KGS--Sandstone Aquifers in Southwestern Kansas--Introduction

Prev Page--Contents || Next Page--Geology

Introduction

Economic stability and growth in southwestern Kansas depend on the continued availability of ground water for irrigation and other uses. The production of food and fiber from irrigated land in this region is of major significance to the economic well-being of Kansas and the nation. However, ground-water supplies for irrigation from the Ogallala Formation, the principal aquifer in western Kansas, are being depleted because water is being withdrawn at a rate many times faster than it is being replenished by recharge. Sandstone aquifers in underlying consolidated bedrock of Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous age are being developed to varying degrees for stock, domestic, industrial, and irrigation supplies in certain parts of southwestern Kansas. However, based on present information, the sandstone aquifers have significantly greater potential for additional development.

The study area for this report includes all or parts of 26 counties in southwestern Kansas (fig. 1). The area comprises approximately 17,400 mi² and is bounded on the north by the Smoky Hill River, on the west by Colorado, on the south by Oklahoma, and on the east by the Arkansas River and Barton, Clark, and Kiowa counties.

Figure 1--Location of study area, wells, test holes, and other data sites.

Map of southwestern Kansas showing locations of wells and test holes.

This report presents the results of a geohydrologic study of the sandstone aquifers of Permian, Jurassic, and Cretaceous age in southwestern Kansas conducted in cooperation with the Kansas Geological Survey and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The report includes a description of the aquifers and their properties and the chemical characteristics of the ground water from these aquifers. In previous county and state studies, the sandstone units commonly were undifferentiated and were included in a single geohydrologic unit known as the "sandstone aquifer." Because an excessive amount of shale and siltstone also was included in this "aquifer," erroneous conclusions possibly could have been made as to the potential for development of water supplies from this "sandstone aquifer." For a summary of selected reports where the "sandstone aquifer" is addressed, see table 1.

Table 1--Summary of sandstone-aquifer data from selected previous reports. (Thickness is given in feet and is the stratigraphic unit thickness. Yield is given in gallons per minute. Depth to top of aquifer is given in feet. Asterisks [*] indicate units included in the "sandstone aquifer"; "Yes" indicates that the unit yields potable water to wells, but marginal for most uses; "No" indicates that the unit does not yield potable water to wells.)

Sandstone aquifers			Finney County	Grant and Stanton counties	Gray County	Greeley and Wichita counties	Hamilton County	Haskell County	Hodgeman and northern Ford counties	Kearny County	Lane and Scott counties	Ness County	Rush County	Trego County	Kansas
Sandstone aquifers			Gutentag, Lobmeyer, McGovern, and Long, 1972	Fader, Gutentag, Lobmeyer, and Meyer, 1964	McGovern and Long, 1974	Slagle and Weakly, 1976	Lobmeyer and Sauer, 1974	Gutentag and Stullken, 1974	Lobmeyer and Weakly, 1979	Gutentag, Lobmeyer, and McGovern, 1972	Gutentag and Stullken, 1976	Jenkins and Pabst, 1977	McNellis, 1973	Hodson, 1965	Keene and Bayne, 1977
Upper Cretaceous
	Codell Sandstone Member of the Carlile Shale
		Thickness											4	3-5
		Yield				5-10					5-10		0	small amount
Lower Cretaceous			*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
		Thickness	120-460		300-400	300-500	3S0	0-260		210-380	300-680	260-690	5-500	150-250	0-850
		Yield	30-1,000	500	1,000	30-300			100-2.200	30-300	30-300	20-800			100-2,000
	Dakota Formation		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
		Thickness		0-135					100-450			150-300	200-300	150-250	2-330
		Yields potable water to wells	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
	Kiowa Formation		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*		*		*
		Thickness		0-150					160-250			60-170	100-125		100-380
		Yields potable water to wells						Yes	No				No		No
	Cheyenne Sandstone		*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*		*
		Thickness		0-120					20-300			50-220	25-100		33-300
		Yields potable water to wells	Yes	Yes		Yes		Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No		No
Upper Jurassic			*	*	*	*	*	*		*	*
		Thickness	50-350	0-130	100-200	0-200	130-230	0-160		130-230	0-200
		Yield	30-300							30-300
Upper Permian
		Thickness	200-500	160	500		350-500	200-400		350-500			600-700
		Yields potable water to wells	No	No	No		No	No	No	No
"Sandstone Aquifer"
		Depth to top of aquifer	300-800	70-500		600-1,500	0-800	300-600	100-350	0-700	530-1,060	100-700	80-530	300-1,000	100-2,600
		Thickness, including interbedded shale	300-650	450	400-600	400-550	350-500	0-400		350-500	430-710	260-690	70-500	150-250	0-850
		Yield	30-1,000	500-1,000	1,000	30-300	10-400	30-1,000	100-2,200	30-300	30-300	20-800	5-500		100-2,000

