Description:
County-wide Groundwater Availability and Sensitivity Assessment North Carolina 2008 - present

Analytical Services, Inc. (ASI) personnel are providing assistance to a County Government in Western North Carolina by performing a County-wide groundwater availability study. The study will also include identifying potential contaminants and areas of groundwater sensitivity.

The first phase of this project has involved assembling a county wide database of existing groundwater supply wells. A well records search was conducted and involved review of available well logs in the NC DENR office for both private and public water supply wells. Well data has also been obtained from drilling firms who maintain historical drilling records. A database has been assembled that includes specific information for each well including; well yield, depth to rock, total depth and address location. ASI personnel then traveled to the location of each well and gathered latitude and longitude coordinates with a GPS unit. The completed database will have specific well log information along with geo-referenced locations for each well. Information from this database, such as total depth, depth to rock, and reported yield will be sorted and analyzed based on the actual geographic location of the individual wells.

The second phase of this project will involve the delineation of unique hydrogeologic units. This portion of the project is currently in progress and will entail an involved assessment of lithology, geologic structure, soils and landscape position to enable a delineation of hydrogeologic units with unique characteristics. Once delineated geo-referenced well data from within each hydrogeologic unit will be analyzed and used within a groundwater availability model to determine a relative rating with respect to groundwater availability.

Groundwater sensitivity will also be assessed based on the presence of identified contaminant threats and on areas of perceived source value with respect to groundwater supply.