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At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources
USGS1992

Well-construction, water-level, geophysical, and water-quality data for ground-water monitoring wells for Arnold Air Force Base, Tennessee

Sixty-five wells were installed at 39 sites in the Arnold Air Force Base area in Coffee and Franklin Counties, Tennessee. The wells were installed to provide information on subsurface lithology, aquifer characteristics, ground-water levels, and ground-water quality. Well depths ranged from 11 to 384 feet. Water-quality samples were collected from 60 wells and analyzed for common inorganic ions, trace metals, and volatile organic compounds. The median dissolved-solids concentrations were 60 milligrams per liter in the shallow aquifer, 48 million gallons per liter in the Manchester aquifer, 1,235 milligrams per liter in the Fort Payne aquifer, and 1,712 milligrams per liter in the upper Central Basin aquifer. Caliper, temperature, natural gamma, electric, neutron porosity, gamma-gamma density, and acoustic velocity borehole-geophysical logs were obtained for the six deep wells completed below the Chattanooga Shale. Petrographic and modal analysis were performed on rock samples from each deep well. These six deep wells provide the first information in the study area on hydraulic head and water quality from below the Chattanooga Shale.

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USGS1992

Hydrogeologic, water-quality, streamflow, bottom-sediment analyses, and biological data near the Wayne County landfill, Wayne County, Tennessee

This report summarizes the data collected as part of a hydrogeologic investigation to determine the effects of the Wayne County landfill on local water quality. The investigation was conducted from 1988 through 1989 by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Tennessee Department of Health and Environment, Division of Superfund. The landfill was closed in November 1984 after allegations that contaminants from the landfill were affecting the quality of water from domestic wells in the Banjo Branch-Hardin Hollow valley. Test well construction data; water-quality data for selected wells, seeps, and surface-water sites: streamflow data from Banjo Branch; analyses of bottom-sediment samples: and biological data for the study area are documented in this report.

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USGS1992

Rainfall, streamflow, and peak stage data collected at the Murfreesboro, Tennessee, gaging network, March 1989 through July 1992

Rainfall, stage, and streamflow data in the Murfreesboro area, Middle Tennessee, were collected from March 1989 through July 1992 from a network of 68 gaging stations. The network consists of 10 tipping-bucket rain gages, 2 continuous-record streamflow gages, 4 partial-record flood hydrograph gages, and 72 crest-stage gages. Data collected by the gages includes 5minute time-step rainfall hyetographs, 15-minute time-step flood hydrographs, and peak-stage elevations. Data are stored in a computer data base and are available for many computer modeling and engineering applications.

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USGS1992

Potential effects of dredging the South Fork Obion River on ground-water levels near Sidonia, Weakley County, Tennessee

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has proposed dredging an approximate 7-mile reach of the South Fork Obion River near Sidonia, Tennessee. This dredging will have an effect on ground-water levels in a wetland area near the river. The river cuts into a sandy aquifer that is confined by an overlying clay layer. Ground water in the confined aquifer flows from a ridge on the north side of the study area toward the river. Estimates of aquifer transmissivity range from 3,300 to 18,800 feet squared per day. Assuming a 3-foot decline in stream stage due to dredging, the maximum decline in ground-water levels would be about 2.4 feet at low flow. Ground-water levels in the aquifer would decline by at least 2 feet at a distance of 0.5 mile from the river within 60 days after the change in stream stage, regardless of the assumed transmissivity value. Water-level declines in the upper clay layer probably would be much smaller. The time required for a specified change in ground-water level is dependent on the aquifer properties and distance from the river.

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USGS1992

Hydrogeology, water quality, and potential for transport of organochlorine pesticides in ground water at the North Hollywood Dump, Memphis, Tennessee

Geologic, hydrologic, and water-quality data indicate that ground-water contamination is confined to shallow horizons within the unconfined aquifer underlying the North Hollywood Dump in Memphis, Tennessee. The dump is a closed municipal-industrial landfill that has been ranked as Tennessee's potentially most dangerous hazardous-waste site. Toxic constituents of concern at the dump include residues from the manufacture of organochlorine pesticides. The dump overlies an unconfined aquifer of unconsolidated sands, silts, and clays. During average hydrologic conditions, ground waterflows beneath the dump at a mean velocity of approximately 3 feet per day and discharges to the Wolf River. Leachate from the dump mixes with underlying ground water, resulting in increased concentrations of dissolved solids and organic carbon downgradient from the dump. The mobility of chlordane, a representative organochlorine pesticide, is limited by its low solubility and its strong affinity for sand, silt, and clays of the aquifer. Degradation of chlordane may occur slowly, if at all, in the aquifer. Based on estimates of mean ground-water velocity and retardation of the pesticide due to sorption, mean travel times for chlordane migrating from the dump to the ground-water discharge zone are of the order of 50 to 500 years. Simulations of chlordane concentration resulting from the discharge of contaminated ground water and complete mixing in the Wolf River are sensitive to assumptions about chlordane persistence in the unconfined aquifer. If the half life of chlordane in the aquifer is assumed to be 30 years or less, the simulated concentration of chlordane in the Wolf River under average flow conditions is less than the most stringent water-quality criterion.

