Ground water hydrology of the Elizabethtown area, Kentucky
Water-Resources Investigations Report
84-4057
By: D. S. Mull and M. A. Lyverse
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Abstract
The principal aquifer in a 52 square mile karst area in north central Kentucky is the St. Louis Limestone of Mississippian age. Unconsolidated residuum and surficial deposits of slumped material may store water and recharge the underlying limestone aquifer. Precipitation averages 49 inches annually; 6 inches recharges ground-water reservoirs. The shallow ground-water velocity ranged from 0.30 to 1.40 feet per second. Flow net analysis indicates that about 2 million gallons of water per day flows through a 1.8 mile wide section of the aquifer. A water-level contour map indicates that the hydraulic gradient averages 40 feet per mile and that the water levels near the city supply wells have not lowered in 10 years. The effects of three faults on the ground-water flow system is shown as ponding on the upthrown side of the faults. Caliper logs suggest that shallow ground-water flow occurs in sheet-like openings within 100 feet of land surface. The openings range in height from 1 inch or less to 6 feet. A test well penetrated 5 zones of horizontal openings. The specific capacity ranged from 11.5 to 12.1 gallons per minute per foot of drawdown after 12 and 72 hours of pumping at 280 to 510 gallons per minute. Water in 28 wells and springs meets most drinking water standards and generally is a very hard calcium bicarbonate type. Heavily pumped industrial and public-supply wells tend to yield water with high values of specific conductance and sulfate. Coliform bacteria varied widely in rural wells and the city springs. Seven wells had no coliform bacteria. (USGS)
Study Area
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Ground water hydrology of the Elizabethtown area, Kentucky |
| Series title | Water-Resources Investigations Report |
| Series number | 84-4057 |
| DOI | 10.3133/wri844057 |
| Year Published | 1984 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Publisher location | Reston, VA |
| Description | Report: vi, 57 p.; 2 Plates: 39.51 x 30.21 inches and 39.31 x 30.27 inches |
| Country | United States |
| State | Kentucky |
| City | Elizabethtown |
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