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CLEVELAND COUNTY
POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY
OKLAHOMA COUNTY
OKLAHOMA COUNTY
LOGAN COUNTY
LINCOLN COUNTY
CANADIAN COUNTY
LOGAN COUNTY
OKLAHOMACOUNTY
LINCOLN COUNTY
OKLAHOMA COUNTY
CLEVELAND COUNTY
GRADY COUNTY
PAYNE COUNTY
SEMINOLE COUNTY
CANADIAN COUNTY KINGFISHER COUNTY
MCCLAIN COUNTY
PONTOTOC COUNTY
POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY
MCCLAIN COUNTY
0 5 10 KILOMETERS
0 5 10 MILES
97°00'
97°15'
97°30'
36°00'
35°45'
35°30'
35°15'
35°00'
Introduction
A study of the hydrogeology of the Central Oklahoma aquifer was started in 2008 to provide the
Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) hydrogeologic data and a groundwater flow model that can be
used as a tool to help manage the aquifer. The 1973 Oklahoma water law requires the OWRB to do hydro-logic
investigations of Oklahoma’s aquifers (termed “groundwater basins”) and to determine amounts of
water that may be withdrawn by permitted water users. “Maximum annual yield” is a term used by OWRB to
describe the total amount of water that can be withdrawn from a specific aquifer in any year while allowing a
minimum 20-year life of the basin (Oklahoma Water Resources Board, 2010). Currently (2010), the
maximum annual yield has not been determined for the Central Oklahoma aquifer. Until the maximum annual
yield determination is made, water users are issued a temporary permit by the OWRB for 2 acre-feet/acre per
year. The objective of the study, in cooperation with the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, was to study the
hydrogeology of the Central Oklahoma aquifer to provide information that will enable the OWRB to
determine the maximum annual yield of the aquifer based on different proposed management plans. Ground-water
flow models are typically used by the OWRB as a tool to help determine the maximum annual yield.
This report presents the potentiometric surface of the Central Oklahoma aquifer based on water-level
data collected in 2009 as part of the current (2010) hydrologic study. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Hydrologic Investigations Atlas HA-724 by Christenson and others (1992) presents the 1986-87
potentiometric-surface map. This 1986-87 potentiometric-surface map was made as part of the USGS
National Water-Quality Assessment pilot project for the Central Oklahoma aquifer that examined the
geochemical and hydrogeological processes operating in the aquifer. An attempt was made to obtain water-level
measurements for the 2009 potentiometric-surface map from the wells used for the 1986-87
potentiometric-surface map. Well symbols with circles on the 2009 potentiometric-surface map (fig. 1)
indicate wells that were used for the 1986-87 potentiometric-surface map.
Description of Aquifer
The Central Oklahoma aquifer underlies about 3,000 square miles in central Oklahoma, where the
aquifer is used for municipal, industrial, commercial, agricultural, and domestic water supplies. Estimated
daily water withdrawals from the Central Oklahoma aquifer for 2005 were 40 million gallons per day, with 66
percent of total withdrawal being for public supply (Tortorelli, 2009). The Central Oklahoma aquifer consists
of consolidated Permian-age Garber Sandstone and Wellington Formation and Chase, Council Grove, and
Admire Groups that dip to the west at about 50 feet per mile. The Garber Sandstone and Wellington Forma-tion
have similar lithologies and consist of lenticular beds of fine-grained, cross-bedded sandstone interbed-ded
with siltstone and mudstone. The Chase, Council Grove, and Admire Groups consist of fine-grained,
cross-bedded sandstone, shale, and thin limestone (Christenson and others, 1992). Overlying these bedrock
units are Quaternary-age unconsolidated alluvial and terrace deposits along streams in the study area. The
Hennessey Group is Permian-age shale and mudstone that acts as a confining unit overlying the western
one-third of the study area (fig. 1 and table 1). The Quaternary-age alluvial and terrace deposits along the
streams are in contact with the Central Oklahoma aquifer except where the Hennessey Group overlies the
aquifer in the western part of the study area.
