Hydrology of the Pleistocene

Water Resource
Water
Resource Report
Report 28
28
Hydrology of
Hydrology
of the
the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
in the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley,
Valley,
Sediments in
Sediments
Luzerne County,
Luzerne
County, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
by Jerrald
by
Jerrald R.
R. Hollowell
Hollowell
u. S.
u.
S.
Geologica' Survey
Geologica'
Survey
Prepared by
Prepared
by the
the United
United States
States Geological
Geological Survey,
Survey,
Water Resources
Water
Resources Division,
Division, in
in cooperation
cooperation with
with
The Pennsylvania
The
Pennsylvania Geological
Geological Survey
Survey
PENNSYLVANIA GEOLOGICAL
PENNSYLVANIA
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
SURVEY
FOURTH SERIES
FOURTH
SERIES
HARRISBURG
HARRISBURG
1971
1971
ADDITIONAL COPIES
ADDITIONAL
COPIES
OF THIS
OF
THIS PUBLICATION
PUBLICATION MAYBE
MAYBE PURCHASED
PURCHASED FROM
FROM
BUREAU OF
BUREAU
OF PUBLICATIONS,
PUBLICATIONS, P.O.
P.O. Box
Box 1365
1365
HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA
HARRISBURG,
PENNSYLVANIA 17125
17125
ii
ii
PREFACE
PREFACE
The Wyoming
The
Wyoming Valley
Valley is
is an
an area
area completely
completely underlain
underlain by
by glacial
glacial dedeposits. Beneath
posits.
Beneath the
the glacial
glacial overburden
overburden vast-mine
vast-mine workings
workings honeycomb
honeycomb
coal beds
coal
beds of
of the
the Northern
Northern Anthracite
Anthracite Field.
Field. Beginning
Beginning in
in 1959
1959 these
these
mines became
mines
became filled
filled with
with water
water as
as they
they were
were abandoned.
abandoned.
This report
This
report was
was written
written to
to provide
provide information
information for
for those
those seeking
seeking water
water
or indirectly
or
indirectly concerned
concerned with
with ground-water
ground-water conditions
conditions affecting
affecting building
building
construction and
construction
and excavation.
excavation. The
The report
report provides
provides information
information on
on the
the depth,
depth,
availability. quantity,
availability.
quantity, and
and quality
quality of
of water
water that
that may
may be
be obtained
obtained from
from the
the
glacial deposits.
glacial
deposits. The
The interrelation
interrelation of
of mine
mine water
water with
with the
the ground
ground water
water
in the
in
the glacial
glacial overburden
overburden is
is of
of major
major importance
importance to
to development
development of
of the
the
glacial overburden
glacial
overburden for
for water
water supplies.
supplies. Nine
Nine million
million gallons
gallons per
per day
day of
of fresh
fresh
water is
water
is available
available to
to water
water supply
supply wells
wells without
without inducing
inducing additional
additional rerecharge from
charge
from the
the river
river or
or mines.
mines. Over
Over 700
700 million
million gallons
gallons per
per day
day of
of adadditional water
ditional
water can
can be
be induced
induced from
from the
the Susquehanna
Susquehanna River
River by
by production
production
wells placed
wells
placed near
near the
the river.
river.
iii
iii
iv
iv
CONTENTS
CONTENTS
Page
Preface .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Preface
Abstract. ..
Abstract.
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Introduction. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Introduction.
Purpose and
Purpose
and scope
scope of
of the
the investigation
investigation .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
.........................
Location and
Location
and extent
extent of
of the
the area
area .........................
..................................
Previous investigations
Previous
investigations ..................................
............................
Methods of
Methods
of investigation
investigation ............................
.............................. ..
..
Well-numbering system
Well-numbering
system ..............................
...............................
Identification of
Identification
of drill
drill holes
holes ...............................
......................................
Acknowledgments ......................................
Acknowledgments
Geograpby .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Geograpby
...........................
Surface features
Surface
features and
and drainage
drainage ...........................
..............................................
Clinlate ..............................................
Clinlate
............... ..
.. .........
......... ................
................
Population ...............
Population
Industry, mineral
Industry,
mineral resources,
resources, and
and agriculture
agriculture .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
........................................
Bedrock geology
Bedrock
geology ........................................
..
Stratigraphy. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Stratigraphy.
............................. ""
Pre-Llewellyn formations
Pre-Llewellyn
formations .............................
Llewellyn Formation
Llewellyn
Formation .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
..
Structure .............................................
Structure
.............................................
Glacial geology
Glacial
geology .........................
......................... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
..
Origin of
Origin
of the
the buried
buried valley
valley .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
..
Glacial drift
Glacial
drift ..........................................
..........................................
Unstratified drift
Unstratified
drift ..
.. .......
....... .........................
.........................
Stratified drift
Stratified
drift ......................................
......................................
Kame terraces
Kame
terraces ......
...... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
..
Lake sediments
Lake
sediments ......
...... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
........................ .........
.........
Outwash sediments
Outwash
sediments ........................
Post-glacial geology
Post-glacial
geology .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
..
Ground water
Ground
water ...........................................
...........................................
.. ,, ......................
...................... .......
.......
Principles of
Principles
of occurrence
occurrence ..
...................................
Hydrologic properties
Hydrologic
properties ...................................
.......................................
The water
The
water table
table .......................................
.................................
Ground-water recharge
Ground-water
recharge .................................
.................... ..........
.......... ..
Ground-water discharge
Ground-water
discharge ....................
............................................
Utilization ............................................
Utilization
................. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
..
Development .................
Development
.......... ...............
............... ...........
...........
Well construction
Well
construction ..........
vv
iii
iii
11
22
22
22
33
44
44
44
55
66
66
88
99
99
10
10
10
10
11
11
11
11
11
11
12
12
12
12
13
13
13
13
14
14
14
14
14
14
17
17
17
17
19
19
19
19
20
20
22
22
25
25
29
29
30
30
30
30
33
33
Page
Page
Mine-water hydrology
Mine-water
hydrology .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
..
Mine-water discharge
Mine-water
discharge into
into the
the buried
buried valley
valley ...
... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
..
Quality of
Quality
of water
water ........................................
........................................
Conclusions ...................
Conclusions
................... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
..
References ............................................
References
............................................ ""
Appendix-Graphic logs
Appendix-Graphic
logs of
of test
test borings
borings ....................
....................
34
34
41
41
42
42
45
45
47
47
48
48
ILLUSTRATIONS
ILLUSTRATIONS
FIGURES
FIGURES
Figure I.-Map
Figure
I.-Map of
of the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley and
and its
its location
location in
in PennPennsylvania .....................................
sylvania
.....................................
2.-Sketches showing
2.-Sketches
showing the
the system
system used
used for
for locating
locating wells
wells ..
..
3.-Map showing
3.-Map
showing the
the physiographic
physiographic provinces
provinces of
of eastern
eastern
Pennsylvania and
Pennsylvania
and the
the location
location of
of the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley
4.-Graphs showing
4.-Graphs
showing the
the normal-monthly
normal-monthly precipitation
precipitation and
and
the mean-monthly
the
mean-monthly temperature
temperature at
at Wilkes-Barre-Scranton
Wilkes-Barre-Scranton
Airport .....................................
Airport
.....................................
5.-Generalized section
5.-Generalized
section through
through the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley synsynclinorium showing
clinorium
showing the
the relations
relations of
of Mississippian
Mississippian and
and
younger age
younger
age rocks
rocks .............................
.............................
6.-Photograph showing
6.-Photograph
showing unstratified
unstratified glacial
glacial till
till overlaying
overlaying aa
thin coal
thin
coal bed,
bed, 1
1 mile
mile east
east of
of Pittston
Pittston ..............
..............
7.-Photographs showing
7.-Photographs
showing kame-terrace
kame-terrace deposits
deposits ........
........
8.-Photographs showing
8.-Photographs
showing glacial
glacial outwash
outwash sediments
sediments 1
1 mile
mile
west of
west
of Wyoming
Wyoming ..............
.............. ..............
..............
9.-Hydrographs of
9.-Hydrographs
of wells
wells located
located in
in Kingston
Kingston and
and WilkesWilkesBarre and
Barre
and weekly
weekly precipitation
precipitation totals
totals for
for Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre
IO.-lIIustration of
IO.-lIIustration
of the
the cone
cone of
of depression
depression developed
developed when
when aa
well is
well
is pumped
pumped ...............................
...............................
II I.-Illustration
I.-Illustration of
of the
the cone
cone of
of depression
depression developed
developed when
when aa
well is
well
is pumped
pumped where
where recharge
recharge is
is induced
induced from
from aa perenperennial stream
nial
stream ..................................
..................................
12.-Section through
12.-Section
through the
the Harry
Harry E.
E. mine
mine showing
showing mined
mined beds
beds
and relation
and
relation to
to the
the buried
buried valley
valley .................
.................
13.-Diagrammatic section
13.-Diagrammatic
section through
through the
the mines
mines showing
showing the
the
elevation of
elevation
of the
the mine-water
mine-water pools
pools and
and the
the profile
profile of
of the
the
Susquehanna River
Susquehanna
River at
at the
the corresponding
corresponding times
times ......
......
14.-Map showing
14.-Map
showing mining
mining properties
properties ..................
..................
vi
vi
33
55
77
8
8
10
10
13
13
15
15
ii 8
8
23
23
24
24
25
25
28
28
35
35
36
36
Page
Page
Figure 15.-Schematic
Figure
15.-Schematic of
of water
water flow
flow through
through the
the mines
mines in
in the
the
Wyoming VaHey
Wyoming
VaHey .............................
.............................
16.-Hydrograph of
16.-Hydrograph
of the
the mine
mine pool
pool in
in the
the Maltby~Westmoreland mines
land
mines ..........................
.......................... .......
.......
37
37
40
40
PLATES
PLATES
Plate I.-Geologic
Plate
I.-Geologic map
map of
of the
the Wyoming
Wyoming VaHey
VaHey ........
........ "" in
in pocket
pocket
2.-Lithofacies maps
2.-Lithofacies
maps of
of the
the buried
buried vaHey
vaHey sediments
sediments .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
.. ""
3.-Map showing
3.-Map
showing the
the locations
locations of
of test
test borings
borings ............
............ ""
4.-Hydrologic map
4.-Hydrologic
map of
of the
the Wyoming
Wyoming VaHey
VaHey showing
showing waterwatertable contours
table
contours and
and mine-pool
mine-pool levels
levels .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
.. ....
TABLES
TABLES
Page
Page
Table L-Summary
Table
L-Summary of
of values
values of
of transmissibility,
transmissibility, field
field permeability,
permeability,
.,
and storage
and
storage cocfficients
cocfficients determined
determined by
by aquifer
aquifer tests
tests .. .. .,
2.-Streamflow loss
2.-Streamflow
loss on
on five
five creeks
creeks that
that flow
flow into
into the
the Wyoming
Wyoming
VaHey, 1956
VaHey,
1956 ...................................
...................................
3.-Record of
3.-Record
of wells
wells .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
.. ..
.. ........
........ ......
......
4.-Duration of
4.-Duration
of daily
daily flow
flow for
for the
the period
period 1899-1963
1899-1963 ......
......
5.-Magnitude and
5.-Magnitude
and frequency
frequency of
of annual
annual flow
flow for
for the
the period
period
.................................... '"
'"
1900-62 ....................................
1900-62
6.-High and
6.-High
and low
low mine-water
mine-water levels
levels for
for measured
measured pools
pools in
in the
the
............................. '"
'"
Wyoming Valley
Wyoming
Valley .............................
7.--Chemical
7
.--Chemical analyses
analyses of
of ground
ground water
water in
in the
the Pleistocene
Pleistocene dedein the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley,
Valley, Luzerne
Luzerne County,
County, Pa
Pa..
.. '"
'"
posits in
posits
vii
vii
21
21
27
27
31
31
33
33
33
33
38
38
43
43
Hydrology of
Hydrology
of the
the Pleistocene
Pleistocene Sediments
Sediments in
in the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley,
Valley,
Luzerne County,
Luzerne
County, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
by
by
Jerrald R.
Jerrald
R. Hollowell
Hollowell
U. S.
U.
S. Geological
Geological Survey
Survey
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT
Thick accumulations
Thick
accumulations of
of glacial
glacial till,
till, outwash
outwash deposits,
deposits, and
and lake
lake
deposits underlie
deposits
underlie the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley in
in Luzerne
Luzerne County,
County, Pa.
Pa. Most
Most
till and
till
and outwash
outwash deposits
deposits occur
occur as
as isolated
isolated remnants
remnants above
above the
the river
river
flood plain.
flood
plain. Because
Because they
they lie
lie mostly
mostly above
above the
the water
water table,
table, these
these
deposits contain
deposits
contain very
very little
little water
water and
and are
are not
not known
known to
to yield
yield water
water
to wells.
to
wells.
The lake
The
lake deposits
deposits occupy
occupy a
a part
part of
of the
the valley
valley that
that was
was deepened
deepened
300 feet
feet below
below the
the present
present river
river flood
flood
by glacial
by
glacial action
action to
to more
more than
than 300
plain. They
plain.
They consist
consist of
of beds
beds of
of clay,
clay, sand,
sand, and
and sand
sand and
and gravel
gravel dedeposited by
posited
by the
the glacial
glacial streams
streams flowing
flowing into
into the
the lake.
lake. Deltas
Deltas of
of sand
sand
and gravel
and
gravel were
were formed
formed at
at the
the mouths
mouths of
of the
the streams,
streams, and
and beds
beds of
of
clay were
clay
were formed
formed in
in still
still areas
areas of
of the
the lake.
lake. Outwash
Outwash deposits
deposits of
of
sand and
sand
and grave!
grave! overlying
overlying the
the lake
lake deposits
deposits were
were left
left by
by later
later
Pleistocene floods.
Pleistocene
floods. Yields
Yields of
of as
as much
much as
as 1,200
1,200 gpm
gpm (gallons
(gallons per
per
minute) have
minute)
have been
been reported
reported from
from wells
wells tapping
tapping the
the sand
sand and
and gravel.
gravel.
The bedrock
The
bedrock that
that underlies
underlies the
the glacial
glacial deposits
deposits and
and forms
forms the
the
sides of
sides
of the
the valley
valley is
is comprised
comprised of
of well·indurated, thin· to
to massive·
bedded sandstone,
bedded
sandstone, conglomerate,
conglomerate, shale,
shale, and
and siltstone
siltstone of
of Mississippian
Mississippian
and Pennsylvania
and
Pennsylvania age.
age. Seams
Seams of
of anthracite
anthracite coal
coal ranging
ranging from
from a
a fracfracof an
an inch
inch up
up to
to 27
27 feet
feet in
in thickness
thickness occur
occur in
in the
the bedrock.
bedrock.
tion of
tion
Mining of
Mining
of the
the anthracite
anthracite beneath
beneath the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley has
has altered
altered the
the
natural sub-surface
natural
sub·surface hydrologic
hydrologic system
system by
by creating
creating large
large conduits
conduits that
that
provide free
provide
free movement
movement of
of the
the ground
ground water.
water. When
When the
the mines
mines became
became
uneconomical to
uneconomical
to operate,
operate, they
they were
were abandoned
abandoned and
and most
most of
of the
the underunderground cavities
ground
cavities were
were subsequently
subsequently filled
filled with
with water.
water.
The glacial
The
glacial deposits
deposits beneath
beneath the
the valley
valley flood
flood plain
plain constitute
constitute the
the
most important
most
important aquifer
aquifer in
in the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley.
Valley. The
The aquifer
aquifer is
is used
used
only for
only
for irrigation
irrigation at
at present.
present. Recharge
Recharge to
to the
the aquifer,
aquifer, mainly
mainly from
from
precipitation, is
precipitation,
is estimated
estimated to
to be
be 15
15 inches
inches per
per year.
year. At
At present
present
recharge from
recharge
from the
the mines
mines below
below is
is only
only a
a small
small fraction
fraction of
of the
the total
total
recharge to
recharge
to the
the glacial
glacial deposits.
deposits. Natural
Natural discharge
discharge from
from the
the glacial
glacial
deposits is
deposits
is mainly
mainly by
by seepage
seepage into
into the
the streams.
streams. Seepage
Seepage into
into the
the
1
1
2
2
WYOMING VALLEY
WYOMING
VALLEY HYDROLOGY
HYDROLOGY
mines is
mines
is limited
limited to
to those
those areas
areas where
where the
the water
water level
level in
in the
the glacial
glacial
deposits is
deposits
is higher
higher than
than that
that in
in the
the mines
mines below.
below. Over
Over 1
1 billion
billion gpd
gpd
(gallons per
(gallons
per day)
day) of
of ground
ground water
water probably
probably could
could be
be obtained
obtained by
by
pumping wells
pumping
wells placed
placed near
near the
the river
river and
and inducing
inducing water
water into
into the
the
aquifer from
aquifer
from the
the Susquehanna
Susquehanna River.
River. The
The infiltration
infiltration water
water would
would
have a
have
a relatively
relatively constant
constant temperature,
temperature, quality,
quality, and
and quantity
quantity adequate
adequate
for municipal
for
municipal or
or industrial
industrial use.
use.
The ground
The
ground water
water in
in the
the glacial
glacial deposits
deposits is
is predominantly
predominantly of
of the
the
calcium bicarbonate-sulfate
calcium
bicarbonate-sulfate type,
type, high
high in
in dissolved
dissolved solids,
solids, and
and hard.
hard.
Locally, the
Locally,
the quality
quality is
is affected
affected adversely
adversely by
by surface
surface deposits
deposits of
of mine
mine
waste which
waste
which contribute
contribute large
large quantities
quantities of
of leached
leached calcium,
calcium, iron,
iron,
and sulfate
and
sulfate ions
ions to
to the
the ground
ground water.
water.
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
PURPOSE AND
PURPOSE
AND SCOPE
SCOPE
The purpose
The
purpose of
of this
this report
report is
is to
to describe
describe (1)
(1) the
the availability,
availability, occuroccurand chemical
chemical quality
quality of
of the
the water
water in
in the
the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
rence, movement,
rence,
movement, and
glacial sediments
glacial
sediments of
of the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley,
Valley, (2)
(2) the
the relationshi!)
relationshi!) between
between
the water
the
water in
in the
the sediments
sediments and
and that
that in
in the
the underlying
underlying and
and adjacent
adjacent coal
coal
(3) the
the relationship
relationship between
between the
the water
water in
in the
the sediments
sediments and
and
mines and
mines
and (3)
that in
that
in the
the Susquehanna
Susquehanna River
River and
and other
other surface
surface water
water bodies
bodies flowing
flowing
over the
over
the sediments.
sediments.
of the
the
Information concerning
Information
concerning the
the availability
availability and
and chemical
chemical quality
quality of
the glacial deposits
deposits of
of the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley is
is extremely scarce,
scarce,
water in
water
in the
although wells
although
wells are
are known
known to
to have
have yieided
yieided more
more than
than 1,000
1,000 gpm
gpm from
from
The area
area is
is in
in the
the heart
heart of
of the
the Northern
Northern Anthracite
Anthracite
the glacial deposits. The
the
because of
coal mining field, and
and because
of the
the vast
vast extent
extent of
of Utl,deI'gnJUfld
underground mining,
the ground-water resources
resources of
of the
the valley are
are essentially limited to the
overlying glacial deposits.
H.! H U U 5 ,
with
with the
the
LOCATION AND
LOCATION
AND EXTENT
EXTENT OF
OF THE
THE AREA
AREA
The Wyoming Valley lies
The
lies along the Susquenanna River
River in
in central
Luzerne County in
Luzerne
in northeastern
northeastern Pennsylvania (Fig. 11 )) .. It
It extends
extends from
from
and is
is shown
shown on
on the
the Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre East, WilkesWilkesPittston to
Pittston
to Nanticoke
Nanticoke and
Barre West, Kingston, Pittston,
Barre
Pittston, Nanticoke, and
and Avoca
Avoca 71/2-minute
7~-minute 7~-minute
quadquadrangles. The
rangles.
The vaHey
vaHey is
is about
about 15
15 miles
miles long
long and
and 55 miles
miles wide
wide at
at midvaUey.
midvalley.
3
3
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
~ u>'1~\"
!
il-O,,.-I
~y\
76°00'
o
LIMn OF AREA STUDIED
cc:x:
5
75°45'
10 STATUTE MI LES
.. N==<i
~==<J
Figure 1.
Figure
1. Map
Map of
of the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley and
and its
its location
location in
in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania.
PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS
PREVIOUS
INVESTIGATIONS
Several
Several earlier
earlier investigations
investigations of
of the
the geology
geology and
and water
water resources
resources of
of the
the
area
area have
have proven
proven helpful
helpful in the
the preparation
preparation of
of this
this report.
report. The
The groundgroundwater
water resources
resources of
of Luzerne
Luzerne County
County are
are described
described briefly
briefly by
by Lohman
Lohman
(1937) who
(1937)
who made
made aa reconnaissance
reconnaissance investigation
investigation of
of the
the ground-water
ground-water
(1938)) interpreted
interpreted the
the
resources
resources of
of northeastern
northeastern Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania. Itter
Itter (1938
geomorphology of
of the
the Wyoming
Wyoming region.
region. Peltier
Peltier (1949)
(1949) discussed
discussed the
the
geomorphology
source
source and
and deposition
deposition of
of the
the Pleistocene
Pleistocene river
river terraces
terraces of
of the
the Susquehanna
Susquehanna
River.
River. The
The buried
buried valley
valley of
of the
the Susquehanna
Susquehanna River
River in
in the
the WyomingWyomingLackawanna
Lackawanna Valley
Valley is
is described
described by
by Ash
Ash (1950).
(1950) . The
The barrier
barrier pillars
pillars
between
between underground
underground mines
mines in
in the
the Wyoming
Wyoming basin
basin are
are described
described by
by Ash
Ash
(1954).
(1954).
44
WYOMING VALLEY
WYOMING
VALLEY HYDROLOGY
HYDROLOGY
A major
A
major part
part of
of the
the geologic
geologic map
map accompanying
accompanying this
this report
report is
is from
from
the unpublished
the
unpublished work
work of
of M.
M. J.
J. Bergin
Bergin and
and J.
J. F.
F. Robertson,
Robertson, U.S.
U.S. GeoGeological Survey,
logical
Survey, prepared
prepared in
in 1964,
1964, for
for aa preliminary
preliminary report
report to
to the
the Corps
Corps
of Engineers
of
Engineers on
on the
the geology
geology of
of the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley.
Valley.
METHODS OF
METHODS
OF INVESTIGATION
INVESTIGATION
Information on
Information
on well
well depth,
depth, depth
depth to
to water,
water, and
and yield
yield of
of wells
wells was
was
obtained from
obtained
from well
well owners
owners and
and by
by field
field measurements.
measurements. Additional
Additional
hydrologic data
hydrologic
data were
were obtained
obtained by
by drilling
drilling 12
12 observation
observation wells
wells into
into the
the
glacial deposits.
glacial
deposits. Aquifer
Aquifer tests
tests were
were made
made at
at four
four locations
locations to
to determine
determine
transmissibility and
transmissibility
and storage
storage coefficients
coefficients of
of the
the glacial
glacial deposits.
deposits. All
All obobservation wells
servation
wells and
and selected
selected privately
privately owned
owned wells
wells were
were measured
measured perperfive wells.
wells.
iodically. Continuous
iodically.
Continuous water-level
water-level records
records were
were obtained
obtained on
on five
Water samples
Water
samples for
for chemical
chemical analyses
analyses were
were collected
collected from
from 10
10 wells
wells and
and
in the
the U.S.
U.S. Geological
Geological Survey
Survey
II mine
mine shaft.
shaft. The
The analyses
analyses were
were made
made in
laboratory located
laboratory
located in
in Philadelphia,
Philadelphia, Pa.
