Hydrogeology and water-supply potential of the water-table aquifer on Dauphin Island, Alabama

The water table aquifer on Dauphin Island, Alabama, consists of a thin veneer of Holocene sand and an underlying Pleistocene unit locally known as the Gulfport Formation. The aquifer is from 28 to 35 ft thick with a thick marine clay at its base. Water in the aquifer generally is low in chloride content except near the coast. Excessively high iron concentrations in groundwater were found locally. A two-dimensional finite-difference groundwater flow model of the water table aquifer on Dauphin Island was used in the steady-state mode to evaluate the flow system under steady-state conditions. Model input data were obtained primarily from 40 test wells, 2 aquifer tests, continuous recording of groundwater levels, and rainfall. The model was calibrated to the low water-table conditions of July 1985 and high water table conditions of April 1985. The model was also used to simulate pumpage from the aquifer under transient conditions with no rainfall. Patterns of computed head changes compared favorably to the natural recession of water levels for the periods of April to May 1985 and May to June 1985. Simulation of groundwater withdrawals in the transient model showed the feasibility of producing 0.6 million gallons/day from eight wells that tap the water table aquifer without inducing lateral seawater encroachment. (USGS)