DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORUNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

PREPARED IN COOPERATION WITH

THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTSWATER RESOURCES COMMISSION

AND BERKSHIRE COUNTYHYDROLOGIC INVESTIGATIONS

ATLAS HA-281 (SHEET 1 OF 4)

PHYSICAL SETTING, CLIMATE, WATER BUDGET, AND WATER USE

INTRODUCTIONThis report describes the water resources and water prob-

lems of the upper Housatonic River basin, an area of about530 square miles in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, anda small part of Columbia County, New York (figure 1).

73*15'

tr\J

30 '

HOUSATONIC 73RIVER BASIN

fe ^10 20 30 40 50 MILES

1 1 1 i

FIGURE 1.— Index map of Massachusetts showing location of theUpper Housatonic River Basin

The present population of about 95,000 is concentrated alongthe Housatonic River, principally in the industrial city ofPittsfield and in the larger trade centers bordering the river.The greater part of the water needs of population and indus-try are presently supplied from reservoirs on tributaries ofthe Housatonic River in hills bordering the main valley. Wa-ter for some industries and smaller settlements is obtainedfrom wells in the glacial alluvium of the lowland and in thelimestone, metamorphic, and igneous rocks beneath the valleyand adjoining hills.

Present water systems are being taxed to capacity to meetindustrial and population growth in the basin, and the droughtof the past few years has pointed out the inadequacies ofsome of the systems. In 1964 the public and private watersystems produced about 26 mgd (million gallons per day I ofwhich about 9 mgd was from wells and springs.

Estimates based on regional plans forecast an increase inpopulation of 40,000 by the year 2000. Based on this fore-cast and on probable increase in industrial and irrigationaluse of water, water needs for the year 2(100 will increase atleast 10 mgd, a 40 percent increase over present demands.

In this study, the major water problems were found to be:1. Inadequate storage of surface water, particularly in

dry years, and the lack of knowledge of the amountof surface water available.

2. Inadequate knowledge of sources of ground water inthe glacial alluvium of the valley.

3. Chemical quality.4. Pollution.

The results of the study show that (li the quality and vol-ume of streamflow in the many tributaries within the hillsbordering the valley would be suitable for impounding largequantities of water, and additional billions of gallons of wa-ter could be made available from many of the lakes andponds in the area; (2) large supplies of ground water areavailable at several places within the valley and this wateris generally soft and of excellent quality for domestic andindustrial use, though of greater hardness in limestone areas;and (3) the largest stream and source of surface water with-in the valley is highly polluted and not fit for human con-sumption without treatment.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Special thanks are due the well drillers, consulting engi-neers, public officials, owners and operators of public andindustrial water systems, and the many residents of the areawho generously supplied much of the data used in this re-port. The authors gratefully acknowledge these contribu-tions.

PRECIPITATION

An average of about 46 inches of precipitation, amountingto an estimated 420 billion gallons of water, falls on the ba-sin in a single year placing the basin in the humid class.Even so, the residents of the basin sometimes lack the 9.5billion gallons that are needed yearly. Roughly 47 percentof the precipitation is lost to evapotranspiration. The re-mainder runs off in the Housatonic River or collects in res-ervoirs, lakes, and ponds.

42*15' .'

EXPLANATION

Lines of averageannual precipitation

Interval, 2 inches^ ^ ^ ^ • — • • ^ ^ — ^

Basin boundary

SCALE 1:2500000 5MILES

Base by U.S. GeologicalSurvey, 1956

73*15'

3.—Map showing average annual precipitation

The rugged topography of the basin (see figure 2) has adefinite effect on the areal distribution of the precipitation;however, the relief is not great enough to create rain shad-ows in the area. The pattern of precipitation is shown onfigure 3.

Normal monthly precipitation at Pittsfield is illustrated infigure 4 which shows a more or less even distributionthroughout the year. This usually provides ample water forstorage and for vegetation during the trowing season.

A drought condition existed in the basin from 1961 to 1966.At Pittsfield Weather Bureau station precipitation was about75, lit), 71, and 64 percent of normal during the years of1961-64, respectively. To evaluate this drought according tothe seasonal distribution, monthly precipitation values havebeen averaged for the period 1961 -64 for the Pittsfield sta-tion; they are:

I Storage period .

Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr.3.02 2.56 2.16 2.24 3.02

Growing period

The sum of these average figures is 10.86 inches for thegrowing period, 6.87 inches for the replenishment period,and 13.0 inches for the storage period. In contrast, the nor-mal precipitation for the same periods is 16.94 inches for thegrowing period, 11.66 inches for the replenishment period,and 15.82 inches for the storage period.

M ay2.10

June2.82

July Aug.3.04

Replenishment period

Sept.2.12

Oct.1.52

Nov.3.23

! 1

10

9

in 8UJ

I?- 6zfoI- 5<

oUJ

Q- 3

0 -

Maximum 1948NormalMinimum

1948

19531945

1953 1951

1955 1957 1962

1963

1964

1962

1948

1945

1962

1960

1965

19531948

1955

1963

1950

19461958

Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

FIGURE 4.— Graph showing minimum, normal, ami maximumprecipitation at Pittsfield for the years 1944-65 (normalbasal on period 1931-60)

R a i n o r s n o w c l o u d s

P R E C I P I T A T I O N

r

FIGURE 2 . - Block diagram showing the hydrotegic cycle and a gemralizedsection of g round-irate,• occurrence

Water inflowdl -Balances- ->- Water outflow! 0 I

Precipitation(Rain and snow)

Evapotranspiration

200 billiongallons

Streamflow (Surface andground-water runoff)

220 billion gallons

FIGURE 5.— Diagram illustrating annual water budget

PRESENT WATER DEVELOPMENT

The water budget (figure 51 balances inflow and outflowin the basin, with allowances for changes in storage. Statedas an equation, it is simply:

Inflow (I) = Outflow (01.The surface-water divides largely coincide with the

ground-water divides depicted on the block diagram in fig-ure 2, hence all inflow is measured as precipitation. Outflowfrom the basin includes streamflow. evaporation, transpira-tion, and subsurface flow (see figure 2). Changing items inthe budget, either plus or minus, include ground-water stor-age, surface-water storage, soil moisture, and human con-sumption. In an average annual budget the changing itemsexcepting human consumption probably average out eachyear and, thus, need not be considered. Water use by man,exclusive of papermill use. amounts to about 2 percent ofthe total precipitation. Papermills use a large but undeter-mined amount of surface water. Most of this combined usagereturns to the streams and the ground, so it is not a signifi-cant part of the budget. Most of ilhe subsurface flow occursin a relatively narrow strip of valley-fill sediments at theState line. These sediments generally are fine grained andthe hydraulic gradient at the State line is slight; therefore,underflow out of the basin is negligible in relation to thetotal volume of outflow. Therefore, the simplified averageannual budget, stated as an equation is:Precipitation! 1') = Stream flow! SF) T Evapotranspiration(ET).

The first two elements of the above equation are measured;the third element can be computed. The average annualbudget for the basin is thus:

420 billion gallons (Pi = 220 billion gallons (SF) +evapotranspiration (ETl, therefore ET= 200 billion gallons.

The budget shows that there ' s a tremendous volume ofwater moving through the basin annually; much more thanprobably ever will be needed in this area.

AVERAGE ANNUAL W\TER BUDGET

An average of about 26 million gallons of water was useddaily in the basin in 1964. This includes water from munici-pal supplies and industrial ground-water sources. It does notinclude the large amount of water taken directly fromstreams and lakes for papermill use. Ground water fromwells and springs makes up about 36 percent of the total use.

The areal distribution of the major water usage in the basinis shown on the water use map. "able 1 lists the volumes ofselected reservoirs, lakes, and ponds in the basin. The com-bined usable capacity of these reservoirs is about 6.!i billiongallons. From this seemingly large reservoir storage about6 billion gallons is pumped yearly lor municipal use.

Fortunately the basin has at least 13 billion additional gal-lons of water in its larger lakes and ponds. This watermight be used in extremely critical times but not withoutsome problems involving prior rights, public health consid-erations, and distribution problems. In dry years, these ad-ditional sources also mav be low.

TABLE I.— Selected reservoirs, lakes, and ponds

(One million gallons or more usable capacity)Use: I, Industrial; M, municipal; R, recreation

Name of reservoirand selected

lakes and ponds

BecketGreenwater Pond .

Dal tonEgypt Brook.Windsor

EgremontProspec* Lake

Great BarringtonEast Mountain . . .Long Pond .Mansfield Pond. . .

HinsdaleBelmontCleveland BrookNew Sackett'PlunkettAshmere Lake

LeeGoose PondLaheyLaurel Lake

LenoxLower RootUpper Root

MontereyBenedict Pond2

Lake BuelLake Garfield

New MarlboroughEast Indies Pond.Harmon Pond. . . .

OtisHayes Pond

PittsfieldOnota Lake3

Pontoosuc Lake.

RichmondRichmond Pond'1

Stockbridge

Lake Mahkeenac.

WashingtonAshley Lake! . . . .Farnham1

Sandwash

West StockbridgeCrane Lake

Totalvolume

(millionsof gallons)

663 [

—

ins

U sable storagecapacity(millions

of gallons)

~

8

100

— 5. - 325 . . ..78. . . . .

351500

. - 147215

. 480

. . 2130

1239 . . .

64667.1269 . . .

.115 . . .%

136 . .

4267 . . .2090 . . . . .

940

3094

240 . .

6565

3215

.119

. . . 360

. . . 420. .348.

Use

R

MM

R

MMR

MMMRR

I,R. . . M

l.R

MM

RRR

RR

. R

M,RR

R

MR

• MMM

R

In Pittsfield watershed areaHalf of pond in Great BarringtonUsed as emergency water supply

4 Half of pond in Pittsfield

Water lost to man's use

Water available for man's use:220 billion gallons.

Water currently used:10 billion gallons.

Balance available for future use:210 billion gallons.

(

/

Municipal water supplyBlack circle denotes surface-water source of

supply; blue circle denotes ground-watersource of supply; blue part in black circledenotes percentage of supply from ground-water sources (includes springs); averagedaily water use in gallons per day asniinsured on scale below

Industrial water supplyObtained from privately owned ground-water

sources

4 MILES

Base from U.S. Geological Survey1:250,000, 1956

MAP SHOWING AVERAGE DAILY WATER USE

REFERENCESBaldwin, Helene L., and McGuinness, C. L., 1963, A primer

on ground water: Washington. U.S. Geol. Survey 26 p.Benson. Manuel A., 1962, Factors influencing the occurrence

of floods in a humid region of diverse terrain: U.S. Geol.Survey Water-Supply Paper 1580-B, 64 p.

Cooper, H. H., Jr., and Jacob, C. E., 1946, A generalizedgraphical method for evaluating formation constants andsummarizing well-field history: Am. Geophys. UnionTrans., v. 27, no. 4, p. 526-534.

Dale, T. Nelson, 1923, The lime belt of Massachusetts andparts of eastern New York and western Connecticut: U.S.Geol. Survey Bull. 744, 71 p., 8 pi.

Durfor. C. N., and Becker, Edith, 1965, Public water suppliesof the 100 largest cities in the United States, 1962: U.S.Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 1812, p. 364.

Emerson, B. K., 1899, The geology of eastern BerkshireCounty, Massachusetts: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 159,139 p.

1916, Preliminary geologic map of Massachusettsand Rhode Island, pi. 10 in Emerson, B. K., 1917, Geology

of Massachusetts and Rhode Island: U.S. Geol. SurveyBull. 597, 289 p.

Herz, Norman, 1958, Bedrock geology of the Cheshire Quad-rangle, Massachusetts: U.S. Geol. Survey Geol. Quad.MapGQ-108.

Hoyt, John C, 1938, Drought of 1936 with discussion on thesignificance of drought in relation to climate: U.S. Geol.Survey Water-Supply Paper 820, 62 p.

Jacob, C. E., 1946, Drawdown test to determine effectiveradius of artesian well: Am. Soc. Civil Engineers Trans.,Paper 2321 (May), p. 1047-1070.

Knox, C. E., and Nordenson, T. J., 1955, Average annualrunoff and precipitation in the New England-New Yorkarea: U.S. Geol. Survey Hydrol. Inv. Atlas HA-7.

Leopold, Luna B., and Langbein, Walter B., 1960, A primeron water: Washington, U.S. Geol. Survey, 50 p.

New England-New York Inter-Agency Committee, 1955,The resources of the New England-New York region,pt. 2, chap. XXII Housatonic River basin.

