 Estimated 38,000 colon and rectal cancers per year due to THM’s

I. Introductory Terms

Hydrology--The study of water

Engineers involved with surface water are called hydrologists

Geologists involved with ground water are called hydrogeologists

Ground water/Groundwater/Ground-water

II. What Most Hydrogeologist Do

A. Define the extent of contaminant plumes

B. Characterize aquifers through stratigraphic correlation and well hydraulics

C. Conduct ground water resource evaluations

D. Site assessments for real estate transactions

E. Site assessments for the land disposal of waste

F. Government--TDEC and EPA

1. Produce and update government regulations

2. Produce planning studies and guidance documents

3. Act as watchdogs and "environmental policemen" over industry

III. General Uses and Occurrences of Water

A. Water is the cheapest utility--CUD is about $7.50/1000 gallons

B. Average person uses about 75 gpd

C. If you eliminate continental and other glacial--ground water represents over

95% of the earth’s fresh water

D. About 80% of all water used comes from rivers and lakes

E. Most ground water is used for irrigation out west

F. Industry is the second largest user of water and most is for cooling purpose

IV. Advantages of Ground Water over Surface Water

A. Ground water has a more constant temperature and chemistry

B. Generally ground water is more difficult to contaminate

C. Commonly ground water is available where surface water is not

D. Ground water commonly does not require expensive filtration and treatment

E. Ground water generally is not as severely affected by drought

V. Reasons Ground Water is not Utilized

A. Some rocks have too low porosity and permeability to produce ground water

B. Some ground water is too high in TDS---total dissolved solids

C. Development of lakes has secondary purpose of recreation

Then the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1977

1. Navigable streams

2. Begain eliminating and setting standards for discharge of

pollutants to rivers; as a result land disposal increased

B. Section 205(j)

1. Addresses non-point source impacts on surface waters

C. Section 106

1. First ground water planning studies

An amendment to the Solid Waste Disposal Act and was enacted as a result of

Love Canal

A. Manifest--cradle to grave tracking of waste, both municipal and industrial

B. A hazardous waste is one that poses a threat to human health and/or the

environment due to its:

1. Ignitablility

2. Corrosivity (pH less than or equal to 2 or greater than 12.3) or easily

corrodes steel

3. Reactivity--explodes, reacts violently with water, or gives off toxic

fumes when mixed with water

4. Toxic Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP)--laboratory test to

determine if the waste is capable of leaching metals such as in a

landfill situation

C. Four Programs under RCRA

1. Solid Waste (non-hazardous)--landfills and above ground storage

tanks (in Tennessee Dept. of Environment and Conser. (TDEC)

2. Hazardous Waste

3. Underground Storage Tanks (UST, formerly LUST)

4. Underground Injection Control (UIC)

D. Part B Application for operators of Treatment, Storage, and/or Disposal

(TSD) Facilities

1. Includes past and future facilities

E. Exemptions--mining wastes, irrigation return flow, radioactive wastes

covered by other laws

SMALL QUANTITY GENERATORS (SQG) came under RCRA in 1986. This is an industry that produces less than 1000 KG of waste a year. Examples are auto shops, printing firms, laundries, hospitals, plating shops, research labs, and dry cleaners. Most common contaminant is TCE—tricloroethylene—the base of most solvents.

Ex. 5 gallons of TCE containing sludge put in a well could contaminate 92 million gallons of water to 27 ppb (health limit is 5 ppb); cost of cleanup for a pump and treat system is about 18 cents per 1000 gallons.

There are five classes of injection wells; Class I is hazardous waste; Class II is brine injection from oil wells; Class III is for mining wastes, Class IV is radioactive waste which is now banned, and Class V is the least hazardous, examples are storm drainage wells, cooling water wells (ground water heat pumps),

Irrigation return wells (pesticide problems and nutrients-nitrate-10 ppm); Even sinkholes modified to accept drainage and septic tanks are actually Class V wells.

EPA CLASSIFICATION OF GROUND WATER

Class 1—Sole Source Aquifer; Edwards Aquifer of Texas

Class 2—Current and Potential Sources

A. From 1980 to 1985, 1.6 billion dollars was allocated; then

when reauthorized as SARA, 8.5 billion was allocated for

1985 to 1990.

B. The money comes from taxes on crude oil, petroleum and

chemical products, and collections from the polluters.

C. Takes care of hazardous waste encountered at inactive or

abandoned sites, or those resulting from spills that require

emergency response (TEMA-TN Emergency Management

Agency).

D. NPL--National Priority List--numerical rating; the worst sites

approximately 1200 of these

E. ERRIS List--can become NPL’s

F. Removal Actions--suppose to be short term clean ups;

usually surface only and emergencies and was supposed

to be limited to 6 months and 1 million dollars

G. Remedial Actions--only if an NPL

1. Three to four years average at an average cost of 8 mill.

H. There are State-Listed Superfund Sites that are not Federal

Superfund Sites; many are old city dumps

1. TN Division of Water Supply

2. Ground Water Management Section of Div. Water Supply

1. Wellhead Protection Program

a. Define Wellhead Protection Area (WHPA)

this is basically the recharge zone

b. Define the Critical Aquifer Protection Area

(CAPA)--based on travel time; 1 year ex.