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USGS1992

Nonpoint-source pollutant discharges of the three major tributaries to Reelfoot Lake, west Tennessee, October 1987-September 1989

An investigation of the concentration and loads of nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended sediment in storm runoff to Reelfoot Lake, in western Tennessee, was conducted from October 1987 through September 1989. Concentrations of selected herbicides also were defined. Reelfoot Lake, with a surface area of about 15,500 acres, is the largest natural lake in Tennessee and an important recreation and fisheries resource. Previous studies showed that the lake is hypereutrophic, a condition caused by high concentrations of nutrients in water and sediments discharged from the three principal tributaries (South Reelfoot Creek, North Reelfoot Creek, and Running Slough) to the lake. Pesticides, including herbicides, have been detected in the lake's bottom sediments. Storm runoff contributed about 87percent of the total water discharge of the three main tributaries to Reelfoot Lake. South Reelfoot Creek contributed about 4.7 tons per acre per year of suspended sediment, while North Reelfoot Creek contributed about 1.9 tons per acre per year. Running Slough contributed only about 0.31 ton per acre per year of suspended sediment. Most of the suspended sediment was transported by storm runoff between October and March. About 80 percent of the annual streamflow of the three tributaries occurs during these months. The North Reelfoot Creek basin contributed 8.2 pounds per acre per year of total nitrogen and 2.4 pounds per acre per year of total phosphorus. South Reelfoot Creek basin contributed about 6.5 and 1.3 pounds per acre per year of total nitrogen and phosphorus, respectively, while Running Slough basin contributions were 3.4 and 0.86 pounds per acre per year, respectively. The differences in nutrient yields appear to result from more row-crop agriculture and the relatively steeply sloping agricultural land in the North Reelfoot Creek basin. Ninety-one percent of the total nitrogen load and 95 percent of the total phosphorus load in the three streams was transported by storm runoff. Significant differences in the mean concentrations of nutrients in runoff were defined between the active agricultural months (April through September) and the inactive months (October through March). Storm-runoff samples were analyzed for II selected triazine herbicides. Alachlor and atrazine were the most commonly detected herbicides. Thirty-two percent of the samples contained detectable levels of alachlor and 93 percent of the samples contained detectable levels of atrazine. Ninety percent of the samples collected during the active agricultural months contained detectable leveki of alachlor and all 29 samples contained detectable levels of atrazine. Sixteen samples exceeded lifetime health-advisory levels for atrazine in drinking water (3 micrograms per liter); two samples collected from the April IS, 1988, storm at North Reelfoot Creek and South Reelfoot Creek contained 42 and 57 micrograms per liter of atrazine, respectively. Concentrations of the other nine triazine herbicides were generally less than the level of detection (0.1 microgram per liter).

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USGS1992

Hydrogeology, ground-water quality, and potential for water-supply contamination near the Shelby County landfill in Memphis, Tennessee

