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Electrical Resistivity Studies to Delimit Zones of Acceptable Ground Water Quality |
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| Authors: | Clyde A Ringstad Dale C Bugenig |
| Abstract: | A total of four vertical electrical soundings were conducted in a layered andesitic rock aquifer known in places to yield ground water with total dissolved solids (TDS) in excess of 2,000 milligrams per liter (mg/L). The objective of the soundings was to locate zones of moderate to high permeability but with acceptable chemical quality. The resistivity of a geologic unit is a function that includes the quantity of total dissolved solids in the interstitial water and the distribution of the water within the unit. Thus, the resistivity of most granular soils and rocks is controlled more by porosity, water content and water quality than by the conductivity of the matrix materials. The electrical data delimited a drill site where it was believed that ground water of acceptable chemical quality could be expected. Completion and test pumping of two exploration wells confirmed the electrical sounding results. The first test well drilled prior to the survey yielded only small amounts of ground water with total dissolved solids in excess of 2,000 mg/L. The second exploration well drilled at the site as a result of the electrical study yielded in excess of 100 gallons per minute of ground water with total dissolved solids of 830 mg/L. |
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