Norvitch, Ralph F., 1966, Ground-water favorability map ofthe Housatonic River basin, Massachusetts: Massachusetts

4 KILOMETERS

Water Resources Commission Hydrol. Inv. Atlas, 1 map.Norvitch, Ralph F.. and Lamb, Mary E. S., 1966, Records of

selected wells, springs, test holes, materials tests, andchemical analyses of water in the Housatonic River basin,Massachusetts: U.S. Geol. Survey open-file report, 40 p.

Swenson, H. A., and Baldwin, H. L., 1965, A primer onwater quality: Washington, U.S. Geol. Survey, 27 p.

Technical Planning Assoc, Inc., 1959, The regional plan forBerkshire County, Massachusetts: Report prepared for theBerkshire County Commissioners and the MassachusettsDept. of Commerce, 64 p.

Theis, C. V., 1935, The relation between the lowering of thepiezometric surface and the rate and duration of dischargeof a well using ground-water storage: Am. Geophys. Un-ion Trans., p. 519-524.

1938, The significance and nature of the cone ofdepression in ground-water bodies: Econ. Geology, v. 33,no. 8, p. 889-902.

U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1962,Public Health Service drinking water standards: PublicHealth Service Pub. 956, p. 7.

HYDROLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES OF THE HOUSATONIC RIVER BASIN, MASSACHUSETTSINTERIOR—GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. WASHINGTON. D . C . — 1 9 6 8 — W 6 7 3 6 '

By

ZR.:

•

Ralph F. Norvitch, Donald F. Farrell,Felix H. Pauszek, and Richard G. Petersen

1968 For sale bv U. S. Geological Survey, price $2 00 per set

PREPARED IN COOPERATION WITH

THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

WATER RESOURCES COMMISSION AND BERKSHIRE COUNTY

HYDROLOGIC INVESTIGATIONS ATLAS HA-281 (SHEET 2 OF 4)

SURFACE WATER STREAMFLOW CHARACTERISTICS

STREAMFLOW

Investigation of streamflow in the basin consisted of col­lecting and analyzing data from three stream-gaging stations (see map I, and from 47 low-flow partial-record sites. A fourth stream-gaging station, on the North Branch Hoosic River at North Adams. 17 miles north of the Coltsville sta­tion was used as the index station for correlation purposes because the Coltsville station and the Great Barrington sta­tion on the Housatonic River are regulated by mills up­stream.

For purposes of comparison and correlation, 30 years of record, ending in 1961, was used as the standard or base pe­riod. Records for this period at North Adams were used to extend the records of the Green River gaging station near Great Barrington and the 47 low-flow sites to the base period.

RUNOFF An average of about 24 inches of surface-water runoff.

an estimated 21 it billion gallons of water, flows out of the basin each year. This amounts to about 52 percent of the average annual precipitation. Annual runoff, in inches, rep­resents the depth to which the basin would be covered if all the streamflow in one year uniformly covered the basin. The pattern of average annual runoff is shown on the map.

The mean annual flow, in cfs per si) mi (cubic feet per second per square mile) and in mgd per sq mi (million gal­lons per day per square mile), for each low-flow partial-record site is listed in table 1. The site locations are shown

The amount of water that becomes streami'h »%v depends upon where, when, and how the precipitation fall ­ Most of the precipitation in the winter months accumulate >s Upon the land surface as snow. In the early spring air t i " " nM'eralures rise and the snow cover melts. After the grou TTI<1 becomes saturated, the snowmelt, together with the sprint £ rain, runs off and increases streamflow. Streamflow decrea - e s through the spring as longer days and higher air temp* 'ratures in­crease evaporation. Generally the amount of pre- cipitation is about the same in the spring and summer, but a •— the grow­ing season progresses, the plants transpire mor «• and more water. This transpiration process combined wittra the h igher temperatures and evaporation rates of the surra mer season produce the lowest streamflow in the late siimnii-'i' and early fall. During periods of no precipitation most of *"<-> flow in the streams is ground-water effluent.

FLOW DURATION

The flow-duration curve provides a convenien T means for studying the flow characteristics of streams and for compar­ing one basin with another, and is used for i nvestigating problems dealing with water supply, power lopments, and dilution and disposal of sewage or industt rial waste's. Flow -duration curves for the four gaging station ­ are shown in figure 2.

Housatonic River near Great Barrington, Mass.

Drainage area Years of record Maximum discharge Minimum discharge Average discharge

280 sq. m. 1913-65

12,200 cfs 11949) 1.0 cfs (1914)

512 cfs

East Branch Houaatonic at Coltsville, Mass

Drainage area Years of record

River

57.1 sq. mi. 1936-65

Maximum discharge 6,400 cfs (1938) Minimum discharge 4. Average discharge

4 cfs (1936) ion cfsi

GEOLOGY AND LOW FLOW

The low-flow measurements for this report were made after six or more consecutive days of no precipitation. At' this time streamflow is essentially ground-water runoff (effluent). The geology of a basin has a profound effect on low flow in streams; and, thus, at first glance, low-flow measurements may be considered as indicators of potential aquifer (ground-water reservoir) yields. However, in the glaciated valleys of the basin, the surface sediments (valley fill) adjacent to the stream channels may largely control the low flow in the streams. Fine grained lake sediments at the surface will result in low ground-water runoff, and coarse sand and gravel sediments will result in high ground-water runoff. In the practical search for ground-water supplies, however, the surficial lake sediments may be underlain at depth by sand and gravel deposits which are good water suppliers; whereas, the surficial sand and gravel sediments may be thin, of little extent, and may constitute a small wa­ter supply. Also, the hydraulic properties of the surficial deposits may completely obscure the water-yielding poten­tial of the underlying bedrock. In valleys where bedrock is near or at the surface and surficial deposits are thin or ab­sent, such as in the upper parts of some tributary stream channels, all low flow may be coming out of the rock. How­ever, because of the hydraulic inhomogeneity of the bedrock, most of the flow may be emitted through a few open frac­tures that intercept the stream channel.

Data available for this work were not sufficient to make a quantitative evaluation of the relationship between low flows and aquifer yields. Some factors, other than geology, affect­ing low flows are soil moisture conditions, stream bank stor­age, hydraulic gradient of the water table, periodicity of pre­cipitation, seasonal variations and trends in precipitation, evapotranspiration rates, hydraulic properties of the aquifers

Water users frequently require streamflow data for un­gaged sites. To estimate the amount of storage needed at places where no gaging-station records are available requires that an estimate he made of the median 7-day annual low flow. To help meet this need in the basin, storage-required frequency data have been estimated at 27 of the low-flow partial-record sites. These data are summarized in table 2.

Regional draft-storage curves based on storage-required frequency data from the four gaging stations, are shown in figure 6.

Through use of these curves the amount of storage re­quired to provide selected rates of allowable draft (outflow rate) can be estimated from the median 7-day annual low-flow and the size of the drainage area (table 2).

For example, in table 2. low-flow site no. 25, Smith Brook at West Street in Pittsfield, has an estimated median 7-day annual low flow of 0.115 mgd per sq mi. Using the curves in figure 6, a storage of 6.9 mgd per sq mi would be required at the 20-year recurrence interval to give an allowable draft or outflow rate of 0.2 mgd per sq mi.

The method used for obtaining storage requirements neg­lects losses due to evaporation and seepage from the reser­voir. These losses depend on the characteristics at each spe­cific reservoir site and they must be determined for each individual problem. Also, the method of estimating storage requirements from low-flow frequency curves gives amounts of storage that are about 10 percent less than those given by mass curves. Therefore, the storage-required figures would have to be increased by about 10 percent before being used in a final design.

Storage-draft relations can be used by water managers who are concerned with seeking new or additional sources of surface-water supply for municipal and industrial use, or who arc appraising the potential water supply for regional

ioo

Draft rate in per sq mi

on the map. The overall meanper sq mi or 1.11 mgd per si] mi.

flow in the basin is 1.72 cfs las inferredground.

above), and relative storage of water in the growth and development. The availability of streamflow for water supply and waste

1.0

TABLE 1.— Mean flow at low-flow partial-record sites

3000 ,

2000

"1 f

Great Stations 1 Housatonic River near

Barrington 2 North Branch Hoosic R i ve r at

North Adams 3 East Branch Housatoni cz: River

at Coltsville

Despite not making a quantitative evaluation between low-flows and aquifer yields, a qualitative evaluation can be made. To accomplish this the basin was divided into 47 sub-basins with each low-flow partial-record site as the outlet for each individual subbasin, as shown on the map. The es­timated lowest 7-day annual minimum flow for each sub-

dilution, without low-flow augmentation or storage, is often a problem in summer and fall, especially in years of drought. Knowledge of low streamflow and its frequency of occur­rence is a necessity in the economic design of sewage dis­posal systems to insure that our streams can dispose.' of sewage plant effluent without creating offensive conditions.

0.5

20-year recurrence interval

5-year recurrence interval

0.07 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.07 0.1 0.2 MEDIAN 7-DAY ANNUAL MINIMUM FLOW, IN MILL ION S

GALLONS PER DAY PER SQUARE MILE

0.3 OF

Low-flow partial-record site Drainage

area (sq mil

56 58 52 53 54 26

28

24

25 50

19 17

17

ID

6 7 8

46

13 12 14

31 32

29

30

W 33 34 35 36 in

37

38

39 13 II 9

10

59 i

61 1

12

East Branch Houbatonic River neai 27.0 Dalton

Town Brook at Lanesborough 11.5 Secum Brook near Lanesborough ,'>.72 Daniels Brook at Pittsfield 2.66 Churchill Brook at Pittsfield 1.16 Parke r Brook at Pittsfield .124 Mt. Lebanon Brook near Lebanon ..">ti

Mountain Rd., a t Shaker Village North Branch Mt. Lebanon Brook a t .4N

Shaker Village Mt. Lebanon Brook at Berkshire 1.25

Downs. Shaker Village Smith Brook near Briokhouse 1.05

Mountain Rd., at Pittsfield Smith Brook at West St. at Pittsfield 2.48 Southwest Branch Housatonic River 20.3

at Pittsfield Sykes Brook at Pittsfield .80 Yokun Brook near Lenox 5.92 Basin Pond Brook near East Lee 3.15 Greenwater Brook at East Lee 7.65 Hop Brook near Tyringham 4.03 Hop Brook tributary near Tyringham .76 Hop Brook at Tyringham 14.0 Hop Brook near South Lee 22.1 West Brook near South Lee 4.12 Muddy Brook near Great Barrington 2.58 Stony Brook near Great Barrington 2.11 Konkapot River near Great Barrington 6.39 Baldwin Brook near State Line 2.27 Baldwin Brook at West Center Rd., 2.63

near State Line Cone Brook at Sleepy Hollow Rd., :?.%

near Richmond Cone Brook near Swamp Rd., near 5.83

Richmond Williams River near Great Barrington 42.6 Green River above Austerlitz, N. Y. 3.22 Green River below Austerlitz, N. Y. 8.60 Green River at Green River, N. Y. 11.7 Scribner Brook near Alford 1.96 Sages Ravine Brook near Taconic, 3.41

Conn. Karner Brook near Mt. Washington Rd. 1.7s

near South Egremont Karner Brook at .JUK End Rd., near 2.2(i

South Egremont Fenton Brook near South Egremont 2.9(1 Schenob Brook at Sheffield 50.0 Ironworks Brook near Sheffield 8.30 Soda Creek at Fink Rd., near 1.59

Sheffield Soda Creek at County Rd., near 2.59

Sheffield Housatonic River at Ashley Kails 471. Rawson Brook near Wallace Hall Rd., 2.:?7

near Monterey Rawson Brook near Monterey 8.25 Konkapot River at Hartsville 22.6 Umpachene Brook at Southfield 8.56 Konkapot River at Ashley Falls 61.0

Mean flow

cfs mi

mgd sq mi

1.72 1.74

.81 1.86 1.85 1.74

1.75

1.75

1.78

1.81 1.80

1.81 1.79 1.95 1.97 1.86 1.84 1.90 1.92 LSI I

1.65 1.71 1.69 1.56 1.56

1.68

1.69

1.59 1.55 1.54 1.54 1.56 1.53

1.51

1.11 1.12 1.17 1.21 1.19 1.12

1.12

1.14

1.14

1.17 1.16

1.18 1.16 1.26 1.28 1.20 1.18 1.23 1.24 1.17 1.0 1.10 1.09 1.01 1.01

1.09

1.09

1.03 1.00

.99

.99 l.ol

.98

1.54 ; i

1.61 1.59

I [!

