USGS Series | Water-Resources Investigations Report |
---|---|
Report Number | 88-4130 |
Title | The hydrogeologic framework and a reconnaissance of ground-water quality in the Piedmont Province of North Carolina, with a design for future study |
Edition | - |
Language | ENGLISH |
Author(s) | Harned, Douglas |
Year | 1989 |
Originating office | |
USGS Library Call Number | (200) WRi no.88-4130 |
Physical description | vi, 55 p. :ill., maps ;28 cm. |
ISBN |
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The U.S. Geological Survey is investigating the relation of ground- water quality and land use in the regolith and fractured rock ground-water system of the North Carolina Piedmont. The initial phase of this study provides a description of the ground-water flow system and a review of available ground-water data and formulates hypotheses that guide the design of a water-quality monitoring network for study of selected areas. In the Piedmont, the solid igneous and metamorphic bedrock grades upward into unweathered fractured rock that is covered by a transition zone of highly-fractured, partially weathered rock, clay-rich saprolite, and the soil. The fractured bedrock, transition zone, saprolite, and soil make up a complex flow system. A review of available ground-water quality data shows a lack of information about organic compounds and trace metals and changes in ground- water quality with depth. Land use, soils, and geology significantly influence ground-water quality. The hypotheses that need to be tested in the next study phase are: (1) that ground-water contamination can be related to land use, and (2) that the transition zone between bedrock and regolith serves as a primary transmitter of contaminants. Monitoring of basins containing industrial, urban, residential, and agricultural land uses in future studies will help define the relation of ground-water quality to land use. Water quality at different depths in the flow system and in streams during base flow needs to be identified.