Atlantic Coastal Plain physiographic provinces

The Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifers and confining units of South Carolina are composed of crystalline carbonate rocks, sand, clay, silt, and gravel and contain large volumes of high-quality groundwater (fig. 1). The aquifers have a long history of use dating back to the earliest days of European settlement in the late 1600s. Although extensive areas of some of the aquifers have or currently (2015) are experiencing groundwater level declines from large-scale, concentrated pumping centers, large areas of the South Carolina (SC) Atlantic Coastal Plain contain substantial quantities of high-quality groundwater that currently (2015) are unused.