Geohydrology and water quality of stratified-drift aquifers in the Saco and Ossipee River basins, east-central New Hampshire

Stratified-drift aquifers discontinuously underlie 152.5 square miles of the Saco and Ossipee River Basins, which have a total drainage area of 869.4 square miles. Saturated thicknesses of stratified drift in the study area are locally greater than 280 feet, but generally are less. Transmissivity locally exceeds 8,000 feet squared per day but are generally less. About 93.6 square miles, or 10.8 percent of the study area, are identified as having transmissivity greater than 1,000 feet squared per day. The stratified-drift aquifer in Ossipee, Freedom, Effingham, Madison, and Tamworth was analyzed for the availability of ground water by use of transient simulations and a two-dimensional, finite-difference ground-water-flow model. The numerical -model results indicate that potential available water amounts in this aquifer are 7.72 million gallons per day. Sample results of water- quality analyses obtained from 25 test wells and 4 springs indicated that water was generally suitable for drinking and other domestic purposes. Concen- trations of dissolved constituents in ground-water samples are less than or meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)primary and secondary drinking-water regulations. Concentrations of inorganic constituents that exceeded the USEPA's secondary regulations were chloride and sodium, iron manganese, and fluoride.