Development of a conceptual model of groundwater flow, Chesterfield County, South Carolina

Chesterfield County is located in the north central part of South Carolina (SC) and is adjacent to the North Carolina border. The County lies along the Fall Line, the geologic boundary between the Atlantic Coastal Plain (ACP) and Piedmont physiographic provinces. Between 2000 and 2007, the population increased from 42,768 to 43,191 people (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007). Associated with this population growth is an increased demand for domestic, public, industrial, and agricultural water supplies. The ACP sediments underlying Chesterfield County contain abundant supplies of highquality groundwater (Newcome, 2004). The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is investigating the ACP groundwater resources of Chesterfield County. The initial task of the study is to establish a hydrologic data-collection network for the ACP part of the County. A groundwater-flow model and derived water budgets for the ACP aquifer that underlies most of the County will be constructed and calibrated later in the study. Both anthropogenic and natural groundwater contaminants that have been identified in the study area will be quantified and described as part of a companion study.