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Section 779.15(a) Continued. Revised 11/20/80 Tipple Area Tnformation on the recharge, storage and discharge characteristics of the alluvial aquifer in the tipple area is taken from surveys of ground water resources in North Park performed by the USGS (Voegeli, 1965). As explained previously, surface and ground waters are intermixed in the marshland surrounding the tipple site, and sur- face water samples taken from the marsh during the baseline period were also used to describe the water quality of the alluvial aqui- fer. The aquifer in the tipple area is recharged by the Illinois River in the spring when the stream overflows its banks and floods the surrounding floodplain. The flood waters percolate through the soil and elevate the water table above ground level in the marsh. During dry months, the irrigation ditch which runs around the north side of the tipple area provides some recharge water to the aquifer by flooding the hay meadow in the floodplain. • The aquifer characteristics of the alluvium beneath the Kerr Tipple have been determined by correlating the alluvium of the Illinois River with that of the Michigan River. The Michigan River is located approximately 8,800 feet from that stretch of the Illinois River alluvium affected by the tipple. Pump tests conducted by the USGS have determined that the permeability of the alluvium in the Michigan River is 2,500 gpd/ft2. In USGS Water-Supply Paper 1809-G (1965) Voegeli describes the characteristics of the alluvial aqui- fer as follows: "On the basis of pumping tests and other observations, under- flow in the alluvium of the Michigan River near Walden is estimated to be 500,000 gpd or 1'~ acre-feet per day. The hydrologic and geologic characteristics of the alluvium of the Michigan River seem to be similar to those of the alluvium of other rivers and streams in the park, which may have similar • abilities to yield water to wells." 779-37 as