Bedford County Water Monitoring Network

Findings:

A water budget for the county shows model-calibrated recharge rates that mimic precipitation patterns and range from 4 inches per year near streams to 28 inches per year in upland areas of the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province. The mean rate of recharge from model results is 9.4 inches per year.

Annual base-flow aquifer recharge computed for Bedford County, Virginia:

• Mean annual base-flow recharge ranged from 8.3 inches per year for the period 1931–2012 at Goose Creek near Huddleston to 9.3 inches per year for the period 1938–2012 at Big Otter River near Evington.
• For the period of 2007–2012, mean annual base-flow recharge was estimated to be 6.5 inches per year at Goose Creek at Route 747 near Bunker Hill and 8.9 inches per year at Big Otter River at Route 221 near Bedford.
• Base-flow recharge computed from the partial-record data ranged from 5.0 inches per year in the headwaters of Goose Creek to 10.5 inches per year in the headwaters of Big Otter River.

Percent of daily groundwater outflow from Bedford County fractured-rock aquifers is proportional to the drainage area of the four major basins:

• Big Otter River: 40.8 percent of the total daily groundwater outflow
• Goose Creek: 25.8 percent
• James River: 18.2 percent
• Smith Mountain and Leesville Lakes: 15.2 percent
• Pumping from the aquifers (consumptive use): 0.2 percent

An expanding rural population has resulted in an increase in the groundwater use in Bedford County from 2.80 million gallons per day to 4.85 million gallons per day between 1985 and 2005.

Evapotranspiration rates ranged from 30.5 to 31.4 inches per year based on streamflow and are within the higher end of the 23.7- to 31.5-inches per year range of values from national datasets.

Project Background: 

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In 2006, there were two, real-time, continuous-record, surface-water gaging stations that monitored basins within the County:

• Station 02059500—Goose Creek near Huddleston, Va., operated by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, in operation since October 1930. Drainage area of 188 square miles.
• Station 02061500—Big Otter River near Evington, Va., operated by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, in operation since April 1937. Drainage area of 320 square miles.

Information on the availability of groundwater in an area can be derived from estimates of recharge to the groundwater system and estimates of water entering and leaving a basin. Rates of effective groundwater recharge can be estimated using streamflow data from continuous-record, surface-water gaging stations and hydrograph-separation techniques that separate streamflow into groundwater (base flow) and surface-runoff components. With a knowledge of precipitation in a region, water budgets (estimates of water entering and leaving a basin), can also be derived. As of December 2006, the USGS had installed two additional, real-time, continuous-record, surface-water gaging stations:

• Station 02059485—Goose Creek at Rt 747 near Bunker Hill, Va. Drainage area of 125 square miles.
• Station 02061000—Big Otter River near Bedford, Va. Drainage area of 114 square miles.

Additionally, partial-record surface-water gaging (stations where discrete discharge measurements are obtained over a period of time) can often be correlated to concurrent daily mean discharge at nearby continuous-record gaging stations by graphical regression methods. Streamflow statistics and mean base-flow discharge can be estimated for the partial-record surface-water gaging stations from this correlation. Rates of effective groundwater recharge can then be estimated. Therefore, beginning in December 2006, the USGS established 12 partial-record surface-water gaging stations in the Big Otter and Goose Creek Basins to monitor these streams:

• Station 02059420—North Fork Goose Creek at Rt 460 near Montvale, Va. Drainage area of 31.5 square miles.
• Station 02059450—South Fork Goose Creek at Rt 607 at Montvale, Va. Drainage area of 11.0 square miles.
• Station 02059452—Goose Creek at Rt 726 near Irving, Va. Drainage area of 46.8 square miles.
• Station 02059459—Bore Auger Creek at Rt 754 near Irving, Va. Drainage area of 17.6 square miles.
• Station 02059490—Stony Fork at Rt 608 near Moneta, Va. Drainage area of 7.01 square miles.
• Station 02060592—Sheep Creek at Rt 688 near Thaxton, Va. Drainage area of 10.3 square miles.
• Station 02060692—Stony Creek at Rt 43 near Peaks of Otter, Va. Drainage area of 14.0 square miles.
• Station 02060695—Big Otter River at Rt 43 near Peaks of Otter, Va. Drainage area of 37.0 square miles.
• Station 02060800—North Otter Creek at Rt 643 near Cifax, Va. Drainage area of 25.8 square miles.
• Station 02060860—Oslin Creek at Rt 644 near Cifax, Va. Drainage area of 12.0 square miles.
• Station 02061160—Elk Creek at Rt 688 near Goode, Va. Drainage area of 41.0 square miles.
• Station 02061320—Little Otter River at Rt 715 near Otter Hill, Va. Drainage area of 66.4 square miles.

This combination of continuous-record and partial-record surface-water gaging stations provides areal coverage of the Big Otter and Goose Creek Basins, and also provides base-flow information on the underlying types of bedrock in these basins. This data-collection approach covers the majority of the County and will serve as a strong foundation for future water-resources investigative efforts.

Finally, in May 2008 the USGS in cooperation with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, sited, drilled, and instrumented three real-time observation wells in the County to monitor water levels:

• Station number—372224079423601, station name: 33G 1 SOW 224 at Montvale Elementary School.
• Station number—372150079422301, station name: 33G 2 SOW 225 at Montavale Park.
• Station number—372543079295401, station name: 35H 1 SOW 226 at the Otterville Solid Waste Collection Facility.