	56	875	43	0.08	95	42	142	348	284	90	2.2	5.8	410	286	124
									4.74	3.45	6.18	5.71	5.91	2.54	0.12	0.09
26	13-32-34cc2	200	Niobrara formation	9/3/54	59	2,680	18	0.86	570	76	146	273	1,660	65	2	4.3	1,730	224	1,510
									28.44	6.25	6.36	4.48	34.57	1.83	0.10	0.07
27	13-33-6bb	960.0	Carlile shale (Codell zone)	8/20/55		7,870	9.5		102	52	2,910	415	33	4,560	1.8	1.3	468	340	128
									5.09	4.27	126.70	6.81	0.69	128.45	0.09	0.02
28	13-33-6bb	1,230.0	Dakota formation	9/1/55	62	1,100	11	1	3.3	1.5	449	720	0	271	6	1.2	14	14	0
									0.16	0.12	19.51	11.80	0.00	7.64	0.32	0.02
29	13-34-2dd	33.5	Meade Group or Sanborn Group or both.	9/3/54	57	3,620	31	1.2	674	141	221	222	2,040	181	1.2	217	2,260	180	2,080
									33.63	11.59	9.59	3.64	42.52	5.10	0.06	3.49
30	*13-34-29bd		Meade Group or Sanborn Group or both.	9/19/51		568			91	27	57	249	177	29	0.6	16	340	212	128
									4.54	2.22	2.46	4.08	3.68	0.82	0.03	0.26
31	13-35-16ab		Meade Group or Sanborn Group or both.	9/7/54	59	447	34	0.26	77	20	40	210	135	30	0.6	7.1	274	172	102
									3.84	1.64	1.76	3.44	2.81	0.85	0.08	0.11
32	*13-37-23bb		Meade Group or Sanborn Group or both.	9/20/51	55	581	21	0.03	81	21	78	255	212	18	1.1	1.6	288	209	79
									4.04	1.72	3.40	4.17	4.41	0.51	0.06	0.03
33	*14-34-26aa	156	Niobrara formation	9/19/51	59								1,440	24
													29.98	0.68
34	14-36-10ba	67	Ogallala formation	9/28/55	59	323	41	0.5	48	22	30	259	31	16	1.5	6.2	210	210	0
									2.4	1.81	1.31	4.25	0.64	0.45	0.08	0.10
35	14-36-34cd	52	Sanborn Group	9/28/55	57	1,630	42	0.14	382	36	65	249	940	38	1	5.3	1,100	200	900
									19.06	2.96	2.83	4.08	19.57	1.07	0.05	0.08
36	*15-32-19bd		Sanborn Group	9/18/51	58	2,430			477	83	102	270	1,330	31	1.8	44	1,530	221	1,310
									23.8	6.8	4.13	4.42	27.7	0.8	0.09	0.71
37	*15-32-26da	83.5	Ogallala formation	9/18/51	58	338			54	18	26	196	60	15	1	7.8	209	169	40
									2.7	1.48	1.11	3.22	1.25	0.4	0.05	0.13
38	*15-35-2ab	37	Sanborn Group	9/19/51	55	3,190			573	100	203	453	1,760	23	1.2	37	1,840	371	1,470
									28.6	8.21	1.27	7.42	36.64	0.60	0.06	0.60
39	*15-35-281)d .	70	Ogallala formation or Sanborn Group or both	9/19/51	58	446	26	0.24	98	19	29	334	89	5	2.4	2.7	324	274	50
									4.9	1.56	1.27	5.47	1.85	0.14	0.13	0.04
40	*15-35-32ad2	21	Alluvium	9/19/51	55	1,700	42	0.3	256	77	182	348	770	185	1.2	6.7	956	285	671
									12.8	6.35	7.91	5.70	16.03	5.20	0.06	0.11
41	15-36-20dd		Sanborn (?) Group	9/28/55		1,020	39	0.52	187	41	74	220	507	53	3	7.1	635	180	455
									9.33	3.37	3.21	3.61	10.54	1.49	0.16	0.11
42	15-37-4cb	17	Alluvium or Sanborn Group or both	9/28/55	59	1,180	35	0.16	241	40	76	295	587	51	1.1	5.3	765	240	525
									12.03	3.29	3.31	4.84	12.21	1.44	0.06	0.08
43	*15-37-30cb	73	Ogallala formation	9/21/51	56	258	27	2.3	37	14	31	204	29	5.5	1.8	8.8	150	150	0
									1.85	1.15	1.36	3.34	0.60	0.16	0.09	0.14

