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Distribution, source, and significance of selected organic compounds in water from the Castle Hayne aquifer, Cherry Point, North Carolina

Proceedings of the AWRA Symposium on Coastal Water Resources, Wilmington N.C.
By O.B. Lloyd, Jr. and C.C. Daniel, III

Abstract

From 1941-1987, groundwater withdrawals at Cherry Point have lowered hydraulic heads as much as 30 feet around wells pumping from the Castle Hayne aquifer, one of the most important freshwater aquifers in coastal North Carolina. These head declines have created or increased the potential for downward movement of water from the surficial aquifer to the Castle Hayne aquifer at Cherry Point. Former landfills and other waste disposal sites are located near water supply wells at Cherry Point and are suspected as sources of groundwater contamination in the surficioal aquifer. The total thickness of confining units occurring between land surface and the top of the Castle Hayne aquifer ranges from 20 to 70 feet. Where thinnest, some of the individual confining units are discontinuous, providing an opportunity for relatively unimpeded downward movement of water from the surficial aquifer to the Castle Hayne aquifer. Analyses of water samples from wells tapping the Castle Hayne reveal the presence of benzene and fatty acids, and related derivatives. The benzene occurs where confining units are thin and discontinuous; concentrations range from less than 0.2 to 1.9 micrograms/L. The fatty acids and derivatives occur in water from wells near an old landfill where the confining units are 40 to 50 feet in total thickness; concentrations range from less than 1 to 28 micrograms/L. The low level occurrence of these contaminants in water from the Castle Hayne aquifer illustrates the vulnerability of this important aquifer to contamination by man 's activities.

Lloyd, O.B., Jr., and Daniel, C.C., III, 1988, Distribution, source, and significance of selected organic compounds in water from the Castle Hayne aquifer, Cherry Point, North Carolina, in Lyke, W.L., and Hoban, T.J., Proceedings of the AWRA Symposium on Coastal Water Resources, Wilmington N.C., May 22-25, 1988: Bethesda, Md., American Water Resources Association, p. 519-530.