The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is proposing to build a dry dam on the South Fork Licking River to mitigate flood impacts. Concerns have been raised regarding the effects of impounded floodwaters on ground-water conditions in the Swamp Road neighborhood. To obtain a better understanding of existing ground-water conditions, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the NRCS, installed three monitoring wells and collected ground-water-quality samples on two occasions from these and four residential wells. In addition, transducers were placed in these seven wells to obtain hourly water-level measurements from August, 2006 to early March, 2007. Intermittent water levels also were measured in another seven residential wells in the area.
Water-quality samples were collected in September 2006 and January 2007. Samples were analyzed for nutrients, inorganic elements, and fecal-indicator bacteria. In general, the ground-water quality was very hard with large iron concentrations of 1,700 ?g/L and above.
Although the aquifer underlying the Swamp Road area is confined, the continuous water-level records indicate a rapid response to precipitation. Comparison of the well hydrographs with the stage hydrograph for the nearby South Fork Licking River indicates a hydraulic connection between the river and the aquifer. In the vicinity of Swamp Road, the ground-water-flow direction was southeast during the duration of the study. The ground-water-level elevations were above the planned maximum elevation for water impounded by the dam, thus the impounded floodwater should have minimal impact on ground-water conditions along Swamp Road.