c. Potential Contaminant Source Inventory

d. Contingency Plan--other drinking water source

1. DOE and DOD Facilities

www.rtk.net

www.epa.gov www.state.tn.us/environment/news

I. Types of Water

A. Juvenile--Volcanic expulsion and magmatic crystalization

B. Connate--Water trapped in sediments during deposition--Brines

C. Meteoric--Water from precipitation

D. Potable--term for water that is considered drinkable

II. Spheres of Occurrence

A. The Water Table--Contact between the Zone of Aeration (Vadose

Zone) and the Zone of Saturation (Phreatic Zone); where the

hydrostatic pressure equals atmospheric pressure; this first zone of

water is unconfined and will not rise up a borehole

B. Capillary Fringe--A zone of saturation above the water table

1. It is usually less then a meter thick and irregular due to grain size

2. It is due to surface tension and absorption--the finer the grain

size, the higher the rise

3. Capillary Fringe water will not flow into a well, but is one of the

most important areas to sample for contaminants

III. Modes of Water Migration

A. During and after a precipitation event there is:

1. Interception 2. Evaporation/Transpiration (ET)

3. Infiltration (recharge) 4. Runoff (R)

B. Hydrologic Budget Equation

P equals R + ET + Sg + Ssm + Ssur + U

Hydrologic budget studies are done over a 1 year period

ET is the greatest percentage of P--commonly 70% in eastern

states; it is 57% in Rutherford Co. due to the karst

R is most of the rest; GW runoff can be up to 90% of total R in

karst and basaltic terranes

Ground water runoff is termed base flow and is separated on a

stream hydrograph from storm runoff

Underflow takes into account that drainage divides are not

perfect and accounts for water moving past a gaging station

in the alluvium that is not accounted for; In karst areas,

underflow is generally a negative value indicating water is

coming in from outside the basin as defined by surface divide

it is common in karst areas for sinking streams to go under

hills (surface water divides); never assume in karst that

surface and ground water divides coincide

IV. Terms Related to Ground Water Occurrence

A. Aquifer--a natural body of material that holds and transmit water

Unconsolidated materials such as river alluvium and coastal plain

and desert fan sediments are usually the best; also glacial outwash

Example good rock aquifers are limestone, sandstone, and basalt

The word aquifer is a relative term!

B. Aquiclude--only stores water but will not transmit significant amounts

Clays and shales are the most common; bentonites, dense chert

beds, and unfractured sandstones with little primary porosity also

act as aquicludes;

Aquicludes perch ground water and contaminants above them.

C. Aquitard--will store water, but transmits only enough to be significant

in studying regional migration of ground water; ex.--siltstone

D. Aquifuge--neither stores nor transmits ground water

ex. tight, unfractured crystalline rock; also halite deposits

E. Unconfined (Water Table) Aquifers

1. GW is in direct contact vertically with the atmosphere through

open spaces in permeable material; water will not rise up the

borehole from where it is first intersected

2. Perched Aquifer--unconfined aquifer above base level streams

a. Springs on the side of hills usually indicate perched GW

3. A water table contour map of an unconfined aquifer depicts a

real surface that can be used to predict depth to GW

F. Confined (Artesian) Aquifers

1. Separated from the atmosphere by a confining bed; GW will rise

up the borehole from where it is first encountered

2. Few confined aquifers have enough hydrostatic head for the

wells to flow at the surface

3. A water table contour map of a confined aquifer is better called

a potentiometric or piezometric surface map and actually

represents an imaginary surface that cannot be used to predict

depth to GW

4. Sources of artesian water

a. No dewatering of the aquifer as for unconfined aquifers;

GW is instantaneously replaced to the borehole upon

pumping by the hydrostatic pressure

b. Water can enter the aquifer from overlying confining units

forced out by compaction; this can cause land

subsidence; ex. is Houston, TX

c. Theoritically, a little water is added by water expansion

due to the release of pressure in the borehole

G. Leaky (semi-confined) Aquifer Systems

1. Confining material is semi-permeable

2. This is a relatively common occurrence

V. Porosity=volume of voids/given volume of porous medium

1. Given as a percentage: 0.2 (20%) for example is a relatively high

porosity; theoritically, cubic packed, uniform sand grains can have

a porosity of 47.6%

2. Porosity is affected by:

a. Degree of cementation

b. Amount of fracturing

c. Amount of dissolution

d. Openness of bedding planes (usually a result of dissolution)

3. The four types of porosity

a. Intergranular (original/primar) porosity: found in unconsolidated

sediments such as river alluvium, glacial material,

coastal plain sediments, bajadas, and graben-fills

1. Intergranular porosity is affected by the shape, sorting,

and arrangement of particles; not size

2. Intergranular porosity is reduced by cementation by:

a. Calcite b. Quartz or c. Hematite

b. Solution or cavity porosity--secondary porosity

1. Affects limestone and dolomite with limestone being

more soluble; gypsum and halite dissolve so much

water quality is non-potable; calcite cements of

sandstone can dissolve

c. Fracture porosity--secondary-found in all rocks including shales

1. Number and openness of fractures decreases with depth

2. Fracture Zones can be delineated by a Photo-lineament

Analysis.

3. A photo-lineament is an alignment depicted from aerial

photographs such as:

a. straight stream segments

b. an alignment of sinkholes

c. long, lineated sinkholes

d. right angle bends in streams

e. soil tone alignments

f. alignments of stream and wind gaps in folded rocks

g. vegetation alignments

h. lush vegetation alignments (color or color IR)

4. Bedding Plane Porosity--Secondary

1. Found in sedimentary rocks and is most important in

limestone and dolomite due to dissolution of planes

2. Thin-bedded rocks often contain to many shale partings

and the unit acts as an aquiclude

5. Effective Porosity=the percent of total porosity in which the

pores are interconnected. This value (ne) is more important

than total porosity

6. Specific Yield--volume of water that will drain by gravity from

a given volume of saturated material and can be considered

a measurement of Effective Porosity

7. Specific Retention--the volume of water left in the saturated

material after the rest has drained out by gravity; high

specific retention materials include siltstones and sandy shale

a. Contaminated Specific Retention water is hard to remove

8. Total Porosity=Specific Yield + Specific Retention

9. Porosity affects the amount of water the unit will hold, not

transmit; shale has high porosity but low permeability

VI. Permeability (P)--essentially the same as hydraulic conductivity (K)

1. Defined as the discharge that will occur through given cross-

section area of aquifer in gpd/ft²; laboratory tests of Shelby

Tubes report values of K in cm/sec

2. Determined, in order of reliability, by:

a. Aquifer (pumping) Test--two well test best

b. Slug test--basically a falling head test similar to a perc test

c. Shelby Tube--lab analysis from sample taken from a borehole

d. Hazen Method--a grain size distribution laboratory analysis

VII. Transmissibility or Transmissivity (T)

1. Defined as the discharge that will occur through a unit width of aquifer

(1 ft) through its entire saturated thickness (m)

