According to a recent USGS study*, groundwater quality in much of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley is very good. Though much of the alluvial aquifer is shallow, it is largely protected from surface contamination by layers of dense clay. The following figures illustrate the Mississippi Alluvial Aquifer and ground water quality data.**
* Water Quality in Mississippi Embayment, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky, 1995-1998. U.S. Department of Interior. U.S. Geological Survey, Circular 1208, 2000
** The figures are from Water Quality in Mississippi Embayment, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky, 1995-1998. U.S. Department of Interior. U.S. Geological Survey, Circular 1208 report pp. 2, 5
*** Arthur, J. K., 1994, Thickness of the upper and lower confining units of the Mississippi River alluvial aquifer in northwestern Mississippi: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 91-4172, 1 p.