Pa.
of 12,000
12,000 or
or more
more
Logs of
Logs
of approximately
approximately 500
500 holes,
holes, selected
selected from
from logs
logs of
test holes
test
holes drilled
drilled in
in the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley by
by local
local coal
coal companies,
companies, were
were
plotted at
plotted
at aa compilation
compilation scale
scale of
of I-inch
I-inch equals
equals 500
500 feet,
feet, for
for study
study of
of the
the
glacial sediments.
glacial
sediments. Lithofacies
Lithofacies maps,
maps, at
at the
the scale
scale of
of I-inch
I-inch equals
equals 2,000
2,000
feet, were
feet,
were constructed
constructed from
from these
these logs.
logs.
WELL-NUMBERING SYSTEM
WELL-NUMBERING
SYSTEM
All wells
All
wells inventoried
inventoried have
have an
an identification
identification number
number and
and aa location
location
is used
used for
for easy
easy reference
reference to
to aa well
well
number. The
number.
The identification
identification number
number is
The first
first part
part is
is aa two-letter
two-letter
during discussion
during
discussion and
and consists
consists of
of two
two parts.
parts. The
symbol that
symbol
that identifies
identifies the
the county
county in
in which
which the
the well
well is
is located,
located, for
for exexample, Lu
ample,
Lu for
for Luzerne
Luzerne County.
County. The
The second
second part
part of
of the
the identification
identification
number is
number
is aa serial
serial number
number assigned
assigned at
at the
the time
time the
the well
well is
is inventoried.
inventoried.
The location
The
location number
number is
is for
for the
the purpose
purpose of
of identifying
identifying the
the geographic
geographic
(or map)
(or
map) location
location of
of aa well,
well, and
and it
it is
is the
the coordinates
coordinates of
of aa point
point on
on aa
map scaled
map
scaled to
to within
within aa second
second of
of latitude
latitude and
and longitude
longitude (see
(see sketch
sketch A,
A,
2). The
The well
well will
will always
always be
be to
to the
the north
north and
and west
west of
of the
the geogeoFigure 2).
Figure
by the
the well
well number
number (see
(see sketch
sketch B,
B, Figure
Figure 2).
2).
graphic point
graphic
point designated
designated by
The numeral
The
numeral after
after the
the decimal
decimal is
is the
the sequential
sequential number
number of
of the
the well
well located
located
in the
in
the I-second
I-second quadrangle
quadrangle designated
designated by
by the
the latitude
latitude and
and longitude
longitude (see
(see
2).
sketch B,
sketch
B, Figure
Figure 2).
lDENTIFICA TION
lDENTIFICA
TION OF
OF DRILL
DRILL HOLES
HOLES
Logs of
Logs
of holes
holes drilled
drilled by
by mining
mining companies
companies are
are identified
identified only
only by
by the
the
number assigned
number
assigned by
by the
the mining
mining company.
company. The
The logs
logs are
are shown
shown in
in numerinumerical order
cal
order for
for each
each mine
mine property.
property.
55
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
SKETCH A
'oN
~
••
""
'~
I~~o.~.'"
,~
SKETCH B
WELL C
c
.
A
A
A,a
B (3542J3N'WI'93f
Figure 2.
Figure
2. Sketches
Sketches showing
showing the
the system
system used
used for
for locating
locating wells.
wells.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author
The
author gratefully
gratefully acknowledges
acknowledges the
the cooperation
cooperation and
and assistance
assistance
of the
of
the individual
individual landowners
landowners and
and well
well owners
owners for
for providing
providing information
information
to drill
drill observation
observation wells
wells and
and to
to
on wells,
on
wells, and
and for
for granting
granting permission
permission to
conduct aquifer
conduct
aquifer tests
tests on
on their
their property.
property. Particular
Particular thanks
thanks are
are due
due to
to
Lesko Barney
Lesko
Barney Corp.,
Corp., Kingston,
Kingston, Pa.,
Pa., for
for providing
providing the
the equipment
equipment used
used
for test
for
test pumping
pumping their
their wells.
wells.
Appreciation is
Appreciation
is expressed
expressed to
to the
the Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Department
Department of
of EnvironEnvironmental Resources,
mental
Resources, Division
Division of
of Mines
Mines and
and Mineral
Mineral Industries,
Industries, WilkesWilkesBarre, who
Barre,
who helped
helped in
in obtaining
obtaining elevations
elevations on
on mine
mine openings
openings where
where waterwater-
6
6
WYOMING VALLEY
WYOMING
VALLEY HYDROLOGY
HYDROLOGY
level measurements
level
measurements were
were made;
made; to
to the
the U.S.
U.S. Bureau
Bureau of
of Mines,
Mines, WilkesWilkesBarre, for
Barre,
for access
access to
to their
their field
field and
and mine
mine maps;
maps; and
and to
to Wilbur
Wilbur T.
T. Stuart,
Stuart,
formerly
formerly of
of the
the U.S.
U.S. Geological
Geological Survey,
Survey, who
who made
made available
available data
data on
on
mine-water
mine-water pools
pools and
and provided
provided helpful
helpful suggestions.
suggestions.
J. Bergin
Bergin and
and J.
J. F.
F. Robertson,
Robertson, U.S.
U.S. Geological
Geological Survey,
Survey, proproMr.
Mr. M.
M. J.
files of
of
vided the
vided
the thousands
thousands of
of drill-hole
drill-hole logs
logs they
they collected
collected from
from the
the files
coal-mining companies
coal-mining
companies and
and the
the base
base map
map showing
showing the
the drill-hole
drill-hole locations
locations
compiled from
compiled
from the
the original
original mine
mine maps.
maps.
The following
The
following mining
mining companies
companies are
are acknowledged
acknowledged for
for releasing
releasing the
the
drill-hole logs
drill-hole
logs for
for publication
publication in
in this
this report:
report: Blue
BIue Coal
Coal Corp.,
Corp., Ashley,
Ashley,
Pa.;
Pa.; Pagnotti
Pagnotti Coal
Coal Co.,
Co., West
West Pittston,
Pittston, Pa.;
Pa.; and
and Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Coal
Coal Co.,
Co.,
Scranton,
Scranton, Pa.
Pa.
Mr.
Mr. Roy
Roy Thomas
Thomas of
of Albright
Albright and
and Friel,
Friel, Inc.,
Inc., provided
provided altitudes,
altitudes, on
on
the
the U.S.
U.S. Coast
Coast and
and Geodetic
Geodetic Survey
Survey base,
base, of
of the
the bench
bench marks
marks he
he estabestablished
lished in
in the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley.
VaUey.
Acknowledgment
Acknowledgment is
is made
made also
also to
to William
William C.
C. Roth,
Roth, U.S.
U.S. Geological
Geological
Survey, who
Survey,
who helped
helped in
in field
field leveling
leveling and
and in
in collecting
collecting hydrologic
hydrologic data.
data.
GEOGRAPHY
GEOGRAPHY
SURFACE FEATURES
SURFACE
FEATURES AND
AND DRAINAGE
DRAINAGE
The Wyoming
The
Wyoming Valley
Valley is
is the
the southern
southern half
half of
of aa long
long vaHey
vaHey rimmed
rimmed
by two
by
two pairs
pairs of
of mountain
mountain ridges.
ridges. The
The valley
valley resembles
resembles aa crescent-shaped
crescent-shaped
The valley
valley and
and
dish that
dish
that has
has aa high
high outer
outer rim
rim and
and aa lower
lower inner
inner rim.
rim. The
adjacent ridges
adjacent
ridges are
are aa part
part of
of the
the Appalachian
Appalachian Mountain
Mountain Section
Section of
of the
the
Valley and
Valley
and Ridge
Ridge Province
Province (Fig.
(Fig. 3).
3).
The northern
The
northern half
half of
of the
the valley,
valley, known
known as
as the
the Lackawanna
Lackawanna Valley,
Valley, is
is
separated from
separated
from the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley at
at the
the point
point where
where the
the Lackawanna
Lackawanna
River enters
River
enters the
the Susquehanna
Susquehanna River.
River. For
For the
the purposes
purposes of
of this
this report,
report,
however, the
however,
the separation
separation was
was made
made at
at the
the Luzerne-Lackawanna
Luzerne-Lackawanna County
County
line.
line.
The
The relief
relief within
within the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley from
from the
the flood
flood plain
plain of
of the
the
Susquehanna
Susquehanna River
River to
to the
the top
top of
of the
the inner
inner ridge
ridge of
of the
the mountains
mountains is
is
about 1,100
about
1,100 feet.
feet. The
The relief
relief to
to the
the summit
summit of
of the
the higher
higher outer
outer ridge
ridge is
is
about 1,650
about
1,650 feet.
feet. The
The lowest
lowest elevation
elevation in
in the
the valley
valley is
is 510
510 feet
feet above
above
mean sea
mean
sea level
level on
on the
the flood
flood plain
plain at
at the
the Nanticoke
Nanticoke gap.
gap.
The Susquehanna
The
Susquehanna River,
River, the
the major
major stream
stream in
in the
the region,
region, enters
enters the
the
Valley from
from the
the northwest
northwest through
through aa gap
gap in the
the mountains
mountains
Wyoming Valley
Wyoming
north of Pittston. The river flows generally southwestward over a wide
alluvial
for about
about 15
15 miles
miles to
to where
where it
it turns
turns west
west and
and flows
flows through
through
alluvial plain
plain for
Nanticoke. The
The Lackawanna
Lackawanna River,
River,
aa gap
gap in
in the
the rimming
rimming mountains
mountains near
near Nanticoke.
GEOGRAPHY
GEOGRAPHY
77
Figure 3.
Figure
3. Map
Map showing
showing the
the physiographic provinces
provinces of
of eastern
eastern PennPennsylvania and
sylvania
and the
the location
location of
of the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley.
Valley.
the second
the
second major
major stream
stream in
in the
the valley,
valley, enters
enters the
the Susquehanna
Susquehanna River
River
near Pittston
near
Pittston (Fig.
(Fig. 1).
1).
The dominant
The
dominant surface
surface feature
feature in
in the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley is
is the
the wide
wide
alluvial plain
alluvial
plain adjacent
adjacent to
to the
the Susquehanna
Susquehanna River
River into
into which
which the
the river
river
has cut
has
cut aa series
series of
of low
low terraces.
terraces. Outside
Outside the
the alluvial
alluvial plain,
plain, gentle
gentle to
to
moderately roIling
moderately
roIling land
land is
is formed
formed on
on the
the upper
upper terraces
terraces of
of the
the Wyoming
Wyoming
Valley.
Valley.
Many surface
Many
surface features
features in
in the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley arc
arc the
the result
result of
of ananthracite mining.
thracite
mining. Waste
Waste rock,
rock, culm,
culm, and
and silt
silt banks
banks present
present huge
huge masses
masses
of broken
of
broken rock
rock on
on which
which little
little or
or no
no vegetation
vegetation takes
takes root.
root. Some
Some of
of these
these
banks are
banks
are over
over 100
100 feet
feet high
high and
and where
where they
they contain
contain enough
enough coal
coal refuse,
refuse,
On the
the mountain
mountain slopes
slopes where
where the
the coalbeds
coalbeds come
come
they may
they
may be
be burning.
burning. On
to the
to
the surface,
surface, "stripping"
"stripping" of
of the
the coal
coal has
has resulted
resulted in
in aa series
series of
of deep
deep
gashes with
gashes
with waste
waste rock
rock heaped
heaped to
to one
one side.
side.
but widespread
widespread effect
effect of
of the
the
Surface subsidence
Surface
subsidence is
is aa less
less obvious
obvious but
underground mining.
underground
mining. This
This occurs
occurs where
where all
all the
the coal
coal in
in aa seam
seam was
was
removed allowing
removed
allowing the
the roof
roof rock
rock in
in the
the mine
mine to
to cave.
cave. In
In some
some areas
areas
subsidence has
subsidence
has resulted
resulted in
in aa lowering
lowering of
of the
the land
land surface
surface as
as much
much as
as
12 feet
12
feet Occasionally
Occasionally aa deep
deep "cave-in"
"cave-in" occurs,
occurs, where
where aa small
small area
area on
on
the surface
the
surface suddenly
suddenly drops
drops down
down into
into the
the mine
mine below.
below. Surface
Surface subsidence
subsidence
has diminished
has
diminished now
now that
that most
most of
of the
the underground
underground mining
mining in
in the
the valley
valley
88
WYOMING VALLEY
WYOMING
VALLEY HYDROLOGY
HYDROLOGY
has been
has
been discontinued
discontinued and
and the
the mines
mines have
have filled
filled with
with water;
water; however,
however,
subsidence often
often occurs
occurs during
during the
subsidence
the filling
filling of
of the
the mines.
mines.
Several
the result
result of
Several new
new surface
surface features
features are
are the
of the
the mines
mines filling
filling with
with
water.
North of
of the
the Lackawanna
Lackawanna River
River near
near Duryea,
Duryea, aa lake
lake was
was formed
formed
water. North
at
at the
the elevation
elevation of
of the
the Seneca
Seneca Pool.
Pool. West
West of
of Duryea
Duryea aa permanent
permanent stream
stream
was
from aa gravity
20,000 to
to 29,000
29,000 gpm.
gpm.
was created
created from
gravity overflow
overflow of
of 20,000
The topography
The
topography of
of the
the alluvial
alluvial plain
plain has
has been
been changed
changed to
to aa minor
minor
extent
extent by
by mining
mining of
of soil,
soil, sand,
sand, and
and gravel
gravel for
for construction
construction and
and landlandscaping
scaping purposes.
purposes.
CLIMATE
CLIMATE
The climate
The
climate of
of the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley is
is humid
humid and
and characterized
characterized by
by
warm
summers and
and mild
mild winters.
winters. The
The average
average annual
annual precipitation
precipitation is
is
warm summers
38.75 inches,
38.75
inches, based
based upon
upon 30
30 years
years of
of record
record at
at the
the Wilkes-Barre-Scranton
Wilkes-Barre-Scranton
Airport Weather
Weather Bureau
Bureau (U.S.
(U.S. Department
Department of
of Commerce,
Commerce, 1967).
1967). The
The
Airport
precipitation is
precipitation
is greatest
greatest during
during May-July
May-July and
and least
least during
during DecemberDecemberFebruary (Fig.
4).
February
(Fig. 4).
Snowfall in
Snowfall
in the
the valley
valley has
has averaged
averaged 33
33 inches
inches during
during the
the past
past 20
20 years
years
of
About two-thirds
two-thirds of
of winter
winter precipitation
precipitation in
in the
valley occurs
of record.
record. About
the valley
occurs
as
as rain.
rain.
The
at the
the Wilkes-Barre-Scranton
Wilkes-Barre-Scranton
The mean
mean annual
annual temperature
temperature recorded
recorded at
Airport
Weather Bureau
(U.S. Department
of Commerce
Commerce 1964)
Department of
1964) is
is 50°
50° F.
F.
Airport Weather
Bureau (U.S.
The mean
The
mean monthly
monthly temperature
temperature ranges
ranges from
from aa minimum
minimum of
of 26°
26° F
F in
in
January
January to
to aa maximum
maximum of
of 72°
72 ° F
F in
in July
July (Fig.
(Fig. 4).
4). The
The average
average frost-free
frost-free
PRECIP ITATION,IN INCHES
Figure 4.
Figure
4.
MEAN
TEMPERATURE,
IN DEGREES
FAHRENHEIT
Graphs showing
Graphs
showing the
the normal-monthly
normal-monthly precipitation
precipitation and
and the
the
mean monthly
mean
monthly temperature
temperature at
at Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre -- Scranton
Scranton
Airport.
Airport.
9
9
GEOGRAPHY
GEOGRAPHY
period, based
period,
based on
on 11
11 years
years of
of record
record for
for the
the valley,
valley, is
is tt 65
65 days
days between
between
April 26
April
26 and
and October
October 8.
8.
In an
In
an average
average year
year there
there are
are 68
68 clear
clear (cloudless)
(cloudless) days,
days, 113
113 partly
partly
cloudy days,
cloudy
days, and
and 184
184 cloudy
cloudy days.
days. Heavy
Heavy fog
fog occurs
occurs about
about 27
27 times
times aa
year predominantly
year
predominantly during
during the
the late
late fall
fall and
and winter
winter months.
months.
POPULATION
POPULATION
The Wyoming
The
Wyoming VaHey
VaHey is
is densely
densely populated;
populated; the
the many
many small
small cities comcommunities, and
munities,
and boroughs
boroughs form
form aa metropolis
metropolis numbering 225,000
225,000 in
in the
the
1960 census
1960
census (U.S.
(U.S. Department
Department of
of Commerce,
Commerce, 1962).
1962). Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre is
is
the largest
the
largest city
city and
and the
the Luzerne
Luzerne County
County seat.
seat. The
The population
population has
has dedein its
its once
once largest
clined in
clined
in the
the valley
valley since
since 1930,
1930, reflecting
reflecting the
the decline
decline in
industry, coal
industry,
coal mining.
mining. The
The population
population declined
declined 3
3 percent between
between 1930
1930
and 1940;
and
1940; 13.4
13.4 percent
percent between
between 1940
1940 and
and 1950;
1950; and
and 13.4
13.4 percent
percent bebetween 1950
tween
1950 and
and 1960.
1960. Census
Census data
data (Pennsylvania
(Pennsylvania Department
Department of
of InInternal Affairs,
ternal
Affairs, 1961,
1961, p.
p. 41)
41) for
for municipalties
municipalties and
and townships
townships with
with aa
population of
population
of 2,500
2,500 or
or over
over are
are as
as follows:
follows:
Municipality
Ashley Borough
Ashley
Borough
Avoca Borough
Avoca
Borough
Dupont Borough
Dupont
Borough
Duryea Borough
Duryea
Borough
Edwardsville Borough
Edwardsville
Borough
Exeter
Exeter
Forty Fort
Forty
Fort Borough
Borough
Hanover Township
Hanover
Township
Jenkins Township
Jenkins
Kingston Borough
Borough
Larksville Borough
Larksville
Borough
Luzerne Borough
Luzerne
Population
4,258
4,258
3.562
3.562
3,669
3,669
5.626
5.626
5,711
5,711
4,747
4,747
6,431
6,431
12,781
12,781
3,475
3,475
20,261
20,261
4,390
4,390
5,118
5,118
Municipality
Nanticoke
Nanticoke
Pittston Borough
Pittston
Borough
Pittston Township
Pittston
Township
Plains Township
Plains
Township
Plymouth Borough
Plymouth
Borough
Plymouth Township
Plymouth
Township
Swoyersvl1!e
Swoyersvl1!e
West Pittston
West
Pittston
West Wyoming
West
Wyoming Boroul'~h
Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre
Township
Wilkes-Barre Township
Wilkes-Barre
Wyoming Borough
Borough
15,601
15,601
12,407
12,407
2,992
2,992
10,995
10,995
10,401
10,401
2,983
2,983
6,751
6,751
6,998
6,998
3,166
3,166
63,551
63,551
4,319
4,319
4,127
4,127
INDUSTRY, MINERAL
INDUSTRY,
MINERAL RESOURCES,
RESOURCES, AND
AND AGRICULTURE
AGRICULTURE
Tbe main
Tbe
main industry
industry in
in the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley is
is manufacturing.
manufacturing. There
There
are approximately
are
approximately 470
470 manufacturing
manufacturing establishments
establishments in
in the
the valley
valley (Pennsylvania Department of
sylvania
of Internal
Internal Affairs, 1961,
1961, p.
p. 234) .. The
The major
major inindustries and
dustries
and estimated
estimated employment
employment are:
are: apparel
apparel and
and related
related products,
products,
12,000; leather
12,000;
leather and
and leather
leather products,
products, 2,700;
2,700; textile
textile mill
mill products,
products, 2,100;
2,100;
and tobacco
and
tobacco products,
products,
The mining of
The
of anthracite
anthracite was
was the
the main
main industry
industry in
in the
the vaHey
valley prior
to 1954,
to
1954, Total
Total production
production (net
(net tons) for
for Luzerne
Luzerne County
County has
has been
been
rapidly decreasing
de(:re~lsjng as
as shown
shown in
in the
the following
following table
table (Pernsylvania
(Pernsylvania DepartDepartment
ment of
of Mines,
Mines, 1966):
1966):
10
VALLEY HYDROLOGY
HYDROLOGY
WYOMING VALLEY
WYOMING
1924
1924
1930
1930
1940
1940
1950
1950
,150
34 ,711
34
,711,150
27 ,456,102
,456,102
27
22 ,672
22
,672 ,016
,016
17 ,112,757
17
,112,757
5,380,696
5,380,696
5,346.676
5,346.676
4,478,219
4,478,219
1960
1960
1965
1965
1966
1966
Since the
Since
the inundation
inundation of
of the
the mines
mines by
by the
the Susquehanna
Susquehanna River
River in
in January
January
1959,
1959, only
only two
two principal
principal coal
coal producers
producers have
have continued
continued operations.
operations.
Fresh
Fresh produce
produce is
is the
the main
main agricultural
agricultural product
product in
in the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley.
Valley.
The alluvial
The
alluvial plain
plain along
along the
the Susquehanna
Susquehanna River
River is
is ideally
ideally suited
suited for
for agagriculture; however,
riculture;
however, the
the land
land available
available for
for cultivation
cultivation is
is rapidly
rapidly being
being
taken
taken from
from use
use because
because of
of expanding
expanding urbanization,
urbanization, mining
mining of
of top
top soil,
soil,
sand,
sand, gravel,
gravel, and
and land
land made
made vulnerable
vulnerable to
to frequent
frequent flooding
flooding because
because of
of
subsidence.
subsidence.
BEDROCK GEOLOGY
BEDROCK
GEOLOGY
STRATIGRAPHY
STRATIGRAPHY
The bedrock
The
bedrock in
in the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley is
is made
made up
up of
of well-indurated
well-indurated
thin- to
thinto massive-bedded
massive-bedded sandstone,
sandstone, shale,
shale, siltstone,
siltstone, conglomerate,
conglomerate, and
and
coal. The
coaL
The bedrock
bedrock exposed
exposed along
along the
the margin
margin of
of the
the valley
valley consists
consists of
of
the
the following
following forma:tions,
forma:tions, from
from the
the oldest
oldest to
to the
the youngest:
youngest: The
The Pocono
Pocono
Formation of
Formation
of Early
Early Mississippian
Mississippian age,
age, Mauch
Mauch Chunk
Chunk Formation
Formation of
of MisMississippian and
sissippian
and Pennsylvanian
Pennsylvanian (?)
(?) age,
age, and
and the
the Pottsville
Pottsville and
and Llewellyn
Llewellyn
Formations of
Formations
of Pennsylvanian
Pennsylvanian age.
age. Only
Only the
the Llewellyn
Llewellyn is
is delineated
delineated on
on the
the
as pre-Llewellyn
pre-Llewellyn (Plate
(Plate
geologic map;
geologic
map; the
the other
other formations
formations are
are grouped
grouped as
1)
1) .. Their
Their geomorphic
geomorphic and
and stratigraphic
stratigraphic relationships
relationships are
are shown
shown in
in
Figure 5.
Figure
5.
NW
SE
GLACIAL DEPOSI TS
" .';: '
.",
.~ :"
POTTSVI LLE FORMATI ON
MAUC H CHUNK FORMATION
POCONO FORMATION
Figure 5.
Figure
5. Generalized
Generalized section
section through
through the
the Wyom
Wyoming
ing Valley
Valley syncli·
norium showing
norium
showing the
the relations
relations of
of MiSSissippian
MiSSissippian and
and younger
younger
age rocks.
age
rocks.
BEDROCK GEOLOGY
BEDROCK
GEOLOGY
11
11
Pre-Llewellyn Formations
Pre-Llewellyn
Formations
Three pre-Llewellyn
Three
pre-Llewellyn formations
formations crop
crop out
out on
on either
either side
side of
of the
the valley.
valley.
