The USGS Franklin pipe extensometer with a total depth of 860 feet.
Period of record: 1979-1995; 2016-present
Groundwater Monitoring Well - Franklin, Virginia
Detailed Description
The USGS well at Franklin, Virginia (USGS 364059076544901 55B 16) constantly monitors water levels in the Potomac Aquifer and provides scientists with a record of water levels going as far back as 1960. This well is located next to the Franklin Extensometer, and water levels observed here tend to track closely with vertical land motion observed by the extensometer. This well is located close to the center of a region of major groundwater drawdown, as seen in this map.
Depth-to-water measurements are periodically verified by USGS scientists using a metal tape fed down the well, as pictured here.
Sources/Usage
Public Domain.
Related Content
Virginia Extensometer Network
This static map shows the locations of the three existing extensometers (red) in the USGS' Virginia Extensometer Network with the location of a fourth future extensometer (green). The basemap is of the Virginia Coastal Plain and shows the severity of groundwater depletion, with darker blue indicating greater groundwater depletion.
The USGS Franklin pipe extensometer with a total depth of 860 feet.
The USGS Franklin pipe extensometer with a total depth of 860 feet.
Period of record: 1979-1995; 2016-present
Building housing the USGS Franklin extensometer
Building housing the USGS Franklin extensometer. Inside, the extensometer extends 866 feet below land surface.
Period of record: 1979-1995; 2016-present
Building housing the USGS Franklin extensometer. Inside, the extensometer extends 866 feet below land surface.
Period of record: 1979-1995; 2016-present
2015 Franklin Extensometer Aquifer Rebound Damage
Photo of the original Franklin extensometer taken during an inspection in 2015. Recording had ended in 1995, and between 1995 and 2015, groundwater pumping rates lessened causing the aquifer to briefly recover and the land to rebound. This rebound was so significant that it caused the damage to the extensometer seen above.
Photo of the original Franklin extensometer taken during an inspection in 2015. Recording had ended in 1995, and between 1995 and 2015, groundwater pumping rates lessened causing the aquifer to briefly recover and the land to rebound. This rebound was so significant that it caused the damage to the extensometer seen above.
USGS Scientists Inspect A Research Site in Franklin, Virginia
USGS Scientists inspect the Franklin Extensometer research site in 2015. The extensometer at Franklin had been measuring land subsidence since 1979 but had been offline since 1995 and would be brought back online the following year.
USGS Scientists inspect the Franklin Extensometer research site in 2015. The extensometer at Franklin had been measuring land subsidence since 1979 but had been offline since 1995 and would be brought back online the following year.
Franklin Extensometer Historical Photo
Image of the original extensometer at Franklin, Virginia, which recorded aquifer compaction from 1979 to 1995.
Originally published in:
Image of the original extensometer at Franklin, Virginia, which recorded aquifer compaction from 1979 to 1995.
Originally published in:
1940s Monitoring Well in Franklin, Virginia
Under natural conditions, water levels in wells completed in many confined aquifers rise above the land surface, resulting in artesian flow. The well shown in the photograph was drilled near Franklin, Virginia, in 1941 to a depth of about 600 feet in confined aquifers. The initial water level in the well was about 7 feet above land surface.
Under natural conditions, water levels in wells completed in many confined aquifers rise above the land surface, resulting in artesian flow. The well shown in the photograph was drilled near Franklin, Virginia, in 1941 to a depth of about 600 feet in confined aquifers. The initial water level in the well was about 7 feet above land surface.
Related Content
Virginia Extensometer Network
This static map shows the locations of the three existing extensometers (red) in the USGS' Virginia Extensometer Network with the location of a fourth future extensometer (green). The basemap is of the Virginia Coastal Plain and shows the severity of groundwater depletion, with darker blue indicating greater groundwater depletion.
The USGS Franklin pipe extensometer with a total depth of 860 feet.
The USGS Franklin pipe extensometer with a total depth of 860 feet.
Period of record: 1979-1995; 2016-present
The USGS Franklin pipe extensometer with a total depth of 860 feet.
Period of record: 1979-1995; 2016-present
Building housing the USGS Franklin extensometer
Building housing the USGS Franklin extensometer. Inside, the extensometer extends 866 feet below land surface.
Period of record: 1979-1995; 2016-present
Building housing the USGS Franklin extensometer. Inside, the extensometer extends 866 feet below land surface.
Period of record: 1979-1995; 2016-present
2015 Franklin Extensometer Aquifer Rebound Damage
Photo of the original Franklin extensometer taken during an inspection in 2015. Recording had ended in 1995, and between 1995 and 2015, groundwater pumping rates lessened causing the aquifer to briefly recover and the land to rebound. This rebound was so significant that it caused the damage to the extensometer seen above.
Photo of the original Franklin extensometer taken during an inspection in 2015. Recording had ended in 1995, and between 1995 and 2015, groundwater pumping rates lessened causing the aquifer to briefly recover and the land to rebound. This rebound was so significant that it caused the damage to the extensometer seen above.
USGS Scientists Inspect A Research Site in Franklin, Virginia
USGS Scientists inspect the Franklin Extensometer research site in 2015. The extensometer at Franklin had been measuring land subsidence since 1979 but had been offline since 1995 and would be brought back online the following year.
USGS Scientists inspect the Franklin Extensometer research site in 2015. The extensometer at Franklin had been measuring land subsidence since 1979 but had been offline since 1995 and would be brought back online the following year.
Franklin Extensometer Historical Photo
Image of the original extensometer at Franklin, Virginia, which recorded aquifer compaction from 1979 to 1995.
Originally published in:
Image of the original extensometer at Franklin, Virginia, which recorded aquifer compaction from 1979 to 1995.
Originally published in:
1940s Monitoring Well in Franklin, Virginia
Under natural conditions, water levels in wells completed in many confined aquifers rise above the land surface, resulting in artesian flow. The well shown in the photograph was drilled near Franklin, Virginia, in 1941 to a depth of about 600 feet in confined aquifers. The initial water level in the well was about 7 feet above land surface.
Under natural conditions, water levels in wells completed in many confined aquifers rise above the land surface, resulting in artesian flow. The well shown in the photograph was drilled near Franklin, Virginia, in 1941 to a depth of about 600 feet in confined aquifers. The initial water level in the well was about 7 feet above land surface.