I l l

1.83

l.si 1.72 1.82 1.75

1.00

1.04 1.03

1.19

1.17 1.11 1.18 1.13

i Regulated flow •i Diversions for municipal water supply •i Evapotranspiration exceeded runoff cfs sq mi—cubic feet per second per square mile mgd sq mi—million gallons per day per square mile

VARIABILITY OF STREAMFLOW

S t r e a m f l o w is var iable f r o m t i m e to t i m e a n d p l a c e to

p l a c e . In a d r a i n a g e b a s i n , t h e t o p o g r a p h y , g e o l o g y , a n d

size a r e c o n s t a n t f a c t o r s ; a n d t h e v a r i a t i o n in f low is g e n e r -

al ly d e p e n d e n t u p o n p r e c i p i t a t i o n , v e g e t a t i o n , a n d t e m p e r a

h i r e . F i g u r e 1 s h o w s t h e m o n t h t o m o n t h v a r i a t i o n s in

s t r e a m f l o w at t h e H o u s a t o n i c R i v e r g a g i n g s t a t i o n n e a r

G r e a t H a r r i n g t o n a n d is t y p i c a l o l ' a l l t h e s t r e a m s in t h e

b a s i n .

4 Green River near Great B a *-rington

L0 9 8 '

6

5

10 cfs or more can be ex­pected 90 percent of the-time

FIGU

2 5 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

TIME. IN PERCENT OF TOTAL P E R I O D

RE 2. Flow duration curves for base p< for gaging stations

98 99

The duration curve, as compiled, shows the* long period distribution of flow without regard to the chronological se­quence of flow. The curve obscures the e f fec ts of years of high or low flow as well as seasonal variations within the year.

LOW STREAMI I OW

Low-flow frequency curves show the magni tude and fre­quency of minimum flows. They differ from flow duration curves in that they give informat ion on t h e chronological sequence of flows.

Frequency curves of lowest annual mean discharges for nine selected consecutive periods for each (?#K|r|g station are shown on figure 3. The 7-day period used i|1 the studies minimizes the effect of diurnal fluctuation an<' changes in storage. As the time periods increase, the average flow for the minimum period also increases.

Low-flow frequency curves, which represent the potential capability of various streams, are useful to munieipal water planners in the search for water supplies. T h e <- and 14­day curves represent the flow available with a small amount of storage, such as provided by a dam in the '11;iin channel of a s t ream. Curves for periods of 30 days a n d longer rep­resent the flow that would be available if l a rger s torage facilities were provided. The curves define the chance of occurrence of a flow less than that required to hold the bio­chemical oxygen demand of a stream below a mi m n H im level, in studies for disposal of industrial wastes a111' municipal sewage into streams. In programs for attracting industry. the curves show how much water is available * o r projected needs.

In planning the use of water today the probable minimum

\

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0k

• V

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Steadmah

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Green River near Great Barrington

Drainage area Years of record Maximum discharge Minimum discharge Average discharge

Mass.

51 sq. mi. 1951-65

2,120 cfs (1960) 2.7 cfs (19641

79.2 cfs

Lowest 7-day annual minimum flow-

Flow in mgd per sq mi (million gallons per day per square mile)

Comparative values

I'm it-

Fair

Good

Very good

Not determined

Stream-gaging station

Low-flow partial-record site Number refer* tit subbnsin

(See tohle 1)

A Regulated flow B Diversions for municipal water supply (' Evapotranspiration exceeded runoff dur­

ing low-flow periods 1) Intermittent streams E Suspected influence by pumping

-24 Lines of average

annual precipitation

Interval, 1 inchex

Subbasin boundary

Basin boundary

basin was categorized into comparative values on the map, thus inferring the relative worth of each subbasin for ground­water yield. By considering the geologic environment and by logically accounting for all other low-flow control factors, the map may be a useful aid for ground-water exploration.

Generally the individual comparative values shown on the map reasonably reflect geohydrologic conditions in the re­spective subbasins. However, there are some exceptions. For example, geohydrologic data available for Town Brook subbasin (no. 5(>) indicate an area of good ground-water yield; however, the comparative value shows it to be poor. Know­ing this subbasin to be comparatively good for aquifer yields, it is reasoned that streamflow here is affected by pumping in the municipal well belonging to the town of Lanesborough. That is, the effects of pumping (about 0.3 mgd) induce water from Town Brook into the adjacent well; thereby reducing streamflow. Secum Brook (no. 58), I'-1 miles to the west, has similar geologic characteristics and is shown to have a very good comparison value.

The unpredictability of bedrock hydrology is demonstrated in Karner Brook (no. 37) and Sages Ravine Brook (no. 40) subbasins. Both subbasins are underlain by schist with little or no surficial cover. Schist is generally a poor water-yield­ing lock; however, the comparative value for Karner Brook subbasin is very good, whereas, the value for Sages Ravine Brook subbasin is good. Most of the other subbasins under­lain by schist are rated poor to fair. Locally, the schist in the Karner basin probably is jointed or fractured, facilitating ground-water runoff, and the schist in the Sages Ravine ba­sin probably is jointed or fractured to a somewhat lesser degree.

The comparative values for two subbasins inos. 24 and 25) along Smith Brook conform with the geohydrologic environ­ment. The upper subbasin (no. 24) is underlain by schist with little or no surficial cover and the comparative value is poor. The lower subbasin (no. 25) is underlain largely with limestone, generally the best of the water-yielding rocks; and the stream channel fill is sand and gravel. The comparative flow for this subbasin, along the same brook, is good. Another conformance with the geohydrologic environ­ment is shown in Basin Pond Brook subbasin (no. 17) and in Greenwater Brook subbasin (no. lti). Basin Pond Brook sub-basin is underlain by gneiss, a poor water-yielding rock, with little or no surficial cover, and the comparative value is poor.

Brook subbasin is underlain with I is sand and gravel; the compara-

The adjacent Greenwatei limestone and I he valley I tive value is good.

Where applicable, the were used as indicators

low-flow evaluations on the map in selecting favorable areas for

ground-water exploration as shown in a later section.

I IOODS

With few exceptions, floods generally have caused little damage in the upper part of the Housatonic River basin. The most severe floods in recent times were those of No­vember 1927, March 1936, September 1938, January 1949, and August 1955. The greatest flood on record was the 1949 " N e w Year ' s F l o o d . " A l t h o u g h t h e f lood of A u g u s t 1955

was outstanding in the lower Housatonic Basin in Connect­icut, the upper reaches in Massachusetts only had moder­ately high Hows. A typical flood profile is shown in figure 4.

From M. A. Benson's (1962) study of floods in New Eng­land, figures of discharge were used to plot flood-frequency curves. The curves are shown in figure 5. A knowledge of the magnitude and frequency of floods that may be expected to occur is essential for the design of bridges, culverts, or other structures that may be affected by floods, and for floodplain development.

STORAGE NEEDED TO AUGMENT LOW FLOWS

Storage-required frequency curves are used to show the frequency with which storage equal to or greater than se­lected amounts would be required to maintain selected rates

FIGURE 6.—Regional draft-storage curves for 5-year and 20-year recurrence interval

TABLE 2.— Storage-required frequency at selected low-flow partial-record sites as estimated from the regional draft-storage curves (storage is uncorrected for reservoir seepage and evaporation)

o

c CO

58

52

53

54

26

24

25

50

49

16

6

8

46

13

12

32

44

34

35

36

40

37

3!)

4

5

61

42

Low-flow partial-record site

(downstream order)

Secum Brook near Lanesborough, Mass.

Daniels Brook at Pittsfield, Mass.

Churchill Brook at Pittsfield, Mass.

Parker Brook at Pittsfield, Mass.

Mt. Lebanon Brook near Lebanon Mountain Rd., at Shaker Village, Mass.

Smith Brook near Brickhouse Mountain Rd., at Pittsfield, Mass.

Smith Brook at West St., at Pittsfield, Mass.

Southwest Branch Housatonic River at Pittsfield, Mass.

Sykes Brook at Pittsfield, Mass.

Greenwater Brook at East Lee, Mass.

Hop Brook near Tyringham, Mass.

Hop Brook at Tyringham, Mass.

Hop Brook near South Lee, Mass.

Muddy Brook near Great Barrington, Mass.

Stony Brook near Great Barrington, Mass.

Baldwin Brook at West Center Rd., near State Line, Mass.

Williams River near Great Barrington, Mass.

Green River below Austerlitz, N. Y.

Green River at Green River, N. Y.

Scribner Brook near Alford, Mass.

Sages Ravine Brook near Taconic, Conn.

Karner Brook near Mt. Washington Rd., near South Egremont, Mass.

Fenton Brook near South Egremont, Mass.

Rawson Brook near Wallace Hall Rd., near Monterey, Mass.

Rawson Brook near Monterey, Mass.

Konkapot River at Hartsville, Mass.

Konkapot River at Ashley Falls, Mass.

Drainage area

(sq mi)

5.72

2.66

1.16

3.24

.56

1.05

2.48

20.3

.80

7.65

4.03

14.0

22.1

2.58

2.11

2.63

42.6

8.60

11.7

1.96

3.41

1.78

2.96

2.37

8.25

22.6

61.0

Estimated median

7-day annual

minimum flow(mgd/sq mi)

0.168

.219

.095

.124

.093

.092

.115

.074

.081

.142

.122

.079

.076

.155

.073

.098

.098

.078

.099

.079

.136

.160

.081

.076

.082

.169

.184

Recurrence interval

(yrs)

5 20 5

20 5

20 5

20 5

20

5 20

5 20 5

20 •r>

20 5

20 5

20 5

20 5

20 5

20 5

20 5

20

5 20 5

20 5

20 5

20 5

20 5

20

5 20 5

20

5 20 5

20 5

20

S torage required, in million per sq million

0.2

—

2.7 — .9

5.5 10.5 2.3 5.7 6.0

11.0

6.2 11.0

3.0 6.9

11.5 17.0 8.8

14.0

4.2 2.4 6.0 9.5

15.0 10.5 16.0

3.3 12.0 17.5 5.1 9.7

5.1 9.7 9.8

15.5 5.0 9.5 9,5

15.0

4.7

3.1

8.8 14.0 10.5 16.0

8.5 14.0

2.6

2.0

ga l lons mi for indicated draf t r a t e , in gallons per day per SQ mi

0.3

4.3 10.5 2.1 5.8

14.5 24.5 8.5

17.0 15.5 25.0

15.5 25.0

9.9 19.0 24.0 32.0 20.0 29.0 6.3

14.0 8.8

17.5 21.0 30.0 22.5 31.0 5.2

12.0 24.5 32.5 14.0 23.5

14.0 23.5 21.5 30.5 13.5 23.0 21.0 30.0 6.9

15.0 4.8

11.5

20.0 29.0 22.5 31.0

19.5 28.5 4.2

10.5 3.4 8.6

0.4

12.5 22.5 8.6

16.0 26.5 40.0 18.5 30.5 27.0 40.5

27.5 41.0

20.5 33.0 36.0 49.5 32.0 46.0 15.5 26.5 19.0 31.5 33.0 47.0 34.5 48.5 14.0 24.5 36.5 50.0 25.5 38.5

25.5 38.5 33.5 47.5 25.0 38.0 33.0 47.0 16.5 28.0 13.5 23.5

32.0 46.0 34.5 48.5

31.5 45.5 12.5 22.5 11.0 20.0

0.5

25.5 39.5 20.5 32.5 39.0 55.0 32.0 47.0 40.0 55.5

40.0 56.0

34.0 49.5 47.0 H2.0

44.0 59.5 28.5 43.5 32.5 48.0 45.0 60.0 46.5 61.0 27.0 41.0 47.5 62.5 38.5 54.0

38.5 54:0 45.5 60.5 38.0 53.5 45.0 60.0 30.0 45.0 26.5 40.5

44.0 59.5 46.5 61.0

43.5 59.0 25.0 39.0 23.5 37.0

0.6

41.0 59.0 35.5 51.0 5.5.0 73.0 48.0 66.0 56.0 73.5

56.0 74.0

50.0 68.0 63.0 79.0 60.0 77.0 45.0 62.5 51.0 67.0 60.5 77.0 62.0 78.0 43.0 60.0 63.5 79.5 54.5 72.0

54.5 72.-0 61.0 77.5 54.0 72.0 60.5 77.5 43.0 64.0 42.0 59.5

60.0 77.0 62.0 78.0

59.5 76.5 41.0 58.0 39.0 55.5

Maximum and year of occurrence 7-day flow of a river or stream is important t ( l know. This of regulated flow. Average flow usually occurs in late summer or early t ; i " when all Minimum and year of occurrence the

the streamflow is ground water effluent. s treams in the basin depends largely

The utilization of on th>' amount of

/ /

flow during this minimum 7-day period. Base from U.S. Geological Survey 1:250,000, 1956