The Pocono
The
Pocono Formation,
Formation, about
about 600
600 feet
feet thick,
thick, forms
forms the
the outer
outer ridge
ridge and
and is
is
predominantly aa gray,
predominantly
gray, hard,
hard, massive cross
cross bedded
bedded conglomerate
conglomerate and
and sandsandstone interbedded
stone
interbedded with
with some
some siltstone
siltstone and
and shale.
shale. The
The Mauch
Mauch Chunk
Chunk ForFormation thins
mation
thins northward
northward and
and ranges
ranges in
in thickness
thickness from
from aa few
few feet
feet to
to
about 1,000
about
1,000 feet
feet and
and occupies the
the valley between
between the
the inner
inner and
and outer
outer
ridges formed
ridges
formed by
by the
the coarser
coarser grained rocks.
rocks. It
It is
is predominantly
predominantly aa red
red
shale interbedded
shale
interbedded with
with some
some brown
brown and
and greenish-gray flaggy siltstone
siltstone and
and
sandstone. The
sandstone.
The Pottsville
Pottsville Formation,
Formation, 200
200 to
to 300
300 feet
feet tbick,
tbick, forms
forms the
the
inner ridge and
inner
and is
is aa light-gray
light-gray to
to white
white coarse-granied sandstone
sandstone and
and
conglomerate.
conglomerate.
Llewellyn Formation
Llewellyn
Formation
The Llewellyn
The
Llewellyn Formation
Formation underlies
underlies the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley and
and lower
lower
parts of
parts
of tbe
tbe surrounding
surrounding slopes.
slopes. The
The formation
formation is
is nearly
nearly 2,200
2,200 feet
feet
thick and
thick
and is
is composed
composed of
of interbedded
interbedded light-gray,
light-gray, quartz-pebble
quartz-pebble congloconglomerate; lightmerate;
light- to
to medium-gray,
medium-gray, finefine- to
to coarse-grained
coarse-grained sandstone;
sandstone; lightlightdark-gray
to dark-gray shale
to
shale and
and siltstone;
siltstone; medium-gray
medium-gray claystone;
claystone; very
very dalrk-!!ra,V
carbonaceous shale;
carbonaceous
shale; and
and anthracite
anthracite coalbeds.
coalbeds.
The strata
The
strata between
between the
the coalbeds
coalbeds commonly
commonly exhibit
exhibit extreme
extreme lateral
lateral
in thickness
thickness and
and lithology,
lithology, and
and are
are characterized
characterized by crossbedding,
crossbedding,
changes in
changes
truncated bedding, and
truncated
and channel
channel deposits.
deposits. The
The coalbeds
coalbeds are
are the
the most
most
fraction of
of an
an inch
inch to
to
persistent strata
persistent
strata and
and range
range in
in thickness
thickness from
from aa fraction
At Jeast
Jeast 26
26 coalbeds
coalbeds are
are represented
represented in
in the
the Llewellyn Formation
Formation
27 feet.
27
feet. At
(Ash, 1954).
(Ash,
1954). The
The lowest
lowest coalbed
coalbed crops
crops out
out on
on the
the mountain
mountain slopes
slopes on
on
each side
each
side of
of the
the valley
valley at
at an
an altitude
altitude of
of 1,000
1,000 to
to 1,100
1,100 feet
feet
The Llewellyn
The
Llewellyn is
is covered
covered with
with unconsolidated
unconsolidated glacial
glacial deposits
deposits and
and
exposures are
exposures
are scarce.
scarce. It
It may
may be
be seen,
seen, however in
in resistant
resistant ridges,
ridges, where
where
the glacial deposits have
the
have been
been removed
removed by
by erosion,
erosion, in
in roadcuts and
and where
where
excavation for
excavation
for coal
coal has
has removed
removed the
the surficial
surficial material.
material.
STRUCTURE
STRUCTURE
The Wyoming
The
Wyoming Valley
Valley lies
lies in
in the
the southern
southern half
half of
of aa large
large synclinorium
synclinorium
N 50°
50° E
E and
and whose
whose ends
ends taper
taper to
to points.
points. The
The
whose axis
whose
axis trends
trends about
about N
synclinourium is slightly crescent
crescent shaped in
in plan and
and is
is concave
concave on the
the
northwest side.
The rocks bordering
bot'oeTingthetheWyoming
W']'OmingValley suggest a simple synclinal
structure. However, thetbe
area is structurally
is
anomalous to the Appala-
12
12
WYOMING VALl_EY
WYOMING
VALl_EY HYDROLOGY
HYDROLOGY
chians, and
chians,
and the
the rocks
rocks within
within the
the valley
valley are
are complexly
complexly folded
folded and
and faulted,
faulted,
and contain
and
contain many
many subparallel
subparallel anticlines
anticlines and
and synclines
synclines and
and related
related faults.
faults.
These features
These
features are
are discontinuous,
discontinuous, and
and are
are seldom
seldom over
over aa few
few miles
miles in
in
The deepest
deepest part
part of
of the
the synclinorium
synclinorium is
is about
about 11 mile
mile east
east of
of
length. The
length.
Nanticoke. The
Nanticoke.
The trough
trough becomes
becomes shallower
shallower toward
toward its
its nose,
nose, about
about 99 miles
miles
southwest of
southwest
of Nanticoke,
Nanticoke, and
and toward
toward aa high
high point
point northeast
northeast of
of Pittston,
Pittston,
immediately east
immediately
east of
of where
where the
the Lackawanna
Lackawanna River
River flows
flows into
into the
the SusSusquehanna River.
quehanna
River. This
This high
high point
point effectively
effectively culminates
culminates the
the Wyoming
Wyoming
Valley and
Valley
and divides
divides the
the synclinorium
synclinorium into
into two
two substructures.
substructures. The
The second
second
trough lies
trough
lies northeast
northeast of
of the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley in
in the
the general
general vicinity
vicinity of
of
is called
called the
the Lackawanna
Lackawanna Valley.
Valley.
Scranton, Pa.,
Scranton,
Pa., and
and is
Detailed discussion
Detailed
discussion of
of the
the structure
structure is
is beyond
beyond the
the scope
scope of
of this
this report.
report.
However. further
However.
further treatment
treatment of
of this
this subject
subject may
may be
be found
found in
in Darton
Darton
(1940).
(1940).
GLACIAL GEOLOGY
GLACIAL
GEOLOGY
ORIGIN OF
ORIGIN
OF THE
THE BURIED
BURIED V
VALLEY
ALLEY
The Wyoming
The
Wyoming Valley
Valley was
was invaded
invaded by
by glacial
glacial ice
ice in
in the
the Illinoian
Illinoian time
time
and again
and
again in
in Wisconsin
Wisconsin time
time units
units of
of the
the Pleistocene
Pleistocene glacial
glacial epoch.
epoch.
Evidence of
Evidence
of the
the early
early glacial
glacial activity
activity in
in the
the valley
valley has
has been
been obliteTated
obliteTated
by the
by
the more
more recent
recent glaciation
glaciation (ltter,
(ltter, 1938,
1938, p.
p. 19).
19). During
During the
the greatest
greatest
advances of
advances
of the
the glaciers
glaciers the
the ice
ice crossed
crossed the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley and
and the
the
mountains to
mountains
to the
the south.
south. As
As the
the ice
ice moved
moved into
into the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley
from the
from
the north
north it
it was
was turned
turned westward
westward by
by the
the mountains
mountains that
that flanked
flanked
the valley
the
valley on
on the
the south.
south. All
All the
the ice
ice within
within the
the valley
valley flowed
flowed in
in aa southsouthwest direction
west
direction parallel
parallel to
to the
the axis
axis of
of the
the valley.
valley. The
The turning
turning slowed
slowed the
the
in thickness
thickness over
over the
the
flow and
flow
and caused
caused the
the ice
ice to
to pile
pile up
up and
and increase
increase in
valley. The
valley.
The increase
increase in
in thickness
thickness added
added to
to its
its erosive
erosive powers,
powers, and
and the
the
67).
ice quarried
ice
quarried hundreds
hundreds of
of feet
feet of
of rock
rock from
from the
the valley
valley (Itter,
(Itter, 1938,
1938, p.
p. 67).
The greatest
The
greatest excavations
excavations occurred
occurred in
in the
the Llewellyn
Llewellyn Formation
Formation because
because
the brittle
the
brittle anthracite
anthracite beds
beds in
in this
this formation
formation were
were easily
easily fractured
fractured and
and
dislocated, facilitating
dislocated,
facilitating the
the fracturing
fracturing and
and removal
removal of
of the
the adjacent
adjacent beds.
beds.
part of
of the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley has
has since
since been
been filled
filled
This overdeepened
This
overdeepened part
with sediment
with
sediment and
and is
is locally
locally referred
referred to
to as
as the
the "buried
"buried valley."
valley." Coal
Coal
companies operating
companies
operating mines
mines beneath
beneath the
the buried
buried valley
valley have
have drilled
drilled thouthousands of
sands
of boreholes
boreholes through
through the
the sediments
sediments of
of the
the buried
buried valley
valley in
in order
order to
to
The data
data acquired
acquired from
from the
the coal
coal companies
companies
define its
define
its depth
depth and
and extent.
extent. The
indicate the
indicate
the bedrock
bedrock surface
surface is
is very
very irregular,
irregular, having
having as
as much
much as
as 300
300 feet
feet
of relief
of
relief just
just south
south of
of the
the town
town of
of Plymouth
Plymouth (Plate
(Plate 1).
1).
GLACIAL GEOLOGY
GLACIAL
GEOLOGY
13
13
GLACIAL DRIFT
DRIFT
GLACIAL
The unconsolidated
The
unconsolidated glacial
glacial deposits
deposits that
that overlie
overlie the
the bedrock
bedrock in
in the
the
as glacial
glacial drift.
drift. These
These sedisediWyoming Valley
Wyoming
Valley are
are referred
referred to
to generally
generally as
ments are
ments
are composed
composed of
of varying
varying proportions
proportions of
of boulders,
boulders, gravel,
gravel, sand,
sand, silt,
siIt,
and
and clay.
clay. On
On the
the basis
basis of
of their
their bedding,
bedding, sorting,
sorting, and
and topographic
topographic posiposition
tion the
the deposits
deposits are
are subdivided
subdivided into
into unstratified
unstratified and
and stratified
stratified drift.
drift. Areas
Areas
1) as
as undifferentiated
undifferentiated glacial
glacial drift
drift ininshown
shown on
on the
the geologic
geologic map
map (Plate
(Plate 1)
and glacial
glacial drift
drift that
that have
have not
not been
been
clude
clude those
those areas
areas of
of ground
ground moraine
moraine and
related to
related
to specific
specific terrace
terrace levels
levels or
or to
to other
other physiographic
physiographic features
features typical
typical
of
of glaciated
glaciated areas.
areas.
Unstratified
Unstratified Drift
Drift
Unstratified
Unstratified drift
drift or
or till
till lacks
lacks bedding
bedding and
and is
is unsorted
unsorted because
because it
it was
was
deposited by
deposited
by the
the melting
melting glacier
glacier ice
ice with
with little
little or
or no
no transport
transport by
by running
running
water. The
water.
The resulting
resulting deposits
deposits consist
consist of
of aa heterogeneous
heterogeneous mass
mass of
of clay,
clay,
1938). In
In the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley,
Valley,
silt, sand,
silt,
sand, gravel,
gravel, and
and boulders
boulders (Itter,
(Itter, 1938).
in the
the unstratified
unstratified sediments
sediments
sand usually
sand
usually comprises
comprises most
most of
of the
the material
material in
6). Till
Till occurs
occurs only
only locally
locally as
as aa thin
thin veneer
veneer in
in the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley.
Valley.
(Fig. 6).
(Fig.
It is
It
is not
not shown
shown as
as aa distinct
distinct unit
unit on
on the
the geologic
geologic map.
map. (Plate
(Plate 1)
1) but
but
is included
is
included with
with the
the undifferentiated
undifferentiated glacial
glacial drift.
drift.
Figure 6.
Figure
6.
Photograph showing
Photograph
showing unstratified
unstratified glacial
glacial till
till overlying
overlying a
a thin
thin
coalbed, 1
coalbed,
1 mile
mile east
east of
of Pittston.
Pittston.
14
14
WYOMlNG VALLEY
WYOMlNG
VALLEY HYDROLOGY
HYDROLOGY
Stratified Drift
Stratified
Drift
Stratified drift
Stratified
drift in
in the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley is
is classified
classified as
as either
either proproor ice
ice contact
contact sediments.
sediments. The
The proglacial
proglacial sediments
sediments are
are
glacial sediments
glacial
sediments or
those that
those
that were
were deposited
deposited beyond
beyond the
the limits
limits of
of the
the glacier
glacier as
as outwash
outwash
sediments and
sediments
and lake
lake sediments.
sediments. The
The ice
ice contact
contact sediments
sediments were
were deposited
deposited
as kame
as
kame terraces
terraces in
in immediate
immediate contact
contact \'lith
\'lith wasting
wasting ice.
ice. The
The ice
ice concontact and
tact
and proglacial
proglacial sediments
sediments may
may grade
grade directly
directly into
into one
one another;
another; howhowever, because
ever,
because of
of their
their topographic
topographic separation
separation they
they will
will be
be discussed
discussed inindividually.
dividually.
Kame terraces
Remnants of
Remnants
of kame
kame terraces
terraces occur
occur on
on both
both sides
sides of
of the
the Susquehanna
Susquehanna
River in
River
in the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley (Plate
(Plate 1).
1). The
The elevation
elevation of
of the
the upper
upper
surface is
surface
is about
about 685
685 feet
feet near
near Pittston
Pittston and
and is
is about
about 10
10 feet
feet less
less at
at the
the
lower end
lower
end of
of the
the valley
valley (I
(I tter,
tter, 1938)
1938) The
The terrace
terrace on
on the
the northwest
northwest side
side
of the
of
the river
river is
is nearly
nearly continuous
continuous and
and can
can be
be traced
traced from
from West
West Pittston
Pittston
to Plymouth.
to
Plymouth. On
On the
the southeast
southeast side
side of
of the
the river
river it
it is
is discontinuous
discontinuous and
and
poorly exposed.
poorly
exposed. The
The kame
kame terrace
terrace deposits
deposits range
range from
from 10
10 to
to 100
100 feet
feet
in thickness
in
thickness and
and consist
consist of
of stratified
stratified sand
sand and
and gravel,
gravel, with
with aa coarse
coarse gravel
gravel
layer at
layer
at the
the top.
top. Locally,
Locally, erratic
erratic boulders
boulders and
and pockets
pockets of
of till
till are
are incorincorporated within
porated
within the
the deposits.
deposits. The
The photographs
photographs in
in Figure
Figure 77 show
show both
both
complex and
complex
and simple
simple structures.
structures. Deposition
Deposition of
of these
these deposits
deposits are
are dindin(1938) and
and more
more fully
fully in
in Flint
Flint (1957).
(1957).
cussed briefly
cussed
briefly in
in Itter
Itter (1938)
These kame
These
kame terraces
terraces deposits
deposits are
are economically
economically valuable
valuable as
as aa sand
sand and
and
gravel source
gravel
source throughout
throughout northeastern
northeastern Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania. In
In the
the Wyoming
Wyoming
Valley they
Valley
they are
are mined
mined nearly
nearly to
to depletion.
depletion.
Lake sediments
Lake
sediments
Large scale
Large
scale maps
maps made
made from
from logs
logs of
of over
over 500
500 test
test borings
borings in
in the
the overoverdeepened part
deepened
part of
of the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley show
show aa distribution
distribution of
of coarse
coarse mamaterial and
terial
and thick
thick clay
clay beds
beds that
that indicate
indicate the
the sediments
sediments were
were deposited
deposited in
in
at an
an elevation
elevation of
of about
about 560
560 feet.
feet. The
The deposits
deposits consist
consist
aa lake
lake that
that stood
stood at
of deltas,
of
deltas, moraines,
moraines, bottom
bottom deposits,
deposits, and
and rafted
rafted erratics,
erratics, all
all of
of which
which are
are
common in
common
in glacial
glacial lakes
lakes (Flint,
(Flint, 1957,
1957, p.
p. 143).
143).
Lithofacies maps
Lithofacies
maps of
of these
these sediments
sediments illustrate
illustrate the
the character
character and
and areal
areal
complexity of
complexity
of the
the deposits
deposits (Plate
(Plate 2).
2). Each
Each map
map represents
represents an
an interval
interval
of sediments
of
sediments at
at different
different depths
depths below
below land
land surface
surface that
that illustrate
illustrate the
the
areal variations
areal
variations in
in the
the lithologic
lithologic character
character of
of the
the unit
unit mapped.
mapped. Three
Three
intervals were
intervals
were selected:
selected: aa 10
10 to
to 50
50 feet
feet interval
interval which
which consists
consists mostly
mostly of
of
coarse-grained sediments
coarse-grained
sediments and
and is
is the
the interval
interval in
in which
which most
most wells
wells will
will be
be
GLACIAL GEOLOGY
GLACIAL
GEOLOGY
A. Complex
A.
Complex structure;
structure; 0.5
0.5 miles
miles west
west of
of Wast
West Wyoming.
Wyoming.
B. Simple structure; 0.25 miles northwest of Duryea.
Figure
Figure 7.
7. Photographs
Photographs showing
showing kame-terrace
kame·terrace deposits.
deposits.
15
15
16
16
WYOMING VALLEY
WYOMING
VALLEY HYDROLOGY
HYDROLOGY
completed; aa 50
completed;
50 to
to 100
100 feet
feet interval
interval which
which consists
consists mostly
mostly of
of fine-grained
fine-grained
sediments that
sediments
that retard
retard vertical
vertical flow
flow of
of ground
ground water;
water; and
and aa 100
100 feet
feet to
to
bedrock interval
bedrock
interval which
which consists
consists mostly
mostly of
of coarse
coarse sediments.
sediments. The
The interval
interval
from land
from
land surface
surface to
to 10
10 feet
feet in
in depth
depth was
was excluded
excluded because
because of
of poor
poor wellwelllog information.
log
information.
These intervals
These
intervals were
were selected
selected to
to establish
establish aa hydrogeologic
hydrogeologic framework
framework
and do
and
do not
not represent
represent stratigraphic
stratigraphic units.
units. Further
Further division
division of
of these
these sedisediments would
ments
would have
have provided
provided aa useful,
useful, three
three dimensional
dimensional picture
picture of
of the
the
lithology, however
lithology,
however such
such detailed
detailed work
work was
was beyond
beyond the
the scope
scope of
of this
this report.
report.
Each map
Each
map shows
shows aa composite
composite of
of the
the material
material making
making up
up the
the interval.
interval.
The grain
The
grain size
size ratios
ratios mapped
mapped were
were determined
determined by
by the
the following
following equation:
equation:
(Krumbein and
(Krumbein
and Sloss,
Sloss, 1951,
1951, p.
p. 271).
271).
..
thickness of
thickness
of sand
sand and
and gravel
gravel beds
beds in
in the
the interval
interval
= ---.-~--~-~-~--~ -~. ----~~----- .--------~.-- ~-----sand-clay ratIo
sand-clay
ratIo =
thIckness of
thIckness
of clay
clay and
and silt
silt beds
beds In
In the
the Interval
Interval
is aa gradation
gradation in
in grain
grain sizes
sizes between
between the
the coarse
coarse deltaic
deltaic deposits
deposits
There is
There
and the
and
the finer
finer lake
lake deposits;
deposits; however,
however, the
the change
change is
is only
only shown
shown in
in aa
general manner
general
manner on
on Plate
Plate 2.
2.
The lithofacies
The
lithofacies map
map for
for the
the 100
100 feet
feet to
to bedrock
bedrock interval
interval shows
shows prepredominantly coarse
dominantly
coarse deposits.
deposits. Some
Some bottom
bottom deposits
deposits also
also are
are present;
present; howhowever, none
ever,
none of
of the
the finer
finer bottom
bottom deposits
deposits exist
exist at
at depths
depths greater
greater than
than 140
140
feet. Most
feet.
Most of
of the
the deep
deep coarse-grained
coarse-grained sand
sand and
and gravel
gravel material
material were
were
probably transported
probably
transported into
into the
the trough
trough by
by ice
ice that
that occupied
occupied the
the overdeepoverdeepened valley.
ened
valley. Boulder
Boulder erratics
erratics are
are common
common below
below 100
100 feet.
feet.
The lithofacies
The
lithofacies map
map for
for the
the 50
50 to
to 100
100 feet
feet interval
interval shows
shows many
many small
small
areas of
areas
of coarse-grained
coarse-grained deposits
deposits probably
probably of
of deltaic
deltaic origin,
origin, and
and an
an abunabundance of
dance
of fine-grained
fine-grained bottom
bottom sediments.
sediments. Some
Some boulder
boulder erratics
erratics are
are concontained in
tained
in these
these sediments.
sediments. End
End moraine
moraine sediments
sediments deposited
deposited when
when glacier
glacier
ice occupied
ice
occupied the
the center
center of
of the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley,
Valley, make
make up
up much
much of
of the
the
material downstream
material
downstream from
from Plymouth.
Plymouth. This
This moraine
moraine probably
probably was
was the
the
dam that
dam
that held
held the
the lake
lake level
level about
about 60
60 feet.
feet.
The map
The
map of
of the
the 10
10 to
to 50
50 feet
feet interval
interval shows
shows that
that coarse-grained
coarse-grained dedeposits cover
posits
cover the
the fine-grained
fine-grained deposits
deposits below
below the
the junction
junction of
of the
the LackaLackawanna and
wanna
and Susquehanna
Susquehanna Rivers.
Rivers. This
This sequence
sequence of
of sediments
sediments indicates
indicates
aa gradual
gradual shoaling
shoaling of
of the
the lake
lake water
water and
and faster
faster currents
currents that
that had
had an
an inincreased capacity
creased
capacity to
to carry
carry suspended
suspended sediment
sediment downstream.
downstream. The
The coarsecoarsegrained deposits
grained
deposits are
are more
more extensive,
extensive, and
and the
the fine-grained
fine-grained lake
lake bottom
bottom
deposits are
deposits
are coarser
coarser and
and less
less continuous
continuous than
than in
in the
the 50
50 to
to 100
100 feet
feet ininterval. Some
terval.
Some of
of the
the deposits
deposits were
were eroded
eroded away
away by
by later
later down-cutting
down-cutting by
by
the river.
the
river.
Sediment was
Sediment
was transported
transported from
from the
the melting
melting ice
ice to
to the
the glacial
glacial lake
lake by
by
POST-GLACIAL GEOLOOY
POST-GLACIAL
GEOLOOY
17
17
major streams
major
streams entering
entering from
from the
the Susquebanna
Susquebanna River
River valley
valley and
and the
the LackaLackawanna Valley,
wanna
Valley, and
and by
by minor
minor tributary
tributary streams
streams along
along the
the sides
sides of
of the
the
Wyoming Valley.