a. One part per million is equivalent to one pound of substance per million pounds of water or 8.33 pounds per million gallons of water.
b. An equivalent per million is a unit chemical equivalent weight of solute per million unit weights of solution.
Concentration in equivalents per million is calculated by dividing the concentration in parts per million by the chemical
combining weight of the substance or ion.
* Samples were collected and analyzed by U. S. Geological Survey laboratory in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Chemical Constituents in Relation to Use

The following discussion of the chemical constituents of water in relation to use has been adapted from publications of the U. S. Geological Survey and the State Geological Survey of Kansas.

Dissolved solids--When water is evaporated, the residue consists mainly of mineral constituents and a small quantity of organic material and water of crystallization. The kind and quantity of the soluble mineral constituents in water are major factors in determining its suitability for use. Water containing less than 500 parts per million of dissolved solids generally is satisfactory for domestic use, except for difficulties that may result from hardness or, in some places, excessive iron content. Water having more than 1,000 ppm is likely to contain enough of certain mineral constituents to produce a noticeable taste or to make the water unsuitable in some other respect.

The dissolved solids in samples of water from Logan County ranged from 218 to 7,870 ppm. The amount of dissolved solids exceeded 1,000 ppm in ten samples of ground water and in one sample of water from Twin Butte Creek and one from Chalk Creek.

Hardness--The hardness of water is recognized most commonly by the quantity of soap needed to produce a lather in washing and by the curdy precipitate that forms before a permanent lather is obtained. Calcium and magnesium cause the hardness of most water.

Hardness is of two types, carbonate and noncarbonate. Hardness caused by calcium and magnesium equivalent to the bicarbonate is carbonate hardness and, because it can be removed almost entirely by boiling, is often called temporary hardness. The remaining hardness often is referred to as permanent hardness, because it cannot be removed by boiling. There is no difference between the effects resulting from carbonate and noncarbonate hardness when water is used with soap.

Water having a hardness of less than 50 ppm is regarded as soft, and treatment to reduce hardness generally is unnecessary. Hardness of 50 to 100 ppm does not seriously interfere with the use of the water for most purposes, but does increase the consumption of soap. Reduction of hardness by a softening process may be profitable for laundries and some other industries. Hardness of more than 150 ppm is very noticeable. Where public water supplies are softened, the hardness is generally reduced to 100 ppm or less.

Hardness of samples of water collected in Logan County ranged from 14 to 2,260 ppm. Most samples were hard or very hard, ranging from 150 to 300 ppm.

Silica--Silica is a mineral constituent of most ground water. The silica in a water may be deposited with other scale-forming constituents in steam boilers, but otherwise it has no effect in the use of water for most purposes. The silica in samples of ground water from Logan County ranged from 9.5 to 46 ppm.

Iron--Iron may be present in water in sufficient quantity to give a disagreeable taste or to stain cooking utensils and plumbing fixtures. Normally, if ground water contains much more than 0.3 ppm of iron, the excess will separate out and settle as a reddish sediment when exposed to the air. Iron may be removed from most water by aeration and filtration, but some water requires additional treatment.

Iron content of ground-water samples collected in Logan County ranged from 0.03 to 2.30 ppm; about half the samples had less than 0.3 ppm.