SCALE 1:125000 0 2 4 MILES The flood that may be expected,

on the average, to be equaled 4 KILOMEIERS or exceeded once in 50 years

is 9800 cfs

MAP SHOWING AVERAGE ANNUAL RUNOFF, LOCATIONS AND DRAINAGE AREAS OF STREAM-GAGING STATIONS, LOW-FLOW PARTIAL-RECORD STATIONS, AND

ESTIMATED LOWEST ANNUAL MINIMUM 7-DAY FLOWS 100

100

LOO i i i i i

500

u a

E Z 250

o w 1.5 2 3 4 5 6 7 89 10 20 30 40 50 100 RECURRENCE INTERVAL. IN YEARS

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept

FIGURE I.—Graph showing variation in mean monthly dis­charge of Housatonic River near Great Barrington for water years 1932-61

z z

5

NORTH BRANCH HOOSIC RIVER AT NORTH ADAMS DA 39.0 SQ Ml

I I I I I 1 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

RECURRENCE INTERVAL. IN YEARS 20 30

z<

10

EAST BRANCH HOUSATONIC RIVER AT COLTSVILLE DA 57.1 SQ Ml

I I I 1 I 1 I I 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

RECURRENCE INTERVAL, IN YEARS 20 30

D 2 2 <

ioo

50

HOUSATONIC RIVER NEAR GREAT BARRINGTON DA 280 SQ Ml

_L I I I I I I I 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

RECURRENCE INTERVAL, IN YEARS ,?o 30

< D Z

2.5

GREATGREEN RIVER NEAR

BARRINGTON DA 51 SQ Ml

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

RECURRENCE INTERVAL. IN YEARS 20 135 1 30 I?1- 120 1 15

MILES110

ABOVE 105

MOUTH i oo <* 90 85

FIGURE 5.—Graph showing magnitude and frequency offloads on East Branch Housatonic River at Coltsville and Htiitsa­tonic River near Great Barrington

FIGURE 3.— Frequency curves of annual lowflowsfor selected periods of consecutive days FIGURE 4.— Flood profile showing high-water elevations for the January 19^9 flood on the Housatonic River

I N T E R I O R — G E O L O G I C A L S U R V E Y , W A S H I N G T O N , D . C . — I q 6 8 (VI

HYDROLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES OF THE HOUSATONIC RIVER BASIN, MASSACHUSETTS O2.-£>OS'6 By

Ralph F. Norvitch, Donald F. Farrell, Felix H. Pauszek, and Richard G. Petersen

- - - -

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR WATER RESOURCES COMMISSION UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY AND BERKSHIRE COUNTY

QUALITY OF WATER 210

QUALITY OF WATER the surface and ground waters in the basin, it would be dif- CHEMICAL QUALITY OF STREAMS The chemical quality of water in the Housatonic River var- lability, shown in table 2 and figure 4. reflects the geology of TIME-OF-TRAVEL STUDY CHEMICAL QUALITY OF PRECIPITATION ficult to determine how much of the calcium, magnesium, About 400 tons of dissolved mineral matter daily is carried EXPLANATION

ies with streamflow. This effect is apparent from a compar- the drainage area. The East Branch of the Housatonic drains A time-of-travel study was conducted on the Housatonic Three precipitation stations for collecting water samples and bicarbonate in these waters was carried over. Most wa­ out of the State by the Housatonic River. Each of the major ison of the dissolved solids and discharge data listed in table 2. an area of only slightly soluble crystalline rocks in its head- River during the low-flow period of October 1964. The reach

(table li were operated for about S months. Variations in ters in the basin obtain these constituents from earth-surface and minor tributaries to the Housatonic River adds its load VThe comparison also is shown graphically in figure 3 for the waters in Hinsdale and an area of relatively highly soluble selected was from the U.S. Geological Survey gaging station quality were wide from station to station and from rainfall materials (soil and rock I, more so than from precipitation. to the main stem. The East Branch of the Housatonic River Injection pointsamples collected from the river near Great Barrington. Dur- carbonate rocks farther downstream inDalton and Pittsfield. at Coltsville, Massachusetts to the last bridge before the Con-to rainfall < figures 1 and 2). To segregate the contribution from either source would be at Coltsville contributes about 40 tons per day from a drain­ ing low-flow periods a large percent of the water in the stream Although the upper reaches of the Green River traverses an necticut State line, a distance of 51.7 river miles as shown on

The quality of surface and subsurface waters is the end difficult. age area of 57 square miles. At Nan Deusenville, from a Aoriginated as ground water which normally is more highly area of Berkshire Schist, most of its drainage area is under- the pollution classification and time-of-travel map. The reach, Elapsed time after injection to first arrivalproduct of their environment. Similarly, the quality of pre- Sulfate in precipitation carried over into surface and ground drainage area of 280 square miles, the mineral load totals mineralized than surface water. lain by carbonate rocks. The Housatonic River at Great Bar- which contains 10 reservoirs, falls 353 feet at a very irregu-

Sampling point

cipitation is fashioned by its environment. In the basin, lime- water is another matter. In all these waters the concentra- about 200 tons per day. A short distance downstream inflow Elapsed time after injection to peak concentration As stream flow increases, the dilution effect of greater rington drains an area of about 280 square miles bringing in lar gradient.

stone is the predominant rock. Weathering and quarrying of tions of sulfate are in about the same range: therefore, other from the Green River adds about another 30 tons. Other trib­ amounts of surface water decreases the dissolved-solids con- water of low mineral content from the steep hills of crystal- Discharge remained fairly constant throughout the study Short-term sampling stationlimestone creates minute dust particles rich in calcium and sources of sulfates not excluded, the contribution from precip- utaries contribute their share. This section discusses the centration. This dilution continues until the dissolved-solids line rocks to the east and from ridges of schist to the west. with an average flow of 22 cfs (cubic feet per second) at the at stream-gaging stationbicarbonate which are carried into the atmosphere, and later itation is believed to be substantial. significance of this mineralization, and its relative inconsis­ content of the river water approaches that of the diluting However, the more soluble carbonate rocks predominate Coltsville gage and 130 cfs at the gage near Great Barring- A—East Branch Housatonic River at Coltsvillewashed out by falling precipitation. At times the concentra- In the highlands along the east and west margins of the tencies in time and place. B—Housatonic River near Great Barringtonsurface water. This is shown in figure 3 where the dissolved- throughout the basin. ton. To expedite the study the reach was divided into four tions of sulfate are greater than those of calcium; this results basin, where noncarbonate hard rock crops out. only small C— Green River near Great BarringtonTo obtain the necessary flow and water chemistry data, solids curve becomes asymptotic. Although the dissolved- As it would be expected, the principal mineral constituents subreaches, and dye (Rhodamine Bl was injected at upstream from contamination of air with soot, coal dust, and gaseous amounts of mineral matter are dissolved by surface-water three short-term sampling stations were operated in the basin. solids concentration of the water decrease's with increased in the water at all3 sampling points (see table 2) were cal- end of each subreach. Pollution classificationmaterials from combustion. The presence of sulfate is com- runoff and ground-water percolation because of the relative They were located at the permanent stream-gaging stations. streamflow, the total amount of dissolved minerals in the cium and bicarbonate, the major components of carbonate The total travel time of the peak concentration for the 51.7 (see table 6)mon; how much is washed out varies with the intensity and insolubility of the rocks. The mineral contribution from pre- O 301 18

u j Water samples were collected monthly at these stations from water will, of course, increase. Figure 3 illustrates this with rocks. Also, as shown in table 2 and figure 4, the range in miles from Coltsville to Ashley Falls was 284.5 hours, or

period of precipitation. The end result is that the chemical cipitation adds materially to the chemistry of the water in UJ || S t o c k b r i d g e \ , / 0. II station -^ Pittsf ield stat ion' April through September 1964. The water samples were ana- a straight-line plot of the dissolved minerals, in tons per day, concentration of these constituents is quite similar. The var- roughly 12 days. For easy comparison with all the subreaches,

quality of precipitation is very erratic from place to place and these areas. CO

10 J- 1 lyzed for their chemical content; the analyses, which appear that flow past Great Barrington. iability of iron in these samples probably ismost striking. At a condensed summary of results is listed in table 5.from time to time. '\ p l May June July

in table 2, include some made from samples which were col- The chemical quality of water in the Housatonic River also the Houstonic River sampling site at Great Barrington the The travel time in the first subreach was longer than re­1964Although precipitation contributes some mineralization to lected previous to the time of this study. varies from place to place within the basin. Some of this var- iron content of the samples ranges from 0.05 to 0.35 ppm. quired in any other of the subreaches and was attributed toFIGURE i.__ Graph showing specific conductance and The occurrence of the higher concentrations of iron at this a significant decrease in velocity of the dye cloud as it moved

estimated dissolved solid* of rainfall samplesTABLE 1.- Range and average of concentrations of selected constituents and hardness, and range anil median of pH in point is erratic and apparently unrelated to streamflow or through Woods Pond, above the first reservoir. The dye rainfall samples, Apr.-Nor. 196], seasonal variations. It most likely is a result of industrial cloud also had the broadest peak here with the lowest con-TABLK 2.— Chemical analyses of water samples collected periodically at three stream- gaging stations

pollution. Iron canbe a troublesome constituent in water; centration of dye as a result of complete mixing as illustratedParts per million Micromhos at 25° C (Parts per million)Station Number as little as 0.3 ppm will precipitate and form a brown discol- on the pollution classification and time-of-travel map.Range of Average

i Dissolved Hat dness Specificand of Range of Average Range of MedianRange of Average Range of Average Range of Average specific specific solids (res- as( "aCO;! conduct- oration. The travel time of the peak concentration in the second sub­location1 samples bicarbon- bicarbon- pH pH Mean Cal- Mag- Po- Bicar- Chlo- Fluo- Ni- idue on a n c e Tur­calcium calcium sulfate sulfate hardness hardness conduct- conduct- Date of Silica ron Sodium Sulfateate ate ance collection discharge cium lesium .assium jonate ride ride .rate evapora- Ca, •Joncar- micro- pH Color bidity ABS Sodium, at times, also is higher in this part of the river reach was rapid in comparison to the time required in the ance It I ', S. Egremont station Si(X) Fe) (Na) (SO4)'(cfs) (Ca) (Mg) (K) HCO.,) (CD (F) NO:i) tion at Mg lonate mhos than might be expected under normal conditions. Concur- other subreaches. considering that this subreach contained the

180° C) u :!."> r rently, chloride and sulfate concentrations are high and they greatest number of reservoirs. The velocity through the first

East Branch Housatonic R ver at Coltsville, Mass. contribute to the noncarbonate hardness in the water. dam was very slow but it picked up considerably through thePittsfield 27 2.8-24 14.0 Lat. 46°26' 31 2.0-14 5.5 Sept. in. 19W 3.5 0.16 24 9.7 9.7 1.5 112 _ i 20 H . ] 0.2 142 100 8 261 6.8 9 remaining dams resulting in the second highest average ve­2? ...Long. 73° 18' 32 4-54 17 4-42 16 27-156 81 5.76-6.9 6.5 Dec. 3, 19631 6.3 4.0 l.d 56 20 5.2 66 20 157 locity of the peak concentrations in the four subreaches.

