Full Description

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Virginia Department ofHealth, is conducting a study to determine the susceptibility to near-surfacecontamination of regional aquifers that serve as sources for public watersupplies. The study is part of the Virginia Source Water Assessment Program,which is coordinated by the Virginia Department of Health, Office of WaterPrograms. The results of this study will be used to categorize publicgroundwater supplies and identify those that require detailed source waterassessments. The fundamental premise of the study is that groundwater age can beused as a guide for designating aquifers in terms of susceptibility. The age ofgroundwater is defined as the time since the water was recharged and isolatedfrom the atmosphere. Various environmental isotopes and tracers will be used todetermine the apparent age of groundwater samples. The study is designed tosample public supply wells that are representative of Virginia's regionalaquifers. Approximately 160 sites will be sampled; sampling began in 1998 andwill continue through the year 2000. Susceptibility designations will beassigned to the regional aquifers based on statistical and geospatial analysis ofthe age determinations from samples collected as part of this study and previousstudies by the U.S. Geological Survey. Major production and usage of regulatedchemicals have occurred since the mid 1940s, following World War II. Regionalaquifers containing water recharged during the past 50 years will beconsidered susceptible to contamination from near surface sources. Differentparts or areas of a single regional aquifer may be assigned differentsusceptibility designations based on the evaluation of the relation betweengroundwater age and factors such as hydrogeologic setting or well constructionpractices in the regional aquifer. Includes 24 references, tables, figures.

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Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 09/01/1999 Number of Pages: 10File Size: 1 file , 1.5 MB