1. Exercise:
Water Wells & Lithology
Brought to you by Core Kids, WMU-
MGRRE Geosciences K-12 Outreach
Program
Exercise created by Niah Venable, Amanda Walega and
Susan Grammer with web content by Niah Venable
A special thanks to
8th grade teacher Becky Dalecki, Portage North Middle School and to the
8th grade science teachers and students at Mattawan Middle School.
With generous support from:
2. This exercise can be adapted for:
High school students wishing to do an independent
project using real data from their local area.
Middle school students whose teachers can lead them
through accessing data and constructing stratigraphic
columns as a class according to the instructions on this
website.
Later elementary students who can use this exercise to
visualize what is underground in their area.
3. 1. Choose an area of interest (e.g. Charlotte, MI)
2. Find the corresponding topographic map
3. Find water well data from the area of interest
4. Interpret water well driller’s logs
5. Create lithologic columns
6. Calculate the Well Elevation
7. Create stratigraphic columns
8. Create cross-sections for comparison
Exercise Steps
4. 1. Pick an Area of Interest
For this example we will look at water wells around
Charlotte, MI.
Charlotte is located in Eaton County.
First we need to get a topographic map of the area
near Charlotte. This map will give us political and
landform information such as section numbers and
elevation contours for use in this project.
5. 2. Find a Topo Map
Browse to the State of Michigan,
Department of Natural Resources
homepage:
www.michigan.gov/dnr
From there browse to Publications
and Maps, then Online Maps. Go
to Topographic Quadrangles by
Location.
Use the dropdown list to find the
county, in this case it is Eaton. A
quick link to this page is:
www.michigan.gov/dnr/1,1607,7-
153-10371_14793-31264--,00.html
Click Download.
6. 2. Find a Topo Map cont.
The next screen shows a
green and yellow version of a
political map with the
locations of cities and towns
with a blue grid overlay of
the quadrangle names.
Click on the quad labeled
“Charlotte” in Eaton and
Carmel townships.
7. A pdf of the
Charlotte quadrangle
will open in Adobe
Acrobat. We can
save this and use as-is
or copy and zoom to
a portion of the map
using MS Word or
image handling
software.
2. Find a Topo Map cont.
8. 3. Find Water Well Data
Browse to the State of
Michigan, Department of
Environmental Quality
homepage:
www.michigan.gov/deq
From there click Water, then
browse to Drinking Water, to
Water Well Construction, then
click on Scanned Water Well
Record Retrieval System.
A quick link to this page is:
www.deq.state.mi.us/well-logs/
9. 3. Find Water Well Data cont.
The information used to find
the topo and the map itself
provide the county, township
and section data we need to
search the well retrieval
database.
We are interested in Eaton
County so two searches need
to be done by township, one
for Eaton in sections 6, 18
and 19; and one for Carmel
in sections 12, 13, and 24.
We will omit section 7 of
Eaton township, due to an
absence of usable logs.
10. After selecting the county,
township(s) and section(s)
of interest, we will be able
to review a pdf file
containing the scanned
images of driller’s reports
from each area.
The pdf driller’s reports or
logs will look like this. The
number of logs available
for each section varies.
3. Find Water Well Data cont.
11. 4. Interpreting Driller’s Logs
The driller’s log header
contains well location
information and often a
hand-drawn map with
street names, which may
prove useful if the
quarter-quarter location
information is not
recorded, or recorded
incorrectly.
12. 4. Interpreting Driller’s Logs cont.
The driller’s log lithology
information is listed by
type of material,
thickness of each unit,
and total depth. The
formation descriptions
are more likely to be
generic than scientific.
The total drilled depth of
this well is 100 feet
below the surface.
13. Other information
provided by the driller’s
log is the owner of the
well, the depth, the
completion date and how
the well was completed.
It will also list possible
sources of contamination,
pump type, and who
drilled the well.
The static water level is
equal to the depth to the
water table, in this case it
was encountered 36 feet
below the surface.
4. Interpreting Driller’s Logs cont.
14. Lithologic or stratigraphic
columns can be created
from driller’s logs using
the formation descriptions
provided by the driller and
the depths to and the
thicknesses of each unit.
5. Creating Lithologic Columns
From 0-12 feet below the surface the
driller encountered clay.
From 12 to 16 feet below the surface
they found sand.
From 16 to 54 feet below the surface
they found clay.
From 54 to 60 feet below was gravel.