2. T = P x m or T = K x b

3. Reported in gpd/ft or ft²/day

4. Transmissivity is determined primarily by pumping tests and is

affected by Partial Penetration of the borehole into the aquifer

VIII. Homogeneous vs Heterogeneous

1. For a heterogeneous unit the hydraulic conductivity values show

variation through space in the aquifer; ie. different from one

borehole to another

2. Layered Heterogenity--common in sedimentary rocks

3. Discontinuous Heterogenity--faulting or facies changes

4. By the above definition, very few aquifers are homogeneous

a. Homogeneous = K values are monomodal in the aquifer

b. Heterogeneous = K values are multi-modal

IX. Isotropic vs Anisotropic--K is independent of direction of measurement

in a formation at a given point; X and Y direction

X. Coefficient of Storage (Storativity--S)

1. S = volume of water an aquifer can release per unit volume of

aquifer--dimensionless

2. For unconfined aquifers, it is essentially the effective porosity

(specific yield); values commonly range from 2 to 30 %

3. For confined aquifer values are related to the compressibility of the

aquifer and are very small; commonly 0.001 to 0.0001

XI. Specific Capacity (C) --most common way in which well productivity is

reported; it is the rate of discharge from a well divided by the total

drawdown (s) once equilibrium conditions have been reached

1. C = Q/s gpm/ft

2. Equilibrium conditions means drawdown has ceased

3. Specific Capacity is related to:

a. Well construction--diameter of borehole is not a linear

relationship with potential productivity

b. Well Development--alignment of well pack material

c. Character of screening: bacteria growth or clogging by clays

I. Henry Darcy--"Father" of Hydrogeology--French Engineer--1856

1. Conducted a lab experiment in which he filled a tube with sand and

passed water through it. He measure the height of the water at the

top of the tube and at the bottom where the the water exited and

noted there was a difference. This difference in water level is due

to an energy loss due to friction of the water moving through the

sand (aquifer).

2. The change in hydrostatic pressure () h) between two point is the

Hydraulic Gradient (I) and is a very small value for aquifers;

commonly around 0.0001

3. Rapid changes in head in an aquifer can be related to:

a. Changes in aquifer permeability (facies changes)

b. Change in aquifer thickness

c. Faulting causing a ground water cascade

4. Darcy’s Law is expressed as: Q = KAI

A = cross-sectional area of aquifer of w (width) x m (thickness)

5. From the Law of Continuity Q = VA for measuring stream velocity

But you must take into account ne, the effective porosity; therefore

to determine the rate at which ground water flows use:

V = KI/ne to get velocity in ft/day you must use:

V = KI/7.48ne There are 7.48 gallons of water in one cubic ft. Memorize this conversion

6. P and K are actually not identical as K depends on fluid properties

I. Western Mountain Ranges

A. Alluvial Basins/Alluvial Fans

1. Deposited 3 to 4 m. y. BP during wet glacial times

3. Glacial Outwash and Flood Deposits

a. Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prarie Aquifer

1. the most productive well found there (39,600gpm or 10,600 gpm/ft)

B. Columbia Lava Plateau

1. Snake Plain’s Basalt Aquifer-younger than the Columbia River Basalt--mostly found in Idaho

a) Thousand Springs on Snake River--3 million gallons/min--irrigation

a) Less permeable than the Snake Plains Aquifer due to infilling or pores (vugs) with mineral matter

II. High Plains Aquifer

B. Essentially unconsolidataed and covers older rocks to up to 500 feet.

D. Formerly the aquifer was recharged by losing mountain streams, but now only low local precipitation occurs to recharge it

E. GW "sinks" or playa lakes still recharge the aquifer

III. Non-glaciated Central Region and Southern Region

A. Flat-lying Limestones- Mississippian and Ordovician-aged mostly

a. Ft. Payne Chert of TN/ Boone-St. Joe Chert of Arkansas & MO

B. Flat-lying Limestones--Cretaceous and Tertiary-aged

1. Edwards Aquifer--Balcones Fault Zone--Austin/San Antonio

a. Cretaceous in aged and has unconfined and confined zones

b. Large "primary" and secondary porosity

1. Most secondary porosity is along normal faults

2. Floridan Aquifer--most of Florida and southern Alabama, Georgia, & SC

a. Tertiary in age and composed of one or more formations--hydrostratigraphic units--up to 600 feet thick

b. Extraordinary secondary porosity--caves over 10 miles long filled with water

c. Recharged from lakes in north-north/central Florida

d. Commonly overlain by the Hawthorn Formation (clay) and the Tampa Limestone

e. Large subsidence type sinkhole collapes occur due generally to large scale pumping and soil/sand piping

f. Salt-water encroachment is a major problem in many coastal cities

C. Folded in faulted Limestones and Dolomites

1. Primarily Ordovician in age but some Cambrian aquifers

2. Occurs throughout the valleys of the Valley and Ridge Province between Pennsylvania and northern GA and AL

3. The Knox Dolomite is over 2,600 in TN (composed of 6 formations)

D. Flat-lying sandstones and sandy dolomites

a. Roubideaux and Gasconade of southern MO

b. Evermore of northern Arkansas

c. St. Peter Sandstone of the mid-continent

d. Dakota sandstone

e. Trinity Sands of Texas

IV. Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain

B. Varies from 300 feet in the NE to 50,000 feet thick at the mouth of the Miss. River

C. There are many aquifer names

I. Faults and Folds in Consolidated Rock

A. Faults can act as barriers to ground water flow or can carry ground water

1. If the fault places permeable rock against impermeable rock springs are often present--Cleveland, TN example

a. Drill wells on the upgradient side of the fault

2. If the faults carry ground water, drill to intersect the fault below the water table---Texas Baptist Military School

example

B. Folds

1. Syclinal troughs are the best places to drill--water generally runs down the flanks (dip) of the anticlines and then along the trough of the synclines---Rutherford County example