For this study, 15 observation wells were drilled for a total of 6,340 ft, and 20 piezometers were installed (fig. 1). The wells were constructed with plastic or steel pipe and screens. No sand pack was put into the hole. Air lift was used to develop some observation wells.

Data collection included the sampling and description of well cuttings from these wells (table 7), measuring ground-water levels from piezometers (table 8), and collecting water samples from wells for chemical analysis (table 9). Also borehole geophysical logs were run in the completed test holes. Tables 7-9 are given at the end of this report.

Selected electrical and nuclear logs of oil and gas test wells in southwestern Kansas were used to define and correlate geologic formations in the study area. Data from previous studies and logs of water wells were compiled and analyzed.

The geohydrologic data from this study are described in two reports prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey (Kume and Spinazola, 1982; 1983). These data complement and are the documentation for this report.

Acknowledgments

This report is the product of a cooperative study during 1976-79 conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Kansas Geological Survey and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

Drillers' well logs were furnished by various commercial drillers, including Layne Western Co., Henkle Drilling and Supply Co., Inc., and Minter-Wilson Drilling Co.

Appreciation is expressed to the landowners who allowed access to their property for test drilling, observation-well construction, hydrologic measurements, and water-sample collection. Special thanks are expressed to the farmers, ranchers, and other individuals who provided information and assistance for this study.

Purpose and scope

The purpose of the investigation was 1) to define the geologic formations in which sandstone aquifers occur, 2) to describe the geohydrology of the sandstone aquifers, and 3) to describe the chemical characteristics of ground water in the sandstone aquifers and the suitability of the water for common uses.

The sandstone aquifers described in this report were limited to those that occur in the Upper Permian Series, the Upper Jurassic Series, and the Lower and Upper Cretaceous Series (table 2). These stratigraphic intervals were selected because they include those sandstones that contain or may contain freshwater. However, the Permian formations that subcrop beneath Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks may contain moderately saline to briny water in some areas of southwestern Kansas. The classification and nomenclature of the rock units in this report are those of the Kansas Geological Survey and differ somewhat from those of the U.S. Geological Survey.

Table 2--Generalized section of geologic formations and their hydrologic characteristics (classification and nomenclature used in this report are those of the Kansas Geological Survey and differ somewhat from those of the U.S. Geological Survey).

