FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY


of wells near salty bays or estuaries lowers the water table below sea
level. Contamination can be brought about by disposing of wastes
directly into rivers and bays, or by seepage from waste basins to the
water table.
 Industries use about 60 percent of the ground water withdrawn from
the area: St. Regis Paper Company, the largest user in the area, pumps
31 mgd. Chemstrand, using 31.5 mgd, is the largest user of surface
water in the area. The large amount of surface and ground water being
used by industries and municipalities is only a small part of the usable
supply of the area.

 INTRODUCTION

 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
 An immediate need of community and industrial planners in Escam-
bia and Santa Rosa counties is information on the water resources of the
area. It is presently known that the area has a large supply of surface
and ground water that is low in mineral content. However, because the
water needs of this fast growing section of Florida are becoming greater,
information about other characteristics of the water must be made avail-
able so that the area may realize its full industrial potential without
creating problems caused by permanently lowered water levels, salt-
water encroachment, and pollution.
 An investigation of the water resources of Escambia and Santa Rosa
 counties was started in January 1958 by the U.S. Geological Survey in
 cooperation with the Florida Geological Survey, Escambia and Santa
 Rosa counties, and the city of Pensacola. This investigation was designed
 to obtain, over a 4-year period, data on the occurrence, quality, and
 quantity of surface and ground water. The information collected during
 the investigation will serve two major purposes: (1) it will provide an
 inventory of the water of the area; and (2) it will provide a sound basis
 for planning development and use of the water resources of the area.
 The purpose of this report is to make available information on the
 quantity and quality of water in the area collected prior to 1962. It
 contains a brief discussion of climate, a geologic description of the area,
 information on streamflow and streamflow characteristics, principles of
 the occurrence and movement of ground water, properties of the
 ground-water aquifers, and chemical characteristics of the water re-
 sources of the area. It discusses present use of water, some existing
 problems associated with water, and potential water supplies of the area.