Wyoming
Valley. As
As the
the swift.
swift. sediment-laden
sediment-laden streams
streams entered
entered the
the quiet
quiet
was greatly
greatly reduced.
reduced. The
The reduction
reduction in
in
water of
water
of the
the lake
lake their
their velocity
velocity was
carry sand
sand and
and gravel,
gravel,
velocity caused
velocity
caused aa reduction
reduction in
in their
their ability
ability to
to carry
and these
and
these coarse
coarse sediments
sediments were
were deposited
deposited at
at the
the mouths
mouths of
of the
the streams
streams
as deltas.
as
deltas. The
The finer
finer particles
particles remained
remained in
in suspension
suspension untll
untll they
they reached
reached
quieter water
quieter
water where
where they
they were
were deposited
deposited on
on the
the lake
lake bottom
bottom and
and acaccumulated to
cumulated
to form
form thick
thick beds
beds of
of silt
silt and
and clay.
clay. The
The depositional
depositional environenvironto place
place so
so that
that
ments changed
ments
changed from
from time
time to
to time
time and
and from
from place
place to
beds alternate
beds
alternate with
with thin
thin beds
beds of
of very
very fine
fine sand
sand and
and silt,
silt, medium
medium sand
sand and
and
or coarse
coarse sand
sand alld
alld gravel.
gravel.
silt, or
silt,
Outwash sediments
Outwash sediments
Outwash
sediments in
in the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley occur
occur as
as extensive
extensive deposits
deposits
of well-sorted
of
well-sorted sand
sand and
and gravel
gravel that
that are
are primarily
primarily found
found underlying
underlying the
the
p1ain in
in the
the northeastern
northeastern half
half of
of the
the valley.
valley.
broad flat
broad
flat p1ain
1) and
and they
they
These sediments
These
sediments are
are shown
shown on
on the
the geologic
geologic map
map (Plate
(Plate 1)
of those
those deposits
deposits shown
shown as
as alluvium.
alluvium. Their
Their
immediately underlie
immediately
underlie most
most of
an inch
inch to
to 30
30 feet
feet Good
Good exposures
exposures
thickness ranges
thickness
ranges from
from aa fraction
fraction of
of an
8).
of these
of
these deposits
deposits can
can he
he seen
seen in
in excavation
excavation pits
pits in
in the
the vaney
vaney (Fig.
(Fig. 8).
The sediments
The
sediments are
are generally
generally free
free of
of sUt
sUt and
and
and some
and
some were
were sorted
sorted to
to
the degree
the
degree that
that the
the sands
sands were
were removed
removed and
and aa clean
clean pebble-size
pebble-size gravel
gravel
was deposited.
was
deposited. "These
"These characteristics,
characteristics, coarseness
coarseness and
and aa high
high degree
degree of
of
of glacial
glacial outwash.
outwash. They
They are
are .. .. .. the
the result
result
sorting, are
sorting,
are .. .. .. features
features of
was north
north
of the
of
the regimen
regimen of
of glacial
glacial rivers
rivers (when
(when the
the glaciers
glaciers terminus
terminus was
of the
of
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley)
Valley) which
which commonly
commonly have
have diurnal
diurnal floods
floods of
of short
short
duration during
duration
during the
the summer.
summer. These
These floods
floods were
were occasionally
occasionally augmented
augmented by
by
the runoff
the
runoff of
of heavy
heavy rains
rains which
which fell
fell over
over the
the glacier."
glacier." (Peltier,
(Peltier, p.
p. 9,
9,
1949.)
1949.)
POST
POST~GLACrAL
GLACIAL GEOLOGY
GEOLOGY
Sediments left
Sediments
left by
by recent
recent floods
floods are
are shown
shown on
on the
the geologic
geologic map
map (Plate
(Plate
1) as
1)
as alluvial
alluvial and
and alluvial
alluvial fan
fan deposits
deposits of
of Holocene
Holocene age.
age. The
The alluvial
alluvial
as channel
channel fill
fill and
and as
as aa thin
thin
deposits occur
deposits
occur in
in and
and along
along stream
stream channels
channels as
veneer of
veneer
of sediment
sediment left
left by
by flood
flood water
water in
in low-lying
low-lying areas
areas adjacent
adjacent to
to
streams. The
streams.
The overbank
overbank deposits
deposits are
are aa few
few inches
inches to
to aa few
few feet
feet in
in thickthickfine sand.
sand. The
The channel
channel fill
fill deposits
deposits
ness and
ness
and occur
occur mostly
mostly as
as silt
silt and
and very
very fine
range from
range
from 1
1 to
to 10
10 feet
feet in
in thickness
thickness and
and consist
consist of
of sand
sand and
and gravel
gravel that
that
is not
is
not readily
readily discernible
discernible from
from the
the glacial
glacial outwash
outwash deposits.
deposits.
Alluvial fan
Alluvial
fan deposits
deposits occur
occur along
along the
the north
north side
side of
of the
the valley
valley where
where
the larger
the
larger tributary
tributary streams
streams issue
issue from
from the
the ridges
ridges and
and enter
enter the
the Wyoming
Wyoming
of aa mixture
mixture of
of silt,
silt, sand,
sand, and
and gravel.
gravel.
Valley. The
Valley.
The fans
fans are
are composed
composed of
Figure 8.
Figure
8.
Photographs
Photographs showing
showing glacial
glacial
outwash sediments,
outwash
sediments, 1
1 mile
mile
west
of Wyoming.
Wyoming.
west of
GROUND WATER
GROUND
WATER
19
19
GROUND WATER
GROUND
WATER
PRINCIPLES OF
PRINCIPLES
OF OCCURRENCE
OCCURRENCE
is divided
divided into
into aa number
number of
of
The precipitation
The
precipitation that
that falls
falls on
on the
the area
area is
is used
used by
by
parts. Part
parts.
Part runs
runs directly
directly into
into streams,
streams, part
part evaporates,
evaporates, part
part is
of saturation
saturation and
and
plants, and
plants,
and part
part percolates
percolates downward
downward to
to the
the zone
zone of
in the
the
becomes ground
becomes
ground water.
water. Ground
Ground water
water is
is that
that subsurface
subsurface water
water in
zone-tht: zone
zone in
in which
which aU
aU the
the spaces
spaces or
or interstices
interstices in
in the
the
saturated zone-tht:
saturated
or greater than
than atatrocks are
rocks
are filled
filled 'kith
'kith water
water under
under pressure
pressure equal
equal to
to or
In the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley ground
ground water
water fills
fills the
the interintermospheric pressure.
mospheric
pressure. In
stices between
stices
between the
the individual
individual grains
grains of
of silt, sand and
and gravel in
in the
the ununconsolidated deposits,
consolidated
deposits, and
and the
the fractures, faults,
faults, bedding
bedding planes and
and some
some
In this
this report
report the
the discussion
discussion of
of ""~'''''~'_
ground
mine workings
mine
workings in
in the
the bedrock.
bedrock. In
water will
water
will be
be limited
limited to
to the
the water
water in
in the
the unconsolidated
unconsolidated deposits and
and
or underlying
underlying the
the unconsolidated
unconsolidated
the water
the
water in
in those
those mines
mines adjacent
adjacent to
to or
deposits.
deposits.
Ground water
Ground
water occurs
occurs under
under water-table
water-table conditions
conditions and
and artesian
artesian condicondiis not
not confined
confined and
and
tions. Under
tions.
Under water-table
water-table conditions
conditions ground
ground water
water is
is free
free
the upper
the
upper surface
surface of
of the
the zone
zone of
of saturation,
saturation, called
called the
the water
water table is
to rise
to
rise and
and falL
falL Ground
Ground water
water is
is under
under artesian
artesian conditions
conditions when
when confined
confined
ove~rlying
under pressure
under
pressure in
in aa permeable
permeable rock
rock by relatively impermeable
impermeable overlying
rocks. When
rocks.
When the
the artesian
artesian aquifer
aquifer is
is tapped
tapped by
by aa wen
wen the
the water
water in
in the
the well
well
will rise
will
rise above
above the
the top
top of
of the
the penneable
penneable rock
rock that
that contains
contains it
it to
to aa level
level
known as
known
as the
the piezometric
piezometric surface.
surface.
Both of
Both
of these
these modes
modes of
of occurrence
occurrence are
are found
found in
in the
the water-bearing zones
zones
of the
of
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley.
Valley. Water-table
Water-table conditions
conditions prevail in
in the
the shallow
shallow
few isolated
isolated localities
localities
aquifer underlying
aquifer
underlying most
most of
of the
the valley. Only
Only in
in aa few
could aa shallow
could
shallow well
well penetrate
penetrate aa confining
confining layer
layer near
near the
the surface.
surface. Broad
Broad
thick layers
thick
layers of
of clay
clay and
and silt
silt underlie
underlie most
most of
of the
the central
central part of
of the
the
2), and
and wells
wells that
that tap
tap water-bearing zones
zones beneath
beneath
buried valley
buried
valley (Plate
(Plate 2),
these impermeable
these
impermeable layers
layers are
are artesian.
artesian.
An aquifer
An
aquifer is
is defined
defined as
as part
part of
of aa formation,
formation, aa formation, or
or group
group of
of
in the
the zone
zone of
of saturation
saturation that
that will
will yield water
water to
to wells
wells or
or springs
formations in
formations
(Meinzer, 1923,
(Meinzer,
1923, p.
p. 30).
30). The
The principal
principal aquifer
aquifer and
and ground-water
ground-water reservoir
reservoir
is composed
composed of
of the
the unconsolidated
unconsolidated deposits
deposits that
that lie
lie
in the
in
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley is
part of
of the
the valley
valley below
below an
an elevation
elevation of
of 560
560
mostly in
mostly
in the
the overdeepened
overdeepened part
feet. The
feet.
The unconsolidated
unconsolidated deposits
deposits above
above 560
560 feet
feet elevation
elevation are
are generally
generally
tills, alluvial
tills,
alluvial fan
fan deposits small
small isolated
isolated terracc
terracc deposits,
deposits, thin
thin channel
channel dedeposits, and
posits,
and undifferentiated
undifferentiated glacial debris
debris that
that are
are not
not extensive
extensive enough
enough
or transmit
transmit large
large supplies
supplies of
of water
water to
to wells.
wells. Of
Of the
the deposits
deposits bebeto store
to
store or
as sand
sand and
and gravel have
have the
the
low 560
low
560 feet,
feet, the
the coarse
coarse materials
materials such
such as
""~'''''~'_
ove~rlying
20
20
WYOMING VALLEY
WYOMING
VALLEY HYDROLOGY
HYDROLOGY
greatest capacity
greatest
capacity to
to store
store and
and yield
yield water
water because
because the
the interconnected
interconnected
pore spaces
pore
spaces in
in these
these sediments
sediments are
are large
large and
and transmit
transmit water
water with
with relarelative ease.
tive
ease.
HYDROLOGIC PROPERTIES
HYDROLOGIC
PROPERTIES
The quantity
The
quantity of
of water
water that
that aa water-bearing
water-bearing material
material will
will yield
yield to
to wells
wells
depends principally
depends
principally upon
upon the
the thickness
thickness and
and the
the coefficients
coefficients of
of permeability
permeability
and storage
and
storage of
of the
the material.
material. The
The coefficients
coefficients of
of permeability
permeability and
and storage
storage
vary with
vary
with the
the difference
difference in
in the
the size,
size, shape,
shape, sorting,
sorting, and
and packing
packing of
of the
the
grains.
grains.
(P) of
of aa water-bearing
water-bearing material
material is
is
The coefficient
The
coefficient of
of permeability
permeability (P)
aa measure
measure of
of its
its ability
ability for
for transmitting
transmitting water.
water. It
It is
is defined
defined as
as the
the rate
rate
flow of
of water,
water, in
in gallons
gallons per
per day,
day, through
through aa cross-sectional
cross-sectional area
area of
of 11of flow
of
square foot
square
foot under
under aa hydraulic
hydraulic gradient
gradient of
of 1
1 foot
foot per
per foot
foot at
at aa temperature
temperature
of 60°F
of
60°F (Ferris
(Ferris and
and others,
others, 1962,
1962, p.
p. 72).
72). In
In equation
equation form
form it
it may
may
be written
be
written as:
as:
P
P =
volume of
volume
of flow
flow (60°F)
(60°F)
·(tTme)(cross-sectlonafarea.T
(time) (cross-sectional area)
The
The coefficient
coefficient of
of permeability
permeability as
as defined
defined above,
above, except
except that
that the
the water
water
is the
the prevailing
prevailing field
field temperature,
temperature, multiplied
multiplied by
by the
the saturated
saturated
temperature
temperature is
thickness of
thickness
of the
the aquifer,
aquifer, in
in feet,
feet, is
is equal
equal to
to the
the coefficient
coefficient of
of transmissitransmissibility (T).
bility
(T). The
The coefficient
coefficient of
of transmissibility
transmissibility is
is defined
defined as
as the
the rate
rate of
of
flow of
flow
of water,
water, at
at the
the prevailing
prevailing water
water temperature,
temperature, in
in gallons
gallons per
per day,
day,
through aa vertical
through
vertical strip
strip of
of the
the aquifer
aquifer I-foot
I-foot wide
wide extending
extending the
the full
full satursaturated height
ated
height of
of the
the aquifer
aquifer under
under aa hydraulic
hydraulic gradient
gradient of
of 100
100 percent.
percent.
The storage
The
storage coefficient
coefficient is
is defined
defined as
as the
the volume
volume of
of water
water an
an aquifer
aquifer releases
releases
from or
from
or takes
takes into
into storage
storage per
per unit
unit surface
surface area
area of
of aquifer
aquifer per
per unit
unit change
change
in the
in
the component
component of
of head
head normal
normal to
to that
that surface
surface (Ferris
(Ferris and
and others,
others, 1962,
1962,
p.74).
p.74).
Detailed descriptions
Detailed
descriptions of
of borehole
borehole logs
logs are
are useful
useful in
in estimating
estimating an
an
aquifer's hydrologic
aquifer's
hydrologic properties.
properties. However,
However, aa quantitative
quantitative appraisal
appraisal of
of the
the
hydrologic properties
hydrologic
properties usually
usually requires
requires comprehensive
comprehensive analyses
analyses of
of waterwaterbearing materials
bearing
materials by
by aquifer
aquifer tests.
tests. The
The field
field method
method of
of measuring
measuring the
the
transmissibility and
transmissibility
and storage
storage coefficients
coefficients consists
consists of
of pumping
pumping aa well
well steadily
steadily
at aa known
at
known rate
rate of
of discharge
discharge and
and measuring
measuring the
the change
change in
in water
water level,
level,
during and
during
and after
after pumping,
pumping, in
in the
the pumped
pumped well
well and
and in
in one
one or
or more
more obobservation wells
servation
wells nearby.
nearby. These
These methods
methods are
are described
described by
by Wenzel
Wenzel (1942)
(1942)
and by
and
by Ferris
Ferris and
and others
others (1962).
(1962).
Four aquifer
Four
aquifer tests
tests were
were made
made on
on shallow
shallow irrigation
irrigation wells
wells in
in the
the Wyoming
Wyoming
Valley. During
Valley.
During each
each pumping
pumping test
test the
the changes
changes in
in water
water level
level were
were measmeas-
21
21
GROUND WATER
GROUND
WATER
ured in
ured
in observation
observation wells
wells located
located at
at different
different distances
distances from
from aa pumped
pumped
wen. After
wen.
After pumping,
pumping, measurements
measurements were
were continued
continued until
until the
the water
water levels
levels
in the
in
the wells
wells recovered
recovered approximately
approximately to
to their
their pre-test
pre-test levels.
levels. The
The drawdrawdown and
down
and recovery
recovery data
data obtained
obtained from
from the
the aquifer
aquifer tests
tests were
were analyzed
analyzed
by means
by
means of
of the
the Theis
Theis nonequilibrium
nonequilibrium formula
formula and
and the
the Theis
Theis recovery
recovery
formula (Ferris
formula
(Ferris and
and others,
others, 1962,
1962, p.
p. 92-102),
92-102), and
and corrected
corrected for
for partial
partial
p. 7).
7). The
The results
results of
of these
these
penetration where
penetration
where applicable
applicable (Walton,
(Walton, 1962,
1962, p.
1.
computations are
computations
are given
given in
in Table
Table 1.
or
Table 1.
Table
1. Summary of
of values of transmissibility, field permeability, and
storage coefficients determined by aquifer tests
Pumping
Pumping
Well
Well
number
number
Lu-255
Lu-255
Lu-257
Lu-257
Lu-300
Lu-300
Lu-30S
Lu-30S
rate
rate
Location
Location
Plymouth
Plymouth
Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre
Wyoming
Wyoming
(gpm)
(gpm)
380
380
42
42
90
90
100
100
TransTransmissibility
missibility
T
T
(gpd per
(gpd
per ftl
ft)
540,000
540,000
31,000
31,000
63,000
63,000
10,600
10,600
Field
Field
permeability
permeability
Storage
Storage
P
P
coefficient
coefficient
(gpd per
(gpd
per sq
sq ft)
ft) (percent)
(percent)
4,000
4,000
4,000
4,000
3,000
3,000
1,800
1,800
0.13
0.13
.ot
.ot
.03
.03
.0002
.0002
Saturated
Saturated
thickness
thickness
of
of
130
130
9
9
21
21
66
The aquifer
The
aquifer tested
tested by
by pumping
pumping wells
wells Lu-257
Lu-257 and
and Lu-300
Lu-300 is
is composed
composed
chiefly of
chiefly
of coarse
coarse sand
sand and
and gravel
gravel (outwash
(outwash deposits)
deposits) that
that lie
lie on
on aa relatively
relatively
impermeable silt
impermeable
silt and
and clay
clay formation.
formation. The
The aquifer
aquifer tested
tested by
by pumping
pumping well
well
is also
also composed
composed of
of coarse
coarse sand
sand and
and gravel
gravel (end
(end moraine?),
moraine?), and
and
Lu-255 is
Lu-255
is 130
is
130 feet
feet thick.
thick. The
The results
results of
of the
the aquifer
aquifer tests
tests indicate
indicate that
that these
these sand
sand
and gravel formations
and
formations are
are highly
highly permeable,
permeable, having
having aa permeability
permeability of
of 3,000
3,000
to 4,000
to
4,000 gpd
gpd per
per sq
sq ft
ft (gal1ons
(gal1ons per
per day
day per
per square
square foot).
foot). The
The thickest
thickest forforwells screened
screened throughout
throughout the
the saturated
saturated
mation would
mation
would yield
yield more
more water
water to
to wells
by pumping
pumping well
well LuLuzone than
zone
than the
the thinner
thinner formation.
formation. The
The aquifer
aquifer tested
tested by
305 is
305
is composed
composed mainly
mainly of
of medium
medium sand
sand and
and fine
fine gravel
gravel that
that is
is confined
confined
both at
both
at the
the top
top and
and the
the bottom
bottom of
of thick
thick clay
clay formations.
formations. The
The results
results of
of the
the
aquifer test
aquifer
test show
show this
this formation
formation to
to be
be moderately
moderately permeable,
permeable, having
having aa
ft.
value of
value
of 1,800
1,800 gpd
gpd per
per sq
sq ft.
Storage coefficient'!
Storage
coefficient'! shown
shown in
in Table
Table 1
1 are
are representative
representative of
of water
water table
table
on well
well Lu-305
Lu-305
or unconfined
or
unconfined conditions,
conditions, except
except the
the value
value from
from the
the test
test on
which reflects
which
reflects artesian
artesian conditions.
conditions. The
The coefficient
coefficient of
of storage
storage obtained
obtained
is small
small because
because the
the aquifer
aquifer is
is locally
locally confined
confined by
by aa clay
clay layer,
layer,
for this
for
this test
test is
was not
not of
of long
long enough
enough duration
duration to
to dewater
dewater the
the
and the
and
the pumping
pumping test
test was
confining clay
confining
clay bed.
bed.
The test
The
test results
results are
are useful
useful in
in evaluating
evaluating the
the lithologic
lithologic character
character of
of the
the
2). Results
Results of
of
sand and
sand
and clay
clay mapped
mapped in
in the
the 1010- to
to 50-foot
50-foot zone
zone (Plate
(Plate 2).
the aquifer
the
aquifer tests
tests indicate
indicate that
that those
those areas
areas mapped
mapped with
with sand-clay
sand-clay ratio
ratio
between 1
between
1 and
and 8
8 have
have permeabilities
permeabilities ranging
ranging from
from 3,000
3,000 to
to 4,000
4,000 gpd
gpd
22
22
WYOMING VALLEY
WYOMING
VALLEY HYDROLOGY
HYDROLOGY
per sq
per
sq ft,
ft, and
and the
the area
area mapped
mapped with
with sand-clay
sand-clay ratio
ratio between
between 0.25
0.25 and
and 11
have aa permeability
have
permeability of
of 1,800
1,800 gpd
gpd per
per sq
sq ft.
ft. Because
Because the
the higher
higher permepermeis believed
believed that
that those
those
ability values
ability
values were
were from
from the
the outwash
outwash deposits,
deposits, it
it is
areas having
areas
having outwash
outwash deposits
deposits with
with similar
similar clastic
clastic ratios
ratios would
would yield
yield
Jarge to
Jarge
to moderate
moderate supplies
supplies to
to wells
wells where
where the
the deposits
deposits are
are sufficiently
sufficiently
saturated to
saturated
to be
be developed.
developed.
2) may
may be
be useful
useful in
in predicting
predicting
Therefore, the
Therefore,
the lithofacies
lithofacies map
map (Plate
(Plate 2)
areas where
areas
where high-yielding
high-yielding wells
wells may
may be
be developed.
developed. Those
Those areas
areas shown
shown
will have
have
on the
on
the lithofacies
lithofacies maps
maps that
that have
have the
the higher
higher sand
sand to
to clay
clay ratios
ratios will
the greatest
the
greatest thickness
thickness of
of sand
sand and
and gravel
gravel and
and will
will yield
yield larger
larger supplies
supplies
wells than
than those
those areas
areas shown
shown to
to have
have lesser
lesser ratios.
ratios. Most
Most of
of
of water
of
water to
to wells
the buried
the
buried valley
valley material
material contains
contains sand
sand and
and gravel
gravel at
at some
some depth;
depth; howhowin areas
areas shown
shown to
to have
have the
the least
least sand
sand to
to clay
clay ratios,
ratios, sand
sand and
and gravel
gravel
ever, in
ever,
beds are
beds
are not
not thick
thick enough
enough to
to develop
develop large-capacity
large-capacity wells,
wells, such
such as
as that
that
formation tapped
formation
tapped by
by well
well Lu-305.
Lu-305.
To determine
To
determine the
the depth
depth and
and thickness
thickness of
of sand
sand and
and gravel
gravel deposi.ts
deposi.ts at
at
aa specific
specific location
location in
in the
the buried
buried valley,
valley, logs
logs of
of nearby
nearby boreholes
boreholes should
should
be consulted.
be
consulted. Logs
Logs of
of boreholes,
boreholes, selected
selected to
to give
give maximum
maximum coverage
coverage of
of
in the
the Appendix.
Appendix. Their
Their locations
locations
the buried
the
buried valley,
valley, are
are shown
shown graphically
graphically in
are shown
are
shown on
on Plate
Plate 3.
3.
THE WATER
THE
WATER TABLE
TABLE
The water
The
water table
table in
in the
the buried
buried valley
valley is
is not
not level
level or
or uniform
uniform but
but is
is aa
sloping and
sloping
and undulating
undulating surface.
surface. Plate
Plate 4
4 shows
shows the
the configuration
configuration of
of the
the
water table
water
table on
on August
August 3,
3, 1966,
1966, and
and May
May 22,
22, 1967.
1967.
The shape
The
shape of
of this
this surface
surface is
is due
due to
to local
local differences
differences in
in the
the capacity
capacity
of the
of
the aquifer
aquifer to
to store
store and
and transmit
transmit water,
water, and
and the
the recharge
recharge to
to and
and disdischarge from
charge
from the
the aquifer.
aquifer. For
For example,
example, the
the gentle
gentle water-table
water-table gradient
gradient
in the
in
the vicinity
vicinity of
of the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Airport
Airport results
results from
from the
the excellent
excellent waterwatertransmitting properties
transmitting
properties of
of the
the thick
thick deposits
deposits of
of coarse
coarse sand
sand and
and gravel
gravel
in this
this area
area is
is transtransthat underlie
that
underlie the
the area.
area. Water
Water added
added to
to the
the aquifer
aquifer in
mitted rapidly
mitted
rapidly to
to the
the Susquehanna
Susquehanna River.
River. To
To transmit
transmit an
an equivalent
equivalent
amount of
amount
of water
water to
to the
the river,
river, finer
finer sediments
sediments would
would require
require aa steeper
steeper
as occurs
occurs in
in the
the area
area west
west of
of the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Airport.