Yields in the Garber Sandstone and Wellington Formation generally range from 50 to 300 gallons per
minute (Bingham and Moore, 1975). Chase, Council Grove, and Admire Groups typically yield 25 to 50
gallons per minute. Yields from the alluvial and terrace deposits are typically higher than the bedrock units
and are commonly greater than 300 gallons per minute. The Central Oklahoma aquifer also is commonly
referred to as the “Garber-Wellington aquifer” because most deep wells in central Oklahoma are completed
in the Garber Sandstone and Wellington Formations. For this report, the aquifer will be referred to as the
Central Oklahoma aquifer to be consistent with previous USGS publications describing the aquifer.
2009 Potentiometric Surface
A potentiometric surface is defined as the level to which water will rise in tightly cased wells. An
aquifer with substantial vertical flow can have multiple potentiometric surfaces. The potentiometric surface
in this report approximates only the upper zone of saturation in the Central Oklahoma aquifer, sometimes
referred to as the “water table”. Water levels from land surface were measured by using an electric tape
from February 17 to March 13, 2009 in 280 shallow wells (depth from land surface less than 300 feet).
One hundred sixty-six of these water-level measurements (59 percent) were from wells measured for the
1986-87 potentiometric-surface map published in USGS Hydrologic Investigations Atlas HA-724 by
Christenson and others (1992). Most of these wells are used for domestic supply and are completed in the
different geologic units in the Central Oklahoma aquifer including the alluvial and terrace deposits (table
1). Well depths and completion information can be found at the USGS National Water Information System
website, http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/ok/nwis/gwlevels. The potentiometric-surface altitude was
calculated by subtracting depth to water from land-surface altitude. The land-surface altitude used for the
2009 potentiometric-surface map was determined by using a Global Positioning System, which is accurate
to the nearest 1 foot and referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88). Stream and
lake elevations, which were obtained from a USGS 10-meter (3.3-foot) digital elevation model (DEM;
http://ned.usgs.gov/), were included when contouring the potentiometric surface, except for the western
part of the aquifer that is confined by the overlying Hennessey Group where the Central Oklahoma aquifer
is not hydraulically connected to the alluvial and terrace deposits above the Hennessey Group (fig. 1). The
potentiometric-surface contours were generated in a geographic information system (GIS) by using stream
and lake elevation data from the DEM and the potentiometric-surface altitudes determined at wells. The
contours were adjusted manually based on professional judgment to address inconsistencies, especially
near streams and lakes.
The highest water-level altitudes are in the western part of the aquifer and the lowest water-level
altitudes are where the Cimarron River flows beyond the extent of the aquifer. The general slope of the
potentiometric surface is west-to-east. Groundwater flows perpendicular to potentiometric contour lines
from high potentiometric altitude to low potentiometric altitude. The west-to-east slope of the potentiomet-ric
surface indicates that the regional trend in shallow groundwater flow is from west to east. The potentio-metric
surface slopes steeply toward the Deep Fork River in Oklahoma County, with the potentiometric
contour lines forming approximate “V” patterns that point upstream along the Deep Fork River, indicating
the Deep Fork River acts as a drain for the groundwater-flow system. The potentiometric contour lines show
a similar pattern along the North Canadian River, but only in the eastern part of the study area. The lack of
“V” patterns on the western part of the North Canadian River is an artifact of not using stream elevations as
control points in the confined (western) part of the aquifer. The 2009 potentiometric-surface map shows that
no streams on the aquifer are major sources of water to the groundwater-flow system, for example, few
streams demonstrate the “V” pattern pointing downstream that indicates the stream could be a major source of
water to the groundwater-flow system.
Acknowledgments
The authors appreciate the willingness of landowners to provide access to their wells for obtaining
water-level measurements. The authors also thank the Oklahoma Water Resources Board for providing assistance
in obtaining water-level measurements. Appreciation also is extended to Jason Masoner and Aaron Pugh for
providing thorough reviews of this report.
Selected References
Bingham, R.H., and Moore, R.L., 1975, Reconnaissance of the water resources of the Oklahoma City quadrangle central
Oklahoma: Oklahoma Geological Survey Hydrologic Atlas 4, 4 sheets, scale 1:250,000.
Christenson, S.C., Morton, R.B., and Mesander, B.A., 1992, Hydrogeologic maps of the Central Oklahoma aquifer,
Oklahoma: U.S. Geological Survey Hydrologic Investigations Atlas HA-724, 3 sheets, scale 1:250,000.