From 60 to 100 feet below the surface
they found “sandrock”, most likely the
sandstones of the Saginaw Aquifer.
15. 5. Creating Lithologic Columns cont.
A basic form created in
Excel is useful for
plotting lithogy and other
well information for
viewing as a lithologic or
stratigraphic column.
The lithologic key can be
modified depending on
the type of earth material
encountered in the wells.
16. 5. Creating Lithologic Columns cont.
Using the driller’s log
depths below the surface
as a guide, we plot the
lithologic types on the
column with the
lithologic key patterns
and colors as fill.
Next, we mark the water
level on the column
using the symbol from
the key.
Hammond
17. To calculate the well elevation
values in feet above sea level and
to convert the lithogic column to
a stratigraphic column, we must
first determine the well surface
elevation.
This is done using a topographic
map since most of the driller’s
reports do not provide well
elevations.
6. Calculate the Well Elevation
18. Using the topo map of Charlotte
and the location information
provided in the driller’s report
we find that the example well is
located here.
Contour lines in this area range
between 910 feet and 920 feet
above sea level. Interpolating
the location between the two
contours gives us a value of 918
feet above sea level.
6. Calculate the Well Elevation cont.
19. 6. Calculate the Well Elevation cont.
We record the well
elevation in the blank to the
right. And then place the
value on the top line of the
scale on the right side of the
lithology column.
Next we subtract the depths
in ten foot increments from
the elevation value until the
bottom of the well is
reached.
20. 7. Create Multiple Strat Columns
To compare the hydrogeology from several wells
around the Charlotte area we must create more
stratigraphic columns.
Repeat steps 3 through 6 to create these columns.
For this example we will use driller’s logs from
Eaton township, sections 18 and 19, and Carmel
township, sections 12, 13, and 24.
We will mark the locations of all the wells on the
topo map for reference.
21. All of the wells are now marked
on the topographic map for
reference.
Well elevation values have been
picked from the map and used to
convert the lithologic columns to
stratigraphic columns.
7. Multiple Strat Columns cont.
Mishler
Hammond
City
Burt
Archer
Porter
22. 7. Multiple Strat Columns cont.
Once the stratigraphic
columns are created, a
depth datum is picked.
The depth datum is used
to compare the lithology
and water levels in all
wells at corresponding
depths.
Well Name and Elevation Range:
Hammond: 918-818 ft.
Burt: 890-790 ft.
City: 912-872 ft.
Archer: 895-775 ft.
Porter: 900-800 ft.
Mischler: 945-835 ft.
The depth datum should be
880 feet above sea level since
all wells intersect that depth.
23. 8. Cross-Section Creation
The geographic area
covered by the wells
can be divided into two
cross-sectional lines
running approximately
North to South
They are labeled A to
A’ and B to B’.
A
A’
B’
B
24. 8. Cross–Section Creation cont.
The wells in each cross-section can be compared by
lining them up on the datum value.
880 ft.
~ 1.5 mi.
~ 1 mi.
A A’
25. 8. Cross–Section Creation cont.
It is important to remember the distances between
wells when making cross-sectional comparisons.
880 ft.
~ 1.75 mi.
~ 2 mi.
B B’
26. 9. Interpretation
The cross-sections combined with the well
locations on the topo map give a spatial
comparison of the earth materials encountered
at depth and how those materials vary over a
distance between wells.
The wells are about 1 to 2 miles apart and the
relief between the highest and lowest wells is 55
feet. Static water levels range between a max
elevation just under 900 ft. to just over 875 ft.
27. 9. Interpretation cont.
The glacial sediments found above the
sandstone and shale bedrock in this area show
variation in type and thickness from well to well,
which is typical of these kinds of materials.
Generally though, the glacial deposits in the A-
A’ wells consist of clay and gravels, while the
deposits in the B-B’ wells are mainly sand and
clay.
28. 9. Interpretation cont.
The Charlotte wells show no significant
variation in static water levels. Dramatic
variations in static water levels could be due
to draw down effects in heavy-use areas.
The sandstone and shale bedrock elevations vary
by 60 ft for all wells, but for each cross section,
the variation is between 25-45 feet.
29. 10. Summary
Topographic maps and water well driller’s
logs can be used to examine the near-surface
geology of Michigan.
The driller’s logs are also useful for determining
depth to the water table, potential nearby
contamination hazards, and other information.
The data needed for these exercises is readily
available on the internet from State of Michigan
sources.
