Thickness of the Chicot aquifer system of southwestern Louisiana’s surficial confining unit and shallow sand lenses

The Chicot aquifer system is a vital water resource for Southwestern Louisiana, providing nearly half of the fresh groundwater the region consumes (Sargent, 2011). The aquifer’s surficial confining unit consists of a wedge-shaped thickening sequence of south to southeastern dipping, interbedded clays and courser material (primarily sand and gravel). In collaboration with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LDOTD), Sargent and others (2004) extracted data from driller’s logs, geophysical logs, and well construction information for 2094 wells overlying the Chicot aquifer to enhance the delineation of the thickness and occurence of the aquifer’s surficial confining unit. These data were applied here to create tabular [...]