Arkansas Water Science Center
MERAS PAGESUSGS IN YOUR STATEUSGS Water Science Centers are located in each state. ![]() |
Mississippi Embayment Regional Aquifer StudyBackgroundFresh ground water in the Mississippi embayment can be found in alternating formations of sand, silt and clay. The uppermost of these formations in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain is the Mississippi River alluvial aquifer (alluvial aquifer), which can provide well yields of 300 to 2,000 gallons per minute (gpm). The alluvial aquifer exists at land surface and covers much of the embayment area within the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. One of the next most widely used aquifers is the middle Claibourne aquifer, which can provide well yields of 100 to 500 gpm (1,500 gpm in the Memphis area). The middle Claibourne aquifer, in some areas, lies several hundred feet beneath land surface. Decades of pumping from the alluvial aquifer for irrigation and from the middle Claibourne aquifer for industry and public-water supply have affected ground-water levels throughout the northern Mississippi embayment in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Purpose![]() |