2. If you must drill on a anticline, try to drill on the crest as the fractures are more open

C. Fracture Zones--Photo-lineaments

1. A photo-lineament is a photo-interpreted fracture zone

2. Most SCS offices have stereo, aerial photographs

3. Photo-lineaments are defined as straight stream segments,

vegetation alignments, tonal (color) alignments (including soil tones), sinkhole alignments (in karst)

D. Comparison of joint, sinkhole, cave segment, and lineament trends

E. Hilltops versus Valleys

1. When ever possible, drill in the valleys. The hills generally are there because of resistant rock or unfractured rock. Also, the valleys may have a thick fill of water-filled alluvium--Arkansas pig farm example

F. Geophysical Prospecting Methods

1. Electrical Resistivity--Tri-potential methods

a. Three configurations of the standard Wenner array

CPPC, CPCP, and CCPP

b. An electrical current is placed in the ground and a measure of resistance to flow is recorded.

c. The a-spacing is the approximate depth being "viewed"

d. A linear traverse is made to look for anomalies

1. Water-filled fractures and caves have little

resistance to the flow of current

2. Air-filled fractures and caves have a high resistance to current flow--Arkansas exampl.

e. Depth profiling is performed by increasing the a- spacing

2. Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)

a. Good for locating caves, but cannot read through clays

b. Works well in sandy areas such as Florida and in bare karst areas

c. Depth of penetration is less than 100 feet.

3. Shallow Seismic Refraction

b. Refraction of the seismic waves from different layers in shown and folds and cavities can be interpreted

4. Micro-gravity

a. Measures minute differences in gravitation attraction

b. Caves show a negative anomaly

c. Generally the caves must be large and less than 100 feet from the surface

1. Knox Dolomite (2,600 ‘ thick)

b. Of 88 wells, 71 hit water in the upper 50" of the Knox

1. Only 2 wells had > 10 gpm; many wells have 1gpm or less

2. Generally the water quality is bad (H2S) and fluoride levels commonly exceed health limits

2. Wells Creek Dolomite (5-80 ‘ thick)--no water

3. Murfreesboro Limestone (400’ thick)

a. In Rutherford Co. 34/47 wells produced water but elsewhere

20/100. Some wells in the Murfreesboro City Limits produce >100gpm

b. The water quality is almost aways bad (H2S)

4. Pierce Limestone (25’)

a. Aquitard but 9/153 wells did produce some water

b. Bad quality (H2S)

5. Ridley Limestone (100’)

a. Contains a middle aquitard

b. Massive bedded and very karstic

c. Commonly too thin in Rutherford Co. to contain a perennial water table. Also, most recharge rapidly leaves via caves

113/240 produced water

d. 65% of wells have <5gpm

e. One third of the wells produce H2S

6. Lebanon Limestone (115’)--thin bedded, flaggy; cedar trees found on it

a. 107/293 wells produced water

b. 60% had <5gpm

c. One quarter of wells produce H2S; 5% have connate water

7. Carters Limestone (65’)--massive bedded and karstic

a. 94/313 wells produced water--overlying Hermitage aquiclude

restricts recharge to the formation

b. 60% have <5 gpm

c. One quarter of the wells produce H2S

8. Hermitage Formation (60 to 100’ thick)--shaly

a. Major aquitard/aquiclude

b. 68/267 wells produced water

c. 60% had < 5 gpm

d. One fifth of wells have H2S

9. Bigby-Cannon Limestone (60 to 100’ thick)--medium to massive

bedded and karstic

a. Found primarily along the margins of the Central Basin

b. Phosphate rich

c. Bigby Facies versus Cannon Facies

d. 60/180 wells produced water

e. 75% have < 5 gpm

f. One sixth of wells have H2S

10. Catheys Limestone (50-200’ thick)--silty limestone

a. 65/157 wells produced water

b. 60% have < 5 gpm

c. One quarter produce H2S

11. Leipers Limestone (0-160’ thick)--yellowish and phosphatic

a. 25/55 wells produced; 70 % < 5 gpm; No H2S reported

I. Non-indurated Sediments

A. Probably the best place to look for ground water-Deer Ex.

1. Easy to drill 2. High specific yield

3. Least permeable are silts and clays from old back

swamps and clay plugs

4. Reconstruct the depositional environment. Stream

deposits fine upward.

5. Yields up to 2000 gpm are common

6. Factors to consider in well location

C. Coastal Plain Sediments

1. They fine towards the sea—Paleogeography maps

2. Possible water quality problems include: connate water,

salt water intrusion, high TDS (with clays)

