USING GIS TO EVALUATE AND DISPLAY GROUNDWATER RESOURCES RUSSELL COUNTY, ALABAMA

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USING GIS TO EVALUATE AND DISPLAY GROUND-WATER
RESOURCES RUSSELL COUNTY, ALABAMA
Prepared for the Russell County Water
AuthorityJames Robinson and Jacob
PierceGoodwyn, Mills and Cawood, Inc.September
11, 2009

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• RECENT DROUGHT CONDITIONS HAVE
• EMPHASIZED THE VULNERABILITY OF
• SURFACE-WATER SOURCES TO
• SHORT-TERM RAINFALL DEFICITS ..

Drought threatens Ala. city's water Water Intake
Deepened
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• ONE OF THE VITAL DECISIONS MADE BY A WATER
  SYSTEM, OR ITS CONSULTANT, IS THE SELECTION OF A
  DRILL SITE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PRODUCTION
  WELL.
• CRITICAL FACTORS THAT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED
  BEFORE DRILLING INCLUDE
• DEPTH TO AQUIFER
• POTENTIAL YIELD
• PROBABLE WATER QUALITY
• PROXIMITY TO EXISTING DISTRIBUTION
  SYSTEM
• STORAGE CAPACITY
• USAGE

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• AND YET WATER RESOURCES INFORMATION IS
  TYPICALLY PRESENTED IN A FORMAT EASILY
  INTERPRETED BY SCIENTISTS OR CONSULTANTS
• NOT OUR CLIENTS

-300
-400
-500
-600
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THE EVALUATION OF THE WATER RESOURCES OF
RUSSELL COUNTY WAS ENHANCED, AND MORE EASILY
EXPLAINED THROUGH THE USE OF GIS TO DISPLAY THE
DATA
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HYDROGEOLOGIC SECTIONS WERE USED TO IDENTIFY
AQUIFERS WITHIN FORMATONS
Modified from Scott, 1964
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gt1,100
GIS WAS USED TO PRODUCE MAPS OF DEPTH BELOW LAND
SURFACE TO FORMATION TOPS
Shown Depth Below Land surface To top of
Tuscaloosa Formation
lt100
300500
500700
Also included Eutaw and Basement
9001,000
700900
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DATASETS INCLUDED

• GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA DIGITAL GEOLOGIC
  DATA
• COUNTYWIDE USGS DIGITAL ELEVATION MODEL (DEM)
• PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SUPPLY WELL DATA DEVELOPED IN
  HOUSE
• US CENSUS BUREAU HYDROLOGIC DATA

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DATA PROCESSING

• CONTOURS FOR DEPTH BELOW MEAN SEA LEVEL WERE
  DERIVED FROM WELL LOG AND GEOPHYSICAL LOG
  INFORMATION
• DEPTHS BELOW LAND SURFACE ELEVATION TO FORMATION
  TOPS WERE THEN CALCULATED AND ANALYZED FROM THE
  DIGITAL ELEVATION MODEL
• FINAL RASTER DATASETS DEPICTED DEPTH BELOW LAND
  SURFACE TO FORMATION TOPS
• This value corresponds directly with the
  economic impact of drilling.

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DATA WAS MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH INTERACTIVE
PDFs
ACCESSIBLE INORMATION INCLUDED SUPPLY WELL
INFORMATION GEOLOGIC DATA RASTER DATA DEPICTING
DEPTH BELOW LAND SURFACE TO FORMATION TOP
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FINAL PRODUCT EXAMPLES
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AREAS RECCOMMENDED FOR TEST DRILLING
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NEW DEVELOPMENTS

• COMPREHENSIVE WATER SYSTEM GIS INVENTORY
  RECENLTLY COMPLETED AUGUST 25, 2009
• STORAGE CAPACITY, EXISTING WELL LOCATIONS, WATER
  MAINS, AND OTHER DATA CAN NOW BE INTEGRATED TO
  HELP IN THE SITE SELECTION PROCESS
• BETTER INFORMATION, BETTER DECISIONS LEAD TO
  BETTER RESULTS

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INTEGRATED GIS PRODUCT FOR THE RCWA
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WATER SYSTEM GIS SUMMARY

• 413 MILES OF DISTRIBUTION MAIN
• 4 PRODUCTION WELLS
• 520 FIRE HYDRANTS
• 1384 VALVES
• 7 STORAGE TANKS TOTALING 2.51 MILLION GALLONS
• BASED ON INVENTORIED LINEAR FOOTAGES AND LINE
  SIZES, THE SYSTEM POSSESSES 3.25 MILLION GALLONS
  OF WATER STORED IN THE LINE!

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THE INTEGRATION OF DEPTH TO AQUIFER, YIELD,
WATER-QUALITY, AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM ON A
SINGLE MAP, ENABLES THE SELECTION OF THE BEST
SITE FOR TEST WELLS AND THE MOST EFFICIENT USE
OF FINANCIAL RESOURCES