Geohydrology of the Upper Sixmile Creek/West Branch Owego Creek Valleys and Lower Sixmile Creek/Willseyville Creek Valleys, Town of Caroline, Tompkins County, New York

Approach -  Geohydrologic data will be collected and maps will be compiled that depict the aquifer boundaries, geologic framework, recharge areas, potentiometric surface, and direction of ground-water flow in the aquifer(s). Text will describe general aquifer characteristics and ground-water and surface-water interactions. There are two major valleys within the Town of Caroline that contain significant aquifer systems--Upper Sixmile Creek/West Branch Owego Creek valleys and Lower Sixmile Creek/Willseyville Creek valleys. In the east-west trending Upper Sixmile Creek/West Branch Owego Creek valleys, the valley fill is thin-to-moderately thick and contains both unconfined and confined reaches of sand and gravel aquifers. In the north-south trending Lower Sixmile Creek/Willseyville Creek valleys, the valley fill deposits are moderate-to-very thick, and confined aquifers are prevalant.

In both valleys, the fieldwork entails 1) an inventory of wells 2) seismic-refraction surveys to determine the thickness of the valley-fill deposits and the configuration of the bedrock floor that underlies the valleys, 3) installation of two test wells in each study area, 4) ground-water-level measurements, and 5) installation of water-level data loggers in two or three wells finished in the various aquifer units.

In addition, water samples at several stream sites in Upper Sixmile Creek and West Branch Owego Creek basin will be collected during baseflow conditions (when flow in the stream is mostly from ground water) and analyzed for common ions and nutrients to determine the chemical characteristics of the ground-water contribution of streamflow. Water quality samples will also be collected from several wells in each study area. In the wells, water will be analyzed for common ions and nutrients to determine the general chemical characteristics of the ground-water and several selected wells chloroflourocarbon (CFC), tritium, and dissolved gases will be collected to determine the apparent age of ground water.

Related Publications

• Miller, T.S., 2009, Geohydrology and water quality of the valley-fill aquifer system in the upper Sixmile Creek and West Branch Owego Creek valleys in the Town of Caroline, Tompkins County, New York: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2009–5173, 56 p.
• Miller, T.S. and Karig, D.E., 2010, Geohydrology of the stratified-drift aquifer system in the lower Sixmile Creek and Willseyville Creek trough, Tompkins County, New York: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2010–5230, 54 p.