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Utilization of Ground Water
Ground water is obtained from hundreds of stock and domestic wells, records of 161 of which are included in this report, and several public-supply wells.
Public Supplies
Carbondale
The Carbondale water supply is derived from two wells. One well (15-14-24db) near the intersection of Main Street and the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad is a large dug well 12 feet in diameter and 71 feet deep. It is cased with concrete to a depth of 54 feet and has a natural rock wall the remainder of the depth. It is equipped with a cylinder pump and a 5-horsepower electric motor. In November 1953 the well was yielding less than half a gallon a minute.
The second well (15-14-24dc), about 0.5 mile south of the first, is reported to be a 6-inch drilled well 110 feet deep. It is equipped with a cylinder pump powered by a three-quarters horsepower electric motor set to pump continuously at a rate of one-half gallon a minute. Water from this well is pumped into the large dug well (15-14-24db) from which water is pumped to a 55,000 gallon elevated steel reservoir for distribution.
During most of 1953 the two wells did not supply adequately more than one-fourth to three-fourths of the municipal water requirements, the remainder being hauled by railroad tank car from Topeka, Kansas.
A chemical analysis of the water is given in Table 4.
Overbrook
The City of Overbrook is supplied by two drilled wells about 4 1/2 miles east of the city in adjoining Douglas County. The east well (15-17-bad), 507 feet deep, is cased with 412.5 feet of 6 1/4-inch iron casing and has a natural rock wall (is uncased) for the remainder of the depth. Water is obtained from about 75 feet of the Tonganoxie sandstone member (Stranger formation). The west well (15-17-bac2), 497 feet deep, is cased with 417 feet of 6 1/4-inch iron casing and has a natural rock wall for the remainder of the depth. The Tonganoxie is the aquifer in this well also.
During the construction and testing of these wells, the east well is reported to have delivered 50 gallons a minute in a 36-hour pumping test with tubing set 200 feet from the bottom of the well, and the west well delivered 50 gallons a minute at the same pump setting in a 24-hour test. Each well is now equipped with a submersible turbine pump powered by a 7 1/2-horsepower electric motor, set to pump 35 gallons a minute. Water is pumped from the wells to an elevated 50,000-gallon steel reservoir at the east edge of town.
The water is of good quality, although slightly high in iron, as shown by the chemical analysis given in Table 4.
Quenemo
The water supply of Quenemo is obtained chiefly from two drilled wells completed in 1951 (17-17-10cc1 and 17-17-10cc2). Each well is reported to be 33 feet deep and to obtain water from about 6 feet of alluvial sand and gravel. The wells are cased with 8-inch iron casing and are equipped with electric turbine pumps. Each well yields about 35 gallons a minute.
One other city well (17-17-9da1) is available for emergency use. This well is an 8-inch drilled well 175 feet deep and obtains water from several feet of the Ireland sandstone member (Lawrence shale). It is equipped with a cylinder pump and a 5-horsepower electric motor. The capacity of the pump is greater than the capacity of the well; thus it can be pumped intermittently only and for short periods.
Two other city wells have been abandoned, one (17-17-9da2) because of low yield and the other (17-17-9dd) because the water is salty (Table 4).
Water is pumped from the well field to an elevated 38,000-gallon steel storage tank at the west edge of town.
A chemical analysis of the untreated water from well 17-17-10cc2 is given in Table 4.
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Kansas Geological Survey, Geology
Web version April 2002. Original publication date May 1955.
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