Hydrogeology of a Rapid Infiltration Basin System (RIBS) at Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware

Date
2015-12
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Newark, DE: Delaware Geological Survey, University of Delaware
Abstract
The hydrogeologic framework of Cape Henlopen State Park (CHSP), Delaware was characterized to document the hydrologic effects of treated wastewater disposal on a rapid infiltration basin system (RIBS). Characterization efforts included installation of test borings and monitoring wells; collection of core samples, geophysical logs, hydraulic test data, groundwater levels and temperatures; testing of grain size distribution; and interpretation of stratigraphic lithofacies, hydraulic test data, groundwater levels, and temperature data. This work was part of a larger effort to assess the potential benefits and risks of using RIBS in Delaware. The infiltration basins at CHSP are constructed on the Great Dune, an aeolian dune feature composed of relatively uniform, medium-grained quartz sand. The age of the dune, determined by carbon-14 dating of woody material in swamp deposits under the dune, is less than 800 years. Underlying the dune deposits are relatively heterogeneous, areally continuous, coarse-grained spit deposits of the proto-Cape Henlopen spit with interbedded and relatively fine-grained, discontinuous swamp and marsh deposits, and beneath, relatively fine-grained, continuous, near-shore marine deposits. The dune deposits can be 45 ft thick under the crest of the dune and nonexistent at the surface. Spit deposits range from 5 to 15 ft thick. Test drilling determined that the near-shore marine deposits are at least 10 ft thick in the vicinity of the infiltration basins. The complete thickness of these deposits was not determined in this study. Hydraulic testing and grain-size data indicate that the dune and spit deposits are relatively permeable, with average hydraulic conductivities of 140 ft/day and that the swamp and marsh deposits are more than one order of magnitude less permeable, with average hydraulic conductivity of 25 to 10 ft/day. The water-table aquifer is present in the sandier dune and spit deposits. The swamp, marsh, and near-shore marine deposits form a leaky confining unit. The water-table aquifer is 15 to 20 ft thick under the thickest section of the Great Dune and nonexistent where the dune deposits are absent. The vadose zone is greater than 25 ft thick under the infiltration basins. High-frequency groundwater level and temperature monitoring during periods of maximum wastewater disposal rates indicates that wastewater disposal causes increases in water-table elevations on the order of 1 ft. Groundwater elevations indicate that the water-table elevation is greatest under the infiltration basins and that most flow is directed southward toward a swampy discharge area. Maximum disposal rates typically occur in summer months when the numbers of park users and water use are greatest. Coincident with greater disposal rates are higher wastewater temperatures. These higher wastewater temperatures are observed in groundwater and provide a means to track the flow of water from beneath the infiltration beds towards a nearby discharge area. Tracking of the warmer groundwater and modeling two-dimensional particle tracking both indicate that wastewater discharged to the infiltration basins reaches the nearby discharge area within 180 days.
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Keywords
Cape Henlopen, critical zone, Delaware, dune deposits, environmental sensors, groundwater, hydraulics, hydrogeology, marine deposits, marsh and tidal deposits, modeling, spit deposits, wastewater, water resources, water table
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