D. Alluvial Fans—Basin and Range Province—Nevada, Utah

1. Losing, braided streams

2. Bajada—coalescing alluvial fans

3. Central drainage to a playa lake

4. Inter-basin transfer of GW is possible

E. Colluvial Fans—eastern equivalent of bajada—common in

Valley and Ridge Province—Johnson City example

--Laure bottled water

1. Broken angular fragments build up fans along slopes

of mountains---sinking and losing streams

F. Glaciated Terranes

1. 10% of the earth has a glacial cover

2. Two broad classification of glacial deposits

a. Till (unsorted)—moraines, drumlins,

ground moraine or till

b. Stratified (sorted)—eskers, kames, kame terraces,

kettles, and outwash plains

3. Reconstruct the paleogreography

4. Eskers, kames, and kame terraces are elevated

landforms and generally too small to hold much GW

5. Outwash plains and pre-glacial valley-fill areas are

large and the best to prospect for GW

6. Water quality is dependent of the rock type

7. Sometimes permeability is so high that contaminants

are not filtered out

II. Ground Water Occurrence in Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks

A. Introduction

1. Metamorphic rocks and Intrusive igneous rocks are

usually poor aquifers due to <1% porosity in

unweathered rock

2. Larger permeabilities occur along faults and fracture

zones. Look for low angled joints to maximize the

number intersected during drilling

3. Joints close off at depth—generally do not drill >300’

4. Better yields occur in areas of thicker weathering such

as valleys and flat uplands

5. Rock types like marble and calcic-rich feldspars are

the best. Dikes composed of diabase are the worst

6. Horizontal shafts can intersect lots of joints—Kanat

B. Extrusive Igneous Rocks

1. Basalts are some of the best aquifers on earth—Snake

Plains Aquifer of S. Idaho

2. Age of basalts important—Older Columbia River

basalts are poor producing

3. Types of porosity

a. Vesicles b. Shrinkage cracks

c. tree molds d. lava tubes

e. buried alluvium f. buried soils

4. Pahoehoe flows are better than aa flows due to more

vesicles and tubes

5. Locating Wells

a. Reconstruct the geomorphology to locate the

ancient valleys

b. Look for faults

c. Look for pahoehoe or cinder zones

III. Sedimentary Rocks

A. Sandstones and soluble limestones are the best

B. Some sandstones have primary porosity, but much flow

Occurs along fractures and bedding planes

1. Look for loosely cemented sandstones or sandstones

that have a calcite cement

2. Find or make an isopach map to determine maximum

thickness

C. Most limestone have little or no primary porosity—younger

Limestones have higher porosity such as Floridan and

Edwards Aquifer—look for reef zones

1. Yield is dependent of degree of karstification

2. Drill on fractures, faults, or into water-filled caves

a. Problem—surface water influences

KARST is a Slavic term meaning "bare stoney ground" just like we see in the Central Basin, TN; Karst is a German word taken from the slavic word "KRAS". Yugoslovia is the "homeland" of karst.

1. It is a type of topography or terrain in which dissolution is the primary form of land lowering (erosion) and usually occurs in limestone and dolomite but also gypsum.
2. About 15% of the earth is karst. About 50% ot TN is karst.
3. Karst is typified by caves, solution enlarged fractures, sinking and losing streams, dry valleys (former surface streams where the streams have been pirated to the subsurface, and sinkholes.

1. There are four types of sinkholes (dolines);

1. Solution are most common-no cave beneath
2. Collapse-enclosed depressions from cave roof collapse///karst windows are collapsed sinkholes with a stream running through them
3. Subsidence sinkholes-form when an overlying cover of unconsolidated material is piped downward
4. Subjacent karst collapse doline

Epikarst—Cutters and Pinnacles

4. Ground water in karst areas is easily polluted due to little or no filtration. Nearly ALL springs in karst are polluted because the water is nothing but cave water-like a surface stream. Giardia and Cryptosporidium are big problems in surface water and in karst springs.

5. There are more caves in Tennessee than any other State. Over 8000 are known.

6. The largest cave in the world is Mammoth Cave, KY with over 350 miles of passages.

7. Two of the 3 deepest pit caves in the US are in TN, each being about 800 feet in total depth; several pits in each one

8. There are 2 broad categories of caves;

a. Horizontal caves which form just below the water table

b. These caves usually have more than one level

corresponding to stationary periods of base level

followed by uplift or change in climate; more commonly, a

perching layer (shale), occurs below the limestone; Caves

usually form right below the water table (Shallow Phreatic

and Perched Water Table theories.

c. Pit Caves form above the water table from water

"drilling" its way down to the water table forming

a "natural well"; deepest single drop in TN is 256 ft.

These caves form above the watertable (Vadose Theory).

9. Cave formations, called speleothems, are usually made of calcite. Stalactites grow down from the ceiling and stalagmites grow up from the floor. Flowstone is also very common as well as rimstone dams.

10.The National Speleological Society is the nations premier organization dedicated to protecting caves. It is composed of over 250 cave clubs called GROTTOS. The Tennessee Central Basin grotto meets in Murfreesboro the first Monday of each month at 7pm in the Red Cross Building.

1. Introduction

1. Used most extensively in karst terranes, but also works in some volcaniic and

Alluvial settings

2. One of the best methods for actually proving a connection between a pollution

Source and a spring or well

3. Also, actually proves the direction of ground water flow and the speed of ground flow

II. Types of Dye Tracers

1. Fluorescein-green
2. Sulphorhodamine B-red
3. Eosine-pink
4. Rhodamine WT-red
5. F&D Red #3-pinkish red

3. Opitical Brighteners/CBS-X----colorless

IV. Methods

1. Perform Karst Inventory
2. Register the dye trace with TN-UIC Program
3. Place the activated charcoal traps (gumdrops) at suspected point(s) of tracer

Emergence—examples include: 1) spring, 2) monitoring wells, 3) home-owner

Wells, 4) karst windows, 5) cave streams

4. Analyse for background concentrations first to choose the best dye
5. Inject the tracer; typical injection points include: 1) sinking streams, 2) sinkholes,

3) cave streams, 4) monitoring wells, 5) dug pits, 6) toilets; a rule of thumb is 1 pound of dye for 1 mile of distance expected to travel; 3 to 5 times more for opitical brightener

6. Flush with clean water: minimum of 500 gallons
7. Change traps initially after about 3 days and then a about week intervals
8. Send to lab that specializes in dye analyzes-scanning spectro-filter fluorometer

22. Other tracers

1. NaCl or BrCl
2. Amorphous silica
3. Advantage of these is no coloration of water
4. Disadvantage of these is the high cost of constant sample collect and labs cost
5. Radioactive tracers/radionuclides: tritium, iodide 131. Cr 58, Br82
6. Advantages of radionuclides are: no color, no chemical change, little absorption, can last a long time depending on half-life
7. Disadvantage of radionuclides are special detection equipment and license to handle, and public outcry due to fear of radioactivity

VI. Qualitative vs Quantitative Tracer

7. Possible reasons for NOT detecting the tracer

1. Number 1 reason is that the wrong spring, well, etc. was monitored
2. Number 2 reason is that not enough tracing agent was used. This could be due to:

1. large aquifer storage, b) adsorption by clays, c) dilution by storm events d) high background, e) photodegraded f) cave lakes caused dilution

VIII. Hints-Dye tracing is commonly referredd to as the "Art of Dye Tracing"

1. Use an experienced karst expert who has performed many dye traces
2. Do a very thorough search for springs. Methods include:

1. canoe the rivers, b) ask a local fisherman c) look on topo and soil survey maps, d) ask the State whether any other traces have been conducted in the area, e) fly over the area—flying is cheap and the pictures will be useful for the final report and for presentations.

