Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Identifier

4933

Date

2017

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Civil Engineering

Concentration

Water Resources Engineering

Committee Chair

Brian Waldron

Committee Member

Dan Larsen

Committee Member

Claudio Ivan Meier

Abstract

Groundwater from the Memphis aquifer is the primary source of drinking water in Shelby County, Tennessee. The Memphis aquifer is overlain and confined by the Jackson-upper Claiborne confining unit, which separates the shallow and Memphis aquifers throughout most of the county. However, there are areas where the confining unit is thin or absent, creating windows that allow water to flow from the shallow, unconfined aquifer, recharging the confined Memphis aquifer. A water-table map of the shallow aquifer and the unconfined portion of the Memphis aquifer in Shelby County was created using water-level data collected during October 2015, including groundwater elevations from 122 wells, surface water elevations from 55 bridge crossings, and historical groundwater elevations from 62 wells measured within the last five years (2010-2015). The water-table map was developed using GIS tools and contouring methods, and compared to previous maps completed in 1988 and 2005. Comparison with the previous maps highlights changes in water-table elevations as well as anomalous depressions in the water table that would signify absence of the confining unit and a potential window location.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to the local University of Memphis Electronic Theses & dissertation (ETD) Repository.

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