Abstract |
Precise leveling in the Baton Rouge area during the summer of 1969 showed that the land is subsiding at a variable rate because of ground-water offtake. Between 1964 and 1969, the surface in the heart of the industrial area had sunk 1.3 feet. A map with contour lines of equal subsidence, together with maps of ground-water elevations in the principal aquifers, shows a cause-effect relation. In each of two instances, an isolated area of subsidence outside the principal center of pumping coincides with the location of an individual well field. Additional subsidence of at least 0.4 feet will occur by 1974. If the net offtake from the deep aquifers is not reduced at once, through the importation of water and the artificial recharge and subsequent utilization of the shallow aquifers, the total maximum subsidence in the center of the industrial area could reach 5 feet or more by 1990. (WRSIC abstract) |