An investigation was conducted from 1989 to 1991 to collect and interpret hydrogeologic and ground-water-quality data specific to the Shelby County landfill in east Memphis, Tennessee. Eighteen wells were installed in the alluvial and Memphis aquifers at the landfill. Hydrogeologic data collected showed that the confining unit separating the alluvial aquifer from the Memphis aquifer was thin or absent just north of the landfill and elsewhere consists predominantly of fine sand and silt with lenses of clay. A water-table map of the landfill vicinity confirms the existence of a depression in the water table north and northeast of the landfill and indicates that ground water flows northeast from the Wolf River passing beneath the landfill toward the depression in the water table. A map of the potentiometric surface of the Memphis aquifer shows that water levels were anomalously high just north of the landfill, indicating downward leakage of water from the alluvial aquifer to the Memphis aquifer. An analysis of water-quality data for major and trace inorganic constituents and nutrients confirms that leachate from the landfill has migrated northeastward in the alluvial aquifer toward the depression in the water table and that contaminants in the alluvial aquifer have migrated downward into the Memphis aquifer. The leachate plume can be characterized by concentrations of certain major and trace inorganic constituents that are 2 to 20 times higher than samples from upgradient and background alluvial aquifer wells. The major and trace constituents that best characterize the leachate plume are total organic carbon, chloride, dissolved solids, iron, ammonia nitrogen, calcium, sodium, iodide, barium, strontium, boron, and cadmium. Several of these constituents (specifically dissolved solids, calcium, sodium, and possibly ammonia nitrogen, chloride, barium, and strontium) were detected in elevated concentrations in samples from certain Memphis aquifer wells. Elevated concentrations were detected in samples from the Memphis aquifer beneath the leachate plume where the confining unit is thin or absent. The distribution of halogenated alkanes (specifically dichlorodifluoromethane and trichlorofluoromethane) and halogenated alkenes (specifically 1,2-trans-dichloroethene and vinyl chloride) in samples from wells screened in both the alluvial and Memphis aquifers is similar to the distribution of major and trace inorganic constituents that characterize the leachate plume. The ground-water supply most susceptible to contamination from the Shelby County landfill is the Sheahan well field of the Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division. This well field is about 5 miles downgradient from the landfill in the direction of ground-water flow. Based on an estimated velocity of 0.5 to 1.5 feet per day, ground water would require about 50 to 150 years to travel from the Shelby County landfill to the Sheahan wellfield. Given the time and distance of transport, any contaminants in the ground water would not likely persistto reach this well field because of the effects of various physical, chemical, and biological processes, including dilution and adsorption.

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USGS1992

Public water-supply systems and water use in Tennessee, 1988

This report summarizes the results of a study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), Division of Water Supply in 1988. Data gathered during an inventory by the TDEC were collated to determine water use, supply sources, population served, and design and storage capacities of the systems. The inventory was limited to systems that were active on June 30, 1988. Results of a survey of the systems conducted by the Tennessee Department of Health and Environment during 1988 were a primary source of data for this report. Data from computer and manual files maintained by the Tennessee Department of Health and Environment and the U.S. Geological Survey also were used. The Division of Water Supply, TDEC, surveyed 541 public water-supply systems. These systems served 81 percent of the population of the State, or 3.95 million people. The gross per capita use statewide for public-supplied water was 179 gallons per day. Total water withdrawals for public supply increased about 39 percent from 510 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) in 1980, to 708 Mgalld in 1988. During the same period, the population increased about 7 percent. Surface-water withdrawals accounted for 63 percent (446 Mgal/d) of the total water withdrawn in the State. All of these withdrawals occurred in the Tennessee (56 percent or 249 Mgal/d) and the Ohio (44 percent or 197 Mgalld) hydrologic regions. Ground water supplied 262 Mgal/d or 37 percent of the total water withdrawn by public-supply systems statewide. Of that amount, 79 percent, or 208 Mgalld, was used in western Tennessee.

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USGS1992

Hydrology of the Cave Springs area near Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee

The hydrology of Cave Springs, the second largest spring in East Tennessee was investigated from July 1987 to September 1989. Wells near the spring supply about 5 million gallons per day of potable water to people in Hamilton County near Chattanooga. Discharge from the spring averaged about 13.5 cubic feet per second (8.72 million gallons per day) during the study period. Withdrawals by the Hixson Utility District from wells upgradient from the outflow averaged 8.6 cubic feet per second (5.54 million gallons per day). Aquifer tests using wells intersecting a large solution cavity supplying water to the spring showed a drawdown of less than 3 feet with a discharge of 9,000 gallons per minute or 20 cubic feet per second. Temperature and specific conductance of ground water near the spring outflow were monitored hourly. Temperatures ranged from 13.5 to 18.2 degrees celsius, and fluctuated seasonally in response to climate. Specific-conductance values ranged from 122 to 405 microsiemens per centimeter at 25 degrees Celsius, but were generally between 163 to 185 microsiemens per centimeter. The drainage area of the basin recharging the spring system was estimated to be 1O square miles. A potentiometric map of the recharge basin was developed from water levels measured at domestic and test wells in August 1989. Aquifer tests at five test wells in the study area indicated that specific-capacity values for these wells ranged from 4.1 to 261 gallons per minute per foot of drawdown. Water-quality characteristics of ground water in the area were used in conjunction with potentiometric-surface maps to delineate the approximate area contributing recharge to Cave Springs.

