Hydrogeology and ground-water flow in the Memphis and Fort Pillow aquifers in the Memphis area, Tennessee

Characterization of Hydraulic Properties of the Memphis Aquifer by Conducting Pumping Tests in Active Well Fields in Shelby County, Tennessee

“…However, a study by Waldron et al (2011) identified only 13 reliable sources from published literature of parameters estimated for the Mississippi embayment aquifer system, six of which present values for the Memphis aquifer in Shelby County. These previous studies (Criner et al 1964;Moore 1965;Hosman et al 1968;Parks and Carmichael 1990;Brahana and Broshears 2001;Gentry et al 2006) reported transmissivity and storativity values with a combined range between 30-6,400 m 2 /day and 0.0001-0.003, respectively. Unfortunately, the location for some of the tests was not specified.…”

“…The Memphis aquifer is comprised mostly of sand, ranging from fine to very coarse grain size (Kingsbury and Parks 1993), with lenses of clay and silt at various stratigraphic horizons (Brahana and Broshears 2001). The thickness of the Memphis aquifer is approximately 150 m in the northeastern part of Shelby County and as much as 270 m in the southwestern part (Graham and Parks 1986).…”

“…Villalpando by previous studies, it was concluded that the real distribution of parameters was not well represented; thus, resulting in model non-uniqueness and uncertainty in interpreting certain model outcomes. Similarly, Jazaei et al (2019) attempted to minimize model nonuniqueness by restricting ranges to published values (Parks and Carmichael 1990;Brahana and Broshears 2001;Gentry et al 2006). Both studies reference historical values, yet all are the same values questioned by Waldron et al (2011).…”

Wellfield optimization to minimize contaminant migration from a surficial to a semi‐confined aquifer using numerical modeling

“…Despite being bordered by the Mississippi River, the fifth largest river in the world, Memphis (Figure 1) solely depends on groundwater for its water supply (Parks, 1990), unlike St. Louis, Missouri or New Orleans, Louisiana, which acquire their drinking water from the Mississippi River (STLWATER, 2020;SWBNO, 2020). Memphis lies near the center of the northern Mississippi embayment (Figure 2), a broad, shallow geologic basin filled with a layered series of aquifers separated by thick confining clays (Brahana & Broshears, 2001;Graham & Parks, 1986;Parks, 1990). Three freshwater aquifers of this system, the shallow, Memphis, and Fort Pillow aquifers, are the major aquifers beneath Memphis, listed from shallowest to deepest.…”

“…Of these three aquifers, the Memphis aquifer is the most productive and serves as the primary water supply source for the surrounding area. It is between 152 and 271 meters thick and is comprised mostly of fine to coarse sand with some intervening clay bodies (Brahana & Broshears, 2001). Figure 3 shows the hydraulic head contour lines of the Memphis aquifer in the Fall of 2015.…”