1. Use as much flush water as possible
2. Always do more dye traces than believed required for the project
3. Test background twice if possible

I. Essential components from bottom to top:

1. bottom cap, b) well screen surrounded by sand pack, c) bentonite seal on top of sand pack, d) riser pipe, e) grout seal around riser pipe, f) cement apron, g) locking cap, h) guard posts if not flush mounted

1. Well Screen Materials

1. PVC-polyvinyl chloride
2. Stainless steel
3. Teflon (PTFE-polytetrafluoroethylene)

1. Well Diameter—Most monitoring wells or 2" or 4" in diameter

1. Reasons to use a 2" diameter well:

1. Less contaminated purge water to dispose of: law requires 3 well volumes to be purged before sampling (V=Π x r-squared x h to get 1 well volume)

1. Reason to use a 4" diameter is to fit an adequate size pump for later product

I. Graphical method for determining Q,S, and T

II. Construction rules

A. Flowlines are drawn perpendicular to equipotential lines

And are equi-spaced so there can be the same amount

Of discharge between flowlines.

B. Equipotential lines must meet impermeable boundaries

(barriers to GW flow) at right angles; Example barrier

boundaries include: 1) Faults 2) Igneous Intrusions

3) Facies changies

C. Flowlines parallel barrier boundaries.

D. Equipotential lines must parallel constant head (recharge)

Boundaries. Example recharge boundaries are: 1) Fault

III. Horizontal flow nets; the closer the spacing of the lines, the lower

The permeability.

Now use the case of an perfect circular island in a lake with a well

Exactly in the middle. The well is pumped and the cone of

Depression builds out until the lake is intersected

Separation of flowlines is represented by b

Separation of equipotential lines is respresented by a

Q=KAI (cgs) Q=PAI (in English units)

Substitute P=T/M; Yielding Q=T/M (A x I)

But A=L x M where L is the length of the equipotential line

Through which water flows to the well; So,

IV. VERTICAL FLOW NETS

A. For calculating the seepage through an earthen dam or

Beneath a concrete dam.

AB is a recharge boundary

DC is a discharge boundary

BC is a barrier boundary and also represents a flowline

AB is a line of constant potential

AD is a flowline at atmospheric pressure and represents

The top of the water table.

Q= KmH/n times the length of the dam

Q is the total leakage through the dam

K is the hydraulic conductivity

The number of flow channels is m and n is the number

Of equipotential drops

H is the total head loss over the length of the flowline

FOR THE ABOVE DIAGRAM; What is Q for a 300 foot long dam that as a hydraulic conductivity of 900 gpd/ft²?

C. Lower levels over a long time likely have a cumulative effect. Examples:

F. Most foods have higher concentrations than found in water

II. Cadmium

A. Late 1960’s first a disease from this was noted in Japan

1. Extreme bone pain and multiple bone fractures

2. Called Itai-Itai in Japan which translates to ouch-ouch

3. Officially called osteomalacia

4. Concentrates in fish; common sources are mine tailings,

metal smelters;cigarettes

B. This is no physiological need for cadmium; stored in the

Kidneys and liver ((filtered;too big)

1. Eating liver concentrates heavy metals; can cause liver

disease; acute toxic effects at 1.0 mg/d.

2. Zn and Ca can reduce toxic effect

3. Symptoms are like food poisoning

4. Can cause hypertension

5. Natl. Primary Drinking water limit+ 0.01 mg/l

a) 4% of rivers and reservoirs in America tested

exceed this limit

III. Selenium—inorganic, non-metal

A. Essential nutrient to life

1. Forms enzymes, 2) Detoxifies Cd 3) May inhibit some

forms of cancer

B. Some plants such as locoweed can concentrate selenium

C. Large doses such as >10 ppm can cause dermatitis, gastro-

Intestinal problems, and even death

D. Disease called Selenosis—garlic-like body odor; dizziness,

Depression, nervousness, kidney damage

E. NPDL=0.01 mg/l; toxic. 5 mg/d

F. Selenium tablets can be purchased at "Health Food Stores"

IV. Arsenic

A. Not essential to life; very toxic

B. Sources—arsenopyrite; acid mine drainage

C. NPDL= 0.05 mg/l—concentrations as high as 1.4 ppm in GW

Have been found

D. Disease called Arsenosis

E. Initial symptons can be skin pigmentation, gastro-intestinal

And neurological disorders, gangrene, cancer, heart attack

---final "symptom" is death.

V. Lead

A. No known beneficial effect; toxic at 1 mg/l

B. Sources include galena, lead pipes and solder, glazes on cups

And formerly leaded gas and old paint

C. NPDL = 0.05 ppm (1.4% of community water supplies

Exceed this.

