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<br />'W <br />U\. <br />eJt <br />w <br /> <br />Member of the Morrison Formation is the confining <br />unit between the "D" and "M" aquifers. The Entrada <br />Sandstone, sandstone members of the Morrison Fonna- <br />tion, and the Dakota Sandstone are included in the D <br />multiple-aquifer system of Cooley and others (1969). <br />Whitfield and others (1983) considered the Bluff Sand- <br />stone to be a separate formation and part of the Meso- <br />zoic Sandstone aquifer. Because the Dakota and <br />Morrison Fonnations crop out in the vicinity of the <br />Greater Aneth Oil Field, the aquifers in these units are <br />generally unconfined (water-table conditions). In the <br />western part of the study area, where the Bluff Sand- <br />stone Member crops out, the aquifer is unconfined, but <br />where the unit is overlain by other shaly members of the <br />Morrison Formation, the aquifer may be confined (arte- <br />sian conditions). <br />Recharge to the unconfined aquifers, including <br />alluvial deposits; the Dakota Sandstone; and the West- <br />water Canyon, Recapture, Salt Wash, and Bluff Sand- <br />stone Members of the Morrison Formation, takes place <br />primarily by direct infiltration of precipitation on out- <br />crop areas and by infiltration of surface water along <br />washes, such as Montezuma Creek. During 1982-83, <br />Avery (1986, table 3, p. 70) measured a discharge of 3.1 <br />ft3/s in Montezuma Creek in T 36 S., R. 24 E., Sec. 35, <br />just north of the study area, but no flow was present in <br />the channel about 6 mi downstream. Discharge from <br />rhe Morrison aquifer is from springs, outflow to <br />streams, evapotranspiration, and from wells. Evapo- <br />transpiration takes place where phreatophytes are <br />present and the water table is relatively close to the sur- <br />face, particularly along washes. On the basis of base- <br />flow data from 1982 to 1983, Avery (1986, p. 40) esti- <br />mated that McElmo Creek gained 1,500 acre-ftlyr (2.1 <br />ft3/s) from the Morrison aquifer between the Colo- <br />rado/Utah State line and the mouth of the creek at the <br />San Juan River. Regional ground-water movement in <br />the Morrison aquifer, below the Brushy Basin Member, <br />is toward the San Juan River. Springs that discharge <br />from Morrison Formarion sandstones where they crop <br />out along the San Juan River valley also indicare that <br />the San Juan River is the primary discharge area for the <br />unconfined Morrison aquifer. Thickness of the Morri- <br />son aquifer is as much as 400 ft in some areas near the <br />Utah/Arizona State line. <br /> <br />The Entrada, Navajo, and Wingate Sandstones, <br />along with the intervening semiconfining units, the <br />Carmel Formation and the Kayenta Formation, are <br />included in the Entrada-Navajo aquifer of Thomas <br />(1989) and Howells (1990). Taylor and others (1986) <br />included these formations along with the overlying <br /> <br />14 <br /> <br />sandstone members of the Morrison Formation in the <br />middle Mesozoic aquifers (fig. 3). Whitfield and others <br />(1983) included thcse formations along with the Morri- <br />son Formation and the Dakota Sandstone a5 part of the <br />Mesozoic Sandstone aquifer. The Entrada-Navajo <br />aquifer correlates with the "N" aquifer of Avery (1986). <br />The Wanakah Formation is the confining unit between <br />the "M" and "N" aquifers (fig. 3). Cooley and others <br />(1969) defined the N multiple-aquifer system to include <br />the Navajo Sandstone, sandy lithologies of the Kayenta <br />Fonnation, and the Wingate Sandstone. In this report, <br />the Entrada-Navajo aquifer is referred to as the Navajo <br />aquifer. Barnes (unpub. data, 1959, p. 16) also used the <br />term Navajo aquifer to include the Entrada, Navajo, <br />and Wingate Sandstones. The Navajo aquifer is the <br />principal aquifer from which water is withdrawn in the <br />study area both north and south of the San Juan River <br />and is discussed in more detail in the following sec- <br />tions. <br /> <br />The "P" aquifer of Avery (1986) includes perme- <br />able units in the Cutler Fonnation, particularly the <br />Cedar Mesa Sandstone Member. The Chinle and <br />Moenkopi Fonnations are the thick confining units <br />between the "N" and "P" aquifers (fig. 3). Whitfield <br />and others (1983) defined the Cutler Formation as the <br />Cutler aquifer. Howells (1990) also included the Rico <br />Formation and part of the Honaker Trail Formation as <br />part of the Cutler aquifer. The "C" aquifer of Avery <br />(1986) is the saturated part of the DeChelly Sandstone <br />Member of the Cutler Formarion and is equivalent to <br />the DeChelly aquifer of Howells (1990). The C multi- <br />ple-aquifer system of Cooley and others (1969) <br />includes the White Rim and DeChelly Sandstone Mem- <br />bers, and the overlying Shinarump Member of the <br />Chinle Formation. In this report, the permeable sand- <br />stones of the Cutler Formation, particularly the DeCh- <br />elly Sandstone, are included in the upper Paleozoic <br />aquifer, partly following the usage of Taylor and others <br />(1986) (fig. 3), along with the lower Mesozoic Shi- <br />narump Member of the Chinle Formation. <br /> <br />The Navajo Aquifer <br /> <br />The physical boundaries of the Navajo aquifer <br />correspond to the physical limits of the Entrada, <br />Navajo, and Wingate Sandstones in mosr of the study <br />area because the formations that contain the aquifers <br />are generally fully saturated where overlain by the <br />Morrison Formation. Where these formations crop out <br />in the southwestern part of the study area or are at shal- <br />low depths beneath the land surface, the formations are <br />