USGS--Water Resources of the United States

Water resources of the Memphis area have been studied since the early 1900's. Researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey, State agencies, and Universities have produced many reports describing the geology, ground-water hydrology, ground-water levels and flow, and the water quality of the aquifers in the Memphis area, in West Tennessee, and in Arkansas and Mississippi. Reports that are currently available on-line are listed below. The reports are listed by report series and date.

Additional information and reports may be accessed through the publications link for the USGS Water Science Centers in Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee.

Water Resources Investigations

WRI 76-0004: Summary of some current and possible future environmental problems related to geology and hydrology at Memphis, Tennessee, by W.S. Parks and R.W. Lounsbury

WRI 77-0132: Preliminary Evaluation of Flood Frequency Relations in the Urban Areas of Memphis, Tennessee, by C.W. Boning

WRI 80-0054: Appraisal of hydrologic information needed in anticipation of lignite mining in Lauderdale County, Tennessee, by W.S. Parks

WRI 83-4011: Preliminary delineation and description of the regional aquifers of Tennessee - tertiary aquifer system, by J.V. Brahana, M.W. Bradley, and Dolores Mulderink

WRI 83-4039: Preliminary delineation and description of the regional aquifers of Tennessee -- The Cretaceous Aquifer System of West Tennessee, by J.V. Brahana, Dolores Mulderink, and M.W. Bradley

WRI 84-4074A: Drought-related impacts on municipal and major self-supplied industrial water withdrawals in Tennessee, Part A, by F.M. Alexander, L.A. Keck, L.G. Conn and S.J. Wentz

WRI 84-4074B: Drought-related impacts on municipal and major self-supplied industrial water withdrawals in Tennessee -- Part B, by F.M. Alexander, L.A. Keck, L.G. Conn, and S.J. Wentz

WRI 84-4110: Flood frequency and storm runoff of urban areas of Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee, by B.L. Neely, Jr.

WRI 84-4104: Preliminary assessment of ground-water resources of Lauderdale County, Tennessee, by W.S. Parks, J.K. Carmichael and D.D. Graham

WRI 85-4097: Hydrology of the Reelfoot Lake Basin, Obion and Lake Counties, by Clarence H. Robbins

WRI 85-4295: Potential for leakage among principal aquifers in the Memphis area, Tennessee, by D.D. Graham and W.S. Parks

WRI 87-4000: Hydrogeology and preliminary assessment of regional flow in the upper crataceous and adjacent aquifers in the Northern Mississippi embayment, by J.V. Brahana and T.O. Mesko

WRI 87-4052: Quality of water from freshwater aquifers and principal well fields in the Memphis area, Tennessee, by J.V. Brahana, W.S. Parks and M.W. Gaydos

WRI 88-4180: Altitude of potentiometric surface, fall 1985, and historic water-level changes in the Memphis aquifer in Western Tennessee, by W.S. Parks and J.K. Carmichael

WRI 88-4181: Geology and ground-water resources of the cockfield formation in Western Tennessee, by W.S. Parks and J.K. Carmichael

WRI 88-4182: Geology and ground-water resources of the Memphis Sand in western Tennessee, by W.S. Parks and J.K. Carmichael

WRI 89-4048: Altitude of potentiometric surface, fall 1985, and historic water-level changes in the Fort Pillow aquifer in western Tennessee, by W.S. Parks and J.K. Carmichael

WRI 89-4131: Hydrogeology and ground-water flow in the Memphis and Fort Pillow Aquifers in the Memphis Area, Tennessee, by J.V. Brahana and R.E. Broshears

WRI 89-4120: Geology and ground-water resources of the Fort Pillow sand in western Tennessee, by W.S. Parks and J.K. Carmichael

WRI 89-4201: A pilot study for delineations of areas contributing water to wellfields at Jackson, Tennessee, by R.E. Broshears, J.F. Connell and N.C. Short

WRI 90-4041: Potential effects of dredging the South Fork Obion River on ground-water levels near Sidonia, Weakley County, Tennessee, by Patrick Tucci and G.E. Hileman

WRI 90-4075: Ground-water hydrology and the effects of vertical leakage and leachate migration on ground-water quality near the Shelby County landfill, Memphis, Tennessee, by M.W. Bradley

WRI 90-4064: Reconnaissance of the occurrence of agricultural chemicals in ground water in Haywood, Lake, Obion and Shelby Counties, Tennessee, by Dorothea Withington Hanchar

