Geohydrologic appraisal of water resources of the South Fork, Long Island, New York

Abstract

The groundwater resources of the South Fork of Long Island, N.Y., were investigated from April 1974 to September 1977. The study area encompasses 137 square miles and includes the eastern part of the Town of Southampton and the entire Town of East Hampton. The South Fork consists of a Paleozoic basement complex that is overlain by Cretaceous and Pleistocene sediments. The surficial material is composed of Late Wisconsinan glacial and glaciofluvial deposits in association with beach and marsh deposits of Recent age. Till underlies most of the eastern part of the South Fork. Precipitation is the sole source of fresh ground water on the South Fork. Average annual precipitation recorded at Bridgehampton from 1931-76 is 45 inches; about half this amount reaches the groundwater reservoir. It is estimated that overland runoff amounts to 0.5 inches per year, and evapotranspiration is 23 inches per year. Thus, recharge equals approximately 22 inches per year. Hydraulic conductivity and transmissivity of the Magothy (Cretaceous) and upper glacial (Pleistocene) aquifers on the South Fork were estimated from aquifer tests and specific-capacity data. The average horizontal hydraulic conductivity of the Magothy aquifer is 70 feet per day, and of the upper glacial aquifer 350 feet per day. Transmissivity of the Magothy aquifer on the South Fork ranges from 600 to 24,100 feet squared per day; transmissivity of the upper glacial aquifer ranges from 5,400 feet to 22,700 feet squared per day. No potable water is available from the underlying Lloyd aquifer. The position of the freshwater to saline-water interface is depicted in maps. In the southern part of the area, the freshwater reservoir follows the Ghyben-Herzberg principle, but in the northern part, the depth to interface is less than expected owing to a greater degree of anisotropy of the geologic units. Total public-supply pumpage on the South Fork is estimated to be about 3 Mgal/day, (million gallons per day). Public-supply withdrawls in 1976 averaged 2.75 Mgal/day; of this amount, 2.55 Mgal/day was withdrawn from the upper glacial aquifer, and 0.17 Mgal/day from the Magothy aquifer. Ground water and fresh surface water on the South Fork are generally of suitable quality for drinking and most other uses. However, some substances, for example, iron, chloride, and nitrate, may occur locally in objectionable concentrations. TABLE 2. Estimated major public-supply withdrawals on the South Fork,

Last interglacial sea-level proxies in the glaciated Northern Hemisphere

“…The so-called "Gardiners Clay" is present at depth in several borehole records between 20 and 45 m b.s.l. in various well records in this region (Nemickas and Koszalka, 1982). Palaeo-ontological work revealed a variety of warmwater fauna, including foraminifera, coelenterata, bryozoa and mollusca (Gustavson, 1972), confirming a marine origin for these sediments.…”

“…At the Bridgehampton site, the Gardiners Clay was encountered between 23 and 46 m b.s.l. (Nemickas and Koszalka, 1982).…”

“…The Gardiners Clay is provisionally assigned to the LIG, based on stratigraphic context and amino acid dating. Stratigraphically, this marine unit is overlain by a series of Pleistocene deposits, notably the Montauk till, associated with the most recent (MIS 2) glaciation (Nemickas and Koszalka, 1982). Moreover, at some sites, the Gardiners Clay is underlain by a gravel deposit (Jameco Gravel;Fuller, 1914) that has been associated with fluvial or glaciofluvial deposition immediately following retreat of the MIS 6 ice sheet and prior to the marine incursion.…”

Analysis of aquifer framework and properties, North Magee Street well field, Southampton, New York

“…The well field area is underlain by outwash sand and gravel deposited in a glacial meltwater channel flanking Tuckahoe Hill (fig. 1), which is part of the Ronkonkoma moraine (moraine deposits are shown on figure 1; Nemickas and Koszalka, 1982). Tuckahoe Hill reaches an altitude of 127 feet (ft) above North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) about 1,000 ft to the northeast of the well field, within a 160-acre nature preserve.…”

“…The aerially extensive Raritan confining unit underlies the Magothy aquifer and essentially forms a no-flow boundary at about 900 ft below NAVD 88. Nemickas and Koszalka (1982).…”