Ground-water-withdrawal and water-level data used to simulate regional flow in the major coastal plain aquifers of New Jersey

This report documents ground-water withdrawal and ground-water-level data for the major aquifers of the New Jersey Coastal Plain that include the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system, Englishtown aquifer system, Wenonah-Mount Laurel aquifer, Vincentown aquifer, Piney Point aquifer, Atlantic City 800-foot sand of the Kirkwood Formation, Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer system, and the Holly Beach water-bearing zone of the Cape May Formation.These data have been used in the Regional Aquifer-System Analysis (RASA) flow model of 10 major aquifers in the New Jersey Coastal Plain.Ground-water withdrawals from the Coastal Plain have increased from less than 50 million gallons per day in 1918 to more than 350 million gallons per day in 1980.In response to these increased withdrawals, ground-water levels have been steadily declining.In some areas where wells once flowed freely, water levels are now 100 to 200 feet below land surface.Ground-water-withdrawal data from more than 1,400 wells are tabulated by year for 1956 through 1980.In addition, total yearly withdrawals for 169 public-supply and industrial purveyors for 1918 through 1955 are documented.Best estimates are given for percentages of total withdrawals by aquifer for the 1918 through 1955 data.Ground-water-withdrawal data also are tabulated yearly from 1918 through 1980 by county for each aquifer.Long-term hydrographs for 89 Coastal Plain wells provide information on water-level fluctuations over time.Potentiometric maps showing earliest recorded water levels in Coastal Plain aquifers delineate prepumping conditions. Purpose and ScopeThe purpose of this report is to document ground-water-withdrawal data used in the Regional Aquifer-System Analysis flow model of the New Jersey Coastal Plain, and present the water-level data on which the RASA model is calibrated.This report provides data for future areal studies and presents concise information that can be used in making management decisions for Coastal Plain water resources.Ground-water-withdrawal data were collected from records of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, previously published waterresource reports, and directly from well owners.Yearly withdrawal data are shown for 1918 through 1980.Long-term hydrographs for Coastal Plain wells provide information on water-level fluctuations through time.Potentiometric maps showing earliest recorded water levels in major Coastal Plain aquifers approximate prepumping water levels. Location and ExtentThe New Jersey Coastal Plain extends from Delaware Bay in the southwest to Raritan Bay in the northeast, and from the Fall Line in the west to the Atlantic Ocean in the east (fig.1).The New Jersey Coastal Plain is approximately 4,200 mi 2 (square miles) and is part of the larger Atlantic Coastal Plain that extends from Florida to Newfoundland and eastward to the edge of the Continental Shelf.The area of study includes all of Monmouth, Burlington, Ocean, Camden, Gloucester, Salem, Atlantic, Cumberland, and Cape May Counties, and parts of Middlesex and Mercer Counties. Previous StudiesWithdrawal data for the Coastal Plain of New Jersey are summarized in reports by Vowinkel (1984) and Vowinkel and Foster (1981).These data are located in computer files in the U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division, office in Trenton, New Jersey.Walker (1983) and Eckel and Walker (1986) evaluate water-level data and present potentiometrie-surface maps for the major artesian aquifers in the Coastal Plain for 1978 and 1983, respectively.Earlier studies that include information on Coastal Plain ground-waterwithdrawal and water-level data include: Clark and others, 1968 (Atlantic County); Rush, 1968 (Burlington County); Farlekas and others, 1976 (Camden County); Gill, 1962b (Cape May County); Rooney, 1971 (Cumberland County); Hardt and Hilton, 1969 (Gloucester County); Vecchioli and Palmer, 1962 (Mercer County); Barksdale and others, 1943 (Middlesex County); Jablonski, 1968 (Monmouth County), Anderson and Appel, 1969 (Ocean County); and Rosenau and others, 1969 (Salem County).Studies that simulate ground-water flow and present ground-water-level and withdrawal data for aquifers within the Coastal Plain include studies of the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system (Luzier, 1980), the Farrington aquifer (Farlekas, 1979), the Englishtown aquifer (Nichols, 1977) and the Wenonah-Mount Laurel aquifer (Nemickas, 1976).Table 1 Geologic and hydrogeologic units in the New Jersey Coastal Plain SYSTEM Quaternary Tertiary