Van Buren County, in southwest Michigan, is drained by the Paw Paw and South Branch Black Rivers. The maximum discharge of the Paw Paw River is 2,500 cubic feet per second; the minimum is 202. Corresponding discharges of the South Branch Black River are 1,680 and 20 cubic feet per second. Dissolved-solids concentrations of strams and lakes range from 28 to 749 milligrams per liter. Total nitrogen concentrations as high as 15 milligrams per liter occurred at two stream sites. Glacial deposits, 100 to 600 feet thick, are sources of groundwater supplies. Irrigation wells are capable of yielding 1,000 gallons per minute. Model simulations are used to predict the effects of increased irrigation withdrawals. Dissolved-solids concentrations of ground water range from 112 to 878 milligrams per liter. Nitrate in water from 22 percent of the wells in the southern part of the county exceeded 10 milligrams per liter. Areal variations in the chemical characteristics of ground and surface water are related to land use and chemical inputs to the hydrologic system. Nitrogen input is 72.7 percent from fertilizer, 21.3 percent from precipitation, 4.5 percent from animal wastes, and 1.5 percent from septic tanks. (USGS)
RECORD ID: 8603554
F&G CODE: 02e; 02f; 05b
Publication
Cummings, T.R., Twenter, F.R., and Holtschlag, D.J., 1984, Hydrology and land
use in Van Buren County, Michigan: U.S. Geological Survey Water- Resources
Investigations Report 84-4112, 124 p.
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