Fluoride--Fluoride is generally present only in small concentrations in ground water, but the amount of fluoride in drinking water that is used by children should be known. Fluoride in water his been associated with the dental defect known as mottled enamel, which may appear on the teeth of children who drink water containing more than about 1.5 ppm of fluoride during the formation of the permanent teeth.

Recent studies have shown that about 1 ppm of fluoride in drinking water may help to prevent tooth decay in children. The United States Public Health Service (1946) has published standards that limit the amount of certain mineral constituents permissible in drinking water that is used in interstate commerce. The specified maximum amount of fluoride is 1.5 ppm.

The fluoride content of ground-water samples collected in Logan County ranged from 0.2 to 6.0 ppm. Of the 43 samples analyzed, only 11 had fluoride in excess of 1.5 ppm.

Nitrate--The presence of nitrate in water was given new significance a few years ago when it was discovered that water containing excessive nitrate might cause cyanosis in infants when the is used in the preparation of their formula Metzler and Stoltenberg, 1950). In cyanosis the infant becomes drowsy and listless and the skin takes on a blue color. In less severe cases recovery may take place in 8 to 24 hours if a change is made to water of low nitrate content, but death may result if the water supply is not changed. Nitrate in drinking water does not cause cyanosis in adults but can be responsible for certain digestive disorders.

Nitrate is derived from nitrate-bearing rocks and minerals in the water-bearing formations and from direct flow of nitrate-bearing surface water into wells. Soils, especially during the fall and contain nitrate derived principally from plants, from animal wastes, and from nitro-bacterial action. Being very soluble, nitrate salts are readily leached from the soils by rainfall and carried into wells. Because privies, cesspools, and barnyards are sources of organic nitrogen, a large amount of nitrate in well water may indicate pollution from these sources and the possible presence of harmful bacteria.

The Kansas State Board of Health judges that about 45 ppm is the safe limit of nitrate (as NO₃), and to use water having nitrate in excess of this amount in the preparation of an infant's formula may be dangerous. All the water samples from Logan County contained nitrate, but only two contained more than 45 ppm, the maximum being 217 ppm.

Water for Irrigation

The suitability of water for use in irrigation depends mainly upon the total quantity of soluble salts and upon the ratio of the quantity of sodium to the total quantity of sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. In some areas other constituents, such as boron and bicarbonate, may be present in sufficient quantities to cause injury to crops or soil. In a discussion of the interpretation of analyses with reference to irrigation in southern California, Scofield (1933) suggests that if the total concentration of dissolved salts is more than 700 ppm in the water its use for irrigation may be harmful and that dissolved salts in excess of 2,100 ppm may damage crops or land, or both. Water containing more than 60 percent sodium (the percentage being calculated as 100 times the ratio of sodium to the total principal bases listed above, all expressed in equivalents per million) is likely to be injurious to the soil.

Waters from five wells sampled in Logan County contained more than 2,100 ppm of dissolved solids, but the wells were in areas where sufficient water supplies for irrigation could not be obtained. No other water samples showed prohibitive amounts of solids. The alluvium in Logan County commonly yields water containing relatively large amounts of dissolved solids, sodium, and chloride, hence any water that is developed from the alluvium for irrigation should be checked for objectionable quantities of these constituents.

Chemical Character in Relation to Geologic Source

The waters analyzed (Table 9) were classified by types according to a method suggested by Piper (1953, p. 6-7), in which the water is designated by a binomial symbol written in the form of a decimal fraction whose two terms are the percentage of hardness-causing constituents among the cations (bases) and the percentage of bicarbonate and carbonate among the anions (acids). For example, the symbol 57.69 would indicate a water in which the Ca and Mg amount to 57 percent of all the cations in terms of equivalents and the weak anions CO₃ and HCO₃ amount to 69 percent of all the anions in the same terms.