D. Federal Action Limit is 15 ppb—at Clemson Univ. several

Water fountains and sink water exceeded this in some

Older buildings

E. Natl. Acad. Sci. recommends a lower limit in urban areas due

To a greater possibility of multiple sources

F. Disease called Plumbism

G. Causes severe personality and behavior problems; affects

The nervous system and kidneys and can accumulate in

Bone and tissure

1. May have contributed to the Fall of the Roman Empire

a. Lead pipes, lead bath tubs, wines fermented in lead

vats

2. Egyptian Pharoahs used lead in cosmetics

3. Third world countries still use lead paint in glazes

VI. Copper

A. Essential for producing enzymes involved with performing

Physiological functions

B. Too much causes overstimulation; insomnia, elevated blood

Pressure; restless and non=productivie behavior

C. NPDL= 1.0 mg/l

D. Sources include: copper pipes, malachite, azurite, and bornite

VII. Zinc

A. Necessary for human metabolism; synthesis of protein, DNA,

And many enzymes

B. Helps heal wounds and is put in cremes for cuts, poison ivy,

Acne, and dandruff shampoos; too little at youth can

Inhibit the growth of the male reproductive system

C. Some studies have shown that zinc can help increase learning

Capacity

D. Deficiency causes stunted growth and poor healing of wound

E. NPDL= 5 mg/l; water tastes bad at > 30 mg/l

F. Sold as a dietary supplement

VIII. Chromium

A. Chromium +3 inhibits arteriosclerosis and also is needed to

Breakdown glucose (sugar) for energy

B. Chromium +6 is toxic if inhaled; lung cancer and suspected to

Cause other cancers

C. NPDL= 0.05 mg/l

D. Concentration in water is so low that most people have a

Chromium deficiency, but I don’t recommend taking more

Without the advise of a medical professional

IX. Lithium

A. Source—spodumene

B. Used to treat manic depression (lithium carbonate)

C. Too much can affect the reproduction system of males

X. Mercury

A. Non-essential; once used as a germicidal and fungicial agent

For medical and agricultural purposes due to high toxicity

B. Disease—Minamata’s Disease—from Minamata Bay, Japan

"Mad Hatters Disease"; flour and seeds have been treated

with mercury compounds In Iraq, Pakistan, Guatamala;

---Big Bend, TX—mercury mining example

C. Fatal oral dose ranges from 20 mg to 3 grams; symptoms of

Acute poisoning are ulcer bleeding, vomiting, hepatitis,

Circulatory collapse; can cause irreversible neurological

Damage.

D. NPDL—0.002 mg/l or 2 ppb

E. Concentrates in fish tissue; accumulates throughout the food

Chain.

XI. Barium

A. No beneficial health effect known

B. Sources include: barite (BaSO4) and witherite (BaCO3)

C. Used in paints, glass, electronics, medical, and a variety of

Industrial applications; drilling mud to prevent blowouts

D. Causes nerve block damage; cardiac and bladder muscle

Damage. Fatal dose between 550 to 600 mg.

E. NPDL ---2 mg/l

XII. Cyanide

A. Occurs naturally and is in many plants and animals as

Metabolic intermediates; not stored for long.

B. Used in many manufacturing practices; used to leach gold

From rock.

C. Renders tissues incapable of exchanging oxygen-

Acutely toxic to fish—limit 0.005 mg/l for fish & wildlife

D. Readily attaches to iron ions and used in titration analyses

E. Amyl nitrite is used to counteract cyanide toxicity

F. Cyanide ingested by humans at <10mg/d is non-toxic because

It is all biotransformed to less toxic thiocyanate.

XIII. Silver

A. Non-essential; no beneficial element

B. Can cause silver deposition in skin, eyes, and mucous

Membranes that causes a blue-gray discoloration without

Apparent systemic reaction

C. Strong bactericide and has been considered as a water disin-

Fectant

D. NPDL is 0.05 mg//l (50 ppb) because once absorbed, it is

Held in body indefinately.

XIV. Trihalomethanes (THM’s-total)

A. Discovered in water in 1974 as a result of chlorinization

B. Chloroform is a carcinogen and is one of 4 compounds which

Form when chlorine mixes with organics

C. It is has been documented that more cancers (bladder &

D. NPDL is 0.10 mg/l for all 4 combined.

XV. Radon Gas

A. Naturally occurring, colorless, odorless, and tasteless

B. From the decay of radium 226

C. Discovered in 1900 and became a health fad; many products

Including chocolate candies, bread, and toothpaste had

Radium and radon added in the early 1900’s; in 1953 a

Contraceptive jelly had radium added.

D. Radon gas is believed to cause 20,000 of 140,000 lung

Cancer deaths; it may also be related to skin cancer, kidney

Cancer, and childhood cancers but still unproven.

E. Health limit is 4 pCi/l which is equal to about 200 chest

X-rays per year.

F. Geology of Radon

1. Related to rock type:

a. Grand Junction, CO, built on uranium mine waste

b. Florida—mine waste from radioactive potassium

in phosphate-rich rock

c. New Jersey—landfill with wastes from radium

process plant

d. Reading Prong—old Precambrian rock in PA

Boyertown, PA—Dec, 1984; home with 3,200

PCi/l.

e. Chattanooga Shale of Mid-Continent

f. Rock fractures in mineralized belt of Bozeman,

g. High levels are found in most caves; Bone Cave

2. Soils; the greater the porosity and permeability the

greater the radon

a. High moisture content traps radon in the soil, but t

too high moisture inhibits radon from moving

through the pores and fractures

b. Most radon moves into homes where the water

content is 20 to 30%.

G. Sources of Radon

1. Gas migrating into basements or broken slabs

2. Degassing at shower heads from water wells

3. Construction material that emits radon or rock homes

built with high radium rock.

H. Measurement Techniques

1. Charcoal canister—3 to 6 day exposure; likely not

representative of the whole year.

2. Alpha-track etch recorder—1 month exposure or longer

3. Pumping of air to search for daughter products.

I. Radon Reduction

1. Better ventilation/construct pipe with a blower

2. Seal cracks or areas where pipes come into the

basement.

