Location
Columbia, SC
Event Website
http://www.clemson.edu/public/sc_water_resources/index.html
Start Date
12-10-2016 8:00 AM
Description
The Floridan aquifer of the Southeastern United States is an important freshwater resource for private and commercial groundwater users. Within the past few decades, certain parts of the aquifer have experienced saltwater intrusion, which has affected the viability of this critical freshwater resource. Groundwater withdrawals, variability in recharge and discharge rates, and sea level rise has caused saltwater to advance into this and other freshwater coastal aquifers. While the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SC DNR) monitors conductivity in several coastal Floridan aquifer wells, a comprehensive hydrochemical saltwater intrusion study of the aquifer in the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester tri-county region of South Carolina has not been conducted since the publication of a SC DNR report in 1985. The goal of this current project, conducted in cooperation between SC DNR and the College of Charleston, is to inspect the water quality in Floridan aquifer wells in the tri-county region to determine the extent of saltwater intrusion within the aquifer. Objectives of this project include analyzing and mapping the location of the freshwater-saltwater interface, using hydrochemical analyses to identify signal elements of saltwater intrusion in the aquifer, and providing updated information regarding the groundwater resources of the Floridan aquifer in the study area. In-situ hydrochemical data from Floridan wells and associated geospatial analyses have indicated the areas of the study region likely impacted by saltwater intrusion, and current and future work will include analysis of well water for strontium, bromide and boron to serve as signal elements. Correlations between these elements and chloride concentrations will also be established to strengthen a model of saltwater intrusion. These results about the properties of the Floridan aquifer are in high demand for many stakeholders, including municipalities, agricultural operations, industrial activities, and natural resource managers who depend on a stable source of groundwater as public and private water supplies.
Included in
A Multiple Method Approach to Evaluate Landward Migration of Seawater Intrusion in the Floridian Aquifer
Columbia, SC
The Floridan aquifer of the Southeastern United States is an important freshwater resource for private and commercial groundwater users. Within the past few decades, certain parts of the aquifer have experienced saltwater intrusion, which has affected the viability of this critical freshwater resource. Groundwater withdrawals, variability in recharge and discharge rates, and sea level rise has caused saltwater to advance into this and other freshwater coastal aquifers. While the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SC DNR) monitors conductivity in several coastal Floridan aquifer wells, a comprehensive hydrochemical saltwater intrusion study of the aquifer in the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester tri-county region of South Carolina has not been conducted since the publication of a SC DNR report in 1985. The goal of this current project, conducted in cooperation between SC DNR and the College of Charleston, is to inspect the water quality in Floridan aquifer wells in the tri-county region to determine the extent of saltwater intrusion within the aquifer. Objectives of this project include analyzing and mapping the location of the freshwater-saltwater interface, using hydrochemical analyses to identify signal elements of saltwater intrusion in the aquifer, and providing updated information regarding the groundwater resources of the Floridan aquifer in the study area. In-situ hydrochemical data from Floridan wells and associated geospatial analyses have indicated the areas of the study region likely impacted by saltwater intrusion, and current and future work will include analysis of well water for strontium, bromide and boron to serve as signal elements. Correlations between these elements and chloride concentrations will also be established to strengthen a model of saltwater intrusion. These results about the properties of the Floridan aquifer are in high demand for many stakeholders, including municipalities, agricultural operations, industrial activities, and natural resource managers who depend on a stable source of groundwater as public and private water supplies.
https://open.clemson.edu/scwrc/2016/2016posters/11