Apr. 6, 1964 17v 3.7 .11 4.4 4.4 In 14 8.0 1 .9 72 48 L5 125 6.7 7 The peak concentration in the third subreach took 44 hours May 4, 1964 61 .19 18 7.1 4.9 .7 16 7.0 .2 2.6 lul l 17 175 7.2 8WJ to pass through the first 3 reservoirs and 23 hours to pass June 9, 1964 27 3.2 .26 28 11 11 1.5 11) 2.". 13 .2 4.6 i.v; 11". 22 6.9 0.5 through the final reservoir.July 20, 1964 37 2.6 6.2 4.1 1.0 91 11 6.0 .1 2.1 io:s 83 187 6.9 2 .7 0.0

6.4 In comparison with length, the travel time of the peak con-July 29, 1964 11 .12 13 146 15 9.(1 2.7 130 10 27:. 7.4 .4 .1 centration in the fourth subreach was considerably fasterA u s : . I S . l<Hi4 HI 3.9 .18 29 13 10 1.1 26 10 .0 4.1 166 126 21 291 7.2 1

Stockbridge 29 2.4-19 8.2 Sept. 14, 1964 16 3.3 .21 11 6.0 1.2 118 14 s.:, .1 3.3 137 112 16 243 7.0 .") ,ii .0 than the time required to travel the other three reaches. The Lat. 42° 17' 33 1.4-19 4.2 Oct. 26, 1964 IS 3.8 .14 >:> » . .5 1.1 119 14 .0 137 108 in 7 2 11 .8 (13) absence of reservoirs accounted for this increased velocity. Long. 73° 18' 36 5.2-7.5 6.1 This time-of-travel study was made under one set of flow37 Housatonic River lear Great Barrington, Mass.2-35 9 2-~54 11 10-132 47 conditions and the travel rates should not be used if the dis-Dec. 17, 1956 803 4.0 .1<T 22 8.4 1.2 94 li.S .1 120 9 0 12 205 7.1 14 ?00

charge rates are different from those prevailing when theMay 12, 19.58 1,880 3.3 .35 23 4.5 16 5.6 .1 1,1 115 92 14 2iH

jmb

er o

fa

mp

les investigation was made. Mills on the Housatonic River do

cause diurnal fluctuation but it is thought that the flow was indicative of the normal flow for the range of discharge. An

650 u 3.0 .21 30 12 T.i i 1.6 129 21 8.0 .! 2.4 ̂ 125 19 27:'. 6.8 7

Nov. 10, 1958 728 4.2 .19 24 i. i 1.7 96 14 1.3 12ii 92 13 206 7.0 7 180Dec. 9, 1958 507 1,1 .12 10 4.6 1.2 103 17 7.5 .1 2.0 128 mi; 22 216 7.12A_J z "

Apr. 6, 1959 1.910 3.0 16 4.9 2.7 1.0 58 4.2 1.9 84 60 132 10 additional time-of-travel run at a higher discharge wouldSouth Egremont (8)'Sept. 10, 1963 95 3.2 .14 34 12 19 2.7 152 32 14 .1 .8 212 135 10 369 6.9 14Lat. 42°09' 24 3.6-44 15.0 permit an extension of results to cover a wider range ofHardness as

CaCO3 flow conditions. Long. 73° 25' 30 1.8-19 6.9 6-44 Dec. 3, 1963 442 .26 22 7.3 5.2 1.3 7.", 21 8.0 85 27 19S 6.7 6018 6-56 20 28-197 82 5.8-7.2 6.6

Apr. 6, 1964 923 3.0 .15 21 6.2 5.3 74 16 102 78 18 is.", 7.2 Time-of-travel studies dealing with soluble contaminants

are becoming more and more in demand today. Information

A n t May June July

1964 a.May 4, 1964 437 1.2 ,40 30 10 8.6 116 21 11 1.2 149 116 21 264 7.1

(15)[June 9, 1964 183 2.(\ .34 35 12 17 16 .) 198 L37 i s 7.0 19 .4 (7)1 Stations operated 1w the U.S Weather Bureau. 140Uuly 20, 1964 163 3.3 .07 32 12 11 1.9 128 26 14 .0 5.8 17.". 130 24 304 7.0 7 .8 .1 ft is needed in connection with pollution control and abatementFIGURE 2.— Graph shmving hardness of rainfall samples (0

5 [10)JAug. 6, 1964 96 .17 J58 11 16 138 44 16 29 347 7.4 Q­ (8) measures to determine dilution rates of industrial and domes­•aLAtig. 18, 1964 102 3.1 .16 12 21 2.6 142 39 18 .0 2.7 212 20 360 14 .6 .1 Z

od

era

tely

Hai

ard

wa

ter

tic wastes, both treated and untreated. Civil Defense plan­ning would require studies of this type so that arrival andSept. 14. 1964 112 3.3 .14 35 J3__ 18 2.5 148 , 36 16 .1 3.1 207 141 L 2 0 354 z 120 --

o Green Siver near Great Barrington, Mass. r- passage time of a harmful contaminant in concentrations

EXPLANATION Sept. 10, 1963 4.1 I 4.2 .00 33 8.8 2.3 .7 126 14 3.8 .1 1.2 119 above a critical level could be predicted.238 7.215 3 X V­

O 4 2 i 01Apr. 6, 1964 12S 3.6 .03 u 4 5 •J.:: .1 62 13 4.0 .0 .9 80 66 15 143 7.7 3 A graphical presentation of the time-distance curves, river profile, and discharge profile is shown in figure 5.

z UJ/

May 4, 1964 19 3.2 23 5.5 2.4 .1 79 13 .9 80 16 n;s oWell

From which sample icas collected for chem­ical analysis; number, preceded by name

z9, 1964 68 4.9 ^02 29 7.g 2.5 13 .0 1.1 104 20 204 7.9 1 .0 c July 20, 1964 4.8 5.2 .02 9.4 2A 126 14 5.0 .0 1.7 135 124 7.7 CJ

8 0 5 £B

C3.9 .22 9.1 2.5 129 14 5.3 120 14 7.7 .3i 3of town, refers to text; color is coded to rock-type of aquifer, as shown below Aug. 18, 1964 3.9 5.6 .02 .7 130 14 5.0 .0 1.3 140 126 20 244 .8 .0 A

Sept. 14, 1964 3.6 • 4 . 4 .in 2.4 .8 132 14 5.1 .0 1.5 1 lo 127 18 247 7.7 .6 .0 Dissolved a: - C ra- 3 solids • -

B0" / ( &-1- ABedrock outcrop

From icliicli sample was collected for rock 220 40 analysis; number corresponds to same A East Branch Housatonic River at Coltsville number in table J,; color is coded to rock B Housatonic River near Great Barrington type as shown below C Green River near Great Barrington

A Sand and gravel deposit

From which so tuple teas collected for pebble count

•> .o 9.0 Acidity ando IronColor code for rock types alkalinity as

p H (15) _Sand and gravel 0.4 8.0 — (8)

en >K LUUJ LL (10) c (15)0 .

.*J en

= n C7.0 ­ X >,(10) "D B

6 0Z ° 2 A

o

0 1— A 2 5.0 - — UJ CJ z o

0.0 ° 4.0

FIGURE 4.— Graphs showing range of dissolved solids, hardness, and pH at three stream-gaging stationsiron,iron,

20 30 5 0

100 200 3 0 0 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 14001500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 RIVER MILEAGE DAILY MEAN DISCHARGE, IN CUBIC FEET PER SECOND FIGURE 5.- Graphical presentation of time-distance curves,

FIGURE 3.— Graph shoeing variation of dissolved solids and hardness with discharge, Housatonic River near river profile, and discharge profile

Great Barrington., 1963-64

TABLK 5.— Summary of results, time-of-travel study

ANALYSIS 01 GROUND WATER GEOCH1 MICAl DISTRIBLH ION OF GROUND WATER Average Amount Travel time Travel time Approximate

During this invest igat ion water samples were collected Tlio ground-water-quai i ty map shows the generalized areal Length discharge at of dye of leading o f |>< j ; ik peak

from 43 wells in the basin and were analyzed for chemical geochemieal distribution of ground water throughout the basin. Subreach injection site injected edge concentration concentration(miles) (ppb)consti tuents. The locations of these wells are shown on the Bar graphs show general quality of water in various rock (pounds) (hours) (hours)

g round-wate r -qua l i ty map. Because g round-wa te r quality types and the average for wells that were sampled twice. A. Coltsville gage to 98.5 0.613.7 22 1.0 79is not consistently the same throughout the year, water from Comparison of the heights of the dissolved-solids bars in- Lenox Station

40 of the wells was sampled twice, once in early spring when fers a relative mineralization pattern of ground-water distri­water levels were high in the ground, and again in late sum- bution. Water in the gneissic, schistose, and quartzitic rocks B. Lenox Station to 10.0 48 1.7 47.5 54 2.8 Elapsed time after injection to first arrivalRoute 7 mer when water levels were low in the ground. A decrease around the periphery of the basin are low in dissolved solids.

Elapsed time after injection to peak concentrationin the volume of water in an aquifer generally causes an Even water in the carbonate rocks around the periphery are C. Route 7 to Great 8.0 75e .6 52.5 67 .9increase in the mineralization of the water. relatively low, with the possible exception of the water in Barrington gage

Table :! summarizes the chemical quality of the ground wa- well Canaan 1. Water in the carbonate aquifers becomes

ters found in the different aquifers in the basin. Except for progressively more mineralized south of Pittsfield and far- D. Great Barrington 20.0 130 2.0 57.5 65 4.8 gage to Andrus Road

the iron content in a few places, the quality of the natural ther on downstream toward the central valleys, reaching its

ground waters meets U.S. Public Health Service standards maximum mineralization in well Sheffield (53 near the Mas Totals 51.7 5.3 236.5 284.5) (U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. L962); sachusetts-Connecticut Sta te line.

following are some of the recommended limits for chemical Water mineralization in the surficial sand and gravel aqui­ 1 At lower end of subreach Base from U.S. Geological Survey e—estimated 1:250,000, 1956

drinking water s tandards proposed by the USPHS: fers follows no areal pa t te rn but apparently is controlled by

Element content the chemical composition of the deposits at each locality, as 73*3 (ppm) is also true for water in the till aquifers. cfs—cubic feet per second SCALE 1:125000

Iron (Fe) 0.3 ppb—parts per billion Manganese (Mn) 05 Magnesium (Mg) 5(1 POLLUTION Since the initial survey, progress has been made to alle-

Sulfate (SO|) 250 Streams are a convenient means of disposing of domestic viate the pollution condition of the Housatonic River and its

Chloride (Cl) 250 and industrial wastes. But, if not properly treated, discharge tributaries. New treatment facilities are being or have been MAP SHOWING LOCATIONS OF SURFACE-WATER SAMPLING SITES, POLLUTION CLASSIFICATION, Fluoride (F; mus t not exceed 3.01 l.o of such wastes tends to degrade the water quality and reduce constructed in order to provide adequate treatment. Pitts- TIME OF TRAVEL, AND DISPERSION CHARACTERISTICS Detergents (as alkyl benzene sulfonate, ABS) 5 the utility of the water. The extent of degradation varies field, for example, completed a new treatment plant in 1963

Total solids 500 with the amount and kind of wastes discharged into a stream. that also is serving the town of Dalton via an interceptor The dissolved oxygen content also changes with depth.Domestic wastes containing organic material may reduce the sewer. Lenox and North Lenox are now providing adequate

oxygen content, increase the nitrogen content in its various treatment. Stockbridge. which has one of the oldest treat- Concentrations are highest near the surface and gradually

forms, increase the acidity, add phosphates, and produce foam ment plants in the State, is adequately treating its wastes. decrease with depth into a reducing environment. In this

resulting from the use and discharge of detergents. Indus- Lee and Great Barrington also have plans for developing environment previously precipitated iron and manganese may TABLE 7. - Chemical quality of water from selected lakes, ponds, and reservoirs

trial activities can contribute as much and more. Acids, alka- facilities for treating wastes prior to discharge into the river. go back into solution, decreasing the quality and increasingTABLE 3.— Summary of chemical quality data of water from selected wells in surficial anil bedrock aquifers 1 Parts per ilillionl •

lies, metals of all kinds (some even toxic) can add to the Similarly, industries in the basin are taking steps to reduce the color and turbidity.

