Cat Hill Formation

Delaware Geological Survey issues report on groundwater modeling in eastern Sussex County

Date

The Delaware Geological Survey (DGS) has released a new technical report titled Simulation of Groundwater Flow and Contaminant Transport in Eastern Sussex County, Delaware with Emphasis on Impacts of Spray Irrigation of Treated Wastewater, which was prepared by Changming He and A. Scott Andres of DGS.

DGS Report of Investigations No. 79 documents development of a detailed study of subsurface hydrogeology, interactions between aquifers and streams, and the effects of spray irrigation of treated wastewater on groundwater beneath southern eastern Sussex County.

RI79 Simulation of Groundwater Flow and Contaminant Transport in Eastern Sussex County, Delaware With Emphasis on Impacts of Spray Irrigation of Treated Wastewater

This report presents a conceptual model of groundwater flow and the effects of nitrate (NO3-) loading and transport on shallow groundwater quality in a portion of the Indian River watershed, eastern Sussex County, Delaware. Three-dimensional, numerical simulations of groundwater flow, particle tracking, and contaminant transport were constructed and tested against data collected in previous hydrogeological and water-quality studies.

GM22 Geologic Map of the Sharptown, Laurel, Hebron, and Delmar Quadrangles, Delaware

The geological history of the surficial geologic units in western Sussex County is that of deposition of the Beaverdam Formation and its subsequent modification by erosion and deposition related to the sea-level fluctuations during the Pleistocene. The geology reflects this complex history by the cut and fill geometry of the middle and late Pleistocene deposits into the Beaverdam Formation. The geology is further complicated by periglacial activity that produced dune deposits and Carolina Bays in the map area, which modified the land surface.

Cat Hill Formation

Yellowish-brown to light-gray, medium to fine sand with thin beds and laminae of medium to coarse sand and scattered pebbles (B) that grades downward into bioturbated, gray, very fine sand to silt (A). Rare beds of light-gray to red silty clay are found near the contact with the overlying Beaverdam Formation. Laminae of opaque heavy minerals are present in the upper sands. Laminae of very fine organic particles are found in the lower sand as well as laminae to thin beds of coarse sand to gravel. The burrows in the lower sand are clay lined, and in some intervals, the sediment is completely bioturbated to the extent that no sedimentary structures are preserved. Sand is primarily quartz with less than 5% feldspar and a trace to less than 1% mica (in the very fine sand to silt). Glauconite is present only in trace amounts. Fragments of lignite are common to rare in the organic laminae. Interpreted to be a late Miocene, very shallow marine to marginal marine (shoreface) deposit (McLaughlin et al., 2008). About 100 to 120 ft thick in the Georgetown Quadrangle.

GM15 Geologic Map of the Georgetown Quadrangle, Delaware

The geologic history of the surficial geologic units of the Georgetown Quadrangle is primarily that of deposition of the Beaverdam Formation and its subsequent modification by erosion and deposition of younger stratigraphic units. The age of the Beaverdam Formation is uncertain due to the lack of age-definitive fossils within the unit. Stratigraphic relationships in Delaware indicate that it is no older than late Miocene and no younger than early Pleistocene.

RI75 Stratigraphy and Correlation of the Oligocene to Pleistocene Section at Bethany Beach, Delaware

The Bethany Beach borehole (Qj32-27) provides a nearly continuous record of the Oligocene to Pleistocene formations of eastern Sussex County, Delaware. This 1470-ft-deep, continuously cored hole penetrated Oligocene, Miocene, and Pleistocene stratigraphic units that contain important water-bearing intervals. The resulting detailed data on lithology, ages, and environments make this site an important reference section for the subsurface geology of the region.

RI67 The Cat Hill Formation and Bethany Formation of Delaware

Because of the rapid development occurring in coastal Delaware and the importance of ground water to the economy of the area, definition of formal lithostratigraphic units hosting aquifers and confining beds serves a useful purpose for resource managers, researchers, and consultants working in the area. The Pocomoke and Manokin are artesian aquifers pumped by hundreds of domestic and dozens of public wells along the Atlantic coast in Delaware and Maryland. These aquifers are being increasingly used for public water supply.