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> report 91-4175
US Department of the Interior
US Geological Survey
WRI 91-4175
Hydrogeology
and Migration of Septic-Tank Effluent in the Surficial Aquifer System in
the Northern Midlands Area, Palm Beach County, Florida
Water-Resources Investigations Report 91-4175
By Wesley L. Miller
ABSTRACT
The northern Midlands
area in Palm Beach County is an area of expected residential growth, but
its flat topography, poor drainage, and near-surface marl layers retard
rainfall infiltration and cause frequent flooding. Public water supplies
and sewer services are not planned for the area, thus, residents must rely
on domestic wells and septic tanks. The water table in the northern Midlands
area is seldom more than 5 feet below land surface, and regional ground-water
flows are east, southwest, and south from the north-central part of the
area where ground-water levels are highest. Ground-water quality in the
western part of the area and in the Loxahatchee Slough is greatly influenced
by residual seawater emplaced during the Pleistocene Epoch. Chloride and
dissolved-solids concentrations of ground water in the surficial aquifer
system in these areas often exceed secondary drinking-water standards. Residual
seawater has been more effectively flushed from the more permeable sediments
elsewhere in the eastern and southwestern parts of the study area. Test
at three septic-tank sites showed traces of effluent in ground water (38-92
feet from the septic tank outlets) and that near-surface marl layers greatly
impede the downward migration of the effluent in the surficial aquifer system
throughout the northern midlands.
(The entire report
is available below.)
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