ALABAMA’S FUTURE WITHOUT SUSTAINABLE

WATER RESOURCES? NOT ON OUR WATCH

Marlon Cook

Geological Survey of Alabama

Groundwater Assessment Program

Sustainable Water Resources

• Sustainable Yield: “The water extraction

regime, measured over a specified

planning timeframe, that allows

acceptable levels of stress and protects

dependent economic, social, and

environmental values” (Australia

Department of the Environment, 2013).

Water resources should be managed in a

sustainable manner to support the State's

economy, to protect natural systems by

maintaining a safe yield and to enhance the

quality of life for all citizens.

“Sustainable manner” is defined as the use, development

and protection of water resources at a rate and in a

manner that enables people to meet their current needs

without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to

meet their needs.

“Safe yield” is the amount of water available for withdrawal

without impairing the long-term use of the water source,

including the chemical and physical integrity of the source.

California Water Management Indicators • Goal 1: Sustainable Water Management • Aquifer Declines

Number and estimated capacity of basins with years-long aquifer declines (known as overdraft) or projected future declines.

• Baseline Water Stress (WRI)

Baseline water stress measures total annual water withdrawals (municipal, industrial, and agricultural) expressed as a percent of the total annual available flow. Higher values indicate more competition among users. This indicator was used by the World Resources Institute in the Aqueduct 2.0 project.

• Benefits from Water Management

Equitable distribution of economic and health benefits from water management.

• Completion of Stewardship Actions

The completion of restoration recommendations and key actions during the implementation phase of the process.

• Drought Resilience

The maximum severity of drought during which core water demands can still be met, including social and environmental minimum requirements

• Ecological Footprint

The Ecological Footprint (EF) is a measure of the amount of biological productive land and sea area are required to meet the consumption and waste production patterns of a population or human process.

• Energy Requirements for Water Delivery

Energy required per unit of clean drinking water delivered.

• Equitable Decision-Making Process

Equitable decision-making process for water management, diversity of participating organizations.

• Flood Resilience

The maximum flood that can be experienced without exceeding some amount (e.g., $10 million) in damages.

• Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from land or water management, industrial/commercial activities, energy production, or transportation

• Groundwater Stress (WRI)

Groundwater stress measures the ratio of groundwater withdrawal relative to its recharge rate over a given aquifer. Values above one indicate where unsustainable groundwater consumption could affect groundwater availability and groundwater-dependent ecosystems. The indicator was used by the World Resources Institute (WRI) in the Aqueduct 2.0 project.

• Historical Drought Severity (WRI)

Drought severity measures the average length of droughts times the dryness of the droughts from 1901 to 2008. The indicator was used by the World Resources Institute in the Aqueduct 2.0 project.

California Water Management Indicators • Historical Flooding Occurrence (WRI)

Flood occurrence is the number of floods recorded from 1985 to 2011. The indicator was used by the World Resources Institute in the Aqueduct 2.0 project.

• Inter-annual Variability (WRI)

Inter-annual variability measures the variation in water supply between years. This indicator was used by the World Resources Institute in the Aqueduct 2.0 project.

• Participation in Local Stewardship

Participation rates in local stewardship by the local stakeholders such as municipalities, indigenous people, irrigation districts, community organizations, watershed associations, conservation groups, and stewardship groups.

• Potentially Unhealthy Water Supply

Number of people whose drinking water supply is potentially unhealthy.

• Storm Resilience

The maximum storm intensity that can occur without causing more than some amount (e.g., $10 million) in damages due to water infrastructure disruptions, including levees and floods

• Sustainable Water Usage

Annual withdrawal of ground and surface water as a percent of total annually renewable volume of freshwater.

• Water Demand

Total agricultural, residential, and commercial water demand, i.e. demand for all uses other than environmental needs and basic human drinking water requirements.

• Water Footprint

The water footprint is the sum of the water used directly or indirectly to produce goods and services consumed by humanity. Agricultural production accounts for most of global water use, but drinking, manufacturing, cooking, recreation, washing, cleaning, landscaping, cooling, and processing all contribute to water use.

• Water Risk (WRI)

Water Risk refers to the risk to water supplies from changes in climate and water withdrawals. The World Resources Institute used this indicator in the Aqueduct 2.0 project.

• Water Scarcity Index

Water scarcity is a function of water availability and water use

• Water Stress Index

Water stress index is typically defined as the relationship between total water use and water availability. The closer water use is to water supply, the more likely stress will occur in natural and human systems. This indicator has been used by the United Nations and others.

• Water Travel Distance

Distance traveled for units of drinking and irrigation water.