System	Series	Formation	Member	Range of Thickness (feet)	Physical Character	Water Supply
Quaternary	Pleistocene		Loess and dune sand	0-100	Silt and fine sand, mostly eolian. Mantles most of the uplands and masks much of the valley walls.	Most of the deposits are above the water table. Locally aquifer yields from 5 to 10 gal/min to wells.
			Alluvium	0-80	Stream-laid deposits ranging from sand and gravel to silt and clay. Occurs along principal stream valleys.	Generally above the water table. Locally aquifer yields from 10 to 500 gal/min to wells.
			Undifferentiated deposits	0-200	Sand and medium to very coarse gravel, interbedded with clay, silt, fine sand, and caliche.	Principal unconsolidated aquirer in central Scott County. Yields ranged from 250 to 1,500 gal/min to irrigation wells.
Tertiary	Miocene- Pliocene	Ogallala Formation		0-350	Sand, gravel, silt, clay, and caliche, commonly unconsolidated. Locally cemented by calcium carbonate (lime) or silica (opal) into mortar beds. Contains freshwater limestone beds.	Principal unconsolidated aquifer in most of study area. Aquifer yields from 100 to 2,500 gal/min to irrigation wells .
Cretaceous	Upper	Niobrara Chalk	Smoky Hill Chalk	0-700	Chalk and chalky shale, gray to yellow, with interbedded shale. Limonitic concretions.	Consolidated aquifer, but not known to yield significant amounts of water to wells in most areas. In southwestern Scott County, where rocks have been fractured, the aquifer yields as much as 1,000 gal/min to wells. In Finney County, where solution cavities are present, the aquifer yields as much as 800 gal/min.
		Niobrara Chalk	Fort Hays Limestone	0-65	Limestone, chalky, white and yellow to gray, with chalky light- to dark-gray shale beds.
		Carlile Shale	Codell Sandstone	0-25	Sandstone, fine-grained, silty. Locally shaly.	Sandstone aquifer that may yield 5-10 gal/min in a few areas.
			Blue Hill Shale	0-200	Shale, clayey, blocky to fissile, dark-gray.	Not known to yield significant amounts of water to wells. In a few areas, the Greenhorn Limestone may yield 5-10 gal/min to wells. Generally considered a confining layer in most of study area.
			Fairport Chalk	0-150	Shale, chalky, bluish-gray to gray, with chalky limestone and thin bentonite beds throughout member.
		Greenhorn Limestone		0-135	Limestone, chalky, light- to dark-gray, and yellowish-gray to light-gray shale.
		Graneros Shale		0-65	Shale, calcareous, dark-gray; interbedded with noncalcareous black shale, gray limestone, and silty fine-grained sandstone.
	Upper	Dakota Formation		0-580	Sandstone, fine- to medium-grained, white, gray, and brown; interbedded with shale and siltstone. Contains lignite.	Principal sandstone aquifer in study area; yields 30-2,200 gal/min to wells. The Kiowa Formation is generally considered a confining layer in the study area. Water from wells in Cheyenne aquifer may not be potable in some areas. Untested in many places.
		Kiowa Formation		0-190	Shale, light-gray to black, with interbedded thin limestone beds and, locally, sandstones.
		Cheyenne Sandstone		0-245	Sandstone, very fine to medium-grained, mostly fine-grained, white, brown, and gray, with interbedded dark-gray shale.
Jurassic	Upper	Undifferentiated rocks		0-247	Shale, sandy, calcareous, green, with noncalcareous gray shale, limestone lenses, and fine-grained silty sandstone.
Permian	Upper	Big Basin ("Taloga") Formation		0-45	Shale, silty, red, with siltstone, dolomite, and very fine grained feldspathic sandstone.	Sandstone aquifer, but not known to yield potable water to wells. Untested in many places.
		Day Creek Dolomite		0-3	Dolomite, light-gray to pink, dense.	May yield potable water to wells in isolated areas. Untested in many places.
		Whitehorse Formation		0-270	Sandstone, siltstone, and feldspathic red shale. Minor amount of dolomite.	Sandstone aquifer, but not known to yield potable water to wells. Untested in many places.

Well-numbering system

The well-numbering system, as shown in fig. 2, gives the location of a well or test hole according to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's system of land subdivision. In this system, the first set of digits of a well number indicates the township; the second set, the range east or west of the Sixth Principal Meridian; and the third set, the section in which the well or test hole is located. The first letter after the section number denotes the quarter section or 160-acre tract; the second, the quarter-quarter section or 40-acre tract; and the third, the quarter-quarter-quarter section or 10-acre tract. The 160-, 40-, and 10-acre tracts are designated A, B, C, or D in a counterclockwise direction, beginning in the northeast quadrant. Multiple well or test-hole locations within a 10-acre tract are assigned consecutive numbers, beginning with "1," in the order in which data were collected. When only one well is present in a 10-acre tract, that "1" is frequently omitted. Thus, in Finney County, the number 23-28W-5DCC means that the well is in the SW SW SE sec. 5, T. 23 S., R. 28 W.

Figure 2--Well-numbering system.

Well 5dcc is also known as SW SW SE sec 5 (a = NE, b = NW, c = SW. d = SE).

Prev Page--Contents || Next Page--Geology

Kansas Geological Survey, Geohydrology
Placed on web June 14, 2013; originally published 1985.
Comments to webadmin@kgs.ku.edu
The URL for this page is http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Publications/Bulletins/IRR8/02_intro.html