Hydrologic Setting

Figure 1. The red/gray area is the location of the Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer, where gray is the areas located underground. (USGS, 2016)

Figure 2. The graph shows the most recent average temperatures and precipitation of the Ardmore area , which is located near the Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer (US Climate Data, 2020).

Location

The Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer is located in central southern Oklahoma and covers nearly 520 square miles (OWRB, Groundwater Studies, 2019). This area can be seen in Figure 1 and is composed of the following counties: Carter, Coal, Johnston, Murray, and Pontotoc. These counties combined make up a total population of nearly 117,000 people (United States Census Bureau, 2018).

Climate's Influence on Recharge

The climate of southern Oklahoma is most comparable to a humid, subtropical climate with temperatures ranging between thirty to ninety degrees (US Climate Climate Data, 2020). The change in temperature and precipitation over the year is shown in Figure 2. The area averages 38 inches of rain annually. The Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer is considered an extremely sensitive water resource as there are no rivers or streams that flow into the aquifer, making precipitation the only significant form of recharge (Osborn, Arbuckle Simpson Hydrology Study Final Report to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 2009).

Climate Data

Distribution

The Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer discharges to a variety of different streams and creeks, as seen in Figure 6. The largest amounts of water are discharged to Blue River (Figure 3), Byrd Mills Spring, Delaware Creek, Mill Creek, Pennington Creek (Figure 4), Sheep Creek, Honey Creek (Figure 5), Travertine Creek, and Rock Creek (Osborn, Arbuckle Simpson Hydrology Study Final Report to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 2009).

Figure 3. The map shows the path of the Blue River from the Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer (Tejan, 2008).

Figure 4. The map shows the path of the Pennington Creek from the Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer (Tejan, 2008).

Figure 5. The map shows the path of the Honey Creek from the Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer (Tejan, 2008).

Figure 6. The map shows a number of the major creeks that are a part of the Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer (Osborn, Arbuckle-Simpson Hydrology Study Annual Report Federal Fiscal Year 2006, 2007).

Page updated

Report abuse