Airport. Other
Other
gradient such
gradient
such as
in the
the water
water table
table over
over the
the Lance
Lance and
and ProsProsexamples are
examples
are the
the depressions
depressions in
pect-Henry mines.
pect-Henry
mines. These
These depressions,
depressions, shown
shown on
on Plate
Plate 44 for
for the
the August
August
measurement by
measurement
by sharp
sharp curving
curving and
and reversal
reversal of
of the
the 512
512 and
and 518
518 contours,
contours,
were caused
were
caused by
by ground-water
ground-water movement
movement from
from the
the water-table
water-table aquifer
aquifer into
into
the mine
the
mine voids
voids below.
below. The
The depression
depression over
over the
the Lance
Lance mine
mine was
was not
not prespresof 1967,
1967, when
when water
water added
added to
to the
the aquifer
aquifer in
in that
that
ent during
ent
during the
the spring
spring of
23
23
GROUND
GROUND WATER
WATER
area from
area
from heavy
heavy rains
rains (Fig.
(Fig. 9)
9) was
was equal
equal to
to or
or greater
greater than
than that
that seeping
seeping
into the
into
the underlying
underlying mine
mine (Plate
(Plate 4,
4, see
see May
May measurement).
measurement).
Depths to
Depths
to the
the water
water table
table range
range from
from less
less than
than 10
10 feet
feet below
below land
land
surface near
surface
near the
the Susquehanna
Susquehanna River
River to
to more
more than
than 30
30 feet
feet below
below land
land
surface
surface in
in most
most of
of the
the areas
areas shown
shown as
as kame
kame terrace
terrace and
and alluvial
alluvial fan
fan dede1.
posits
posits on
on Plate
Plate 1.
At anyone
At
anyone place
place the
the depth
depth to
to the
the water
water table
table fluctuates
fluctuates throughout
throughout
the year. Water-level fluctuations are caused by changes in the rate of
in wells
wells
recharge to
recharge
to and
and discharge
discharge from
from the
the aquifer.
aquifer. The
The water
water level
level in
rises or
rises
or declines
declines depending
depending upon
upon whether
whether recharge
recharge is
is greater
greater than
than or
or less
less
than discharge,
than
discharge, respectively.
respectively. Generally,
Generally, the
the water
water table
table is
is highest
highest in
in the
the
period
period from
from March
March through
through June,
June, and
and it
it declines
declines rapidly
rapidly through
through the
the late
late
spring and
spring
and summer
summer because
because of
of evapotranspiration.
evapotranspiration. Water
Water levels
levels begin
begin to
to
early spring.
rise
rise again
again in October,
October, after
after the
the growing
growing season,
season, to
to aa peak
peak in
in early
spring.
w~....
a:
t-
w>-:
W>,
Q:
I-
g §
§~~~~~i
g §
§~~~~~
~ ~ ~ ~~
~ ~ ~~~~ ~~~~ g
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ i ~~~~ ~~
~ ~ g
~ ~ ~ :i ~ ~~~
~ ~ ~ ~~~~
~ 5221---------~----522 1---------~-- ---
------- --;:::~~
---------;:::~~
~
I -
,I
~
z 5201------~
~
~ 5Is l - - (D
<t
8 5161-----4-4.
-' 514
~
510
5~-------·-----------·.-----------------------~----·------------~
~--------·---------·.----------------------~---·-------------~
~
l::
~
'z"
o
§ z ~·---------·--·-----II--------~-·-----·-·--------~--·----~-!·-·~·-------------------II---------~-·---------------~-- --·-- ~ +-·-- I-----------·I-·------·--·- I--·---------~
I·-·----·----~
0:
~
g:
1965
Figure 9.
Figure
9.
1966
1967
Hydrographs of
Hydrographs
of wells
wells located
located in
in Kingston
Kingston and
and Wilkes-Barre
and
and weekly
weekly precipitation
precipitation totals
totals for
for Wilkes-Barre.
24
24
WYOMING VALLEY
WYOMING
VALLEY HYDROLOGY
HYDROLOGY
During the
During
the period
period of
of data
data collection
collection for
for this
this report
report (1965-67),
(1965-67), the
the area
area
experienced both
experienced
both drought
drought and
and heavy
heavy precipitation.
precipitation. The
The resulting
resulting waterwaterin Figure
Figure 9.
9. The
The water
water
level fluctuations
level
fluctuations are
are shown
shown by
by the
the hydrographs
hydrographs in
in well
in
well Lu-260
Lu-260 rose
rose nearly
nearly to
to the
the elevation
elevation of
of the
the water
water in
in well
well Lu-299
Lu-299
when the
when
the aquifer
aquifer was
was receiving
receiving more
more water
water than
than it
it was
was discharging
discharging (Fig.
(Fig.
9), but
9),
but declined
declined farther
farther than
than the
the water
water in
in well
well Lu-299
Lu-299 when
when the
the aquifer
aquifer
was discharging
was
discharging more
more water
water than
than it
it was
was receiving.
receiving. The
The greater
greater waterwaterby the
the aquifer
aquifer discharging
discharging water
water
level decline
level
decline in
in well
well Lu-260
Lu-260 was
was caused
caused by
to the
to
the underlying
underlying mines.
mines.
The fluctuations
The
fluctuations in
in four
four wells
wells equipped
equipped with
with automatic
automatic water-level
water-level rerecording instruments
cording
instruments ranged
ranged in
in amplitude
amplitude from
from 77 to
to 14
14 feet
feet during
during the
the
period of
period
of data
data collecting.
collecting. The
The difference
difference in
in the
the magnitude
magnitude of
of the
the fluctuafluctuawell during
during aa particular
particular rainfall
rainfall is
is due
due mainly
mainly to
to the
the
tions from
tions
from well
well to
to well
capacity of
capacity
of the
the saturated
saturated material
material to
to transmit
transmit and
and store
store water
water in
in the
the vicinity
vicinity
of each
of
each wen,
wen, to
to local
local differences
differences in
in the
the soil
soil moisture
moisture content,
content, and
and the
the
intensity of
intensity
of the
the storm.
storm.
Fluctuations in
Fluctuations
in the
the stage
stage of
of the
the Susquehanna
Susquehanna River
River influence
influence the
the waterwaterThe range
range and
and magnitude
magnitude of
of the
the
level fluctuations
level
fluctuations in
in wells
wells near
near the
the river.
river. The
influence depends
influence
depends on
on the
the water-transmitting
water-transmitting properties
properties of
of the
the sediments,
sediments,
the steepness
the
steepness of
of the
the hydraulic
hydraulic gradient,
gradient, and
and the
the height
height of
of the
the river
river stage.
stage.
The influence
The
influence diminishes
diminishes with
with increasing
increasing distances
distances from
from the
the river
river and
and
at distances
distances greater
greater than
than 2,000
2,000 feet
feet from
from the
the river.
river.
generally does
generally
does not
not exist
exist at
in an
an unpumped
unpumped well
well
Under water-table
Under
water-table conditions
conditions the
the water
water level
level in
stands at
stands
at the
the height
height of
of the
the static
static water
water level
level of
of the
the surrounding
surrounding aquifer.
aquifer.
The water
The
water level
level inside
inside the
the well
well drops
drops rapidly
rapidly when
when the
the well
well is
is pumped,
pumped,
and the
and
the water
water table
table surrounding
surrounding the
the well
well approximates
approximates the
the shape
shape of
of an
an
10).
inverted cone
inverted
cone that
that has
has its
its apex
apex at
at the
the center
center of
of the
the pumped
pumped well
well (Fig.
(Fig. 10).
This cone
This
cone of
of depression
depression forms
forms as
as aa result
result of
of an
an adjustment
adjustment in
in the
the hydrohydrostatic pressure
static
pressure near
near the
the well
well which
which is
is defined
defined by
by Darcy's
Darcy's equation
equation (Ferris
(Ferris
and others,
and
others, 1962,
1962, p.
p. 73).
73). During
During pumping,
pumping, the
the water
water within
within the
the aquifer
aquifer
moves rapidly
moves
rapidly inward
inward and
and downward
downward along
along and
and beneath
beneath the
the slope
slope of
of the
the
cone toward
cone
toward the
the level
level of
of the
the water
water in
in the
the well.
well. The
The water
water level
level in
in the
the
LAND SURFACE
LEVEL
AQUIFER
Figure 10.
Figure
10. Illustration
Illustration of
of the
the cone
cone of
of depression
depression when
when a
a well
well is
is
pumped.
pumped.
25
25
GROUND WATER
GROUND
WATER
well drops,
well
drops, and
and the
the cone
cone of
of depression
depression expands
expands outward
outward and
and downward
downward
until the
until
the rate
rate at
at which
which water
water moves
moves through
through the
the aquifer
aquifer toward
toward the
the well
well
is virtually
is
virtually equal
equal to
to the
the rate
rate of
of wen
wen discharge.
discharge.
In many
In
many areas
areas the
the cone
cone of
of depression cannot
cannot extend
extend indefinitely
indefinitely in
in all
all
directions. If
directions.
If the
the discharging
discharging well
well is
is near
near an
an impermeable
impermeable formation
formation the
the
expansion of
expansion
of the
the cone
cone in
in that
that direction
direction may
may be
be stopped.
stopped. The
The cone
cone must
must
then develop
then
develop in
in other
other directions
directions to
to dewater
dewater an
an area
area that
that has
has enough rerecharge to
charge
to balance
balance the
the well
well discharge. Should
Should pumpage
pumpage exceed
exceed the
the recl:1airge
recl:1airge
to the
to
the same
same area
area and
and the
the cone
cone of
of depression
depression cannot
cannot expand
expand farther, then
then
the pumpage
the
pumpage rate
rate will
will faU
fall off
off and
and the
the well
wen will
will go
go "dry".
"dry".
Where pumping
pumping wells
wells are
are too
too closely spaced the
the cones
cones of
of depr(~ssiiOn
Where
depression
overlap causing
overlap
causing the
the cones
cones to
to expand
expand farther
farther in
in aa direction
direction away
away from
from the
the
adjacent pumped
adjacent
pumped wells.
wells. The
The drawdowns
drawdowns will
will be
be excessive
excessive and
and the
the wells
wells
wiII yield
wiII
yield less
less than
than they
they would
would without
without interference
interference from
from adjoining
adjoining wells.
wells.
When aa cone
When
cone of
of depression
depression of
of aa pumped
pumped well
well reaches
reaches aa body
body of
of water
water
such as
such
as that
that of
of aa perennial
perennial stream
stream (Fig.
(Fig. 11)
11) the
the water
water being pumped
pumped will
will
include water
include
water induced
induced into
into the
the aquifer
aquifer from
from the
the stream.
stream. The
The shape
shape of
of the
the
cone of
cone
of depression
depression is
is then
then distorted
distorted 80
80 that
that gradients
gradients between
between the
the stream
stream
and the
and
the well
well become
become steep in
in comparison
comparison to
to those
those away
away from
from the
the stream.
stream.
In this
In
this case,
case, flow
flow toward
toward the
the well
well will
will be
be greatest on
on the
the side
side nearest
nearest the
the
stream. If
stream.
If pumping
pumping is
is continued
continued for
for aa long
long enough
enough time
time at
at aa constant
constant rate,
rate,
aa condition
condition of
of essentially
essentially steady
steady flow
flow will
will result,
result, in
in which
which most
most of
of the
the
pumped water
pumped
water will
will be
be induced
induced from
from the
the stream.
stream.
depr(~ssiiOn
RECHARGE
GROUND-WATER RECHARGE
GROUND-WATER
Ground-water recharge
Ground-water
recharge is
is the
the addition
addition of
of water
water to
to the
the ground-water
ground-water
reservoir. It
reservoir.
It is
is accomplished
accomplished mainly
mainly by
by infiltration
infiltration of
of precipitation.
precipitation. SeepSeep-
ORj~WC)OWN
DEPRESSION AS
IS INCREASED
BEDROCK
Figure 11.
Figure
11. Illustration
Illustration of
of the
the cone
cone of
of depression
depression developed
developed when
when a
a
well is
well
is pumped
pumped where
where recharge
recharge is
is induced
induced from
from aa per·
ennial
ennial stream.
stream.
26
26
WYOMING VALLEY
WYOMING
VALLEY HYDROLOGY
HYDROLOGY
age from
age
from the
the river,
river, streams,
streams, ponds,
ponds, sewers,
sewers, infiltration
infiltration of
of irrigation,
irrigation, and
and
the underflow
the
underflow from
from the
the adjacent
adjacent fractured
fractured rock
rock and
and coal
coal mines
mines may
may be
be
to the
the buried
buried valley
valley aquifer.
aquifer.
important local
important
local sources
sources of
of recharge
recharge to
Recharge from
Recharge
from precipitation
precipitation is
is usually
usually most
most effective
effective during
during late
late fall
fall
and early
and
early spring
spring when
when losses
losses by
by evapotranspiration
evapotranspiration are
are low.
low. The
The recharge
recharge
is greatest
greatest in
in
varies with
varies
with the
the amount
amount and
and distribution
distribution of
of precipitation
precipitation and
and is
areas underlain
areas
underlain by
by more
more permeable
permeable surface
surface materials,
materials, such
such as
as glacial
glacial outoutwash and
wash
and alluvial
alluvial fan
fan deposits.
deposits.
The rate
The
rate of
of recharge
recharge to
to the
the buried
buried valley
valley aquifer
aquifer by
by precipitation
precipitation is
is
computed from
computed
from indirect
indirect measurement
measurement of
of the
the quantity
quantity of
of water
water moving
moving
through aa part
through
part of
of the
the aquifer
aquifer to
to the
the Susquehanna
Susquehanna River.
River. All
All of
of the
the area
area
north of
north
of the
the river
river between
between West
West Pittston
Pittston and
and Kingston
Kingston was
was selected
selected for
for
the analysis.
the
analysis.
Computation was
Computation
was made
made using
using aa modification
modification of
of Darcy's
Darcy's law
law (Ferris
(Ferris and
and
73), which
which in
in equation
equation form
form is
is written
written as
as
others, 1962,
others,
1962, p.
p. 73),
Qd =
Qd
where:
where:
Q,I
Q,I
T
T
II
L
L
TIL
TIL
is the
is
the discharge
discharge in
in gallons
gallons per
per day,
day,
is the
is
the coefficient
coefficient of
of transmissibility
transmissibility in
in gallons
gallons per
per day
day per
per foot,
foot,
is the
is
the average
average hydraulic
hydraulic gradient
gradient in
in feet
feet per
per mile,
mile, and
and
is the
is
the length
length of
of the
the shoreline
shoreline of
of the
the river,
river, in
in miles,
miles, across
across which
which
the ground-water
the
ground-water flow
flow discharges
discharges into
into the
the river.
river.
The transmissibility,
The
transmissibility, determined
determined from
from an
an average
average pemleability
pemleability of
of 4,000
4,000
gpd per
gpd
per sq.
sq. ft.
ft. and
and aa saturated
saturated thickness
thickness of
of 15
15 feet,
feet, is
is 60,000
60,000 gpd
gpd per
per ft
ft
(gallons per
(gallons
per day
day per
per foot).
foot). The
The average
average hydraulic
hydraulic gradient
gradient in
in this
this area,
area,
determined by
determined
by the
the contour
contour spacing
spacing on
on Plate
Plate 4
4 is
is 11
11 feet
feet per
per mile.
mile. The
The
length of
length
of shoreline
shoreline of
of the
the isolated
isolated aquifer
aquifer is
is 10
10 miles.
miles. Using
Using these
these data
data
the approximate
the
approximate rate
rate of
of discharge
discharge from
from the
the aquifer
aquifer in
in this
this area
area is
is 6.6
6.6 mgd
mgd
(million gallons
(million
gallons per
per day).
day). The
The recharge
recharge to
to the
the isolated
isolated area,
area, based
based on
on
the above
the
above rate
rate of
of discharge,
discharge, is
is about
about )) 55 inches
inches per
per year,
year, which
which is
is equivaequivato 39
39 percent
percent of
of the
the average
average annual
annual precipitation.
precipitation.
lent to
lent
The average
The
average hydraulic
hydraulic gradient
gradient was
was determined
determined from
from two
two sets
sets of
of measmeasurements, on
urements,
on one
one high
high and
and one
one low
low watcr
watcr table,
table, which
which are
are not
not sufficient
sufficient
data to
data
to compute
compute an
an average
average rate
rate of
of discharge
discharge from
from the
the area.
area. However,
However,
the recharge
the
recharge based
based upon
upon the
the measured
measured discharge,
discharge, compares
compares closely
closely with
with
the recharge
the
recharge of
of 35
35 percent
percent of
of annual
annual precipitation
precipitation determined
determined for
for similar
similar
deposits in
deposits
in the
the Pomperaug
Pomperaug Basin
Basin study
study in
in Connecticut
Connecticut (Meinzer
(Meinzer and
and
1929). There
There may
may be
be some
some water
water added
added to
to the
the area
area analyzed
analyzed
Stearns, 1929).
Stearns,
from the
from
the mines
mines and
and bedrock,
bedrock, however,
however, it
it is
is not
not evident
evident from
from the
the informainformation available
tion
available and
and is
is believed
believed to
to be
be negligible.
negligible. Because
Because of
of the
the similarity
similarity
in the
in
the soil
soil and
and aquifers
aquifers throughout
throughout the
the buried
buried vaney,
vaney, the
the recharge
recharge rate
rate
vaHey sediments.
sediments.
should be
should
be applicable
applicable to
to all
all the
the buried
buried vaHey
27
27
GROUND WATER
GROUND
WATER
Tributary streams
Tributary
streams flowing
flowing across
across the
the unconsolidated
unconsolidated sediments
sediments recharge
recharge
the ground-water
the
ground-water reservoir
reservoir where
where the
the underlying
underlying material
material is
is permeable
permeable
is lower
lower than
than the
the stage
stage of
of the
the stream.
stream. Streamflow
Streamflow
and the
and
the water
water table
table is
data provided
data
provided by
by W.
W. T.
T. Stuart.
Stuart. U.S.
U.S. Geological
Geological Survey,
Survey, show
show streamflow
streamflow
in five
five creeks
creeks that
that flow
flow into
into the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley (Table
(Table 2).
2). Some
Some
loss in
loss
streamflow directly
streamflow
directly recharges
recharges the
the unconsolidated
unconsolidated aquifer,
aquifer, and
and some
some is
is lost
lost
directly or
directly
or indirectly
indirectly to
to the
the underground
underground mines
mines through
through broken
broken and
and caved
caved
strata in
strata
in areas
areas of
of coal
coal outcrop.
outcrop. The
The indirect
indirect losses
losses pass
pass through
through the
the ununconsolidated aquifer
consolidated
aquifer into
into the
the broken
broken rock
rock strata
strata before
before entering
entering the
the mines
mines
(Fig. 12).
(Fig.
12).
into the
the Wyoming
Wyoming
Table 2.
Table
2. Streamflow loss on five creeks that flow into
Valley, 1956
Distance
Distance
Name
Name
of
of
stream
stream
Station number
Station
number
shown on
shown
on
Plate 44
Plate
Hicks Creek
Hicks
Creek
Abrahams Creek
Abrahams
Creek
Sandy Creek
Sandy
Creek
Creek
Brown Creek
Brown
Coal Creek
Coal
Creek
Underlain
"" Underlain
downstream
downstream
from outcrop
from
outcrop of
of
lowest mined
lowest
mined coalbed
coalbed
(feet)
(feet)
Flow (gpm)
Flow
(gpm)
145
145
146
146
147
147
148
148
149
149
150
150
1,000 (upstream)
1,000
(upstream)
(upstream)
200 (upstream)
200
300
300
"1,000
"1,000
"2,300
"2,300
"3,600
"3,600
Apr. 10
Apr.
10
2.092
2.092
2,792
2,792
2,821
2,821
3,082
3,082
3,333
3,333
3,325
3,325
307
307
308
308
.309
.309
(upstream)
1.250 (upstream)
1.250
"2,'100
"2,'100
'5,200
'5,200
OcL 30
OcL
30
2,411
2,411
2,291
2,291
1,889
1,889
258
258
259
259
260
260
261
261
(upstream)
750 (upstream)
750
1,()50
1,()50
"2,550
"2,550
"3,250
"3,250
67
67
68
68
69
69
70
70
71
71
1,100
1,100
1,850
1,850
2.500
2.500
"3,850
"3,850
'5,000
'5,000
293
293
294
294
295
295
296
296
350
350
1,750
1,750
'3,600
'3,600
"5,400
"5,400
deposits.
by glacial
by
glacial deposits.
Mar. 5
Mar.
5
896
896
857
857
608
608
336
336
221
221
Apr. 11
Apr.
11
2,911
2,911
2,463
2,463
1,797
1,797
Oct. 10
Oct.
10
65
65
23
23
19
19
(estimated)
(estimated)
Oct. 23
Oct.
23
2,365
2,365
2,028
2,028
2,147
2,147
151
151
Oct. 25
Oct.
25
126
126
88
88
93
93
172
172
OcL 28
OcL
28
240
240
250
250
94
94
0
0
A
SOOr--
!
t\RROWS INDiCATE DIRECTIO N OF
GROUND WATER MQV(M[NT
_~~.
__ . 600
SEA :
LEVELL.
'f. "a I•.i .:.:..---- .n~)() ~ E£.
i
-I.'1RIZONT/l,L ANO VERTICAL
SCA.LE
CLAY
~:'AND
!C}-..'Q
~~
SAND ~M) GRI\VE!..
DELTAIC .l),ND ICE CONTACl
SAND AND GRAVE~
OUTWASH
~
Figure
Figure 12.
12.
BEDROC K
Section
Section through
through the
the Harry
Harry E.
E. mine
mine showing
showing mined
mined beds
beds
and relation
relation to
to the
the buried
buried valley.
valley.
and
GROUND WATER
GROUND
WATER
29
29
The data
The
data in
in Table
Table 2
2 show
show that
that the
the streams
streams generally
generally decreased
decreased in
in flow
flow
in aa downstream
in
downstream direction
direction along
along the
the measured
measured segments,
segments, with
with two
two signifisignififlow at
at every
every
cant exceptions.
cant
exceptions. On
On April
April 10,
10, 1956,
1956, Hicks
Hicks Creek
Creek gained
gained flow
measurement station
measurement
station except
except the
the last
last one.
one. On
On October
October 25,
25, 1956,
1956, Coal
Coal
Creek gained
Creek
gained water
water on
on the
the last
last two
two stations.
stations. These
These gains
gains are
are attributed
attributed
to aa high
to
high water
water table
table on
on the
the days
days of
of measurement
measurement caused
caused by
by heavy
heavy rainrainfaH two
faH
two days
days prior
prior to
to the
the measurement.
measurement. Hicks
Hicks Creek
Creek was
was measured
measured again
again
on the
on
the following
following day
day and
and showed
showed substantial
substantial losses
losses at
at every
every station
station downdownstream from
stream
from the
the uppermost
uppermost measurement.
measurement.
Recharge from
Recharge
from the
the Susquehanna
Susquehanna River
River occurs
occurs only
only for
for relatively
relatively short
short
periods of
periods
of time
time and
and short
short distances
distances from
from the
the river.
river. Those
Those areas
areas severely
severely
by aa high
high water
water table
table during
during aa high
high river
river stage
stage are
are the
the lowlands
lowlands
affected by
affected
behind the
behind
the river
river dikes
dikes and
and areas
areas where
where subsidence
subsidence has
has significantly
significantly lowered
lowered
the land
the
land surface.
surface. Normally
Normally the
the water
water table
table slopes
slopes toward
toward the
the river.
river. As
As
is reversed
reversed and
and water
water from
from
the river
the
river rises,
rises, the
the gradient
gradient near
near the
the river
river is
the river
the
river recharges
recharges the
the ground-water
ground-water reservoir.
reservoir. When
When the
the
of the
of
the
is again
again reversed
reversed and
and this
this bank
bank
river declines,
river
declines, the
the gradient
gradient near
near the
the river
river is
is soon
soon reestabreestabstored water
stored
water returns
returns to
to the
the river
river and
and the
the normal
normal gradient
gradient is
lished.
lished.
is not
not aa major
major source
source of
of recharge
recharge to
to the
the
Infiltration of
Infiltration
of irrigation
irrigation water
water is
is used
used only
only on
on vegetable
vegetable farms
farms
ground-water reservoir
ground-water
reservoir because
because irrigation
irrigation is
is used
used
during prolonged
during
prolonged dry
dry periods
periods when
when nearly
nearly all
all the
the irrigation
irrigation water
water is
by the
by
the plants
plants and
and evaporation.
evaporation.
is not
not aa major
major source
source of
of ground-water
ground-water recharge.
recharge.
