Relationship Of Geology, Physiography, Agricultural Land-Use, And Groundwater Quality In Southwest Georgia

Water samples were collected from 34 wells in the Claiborne aquifer in southwest Georgia. Land use/cover is principally forest, wetland, or agriculture. The aquifer is exposed surficially to the northwest but dips beneath confining beds to the southeast. The Claiborne aquifer is generally a fine‐ to medium‐grained quartz sand becoming more calcareous downdip and to the east. Well water was analyzed in the field for pH, electrical conductivity, alkalinity, hardness, and temperature, and in the laboratory for Cl, NH4, NO3, total N, total P, ortho‐P, SO4, K, Na, Ca, Mg, and Fe. Hardness gradually increases from 5 mg/1 updip to 162 mg/1 downdip and bicarbonate alkalinity follows the same trend reflecting variations in the aquifer lithology. Higher than normal nitrate concentrations (4‐6 mg/1) are found in ground water in the exposed updip portion of the aquifer in areas where agricultural land use for cropland is high. However, in forest‐covered areas, ground water in the exposed portion of the aquifer contains nitrate concentrations similar to the confined areas of the aquifer: less than 1 mg/1. Other chemical constituents measured do not show a discernible pattern of variation. One well near a fertilizer storage facility contains nitrate concentrations exceeding the Safe Drinking Water Standards, and other wells in the agricultural portion of the outcrop belt may seasonally exceed these limits