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USGS1992

Lead exposure and recovery rates of black ducks banded in Tennessee

American black ducks ( Anas rubripes ) wintering in Tennessee during 1986 to 1988 were tested for exposure to lead. Twelve percent of the birds had blood lead concentrations exceeding 0.2 ppm. Significant differences in the prevalence of lead exposure were found for adults (14.4%) and juveniles (8.2%). Exposed birds had higher blood lead concentrations at one study site, corresponding with a lower survival index.

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USGS1991

A pilot study for delineation of areas contributing water to wellfields at Jackson, Tennessee

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Tennessee Department of Health and Environment, Division of Groundwater Protection, and the Jackson Utility Division, conducted a pilot study to determine data needs and the applicability of four methods for the delineation of wellhead protection areas. Jackson Utility Division in Jackson, Madison County, Tennessee, pumps about 9 million gallons of ground water daily from two municipal wellfields that tap an unconfined sand aquifer. Under natural hydraulic gradients, ground waterflows southward toward the South Wellfield at approximately 2 to 3 feet per day; natural flow toward the North Wellfield from the east at 1 to 2 feet per day. Water quality generally is suitable for most uses. Concentrations of dissolved solids are low, and excessive iron is the only significant naturally occurring water-quality problem. However, trace concentrations of volatile organic compounds have been detected in water pumps from the South Wellfield; the highest concentration of a single compound has been 23 micrograms per liter of tetrachloroethylene. Potential sources of ground-water contamination in the Jackson area include a hazardous-waste site, municipal and industrial landfill, and underground-storage tanks. Some of the four method for delineating wellhead protection areas did not adequately describe zones contributing flow to the wellfields. Calculations based on a uniform flow equation provided a preliminary delineation of zones of contribution for the wellfields and ground-water time-of-travel contours. Limitations of the applied methods motivated the design of a more rigorous hydrogeologic investigation.

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USGS1991

Reconnaissance of the occurrence of agricultural chemicals in ground water in Haywood, Lake, Obion and Shelby Counties, Tennessee

Data on the occurrence of agricultural chemicals in ground wafer in Tennessee are sparse. The surficial alluvial aquifer is an important source of domestic water supply in West Tennessee, and potentially is subject fo contamination from the application of agricultural chemicals in the area. Nineteen shallow wells completed in the alluvial aquifers in areas of high density agricultural use were sampled in the winter and again in the summer of 1988 to ascertain the occurrence of agricultural chemical in ground water. Although no triazine herbicides or organophosphorus insecticides were detected in any of the wells sampled, elevated nitrite plus nitrate (as nitrogen) concentrations were detected. Results from the winter sampling period indicate a range of nitrite plus nitrate (as nitrogen) concentrations of less than 0.1 to 7.8 milligrams per liter with a median concentration of 2.6 milligrams per liter. Results from the summer sampling period indicate a range of nitrite plus nitrate (as nitrogen) concentrations of less than 0.1 to 8.9 milligrams per liter, median, 2.5 milligrams per liter. The highest concentrations occurred in the shallowest wells, and, in one instance, in a shallow well near a heavily irrigated field.

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USGS1991

Ground-water hydrology and the effects of vertical leakage and leachate migration on ground-water quality near the Shelby County landfill, Memphis, Tennessee

An investigation of potential leakage of leachate from the Shelby County landfill near Memphis, West Tennessee, was conducted during 1986-87. The migration of leachate from the landfill to the shallow alluvial aquifer system and the potential leakage to the deeper confined Memphis aquifer of Tertiary age were investigated. A network of observation wells was drilled to determine water levels and aquifer properties in the shallow and deep aquifers as well as in the confining layer. Water samples were collected to define potential leachate occurrence. A depression in the water table within the shallow alluvial aquifer was defined from the water-level data. Drawdowns within the cone of depression are as much as 14 feet lower than the adjoining Wolf River. Recharge from the river and leachate from the landfill moves toward the depression. The presence of leachate within the shallow aquifer was confirmed from determinations of dissolved solids and dissolved chloride concentrations and comparisons with areas away from the aflected zone. Leakage from the water-table aquifer to the Memphis aquifer was confirmed from chemical analyses and hydraulic-head data. Dissolved-solids concentrations in water samples from the upper Memphis aquifer near the landfill are higher than in samples from the Memphis aquifer in unaffected areas. Tritium activities in water samples from the upper Memphis aquifer were as high as 34 pico-Curies per liter indicating recent recharge to the Memphis aquifer. The presence of synthetic organic compounds and elevated concentrations of dissolved solids, chloride, and trace metals indicate the leachate has aflected water quality in the alluvial aquifer. Vertical migration of ground water could transmit leachate down to the Memphis aquifer. Although water-quality data indicate that water is leaking from the alluvial aquifer to the Memphis aquifer, most of the data do not indicate the occurrence of leachate in the Memphis aquifer. Chemical data from one well in the Memphis aquifer near the landfill indicates a slightly elevated dissolved-chloride concentration, but the data are limited.