Urban

Water

Forest

Disturbed

Agriculture

Land Use/Land Cover Southeastern United States:

The Big Picture of Groundwater Availability and Demand. USGS GAP, 2007

Assessments for Water Resource Management

and Policy Development:

The Big Picture

Effective statewide water management is founded on a number of integrated components that include:

Acquisition of fundamental water resources data including: Water Availability Assessments—Determine how much water of sufficient quality is available

from surface and groundwater sources, current impacts of water production, quantities of

sustainable yield, and strategies for future water source development.

Consumptive Water Use Assessments—Determine how much water is currently used in

specified sectors of society, how much water is returned to the environment, forecasts of

future water use, and strategies for more efficient water production and use.

Instream Flow Assessments—Determine how much water should remain in surface

channels to support fish and wildlife and the functions of natural hydrologic systems, and

impacts of current and future climate and water production.

Establish statewide surface-water and groundwater monitoring networks including:

A comprehensive water resource monitoring network comprised of strategically located real-time

and periodic groundwater level, surface-water discharge, and precipitation

monitoring systems, designed to assess climate and water production impacts.

WHY IS

GROUNDWATER

IMPORTANT IN

ALABAMA?

Source of water-use data,

USGS-OWR Estimated Use of

Water in Alabama 2005

45% of public water supply

by volume is from

groundwater sources.

70% of the geographic area

of Alabama is supplied by

groundwater sources.

Surface water base flow =

10-20% of total discharge

Aquifers

Recharge

Areas

and

Confining

Layers

160

Geologic

Formations

17 Confining

Layers

14 Major

Aquifers

129 Minor

Aquifers

Alabama has

553 Trillion

Gallons of

Groundwater

State-Wide

Groundwater

Assessment

Areas

Surface Water

14 Major Watersheds

47,000 Miles of Perennial

Streams

563,000 Acres of Lakes

33.5 Trillion Gallons of

Surface-Water

42% of Alabama Surface

Water Originates from

Other States

Data from Auburn University

Water Resources Center

State-Wide

Surface-Water

Assessment

Areas

Generalized Stratigraphy

Southeast Alabama

Major Aquifers

Minor Aquifers

Potential New

Aquifer

Aquifer

Recharge

Areas

Components of Groundwater Recharge

Surface-water and Groundwater Interaction

Aquifer Recharge

Aquifer Recharge

Area (mi2) Million g/d Gallons/d/mi2 In/yr

Tuscaloosa Group 643 106.3 165,300 4.4

Eutaw Formation 445 121.9 273,900 5.8

Cusseta Member

Ripley Formation 267 32.9 123,200 2.6

Ripley Formation 453 61.8 136,400 2.9

Providence Formation 569 29.0 51,000 1.1

Clayton Formation 461 78.3 169,800 3.7

Nanafalia Formation 563 133.9 237,800 5.0

Lisbon and Tallahatta

Formations 1,129 269.9 239,100 5.0

Crystal River Formation 1,683 408.4 242,700 5.1

Unconfined or partially confined recharge for aquifers in the

Southeast Alabama pilot project area

Aquifer

Transvissivity

(ft2/d)

Thickness

(ft)

Hydraulic

Gradient (ft/mi)

Recharge

(million gal/d)

Gordo Formation 3,000 175 3.3 6.5

Ripley Formation 7,500 100 11.4 37.8

Clayton Formation 10,000 150 7.5 48.1

Nanafalia Formation 4,470 50 8.3 24.6

Confined recharge for selected aquifers in the

Southeast Alabama pilot project area

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450

Tuscaloosa Group/Gordo

Eutaw

Providence

Cusetta

Ripley

Clayton

Nanafalia

Crystal River

Aquifer

Recharge (Mgd)Confined Recharge Volume

Unconfined Recharge Volume

Recharge volumes for unconfined and confined zones of

major aquifers in the southeast Alabama project area

Groundwater in Subsurface Storage

Aquifer

Average

effective

porosity

(percent)

Confined

aquifer area

(fresh water)

(mi2)

Aquifer

potential

productive

interval

thickness

(ft)

Storativity

Available groundwater in

storage

(million ft3) (million gal)

Lower

Cretaceous 28 2,400 350 0.0000044 294.4 2,202.4

Coker Formation 32 4,500 210 0.0000026 293.6 2,196.1

Eutaw and

Gordo

Formations

36 4,000 175 0.0000030 281.0 2,102.3

Ripley Formation 30* 4,600 100 0.0000013 58.4 436.5

Clayton

Formation and

Salt Mountain

Limestone

40* 1,980 325 0.0000019 124.5 931.2

Nanafalia

Formation 30* 2,900 50

0.0000006

2 15.6 116.5

Storativity, related aquifer characteristics, and available groundwater in

storage for major confined aquifers in the project area

When storativity is multiplied by the surface area overlying an aquifer and the average

hydraulic head above the stratigraphic top of a confined aquifer, the product is the

volume of available groundwater in storage in a confined aquifer (Fetter, 1994):