WRI 90-4092: Hydrogeolgy and preliminary assessment of the potential for contamination of the Memphis aquifer in the Memphis area, Tennessee, by W.S. Parks

WRI 90-4139: Surficial geology of the Cane Creek Basin, Lauderdale County, Tennessee, by J.H. Miller

WRI 90-4137: Delineation of ground-water contamination using soil-gas analyses near Jackson, Tennessee, by Roger W. Lee

WRI 91-4022: Hydrogeology, water quality, and potential for transport of organochlorine pesticides in ground water at the North Hollywood Dump, Memphis, Tennessee, by R.E. Broshears and M.W. Bradley

WRI 91-4031: Nonpoint-source pollutant discharges of the three major tributaries to Reelfoot Lake, West Tennessee, October 1987 through September 1989, by M.E. Lewis, J.W. Garrett and A.B. Hoos

WRI 91-4173: Hydrogeology, ground-water quality, and potential for water-supply contamination near the Shelby County Landfill in Memphis, Tennessee, by W.S. Parks and J.E. Mirecki

WRI 91-4195: Public Water-supply systems and water use in Tennessee, by S.S. Hutson and A. Jannine Morris

WRI 92-4146: Hydrology of the Jackson, Tennessee, area and delineation of areas contributing ground water to the Jackson Well Fields, by Z.C. Bailey

WRI 97-4074: Bibliography of regional aquifer-system analysis program of the U.S. Geological Survey, 1978-96, by Ren Jen Sun, J.B. Weeks and H.F. Grubb

WRI 97-4223: Trends in nutrient concentration and load for streams in the Mississippi River Basin, 1974–94, by D.L. Lurry and D.D. Dunn

WRI 97-4228: Hydrogeologic framework and simulation of ground-water flow and travel time in the shallow aquifer system in the area of Naval Support Activity Memphis, Millington, Tennessee, by J.L. Robinson, J.K. Carmichael, K.J. Halford, and D.E. Ladd

WRI 99-4279: A retrospective analysis on the occurrence of arsenic in ground-water resources of the United States and limitations in drinking-water-supply characterizations, by M.J. Focazio, A.H. Welch, S.A. Watkins, D.R. Helsel, and M.A. Horn

WRI 00-4268: Simulation of projected water demand and ground-water levels in the Coffee Sand and Eutaw-McShan Aquifers in Union County, Mississippi, 2010 through 2050, by S.S. Hutson, E.W. Strom, D.E. Burt, and M.J. Mallory

WRI 03-4109: Recalibration of a ground-water flow model of the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer of northeastern Arkansas, 1918-1998, with simulations of water levels caused by projected ground-water withdrawals through 2049, by T.B. Reed

WRI 03-4132: Development and calibration of a ground-water flow model for the Sparta Aquifer of Southeastern Arkansas and North-Central Louisiana and simulated response to withdrawals, 1998-2027, by P.W. McKee, B.R. Clark, and J.B. Czarnecki

WRI 03-4200: Occurrence and implications of methyl tert-butyl ether and gasoline hydrocarbons in ground water and source water in the United States and in drinking water in 12 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States, 1993-2002, by M.J. Moran, J.S. Zogorski, and P.J. Squillace

WRI 03-4230: Conjunctive-use optimization model of the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer of Northeastern Arkansas, by J.B. Czamecki, B.R. Clark, and T.B. Reed

WRI 03-4231: Conjunctive-use optimization model and sustainable-yield estimation for the Sparta Aquifer of Southeastern Arkansas and North-Central Louisiana, by P.W. McKee, B.R. Clark, and J.B. Czarnecki

WRI 03-4232: Recalibration of a ground-water flow model of the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer in Southeastern Arkansas, 1918-1998, with simulations of hydraulic heads caused by projected ground-water withdrawals through 2049, by G.P. Stanton and B.R. Clark.

WRI 03-4233: Conjunctive-use optimization model of the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer of Southeastern Arkansas, by J.B. Czarnecki, B.R. Clark, and G.P. Stanton

WRI 03-4264: Public Water-Supply Systems and Associated Water Use in Tennessee, 2000 U.S. Geological Survey, Water-Resources Investigations Report 03-4264, by Ank Webbers

WRI 03-4284: Status of water levels in aquifers in the Nacatoch Sand of Southwestern and Northeastern Arkansas and the Tokio formation of Southwestern Arkansas, 2002, by T.P. Schrader and R.M. Scheiderer

SIR2004-5040: Hydrogeology and ground-water-flow simulation in the former airfield area of Naval Support Activity Mid-South, Millington, Tennessee, by C.J. Haugh, J.K. Carmichael, and D.E. Ladd