XVI. Nitrate

A. Naturally occurring mostly from organic decay in which

Proteins are converted to nitrates;

1. Nitrogen fixing bacteria take N2 and convert it to nitrate

--alfalfa and peas

B. Pollution sources include: fertilizers, sewage, and agriculture

Waste lagoons, and field runoff from grazing livestock

C. Too much nitrate in surface waters causes algal blooms

Deplete streams of oxygen (eutrophication)—kills fish

D. NPDL is 10 mg/l as nitrate-nitrogen—causes

Methemoglobinemia )blue-babies disease; also can cause

Mental retardation in youth

XVII. Phosphate

A. Little is found in rocks but apatite (CaSO4) deposits occur

Such as in Florida.

B. The worst pollution source use to be phosphate detergents—

The phosphates were used to get rid of hardness

C. Phosphates can cause eutrophication in streams similar to

Nitrates.

D. Oshkosh, WI—sediments below a match factory are so high

In phosphorus they are reported to ignite

XVIII. Chloride

A. Natural sources include: halite, sylvite, sodalite; found as a

Connate brine in "deeper groundwaters"; higher in rain

Waters near the coast; there are also natural salt springs;

The Arkansas River has high cloride levels due to salt

Springs in the headwaters in Kansas.

B. Contamination sources include: road salt, oil field brines,

Septic tanks, wastewater discharge, salt water

C. NPDL is 250 mg/l most for esthetic reasons but high sodium

Is bad for the heart

XIX. Sulfate

A. Natural sources include: gypsum, pyrite, marcasite

B. Sulfate reducing bacteria derive energy by obtaining oxygen

From sulfate and give of hydrogen sulfide, thus reducing

The sulfate levels; natural occurring sulfur springs

Hydrogen sulfide and high sulfates are common in the

Aquifers of the Central Basin particularly the

Murfreesboro Limestone.

XX. Iron

A. Natural sources include: pyrite (most common), pyroxenes,

Biotite, magnitite, hematite

B. Most common pollution source is acid mine drainage usually

From coal and gold mining where the source is pyrite

--ferrous iron is oxidized and produces a yellowish-orange

hydroxide known as yellow boy

--the reaction lowers the pH commonly to < 3.

C. Potato industry example in Idaho

D. NPDL is 0.3 mg/l

XXI. Calcium, Magnesium, & Total Hardness

A. Calcite (CaCO3) in limestone and dolomite (CaMgCO3) are

The primary sources in sedimentary rock terranes.

B. Total hardness is defined as the soap neutralizing power of

Ions—causes precipitation of soap curds; ions include:

Calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, copper, zinc, bari

C. Total hardness scale is: 0-60 ppm=soft, 61-120=mod. Hard,

121-200 ppm=hard, >200 ppm= very hard.

D. Many researchers have found a relationship of higher

Hardness and less occurrence of heart disease

E. There is no relationship between hardening of the arteries &

Kidney stones.

XXII. Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and Specific Conductance

A. TDS is the amount of residue left after evaporation

B. NPDL=500 mg/l

C. Specific Conductance is an easy field method of closely

Approximating TDS; TDS=(0.65) times the Spc. Cond.

I. THE BEGINNING

A. Title Page—A book is still judged by its cover

B. Table of Contents

C. List of Figures

D. List of Tables

E. List of Photographs

II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

III. INTRODUCTION

A. Purpose

B. Site History

1. Past work by consulting companies

IV. LOCATION OF THE SITE

A. Physiographic province, county, topo map; drainage

V. HYDROGEOLOGIC OVERVIEW

A. Geologic information

B. Water table/ground water information

C. Soils information

D. References for above is desired

VI. METHODS

A. Soil sample collection methods

1. Geoprobe; split spoon/hollow stem auger

B. Piezometer and monitoring well installation

1. Drilling/installation methods

2. Water level measurement techniques

3. Surveying

C. Water sample collection methods

1. Pump/bail techniques

2. Disposal method of 3 well volumes

D. One-mile radius survey

1. Drillers’ logs

2. Use of ground water in the area

E. Photo-lineament analysis/rock fracture measurement methods

F. Geophysical Techniques

G. Pumping tests/Slug tests methods

1. Calculation methods (references needed)

VII. RESULTS

A. Soil sampling

1. Extent of vertical and horizontal contaminantion

2. Descriptive logs of boreholes

3. K values from Shelby tubes

B. Water table map

1. Direction of Ground water flow

2. Change with the season

C. Pumping test/slug test results

1. Transmissivity and storativity values

2. Calculation of ground water velocity

D. Water sample results

1. Type of contamination

2. Extent of contamination (size and shape of plume)

E. Fracture trend analysis

1. Preferred orientations—rosette diagrams

2. Implication regarding contaminant transport

F. One-mile radius survey results

1. Use of ground water by home-owners

2. Other contaminated sites vs your site

3. Surface water bodies that could be influences

a) Surface water supply sources possibly influenced

G. Geophysics result

1. Definition of cell boundaries by EM or magnetometer

2. Soil/bedrock interface by seismic or resistivity

VIII. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATION

A. Implications of the results

B. Future work necessary

X. DISCLAIMER

XI. REFERENCES

XII. APPENDICES

I. There are 6 major physiographic provinces; from east

To west these are:

A. Blue Ridge (Unaka Mtns)—PreCambrian gneiss,

Schists, slates, and granite.

B. Valley and Ridge—primarily Cambrian and

Ordovician limestones, dolomites, sandstones,

And shales; the valleys are usually limestone

And dolomite or shale; the ridges are usually

Sandstone or sandy dolomite. The rocks are

Folded and faulted; thrust faults are most

Common. Knox Group (3000’ thick)

C. Cumberland Plateau—Pennsylvanian-aged coal,

Conglomerates (Sewannee), sandstones, and

shale

D. Eastern and Western Highland Rim—Mississipp

Ian-aged rocks; primarily limestone.

E. Central Basin—Ordovician-aged limestones

MTSU is underlain by Ridley Limestone.

Beneath that is the Pierce Limestone

(shaly), and beneath that is the

Murfreesboro Limestone (main aquifer).

F. Coastal Plain—Cretaceous, Tertiary, and

Quaternary (recent) unconsolidated sands with

Some clays. Memphis sand aquifer