subsurface geology of arsenic-bearing permian sedimentary rocks in the garber-wellington interval

121 Pages·2005·2.78 MB·English

SUBSURFACE GEOLOGY OF ARSENIC-BEARING
PERMIAN SEDIMENTARY ROCKS IN
THE GARBER-WELLINGTON INTERVAL OF THE
CENTRAL OKLAHOMA AQUIFER,
CLEVELAND COUNTY,
OKLAHOMA

By
BEN NICHOLAS ABBOTT
Bachelor of Science
Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, Oklahoma
2002

Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College of
Oklahoma State University in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE
December, 2005
SUBSURFACE GEOLOGY OF ARSENIC-BEARING
PERMIAN SEDIMENTARY ROCKS IN
THE GARBER-WELLINGTON INTERVAL OF THE
CENTRAL OKLAHOMA AQUIFER,
CLEVELAND COUNTY,
OKLAHOMA

Thesis Approved:

Stanley T. Paxton
Thesis Advisor

James Puckette

Surinder Sahai

Gordon Emslie
Dean of the Graduate College

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COPYRIGHT

By

Ben Nicholas Abbott

December, 2005
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to express my sincerest gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Stan Paxton, whose
help was invaluable and instrumental to the completion of this thesis. I also would like to
thank my committee, Dr. Jim Puckette and Dr. Surinder Sahai for their assistance. Jim
Roberts’ help and expertise were priceless. And this thesis would certainly not have been
possible without support from the EPA. Finally, thanks to my lovely wife, Erin Abbott,
for putting up with me during the course of this work.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter Page

I. INTRODUCTION………………………………….……………………..…………1

II. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES…………………….……………..………………..6

III. BACKGROUND AND PREVIOUS WORK………………………….….………...8

General Geology…………………………………………………………………8
Hydrogeology…………………………………………………………………...16

IV. METHODOLOGY……….……………………………………….………………..28

Data Acquisition and Interpretation…….………………….…….………....…...28
Construction of Maps and Cross Sections………………….….….……………..35

V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION……………………………….….………………...38

Well Log Data Summary………………………………………………………...38
Maps…………………………………………………………………..……........39
Large Scale Cross Sections.……….……………………………………….…….50
Small Scale Cross Sections and Well Log Response Patterns…………………..50

VI. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE WORK…………….…..59

REFERENCES CITED………………………………………………………………….62

APPENDICES…………………………………………………………………………...64

APPENDIX A – WELL HEADER DATA……………………………………...65

APPENDIX B – FORMATION TOP DATA ………………………….……….74

APPENDIX C – NORMAN WATER WELL DATA…………………………..85

APPENDIX D – UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA WATER WELL DATA….93

APPENDIX E – GARBER-WELLINGTON CONTACT STUDY……………102

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LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1. Summary Statistics for OU and Norman Wells……………………………………….46

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1. Location Map, Central Oklahoma Aquifer……………………………………...…….2

2. Stratigraphic Column, Central Oklahoma Aquifer………………………....…...…….5

3. Garber Sandstone Map and Cross Section (1928)...………………………….....…...21

4. Oklahoma City Anticline and Associated Structures (1968)….…...………………...22

5. Positions of Gamma Ray Cutoff Lines……………………………………....………31

6. Type Log, Garber-Wellington Aquifer……………………………………..…..........34

7. Type Log, Garber Sandstone……………………………………………..………….34

8. Comparison of OU and Norman Water Wells……………………………………….46

9. Histograms, Units A, B, and C, Net Clean Sandstone Content……………..….……47

10. Histograms, Units A, B, and C, Percent Clean Sandstone Content……………….…48

11. Histograms, Units A, B, and C, Percent Shaly Sandstone Content…………...…..…49

12. Location of Large Scale Cross Sections……………………………………………..51

13. Location of Small Scale Cross Sections……………………………………………..52

14. Detail of Cross Section H-H’………………………………………………………...54

15. Detail of Cross Section D-D’………………………………………………………...54

16. Potential Arsenic Zones Map…………………………………………………….…..61

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LIST OF PLATES

Plate

1. Base Map..……………………………………………………………………..In Pocket

2. Structure Map, Top of Garber Sandstone and Garber Isopach…………….….In Pocket

3A. Garber Lithofacies Maps……….......…………………………….…….……In Pocket

3B. Percent Shaly Sandstone Map with Arsenic Overlay………….………….…In Pocket

4. Residual Trend Structure Maps…......................................................................In Pocket

5. Unit A: Isopach Map, Net Clean Sandstone Map, Percent Clean Sandstone Map,
Percent Shaly Sandstone Map………………...………………………….In Pocket

6. Unit B: Isopach Map, Net Clean Sandstone Map, Percent Clean Sandstone Map,
Percent Shaly Sandstone Map…...……………………………………….In Pocket

7. Unit C: Isopach Map, Net Clean Sandstone Map, Percent Clean Sandstone Map,
Percent Shaly Sandstone Map……………...…………………………….In Pocket

8. Cross Section Line Map..……………………………………………………...In Pocket

9. Cross Sections X-X’ and Y-Y’………………………………………………...In Pocket

10. Cross Sections A-A’ and B-B’…………….………………………...……….In Pocket

11. Cross Sections C-C’ and D-D’…………..…………………………………...In Pocket

12. Cross Sections E-E’ and F-F’………………………………………………...In Pocket

13. Cross Sections G-G’ and H-H’………..……………………………………...In Pocket

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I.

INTRODUCTION

As an important source of drinking water in central Oklahoma, the Central
Oklahoma Aquifer (COA) has been the focus of much attention in recent years because
of elevated levels of naturally occurring arsenic. The City of Norman, located in
Cleveland County, Oklahoma (Figure 1), obtains its groundwater from the Garber-
Wellington portion of the Central Oklahoma Aquifer; Norman has the second highest
levels of naturally occurring arsenic in drinking water in the United States, exceeded only
by Albuquerque, NM. In 2006, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will lower
the maximum allowable limit of arsenic in drinking water from the current level of 50
ppb to 10 ppb; numerous wells currently producing from the Central Oklahoma Aquifer
will not meet the new standard. The City of Norman would like to remediate the arsenic-
in-drinking-water-problem so that city wells will not have to be taken off line. The city is
also trying to avoid the expense of surface treatment techniques. OSU, in conjunction
with the EPA and the United States Geological Survey (USGS), is evaluating remediation
techniques and preparing preventative guidelines to the City of Norman and other
municipalities that obtain their drinking water from the Central Oklahoma Aquifer.
Previous work by the USGS has indicated that arsenic concentration may be proportional
to the volume of shale in a wellbore (Schlottmann et al., 1998). Therefore, some
approaches to achieving the goal of lowered arsenic levels are: 1) selective production
1
Central
Oklahoma
Aquifer
Norman
Figure 1. Location map of the Central Oklahoma Aquifer and surrounding geologic
features (modified after George N. Breit, The Diagenetic History of Permian Rocks in
the Central Oklahoma Aquifer, in USGS Water-Supply Paper 2357-A)
2