Meeting the requirements of the wellhead protection program for three large springs in east Tennessee

Ogden, Albert E.; Ogden, Laura R.; Oates, Mary T.

doi:10.1201/9781003078128-31

Cited by 1 publication

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“…Groundwater and surface water interactions in karst landscapes of East Tennessee have been assessed primarily to evaluate groundwater flow paths and velocities via dye tracing [50][51][52], or to measure spring water discharge [3,7,53]. Limited water quality parameters have been assessed [3,25,26,33,54] and two regional studies on surface and cave/spring water quality found conflicting results; cave/spring water had significantly lower bacteria concentrations than surface water in one study [50], but similar concentrations in the other [28]. Thus, little is known about karst spring water impact on surface water quality in East Tennessee.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geospatial Assessment of Karst Spring Water Quality in Northeast Tennessee, USA

et al. 2022

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Karst springs are an essential source of private water supply for about 10% of households in Tennessee. However, the water quality of these springs is unmonitored and unregulated even though many springs are highly productive yet vulnerable to contamination. This study assesses spatial patterns in the water quality of roadside springs in northeast Tennessee. Karst spring water samples collected from 50 springs were assessed using EPA Standard methods for pathogens, nutrients, radon, and physicochemical parameters. From statistical and spatial analyses, all but five samples contained E. coli, while all samples contained fecal coliform. High E. coli was spatially clustered (Local Moran’s I = 0.177, pseudo p-value = 0.012) in regions of high agricultural land use, resulting in a fecal contamination hot spot on the border of Washington and Sullivan Counties, Tennessee. Radon concentrations exceeded the 300 pCi/L proposed MCL in 29 (58%) of springs, with one spring in Unicoi County exceeding 1000 pCi/L. A radon hot spot was identified in northern Washington County (Local Moran’s I = 0.160, pseudo p-value = 0.014). Cokriging of E. coli with land use and radon with distance to mapped fault did not improve interpolation models for either parameter. Other parameters, including nitrate, pH, and total dissolved solids, were within recommended ranges for drinking water. This snapshot of spring water quality status identifies areas of poor spring water quality of which spring water users in the region should be aware, and establishes the need for longitudinal sampling of spring water quality in contamination hot spots.

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