Hydrology of the Bayou Bartholomew alluvial aquifer-stream system, Arkansas

Abstract

The study area comprises about 3,200 square miles of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain in southeast Arkansas. About 90 percent of the area drains south to the Ouachita River in Louisiana.The alluvial aquifer and the streams are hydraulically connected and are studied as an aquifer-stream system. Bayou Bartholomew is a principal stream of the system. The aquifer is underlain by confining strata of the J ackson Group and Cockfield Formation. The m ean annual surface-water yield of the area that drains to the Ouachita River basin is nearly 2 million acre-feet. Floodcontrol projects have significantly reduced flooding in the area. Basin boundaries and low-flow characteristics of streams have been altered as a result of the flood-control projects and streamflow diversion for irrigation. The direction of ground-water flow generally is southward. Bayou Bartholomew functions mostly as a drain for ground-water flow from the west and as a recharge source to the aquifer east of the bayou. As a result of navigation pools, the Arkansas River is mostly a steady-recharge source to the aquifer. Pumpage from the aquifer and streams increased from about 20,000 acre-feet in 1941 to 237,000 acre-feet in 1970. Estimates of flow, derived from analog analysis but lacking field verification, indicate that recharge to the aquifer in 1970 was about 161,000 acre-feet. About 70 percent of the recharge was by capture from streams as a result of ground-water pumpage. Discharge from the aquifer was about 233,000 acre-feet. About 80 percent of the discharge was through wells. Stream diversion in 1970 from capture and open channel, excluding capture from the Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers, was about 110,000 acre-feet. Return flow to streams from rice irrigation and fishponds was about 60,000 acre-feet. The chemical quality of streamflows is excellent for irrigation. Water from the aquifer generally ranges from permissible to excellent for irrigation. The use of water from the aquifer in the flood-plain area, exclusive of irrigation, is severely limited unless it is treated to remove the iron and reduce the hardness.

Occurrence, Distribution, Sources, and Trends of Elevated Chloride Concentrations in the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer in Southeastern Arkansas

“…Natural and artificial levees effectively prevent any drainage into the Mississippi River. The Bayou Bartholomew Basin is the largest of the three basins and has a drainage area of 1,480 mi 2 , which is greater than the combined drainage area of 1,280 mi 2 for Boeuf River (780 mi 2 ) and Bayou Macon (500 mi 2 ) (Broom and Reed, 1973). Although some farming takes place on the upland terraces of Ashley, Drew, Jefferson, and Lincoln Counties, silviculture dominates the land use in this area and most of the irrigation wells are completed in the flood-plain deposits of the study area (Kresse and Fazio, 2002).…”

“…West of Bayou Bartholomew, the flat-lying alluvial plain rises abruptly onto an elevated terrace of Pleistocene deposits ( fig. 2) 20 feet or more above the flood-plain surface (Broom and Reed, 1973). In the southeastern part of Chicot County, another prominent feature stands out against the flood-plain deposits.…”

“…However, they noted that there were many wells with the same elevated concentrations that were separated from the river by water of lower background quality, and stated that there was no satisfactory explanation for the poorer water-quality type. Broom and Reed (1973) reported on hydrologic conditions in the entire study area with a brief discussion on water quality. The authors, similar to Onellion and Criner (1955), attributed elevated chloride concentrations in Chicot County to possible upward flow of water from underlying Tertiary formations (table 1), although they noted that water from the upper Claiborne aquifer yielded satisfactory water for domestic and municipal water supply in eastern and northern Chicot County.…”

Summary of hydrology of the regional aquifer systems, Gulf Coastal Plain, south-central United States

“…Subsequently, analog models were used to simulate ground-water flow relative to specific problems at several locations, such as water-level declines in the Sparta Sand in the northern Mississippi embayment (Reed, 1972); streamaquifer interactions in Arkansas (Broom and Reed, 1973); the effects of recharge wells on the potentiometric surface of aquifers in the vicinity of the Houston, Tex., ship channel (Jorgensen, 1973); and declines in the potentiometric surfaces of aquifers in the Houston District, Texas, in response to alternative locations and magnitudes of ground-water withdrawals (Jorgensen, 1975;Jorgensen and Gabrysch, 1974).…”

Geohydrologic units of the Gulf Coastal Plain in Arkansas

“…Broom and Lyford (1981, p. 30) discuss a local area near Brinkley (Monroe County) where the alluvial aquifer contains as much as 1,500 mg/L dissolved solids. Broom and Reed (1973) report the occurrence of saltwater in Desha, Lincoln and Chicot Counties. A more detailed study of the occurrence of saltwater in Desha, Lincoln and Chicot Counties was conducted by Fitzpatrick (1985).…”