Seepage from
Seepage
from sewers
sewers is
Leaks from
Leaks
from sewers
sewers and
and deliberate
deliberate injection
injection of
of sewage
sewage are
are known
known to
to occur
occur
in the
in
the buried
buried valley,
valley, but
but the
the sites
sites were
were not
not located.
located.
The amount
The
amount of
of mine
mine water
water seeping
seeping into
into the
the ground-water
ground-water reservoir
reservoir
depends upon
depends
upon the
the hydraulic
hydraulic head
head between
between the
the mine-water
mine-water pool
pool and
and the
the
ground-water reservoir,
ground-water
reservoir, and
and the
the interconnection
interconnection between
between the
the mine
mine voids
voids
and the
and
the unconsolidated
unconsolidated sediments.
sediments. No
No measure
measure of
of the
the quantity
quantity of
of recharge
recharge
from the
from
the mines
mines can
can be
be made
made because
because of
of the
the many
many complexities
complexities in
in the
the
hydrau1ic system.
hydrau1ic
system. The
The reverse
reverse condition,
condition, where
where the
the buried
buried valley
valley aquifer
aquifer
is losing
is
losing water
water to
to the
the mines,
mines, particularly
particularly where
where the
the mine-pool
mine-pool altitude
altitude
is greatly
is
greatly lowered
lowered by
by pumping,
pumping, will
will be
be discussed
discussed in
in the
the following
following section.
section.
GROUND-WATER DISCHARGE
GROUND-WATER
DISCHARGE
in the
the ground-water
ground-water reservoir
reservoir moves
moves from
from areas
areas of
of high
high water
water
Water in
Water
to areas
areas and
and
level to
level
to areas
areas of
of low
low water
water level;
level; from
from areas
areas of
of recharge
recharge to
points of
points
of discharge.
discharge. Ground
Ground water
water is
is discharged
discharged naturally
naturally into
into streams,
streams,
springs, and
springs,
and through
through evapotranspiration;
evapotranspiration; and
and artificially
artificially by
by pumping
pumping from
from
wens and
wens
and mine
mine voids
voids below
below the
the water
water table.
table.
Drainage into
Drainage
into the
the Susquehanna
Susquehanna River,
River, and
and into
into mine
mine voids
voids are
are the
the most
most
important means
important
means of
of ground-water
ground-water discharge
discharge from
from the
the unconsolidated
unconsolidated
30
30
WYOMING VALLEY
WYOMING
VALLEY HYDROLOGY
HYDROLOGY
aquifer in
aquifer
in the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley.
Valley. The
The rate
rate at
at which
which ground
ground water
water is
is disdischarged depends
charged
depends on
on the
the hydraulic
hydraulic properties
properties of
of the
the aquifer
aquifer and
and the
the gradigradient of
ent
of the
the water
water table.
table.
Ground water
Ground
water discharge
discharge into
into the
the river
river for
for the
the aquifer
aquifer north
north of
of the
the
river was
river
was computed
computed to
to be
be 6.6
6.6 mgd.
mgd. Discharge
Discharge from
from the
the other
other aquifer
aquifer
segments was
segments
was estimated
estimated to
to be
be 2.3
2.3 mgd;
mgd; however,
however, it
it is
is not
not possible
possible to
to
accurately determine
accurately
determine what
what part
part of
of this
this discharge
discharge was
was to
to the
the river
river or
or into
into
the pumped
the
pumped mines
mines south
south of
of the
the river.
river.
Evapotranspiration discharges
Evapotranspiration
discharges about
about 10
10 to
to 15
15 percent
percent of
of the
the ground
ground
water from
water
from the
the area.
area. Evapotranspiration
Evapotranspiration is
is the
the sum
sum of
of the
the volumes
volumes of
of
water used
water
used by
by the
the vegetative
vegetative growth
growth of
of aa given
given area
area in
in transpiration
transpiration and
and
building of
building
of plant
plant tissue
tissue and
and that
that evaporated
evaporated from
from an
an adjacent
adjacent water
water table
table
in the
in
the area.
area.
in the
the unconsolidated
unconsolidated deposits
deposits in
in the
the area
area outside
outside of
of the
the
Most springs
Most
springs in
buried valley
buried
valley discharge
discharge at
at or
or near
near the
the base
base of
of the
the kame
kame terrace
terrace and
and alluvial
alluvial
fan deposits.
fan
deposits. Yields
Yields from
from springs
springs are
are small
small and
and are
are not
not considered
considered aa
significant source
significant
source of
of ground-water
ground-water discharge
discharge in
in the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley.
Valley.
Water discharged
Water
discharged from
from wells
wells is
is limited
limited to
to irrigation
irrigation use.
use. Three
Three wells
wells
are known
are
known to
to have
have been
been used
used during
during the
the recent
recent drought
drought for
for irrigating
irrigating
vegetable crops.
vegetable
crops. Three
Three other
other wells
wells are
are in
in use
use for
for watering
watering purposes
purposes in
in
greenhouses (Table
greenhouses
(Table 3).
3).
UTILIZATION
UTILIZATION
In Wilkes
In
Wilkes Barre
Barre ".
". .. .. Every
Every house
house hoisted
hoisted water
water from
from aa well
well by
by aa
... as
as far
far back
back as
as 1830
1830 ...
... "" (Smith,
(Smith, 1929,
1929, p.
p. 2001)
2001)
windlass and
windlass
and crank
crank ...
and the
and
the Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre pump,
pump, located
located in
in the
the square,
square, supplied
supplied many
many homes
homes
and was
and
was used
used for
for firefighting.
firefighting. Wells
Wells were
were used
used for
for water
water supplies
supplies at
at least
least
into the
into
the 1860's.
1860's. Public
Public water
water was
was first
first supplied
supplied to
to Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre by
by aa
main from
main
from aa dammed
dammed pond
pond on
on Laurel
Laurel Run.
Run. Public
Public water
water supplies
supplies concontinued to
tinued
to increase
increase throughout
throughout the
the valley
valley and
and dams
dams were
were constructed
constructed on
on
nearly every
nearly
every mountain
mountain stream.
stream. In
In 1896,
1896, 42
42 water
water companies
companies were
were conconsolidated into
solidated
into the
the Spring
Spring Brook
Brook Water
Water Supply
Supply Company
Company that
that served
served the
the
entire Wyoming
entire
Wyoming and
and Lackawanna
Lackawanna Valleys
Valleys until
until recently
recently when
when this
this firm
firm
was purchased
was
purchased by
by the
the Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Gas
Gas and
and Water
Water Co.
Co. As
As aa result
result of
of
decline in
decline
in use,
use, ground
ground water
water is
is now
now used
used mainly
mainly for
for irrigation
irrigation of
of crops
crops
during summer
during
summer droughts.
droughts.
DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT
Future development
Future
development of
of industrial
industrial and
and municipal
municipal water
water supplies
supplies in
in the
the
Wyoming Valley
Wyoming
Valley could
could be
be met
met by
by using
using ground
ground water
water as
as aa primary
primary or
or
supplementary source
supplementary
source of
of suppJy.
suppJy. Ground
Ground water
water would
would provide
provide aa source
source
of water
of
water without
without the
the necessity
necessity of
of long
long transmission
transmission lines
lines and
and may
may be
be
Record
Table 3.
Table
3. Record
wen
wen
Use:
wells
wells
number:
number:
p. 44 of text describing
p.
describing well·numbering system
A, abandoned;
abandoned; Ind.
A,
Ind. Industrial:
Industrial: irt,
irt, Irrigation;
Irrigation; 0,
0, ob~eryatloll;
M, mine
mine shaft
shaft
Depth
to water
.
...
"S
::>
il
c
e
~
i
-a.
c
.9
...
:;,
OJ
c
.3"
.2
"
,S
Q
Q
~
i2
il:
0
§
"
" ~j
o v
".
o~
..-
i~
s""
"",;: ~
!!
~ gg
" ~% :2'":...
.e:
m
.9~
_
"':;::-
c a
ul! ;:;.... ""'"
g- .,S ,;:
.~
~ ~
Ci
'tl
.9~
e""
.. lS'O
au
§
"'~
'Q "
<l
0'"
~~
15
l-
,"~
,Q
-
.,e
8
300
300
301
301
303
303
304
304
30S
30S
306
306
307
307
31.18
31.18
309
309
311
311
312
312
Howard
Howard
Air Shaft
Air
Shaft
411312N755817,1
411312N755817.!
41!457N755431.1
41!457N755431, I
411540N7554Q3,1
411540N755403.1
4 tl4l3N755430.1
4
tl4l3N755430.1
411509N755400.1
411509N755400.1
41 1509N755351U
41
1509N755.35IU
411522N755403.I
41 1522N755403.I
41 1651N755143,
41
1651N755143, II
41 165lN755148. 1
411653N755148.1
411835N755037. !I
411835N755037,
411833N7551l4. t
411833N755114.1
411905N754908J
411905N754908.1
41J547N75524.5.1
41
1547N75524.5.1
411757N755IJ58.1
411757N755058.1
412IJI9N7.54758.j
412IJI9N754758.1
411706N155251,1
411706N155251,1
411938N755003.1
41
1938N755003.1
l.eseo
Leseo Barney
Barney
Lesco
Lesco Barney
Barney
do.
do.
do.
do.
Martz Bus Lines
Martz
Lines
Prke
John Prke
Garrahan Fam!s
Garrahan
Fam!s
Michael KllsarUa
Michael
Kllsardll
do.
do.
H.
H.
Lehigh
1938
1938
1933
193.3
1926
1926
1932
1932
1935
1935
1951
1951
v>
.. '8
~
" 0
::>.e:
o 5
0
" t;
'Q
~
<:>
'"
~ ~'e
13 ~g 8
,;:
:r:
'" :r:"
bl'fia
~
g
Z
l::1
522
522
517
517
537
537
5;2
5;2
525
525
525
525
12
12
&l
&l
I>
I>
66
26
26
26
26
19
19
50
50
15
15
60
60
48
48
24
24
10
10
29
29
20
20
26
26
19
19
31
31
21
21
24
537
537
Corp.
144
144
U,S.
U.S.
25
25
9·16·6;
16 100
16
100
3·25-65 20
20
5
5
18 500
6-20·66 18
500
10·30·64 11
11
50U
8- 4·65 11 50U
4· 6·65 12
J2
20
20
21
21
10
10
25
25
18
18
do.
do.
do.
do.
580
580
240
240
20
20 260
260
2-66
do.
do.
James Oliveri
Oliveri
_
i
"'''''~"' '"'-' ~
" ~~~
.:::l
Q
LUZERNE COUNTY
LUZERNE
COUNTY
Lu·255
251
251
259
259
260
260
299
299
of water
E
J>
~
Field analyses
9· 2-65
Irt
Irr
ll'r
Iff
lrf
A
A
A
A
Irt
Irf
311
311
6.4
6.4
750
750
11
460
460
600
600
Itt
Irr
A
A
13
13
~--1
ttl
'"
523
523
Itr
Itt
Jnd.
Jnd.
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
00
26 845
845
7,1 15
7,1
15 SUI
518
M
M
7.2
S 213
')
')
30
31.1 654
654
w
'"'"
32
32
WYOMING VALLEY
WYOMING
VALLEY HYDROLOGY
HYDROLOGY
preferred to
preferred
to surface
surface waters
waters because
because of
of its
its relatively
relatively uniform
uniform temperature,
temperature,
it is
is relatively
relatively unaffected
unaffected
quantity, and
quantity,
and quality
quality throughout
throughout the
the year.
year. Also,
Also, it
by floods
by
floods and
and pollution
pollution from
from man's
man's activities.
activities.
Development of
Development
of fresh
fresh ground-water
ground-water supplies
supplies from
from the
the buried
buried valley
valley
or that
that induced
induced
would be
would
be limited
limited to
to that
that water
water recharged
recharged by
by precipitation
precipitation or
into the
into
the aquifer
aquifer from
from the
the Susquehanna
Susquehanna River.
River. Wells
Wells pumped
pumped for
for municipal
municipal
or industrial
or
industrial use
use could
could withdraw
withdraw so
so much
much water
water that
that the
the water
water table
table would
would
be lowered
be
lowered and
and the
the cone
cone of
of depression
depression expanded
expanded out
out to
to aa bedrock
bedrock boundary
boundary
or to
or
to intercept
intercept the
the Susquehanna
Susquehanna River.
River. Should
Should the
the cone
cone of
of depression
depression exextend to
tend
to the
the bedrock,
bedrock, induced
induced seepage
seepage of
of mine
mine water
water into
into the
the buried
buried valley
valley
could occur
could
occur or
or be
be increased.
increased. Should
Should the
the cone
cone of
of depression
depression extend
extend to
to the
the
11), river
river water
water would
would be
be induced
induced into
into the
the
Susquehanna River
Susquehanna
River (Fig.
(Fig. 11),
buried valley
buried
valley aquifer.
aquifer. To
To pump
pump ground
ground water
water without
without inducing
inducing mine
mine
water, wells
water,
wells should
should be
be placed
placed close
close to
to the
the river.
river. Such
Such wells
wells would
would yield
yield aa
mixture of
mixture
of ground
ground water
water and
and river
river water.
water. However,
However, passage
passage of
of induced
induced
river water
river
water through
through the
the intervening
intervening alluvium
alluvium would
would provide
provide aa filtering
filtering
action to
action
to the
the river
river water
water and
and remove
remove suspended
suspended material,
material, odor,
odor, taste,
taste,
color, and
color,
and bacteria
bacteria to
to aa degree
degree that
that it
it should
should make
make the
the water
water suitable
suitable for
for
many uses.
many
uses. Treatment
Treatment of
of this
this water
water necessary
necessary for
for aa particular
particular use
use might
might
be minimal.
be
minimal.
Properly constructed
Properly
constructed wells,
wells, spaced
spaced to
to prevent
prevent mutual
mutual interference
interference
should be
should
be capable
capable of
of sustained
sustained yields
yields of
of 1,000
1,000 to
to 2,000
2,000 gpm.
gpm. In
In order
order
to develop
to
develop the
the aquifer
aquifer to
to its
its ultimate
ultimate capacity
capacity and
and in
in order
order to
to measure
measure
the induced
the
induced recharge,
recharge, aa wen
wen drilling
drilling and
and aquifer
aquifer testing
testing program
program should
should
precede installation
precede
installation of
of production
production wells.
wells.
A condition
A
condition may
may exist
exist in
in some
some areas
areas that
that would
would reduce
reduce the
the induced
induced
in some
some areas.
areas. The
The bed
bed of
of the
the river
river channel
channel
infiltration of
infiltration
of river
river water
water in
fill
may be
may
be covered
covered with
with fine-grained
fine-grained silt,
silt, by
by either
either the
the natural
natural cut
cut and
and fill
processes of
processes
of the
the river
river current
current or
or the
the addition
addition of
of silt
silt from
from coal
coal refuse
refuse piles.
piles.
The fine-grained
The
fine-grained materials
materials of
of low
low permeability
permeability can
can effectively
effectively slow
slow the
the
passage of
passage
of water
water into
into the
the underlying
underlying aquifer
aquifer and
and reduce
reduce the
the rate
rate of
of rerecharge to
charge
to the
the aquifer.
aquifer. This
This condition
condition could
could be
be corrected
corrected by
by appropriate
appropriate
dean the
the river
river bottom
bottom if
if necessary
necessary to
to induce
induce adequate
adequate
procedures to
procedures
to dean
amounts of
amounts
of river
river recharge.
recharge.
Pumping tests
Pumping
tests were
were not
not conducted
conducted to
to determine
determine the
the extent
extent that
that infiltrainfiltration supplies
tion
supplies are
are available.
available. However,
However, the
the hydrologic
hydrologic conditions
conditions along
along
the Susquehanna
the
Susquehanna River
River are
are favorable
favorable for
for inducing
inducing infiltration
infiltration from
from the
the
river. Such
river.
Such tests
tests have
have been
been made
made by
by Rorabaugh
Rorabaugh (1956)
(1956) along
along the
the Ohio
Ohio
River in
River
in similar
similar deposits;
deposits; these
these tests
tests proved
proved that
that large
large supplies
supplies can
can be
be
developed by
developed
by induced
induced infiltration
infiltration from
from the
the Ohio
Ohio River.
River. The
The limiting
limiting
amount of
amount
of water
water that
that could
could be
be induced
induced into
into wells
wells constructed
constructed along
along the
the
33
33
aROUND WATER
aROUND
WATER
river would
river
would be
be about
about 432
432 million
million gpd,
gpd, the
the lowest
lowest flow
flow on
on record
record for
for the
the
Susquehanna River
Susquehanna
River at
at Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre (Busch
(Busch and
and Shaw,
Shaw, 1966).
1966). However,
However,
flow occurs
occurs less
less than
than 22 percent
percent of
of the
the time
time (Table
(Table 4)
4) and,
and, for
for
aa minimum
minimum flow
inaa period
period of
of 77 consecutive
consecutive days,
days, only
only once
once during
during aa 60-year
60-year recurrence
recurrence interval (Table
terval
(Table 5).
5). The
The average
average discharge
discharge for
for the
the Susquehanna
Susquehanna River
River at
at
Wilkes-Barre, for
Wilkes-Barre,
for 63
63 years
years of
of record,
record, is
is 5,950,000
5,950,000 gpm
gpm (Busch
(Busch and
and Shaw,
Shaw,
flow in
in the
the river
river aa minimum
minimum amount
amount of
of induced
induced
1966) .. With
1966)
With adequate
adequate flow
gpd
water would
water
would be
be about
about 11 billion
billion gpd
gpd based
based upon
upon aa permeability
permeability of
of 20
20 gpd
per sq
per
sq ft
ft of
of the
the river
river bed
bed sediments
sediments having
having an
an area
area approximately
approximately 800
800 feet
feet
across by
across
by 70,000
70,000 feet
feet long.
long.
Table 4.
Table
4. Duration
Duration of
of daily
daily flow
flow for
for the
the period
period 1899-1963
1899-1963
Discharge, in
Discharge,
in
or exceeded
exceeded
per minute,
per
minute, which
which was
was equaled
equaled or
of time
time
for indicated
for
indicated percent
percent of
2
2
55
10
10
20
20
30
30
% gpm
%
gpm
30,500,000
30,500,000
20,600,000
20,600,000
14,360,000
14,360,000
8,980,000
8,980,000
6,280,000
6,280,000
40
40
50
50
60
60
70
70
80
80
% gpm
%
gpm
4,260,000
4,260,000
3,t40,Ooo
3,t40,Ooo
2,330,000
2,330,000
1,700,000
1,700,000
1.l70,000
1.l70,000
gpm
gpm
720,000
720,000
580,000
580,000
450,000
450,000
the period
period
Table 5.
Table
5. Magnitude
Magnitude and
and frequency
frequency of
of annual
annual low
low flow
flow for
for the
1900-62
1900-62
Period of
Period
of
consecutive
consecutive
days
days
7
7
14
14
30
30
60
60
120
120
per minute,
minute, for
indicated recurrence
recurrence
Discharge, in
Discharge,
gallons per
for indicated
in gallons
interval, in
interval,
in years
years
2
2
5
5
583,000
583,000
628,000
628,000
718,000
718,000
898,000
898,000
1,436,000
1,436,000
420,000
420,000
449,000
449,000
494,000
494,000
583,000
583,000
808,000
808,000
10
10
368,000
368,000
390,000
390,000
430,000
430,000
494,000
494,000
583,000
583,000
30
30
310,000
310,000
328,000
328,000
360,000
360,000
410,000
410,000
494,000
494,000
60
60
287,000
287,000
305,000
305,000
337,000
337,000
380,000
380,000
449,000
449,000
WELL CONSTRUCTION
WELL
CONSTRUCTION
DrIUed wells
DrIUed
wells that
that end
end in
in unconsolidated
unconsolidated material
material are
are generally
generally cased
cased
to the
to
the bottom
bottom of
of the
the well
well and
and receive
receive water
water through
through the
the open
open end
end of
of the
the
or perforations
perforations in
in the
the casing,
casing, or
or through
through aa well
well screen
screen
casing, through
casing,
through slots
slots or
attached to
attached
to the
the casing.
casing. The
The amount
amount of
of intake
intake area
area controls
controls the
the efficiency
efficiency
34
34
WYOMING VALLEY
WYOMING
VALLEY HYDROI_OGY
HYDROI_OGY
of the
of
the well
well and
and the
the most
most efficient
efficient method
method of
of increasing
increasing the
the intake
intake area
area is
is
through the
through
the use
use of
of well
well screens.
screens. Well
Well screens
screens are
are manufactured
manufactured in
in many
many
diameters and
diameters
and sizes
sizes of
of screen
screen openings;
openings; the
the size
size of
of screen
screen opening
opening needed
needed
being determined
being
determined by
by the
the grain
grain size
size of
of the
the water-bearing
water-bearing material.
material. In
In
addition, well
addition,
well screens
screens are
are often
often surrounded
surrounded with
with aa gravel
gravel pack
pack placed
placed
is used
used mainly
mainly where
where the
the water-bearing
water-bearing material
material
around the
around
the screen.
screen. This
This is
is well
is
well sorted
sorted and
and fine
fine grained.
grained. The
The gravel
gravel pack
pack helps
helps prevent
prevent the
the finer
finer
material from
material
from entering
entering the
the well.
well.
Three wells
Three
wells of
of the
the Stanton
Stanton Operating
Operating Co.,
Co., 3
3 miles
miles north
north of
of Pittston,
Pittston,
along the
along
the Susquehanna
Susquehanna River,
River, were
were reported
reported by
by Lohman
Lohman (1937,
(1937, p.
p. 138)
138)
to be
to
be 24
24 inches
inches in
in diameter,
diameter, screened
screened and
and gravel
gravel packed.
packed. Each
Each well
well was
was
tested at
tested
at 1,280
1,280 gpm
gpm with
with aa drawdown
drawdown of
of only
only 9
9 to
to 10
10 feet
feet after
after 8
8 hours
hours
of continuous
of
continuous pumping.
pumping.
in the
the Wyoming
Wyoming
Few wells
Few
wells with
with perforated
perforated casing
casing are
are currently
currently in
in usc
usc in
Valley and
Valley
and only
only one
one that
that was
was screened
screened was
was found
found during
during this
this study.
study.
Several wells
Several
wells were
were found
found that
that had
had been
been constructed
constructed by
by digging aa large
large
pit below
pit
below the
the water
water table,
table, with
with aa power
power shovel,
shovel, inserting
inserting aa perforated
perforated
casing 55 feet
casing
feet in
in diameter
diameter into
into the
the pit,
pit, and
and then
then back-filling
back-filling around
around the
the
casing with
casing
with aa carefully
carefully selected
selected gravel
gravel mix
mix of
of the
the proper
proper size.
size. Wells
Wells
in this
this manner
manner and
and were
were
Lu-255, Lu-257,
Lu-255,
Lu-257, and
and Lu-300
Lu-300 were
were constructed
constructed in
reported to
reported
to pump
pump 800
800 to
to 1,200
1,200 gpm
gpm (Table
(Table 3)
3) upon
upon completion.
completion.