<iource and location

Dat

e

Wa

ter

tem

per­

atu

re 1

' Fl

Iro

n (F

e)

•

E

E ll

1 I

Sulf

ate (

SO

,)

Chl

orid

e l('

l)

Fluo

ride

(F

)

Nit

rate

< N

O;)

ardness asPI isCaCO:,

Cw *» $1 rt s 7 ca

rbon

­at

e Ii Turb

idit

y

Stratified deposits „,... Limestone and Quartzite Gneiss Schist mineral content of the water. Solid material such as fibers the pollution by using settling tanks or lagoons to remove Another phenomenon which may occur in stratified lakes a•x

Sodi

um i

Nai

(Sand and gravel)Constituent or ] dolomite (Carbonates) 1?"increase the turbidity and also reduce the dissolved-oxygen settleable solids. Others are using the existing municipal is density currents. Because waters of different density re-N V,Echaracteristic Range No. of Range No. of Range No. of Range No. of Range No. of Range No. of 1 S Xcontent. Pesticides and herbicides are recent additions to the facilities for disposal of their wastes. sist mixing, a stream may flow into and through a lake in

family of pollutants that can create problems. The end result one mass density current without mixing with the water inWATER QUALITY IN LAKES. PONDS. AND RESERVOIRS

(ppm) samples (ppm) samples (ppm) samples (ppm) samples ippm) samples (ppm) tjsamples — X

3.4 12 12 3.6Sil ica i S i O . ) 3.5 15 7.9 - 11 8.8 - 15 1 11 6

) may bea water of poor quality and limited utility. the lake.The chemical composition of surface-water bodies (lakes,I ron i 1-V| . 0 1 I . I 16 .04 .07 i .00 .10 L6 .00- .03 ,03 .99 . i l l 10

Manganese (Mn) .00 .22 12 .00 .10 j 1 .00- .06 15 .00 :; .00 .07 5 .01 .46 s'-.- Ajjawam Lake 148 18 296 7 2 ­Table 7 gives the chemical analyses for 18 selected lakes, 1.8 mi, southwest of 9/3/64 (ill - 08 35 15 2.8 - 158 15 7.8 ­ponds, and reservoirs) tends to be an "averaging" of the -Pollution is oneof the major water-quality problems in the

Stockbridgecomposition of the streams that flow into them. Assuming ponds, and reservoirs in the basin. They are located on thebasin, particularly in the main stem and its larger tributaries.Calcium (Ca) 6.4 68 18 1!) 7 28 2:! 9.6 3 13 26 5 16 40 75U Anthony Brook Reservoirthorough mixing in the smaller and shallower bodies, the water use map shown on sheet 1. The samples for analysis - 8.0 0.7 - - 31 12 1; 38 6.5

2.2 mi north of 9 15/64 52 - 03 2.5 1.4 •< 8MagiK'sium I MR) .9 36 i s 5.5 26 7 HM 36 2:: 2.2 3 13 5 l.d 16 ii Some of the towns in the basin discharge raw sewage into -

chemical composition is fairly uniform. However, in the lar- were taken at the surface of the various water bodies and Daltono o Sodium I Na) 1.1 8.5 12 9.5 5 1.3 12 3.7 3 1.7 3.6 1 1(1 (i the rivers; other towns have limited (inadequate) facilities c for treating wastes prior to discharge into the river. Indus- ger and deeper bodies, distinct stratified layers of water may are representative of the average quality of the smaller bod- Ashley Reservoir

6.2 2.8 .8 (l.li 23 9.0 1.0 O.I) 1.2 36 27 s 81 6.8 7 0.7 1 .0 500 Potassium i K i i 3.8 12 1 4 3.0 .!) 4.4 : 1.0 1 1.4 (i 3.8 mi southeast of "1/5/64 53 1.8 10

tries, principally paper and textile, also are heavy contribu- occur having different chemical and physical qualities. Strat- ies, but may not include the effects of stratification in the PittsfieldV Bicarbonate (HC03) 12 22 34 302 s 112 340 29 164 6 59 158 41 169 10 tors to the pollution load. Stretches of the main stem of the ification occurs when there are differences in water density larger ones. Aspinwall ReservoirS u l f a t e | S ( ) , i 11 - 29 12 12 - 27 5 17 4.4 19 17 1 0 6 7.0

•9.0 28 3 2.1 mi. northwest of /3/64 62 - .24 21 2.1 1.5 - 61 15 .0 - - - 61 11 136 ­.5 § 400 river and some of the tributaries are unsatisfactory for use resulting from differences in temperature, suspended mat-in =

Chloride (Cl) 21 6 22 12 1.0 13 4 1.1 s.o 1 1.0 6 Lenox as water-supply sources or for recreational purposes. ter, or dissolved salts. Belmont ReservoirFluoride 11 1 .o - :i 12 .0 - .1 .0 .1 15 i .2 3 .0 .1 1 .0 6 .9 0 7 .2 1 -2 » 37 5.1 2 .5

1.2 mi. southwest of 2/19/65 - 3.7 .13 2.6 6 1.2 8.1 = 0 300 Because of these conditions, the Housatonic River was There is a tendency for lakes to stratify in accordance

Nitrate I N O . I .0 6.8 12 .2 - 20 6 .1 19 17 .9 4 .0 3.7 4 i i 6 Hinsdale classified in 1957 by the New England Interstate Wafer Pol- with temperature layers, because the density (weight) of wa­

i/i in Dissolved solids li!) -278 12 99 245 4 141 308 11 50 -222 :; 71 132 4 59 176 6 Berkshire Hjrts. Reservoir 14 1 1 - 21 14 243 8.2 - - ­

lution Control Commission. The pollution classification and ter increases with a decrease in temperature until it reaches 0.7 mi. west of Great 9/S/64 66 - .03 32 111 1.1 - 130 - ­I residue on evapo-CJ g. 200 Barrintrton

ration at ISO' C) time of travel map shows the stretches of streams and their 39.2°F, then the density decreases to the 32°F mark. This Dissolved oxygen at: 30 ft—8.4 ppm 0 136 7.5 .4 .0C eveland Brook Reservoir

classification. Table 6 shows the criteria used as the basis layering effect caused by thermal differences in LakeOnota 7.1 mi. northeast of 10/5/64 49 7.0 .11) 17 4.5 .Tfi 1.2 62 12 K.8 .0 83 61 35 ft—6.7 ppm

100 Hardness as CaCO3: Pittsfieldfor classification. is shown in figure 6. 38 ft—2.6 ppmCalcium, magnesium 20 -270 22 74 -302 8 106 -356 29 32 -17.") <s 44 -143 8 4-4 143 10 East Mountain Reservoir40 ft—0.7 ppm 249 7.53.') 9.6 2.6 132 1 1 4.1 - - - 122 14 - - -Noncarbonate 0 - 48 ~!2 S - 58 8 4 -141 2!) 1 - 41 s 10 0.8 mi. southeast of /3/64 68 - .114 ­

() - 1* Great Barrington

(Color coded) Specific conductance 48 -f)12 22 168 5(17 s 21 IS 2!) 358 6 107 -282 s 96 289 10 TABLE 6.— Classification and standards of quality for interstate waters1 10 Egypt Brook Reservoir

0

4 .10 6.9(micromhos at 25 C) 1.3 mi. north of /15/64 57 - .11 3.7 1.7 7 - 14 5.8 - - 30 16 - ­(as revised and adopted October 1, 1959) Dalton

I ' l l 6.6 - 8.2 22 6.9 8.4 7.1 8.3 29 7.1 6 7.;, 9.0 6.7 s.l 10•

Goodale Brook Reservoir.1 34 4.5 - 39 - - 7.0 - - ­-Color 1 - 4 12 1 1 1 15 1 1 0 (i 6 CLASS A CLASS B CLASS D - - - - ­1 3 1 3 Egremont '1 urbidity .5 2 - .1 1 - - .7 1 Suitability for use- (,oose Pond

21 i 55 7.11 - - ­Temperature i !•'1 36 22 3.3 mi. southeast of /2/64 72 - .03 i.O 1.4 1.2 - 20 8.2 - - - ­38 - 54 1 45 59 29 46 6 43 56 9 Suitable for any water Suitable for bathing and Suitable for recreational Suitable for transporta- Lee

use. Character uni- recreation, irrigation boating, irrigation of t ion of s e w a g e and Lake Averic

formly excellent. and agricultural uses; crops not used for industrial wastes with- 1/2/64 75 13 4.7 1.3 - 55 8.0 - Wl 7 111 7.5 - - ­0.5 mi. west of - .11

good fish habitat; consumption without out nuisance, and for Interlaken good aesthetic value. cooking; habitat for power, navigation and

Lake BuelAcceptable for public wildlife and common certain industrial uses. 15 .) 2 8.8 4.4 .28 7 260 7.6 - - ­4.9 mi. southeast of 9/3/64 70 - .Il l MN ­

water supply with food and game fishes Great Harrington TABLE 4.— Chemical constituents, in percent, in the major types of rock' filtration and dis- indigenous to the

region; industrial cool- Lake Garfieldinfection. 1.7 mi. north of 9/3/64 71) - .(IX 9.4 4.5 2... 45 6.8 3.8 - 42 1O.N 7.0 - - ­ing and most indus- Montereytrial process uses.

Fer

rous

ox

ide

(FeO

)

Mag

nesi

umox

ide

(MgO

)

Cal

cium

oxid

e(C

aO)

Sodi

umox

ide

(Na,

0)

Pot

assi

umox

ide

(K,O

)

Man

gane

seox

ide

(MnO

)

Car

bon

diox

ide

(CO

,)

Chl

orid

e(C

l)

Flu

orid

e

Sili

con

diox

ide

(SiO

.)

Alu

min

umox

ide

(A1

..O

. i

§ 1 Lonp Pond-M tu o p -c -•

Tit

aniu

mdi

oxid

e(T

iO,)Sample Rock - - 7.481 7 163 --1" mi northwest of 7.5 1. 90 8.4 .19/3/64 72 - - 20 ­Standards of quality

P~ Great Barringtonno. name Not less than 5 p.p.m. Present at all timesSCALE 1:125 000 "£ I x Not less than 75% sat. Not less than 75% sat.-S'Sffi Dissolved oxygen Lower Root Reservoir

1 72 g 147 7.5 - ­2.3 mi. northwest of 9/3/64 7l> - .114 21 4.7 1.3 - 7.S 9.6 - ­Not objectionableNot objectionableNone No appreciable amountX Oil and grease4 MILES0 2 x ~ Lenox1 Berkshire Not objectionable _

Odor, scum, floating solids, None None NoneH-1 69.55 Mill Brook Reservoir14.2.r> 0.65 5.22 1.80 0.54 0.58 2.S1 2.96 0.01 0.66 0.10 0.15 0.50 0.01 0.07Schist 0.8 0.5 34 20 12 47 6.50.9 10 9.4or debris 4.2 mi. southeast of 10/5/64 57 2.3 .48 4.8 1.84 KILOMETERSBase from U.S. Geological Survey 1:250,000, 1956 73° 15' H-2

t'ittsfiehlNone None Not objectionableHinsdale Sludge deposits None73.39 13.88 .47 M .071.52 1.10 5.87 2.00 .41 .03 .43 .10 .02 .00 .02 Onota LakeGneiss 2.6 - 102 8.11 - - - 91 » 1(11 7.4Not objectionable -Not objectionableNot objectionableColor and turbiditv None 8.19/14/6 1 63 - .1)4 232.7 mi. northwest of

MAP SHOWING LOCATIONS OF SELECTED WELLS, SITES AT WHICH LITHOLOGIC SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED H-3 Cheshire

Quartzite 94.69 2.58 .09 .11 .06 .00 .11 1.66 .21 .01 .19 .02 .00 .01 .01 , i , Phenols or other taste

producing substances None None None Pittsfield

I'tjntoosuc Lake 2.9 mi. north of 9/14/6 1 66 1.0 .01 26 6.2 4.0 .7 '.14 11 7.S .0 1.1 106 90 14 199 7.4 14 1 •"

AND BAR GRAPHS REPRESENTING QUALITY OF WATER DATA H-4 Stockbridge

Formation 2.17 .21 .27 .18 20.51 30.01 .10 .31 .01 .01 .02 .00 .02 45.SO .02 .01 Substances potentially toxic

Free acids or alkalies

None

None

None

None

Not in toxic concentrations or combinations

None

Not in toxic concentrations or combinations

Not in objectionable amounts

Pittsfield

Richmond Pond 4.1} mi. southwest of Pittsfield

9/14/64 62 - .( 8 211 8.0 5.0 - 7 8 14 11 - - 106 83 19 1S9 8.0 - -

CHEMICAL QUALITY OF GROUND WATER

The chemical quality of ground water is dependent upon its geologic and hydrologic environment. Precipitation is somewhat mineralized and, therefore, is the initial source of mineralization in ground water. That part of the precipita­tion which becomes ground water takes additional minerals into solution as it percolates through soils and rocks contain­ing soluble salts. The amount of solution that takes place depends principally on the stability of the rock constituents, the size of the rock particles (area of contact), and the length of time of contact. Because the chemical and physical prop­erties of the rocks are not the same throughout the basin, the quality of the ground water varies appreciably from place to place.

MINERALOGY OF AQUIFERS

There are four major groups of rocks in the basin. They are the carbonate, quartzitic, gneissic, and schistose rocks.

To help determine the sources of mineralization in ground water 10 rock samples were collected from the major rock types in the basin and chemical analyses made. The locations of the sampling sites are shown on the ground-water-quality map: the results of the analyses are listed in table 4.

