Piedmont-Mountains Ground Water

Real-time ground-water-level and water-quality monitoring equipment at Bent Creek Demonstration Forest site.

Background

Ground-water flow in the regolith-crystalline bedrock aquifer of North Carolina is complex and not well understood. The ground-water resources of the Piedmont and Blue Ridge Physiographic Provinces are critical to the welfare of the State. A regional characterization of land use, ground-water quality, recharge and discharge relations, soils, land use, hydrogeologic characterizations, and ground-water flow is needed in order to appropriately manage the resources. However, detailed, site-specific information also is needed to understand and manage site-specific problems and solutions.

The existing ambient ground-water-quality monitoring network of wells is not currently sufficient to address ground-water-resource and water-quality questions in the NC Piedmont and Mountains. This project provides a program to assess ambient ground-water quality in the Piedmont and Mountain Region and identify water-quality trends. Both the water-quantity and water-quality aspects of an ambient ground-water program are needed to manage and protect the resource.

Objectives

The investigation is designed as an ongoing program to improve the level of understanding of the ground-water system in the Piedmont and Mountain Region of North Carolina. The objective for year 1 (1999) of this investigation was to compile and evaluate existing hydrologic data from the Piedmont and Mountain Region of North Carolina, identify deficiencies in information and/or data, identify potential type areas for future intensive study, and generate a plan of study (Daniel and Dahlen, 2002) for subsequent years. The objectives for years 2-10 are to:

• Fill in data and interpretive deficiencies identified in year 1,
• Characterize individual type areas within the Piedmont and Mountains,
• Install research stations for long-term data collection of ambient ground-water quality and quantity,
• Provide ongoing training to DENR DWQ Groundwater Section staff in order to upgrade the hydrogeologic skills needed to carry out the State's ground-water protection program,
• Provide outreach and education for the ongoing work, and
• Conduct applied research within these complex geologic environments.

Approach

This program is an ongoing, long-term collaborative USGS/North Carolina Division of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR) Division of Water Quality (DWQ) Groundwater Section investigation. Because of the inherent complexity of such a large regional area, a more feasible approach is to select areas of the Piedmont and Mountain Region that are most representative of the area's land use, geology, and hydrology to obtain an understanding of the hydrologic processes in these areas and transfer the knowledge from these areas to similar hydrogeologic areas. Research stations will be constructed in these type areas to facilitate data collection efforts. Hydrogeologists from the DENR DWQ Groundwater Section central office and five regional offices (Asheville, Mooresville, Winston-Salem, Fayetteville, Raleigh) will participate. Drilling equipment and crews will be provided by the DENR DWQ Groundwater Section's Kinston office.

Progress (July 2005)

Research Site (RS) Activities: (listed by DWQ Regions shown in fig. 1)

• Raleigh Region, Lake Wheeler Road RS (felsic gneiss; Raleigh Belt): Preparation of the USGS report on characterization of this research station preparation is underway. The report is expected to be ready for formal review in 2004. Packer testing (hydraulic and water-quality sampling) of bedrock wells was conducted from December 2003 through January 2004. Periodic water-level monitoring is ongoing.
• Raleigh Region, Raleigh Hydrogeologic RS (Rolesville granite; Raleigh Belt): Core collected and wells installed; continuous water-level monitoring initiated.
   
  
• Mooresville Region, Langtree Peninsula RS (quartz diorite; Charlotte Belt): Continuous and periodic water-level monitoring is ongoing. Report preparation is underway. Packer testing/sampling conducted from December 2004 through January 2005. Lake and ground-water interaction will be studied.
• Mooresville Region, Allison Woods Hydrogeologic RS (schist; felsic gneiss; Charlotte Belt): Corehole drilling completed; well installation initiated.
   
  
• Winston-Salem Region, Reidsville Upper Piedmont RS (felsic gneiss/amphibolite; Milton Belt): Periodic water-level monitoring is ongoing. The first round of water-quality samples was collected in December 2002. A data-collection platform was installed in May 2003 to measure continuous water level and water-quality characteristics (pH, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, temperature) in a nearby creek. A geologic map of the area is in review (Wright Horton, Geologic Discipline, USGS). Packer sampling/testing was conducted in February through May 2004.
   
  
• Asheville Region, Bent Creek RS (felsic gneiss/schist; Innter Piedmont Belt): Continued periodic water-level monitoring and water-quality sampling. First round of water-quality samples was collected in April 2003. Gage installation is underway near well cluster 2, on Boyd Branch.
• Asheville Region, Highlands (granite, schist; Blue Ridge and Murphy Belt): A geologic map of the area is being prepared (Bill Burton, Geologic Discipline, USGS).