Upper Paleozoic Aquifer Map

This map displays dissolved-solids concentrations in water from Upper Paleozoic aquifers in the Northern Great Plains aquifer system. Water in the Upper Paleozoic aquifers moves regionally northeastward from aquifer recharge areas that are on the flanks of structural uplifts. Locally, the water moves radially away from the Black Hills uplift or toward depressions. At the aquifer outcrops, surface water recharges these units and becomes part of the deep, very slow, regional flow patterns that propagate from the southwest to the northeast beneath the project area. Freshwater in these aquifers only exists near recharge areas. Water quality becomes increasingly poorer away from the outcrops towards the deeper regions of the subsurface, making these units unsuitable for drinking water. Total dissolved solids are very high (>50,000 ppm) in Paleozoic units underlying most of the study area and therefore hold potential for CO₂ storage.

Data Sources: USGS Groundwater Atlas and Downey and Dinwiddie, 1988