In conjunction with the mapping of the surficial geology, pebble counts were made of some of the sand and gravel de­posits in several of the stream valleys. The locations of these sample sites are also shown on the quality of water map above. The distribution of pebbles in the surficial deposits show a general relationship to the occurrence of local bed­

rock. That is, quartzitic and gneissic pebbles are abundant in the surficial deposits in the eastern part of the basin where these rock types crop Out; and schistose pebbles are abundant in the western part of the basin where this rock type crops out. Carbonate pebbles are interspersed with the above men­tioned rock types, largely in the deposits in the central val­leys where carbonate i ock crops out. The distribution of these rock types and their chemical composition should, there­fore, be the major control for the source of mineralization of the ground water in the basin.

H-6

H-7

H-8

H-10

H-ll

H-12

'Analyses

do.

do.

Berkshire Schist

do.

Becket Gneiss

Cheshire Quartzite

bv U.S. Geolot

.38

2.56

58.52

56.30

73.96

98.96

.11

.71

21.94

21.80

12.28

.27

rical Survey

.04

.02

1.78

.93

1.22

.11

.02

.44

5.87

6.93

2.59

.14

.51

17.53

1.74

2.35

.43

.00

55.00

32.83

.47

1.02

.69

.00

.08

.12

2.76

4.35

2.51

.05

.08

.34

1.07

1.07

5.42

.(IS

.03

.01

3.63

2.95

.48

.02

.mi

.00

.04

.03

.05

.02

.01

.31

1.03

.MS

.22

.05

.00

.02

.16

.10

.01

.00

.00

.01

.15

.11

.03

.00

43.71

44.76

.18

.07

.04

.(id

.01

.01

.01

.on

.01

.01

.00

.01

.08

.10

.04

.00

Radioactivity

Coliform bacteria

'Sen icnters used for t NOTE: Waters falling bel

These standards d For purpose of dis

shall be so desig

Within limits approved by the appropriate State agency with consideration of possible adverse effects in downstream waters from discharge of radioactive wastes; limits in a particular water­shed to be resolved when necessary after consultation between States involved.

Within limits approved by State Department of Heal th for uses involved. *

Bacterial content of bathing waters shall meet limits approved by State Department of Health and accept­ability will depend on sanitary survey.

ic inking of market shellfish shall not have a median colifo ow these descriptions are considered as unsatisfactory and o not apply to conditions brought about by natural causes, tinction as to use, waters used or proposed for public watei nated.

•m content in excess of 70 per m<i ml. as Class E. | ~

supply

'New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission

• • 1 0 45 50 55 60 65

TEMPERATURE, IN DEGREES FAHRENHEIT

FIGURE 6.— Graph showing temperature gradient and dis-sol red-oxygen concentrations, Onota Lake, Pittsfield, Mass, 5:45 PM, Sept. 3, 195J,

(Data furnished by the Massachusetts Division of Fish* ties and Game)

] Sackett Brook Reservoir 4.9 mi. southeast of Pittsfield

1 Stockbrid(re Bowl Lake 1.4 mi. north of Interlaken

Lahey Reservoir 1.5 mi. northeast of Lee

Washington Mountain Reservoir 2.4 mi. northeast of Lee

Windsor Brook Reservoi 3.3 mi. northeast of Dalton

Woolsey Reservoir 1.8 mi. northwest of Lenox

10/5/6

9/2/6

9/15/

9/15/

•

9/15/

4/1/

4 53

1 71

i4 64

54 51

64 64

>5 36

'Averageof a analyses for year i9«v

I k Health.

3.2

-

-

-

-

.(17

ill

.16

.56

us

.06

in

26

2 7

3.1

Hi

15

5.U

9.5

.8

4.(1

2.4

1.2

3.4

.9

1.2

2.6

-

-

-

-

48

109

4

22

M

4 0

9.0

13

8.6

5.8

9 i

14

1.8

-

.4

• )

4.4

2.H

.11

-

-

-

-

.3

-

-

56

-

20

53

51

84

46

104

10

24

3

44

6

14

7

9

1

99

22L

32

62

90

111 1

7 2

5.9

6.7

7.4

6

-

-

-

-

.4

-

-

-

.5

.0

-

-

-

-

SDMS DocID 000219192 INTERIOR—GEOLOGICA L SURVEY

•-•4^o:dsCc:i: HYDROLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES OF T H E HOUSATONIC RIVER BASIN, MASSACHUSETTS By

Ralph F. Norvitch, Donald F. Farrell,

101

X

24 7 .0

PREPARED IN COOPERATION WITH

THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS HYDROLOGIC INVESTIGATIONS DEPARTMENT

UNITED STATES OF THE INTERIOR GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

WATER RESOURCESAND BERKSHIRE

COMMISSION COUNTY

ATLAS HA-281 (SHEET 4 OF 4)

GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATER

GEOLOGY AND GROUND WATER J 1 1 | 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1—z

The geologic units included in this report are separated into two broad categories; they are: (1) surficial deposits, and (2) bedrock. The surficial deposits, excluding swamps

4

6

_ ™i Pumping well on at 10:30 a.m. 601 3 gpm Recovery curve —

-

and Recent alluvium, are glacial in origin. The bedrock is B

largely paleomarine and igneous in origin. 1 n

The surficial deposits (surficial geologic and ground-wa­ 12 i ter-availability map) are composed of rock particles ranging in size from clay to boulders. They are classified, according

14 Observation well 2

Pumping well

to mode of deposition, as stratified deposits (glaciofluvial and glaciolacustrine) and nonstratified (till) deposits.

16

18

Dra wdown curve •——_____̂ Observat on well 2 Pumping well of a 10:30 am

Observation well 4

Bedrock in the basin consists of sandstone, limestone, and dolomite; and marble, quartzite, schist, and gneiss (bedrock geologic map). These rocks have been deformed by tilting,

c a. o z

Q .

2 —

, . _. — 0 20 40 60 FEET Observation well 5

•

folding, and faulting to such a degree during various periods cr D .

of geologic history that their overall formation attitudes can CO •1

be determined only by detailed geologic mapping. The defor­ 6

mational processes have caused parting along joints and frac- S

tures which now constitute the major water-bearing openings in the rocks.

o UJ m

10 •

• Observation well 4 •— 1

12

u

i i

i i

i i

i i

-

2 . —

4

6 ­

Mi

l

8 ­HYDROLOGY V

In order to evaluate an aquifer for a possible large-scale 10 Observat on well 5

water supply, it is necessary to determine its hydraulic char- 12 —

acteristics. These may be found by field pumping tests. 1 1 1 i I 27 28 29 30 31 1 2Data collected from these tests are used to compute trans-

JANUARY 1965 DECEMBER 1964 missibility (T) and storage coefficient (S) values that, in turn, may be used to predict practical aquifer performance. FIGURE 1.— Hydrographs showing water levels in wells 2, 4, and 5 during Lanesborough pumping test

A pumping test was made in the aquifer underlying the valley of Town Brook in Lanesborough, about half a mile northeast of Pontoosuc Lake. Figure 1 is an arithmetic graph of the drawdown and recovery curves of the water

0 ! 1levels in the observation wells during the test. The rise in i 1 r 1 {

the trend measurements made in observation wells 2 and 5 the night before the start of the test was due to a torrential

1

rainfall that ended that evening. .

_— 2 v

. • •Values for T and S were determined from the data gained , — •

*from the pumping test. An average T value of 65,000 gpd 3 — — i

per ft and an S value of 0.0004 were used to compute theo- Ui

retical curves for the relation of drawdown to distance for a 4'

. 'constant well discharge of 500 gpm (figure 2). _ — —. •

In practical application, the curves may be used to predict 5

well interference. That is, should another well be placed in 6 • " " " * * '

—the same aquifer 2,600 ft away from a well pumping 500 gpm, b the drawdown in the one well caused by pumping in the other o

< / _,

• '

s—• • • would be about 1.8 ft after one day, 3.8 ft after 10 days, and a: 7 ——If * '

­a / _ - — —Reservoir 5.8 ft after 100 days of pumping in the interfering well. Be­

cause the drawdowns caused by interference are additive, B / Pumping rate (Q) = 500 gpm >

this means that if the drawdown in one well caused by its _J Coefficient of transmissibility (T) = 65,000 gpd per ft 9 _ ' /

own pumping was 10 ft, then the total drawdown in that / - " " ̂ Coefficient of storage (S) = 0.0004

well would be about 15.8 ft, due to the interference caused 10 f = Time. in days, since pumping began by continuously pumping the well which is 2,600 ft away for 100 days. Similarly, the drawdown at the midpoint (1,300 ft) of the above two wells after both were pumped at 500 gpm

11

/

r = Distance. in feet, from pumped well to observa­tion point

A "Points referred to in text EXPLANATION

continuously for 100 days would be about 14 ft (2 times 7 ft, on the graph).

Boundary conditions were not considered in the predicted

12

13 7 drawdown graph shown in figure 2; both recharge and dis­charge boundaries may be expected if pumping is continued for long periods.

14 i 200

i —i 400 600

i 800

1 1000 1200 1400

DISTANCE (r), IN FEET

1600I

18001

2000 22001

24001

2600

Gneissic rocks Mostly granite biotite gneiss with some mica­

ceous schist and quartzite. Includes rocks of the Hinsdale Gneiss, Becket Granite Gneiss, and Washington Gneiss of Pre-

FIGURE 2.—Drawdown versus distance graph in the aquifer underlying the Town Brook Valley at Lanesborough cambrian age, and some Lee Quartz Diorite, also of Precambrian age. Yields from wells in this rock type range from about J, to 150 gpm (gallons per minute) and hare a median yield of about la gpm

Schistose rocks Mostly quartz-mica schist with some garnet-

EXPLANATION iferous schist. Includes the Berkshire Schist of Ordovician age and perhaps some undiffe'rentiated schists of Cambrian or

PITTSFIELD 51 Precambrian age. Yieldsfrom wells in this LANESBOROUGH 29 rock type range from about 1 to 30 gpm and 60 Ice-contact have a median yield of about 5 gpm Stratified surficial deposits Mostly silt, sand, gravel, and boulders with

some clay in well to poorly sorted deposits;Steadman occurs as valley bottom fill, terrace fill,

kame, kame terraces, kame deltas and ice-Pond channel fillings; largely glaciofluvial and Quartzitic rocks glaciolacustrine deposits of Pleistocene age Mostly quartzite, quartzite conglomerate,and some swamp, stream, and lake deposits feldspathic quartzite. and some mica schist;of Recent age. Known range in thickness, some surface outcrops appear as a friableII to Jit) feet. Well yields may range locally sandstone. Includes rocks of the Daltonfrom less than 1 gpm (gallon per minute) Formation of Early Cambrian (?) age,rocksto about 91)0 gpm of the Cheshire Quartzite of Early Cam­

brian age, and micaceous quartzites within the Stockbridge Grotip of Cambrian and Ordovician age. Yields from wells in

GREAT BARRINGTON 11 this rock type range from about 1 to 100 2 — jjjini and ilill:e II Illf-itUl)! l/il'ltl Of fllttltll JllTill

mixture of silt, sand, gravel, gpm

OIK/ boulders with minor clay. Known range in thickness, " to 90feet. Occur* us a Outwash discontinuous month- over bedrock hills and OK o thicker deposit in drumlins (glacially Carbonate rocks molded elongate hills). May occur locally

Mostly limestone, dolomite, anil marble. In-overlying glaciofluvial deposits, particularly cludes rocks of the Stockbridge Group ofadjacent to steep valley walls. Also in-Cambrian and Ordovician age and rockscluded under this symbol are areas where of the Coles Brook Limestone of Precam­bedrock is at or near the land surface. Not brian age (thin segments in the easternconsidered a good aquifer; however, where

saturated, low yields suitable for most part of the basin). Yieldsfrom wells in

domestic needs may lie obtained from large this rock type range from less than I gpm diameter dug or bored wells to about l.iOOgpm. but hare a median yield

of only about 9 gpm

Geologic contact Hachures denote areas most favorable for 18 Dotted where unknown

ground-water exploration, based on either one or a combination of the following: ? geologic position, well data, auger borings, 1963 1964 1965 Fault and base-flow data Approximately located, queried where in­

ferred. Wells in fault zones yield con­siderably more water than in other areas

Basin boundary I M L O U N T

•*WASfill NG Fault Inferred from aeromagnetic surveyc;

CONNECTICUT CONNECTICUT Basin boundary

Base from U.S. Geological Survey Geology adapted from mapping done Base from U.S. Geological Survey Bedrock geology adapted from maps by B. K.