Vw = SA h

_____________

7.9 billion gallons

Groundwater Use, Recharge, and

Subsurface Storage

10

100

1000

10000

Total groundwateruse

Confined aquiferrecharge

Groundwater insubsurface storage

78

117

7,869

Groundwater (millions gallons)

Millions of gallons per day

Initial

Potentiometric

Surface

Map

Clayton

Aquifer

Pre 1970

Current

Potentiometric

Surface

Map

Clayton

Aquifer

Production

Impact

Map

Aquifer

Range of

residual

drawdown

(feet)

Average

capture zone

area

(mi2)

Optimum well spacing

(miles)

Along strike of

hydraulic gradient

direction

Up or down

gradient

direction

Gordo 0-154 1.9 1.5 2.0

Ripley 0-149 2.6 1.0 2.5

Clayton 0-204 2.0 1.0 2.0

Nanafalia 0-189 1.2 1.0 2.0

Tallahatta 1-119 0.5 1.0 1.5

Tuscahoma 31-119 3.5 1.5 2.5

Lisbon 0-33 0.6 1.0 1.0

Crystal River 0-27 1.0 1.0 1.0

Well capture zone and spacing data for

southeast Alabama aquifers

Aquifer Decline Curve Analysis

Water level

decline rate = 4.9 ft/yr

150

155

160

165

170

175

180

185

190

10/2

3/19

78

10/2

8/19

87

7/1/

2003

11/1

/200

3

12/1

/200

3

7/1/

2004

11/1

/200

4

10/1

/200

5

11/1

/200

5

7/1/

2006

11/1

/200

6

7/1/

2007

11/1

/200

7

12/1

/200

7

7/1/

2008

12/1

/200

8

7/1/

2009

11/1

/200

9

7/1/

2010

11/1

/201

0

7/1/

2011

11/1

/201

1

7/1/

2012

11/1

/201

2

7/1/

2013

Measurement Date

Wate

r le

vel

(feet,

belo

w l

and s

urf

ace)

Initial Static Water Level

(1978-2003) Water Level Decline = 36.0 feet

Rate of Water Level Decline = 1.4 feet per year

(2003-2013) Water Level Increase = 16.0 feet

Rate of Water Level Increase = 1.6 feet per year

Hydrograph of Pike County well L-01, a public supply well constructed in the

Ripley aquifer to a depth of 544 ft, screened from 526 to 544 ft bls.

180

190

200

210

220

230

240

250

260

270

280

290

300

310

320

330

1/1/

1954

10/2

3/19

85

3/29

/198

9

10/1

0/19

91

10/1

2/19

94

10/6

/199

8

3/1/

2000

8/1/

2000

12/1

/200

0

7/1/

2001

12/1

/200

1

5/1/

2002

10/1

/200

2

2/1/

2003

10/1

/200

3

3/1/

2004

8/1/

2004

3/1/

2005

8/1/

2005

1/1/

2006

6/1/

2006

10/1

1/20

06

4/1/

2007

9/1/

2007

3/1/

2008

10/1

/200

8

8/1/

2009

9/1/

2010

4/1/

2011

9/1/

2011

3/1/

2012

10/1

/201

2

5/1/

2013

Measurement Date

Wat

er l

evel

(fee

t, b

elo

w l

and

su

rfac

e)

Initial Static Water Level

(2000-2013) Water Level Increase = 24.3 feet

Rate of Water Level Increase = 1.9 feet per year

(1954-2000) Water Level Decline = 128.3 feet

Rate of Water Level Decline = 2.8 feet per year

Hydrograph of Dale County well F-17, a public supply well constructed in the

Ripley aquifer to a depth of 813 ft, with the top of the screen 753 ft bls.

Net

Potential

Productive

Interval

Isopach

Map

Clayton

Aquifer

Net

Potential

Productive

Interval

Isopach

Map

Gordo

Aquifer

Alabama

Groundwater

For

Large-Scale

Irrigation

Hydrograph of Crystal River aquifer irrigation

well X-2, Houston County, Alabama.

105

110

115

120

125

130

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Measurement date

Wa

ter

leve

l e

leva

tio

n (

ft a

msl)

Average April

water level

Average October

water level

Benefits of Water Resource Sustainability

• Plentiful public water supply

• Sustained and maximized agricultural yields

• Adequate industrial process water

• Waste water assimilation and treatment

• Economic growth

• Habitat and species support

• Quality of life

Questions and Discussion ?

For more information:

Marlon Cook

Director, Groundwater Assessment Program

Geological Survey of Alabama

205-247-3692

www.gsa.state.al.us/