The first term of the symbol indicates relative hardness in percent of total equivalents. If the second term exceeds the first, all the hardness is carbonate ("temporary") hardness. If the second term is small, some of the hardness is noncarbonate and the relative amount of the permanent hardness is in direct proportion to the numerical difference between the two terms. The first term of the symbol subtracted from 100 is equal to the "percent sodium," a term introduced by Scofield (1933, p. 22-23) to measure the effect of water on physical properties of soils. If the first term is greater than about 50, the physical condition of the soil is not likely to be impaired seriously, but if the term is less than 40 such impairment may result.

The two terms taken directly from the analytical data in terms of percentage equivalents per million have been plotted on rectangular coordinates (Fig. 11). The graph shows a tendency toward grouping into water types allied with the Ogallala formation and with Pleistocene sediments. Mixtures of water tend to plot between the areas of their chief components.

Fig. 11--Graphical representation of analyses of samples of water, by formations, showing diversity of character.

Dakota Formation

A sample of water was collected from well 13-33-6bb, which taps sandstone of the Dakota formation. The analysis indicates that the water from the Dakota in Logan County approaches 0.100 as a limit, being a nearly pure sodium bicarbonate water. The water in the Dakota formation in Logan County is very soft and has no disagreeable taste, but the one sample from the formation that was analyzed is undesirably high in fluoride content. Strongly mineralized water is characteristic of the Dakota formation in part of Kansas, but western Kansas has many satisfactory water supplies derived from this source.

Wells drilled into the Dakota formation in Gove, Lane (Prescott, 1951), Hamilton and Kearny (McLaughlin, 1943), and Finney and Gray counties (Latta, 1944) are reported to be in use for livestock and domestic water supplies. Two wells were drilled in Wichita County (Prescott, Branch, and Wilson, 1954) for irrigation and railroad supplies, but the water was found to be too mineralized for these purposes, although it probably would have been satisfactory for livestock and domestic use.

Latta ( 1944) and Prescott (1951) believed that the water in the Dakota formation has undergone a natural softening in which the original calcium bicarbonate water has exchanged its calcium and magnesium for sodium by base exchange. The base-exchange silicates acting in the natural softening process perhaps are the clay minerals in the Dakota formation. The degree of softening depends upon the amount and softening capacity of the clay minerals and upon the length of time the hard water remains in contact with these minerals (Renick, 1924).

Water in the Dakota formation in Logan County contains too large a percentage of sodium for irrigation use, and the fluoride content renders it undesirable for drinking by children, but it is generally satisfactory for most domestic and all livestock purposes.

Carlile Shale

One sample of water was collected from the Codell sandstone zone of the Carlile shale in well 13-33-6bb drilled to the Dakota formation. The water contained 7,870 ppm of dissolved solids and was very high in sodium and chloride; therefore, the water was unfit for domestic, livestock, or irrigation use.

Niobrara Formation

The Niobrara formation supplies strongly mineralized water to wells and also influences ground water in other formations that is or has been in contact with it. The water generally contains large amounts of dissolved solids and is high in noncarbonate or "permanent" hardness. Water of the type in the Niobrara approaches 100.0 as a limit. The water in many places is unpalatable, but generally it is satisfactory for use by livestock. Even if large supplies were available from the Niobrara, the water would be unfit for irrigation.

Pierre Shale

The Pierre shale does not contribute water to wells in Logan County, but its abundant gypsum influences the quality of water that comes in contact with it. Calcium and magnesium constitute 50 to 60 percent of the cations in water from the Pierre shale, bicarbonate content is moderate, relative to total anions (Fig. 11).

Ogallala Formation

Figure 11 shows that water from the Ogallala formation has a high percentage of calcium, magnesium, and bicarbonate and approaches 100.100 as a limit. The water is characterized by weak acids, alkaline earths, and carbonate hardness. The hardness of the water from the Ogallala ranges from 148 to 410 ppm, the greatest number of samples of water being in the range from 200 to 350 ppm.

