Hydrology and Land Use in Grand Traverse County, Michigan
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Authors
Cummings, T.R.
Gillespie, J.L.
Grannemann, N.G.
Issue Date
1990
Type
Book
Language
en_US
Subject
Alternative Title
Abstract
Glacial deposits are the sole source of ground-water supplies in Grand
Traverse County. These deposits range in thickness from 100 to 900 feet and
consist of till, outwash, and materials of lacustrine and eolian origin. In
some areas, the deposits fill buried valleys that are 500 feet deep.
Sedimentary rocks of Paleozoic age, which underlie the glacial deposits, are
mostly shale and are not used for water supply.
Of the glacial deposits, outwash and lacustrine sand are the most
productive aquifers. Most domestic wells obtain water from sand and gravel at
depths ranging from 50 to 150 feet and yield at least 20 gallons per minute.
Irrigation, municipal, and industrial wells capable of yielding 250 gallons
per minute or more are generally greater than 150 feet deep. At places in the
county where moranial deposits contain large amounts of interbedded silt and
clay, wells are generally deeper and yields are much lower.
Areal variations in the chemical and physical characteristics of ground
and surface water are related to land use and chemical inputs to the
hydrologic system. Information on fertilizer application, septic-tank
discharges, animal wastes, and precipitation indicate that AO percent of
nitrogen input is from precipitation, 6 percent from septic tanks, 14 percent
from animal wastes, and 40 percent from fertilizers.
Streams and lakes generally have a calcium bicarbonate-type water. The
dissolved-solids concentration of streams ranged from 116 to 380 milligrams
per liter, and that of lakes, from 47 to 170 milligrams per liter. Water of
streams is hard to very hard; water of lakes ranges from soft to hard. The
maximum total nitrogen concentration found in streams was 4.4 milligrams per
liter. Water of lakes have low nitrogen concentrations; the median nitrate
concentration is less than 0.01 milligrams per liter. Pesticides (Parathion
and Simazine) were detected in low concentrations at six stream sites; 2,4-D
was detected in low concentrations in water of two lakes. Relationships
between land use and the yield of dissolved and suspended substances could not
be established for most stream basins.
Calcium and bicarbonate are the principal dissolved substances in ground
water. Dissolved-solids concentrations ranged from 70 to 700 milligrams per
liter; the countywide mean concentration is 230 milligrams per liter. The
mean nitrate concentration is 1.3 milligrams per liter; about 1.6 percent of
the countynulls ground water has nitrate concentrations that exceed the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agencynulls maximum drinking water level of
10 milligrams per liter. An effect of fertilizer applications on ground-water
quality is evident in some parts of the county.
Description
Citation
Publisher
U.S. Geological Survey