SIR2004-5129: Status of water levels and selected water-quality conditions in the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer in Eastern Arkansas, 2002, by T.B. Reed

SIR2004-5169: Potentiometric surfaces in the Cockfield and Wilcox Aquifers of Southern and Northeastern Arkansas, 2003, by D.S. Yeatts

SIR2004-5055: Status of water levels and selected water-quality conditions in the Sparta-Memphis Aquifer in Arkansas and the Sparta Aquifer in Louisiana, Spring-Summer 2001, by T.P. Schrader

Open-File Reports

Open-File Report 79-750: Susceptibility of the Memphis water supply to contamination from the pesticide waste disposal site in Northeastern Hardeman County, by D.R. Rima a href="http://pubs.water.usgs.gov/ofr81-223">Open-File Report 81-223: Chemical character of ground water in the shallow water-table aquifer at selected localities in the Memphis area, Tennessee, by W.S. Parks, D.D. Graham, and J.F. Lowery

Open-File Report 82-266: Installation and sampling of observation wells and analyses of water from the shallow aquifer at selected waste-disposal sites in the Memphis area, Tennessee, by W.S. Parks, D.D. Graham, and J.F. Lowery

Open-File Report 85-683: Ground-water quality data from the Northern Mississippi embayment - Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi, by J.V. Brahana, T.O. Mesko, J.F. Busby and T.F. Kraemer

Open-File Report 87-249: Construction, Geologic, and hydrologic data for observation wells in the Reelfoot Lake Area, Tennessee and Kentucky, by Michael W. Bradley

Open-File Report 88-309: Quality of ground water in shallow wells in agricultural areas of Haywood, Shelby, Lake, and Obion Counties, Tennessee, January and February 1988, by D.B. Withington

Open-File Report 88-485: Concentrations of selected trace inorganic constituents and synthetic organic compounds in the water-table aquifers in the Memphis area, Tennessee, by B.W. McMaster and W.S. Parks

Open-File Report 88-486: Construction, geologic, and ground-water data for observation wells near the Shelby County landfill, Memphis, Tennessee, by M.W. Bradley

Open-File Report 90-580: Reconnaissance investigation of volatile and semivolatile organic compounds in the Memphis aquifer at Alamo, Crockett County, Tennessee, by S.S. Hutson and C.J. Haugh

Open-File Report 92-166: Construction, lithologic, and hydrologic data for test wells in the Cedar Grove area, Carroll County, Tennessee, by S.E. Johnson and J.K. Carmichael

Open-File Report 93-643: What is ground water?, by D.W. Clark and D.W. Briar

Open-File Report 95-376: Ground-water quality protection--Why it's important to you, by Ank Webbers

Open-File Report 95-715: Hydrologic data at a wetland site, Millington, Shelby County, Tennessee, June 1993 through June 1994, by J.A. Robinson, T.H. Diehl and R.W. Stogner Sr.

Open-File Report 95-769: Ground-water-quality data for selected wells in the Beaver Creek watershed, West Tennessee, by S.D. Williams

Open-File Report 96-468: Hydrologic data for Wetland sites at Millington, Shelby County, and Huntingdon, Carroll, Tennessee, May 1994 through September 1995, by J.A. Robinson and T.H. Diehl

Open-File Report 97-221: Rainfall and water-level data for a wetland area near Millington, Shelby County, Tennessee, October 1995 through September 1996, by R.R. Knight

Open-File Report 98-078: Rainfall and water-level data for a wetland area near Millington, Shelby County, Tennessee, October 1996 through September 1997, by R.R. Knight

Open-File Report 03-047: Ground-water use by public water-supply systems in Tennessee, 2000, by Ank Webbers

HA 730: Ground Water Atlas of the United States (The series consists of 13 chapters which describe the ground-water resources of regional areas that collectively cover the 50 States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.)

State Fact Sheets

Arkansas

FS-005-99: USGS Programs in Arkansas
FS-2005-3008: Ground-water models of the alluvial and sparta aquifers: management tools for a sustainable resource
FS2004-3086: Monitoring water-level and water-quality response to conservation measures in the Sparta Aquifer of the Union County, Arkansas Area
FS-021-00-pdf only: Research in rice fields
Mississippi
FS-025-99: USGS Programs in Mississippi
Tennessee
FS-044-99: USGS Programs in Tennessee
FS-168-95: The Mississippi Valley--"Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On"

USGS fact sheets

These fact sheets summarize research and investigations of the USGS, or provide details about particular activities. Click here for a complete list.