The quality of water in the Ogallala formation is related to the thickness of saturated material. Comparison of Figure 12, which shows distribution of dissolved solids, with Figure 5, which shows distribution of saturated thickness, demonstrates that the amount of dissolved solids in the ground water of the Ogallala formation in Logan County tends to vary inversely with the saturated thickness. Where the water-bearing Tertiary rocks are thin a greater percent of the water comes in contact with the strongly mineralized Cretaceous formations; conversely, where the water-bearing materials of the Ogallala formation are thick, the water that is mineralized by contact with the Cretaceous formations is diluted by the greater amount of overlying high bicarbonate water that has not been in contact with the Cretaceous formations. Evidence of the influence of the underlying rock on quality of water was obtained by plotting the analyses of water from wells 13-32-27aa2, 12-33-29dc, and 11-37-29cc according to a method suggested by Piper (1953), which confirmed that the samples were simple mixtures of two components. The three sampled wells derive water from a thin water-bearing section of the Ogallala formation known to overlie Pierre shale. The two components, therefore, are a high-sulfate, low-bicarbonate water in contact with the Pierre shale, and a high-bicarbonate, low-sulfate water that is more characteristic of the Ogallala.

Fig. 12--Map of Logan County showing distribution of dissolved solids in ground water.

Pleistocene Deposits

The water from wells in the alluvium, Meade Group, or Sanborn Group has a wide range in chemical quality. The quality of water in the Pleistocene rocks is affected by contact with underlying formations or by the local nature of the recharge water. Because of their low topographic position, the Pleistocene deposits in the stream valleys tend to accumulate ground water that has been in contact with other geologic sources. Locally, therefore, the Pleistocene deposits contain water that is characteristic of the formation with which they are in contact. For example, well 15-32-19bd obtains water from a Pleistocene sand overlying the Niobrara formation and below a large outcrop area of the Niobrara formation. The water has much the same chemical character as water from the Niobrara formation. On the other hand, well 11-37-35ab is adjacent to and downstream from outcrops of the Ogallala formation and contains a water of high carbonate hardness characteristic of the Ogallala formation. Well 13-34-2dd produces water high in chloride and nitrate from Pleistocene deposits that underlie a large intermittent lake. Generally, the water from the Pleistocene deposits is very hard and may be unpalatable, but the quality of the water is dependent on local conditions.

Sanitary Considerations

The analyses of water given in Table 9 show only the amounts of dissolved mineral matter in the water and do not indicate its sanitary quality. The water in a well may contain mineral matter that imparts an objectionable taste or odor and yet may be free from harmful bacteria and safe for drinking. On the other hand, the water in a well may be clear and palatable and yet contain harmful bacteria. An abnormal amount of certain mineral constituents, such as nitrate or chloride, may indicate pollution.

Dug wells are more subject to pollution by organic wastes than properly constructed drilled wells, but great care should be taken to protect from pollution every well used for domestic or public supply. Drilled wells on the uplands generally penetrate relatively impervious silt above the water table and are less subject to pollution than shallow wells in valleys, where pervious sandy material may extend from the surface to the water table. Every well should be tightly sealed and, if possible, should be located so as to prevent inflow from surface drainage. Wells should not be located near possible sources of contamination such as buildings, barnyards, or cesspools.

Chemical Character of Surface Water

Analyses of samples of water from four streams (Bradley and Johnson, 1957) are given in Table 10. The streams were sampled at low stages when the dominant part of the flow was derived from the ground-water reservoir. The analyses demonstrate the influence of various formations upon the quality of water.

Table 10--Analyses of water from streams. Analyzed by U. S. Geological Survey, Lincoln, Nebr.
Dissolved constituents given in parts per million^a and equivalents per million^b (in italics).