1:250,000. 1956 by G. William Holmes, John Atherton, 1:250,000, 1956 Emerson, 1916; T. Nelson Dale, 1923: and Joseph H. Hartshorn, and Ralph F. Norman Herz. 1958 Norvitch, U.S. Geological Survey SCALE 1:125 000

SCALE 1:125000 4 MILES 0 2 4 MILES

4 KILOMETERS 1 2 0 4 KILOMETERS

MAP SHOWING GENERALIZED BEDROCK GEOLOGY MAP SHOWING GENERALIZED EXTENT OF STRATIFIED SURFICIAL DEPOSITS AND REATfBARRIIjKitnN Fond" If?AREAS MOST FAVORABLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF GROUND-WATER SUPPLIES

Lake ,

1964 1965 AVAILABILITY OF GROUND WATER The valley of Town Brook in Lanesborough contains at the basin, coarse sand and gravel layers here may grade lat- 1963

Although the total amount of water stored in natural sub- least 150 feet of stratified deposits in places. The Town of erally and vertically into finer sediments in very short dis- EXPLANATION BARRINGTON 59 surface reservoirs is many times greater than that stored in Lanesborough has two producing wells in these sediments. tances, thus reducing the water-bearing potential. This is 2

GREAT•

both natural and man-made surface reservoirs, only 1.2 per- Till The valley deposits of Unkamet Brook north of Coltsville aii extensive deposit, however, and the central part of it has Observation well cent of all the water supplied by municipalities in the basin contain at lea?t 98 feet of stratified sediments in places. A not been fully explored for water. The southern end of this 3

l Water levels on corresponding hy­

comes from wells. well, 52 feet «eep, in the northern part of this valley, report- deposit appears to be mostly fine sand in the subsurface. \

drographs are in feet below land surfaceSURFICIAL DEPOSITS edly supplies half a million gallons of water a day. An auger The valley of Green Water Brook in East Lee, although ,N1{W MARYBOROUGH *

In addition to showing the extent of stratified surficial hole drilled in these sediments near the basin boundary indi- narrow, may be a good source of ground water. An auger 5 Harmon Pand', 16

deposits, the surficial geologic and ground-water-availability cated alternating layers of fine and coarse grains, with the hole drilled in the flat valley bottom east of the Massachu­ rmap shows the general areas most favorable for finding fine grains predominating, A gravel-packed well here may setts Turnpike overpass on Highway 20 penetrated 64 feet i ,

Spring ground water. A larger scale, more detailed ground-water- be made to connect all the coarse layers in any one section, o; sand and gravel before having to stop because of hard The volume of spring flow is dependent upon the head in favorability map of the area is available in a report by Nor- thereby obtaining a large water yield from the layered sedi- drilling. Base-flow measurements also are favorable in this 7 BEDROCK AQUIFERS

Number refers to table 1 ma- its aquifer source. The flow is at a maximum in the spring vitch (19661. ments. ?roa. Base by U.S. Geological The areal extent and ground-water yields of the fourNumerous test holes and test pumpings sometimes are re- The East Branch of the Housatonic and Waconah drilled Valley near

8 Survey, 1956 1963 1964 1965 jor types of bedrock in the basin are shown on the bedrock (season) when water levels are high, and at a minimum in

River Auger holes were in the Tyringham late summer when water levels are low. Table 1 shows the quired to find places where the surficial stratified deposits Falls Brook join in Dalton in a broad flat valley. The ice- tre confluence of Hop Brook and the Housatonic River, near 9 SCALE 1:250 000 Basin boundary geologic map. They all contain ground water in secondary variance in seasonal flow for six selected springs in the ba­openings, such as fractures, joints, and solution cavities, are well sorted and coarse enough to yield sufficient volumes contact deposits in the northwest part of the valley are fine Breakneck Road, and near the Tyringham-Monterey Road.

if)

\

\ MILES sin. They are located on figure 3. Again, because of the of water for municipal and industrial supplies. Because of sand to coarse gravel, composed largely of quartzitic and 5 within the rock formations. The volume and rate at which The sediments were fine and not suitable to supply water to drought, these may represent all time record low flows. As the variability of grain sizes in these deposits, sufficient schistose grains. Wells completed in the sand and gravel they will yield water to wells is dependent upon the size and high-capacity drilled wells. 11 - the data show, in some places the difference between the testing is imperative. Insufficient testing might easily cause supply sufficient amounts of water to operate a large aggre- Some of the largest sand and gravel deposits in the basin interconnection of these openings. FIGURE 3.—Map showing locations and hydrographs fall and spring (season) flows are appreciable.

l ia suitable aquifer to be disregarded as a source for supply. gate washing plant here. An auger test hole at the Depart- occur just east and northeast of Monument Mountain in Figure 4 shows the occurrence of ground water in bedrock 1963 1964 1965

A summary appraisal of water-bearing properties of the ment of Public Works garage on Orchard Street in Dalton Great Barrington and Stockbridge. They are sorted and of observation wells and, locations of springs and why some wells produce and others do not. The figure valley fill deposits (mostly glaciofluvial and glaciolacustrine) penetrated about 115 feet of sediment before reaching refus- stratified and contain large percentages of carbonate rock. also shows the significance of a fault adjacent to carbonate in the basin, indicates that sediment grains in the tributary al; the test hole log shows about 70 feet of very fine sand Little is known as to the depth of these deposits below the rock. The crushed rock zone along the fault provides an

sec-valleys generally are coarser than sediment grains in the over alternating layers of fine sand and coarse sand below w iter table. If they continue in the subsurface, they should easy access for percolating ground water to move into coarseness of condary openings in the rock and larger solution open-trunk stream (Housatonic River) valley. The the water table, which was about 13 feet below land surface. provide large volumes of water to wells. cause

the grains in a few areas, particularly south of Woods Pond ings. It is not possible to predict the location of buried solu-Where Waconah Falls Brook flows out of the hills onto the Little is known about the texture and depths of the sedi­in Lee, are exceptions to this appraisal. tion complexes in carbonate rock, however, likely places broad flat there is an area geologically suitable for deposi- ments in the Konkapot River Valley. Massachusetts Depart-

would be near faults and geologic contacts. The valley of the Williams River, beginning at Shaker Mill tion of coarser sediments than predominate in the remainder ment of Public Works bridge borings show alternating layers TABLE 1 . - Selected spring flows for fall (196b)WATER-LEVEL FLUCTUATIONS Pond in West Stockbridge is largely filled with silt and clay, of the eastern part of the valley. The bedrock rises close to of sand and gravel to depths of 29 feet. The ice-contact de- a prolonged drought period and many of the water levels During periods of normal precipitation water levels in aqui- and spring (1965)

a poor water-yielding combination. Ground-water levels are not stahle; they display short- recorded herein might be considered as record lows. fers will peak at about the same level every spring. the land surface and crops out west of Center Pond and along posit just east of Hartsville is located geologically in a favor- Location term, seasonal, and long-term fluctuations. Short-term fluc- Figure 3 shows the yearly highs and lows that occurred All the hydrographs on figure 3 show nearly the same SPRINGS Flow Temp. The valley of the Green River, beginning at North Egrc- the banks of the river, therefore, seismic profiles in conjunc- able place for deposition of coarse sand and gravel. Base- Date (gpm) tuations are of little significance to the water user unless they in 11 observation wells measured during this study. The trend. Water levels generally reach a peak in the early Springs are a water source to many individual homes and No. Town IT) mont and ending somewhere east of the Great Barrington tion with test drilling might save time and money when ex- flow measurements also show this valley to be favorable for airport, is filled with poorly to well-sorted sand and gravel ploring for ground water in this valley. ground-water exploration. are caused by pumping, in which case, he should be aware maximum water-level fluctuation during this period, in any- spring due to recharge from melting snow and frost, before some towns in the basin. They largely occur on the flanks composed largely of schistose grains. The schist tends to Information is lacking on the depth and texture of the val- Sediments in the trunk stream valley are composed largely of the effects of pumping as explained previously. Seasonal one aquifer, was 13.89 feet, with the exception of 113.95 feet vegetation begins to flourish. They begin to decline in the of bedrock hills, generally near the base. During years of 1 Pittsfield 11-13-64 39.9

44.5 break down into small platy fragments and very fine grains ley fill deposits of the East Branch Housatonic River south of of silt and sand. Auger holes drilled in Pittsfield penetrated fluctuations are important because they may influence the in Lanesborough 29 (see figure 3). The fluctuations in this late spring due to an increase in evapotranspiration, and they normal precipitation they are a perennial water source; how- 5- 5-65 552

depth a pump is set, or they may even influence the depth well should not be considered normal water-level fluctuations continue to decline until the late fall when evapotranspira- ever, because of the prolonged drought (beginning 1961) 11-13-64 15.0 46 which pack between the coarser grains, thereby reducing the Hinsdale town proper. The ice-contact deposits near the ba- remarkably uniform silt and fine sand to a depth of 122 feet. 2 Lee 34.5 permeability of the deposit. However, well-sorted coarse sin boundary on the south are sorted and stratified. If these An auger hole drilled near the river at Stockbridge pene- a well is completed, especially a shallow dug well. Seasonal in a bedrock aquifer; however, Ihey present a possible ex- tion essentially ceases. At this time they either level out or some springs barely flowed or ceased to flow during the 5- 5-65 45

fluctuations are caused by changes in rates of ground-water treme for this area. bog-in a gradual climb, depending on local and climatic condi- summer and fall of 1964. for the first time in memory. 11-13-64 9.87 47 zones do occur making this a likely place to test drill for deposits continue in the subsurface, large quantities of wa- trated gray silt until stopped at a depth of 112 feet. Near 3 do. ground water. The deposit thins rapidly near the sides of ter would be available to wells. the river in Great Barrington and Sheffield, the fine sedi- recharge and discharge during the year. Long-term fluctu- All high water levels in the spring of 1965 were lower than tions, until spring recharge again takes effect to complete Springs rise where ground water, under hydrostatic pres- 5 4-65 31.0 48.5

the valley, so the center part near the stream may be the The extensive ice-contact deposit along the eastern bor- tnents were also found to predominate. The sediments will ations are due to temperature and precipitation cycles that their former levels in the spring of 1964. This condition was the cycle. sure, in the bedrock aquifers makes its way through fissures 4 Stockbridge

11-13-64 6.3 48

occur over a number of years. This study was made during caused by below normal winter and early spring precipitation. or solution openings in the rocks, either laterally or upward, 5- 5-65 6.7 47 best place to drill. der of Pittsfield is extremely variable in composition; how- not supply usuable quantities of water to drilled wells. How-

EXPLANATION to the land surface. Springs also can flow from unconsoli- 11-12-64 1.4 49 The valley deposits of Secum and Daniels Brooks, north ever, silt and fine sand seem to predominate in the subsurface. ever, the subsurface texture of the valley fill deposits (here) 5 New Marlborough dated deposits. This occurs generally where an impervious 5- 4-65 33.2 46

of Onota Lake also contain large percentages of schistose Auger holes drilled in the northern part near Barton Brook it; unknown. Locally, it may be possible to encounter sedi-Carbonate rock Quartzitic rock Fault zone layer (clay, for example) impedes the downward percolation 11-12-64 46 and platy grains which may be tightly packed. However, an encountered some coarse layers at depth but their water- ments coarse enough to supply usuable quantities of water Glacial drift 1.2

6 do. 5- 4-65 3.6 47 was There For instance, • • • • >

of ground water and carries it laterally to where it flows out • • • •auger boring near Old Ore Bed Road in Lanesborough pene- bearing potential not determined. may be local to drilled wells. a well providing water for

of the ground from the side or bottom of a hill. trated about 60 feet of sand and gravel before being stopped places where large volumes of water may be available to the Town of Sheffield penetrated 242 feet of silt and fine by difficult drilling, and a gravel face in the ice-contact de- properly developed wells. sand before being completed in 8 feet of coarse sand. The posit just north of Hancock Road in Pittsfield shows some The ice-contact deposit just south of Woods Pond in the well yields 150 gpm. FIGURE 4 . - Generalized diagram showing occurrence of water well-sorted coarse gravel zones. If these zones continue in Town of Lee is also variable in composition; however, two in bedrock adjacent to a fault zone the subsurface, below the water table, they might yield large drilled wells near the pond each supply more than a million volumes of water to wells. Base-flow measurements also gallons of water a day. Many test holes were required to favor both of these places for ground-water exploration. select these sites. Like most of the stratified deposits in

I N T E R I O R — G E O L O G I C A L S U R V E Y . W A S H I N G T O N . D . C . — 1 968—W6736I

HYDROLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES OF THE HOUSATONIC RIVER BASIN, MASSACHUSETTS By

Ralph F. Norvitch, Donald F. Farrell, Felix H. Pauszek, and Richard G. Petersen

1968