Kentucky Water Science Center
The alluvial aquifer at Louisville, Kentucky, lies in a valley eroded by glacial meltwater that was later partly filled with outwash sand and gravel deposits. The aquifer is primarily unconfined, and the direction of flow is from the adjacent limestone and shale valley wall toward the Ohio River and major pumping centers. The alluvium consists of unconsolidated glacial outwash sand and gravel deposits, and forms a productive, spatially restricted aquifer that is hydraulically connected to the Ohio River. The northeast portion of the alluvium— a 6.4-mi reach running from Beargrass Creek upriver to Harrods Creek is an especially prolific water-bearing formation with the total groundwater storage in the area estimated at 7 billion gallons (Rorabaugh, 1956). This portion of the alluvium is approximately 3,000 feet wide at each end and tapers to a width of approximately 1,000 feet in the middle of the 6.4-mi. reach. The average thickness of the alluvial deposits is about 100 feet. Estimated sustainable water supplies, derived from induced flow from the Ohio River, range from 280 to 400 million gallons per day for this portion of the aquifer (Rorabaugh, 1956). Water-level data for the alluvial aquifer at Louisville, Kentucky, have been collected by the USGS in cooperation with various local and State agencies since September 1943. Data are presently being collected in cooperation with the Louisville Water Company. Special attention is given to the northeast portion of the alluvial aquifer where the Louisville Water Company is beginning to use riverbank filtration wells [refer to the photograph to the right] to draw water from the Ohio River through the aquifer at their B.E. Payne Water Treatment Plant near Prospect, Kentucky. Additional information about the Ohio River Alluvial Aquifer - Groundwater Network project can be obtained from Mike Unthank, KY WSC, (phone) 502-493-1932, (email) munthank@usgs.gov. References to non-U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) products do not constitute an endorsement by the DOI. By viewing the Google Maps API on this web site the user agrees to these Terms of Service set forth by Google. |
A Louisville Water Company riverbank infiltration well |