Number on Fig. 11	Stream	Location of sampling site	Date of collection	Temp. (°F)	Dissolved solids	Silica (SiO2)	Iron (Fe)	Calcium (Ca)	Magnesium (Mg)	Sodium and Potassium (Na+K)	Bicarbonate (HCO3)	Sulfate (SO4)	Chloride (Cl)	Fluoride (F)	Nitrate (NO3)	Hardness as CaCO3
																Total	Carbonate	Noncarbonate
1	Chalk Creek	NE NE sec. 12, T. 15 S., R. 33 W.	9-19-1951	76	1,160			156 7.78	51 4.22	139 6.06	101 1.66	713 14.84	55 1.53		0.5 0.01	600	83	517
2	Ladder (Beaver) Creek	NE NE sec. 12, T. 15 S., R. 33 W.	9-19-1951	74	425			60 2.99	23 1.93	61 2.66	230 3.77	130 2.71	24 0.67		3.1 0.05	246	207	39
3	Ladder (Beaver) Creek	SE NE sec. 34, T. 14 S., R. 32 W.	9-19-1951	71	556			80 3.99	28 2.27	74 3.21	233 3.82	222 4.62	27 0.76		2.6 0.04	313	203	110
4	Smoky Hill River	NW NW sec. 23, T. 13 S., R. 37 W.	9-19-1951	75	685			81 4.04	28 2.28	74 4.81	207 3.39	338 7.04	24 0.68		1.2 0.02	316	170	146
5	Smoky Hill River	SE NE sec. 34, T. 11 S., R. 32 W.	9-19-1951	70	626			89 4.44	30 2.46	75 3.25	158 2.59	325 6.77	27 0.76		1.6 0.03	345	130	215
6	Twin Butte Creek	NE NE sec. 12, T. 15 S., R. 33 W.	9-19-1951	77	2,460			440 21.96	89 7.28	185 8.06	88 1.44	1,650 34.35	53 1.49		1.2 0.02	1,460	72	1,390
a. One part per million is equivalent to one pound of substance per million pounds of water or 8.33 pounds per million gallons of water. b. An equivalent per million is a unit chemical equivalent weight of solute per million unit weights of solution. Concentration in equivalents per million is calculated by dividing the concentration in parts per million by the chemical combining weight of the substance or ion.

Chalk Creek

Chalk Creek was sampled in its lower reaches above its confluence with Ladder Creek. The valley of Chalk Creek is cut into the Ogallala formation in its upper stretch and into the Niobrara formation as it flows eastward. No outcrops of the Pierre shale are adjacent to the stream. The analysis indicates definite affinities with the group of analyses representative of water in contact with the Niobrara formation (Fig. 11).

Ladder Creek

Ladder Creek has the softest and least mineralized water of the streams sampled. The creek has a perennial base flow from the Ogallala formation, into which it is deeply incised. One of the samples was collected above the confluence of the creek with Chalk and Twin Butte creeks. The plot of the analysis shows that the water is similar to that in the Ogallala (Fig. 11). The other sample was collected below the confluence of Chalk and Twin Butte creeks, and the noticeable increase in sulfate and concomitant reduction in the percentage of HCO₃ and CO₃ results from the inflow of the more mineralized water from the two smaller streams.

Smoky Hill River

The two samples of water from Smoky Hill River were collected at opposite ends of Logan County. The analysis of the sample collected from the western part of the county clearly shows the influence of water typical of the Pierre shale, which is exposed extensively upstream in Wallace County.

Farther east the valley of Smoky Hill River is cut into the chalk of the Niobrara formation. The analysis of the sample collected at Elkader shows that the water is of the type characteristic of the Niobrara (Fig. 11) and indicates the progressive influence of this formation as the stream flows eastward.

Twin Butte Creek

Twin Butte Creek was sampled during low stage at a point upstream from its confluence with Ladder Creek. Because the valley is cut into the Niobrara formation in the eastern part of the county, the stream contains water typical of the Niobrara formation (Fig. 11 ). It has a disagreeable salty taste and the analysis shows the water is extremely hard and mineralized.

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Kansas Geological Survey, Geology
Placed on web Dec. 14, 2007; originally published May, 1958.
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