Hydrogeology and Water Quality of the Leetown Area, West Virginia

Kozar, Mark D.; McCoy, Kurt J.; Weary, David J.; Field, Malcolm S.; Pierce, Herbert A.; Schill, William Bane; Young, John A.

Abstract:

The U.S. Geological Survey?s Leetown Science Center and the co-located U.S. Department of Agriculture?s National Center for Cool and Cold Water Aquaculture both depend on large volumes of cold clean ground water to support research operations at their facilities. Currently, ground-water demands are provided by three springs and two standby production wells used to augment supplies during periods of low spring flow. Future expansion of research operations at the Leetown Science Center is dependent on assessing the availability and quality of water to the facilities and in locating prospective sites for additional wells to augment existing water supplies. The hydrogeology of the Leetown area, West Virginia, is a structurally complex karst aquifer. Although the aquifer is a karst system, it is not typical of most highly cavernous karst systems, but is dominated by broad areas of fractured rock drained by a relatively small number of solution conduits. Characterization of the aquifer by use of fluorometric tracer tests, a common approach in most karst terranes, therefore only partly defines the hydrogeologic setting of the area. In order to fully assess the hydrogeology and water quality in the vicinity of Leetown, a multi-disciplinary approach that included both fractured rock and karst research components was needed. The U.S. Geological Survey developed this multi-disciplinary research effort to include geologic, hydrologic, geophysical, geographic, water-quality, and microbiological investigations in order to fully characterize the hydrogeology and water quality of the Leetown area, West Virginia. Detailed geologic and karst mapping provided the framework on which hydrologic investigations were based. Fracture trace and lineament analysis helped locate potential water-bearing fractures and guided installation of monitoring wells. Monitoring wells were drilled for borehole geophysical surveys, water-quality sampling, water-level measurements, and aquifer tests to characterize the quality of water and the hydraulic properties of the aquifer. Surface geophysical surveys provided a 3-dimensional view of bedrock resistivity in order to assess geologic and lithologic controls on ground-water flow. Borehole geophysical surveys were conducted in monitoring wells to assess the storage and movement of water in subsurface fractures. Numerous single-well, multi-well, and straddle packer aquifer tests and step-drawdown tests were conducted to define the hydraulic properties of the aquifer and to assess the role of bedrock fractures and solution conduits in the flow of ground water. Water samples collected from wells and springs were analyzed to assess the current quality of ground water and provide a baseline for future assessment. Microbiological sampling of wells for indicator bacteria and human and animal DNA provided an analysis of agricultural and suburban development impacts on ground-water quality. Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data were analyzed to develop digital elevation models (DEMs) for assessing sinkhole distribution, to provide elevation data for development of a ground-water flow model, and to assess the distribution of major fractures and faults in the Leetown area. The flow of ground water in the study area is controlled by lithology and geologic structure. Bedrock, especially low permeability units such as the shale Martinsburg Formation and the Conococheague Limestone, act as barriers to water flowing down gradient and across bedding. This retardation of cross-strike flow is especially pronounced in the Leetown area, where bedding typically dips at steep angles. Highly permeable fault and fracture zones that disrupt the rocks in cross-strike directions provide avenues through which ground water can flow laterally across or through strata of low primary permeability. Significant strike parallel thrust faults and cross-strike faults typically coincide with larger solution conduits and act as drains for the more

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USGS Numbered Series

ProdID:

80996

Citation Author:

Kozar, Mark D.; McCoy, Kurt J.; Weary, David J.; Field, Malcolm S.; Pierce, Herbert A.; Schill, William Bane; Young, John A.

Citation Contributing Office:

USGS West Virginia Water Science Center

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Citation Language:

ENGLISH

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Citation LatN:

0392400

Citation LatS:

0391600

Citation LonE:

-0775200

Citation LonW:

-0780100

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Citation Phsyical Description:

Overall Report: 212 p.; Report: ix, 100 p.; 6 Appendices: variously paginated

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Citation Publisher:

Geological Survey (U.S.)

Citation Series:

Open-File Report

Citation Series Code:

OFR

Citation Series Number:

2007-1358

Citation Search Results Text:

Hydrogeology and Water Quality of the Leetown Area, West Virginia; 2008; OFR; 2007-1358; Kozar, Mark D.; McCoy, Kurt J.; Weary, David J.; Field, Malcolm S.; Pierce, Herbert A.; Schill, William Bane; Young, John A.