Ground-water availability in carbonate rocks of the Dandridge area, Jefferson County, Tennessee

Abstract

Ground water occurs in solution openings that follow bedding planes and strike joints in the folded and faulted dense limestone and dolomite of the Valley and Ridge physiographic region in the Dandridge area. Recharge beginning at topographic highs in the northwest moves across strike to lows in the southeast; it is intercepted and collected by high permeability beds in the middle of the Knox Group and is routed along strike to discharge at large springs. Exploratory wells were drilled at two sites to test this concept of the flow system. Three wells at Moore Spring site in the recharge area penetrated only mud and solid rock. Four wells at Riley Spring site in the discharge area each penetrated at least five water-bearing openings that gave these wells an average production of 93 gallons per minute and a maximum of 180 gallons per minute. Based upon this test, criteria for locating large-production wells are: (1) near a large spring, (2) near a dry creek, and (3) near the contact between the Copper Ridge Dolomite and Chepultepec Dolomite.

Recharge rates and aquifer hydraulic characteristics for selected drainage basins in middle and east Tennessee

“…Values for the storage coefficient were assigned to each well site, based on the regionalized value of the storage coefficient, as discussed in the section under that heading. Data from 130 published specific-capacity tests in Middle and East Tennessee (Wilson, 1965;McMaster and Hubbard, 1970 ;Burchett, 1977;Rima and others, 1977 ;Hollyday and Goddard, 1979 ;Rima and Goddard, 1979 ;Zurawski, 1979 ;Zurawski and Burchett, 1980 ;Burchett and others, 1983 ;Bradley, 1984) The variation within each aquifer is even more marked than that observed in the distribution of basin-specific estimates; for all aquifers, the values for standard deviation far exceed corresponding mean or median values . The heterogeneity of aquifer properties may explain the larger range of site-specific estimates as compared to basin-specific estimates .…”