Educational Materials from the U.S. Geological Survey
FS-044-99: Educational Materials from the U.S. Geological Surveys-- pdf
FS-2004-3068: Cooperative Water Program. A partnership in the Nation's water-resources program
FS-128-02: NWISWeb: New site for the Nation's water data
FS-090-01: Real-Time Ground-Water Data for the Nation
FS-043-99: U.S. Geological Survey Information Sources-- pdf
The National Atlas of the United States of America, About the Atlas
FS-2005-3051: Estimated use of water in the United States in 2000
FS-096-03: Earthquakes—Rattling the Earth's Plumbing System
FS-053-02: Robowell - providing accurate and current water-level and water-quality data in real time for protecting ground-water resources
FS-105-01: MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.New findings and implications on the quality of source waters used for drinking-water supplies
FS-2005-3026 PAGER—Rapid Assessment and Notification of an Earthquake’s Impact—ON-LINE ONLY
FS2004-3060: Mapping a Flood...Before It Happens
FS-165-00: Land Subsidence in the United States
FS-093-99: Natural Hazards: Minimizing the Effects
FS-131-02: Earthquake Hazard in the Heart of the Homeland
FS-200-96: Uncovering Hidden Hazards in the Mississippi Valley
FS-2006-3026: Flood Hazards—A National Threat
FS-229-96: The "100-Year Flood"
FS-209-95: Stream Gaging and Flood Forecasting: A Partnership of the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Weather Service
FS-2005-3095: Use of simulation-optimization modeling to assess regional ground-water systems
FS-2005-3051: Estimated use of water in the United States in 2000
FS-2005-3020: Trends in the Water Budget of the Mississippi River Basin, 1949-1997 ... from the National Streamflow Information Program
FS-2005-3017: Streamflow Trends in the United States ... from the National Streamflow Information Program
FS-116-03: The value of long-term monitoring in the development of ground-water-flow models
FS-059-95: Water-Managing a National Resource
FS-058-95: Ground Water

Circulars

Circular 1291: Pesticides in the Nation’s Streams and Ground Water, 1992–2001, by R.J. Gilliom, J.E. Barbash, C.G. Crawford, P.A. Hamilton, J.D. Martin, Naomi Nakagaki, L.H. Nowell, J.C. Scott, P.E. Stackelberg, G.P. Thelin, and D.M. Wolock
Circular 1279: Estimated withdrawals from principal aquifers in the United States, 2000, by M.A. Maupin and N.L. Barber
Circular 1268: Estimated Use of Water in the United States in 2000, by S.S. Hutson, N.L. Barber, J.F. Kenny, K.S. Linsey, D.S. Lumia, and M.A. Maupin
Circular 1247: Evolving issues and practices in managing ground-water resources case studies on the role of science, by D.L. Galloway, W.M. Alley, P.M. Barlow, T.E. Reilly and Patrick Tucci
Circular 1224: Assessing ground-water vulnerablity to contamination: Providing scientifically defensible information for decision makers, by M.J. Focazio, T.E. Reilly, M.G. Rupert, D.R. Helsel
Circular 1217: Ground-water-level monitoring and the importance of long-term water-level data, by C.J. Taylor and W.M. Alley
Circular 1208: Water quality in the Mississippi Embayment, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky 1995-98, by B.A. Kleiss, R.H. Coupe, G.J. Gonthier, and B.G. Justus
Circular 1200: Estimated use of water in the United States in 1995, by W.B. Solley, R.R. Pierce, and H.A. Perlman
Circular 1186: Sustainability of ground-water resources, by W.M. Alley, T.E. Reilly, and O.L. Franke
Circular 1182: Land subsidence in the United States, edited by, Devin Galloway, D.R. Jones,and S.E. Ingebritsen
Circular 1133: Contaminants in the Mississippi River, 1987-92, edited by R.H. Meade
Circular 0115: Estimated Use of Water in the United States—1950, by K.A. MacKichan
Hydrogeology, model description, and flow analysis of the Mississippi River Alluvial Aquifer in northwestern Mississippi (3.7 MB)
Hydrogeologic Interpretations of Natural-Gamma Logs for 31 Shallow Wells in the Memphis, Tennessee, Area
Thickness of the Mississippi River Alluvium and Thickness of the Coarse Sand and Gravel in the Mississippi River Alluvium in Northwestern Mississippi

Quality of Shallow Ground Water in Recently Developed Residential and Commercial Areas, Memphis Vicinity, Tennessee, 1997


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