U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Water-Resources
Investigations Report 96-4043
Hydrogeology of the Tully Valley and Characterization
of Mudboil Activity, Onondaga County, New York
By William M. Kappel, Donald A. Sherwood,
and William H. Johnston
CONTENTS
Abstract
Introduction
Study Area
Purpose and Scope
Previous Studies of
Mudboils
Acknowledgments
Methods Of Investigation
Surface Water
Stream Discharge
Suspended-Sediment
Concentration and Chemical Quality
Ground Water
Water Levels
Water Quality
Precipitation
Test-Well Drilling
Surficial Sediments
Bedrock
Hydrogeology Of The Tully Valley
Bedrock
Stratigraphy
Strike and Dip
Near-Vertical Fracture
Patterns
Unconsolidated Deposits
Tully Valley Sequence
Rattlesnake Gulf and
Rainbow Creek Sequence
Surface Water
Onondaga Creek Mudboil
Corridor
Tributary 6 and
Mudboil/Depression Area (MDA)
Discharge
Suspended Sediment
Concentration and load
Particle-size analysis
Chemical Quality
Ground Water
Freshwater Aquifer
Recharge
Discharge
Chemical quality
Brackish-Water Aquifer
Recharge
Discharge
Chemical Quality
Land Subsidence and
Landslides
Subsidence from
Salt-Solution Mining
Subsidence from
Discharge of Mudboil Sediments
Subsidence from
Dewatering of Fine-grained Deposits
Tully Valley Landslide
Other Landslides in the Tully Valley
Mudboils
Initial Remediation
Efforts
Surface-water
Diversion
Mudboil/Depression
Area Impoundment
Change in Sediment
Concentration and Load
Change in Hydraulic
Head
Depressurizing Wells
Mudboil Hydrodynamics
Cause of Mudboils
Onondaga Creek Mudboil
Corridor
Natural causes
Human-Induced Causes
Bailey-Loomis dam
Brine field operations
Mudboil/Depression
Area (MDA)
Natural Causes
Human-Induced Causes
Brackish-water
Discharges
Natural Flow
Human-Induced Flow
Tully Valley Flow
Dynamics
Remediation Efforts
and Projections
Mudboil/Depression
Area (MDA)
Onondaga Creek Mudboil
Corridor
Proposed Efforts at
Alluvial Fans
Summary
References Cited
Appendixes
1. Historical Timeline - Tully Valley Mudboils
2. Tully Valley Water-quality Data, 1992-94
Figures
1. Map of southern Onondaga County, N.Y., showing
location and pertinent geographic
features of the Tully
Valley, and the trace of geologic section A-A 4
2. Map of Tully Valley N.Y., showing principal
geographic features, wells, brine field,
landslides, mudboils, and
geologic sections A 1 -A 4 and B-B 1
3. Map of central Tully Valley, N.Y. showing location
of wells, Parshall flumes, rain gages, and
geologic sections A 2 -A 3 and B-B‘
4. Geologic section B-B‘ showing major bedrock units
below Rattlesnake Gulf and Rainbow
Creek from lower valley
walls to top of Vernon Shale
5. Geologic section A-A 4 from Tully Lakes through the
middle part of the Tully Valley
showing the position of
Salina “F” salt beds, Onondaga Limestone, bedrock surface, and
generalized unconsolidated
units in mudboil area near Otisco Road
6. Geologic section B-B‘ showing upper unconsolidated
deposits along Otisco Road and deeper
unconsolidated deposits projected from well On-412, southwest of mudboil/depression area
7. Geologic section A 2 -A 3 showing upper
unconsolidated deposits in central part of Tully
Valley and projected
thickness of freshwater aquifer between wells On-417 and On-435
8. Hydrographs showing daily mean flow leaving
mudboil/depression area, water years 1992-95
9. Box plots showing the distribution of daily mean
suspended-sediment concentration in MDA
outflow, by month, water
years 1992-95
10. Graphs showing total monthly sediment load and
total monthly streamflow at
mudboil/depression area outflow
for water years 1992-95
11. Map showing estimated average annual artesian-head
altitude in freshwater aquifer in
central part of Tully
Valley, N.Y.
12. Map showing approximate location of selected
springs, ponds, diversion channels, and
south freshwater channel in
and near Tully Valley landslide (LS-4) area
13. Map showing extent and depth of brine field
subsidence (1957-93) in east and west areas
and along a possible
bedrock fracture in southern part of Tully Valley
14. Maps showing development of mudboil/depression
area as interpreted from aerial
photographs of 1966, 1978,
1985, and 1991
15. Graph showing monthly recorded precipitation at
Syracuse, N.Y. airport, and hydrograph of
water levels at well On-460
showing decreased fluctuations after 90-percent reduction in
salt-solution mining
activities in 1986 in western brine field area
16. Hydrographs showing daily mean flow into, and
estimated mudboil flow out of
mudboil/depression area,
water years 1992-95 A. Inflow. B. Estimated mudboil flow
17. Scatterplots showing relation between suspended
sediment concentration and streamflow at
mudboil/depression area
before and after remediation measures
18. Box plot showing distribution of
suspended-sediment concentrations in water samples from
mudboil/depression area
outflow flume before and after remediation efforts
19. Graphs of daily mean suspended-sediment
concentration at mudboil/depression area outflow
flume, water years 1992-95
20. Hydrographs showing water levels in monitoring wells downgradient of mudboil/depression-area outlet in relation to water levels controlled by outlet dam, and monthly precipitation
recorded at Otisco Road
rain gage
21. Hydrograph showing artesian-head pressure at two
monitoring wells On-431 and On-435
35 feet and 195 feet west
of depressurizing well On-450, December 1993 through November
1995,
and monthly precipitation recorded at Otisco Road rain gage
TABLES
1. Atterberg Limits Index results for split-spoon
samples taken in test hole On-435, along
Nickols Road near Onondaga
Creek, Tully Valley, N.Y.
2. Predominant clay minerals in core samples from
selected locations and depths in Tully
Valley, N.Y., in order of
decreasing abundance
3. Calculation of discharge from mudboils within the
Onondaga Creek mudboil corridor in
Tully Valley, N.Y.,
1991-1995
4. Particle-size analyses of selected
suspended-sediment samples from the outflow of the
mudboil/depression area
Tully Valley, N. Y., 1991-95
5. Median values of selected chemical constituents and
physical properties of inflow and
outflow of
mudboil/depression area, Tully Valley, N. Y., water years 1992-95
6. Specific conductance and ion concentrations in
freshwater samples from selected
sites in Tully Valley,
N.Y., water-years 1992-95
7. Concentrations of selected chemical constituents in
water samples from mudboils, sulphur
springs, and wells tapping
the lower brackish-water aquifer and water-bearing fractures in
bedrock at Tully Valley,
N.Y., water years 1992-94
8. Water-quality data from springs and steams draining
Tully Valley landslide (LS-4)area,
May 1993 through July 1994
9. Annual discharge, runoff, and precipitation
statistics for Tributary 6 watershed areas upstream
and downstream of
mudboil/depression area, Tully Valley, N.Y., water years 1992-95, and
corresponding derived statistics for mudboil/depression area
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