Havens, J.S., 1989, Geohydrology of the alluvial and terrace deposits of the North Canadian River from Oklahoma City to
Eufaula Lake, central Oklahoma: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 88-4234, 32 p, 12 pls.
Oklahoma Water Resources Board, 2010, Fact Sheet on determination of maximum annual yield: available online at
http://www.owrb.ok.gov/studies/reports/reports_pdf/DetermineMAY.pdf.
Parkhurst, D.L., Christenson, S.C., and Breit, G.N, 1996, Ground-water-quality assessment of the Central Oklahoma aquifer,
Oklahoma—Geochemical and geohydrologic investigations: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2357-C, 101 p.
Parkhurst, D.L., Christenson, S.C., and Schlottmann, J.L., 1989, Ground-water quality assessment of the Central Oklahoma
aquifer, Oklahoma��Analysis of available water-quality data through 1987: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper
2357-B, 74 p.
Tortorelli, R.L., 2009, Water use in Oklahoma 1950–2005: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5212,
49 p.
Wood, P.R. and Burton, L.C., 1968, Ground-water resources in Cleveland and Oklahoma Counties, Oklahoma: Oklahoma
Geological Survey Circular 71, 75 p.
ERATHEM SYSTEM GEOLOGIC UNIT
HYDROGEOLOGIC
UNIT
THICKNESS,
IN FEET
Cenozoic Quaternary
Alluvium
Alluvial and
Terrace Deposits
a0–100
Terrace Deposits a0–100
Paleozoic
Permian
El Reno Group El Reno b200
Hennessey Group Hennessey b700
Garber Sandstone
Garber-Wellington a1,165–1,600
Wellington Formation
Chase Group
Chase, Council Grove,
and Admire Groups
Council Grove Group a570–940
Admire Group
Pennsylvanian Vanoss Formation Vanoss
c250–490
aChristenson and others, 1992
bWood and Burton, 1968
cBingham and Moore, 1975
Table 1. Stratigraphic column of geologic and hydrogeologic units in
central Oklahoma (shaded hydrogeologic units are included in the
Central Oklahoma aquifer) (modified from Parkhurst and others, 1989).
Figure 1. Potentiometric surface in the Central Oklahoma aquifer, 2009.
TEXAS
COLORADO
NEW
MEXICO
OKLAHOMA
KANSAS
ARKANSAS
LOCATION MAP
0 100 200 MILES
0 100 200 KILOMETERS
MISSOURI
Study area
950
1055
Hennessey Group Confining Unit
Consolidated cities and incorporated places
Potentiometric contour—Shows altitude at which water
level would have stood in tightly cased well in the Central
Oklahoma aquifer in 2009. Hachures indicate depression.
Contour interval is 50 feet. Datum is North American Vertical
Datum of 1988. Dashed where approximately located
Boundary of Central Oklahoma aquifer study area
Well—Number is the altitude, in feet (accuracy within 1 foot) above the North
American Vertical Datum of 1988, of the potentiometric surface in the Central
Oklahoma aquifer in 2009. Circle around well symbol indicates well also was
measured for the 1986–87 water level published in U.S. Geological Survey
Hydrologic Investigations Atlas HA-724 by Christenson and others, 1992
EXPLANATION
Base from U.S. Geological Survey digital data, 1:24,000
Universal Transverse Mercator projection, Zone 14
North American Datum of 1983
For additional information contact:
Director
U.S. Geological Survey
202 NW 66th Street, Building 7
Oklahoma City, OK 73116
http://ok.water.usgs.gov/
Publishing support provided by
Lafayette Publishing Service Center
POTENTIOMETRIC SURFACE IN THE CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
(GARBER-WELLINGTON) AQUIFER, OKLAHOMA, 2009
By
Shana L. Mashburn and Jessica Magers
2011
SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS MAP 3147
Potentiometric surface, Central Oklahoma aquifer, 2009—SHEET 1 OF 1
Mashburn, S.L. and Magers, Jessica, 2011, Potentiometric surface in the
Central Oklahoma (Garber-Wellington) aquifer, Oklahoma, 2009
IN COOPERATION WITH THE
OKLAHOMA WATER RESOURCES BOARD
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Oklahoma Digital Prairie: Documents, Images and Information
