Hydrogeology of the Waverly-Sayre area in Tioga and Chemung Counties,
New York and Bradford County, Pennsylvania
by Richard J. Reynolds
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Open-File Report 02-284
ABSTRACT
The hydrogeology of a 135-square-mile area centered at Waverly, N.Y. and
Sayre, Pa. is summarized in a set of five maps and a sheet of geologic
sections, all at 1:24,000 scale, that depict locations of wells and test
holes (sheet 1), surficial geology (sheet 2), altitude of the water table
(sheet 3), saturated thickness of the surficial aquifer (sheet 4), thickness
of the lacustrine confining unit (sheet 5), and geologic sections (sheet 6).
The valley-fill deposits that form the aquifer system in the Waverly-Sayre
area occupy an area of approximately 30 square miles, within the valleys of
the Susquehanna River, Chemung River, and Cayuta Creek.
The saturated thickness of the surficial aquifer, which consists of alluvium,
valley-train outwash, and underlying ice-contact deposits, ranges from zero
to 90 feet and is greatest in areas where (1) the outwash is underlain by
ice-contact sand and gravel or (2) the outwash is overlain by alluvium and
alluvial fans. Estimated transmissivity of the surficial aquifer ranges from
5,600 to 100,270 feet squared per day, and estimated hydraulic conductivity
ranges from 50 feet per day for ice-contact deposits to 1,300 feet per day
for well-sorted, valley-train outwash.
The surficial aquifer is underlain by deposits of lacustrine sand, silt, and
clay in the main valleys; these deposits reach thicknesses of as much as
150 ft and form a thick confining unit. Beneath the lacustrine silt and clay
confining unit is a thin, discontinuous sand and gravel aquifer whose
thickness averages 5 feet but may be as much as 30 feet locally. This
confined aquifer supplies many domestic well in the area; yields average
about 22 gallons per minute for 6-inch-diameter, open-ended wells. Average
annual recharge to the aquifer system is estimated to be approximately
52.5 Mgal/d (million gallons per day), of which 29.7 Mgal/d is from direct
precipitation, 7.6 Mgal/d is from unchanneled upland runoff that infiltrates
the stratified drift along the valley wall, and 15.2 Mgal/d is from
infiltration from tributary streams on the valley floor.
Citation: Reynolds, R.J., 2003, Hydrogeology of the Waverly-Sayre area in Tioga and Chemung Counties, New York and Bradford County, Pennsylvania: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 02-284, 6 sheets, 1:24,000 scale (CD-ROM).
README.TXT - Important CD-ROM end-user information
[Sheet 1 - Locations of wells and test Holes, orig. size 38"x32", Acrobat PDF
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[Sheet 2 - Surficial Geology, orig. size 38"x32", Acrobat PDF
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[Sheet 3 - Altitude of the Water Table, orig. size 38"x32", Acrobat PDF
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[Sheet 4 - Saturated thickness of the Surficial Aquifer, orig. size 38"x32", Acrobat PDF
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[Sheet 5 - Thickness of the Lacustrine Confining Unit, orig. size 38"x32", Acrobat PDF
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[Sheet 6 - Geologic Sections, orig. size 38"x32", Acrobat PDF
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