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USGS1991

Delineation of ground-water contamination using soil-gas analyses near Jackson, Tennessee

An investigation of the ground-water resources near Jackson, West Tennessee, was conducted during 1988-89. The study included determination of the occurrence of contaminants in the shallow aquifer using soil-gas analyses in the unsaturated zone. Between 1980 and 1988, an underground fuel-storage tank leaked about 3,000 gallons of unleaded fuel to the water table about 4 feet below land surface. A survey of soil gas using a gas chromatograph equipped with a photoionization detector showed concentrations of volatile organic compounds greater than IO, 000 parts per million near the leak These compounds were detected in an area about 240 feet long and 110 feet wide extending west from the point source. The chromatograms provided two distinct 'fingerprints' of volatile organic compounds. The first revealed the presence of benzene, toluene, andxylenes, which are constituents of unleaded fuel, in addition to other volatile compounds, in soil gas in the area near the leak The second did not reveal any detectable benzene, toluene, or xylenes in the soil-gas samples, but showed the presence of other unidentified volatile organic compounds in soil gas north of the storage tank. The distribution of total concentrations of volatile organic compounds in the unsaturated zone indicated that a second plume about 200 feet long and 90 feet wide was present about 100 feet north of the storage tank The second plume could have been the result of previous activities at this site during the 1950's or earlier. Activities at the site are believed to have included storage of solvents used at the nearby railyard and flushing of tanks containing tar onto a gravel-covered parking area. The delineation of these plumes has shown that soil-gas analyses can be a useful technique for identifying areas of contamination with volatile organic compounds in shallow water-table aquifers and may have broad applications in similar situations where the water table is relatively close to the surface.

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USGS1991

Surficial geology of the Cane Creek basin, Lauderdale County, Tennessee

The surficial geology of the Cane Creek basin, in Lauderdale County, West Tennessee, was studied from 1985-88. Peoria Loess is the parent material from which soils in the Cane Creek drainage basin were derived. In general, a brown silt grades into a gray silt from 5 to I7 feet below ground surface. This color change probably represents depth to water table prior to the channelization of Cane Creek. Only at river mile 11.9 does rock outcrop near the main channel. Lower reaches of major tributaries have surficial geology similar to the main channel. In upper reaches of Hyde Creek and Fain Spring Creek, the sequence from the surface is sand and gravels, red-brown sandstone, sand and clay layers, and then, an orange sand layer. Coarse-grained deposits are found most often along the northern boundary of the basin and only occasionally in areas to the west and south of the main channel. Depth to sand or gravel ranges from about 0 to 158 feet in the uplands, and generally deeper than 40 feet near the main channel.

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USGS1991

Characterization of bottom-sediment, water, and elutriate chemistry at selected stations at Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee

To better-understand and predict the potential effect of dredging on water quality at Reelfoot Lake, chemical analyses were conducted on samples of lake water, bottom sediment, and elutriate water. Chemical analyses were conducted on samples of lake water, bottom sediment, and elutriate water collected at five stations in the lake during November 1988. Lake water was of the calcium magnesium bicarbonate type with an average dissolved-solids concentration of 120 milligrams per liter. Trace constituents were present in bottom sediments at concentrations representative of their average relative abundance in the earth?s crust. Elutriate waters prepared by mixing bottom sediment and lake water had suspended-solids concentrations as high as 2,000 milligrams per liter which exerted significant oxygen demand Trace constituents in the unfiltered elutriate waters were elevated with respect to lake water; elevated concentrations were attributable to the increased suspended-solids concentrations. Concentrations of total-recoverable copper, lead., and zinc in many elutriate waters exceeded U.S. Environmental Protection Agency?s water-quality criteria for the protection of freshwater aquatic life. The toxicity of elutriate waters, as measured by a 48-hour bioassay with Ceriodaphnia dubia, was low.

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