MINE-WATER HYDROLOGY
MINE-WATER
HYDROLOGY
Water from
Water
from surface
surface streams
streams infiltrates
infiltrates into
into underground
underground workings mainly
mainly
by leakage
by
leakage from
from streambeds
streambeds through
through broken
broken strata
strata overlying
overlying the
the mine
mine
openings (Table
openings
(Table 2).
2). Precipitation
Precipitation and
and overland
overland runoff
runoff enters
enters the
the mines
mines
mainly through
mainly
through surface
surface strippings
strippings and
and crevasses
crevasses along
along steeply dipping
dipping
beds where
beds
where the
the surface
surface has
has caved
caved into
into voids
voids below.
below. From
From the
the points
points of
of
entry, water
entry,
water flows
flows through
through the
the mine
mine workings
workings to
to underground
underground pools.
pools. These
These
pools are
pools
are bodies
bodies of
of water
water enclosed
enclosed vertically
vertically between
between the
the floor
floor and
and roof
roof
of the
of
the mine
mine openings,
openings, and
and horizontally
horizontally by
by barrier
barrier pillars,
pillars, other
other unmined
unmined
areas of
areas
of coal
coal and
and the
the bedrock
bedrock structure.
structure. Barrier
Barrier pillars
pillars are
are bodies
bodies of
of ununmined coal
mined
coal that
that are
are left
left in
in each
each coal
coal bed
bed along
along the
the company
company property
property lines.
lines.
Mining practices
Mining
practices with
with regard
regard to
to barrier
barrier pillars
pillars varied
varied greatly
greatly prior
prior to
to
enactment of
enactment
of aa public
public law
law in
in 1891
1891 establishing
establishing and
and defining
defining the
the specificaspecification for
tion
for barrier
barrier pillars
pillars (Ash
(Ash and
and others,
others, 1949,
1949, p.
p. 9).
9). Barrier
Barrier pillars
pillars were
were
or breached
breached in
in many
many mines,
mines, and
and there
there is
is no
no asasinadvertently weakened
inadvertently
weakened or
surance that
surance
that anyone
anyone barrier
barrier pillar
pillar has
has remained
remained stable.
stable. During
During and
and after
after
it is
is apparent
apparent from
from the
the elevation
elevation of
of
the filling
the
filling of
of the
the mines
mines with
with water,
water, it
the pools
the
pools that
that there
there is
is leakage
leakage through
through the
the pillars.
pillars. Stable
Stable conditions
conditions in
in
an operating
an
operating mine
mine change
change during
during filling
filling of
of aa mine
mine and
and become
become unstable.
unstable.
MINE-WATER HYDROLOGY
MINE-WATER
HYDROLOGY
35
35
Wetting of
Wetting
of previously
previously dry
dry surfaces
surfaces and
and several
several hundred
hundred feet
feet of
of hydrostatic
hydrostatic
head causes
head
causes minor
minor weaknesses
weaknesses to
to become
become pronounced.
pronounced. Collapse
Collapse often
often
occurs and
occurs
and eventually
eventually subsidence
subsidence may
may cause
cause local
local breakage
breakage of
of barriers
barriers
and of
and
of man-made
man-made dams
dams in
in barrier
barrier openings.
openings.
3, 1966,
1966, and
and May
May
The elevation
The
elevation of
of the
the mine-water
mine-water pools
pools on
on August
August 3,
in Plate
Plate 4
4 for
for the
the mines
mines that
that are
are filled
filled with
with water
water in
in the
the
1967, are
1967,
are shown
shown in
Wyoming Valley Mines
Wyoming
Mines interconnected
interconnected by
by the
the removal
removal of
of aa barrier
barrier pillar
pillar
in aa common
in
common coalbed
coalbed are
are shown
shown as
as one
one mine
mine with
with aa common
common pool,
pool,
although the
although
the gradient on
on the
the pool
pool causes
causes small
small differences
differences in
in the
the individual
individual
mine pool
mine
pool altitudes.
altitudes. Water
Water fining
fining the
the mine
mine voids
voids froms
froms aa shoreline
shoreline on
on
In each
each pool
pool this
this shoreline
shoreline represent'!
represent'!
the structural
the
structural limits
limits of
of the
the mines.
mines. In
aa contour
contour on
on the
the inclined
inclined bottom
bottom or
or walls
walls of
of the
the mine
mine that
that moves
moves outoutor inward
inward as
as the
the water
water level
level in
in the
the pool
pool rises
rises or
or falls.
falls.
ward or
ward
The mine-water
The
mine-water pools along the
the north
north side
side of
of the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley are
are
in profile
profile from
from aa high ininthe
thea Seneca
Seneca pool
pool to
to aa low
low in
in the
the
stair-stepped in
by pumping
pumping
Avondale
Avondale pool,
pool, with
with the
the exception
exception of
of those
those pools
pools affected
affected by
15). Many
Many of
of the
the adjoining
adjoining pools
pools descend
descend stet,wi:se
stet,wi:se
13, 14
13,
14 and
and 15).
at aa constant
at
constant gradient, indicating free
free interconnection
interconnection between
between those
those mines.
mines.
is due
due
The low
The
low water
water ]evel
]evel in
in the
the Loree
Loree mine-pool
mine-pool on
on October
October 10,
10, 1966,
1966, is
in response
response to
to mine
mine pumpage
pumpage on
on
to leakage of
to
of water
water to
to the
the Lance
Lance pool
pool in
Figure 13.
Figure
13. Diagrammatic
Diagrammatic section
section through
through the
the mines
mines showing
showing the
the
elevation of
elevation
of mine-water
mine-water pools
pools and
and the
the profile
profile of
of the
the
Susquehanna River
Susquehanna
River at
at the
the corresponding
corresponding times.
times.
36
36
WYOMING
DROLOQ
VALLEY frY
y
jj
jj
jj
jj
jj
jj
jj
jj
jj
jj
jj
jj
jj
~
WANAMIE
I
_ ___ ,______ ---1
DIRECTION OF FLOW
r--; - - -:;-:;t i
___ T HROUGH MAN -MADE
L~IJMB~~_Ji
OPENINGS
DIR ECTION OF FLOW
I I
........_
,______ 1
,SEEPAGE !
' THROUGH '
:GLACIAL :
,DRIF T TO,
:':;'::iT~~ :
I
~
NEWPORT
~t
~
Figure
Figure 15.
15.
Schematic
Schematic of
of water
water flow
flow through
through the
the mines
mines in
in the
the
Wyoming Valley.
Wyoming
Valley.
T HROUGH ROCK FRACTURES , FAU LTS AND
CREVASSES
Table 6.
6. High
High and
and low
mine-water levels
tor measured
measured pools
pools in
in the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley
Table
low mine-water
levels tor
for period
period May
May 1964
1964 through
December 1967
1967
for
through December
of mine
mine opening
opening
Location of
Location
Avondale Borehole
Borehole No.
No. 124A
124A
Avondale
Dorrance· Borehole
Borehole No.
No. 5222
5222
Ewen
14
Ewen •• Borehole
Borehole No.
No. 14
Exeto:r Red
Red Ash,
Ash, Main
Main Shaft
Shaft
Exeto:r
Harry E
E No.
Harry
No. II Shaft
Shaft
Shaft
Kingston
No.t 1Shaft
Kingston· -No.
Shaft
Lance
Lance·- Baltimore
Baltimore Shaft
Lance - No.
No. 11 Shaft
Lance·
Shaft
Maltby . Borehole
Maltby·
Borehole 8125
8125
Buttonwood -- No.
No. 22
22 Shaft
Shaft
Buttonwood
Henry -No.
No.2 2Shaft
Shaft
Henry·
Schooley Shaft
Shaft
Seneca
Seneca -- Phoenix
Phoenix Shaft
Shaft
Stevens
Stevens Shaft
Shaft
Trail- Clear
Clear Spring
Spring Shaft
Shaft
Sullivan
Sullivan TrailWoodward· No.
No. 33 Shaft
Shaft
Location
Location
number
number
41 II 324N755852.1
324N755852.1
41
411519N755233.1
411519N755233.1
411754N754956.1
411754N754956.1
411'932N754906.1
411'932N754906.1
411729N755327.1
41
1729N755327.1
411608N755427.1
411608N755427.1
41 1438N755558.1
1438N755558.1
41
41 1447N755542.1
1447N755542.1
41
411804N755155.1
411804N755155.1
411334N755611.l
411334N755611.1
411637N755132.1
411637N755132.1
411919N754926.l
411919N754926.l
412054N754627.1
412054N754627.1
412023N754847.l
412023N754847.l
412011 N754801.1
N754801.1
412011
411505N755339.l
411505N755339.l
Elevation
Elevation
of
of
measuring
measuring
point
point
532.36
532.36
549.33
549.33
564.15
564.15
586.61
586.61
608.39
608.39
570.56
570.56
577.16
577.16
548.30
548.30
554.47
554.47
567.43
567.43
566.11
566.11
564.85
564.85
572.69
572.69
567.30
567.30
579.75
579.75
552.58
552.58
Elevation of
of high
and low
low
Elevation
high and
pool levels
levels
pool
May 22,
22, 1967
1967
Jan, 4,
4, 1965
1965
May
Jan,
530.52
530.52
516.28
516.28
534.37
534.37
539.15
539.15
534.03
534.03
532.52
532.52
530.75
530.75
531.39
531.39
534.55
534.55
531.16
531.16
522.56
522.56
533.22
533.22
552.45
552.45
539.25
539.25
538.29
538.29
527.62
527.62
502.7
502.7
499.64
499.64
514.78
514.78
514.69
514.69
511.40
511.40
505.58
505.58
503.15
503.15
509.18
509.18
512.05
512.05
503.38
503.38
505.70
505.70
505.43
505.43
543.43
543.43
514.05
514.05
521.06
521.06
503.46
503.46
Fluctuation
Fluctuation
27.8
27.8
16.6
16.6
19.6
19.6
24.5
24.5
22.6
22.6
18.9
18.9
27.6
27.6
22.2
22.2
22.5
22.5
27.8
27.8
16.8
16.8
27.8
27.8
9.0
9.0
25.2
25.2
17.2
17.2
23.2
23.2
ft.
22.00
22.00 ft.
~
><
0
~
Z
0
-<
>t-'
t-'
tTl
><
:t
~
::0:1
0
t-'
8><
MINE-WATER HYDROLOGY
MINE-WATER
HYDROLOGY
39
39
the south
the
south side
side of
of the
the valley.
valley. High
High and
and low
low pool
pool levels
levels are
are shown
shown in
in Table
Table
66 for
for each
each measuring
measuring site
site for
for aa period
period of
of record
record starting
starting May
May 1964,
1964, when,
when,
vaHey were
were filled.
filled. The
The Dorrance
Dorrance
all the
all
the pools
pools on
on the
the north
north side
side of
of the
the vaHey
is also
also greatly
greatly affected
affected by
by pumping
pumping on
on the
the south
south side
side of
of the
the
pool level
pool
level is
valley.
valley.
The fluctuations
The
fluctuations of
of the
the mine-water
mine-water pool
pool in
in the
the Maltby-Westmoreland
Maltby-Westmoreland
mines are
mines
are shown
shown in
in Figure
Figure 16.
16. The
The mine-water
mine-water pools
pools attained
attained their
their highhighest levels
est
levels during
during May
May 1967,
1967, due
due to
to heavy
heavy rainfall
rainfall in
in March
March and
and April
April
4).
(Plate 4).
(Plate
Generally. all
Generally.
all the
the mines
mines in
in the
the Wyoming
Wyoming basin
basin are
are interconnected
interconnected to
to
some degree;
some
degree; however,
however, the
the pattern
pattern of
of flow
flow between
between the
the water-filled
water-filled mines
mines
is extremely
is
extremely complex.
complex. Known
Known openings,
openings, discussed
discussed by
by Ash
Ash (1954),
(1954), are
are
flow path
path through
through most
most mines,
mines, but
but the
the effectiveeffectiveuseful for
useful
for defining
defining the
the flow
in restricting
restricting the
the movement
movement of
of the
the water
water obobness of
ness
of the
the barrier
barrier pillars
pillars in
viously cannot
viously
cannot be
be defined.
defined. The
The movement
movement of
of water
water through
through individual
individual
is shown
shown on
on Figure
Figure 15,
15, generally.
generally. in
in the
the sequence
sequence of
of flow,
flow,
mine pools
mine
pools is
from the
from
the highest
highest pools
pools north
north of
of Pittston,
Pittston, to
to the
the lowest
lowest pools
pools near
near NantiNanticoke. Water
coke.
Water movement
movement in
in midvalley
midvalley was
was controlled
controlled until
until late
late 1967
1967 by
by
pumping from
pumping
from the
the Delaware-Pine
Delaware-Pine Ridge,
Ridge, South
South Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre and
and Loomis
Loomis
mine pools
mine
pools to
to prevent
prevent inundation
inundation of
of the
the active
active mines:
mines: Huber,
Huber, Sugar
Sugar
Notch, and
Notch,
and Tmesdale.
Tmesdale.
In October
In
October 1967,
1967, the
the underground
underground mining
mining operations
operations in
in Huber,
Huber, Sugar
Sugar
Notch, and
Notch,
and Truesdale
Truesdale mines
mines ceased.
ceased. Consequently,
Consequently, the
the pumping
pumping from
from the
the
Delaware-Pine Ridge,
Delaware-Pine
Ridge, South
South Wilkes-Barre,
Wilkes-Barre, and
and Loomis
Loomis mine
mine pools
pools ceased
ceased
and the
and
the mines
mines began
began filling
filling with
with water.
water. Should
Should the
the mines
mines be
be allowed
allowed to
to
fill above
fill
above the
the elevation
elevation 540
540 feet,
feet, flooding
flooding of
of basements
basements would
would likely
likely occur
occur
in buildings
in
buildings throughout
throughout the
the center
center lowland
lowland in
in the
the valley.
valley. To
To prevent
prevent
flooding and
flooding
and subsidence
subsidence the
the Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Department
Department of
of Environmental
Environmental
Resources, Division
Resources,
Division of
of Mines
Mines and
and Mineral
Mineral Industries
Industries has
has proposed
proposed pumppumping the
ing
the South
South Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre and
and Delaware-Pine
Delaware-Pine Ridge
Ridge pools
pools and
and maintainmaintaining the
ing
the pool
pool level
level at
at about
about elevation
elevation 475
475 feet.
feet. When
When the
the Huber,
Huber, Sugar
Sugar
Notch, Truesdale,
Notch,
Truesdale, and
and Bliss
Bliss mines
mines are
are fined
fined above
above the
the pool
pool level
level maintained
maintained
in the
in
the South
South Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre mine
mine their
their flow
flow will
will then
then be
be to
to the
the South
South
Wilkes-Barre pool.
Wilkes-Barre
pool.
Because of
Because
of the
the high
high water
water table
table that
that caused
caused flooding
flooding of
of basements
basements
during the
during
the spring
spring of
of 1967
1967 (Plate
(Plate 4)
4) the
the Division
Division of
of Mines
Mines and
and Mineral
Mineral InInat. river
river level,
level, of
of aa water
water tunnel
tunnel
dustries undertook
dustries
undertook the
the construction,
construction, at.
4). The
The tunnel
tunnel
to aa mine
to
mine shaft
shaft near
near the
the Buttonwood
Buttonwood No.
No. 22
22 Shaft
Shaft (Plate
(Plate 4).
at altitude
altitude
was constmcted
was
constmcted to
to drain
drain off
off the
the Nottingham-Buttonwood
Nottingham-Buttonwood pool
pool at
519 feet
519
feet into
into Solomans
Solomans Creek
Creek and
and in
in turn
turn drain
drain those
those pools
pools directly
directly
interconnected with
interconnected
with the
the Nottingham-Buttonwood
Nottingham-Buttonwood mine.
mine.
40
40
WYOMING VALLEY
WYOMING
VALLEY HYDROLOGY
HYDROLOGY
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MINE-WATER HYDROLOGY
MINE-WATER
HYDROLOGY
41
41
MINE-WATER DISCHARGE
MINE-WATER
DISCHARGE INTO
INTO THE
THE BURIED
BURIED VALLEY
VALLEY
The quantity
The
quantity of
of mine-water
mine-water discharged
discharged through
through the
the buried
buried valley
valley dedeposits to
posits
to the
the river
river depends
depends upon
upon the
the transmissibility
transmissibility of
of the
the bedrock
bedrock strata
strata
and the
and
the buried
buried valley
valley deposits,
deposits, and
and the
the hydraulic
hydraulic head
head differential
differential between
between
the mine
the
mine water
water and
and the
the water
water in
in the
the buried
buried valley.
valley. The
The head
head on
on the
the
pools formed
pools
formed along
along the
the north
north side
side of
of the
the valley
valley (Plate
(Plate 4)
4) is
is several
several feet
feet
higher than
higher
than that
that of
of the
the land
land surface
surface of
of the
the valley
valley plain.
plain. However,
However, during
during
average water-level
average
water-level conditions
conditions the
the hydraulic
hydraulic head
head on
on most
most pools
pools is
is not
not
great enough
great
enough for
for large
large amounts
amounts of
of mine
mine water
water to
to seep
seep upward
upward into
into the
the
buried valley.
buried
valley. Mine
Mine waler
waler seepage
seepage is
is probably
probably greatest
greatest in
in the
the PlymouthPlymouthNanticoke area
Nanticoke
area where
where the
the buried
buried valley
valley material
material is
is very
very coarse,
coarse, has
has the
the
greatest permeability,
greatest
permeability, and
and the
the head
head differential
differential between
between the
the ground-water
ground-water
table and
table
and the
the mine-water
mine-water pools
pools is
is greatest
greatest (Plate
(Plate 4).
4).
Areas of
Areas
of known
known and
and probable
probable mine-water
mine-water seepage
seepage and
and overflow
overflow are
are
shown on
shown
on Plate
Plate 3.
3. The
The known
known seepages
seepages and
and overflows
overflows are
are visible
visible on
on the
the
surface. Areas
surface.
Areas of
of probable
probable mine-water
mine-water seepages
seepages are
are suspected
suspected on
on the
the basis
basis
of: (1)
of:
(1) relationship
relationship of
of adjacent
adjacent mine-water
mine-water pools,
pools, (2)
(2) severe
severe local
local surface
surface
disturbance caused
disturbance
caused by
by mining,
mining, and
and (3)
(3) large
large amounts
amounts of
of seepage
seepage from
from the
the
buried valley
buried
valley sediments
sediments to
to aa mine,
mine, recorded
recorded during
during active
active mining
mining (2
(2 and
and
3 are
3
are known
known from
from personal
personal communication
communication with
with mining
mining engineers).
engineers). These
These
areas should
areas
should be
be investigated
investigated before
before developing
developing aa municipal
municipal or
or industrial
industrial
supply well
supply
well or
or well
well field
field in
in the
the buried
buried valley
valley sediments
sediments nearby,
nearby, because
because
additional induced
additional
induced mine-water
mine-water recharge
recharge could
could add
add to
to the
the cost
cost of
of treating
treating
the water
the
water supply.
supply.
A considerable
A
considerable amount
amount of
of outflow
outflow may
may occur
occur through
through boreholes
boreholes that
that
were drilled
were
drilled into
into the
the mines
mines to
to alleviate
alleviate surface
surface drainage
drainage problems
problems and
and
to dispose
to
dispose of
of sewage.
sewage. Prior
Prior to
to the
the fi1ling
fi1ling of
of the
the mines
mines many
many boreholes
boreholes
were drilled
were
drilled through
through the
the bottom
bottom of
of storm
storm sewers
sewers into
into the
the buried
buried valley
valley
where gradients
where
gradients on
on the
the sewers
sewers were
were reversed
reversed by
by subsidence
subsidence and
and they
they
would no
would
no longer
longer drain.
drain. If
If these
these boreholes
boreholes penetrated
penetrated aa mine
mine void,
void, mine
mine
water may
water
may now
now flow
flow upward
upward into
into the
the buried
buried valley
valley deposits.
deposits. Boreholes
Boreholes
drilled to
drilled
to dispose
dispose of
of sewage
sewage are
are known
known of
of only
only by
by hearsay
hearsay as
as such
such holes
holes
are forbidden
are
forbidden by
by state
state law.
law.
Unless measures
Unless
measures are
are taken
taken to
to control
control water
water levels
levels of
of mine
mine pools,
pools, leakage
leakage
from the
from
the mines
mines into
into the
the buried
buried valley
valley may
may create
create aa higher
higher and
and steeper
steeper
water table,
water
table, and
and consequently
consequently cause
cause wet
wet basements
basements and
and water-logged
water-logged lowlowlands. Low
lands.
Low areas
areas will
will be
be affected
affected first
first by
by the
the higher
higher water
water table.
table. Much
Much
of the
of
the area
area has
has experienced
experienced subsidence
subsidence because
because of
of extensive
extensive mining,
mining, and
and
those areas
those
areas that
that have
have subsided
subsided over
over 88 feet
feet will
will be
be affected
affected by
by aa high
high
water table.
water
table. Somc
Somc of
of the
the natural
natural river
river plain
plain that
that was
was filled
filled with
with dredged
dredged
42
42
WYOMING VALLEY
WYOMING
VALLEY HYDROLOGY
HYDROLOGY
channel sand
channel
sand and
and gravel
gravel and
and breaker
breaker refuse
refuse may
may also
also be
be susceptible
susceptible to
to
water-table flooding.
water-table
flooding.
During the
During
the spring
spring of
of 1967,
1967, heavy
heavy precipitation
precipitation caused
caused aa high
high water
water
table (Plate
table
(Plate 4)
4) which
which flooded
flooded some
some basements
basements in
in Kingston.
Kingston. Periodic
Periodic
flooding of
flooding
of basements,
basements, due
due to
to aa high
high water
water table,
table, is
is expected;
expected; however,
however,
it is
is
where individual
where
individual basements
basements receive
receive seepage
seepage over
over several
several months
months it
believed that
believed
that the
the source
source maybe
maybe leakage
leakage from
from aa nearby
nearby sewer
sewer or
or borehole.
borehole.
The analyses
The
analyses of
of this
this water
water cannot
cannot be
be used
used as
as conclusive
conclusive evidence
evidence that
that it
it
comes from
comes
from the
the mines.
mines. Water
Water of
of similar
similar quality
quality may
may be
be derived
derived from
from
areas where
areas
where breaker
breaker refuse
refuse was
was used
used as
as landfill,
landfill, which
which is
is the
the case
case in
in much
much
of the
of
the troubled
troubled area.
area.
QUALITY OF
QUALITY
OF WATER
WATER
All ground
All
ground water
water contains
contains dissolved
dissolved mineral
mineral matter.
matter. Knowledge
Knowledge of
of the
the
dissolved mineral
dissolved
mineral constituents
constituents is
is important
important because
because the
the amount
amount and
and charcharacter of
acter
of the
the material
material present
present in
in the
the water
water determines
determines its
its usefulness.
usefulness. For
For
some purposes
some
purposes the
the quality
quality of
of the
the ground
ground water
water may
may necessitate
necessitate treatment.
treatment.
The chemical
The
chemical composition
composition and
and the
the amount
amount of
of the
the dissolved
dissolved solids
solids are
are
influenced mostly
influenced
mostly by
by the
the composition
composition of
of the
the soil
soil and
and rock
rock through
through which
which
the water
the
water has
has passed
passed and
and the
the length
length of
of time
time the
the water
water has
has been
been in
in contact
contact
with the
with
the soil
soil and
and rock.
rock.
Seepage of
Seepage
of mine
mine water
water into
into the
the buried
buried valley
valley aquifer
aquifer will
will affect
affect the
the
quality of
quality
of the
the water
water in
in the
the aquifer.
aquifer. Coal
Coal and
and associated
associated strata
strata contain
contain
finely disseminated
finely
disseminated pyrite
pyrite that
that is
is dissolved
dissolved and
and the
the byproducts
byproducts removed
removed
by circulating
by
circulating mine
mine water.
water. The
The vast
vast amounts
amounts of
of pyrite
pyrite exposed
exposed during
during
mining contribute
mining
contribute large
large quantities
quantities of
of sulfate
sulfate and
and iron
iron to
to the
the mine
mine water
water
that are
that
are undesirable
undesirable in
in excessive
excessive amounts.
amounts.
Samples were
Samples
were taken
taken from
from 10
10 wells
wells for
for chemical
chemical analyses
analyses to
to determine
determine
the character
the
character of
of the
the water
water in
in the
the shallow
shallow aquifer.
aquifer. The
The samples
samples were
were
analyzed according
analyzed
according to
to methods
methods described
described in
in Rainwater
Rainwater and
and Thatcher
Thatcher
(1960) .. Results
(1960)
Results of
of the
the chemical
chemical analyses
analyses are
are given
given in
in Table
Table 7.
7.
The water
The
water in
in the
the buried
buried valley
valley deposits
deposits is
is of
of the
the calcium-bicarbonatecalcium-bicarbonatesulfate type,
sulfate
type, hard,
hard, and
and high
high in
in dissolved
dissolved solids.
solids. The
The chemical
chemical character
character
of water
of
water from
from the
the first
first seven
seven wells
wells listed
listed in
in Table
Table 77 (those
(those numbered
numbered bebetween 255
tween
255 and
and 305)
305) is
is generally
generally the
the same.
same. Water
Water from
from the
the wells
wells that
that tap
tap
the finer-grained
the
finer-grained aquifers,
aquifers, has
has aa higher
higher dissolved-solids
dissolved-solids content.
content. The
The sample
sample
from well
from
well Lu-305
Lu-305 was
was low
low in
in dissolved-solids-probably
dissolved-solids-probably because
because the
the
main source
main
source of
of recharge
recharge to
to this
this confined
confined aquifer
aquifer is
is from
from the
the north,
north, primarily
primarily
through seepage
through
seepage from
from mountain
mountain streams
streams that
that contain
contain only
only small
small amounts
amounts
of dissolved
of
dissolved mineral
mineral matter.
matter. Contamination
Contamination by
by downward
downward percolation
percolation
Pleistocene
Table 7.
Table
7. Chemical tmalvses oj ground water in the Pleistocene
in
W~ll
number:
number:
sec p.
p. 44
sec
Luzerne County, Pa.
in the
the
per
describing well·numbering
describing
Hardness
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Value
Value exceeds
exceeds maximum
mnximum concentrations
concentrations recommended
recommended by the
the U.S.
U.S.
Health Service
Service (1962)
(1962)
Health
Sewerage discharged
discharged into
ground nearby
nearby
into ground
.',. Sewerage
a
~
W
W
44
44
WYOMING VALLEY
WYOMING
VALLEY HYDROLOGY
HYDROLOGY
of water
of
water that
that contains
contains higher
higher concentrations
concentrations of
of dissolved
dissolved solids
solids is
is reretarded by
tarded
by the
the confining
confining clay
clay bed
bed in
in the
the vicinity
vicinity of
of the
the well.
well.
There are
There
are several
several sources
sources of
of the
the high
high sulfate
sulfate content
content in
in the
the ground
ground
water:
water:
(1) The
(1)
The main
main source
source is
is from
from the
the leaching
leaching by
by percolating
percolating waters
waters
of pyrite
of
pyrite ((iron
iron disulfide)
disulfide) from
from the
the waste
waste rock
rock removed
removed from
from coal
coal mines
mines
and strip
and
strip mines.
mines. When
When coal
coal and
and coal-bearing
coal-bearing strata
strata are
are removed
removed from
from
the ground
the
ground and
and exposed
exposed to
to the
the atmosphere
atmosphere in
in rock
rock dumps,
dumps, refuse
refuse banks,
banks,
or
or landfill,
landfill, the
the sulphuric
sulphuric materials
materials are
are readily
readily leached
leached out
out of
of the
the broken
broken
rock by percolating waters and eventually reach the ground-water reservoir
in the buried valley. There are many mine breaker refuse banks and
dumps in the area and the refuse is used for fill material. These many
sources are
sources
are enough
enough to
to increase
increase the
the sulfate
sulfate content
content in
in the
the water
water in
in the
the
buried
buried valley
valley aquifer.
aquifer. A
A large
large refuse
refuse bank
bank upgradient
upgradient from
from well
well Lu-312
Lu-312
(Plate 4)
(Plate
4) and
and refuse
refuse material
material used
used as
as fill
fill in
in the
the swamp
swamp area
area near
near well
well
Lu-311 are
Lu-311
are the
the source
source of
of high
high iron,
iron, manganese,
manganese, and
and sulfate
sulfate content
content in
in
the water
the
water samples
samples from
from these
these wells.
wells. Evidence
Evidence of
of leached
leached minerals
minerals dedeposited in
posited
in the
the sediments
sediments underlying
underlying waste
waste rock
rock piles
piles is
is seen
seen north
north of
of
Swoyersville
Swoyersville in
in terrace
terrace deposits.
deposits. It
It is
is easily
easily recognized
recognized by
by the
the orange
orange coatcoating
ing on
on the
the grains
grains of
of the
the deposit.
deposit.
(2) The
(2)
The atmosphere
atmosphere in
in the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley often
often contains
contains substantial
substantial
amounts of
amounts
of sulfur
sulfur dioxide
dioxide and
and su
sulfur
lfur trioxide
trioxide produced
produced by
by burning
burning culm
culm
banks. Air
banks.
Air movements
movements are
are restricted
restricted because
because of
of the
the topography
topography and
and gases
gases
from the
from
the burning
burning culm
culm banks
banks are
are concentrated
concentrated and
and confined
confined to
to the
the valley
valley
bottom, especially
bottom,
especially when
when weather
weather conditions
conditions are
are favorable
favorable for
for precipitation.
precipitation.
The absorption
The
absorption of
of this
this sulfur
sulfur dioxide
dioxide from
from the
the atmosphere
atmosphere by
by precipitation
precipitation
will add
add to
to the
the sulfate
sulfate content
content of
of the
the ground
ground water.
water. Carroll
Carroll (1962)
(1962) states
states
will
that up
that
up to
to 88 milligrams
milligrams per
per liter
liter (mg/
(mg/ I)
I) of
of sulfate
sulfate may
may be
be contained
contained in
in
rainwater.
rainwater.
(3) At
(3)
At the
the present
present time
time (1968)
(1968) aa minor
minor source
source would
would be
be from
from seepage
seepage
of mine
of
mine water
water into
into the
the buried
buried valley.
valley. An
An example
example of
of the
the chemical
chemical quality
quality
of mine
of
mine water
water seeping
seeping into
into the
the buried
buried valley
valley may
may be
be similar
similar to
to that
that
sampled from
sampled
from the
the Howard
Howard airshaft
airshaft (Plate
(Plate 4)
4) in
in the
the Schooley
Schooley Colliery.
Colliery.
The shaft
The
shaft penetrated
penetrated the
the uppermost
uppermost coal
coal seam
seam at
at aa depth
depth of
of about
about 130
130 feet.
feet.
The quantity
The
quantity of
of dissolved
dissolved constituents
constituents (Table
(Table 7)
7) in
in aa sample
sample taken
taken opopposite the
posite
the mined
mined coal
coal seam
seam are
are characteristic
characteristic of
of mine
mine water;
water; however,
however,
the quantity
the
quantity of
of dissolved
dissolved constituents
constituents are
are not
not much
much greater
greater than
than those
those in
in
most of
most
of the
the samples
samples taken
taken from
from wells.
wells.
The samples
The
samples for
for wells
wells Lu-255,
Lu-255, 257,
257, 259,
259, 300,
300, and
and 301
301 all
all have
have modmoderately high
erately
high nitrate
nitrate contents
contents that
that were
were probably
probably derived
derived from
from agricultural
agricultural
fertilizers applied
fertilizers
applied to
to croplands
croplands in
in the
the vicinity
vicinity of
of the
the wells.
wells. The
The nitrate
nitrate
45
45
CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSIONS
content of
content
of the
the sample
sample from
from well
well Lu-309
Lu-309 results
results from
from pollution
pollution by
by aa nearby
nearby
sewage discharge.
sewage
discharge.
The Suquehanna
The
Suquehanna River
River quality
quality deteriorates
deteriorates considerably
considerably in
in its
its passage
passage
through the
through
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley,
Valley, due
due to
to the
the addition
addition of
of mine-water
mine-water overflow
overflow
and pumped
and
pumped mine
mine water.
water. The
The quality
quality of
of the
the river
river varies
varies greatly
greatly with
with its
its
flow and
flow
and the
the discharge
discharge of
of mine
mine water
water into
into the
the river.
river. For
For aa comparison
comparison
of the
of
the general
general characteristics
characteristics of
of the
the river
river water,
water, the
the following
following analyses
analyses
of samples
of
samples taken
taken near
near Nanticoke
Nanticoke were
were obtained
obtained from
from the
the Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
Department of
Department
of Health.
Health.
Date
Date
1·11·66
4· 5·66
6·29·66
Stream
Stream
flow
flow
(cfs)
(cfs)
11,260
11,260
12,220
12,220
3,480
3,480
pH
pH
7.2
7.2
7.2
7.2
6.8
6.8
SO,
SO,
Alkalinity
Alkalinity
(mg/l)
(mg/l)
(mg/I)
(mg/I)
33
33
48
48
61
61
66
66
43
43
86
86
Fe
Fe
(mg/ I)
(mg/
I)
Mn
Mn
(mg/I)
(mg/I)
3.4
3.4
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
0.4
0.4
.3
.3
.9
.9
Hardness
Hardness
(rug//)
(rug//)
90
90
80
80
152
152
Total
Total
solids
solids
(rug/!)
(rug/!)
160
160
142
142
280
280
High sulfate,
High
sulfate, iron
iron and
and manganese
manganese deter
deter the
the water's
water's usefulness;
usefulness; however,
however,
only during
only
during periods
periods of
of extremely
extremely low
low flow
flow does
does the
the concentration
concentration of
of iron
iron
and manganese
and
manganese greatly
greatly exceed
exceed that
that recommended
recommended by
by the
the U.
U. S.
S. Public
Public
Health Service
Health
Service (1962)
(1962) for
for human
human consumption.
consumption. Treatment
Treatment plants
plants to
to
be installed
be
installed in
in the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley will
will significantly
significantly reduce
reduce the
the concenconcentration of
tration
of these
these constituents
constituents imposed
imposed upon
upon the
the Susquehanna
Susquehanna River
River on
on its
its
passage through
passage
through the
the valley.
valley.
Should the
Should
the buried
buried valley
valley aquifer
aquifer be
be pumped
pumped heavily
heavily for
for large
large supplies
supplies
of ground
of
ground water
water with
with the
the intent
intent of
of inducing
inducing river
river water,
water, the
the quality
quality of
of
the river
the
river during
during periods
periods of
of extremely
extremely low
low flow
flow will
will determine
determine the
the extent
extent
and type
and
type of
of treatment
treatment necessary
necessary for
for aa particular
particular use.
use. Thc
Thc filtering
filtering of
of the
the
river water
river
water in
in passage
passage through
through the
the aquifer
aquifer and
and the
the mixing
mixing of
of ground
ground water
water
with the
with
the infiltrated
infiltrated river
river water
water may
may provide
provide water
water that
that needs
needs little
little or
or no
no
treatment. To
treatment.
To determine
determine the
the quality
quality of
of such
such water,
water, aa long-term
long-term pumping
pumping
test on
test
on aa well
well located
located near
near the
the river
river with
with periodic
periodic sampling
sampling and
and temperature
temperature
measurements ot
measurements
ot the
the pump
pump discharge,
discharge, should
should be
be made.
made. A
A change
change in
in
the quality
the
quality and
and temperature
temperature of
of the
the discharge
discharge would
would indicate
indicate aa connection
connection
between the
between
the river
river and
and the
the aquifer
aquifer and
and ultimately
ultimately the
the character
character of
of the
the water.
water.
CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSIONS
The unconsolidated
The
unconsolidated sediments
sediments filling
filling the
the buried
buried valley
valley beneath
beneath the
the
Susquehanna River
Susquehanna
River flood
flood plain
plain form
form the
the best
best source
source in
in the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley
Valley
tor future
tor
future development
development of
of large
large supplies
supplies of
of ground
ground water.
water. Borehole
Borehole data
data
46
46
WYOMING VALLEY
WYOMING
VALLEY HYDROLOGY
HYDROLOGY
show that
show
that 30
30 to
to 50
50 feet
feet of
of coarse
coarse sand
sand and
and gravel
gravel underlie
underlie the
the Susque~U:SOlle­
hanna River
hanna
River flood
flood plain
plain and
and adjacent
adjacent low
low terraces.
terraces. This
This glacial outwash
outwash
is ideal
is
ideal for
for the
the development
development of
of large supply
supply wells
wells that
that utilize
utilize well-screens.
well-screens.
The transmissibility
The
transmissibility of
of the
the buried
buried valley
valley sediments
sediments ranged
ranged from
from 10,000
10,000
to 540,000
to
540,000 gpd
gpd per
per ft
ft at
at four
four test
test locations.
locations. The
The average
average tra:nsl1l1is~;ibility
of the
of
the glacial
glacial outwash
outwash aquifer is
is 50,000
50,000 gpd
gpd per
per ft
ft.
The average
The
average natural
natural discharge from
from the
the glacial sediments
sediments to
to the
the SusSusat 99 mgd. This
This indicates
indicates the
the maximum
maximum
quehanna River
quehanna
River was
was computed
computed at
amount of
amount
of fresh
fresh water
water available
available for
for water
water supply wells
wells without
without inducing
inducing
additional recharge
additional
recharge from
from the
the river.
river. However, aa minimum
minimum of
of 700
700 million
million
gpd of
gpd
of additional
additional water
water may
may be
be induced
induced from
from the
the Susquehanna
Susquehanna River
River with
with
aa probability
probability of
of inducing
inducing over
over aa billion
billion gpd.
gpd. Sustained
Sustained yields of
of 1,000
gpm and
gpm
and more
more are
are available
available from
from properly
properly constructed
constructed and
and spaced weUs
wells
in the
in
the permeable
permeable materials
materials near
near the
the river.
river. Water
Water from
from the
the glacial outwash
deposits offers
deposits
offers several
several advantages over
over that
that from
from surface
surface sUJ'plJies,
supplies, because
of its
of
its year
year arollnd
arollnd relatively
relatively constant
constant temperature quantity,
quantity, and
and '-IU':llIlY.
'-IU':llIlY.
Recent filling
Recent
filling of
of anthracite
anthracite mines
mines in
in the
the bedrock
bedrock beneath
beneath the
the buried
buried
valley sediments
valley
sediments has
has created
created aa complicated
complicated hydrologic
hydrologic system where
where mine
mine
pools recharge the
pools
the buried
buried vaHey
vaHey sediments
sediments and
and locally
locally the
the buried
buried valley
sediments recharge
sediments
recharge the
the mine
mine pools.
pools. Local
Local high
high ground-water levels
levels have
have
caused wetting
caused
wetting of
of basements
basements and
and other
other subsurface
subsurface structures
structures constructed
constructed
within the
within
the zone
zone of
of water-table
water-table fluctuations.
fluctuations. Seepage of
of mine
mine water
water into
into
the buried
the
buried valley
valley and
and ultimately
ultimately to
to the
the Susquehanna River
River occurs
occurs in
in
areas where
areas
where mining
mining has
has severely
severely disrupted
disrupted the
the intervening
intervening bedrock.
bedrock. These
These
areas may
areas
may have
have to
to be
be avoided
avoided and
and will
will require extensive
extensive investigation
before development
before
development for
for ground-water
ground-water supplies
supplies in
in the
the Wyoming
Wyoming Valley.
Chemical analyses
Chemical
analyses show
show that
that the
the ground water
water in
in the
the area
area is
is generally
generally
is moderately
moderately hard,
hard,
suitable for
suitable
for domestic
domestic and
and industrial
industrial use.
use. The
The water
water is
and localJy
and
localJy high
high in
in dissolved
dissolved solids.
solids. Ground
Ground water
water containing
containing high
high disdissolved solids
solved
solids is
is aa result
result of
of the
the leaching
leaching of
of sulfides
sulfides from
from mine
mine waste
waste on
on
the surface.
the
surface. In
In two
two wells
wells sampled
sampled the
the concentration
concentration of
of iron
iron exceed
exceed that
that
(1962)
concentration recommended
concentration
recommended by
by the
the U.S.
U.S. Public
Public Health
Health Service
Service (1962)
for human
for
human consumption.
consumption.
~U:SOlle­
REFERENCES
REFERENCES
47
47
REFERENCES
REFERENCES
Ash, S.
Ash,
S. H.
H. (1950),
(1950), Buried valley of the Susquehanna River, U.S.
U.S. Bur.
Bur. Mines
Mines Bull.
Bull.
494. 27
494.
27 p.
p. 35
35
(1954), Barrier pillars in the Wyoming basin, Northern Pichi, U.S.
U.S. Bur.
Bur.
538, 251
251 p.
p.
Mines Bull.
Mines
Bull. 538,
Ash, S.
Ash,
S. H.,
H., and
and others
others (1949),
(1949), Water pools in Pennsylvania anthracite mines,
U.S. Bur.
U.S.
Bur. Mines
Mines Tech.
Tech. Paper
Paper 727.
727. 78
78 p.
p.
W. F.
W.
F. and
and Shaw,
Shaw, L.
L. C
C (1966),
(1966), PenllSylvullia stream/low characteristics, low~
flow frequency, and /low Juration 'I'I Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Dept.
Dept. of
of Forests
Forests and
and Waters
Waters
Bull. No.1,
Bull.
No.1, 289
289 p.
p.
Carroll, Dorothy
Carroll,
Dorothy (1962),
(1962), Raillwater as (/
(/ chemical agent of gevlogic processesa review, U.S.
U.S. Geol.
Geol. Survey
Survey Water-Supply
Water·Supply Paper
Paper 1535-G,
1535·G. 18
18 p.
p.
Darton, N.
Darton,
N. H.
H. (l940),
(l940), Some struclural features of tlIe northern anlltrdcile coal basil/,
U.S. Geol.
Geol. Survey
Survey Prof.
Prof. Pap(';r
Paper 193·[),
193-D, 81
81 p.
p.
Pennsylvania, U.S.
Ferris, I.
Ferris,
J . D.
D. and
and others
others (l962},
(l962}, Theory
Theory of
of aquifer
aquifer tests,
tests, U.S.
U.S. Geo!.
Geo!. Survey
Survey WaterWaterSupply Paper
Supply
Paper 1536-E,
1536-E, 174
174 p.
p.
Flint. R.
Flint.
R. F.
F. (l'-J57),
(l'-J57), Glacial and pleistocene geology, lohn
lohn Wiley
Wiley llnd
llnd Sons.
Sons. Inc"
Inc"
New York,
New
York, 553
553 p.
p.
hler. H.
hler.
H. A.
A. (1938),
(1938), The geomorphology of the Wyoming-Lackawanna region, Penn~
sylvania Geol.
sylvania
Geol. Survey,
Survey, 4th
4th set'.,
set'., Bull.
Bull. G-9,
G·'-J, 82
82 p.
p.
Krumbein. W.
Krumbein.
W. C.,
C., and
and Sloss,
Sloss, L.
L. L.
L. (1951).
(1951). Stratigraphy LInd sedimentation, W.
W. H.
H.
Freeman and
Freeman
and Co.,
Co., San
San Francisco.
Francisco. Calif.
Calif. 497
497 p.
p.
LV!Il!!"!!, S.
LV!Il!!"!!,
S. W.
W. (1937),
(1937), Ground water in northwestern Penllsylvania, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
Geol. Survey,
Geol.
Survey, 4th
4th sel'.,
sel'., Bull.
Bull. W-4,
W·4, 312
312 p.
p.
0, E.
E. (1923),
(1923), Outline 0/
of ground-water
grouIUI'H'aler hydrology. U.S.
U.S. Geo\.
Geol. Survey
Survey
Meinzer, 0,
Meinzer,
Water,Supply Paper
Water,Supply
Paper 4'-J4,
494, 71
71 p.
p.
0. E"
E" and
and Stearns,
Stearns, N.
N. D.
D. (1929),
(1929), A sludy of ground waler
water in
if! Pomperaug
Pomperallg
Meinzer. 0.
Meinzer.
Basill. Connecticul, U.S.
U.S. Geo!.
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Water·Supply Paper
Paper 5<)7B,
597B, p.p. 73-146.
73·146.
C. (1949),
(1949), Pleistocene terraces of the Susquehanna River, Pennsylvania,
Peltier, L
Peltier,
L C.
Pennsylvania Geol.
Pennsylvania
Geol. Survey.
Survey. 4th
4th ser.,
ser., Bull.
Bull. G-23,
G·23, 198
198 p.
p.
Pennsylvania Department
Pennsylvania
Department of
of Internal
Internal Affairs
Affairs (1<)61),
(1961), Population
Population and
and area
area of
of I1lU~
nicipalilies in Pennsylvania, Bureau
Bureau of
of Statistics
Statistics Relt:ase
Relt:ase No.
No. S-9.
S-9. 70
70 p.
p.
Pennsylvania Department
Pennsylvania
Department of
of Mines
Mines and
and Mineral
Mineral Industries
Industries (1966).
(1966). Allllual Report.
Rainwater, F.
Rainwater,
F. H..,
,1-1., and
and Thatcher,
Thatcher, L.
L. L.
L. (1960)
(196U) A4etlwds
Methods for
for collection
collection and
and analysis
analysis
of water samples, U,S.
U,S. Geol.
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Survey Water·Supply
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Paper 1454,
1454, 301
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Rorabaugh. M.
Rorabaugh.
M. I.
I. (1956).
(1956). Ground water in Ilorlheastem
Louisville, Kentucky,
KentLickY,lU.S.
U.S.
northeastem Louisville,
Survey Water-Supply
Water-Supply Paper
Paper 1360-B,
1360,3, 169
169 p.
p.
''
Oeol.
Oeo!. Survey
Smith, E,
Smith,
E, G.
G. (1929),
(1929), A
A history of Wilkes-Barre, Smith
Smith Bennett
Bennett Corp.,
Corp., Wilkes~Barre,
Wilkes-Barre, Wilkes~Barre,
Pa., v.
Pa.,
v. 4.
4.
Department of
of Commerce
Commerce (1962).
(1962). United States census of population. 1960,
U,S. Department
U,S.
Pennsylvania.
(19M) ,, Climatic summary 0/
(19M)
of the Ulliled
United States
Stales supplement for 1951
1951 through
1960, Pennsylvania.
1960,
(1965), Climatological data, Pennsylpallia.
Pennsylvania.
(1966), Climatological data, Pennsylvania.
(1967), Climatological data, Penl1syi
Pennsyl vania.
vania.
Drinking. water standards, 1962.
U.S. Public
U.S.
Public Health
Health Service
Service (1962),
(1962), lJrinkin[!.
1962. U.S.
U.S. Public
Public
Health Service
Health
Service Pub.
Pub. 956,
956, 61
61 p.
p.
Walton. William
Walton.
William C.
C. (1962),
(1962), Selected analytical methods for well and aquifer evaluation. Illinois
Illinois State
State Water
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Survey Bull.
Bull. 49.
49. 81
81 p.
p.
(1942), Methods for determining permeability of water·bearing
water-bearingmamaWenzel, L.
Wenzel,
L. K.
K. (1942),
terials, U.S.
U.S. Geol.
Geol. Survey
Survey Water·Supply
Water-Supply Paper.
Paper. 887,
887, 192
192 p.
p.
48
48
WYOMING VALLEY
WYOMING
VALLEY HYDROLOGY
HYDROLOGY
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
GRAPHIC LOGS
GRAPHIC
LOGS
49
49
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
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WYOMING
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HYDROLOGY
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
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WYOMING
VALLEY HYDROLOGY
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WYOMING VALLEY
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VALLEY HYDROLOGY
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APPENDIX
APPENDIX
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